OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 257: Student's Turn

Chapter 257: Student's Turn

?

***

"MFT's to burn..."

"MFT's, MFT's... MFT's... What's an MFT? What the fuck does it mean?!"

Elijah screamed as he looked around the forest he suddenly found himself in.

At one moment, he was relaxing after two long exhausting days, and then the next, he found himself teleported here.

He panicked at first, wondering what he should do while thinking that he had been kidnapped and was about to be killed.

Or worse... he could miss the exam!

Then, after the panic subsided, only calm remained, a trait that Emir had ingrained in the boy.

He realized that wherever he currently was... was in fact the exam.

The fauna all around him was massive, towering.

Trees so tall that they blocked the sunlight from reaching him, causing his surroundings to imitate the night under a hidden moon.

Elijah attempted to measure the bark's length out of curiosity, only to be gobsmacked by what the implications of his results meant.

Each tree spanned at least two hundred feet-bigger than most of the sector's buildings.

The scurrying of creatures resounded far away, alongside thuds and cracks from the same trees all around him.

Panic began to set in once again.

"MFT's to burn..."

"MFT's, MFT's... MFT's... What's an MFT? What the fuck does it mean?!"

And the story continued.

Elijah scratched his hair in thought as he walked aimlessly.

He was dropped in an unfathomable place with no instructions.

So he simply didn't know what to do.

But after he let out all his frustration, calm paid him a visit.

His emotions took a back seat as logic played its part.

'Think... think... what would big bro do in this situation?'

Emir, Elijah's parent-like figure, was placed at the forefront of his mind, influencing his every decision.

'He'll find a safe place first... only then would he try to figure out his next steps.'

With his next actions decided, the boy rushed forward and walked through the trees, using them as cover.

***

[What do you think?]

Emir asked, as his eyes sent a feed to Lyra, allowing her to see everything in his line of sight. Ragnar and Morgiana sat next to him, watching the holoscreen in front of them with interest. Many others were in the room as well, the same Elite, Corpo, and leaders of Hunter groups that were in the sports arena before.

It was a private room, hidden on the tenth floor of the main building.

A place where professors usually came to watch over classes was now used to supervise the test.

The lights were off, and many comfy couches were placed around a long row of holoscreens.

[Well, he's doing what I taught him at least.]

Lyra's answer came after a few moments.

[Heh, I bet he'll start crying later.]

A giggle resounded in his mind.

[Yep, but at least he'll figure it out by then.]

[Indeed~.]

Emir agreed while he leaned on the couch's armrest and placed something deep inside it.

***

"DAMN IT!"

Elijah shouted as he ran away from a behemoth of a monster, leaving behind the little crevice he found in one of the tree's roots.

With every step, his body jerked upward because of the vibrations the ground experienced.

Those trees that he could not see the top of were being squashed like ants by enormous

beings.

Two protruding objects that left the head of his pursuer cast shadows for tens of kilometers ahead, descending his surroundings into absolute darkness.

So while it was dark before, it was many times worse now...

Celestial eyes or not, he could barely see.

After all, even with the night vision Earthkind had, one needed a source of light, no matter how small, to be able to see.

But now, most of that source was shadowed by the massive horn-like objects.

The current situation wasn't of any help either, as he was desperately running away from the thunderous steps.

And no matter how big the beings were, Elijah still wasn't able to truly see them, not just due to the night but also the trees that remained sky-high, blocking his view.

So instead of rushing away from their mere sight, he had to depend on his hearing as he scrambled across the floor with his hands before his body.

Once he felt something graze the tip of his fingers, he immediately stopped and rerouted his

path.

This process repeated itself hundreds of times on his journey through the dark.

Elijah never dared to stop.

His mind was working on overdrive.

His body was trembling, even more than the ground beneath him.

Yet he didn't dare take a moment extra to breathe.

Gasps echoed in his frantic wake, grasping at hopes of surviving the ordeal he ended up in.

"HOW THE FUCK IS THIS AN EXAM?!"

The screams escaping his mouth echoed for a moment, only to die down as a booming step

reached him and snuffed them out.

'Shit!'

'Just what am I supposed to burn?!'

"ARE YOU A STUDENT TOO?!"

Unexpectedly, a loud voice resounded far away to his right, sounding like it came from a

crying man.

Elijah's face beamed as he replied:

"YES! I'M ELIJAH A FIRST YEAR!"

"I'M A FIRST YEAR TOO!"

"LET'S MEET UP, TRY TO HEAD NORTH WEST!"

"ALRIGHT!"

With that, their shouting match was over and he focused back on his path forward.

Elijah continued to go straight while subtly going further right each time, not wanting to

smash headfirst into a tree.

After a few minutes, he heard exhausted breaths nearing his right.

"Are you there?"

"Yes?... YES!"

"Good! Come to me!"

Elijah took hold of the reigns early on, establishing who'd be the leader in their situation.

He expected a battle of words, but the other student only said:

"I'm coming!"

This confused him for a bit, as he was taught extensively on how to make such an approach,

but he never once expected a free pass.

'I guess he's just some naïve student... big bro told me to watch for these types; I don't know what they'll mess up.'

Elijah's own naivety was displayed just then, as he never once suspected that this unknown

party wasn't a student.

But fortunately for him, it was just a naïve student, one that was worse than him in that

department...

Yet the danger of teaming up with such a person remained.

Incompetence was scary after all.

And in the eyes of those incompetent, one couldn't attribute their mistakes to malice since

they meant no harm.

So, in turn, that student automatically gained a potential exit...

One that Elijah would be sure to shut down from the start.

"I'm here!"

A sudden voice resounded a few meters to his right, surprising Elijah.

'The fuck? Why didn't I hear his steps?'

Although bewildered, he promptly replied:

"We continue forward; now tell me, what's your name?"

"O-Oh, I-I didn't tell you already?"

"No."

"W-Well, I'm... Arthur."

'Ah... shit.'

***

'Arthur, Aria, Max, Sofia, and Ava...'

'They're really... Weak.'

Emir expected more from the Elite, as his existence somehow allowed them access to a Well

of Eternity...

But it appeared that he had his expectations misplaced.

"Not a surprise for sure! Sofia's exceeding expectations like usual!"

Sofia was the fastest among them, and surprisingly, Aria was a close second.

"Right, but Aria is impressive as well, I never expected this out of her!"

She took Max's position in the novel as he now placed third in this race away from the

mammoths.

"For sure! But it's only because Max is taking it easy."

However, if one looked closely it would be obvious that Max wasn't given it his all.

"Oh, look! Elijah and our new lucky underdog have joined hands!" Meanwhile, Elijah and Arthur were fourth, while Ava remained fifth.

"It's quite unusual... I think being kicked out changed him."

"Of course it did, but this ain't the time for that! Now what about the rest? Let's-"

The rest Emir didn't care for; he only looked at them as 'Unnamed.' "Who cares about them? Most have already bit the dust anyway so keep it on the Elite."

So he didn't even care to check their progress, and neither did the commentators, only watching the top five.

They kept excitedly describing the unfolding test as their loud voices resounded in the room, annoying many who preferred relative silence.

"Man, I outta go punch up these fuckers!" Ragnar complained as the lollipop in his mouth

was crushed.

Morgiana chuckled.

"You don't look threatening; I'd say they'll laugh at you instead."

"Nah, I ain't going alone; bro will come with me."

"Oh, then they'll cry themselves to sleep."

Emir looked to his right, his gaze finally leaving the holoscreen.

"You know what? Let's do it; I'm bored."

"Hell yeah!"

Ragnar pumped his fists up while Morgiana was flabbergasted:

"Wait really?"

"Hell yeah!"

"You guys wanna get kicked out on your first day?"

"I think you didn't hear me, I said "

"I DID!"

Emir laughed while standing from the couch.

"Alright, Rag, let's go; we've got important things to do!"