Chapter 48: We’ve been found out
Eiros organised his thoughts about the hunters he had to be wary of. There were quite a few from this webtoon’s main characters who became hunters, followed by several students he did not know but who were talented enough to have their own popularity.
Some of the hunters Eiros knew and was wary of were Erness, Alen, Godon, and Reina. The rest were a few first-year students he only recognised through their popularity.
Eiros had to make sure to avoid meeting them. But, thinking about it again, Eiros might be truly unlucky. I mean, who could actually run away from Erness in this situation?
That girl could teleport, appearing here and there with ease!
’...I’m her boyfriend, so she’ll be lenient with me, right?’
An awkward smile appeared on his face. Of course, there was a reason why Eiros could think like that. After all, this was Erness, right?
That girl had somewhat warped common sense, to the point that she might decide to let Eiros go.
Yeah, maybe...
But, was that really the case?
’Damn it.’
Eiros’s face darkened as he thought about how terrifying Erness was. Had it not been the same last time?
The moment when Eiros first appeared in this world, he had been utterly terrified.
With a sigh, he calmed himself.
Thud. Thud.
"...!"
Footsteps then sounded at that very moment. Eiros quickly tensed up, hiding his body behind the leaves of that large tree.
Below, several hunters could be seen chasing after their prey. They truly did not hold back when unleashing their power, causing the tree Eiros occupied to tremble slightly.
But, fortunately, they passed by just like that, not noticing Eiros because they were focused on their own fight.
So, Eiros just needed to be patient... Or not...?!
"Found...! There he is...! Found him! Come on, let’s catch that lucky hero and prove to the academy that he’s just a snot-nosed brat!"
Eiros blinked.
’What was that?!’
He turned his head.
Fwit!
But at that moment, something whistled right in front of his face. Eiros’s pupils dilated. He tilted his head, barely failing to dodge a sword that flew past his face.
Startled, Eiros immediately glanced downwards. There, he saw a group of hunters staring at him, apparently led by a student with dirty blonde hair.
A grin was visible on his face.
"...Why are you all in a crowd like this?"
Eiros forced a smile onto his face, but cold sweat had already spread throughout his entire body.
This made no sense at all.
Had they all gathered here just to hunt Eiros?
"Heh...! Why, you ask?! Well, we just want to reveal to the world that you are unworthy of that hero title!"
Just because of that?
Eiros truly could not fathom it.
"I know, you actually didn’t do much back then. You probably just happened to arrive there, fought a bunch of small monsters that ambushed the exhausted prince and princess, and then you came out and acted like a hero."
Eiros’s lips twitched.
"...So, this is all because you don’t accept me getting that title?"
"Right! Exactly right...! So just admit that—"
"—Ah, fine. I’m not a hero. I just happened to pass by, saved the prince and the princess as well as the saintess. Just that, okay?"
The student fell silent, his face agape in disbelief as he stared at Eiros, who seemed to not care about the title.
Well, what would he actually gain from that title anyway?
It did not even fill his stomach.
"You...! Are you insulting the title of heroism just now?! This cannot be left alone...!"
Okay.
"...You all are crazy... Didn’t you ask me to give up that title?"
"B-but, you shouldn’t just give it up so easily! That is a sacred title that someone must bear!"
"And who am I? To you, I am a fake hero. How can a fake hero bear that responsibility, right?"
For some reason, Eiros actually entertained them in that nonsense. The awkward smile on his face was held for quite a while, before finally he let out a sigh.
’What is wrong with these kids...?’
Even though they were in the same class as the main characters, why did they actually seem more childish and nonsensical?
’Is this a side effect of being background characters? Sshh... How pitiful.’
Or perhaps, he was the pitiful one here?
"Argh! I don’t know! The point is, you cannot, uh, hold that hero title! Everyone! Come on, catch him and prove it to the entire academy!"
Yeah, that was a mess.
Eiros’s face turned completely pale.
’One... Three... Four... Seven... Okay, seven... This is an amount that... makes absolutely no sense, daaamn iiit!’
Seeing them beginning to manifest their stigmata, Eiros’s smile promptly vanished as he turned and stared at the forest in the distance.
He then jumped.
Khak!
Eiros slashed the thick branch beneath him. The branch collapsed, crashing down onto two hunters waiting on the ground.
Shnk!
At the same time, he stabbed his sword into the tree trunk to slow his fall, then kicked that trunk as a final foothold and shot forward.
Fighting them was impossible, so he would run.
"He’s escaping! Chase him!"
Fwit!
At that moment, Eiros once again heard a similar whistle. He reflexively twisted his body in the air as that sword again passed by his body. However, this time it did not end there. The sword turned, curved, then reversed and came back towards him.
"That’s cheating!"
Someone truly had an annoying remote sword control ability here.
Clang—!!
Eiros clashed his sword against that sword. The sword was hurled quite a distance away. After all, there was a difference between a sword swung physically and a sword that was controlled.
Taking advantage of that, Eiros was about to land on the ground when suddenly the earth beneath his feet softened.
Rumble.
In the next moment, hands made of clay rose up. A rumbling sound was heard not far behind him. Eiros bit his lip, then he jumped once more, landing on one of the trees.
The previous vibration grew louder, and once he turned around, he saw a newly formed golem charging towards him at an absurd speed. On the golem’s shoulder, its controller stared at him with a clear grin on his face.
"Tsk."
His face was so irritating that Eiros clicked his tongue. And so, a fight where he was continuously pressured without pause unfolded.
Eiros ran through the forest. Every path he passed, trees would topple. The ground beneath his feet would soften and crumble under the pressure of those giant feet.
Boom—!!
Boom—!!
Fwit—!! Slash—!!
Crash—!!
Eiros bit his lip.
That flying sword kept attacking him in his blind spots. Although he could dodge it, occasionally he would find that the sword had managed to leave a scratch.
At the same time, Eiros also realised that hiding from them was impossible. Not without reason, but they apparently had someone with a stigma that could be used to track his location.
He had been marked in an unknown way. So, once Eiros reached a river, he did not hesitate.
If he was truly struggling to fight them all, then he would simply make everything chaotic!
His gaze fixed on a waterfall in the distance. A harsh smile was visible on his face.
’Right... Didn’t I see Valkas hiding there earlier?’
His lips twitched with amusement.
Valkas had already said that they were good friends. So, it was only natural to share problems with a friend, right?
Eiros traced the river’s path. Because of the speed and the chaos behind him, the swift river water became so turbulent that it kept shaking and splashing.
"Stop! Stop right there, you bastard!"
"What the hell! Why is a hero running away?!"
Hearing their curses, Eiros ignored everything and focused on shooting closer towards that waterfall.
His gaze then fixed on a large boulder attached to the cliff wall, where there was a small crevice. The closer Eiros got, the more he noticed strands of red hair hiding there.
And what Eiros did was pour out more soul essence, then propel himself in one very powerful burst to extend the distance between them.
Woosh—!!
Eiros reached the boulder.
"H-hey! Valkas!"
Valkas looked surprised. The young man calmly drew his spear, but sighed in relief upon finding that it was Eiros who had come.
"What’s up...? Why are you here?"
Seeing Valkas cheerful, seeming as if ready to throw out some kind of joke, Eiros cut him off first.
"Let’s run!"
"Huh...? Run where? Why?"
Valkas’s face looked full of confusion as he stared at Eiros, who was out of breath, placing his hand on his shoulder.
"Well," He said, taking a deep breath, then added. "We’ve been found out."
***