"Why are you asking me this?"
"You seem weirdly informed on matters ."
I resisted the urge to scratch my neck.
"I do a lot of research."
"Yes... let’s call it that. Research. I also do that too. Yet it seems I’m still lacking compared to you in matters ."
"You’re probably just not researching hard enough."
She just nodded her head noncommittally.
’She doesn’t believe me, does she?’
Sometimes the easiest way of handling suspicions was a bald-faced lie. She could keep her suspicions. It wasn’t as if she could do anything with just that.
Trying to dissuade her at this point might even have the opposite result.
I just had to play my cards carefully to keep that suspicion of hers vague. At the moment, she probably just found it weird that an orphan like me could know so much about matters relating to hunters.
"There’s a blizzard out there. What we do next depends on when that calms down."
From my memories of the novel, the storm lasted for the entirety of the first night and most of the second, completely trapping a lot of cadets within the outskirts.
The storm only relented about three hours to midnight of the second day, giving the trapped cadets only a very slim window to leave before the Predator descended on the third.
But of course, I couldn’t tell them all that.
Both nodded in agreement, prompting me to continue.
"For now though, I think we should rest and check the storm’s condition in the morning. We can take watch in rotations."
"So what do we do when morning breaks?"
"Well, if the storm is still ongoing by then, I think it would be best to clear the building."
I paused, glancing at the rattling window frames, before continuing.
"When the storm does eventually let up, we need to head deeper into the city."
Lily looked to me in shock.
"Wasn’t dragging us out here dangerous enough? Now you’re saying you want us to head even deeper. Are you crazy?"
She looked to Maki for support, but Maki took my side again.
I’d already expected this reaction, so I pressed on easily.
"Remember, no matter how real it seems, this is a trial. We need points. Monsters have points. The points they provide only grow more exponential the stronger they are."
"Those stronger monsters are out there. We need to move deeper if we are going to find them."
’And except that Predator bastard.’
My rendezvous with Song was also in the middle layer. With someone like Racheal on her team, they’d be blazing through rings.
Although she had a task to complete before the meetup, it wouldn’t delay them for long.
Ideally, it would be best if we could meet up by the third day, but the fourth was what we’d settled on after accounting for possible delays.
It was now Maki chimed in.
"I’m assuming you have a plan with this, right? Just rushing inward thoughtlessly is suicidal."
"That I do. I spotted a skyscraper at the outer edges of the central district. I think that could serve as our main base for the rest of this simulation. It’s close enough to the centre that we can easily gain access to high-level monsters, but not so many that we would just be walking to our deaths."
I paused before adding.
Plus, it was my meeting point with Song.
Maki considered it a bit, then asked.
"Why can’t we just stay in the middle layer then?"
"Why settle for the middle ring when we can get the best of both worlds? Plus we can easily retreat to the middle ring if things get too dangerous."
This was the same thought process the other high-level cadets had. Quite a few of them would already be within the outer ring of the city.
It was the thing that saved most of them from immediately dying to the Predator in the story. Maki was odd in the fact that she took things more cautiously.
In the novel, she’d been in the same team as Rowan. The boy dragged her to the centre districts then, allowing them to be among those killed last by the Predator. . ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0veI.Fiɾe.net
The other MCs found themselves at the centre one way or the other.
But that was it. They were all killed by the Predator in the end.
Maki considered it a bit, before conceding with a sigh.
"Alright then, do you know the path to it?"
"I’ll be able to check it from the rooftops when we clear the building tomorrow."
Lily just stood to the side looking at the both of us like madmen.
Eventually, she sighed.
"Fine then. I’ll be going to bed now."
She took a sleeping roll out of her bag, before laying it on the floor and turning away from the flame.
I didn’t let her get away with it this time though.
Her voice came from within the sleeping bag.
"You do know that we’re hunters, right?"
"This is what hunters do."
She stayed quiet, but Maki added.
"You’re going to have to learn how to do it too."
The room fell silent for a few moments, before she replied.
And with that she went silent.
I gave Maki a look, to which she just shrugged.
’Must have been one hell of an orphanage she went to.’
Although she appeared used to living in harsh conditions, Lily seemed to have been completely insulated from the concept of violence.
That was especially insane, staying in a sector right next to a literal war zone.
"You’re a weird guy, you know?"
I looked at her suspiciously.
"You’re not going to call me a retard again, right?"
Yeah, that’s right. I still remembered that insult. I could be petty like that.
She looked at me in confusion for a bit before the realization hit her.
The girl spoke between chuckles.
"No... nothing like that. It’s just..."
She looked at the window.
"You seem weirdly suited to this."
Even I didn’t know the answer to that.
Still, the girl looked back at the fire before continuing.
"Do you want to take first watch?"
The fire would likely die out during the night, either in the second or third watch. I wanted to be asleep when it did.
"Alright then, wake me up after three hours."
I nodded, and the girl went to pick her sleeping bag before nestling close to the flame as well, turning away from me.
I observed her sleeping form a bit, before standing up with a sigh. Loading my crossbow, I rested against the bags blocking the front door.
The position gave me a clear view of both doors leading deeper into the apartment. Plus, the constant rattling, snow, and howling wind stopped even the slightest inkling of sleep from affecting me. I let the cold sting my eyes whenever they tried to soften.
It kept me sharp, yet it couldn’t keep my mind from going back to Maki’s words.
My mind kept going back to Maki’s words.
’Am I really suited for this?’
I’d been so occupied with all the action that I really hadn’t taken time to analyze what I did.
I’d felt absolutely no hesitation in taking down the monsters. They were monsters after all. Of course, them being inhuman was merely a surface-level reason.
Even if they did look and act human, as far as they posed a threat to me, I would’ve killed them regardless. It was the same thing I did with the Skin Walker after all.
Like I said, I hadn’t been a murderer in my past life. But I had known death, known the fear of it, and had been beaten damn near to it multiple times.
I’d also beaten a person half to death as well.
Perhaps that was what shaped me to be . I had no doubt the old Victor would have been as well. Bastion didnt exactly play nice with children, more so orphans.
Although he sounded rather friendly in his diary, it hid a certain ruthlessness in plain sight. The boy casually talked about nearly starving to death and stealing. He recorded it like weather.
I had no doubt that he would’ve killed someone if it meant saving Anna when she had fallen sick.
I would’ve found no fault in his choices then. Most orphans in Bastion would agree with me on that. You learn very early that mercy and survival sit at different tables.
My gaze lingered on Lily.
’What a strange girl.’
But there was a difference between us. Victor had an Anna, and I didn’t.
I looked to the flame, trying to distract myself, before my brain could further spiral down that dark path.
My mind remained as murky as the storm the rest of that night.