She pointed to me first.
"I believe we’ve already met before, Victor."
I nodded, prompting her to turn toward Lily.
"You must be Cadet Lily then. I’m sure you’ve already guessed it, but I’m Maki of the Sato clan."
"You can just call me Lily. No need for formality here, Lady Maki."
Maki gave her a light nod before adding,
"Then you should call me Maki as well."
Lily let out a smile in return.
The Sato girl shifted her gaze back to me.
"The same applies to Victor."
"I was going to call you Maki either way."
I had a higher potential than her, and even my official potential was basically on the same level as hers. The only difference in our status now was the fact that she had a good upbringing.
There was no way in hell I’d be addressing her, or any cadet, as Lady.
Well, any cadet aside from Racheal, that is. But that was a very different case.
I’m a coward, so what?
Maki gave me a confused look, opened her mouth, hesitated, then closed it back, deciding to drop the topic.
She alternated her gaze between both me and Lily before continuing.
"I’ll assume we’re all aware of our grouping for the purposes of this trial then."
However, before she could continue, Lily interjected with a question.
"Have you guys gotten the message too?"
It was then I noticed the nearly transparent icon flashing at the corner of my sight.
The moment I tapped it, the interface popped up before me.
[Welcome, Cadet Victor (Team 13), to the simulation trial for freshmen.]
[Right now, your real body is in a state of suspended animation within the dream engine. It will remain in that state for the duration of this simulation, which is seven days here but two days in the real world due to time dilation.]
[Worry not, your body’s needs will all be taken care of by the dream engine during this time, so your focus need only be on the test.]
[For the coming seven days, both you and your team will be stuck in this ruined city. Roaming around its expanse are monsters of varying types, strengths, and bearings. You will also find cadets from competing teams scattered around as well.]
[Each monster you come across carries a bounty on its head. The value varies depending on the monster type and relative strength. Your goal is to garner as many bounty points as possible. That is your goal, not your team’s goal. This is an individual evaluation in the end.]
[Teams with all members possessing relatively high bounty points are eligible for bonus points. On the other hand, the loss of a teammate results in the rest of the team incurring point penalties.]
[Cadets can be eliminated from the trial via their death. Upon dying, cadets lose half of their accumulated bounty points. If a cadet is killed by one from another team, half of their accumulated bounty points will be transferred to the killer.]
[If all cadets are eliminated before the seven-day mark, then the number of days survived will also be considered in the evaluation.]
[Killing a teammate results in the immediate loss of all accumulated bounty points by the offender.]
[All eliminated cadets will be extracted from the dream engine upon death.]
[Final rankings will be determined by accumulated bounty points.]
’Well, isn’t that something?’
It wasn’t like I hadn’t been aware of the rules already. But seeing them spelled out starkly reminded me that this was real, all of it.
Not a book, nor a game.
’I could really die.’
Well, not actually die, since this was just a simulation. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the noᴠelfire.net
But everything else would be horribly real.
Meaning any eliminated cadet would experience the pain of dying properly before they got kicked out.
Suddenly, my foolproof plan to hunt the Predator was beginning to look a little bit shaky.
’Maybe Song wasn’t completely wrong in calling me crazy.’
Still, I had long since crossed the Rubicon.
Besides, killing the Predator was the surest way of entrenching myself in the top ranks.
’No backing out now.’
Maki spoke first after reading the message.
"We just have to go out and kill monsters, then?"
"I doubt it’s that simple. They only gave us enough food and water to last three days. Plus, with other cadets gunning for us as well, it’s not going to be easy for us to just go out and kill monsters."
Honestly, that much wasn’t even the real problem.
The real dangers were the Predator and the bloody weather.
In truth, this simulation was less of a bounty hunt and much more of a survival horror game.
That bastard would start picking off cadets soon enough, and it wouldn’t stop until it killed us all.
It was the same thing that happened in the novel.
’Not that I can explain how I know this to them.’
Maki rubbed her chin in consideration.
She glanced through one of the cracked windows.
"I think we should do some scouting first before anything else. We can use this house as a temporary base in the meantime."
She looked back at us.
"Do you have any problems with that?"
Lily shook her head. I did the same, then added,
"Just the area around the house though. We shouldn’t go too far without having a proper plan."
Maki gave me an easy nod.
"Of course. Let’s rest a bit before heading out then."
With that, the girl began checking her bag.
I had no arguments there.
Although I wrote the novel, I only had a very general sense of the city and knowledge of specific landmarks.
I was as clueless as anyone regarding most places, especially one like the outskirts.
I did know that the monster density here was generally much lower than in the city proper. So there wouldn’t be much danger in searching the area around the house.
Picking my crossbow from the side, I leaned it on its stirrup before locking a bolt from the bag onto it. I stored six more bolts in a hip quiver I found in the bag before strapping it to my leg.
I also wrapped the scarf around my mouth and nose, tight enough to stay in place but loose enough to breathe through.
The girls were just about done with their preparations as well.
"Before we leave, I think we need to have at least a little info on each other’s abilities."
I already knew Maki’s since she’d been a heroine. I was actually asking for Lily. I had virtually no information on her.
Naturally, I began by telling mine.
"I can detect defects or weaknesses in things I come in contact with."
It was an extremely basic way of putting it, but it was all they needed to know.
"My ability allows me to feel sound—but not exactly sound. More like the waves through materials. I don’t know how to explain it better."
’Really shaming the rest of us slumrats out here, Lily.’
Still, I understood what she meant.
Her ability was useful, perhaps even much more so than mine.
’Two sensory types then.’
Although I already knew what Maki’s was, the girl went next.
But instead of telling us outright, she showed us.
She released her grip on the rapier and brought both of her gloved hands together.
When she pulled them apart, a thin metallic thread stretched between them.
She released her hands, making the thread dissipate and break down.
"Though, it disappears the moment I let go."
’Same as the novel then.’
Though I might have damn near lost my mind if it wasn’t. The plan both I and Song had made last night depended on her having this power.
Either way, I gave her a nod.
Walking toward the door, Maki asked,
"So how do we scout? Do we split or move as a team?"
Her gaze shifted to me.
"You and Lily can check around this neighborhood. I’ll go back to the hill we spawned on."
I paused, pointing at the scope on the crossbow.
"I can use this to get a proper look at the place from that vantage point. At least before the snow gets worse."
She considered it, then nodded, placing her hand on the doorknob.
She paused before adding,
"Let’s round back in thirty minutes. Contact me if anything happens."
A contact request from her popped up in front of me, one soon followed by a request from Lily.
I nodded, accepting them both.
With that, she pushed the door open before stepping out. Lily tossed me a curious look, then followed after her as well.
I made sure my gloved grip on the crossbow was stable, giving the room one last glance before stepping out too.
Into the growing storm.