Chapter 269: Was Coming
Then, Ruvian’s expression subtly shifted.
A slight anomaly grazed his mana perception, so subtle that to Ruvian, his sharpened senses and experiences isolated it almost instantly.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately stopped swimming, allowing the current to carry him slightly as he remained completely motionless beneath the water.
"..."
[Heightened Sense]
His senses gradually sharpened as it swept across the surrounding waters, every nerve in his body instinctively tensing. The river, which had felt oddly tranquil just moments ago, now seemed unnaturally silent.
The schools of fish that had been swimming leisurely around the riverbed had disappeared without a trace.
As though they had sensed something...
And fled.
Ruvian inwardly clicked his tongue.
’Tch.’
At this point, he would’ve been far more surprised if nothing had happened. Ever since setting foot on this cursed island, trouble seemed to possess an almost supernatural ability to sniff him out no matter where he went.
’So peace was never an option, huh?’
Ruvian mustered a rueful smile.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze toward the darker depths ahead, where the sunlight could no longer penetrate.
A shadow drifted into view.
And moments later, several more silhouettes gradually emerged from the murky depths, their outlines growing clearer with every passing second.
Ruvian’s eyes narrowed.
Those forms...
They resembled grotesque river salamanders known as Gloomeater, each stretching close to two meters in length.
Their elongated bodies were cloaked in slick, charcoal-black skin, marred by jagged veins of glowing azure.
Four muscular, webbed limbs flattened against their bodies while their thick, serpentine tails swept rhythmically from side to side, carrying them through the current with frightening speed.
Their narrow jaws slowly parted, revealing rows upon rows of needle-like fangs.
Three of them in total finally revealed themselves from the depths, circling around Ruvian.
’Lucky me... they were just Lesser Voidspawns.’
The moment their gazes met his, their tails snapped through the water before heading straight toward him.
*****
[Noelle’s POV]
Not far from the waterfall...
A young girl sat beneath the cool shade of a riverside tree. Her long waves of deep navy hair glimmered with a delicate purple sheen whenever the light brushed against them.
She rested her chin against the palm of her hand, appearing relaxed, yet her expression betrayed nothing but utter boredom.
Her calm, magenta eyes remained fixed on the distant waterfall, watching the endless water crash against the rocks below with little interest.
The soothing roar of the river echoed through the surrounding terrain. Then, a gentle breeze drifted past, causing a few loose strands of her hair to sway softly across her face.
Yet for some reason...
Not even the peaceful scenery before her could stir the slightest change in her expression. She simply stared ahead in silence.
Then, she let out a long, weary sigh.
’Haa... for the love of goddess... what the hell are we doing here? What the hell are these guys thinking?’
Noelle glanced toward her teammates, unable to hide the exasperation written across her face.
No matter how she looked at it, she simply couldn’t understand why they had unanimously agreed to stop by the river the moment they found it, only to spend nearly half the day camping and fishing.
It was, honestly, a waste of time when they don’t really need rest at all.
She had to fight the overwhelming urge to yell at them. Unfortunately, her opinion carried little weight within the squad.
She was only a Class E scholar, after all, a rank that hardly anyone gave a damn about.
To their credit, they didn’t openly belittle or mistreat her.
Even so...
She could still feel it.
An invisible wall separated her from the rest of the group. She wasn’t truly one of them. Just merely happened to be part of the same squad.
Deep down, Noelle couldn’t help but wish the island examination had been organized by Circles instead, rather than forcing scholars from five different classes into the same team.
’Haaa... it would’ve been much more fun if I were with them.’
Without realizing it, her thoughts drifted toward Ruvian, Griffer, Melia, and Corwin. She wondered what they were doing right now.
Later, a voice came loudly.
"Seriously, why aren’t they biting?"
Noelle turned around again.
A blond-haired young man frowned as he reeled his fishing rod back in for what felt like the hundredth time today. The hook returned just as empty as before.
"You’ve been saying that for the past hour."
Another white-haired boy sitting beside him let out a snort without even bothering to look up.
"Yeah? Any reason why?"
"Hmm, maybe the fish don’t like your face."
"Oi, the hell does that even mean?"
The blond-haired boy stared at him for a second.
Yet the white-haired boy simply laughed.
"Oi, bastard, what are you smiling for!?"
The two immediately began bickering, throwing childish insults back and forth while neither showed the slightest intention of lowering their voices.
Watching the familiar scene unfold, the only other girl in the squad merely let out a quiet sigh.
Emily Greysha.
The leader of their five-man squad.
Unlike the two idiots arguing over fish that refused to bite, Emily remained seated upon a flat rock overlooking the river. Her emerald eyes quietly observed the flowing water, occasionally drifting toward the distant waterfall.
She made no attempt to stop them.
Frankly speaking, this was nothing new, too.
Her squad had always been like this.
Thinking back, they had actually performed remarkably well during the first day of the examination.
By the time the rankings were announced, they had climbed all the way to 8th place, comfortably placing themselves among the top-performing squads.
A result that should’ve motivated them to push even harder. But instead, it had done the complete opposite.
Perhaps believing they had already secured a comfortable lead, the entire squad had gradually settled into an almost leisurely pace.
They hunted only when convenient, rested whenever they felt tired, and spent far more time chatting than actually searching for points.
And the rankings... naturally reflected that complacency.
With every passing hour, they continued slipping lower and lower. Yet strangely enough, none of them seemed particularly concerned about it.
Noelle could only shake her head.
Then, almost unconsciously, a quiet murmur escaped her lips.
"...If it were Ruvian and Griffer..."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"They would’ve been running around the entire island hunting every Voidspawn they could find just to climb to the top of the rankings."
That much, she was certain of.
Griffer was the type who simply refused to lose. The higher the challenge, the more motivated he became.
As for Ruvian...
Noelle paused for a moment.
"...Hmm. Maybe... Ruvian would probably be looking for the fastest way to earn points instead."
Unlike Griffer, who preferred charging straight ahead, Ruvian always seemed to have another plan hidden up his sleeve. If there was a smarter method to achieve the same result, he would find it.
Somehow, she found herself smiling a little wider.
But then... her smile froze.
"—!"
An overwhelming mana disturbance suddenly erupted from the river. Every scholar present, all of her teammates to be exact, instinctively turned toward the water.
Emily shot to her feet.
"What was that!?"
The two boys immediately abandoned their fishing rods, all traces of their earlier banter vanishing in an instant.
Noelle’s pupils contracted.
Then, the surface of the river violently bulged outward.
BOOOOM!!
A deafening explosion erupted from beneath the water, sending a massive column of water soaring high into the sky.
"W-What the hell!?"
"Fuck there’s a Voidspawn?!"
"Everyone, get ready!"
In an instant, the squad’s relaxed atmosphere disappeared without a trace. Every pair of eyes remained locked onto the churning river as they instinctively assumed battle stances.
Then, something...
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[Chapter 269: Was Coming]
A/N: Don’t forget to drop your Golden Ticket or Powerstones on webnovel to help the story ranked higher :) it will motivate me to write more