northernbook Chapter 97 Interference
Chapter 97 Interference
Inside the control room of the Arcadia Hunter Academy's artificial replica, countless monitors and holographic images filled the room. Staff in white uniforms bustled about, and the air was thick with a sense of urgency and excitement.
The person in charge, Farady's senior commander, a stern woman with black hair streaked with gray, issued orders loudly, her eyes scanning rapidly between the monitors.
"Alpha Squad, add the fifth level of elemental challenge. Let's see how they handle the sudden surge in fire element. And connect the audio; we need to hear their reaction."
A technician responded, rapidly tapping on the holographic display. "Elemental level increased, audio connected. Adding fire element in progress."
In the instance, students from the Arcadia Hunter Academy are struggling to meet the challenges of the simulation.
However, at the back of the control room, a young woman's hands trembled as she clutched a small, black USB drive. Her name was Amelia, a brilliant but conflicted technician working at the heart of the Arcadia Hunter Academy's control room.
Summoning her courage, Amelia walked toward one of the central control consoles. Her heart pounded, and her hands trembled slightly as she inserted the USB drive. The drive contained a carefully crafted program designed to temporarily disrupt the simulation challenge, giving the students a breather.
When she activated the program, subtle changes occurred in the control room. The monsters slowed their movements slightly, giving the students a chance to regroup and catch their breath. The fire elementals became easier to deal with, and the treants and lizard-like monsters began to appear fatigued.
Commander Farady noticed the anomaly on the screen. "What happened? Something's not right." She squinted at the monitor.
Amelia knew she had to act quickly. She feigned fixing a minor technical glitch to cover her tracks. "Just a minor system malfunction, Commander," she stammered, her voice trembling with tension.
Another technician chimed in, trying to cover for Amelia. "The simulated monsters in the instance experienced a brief glitch. We're working on it."
Farady was somewhat suspicious, but time was of the essence, so she didn't pursue the matter further. "Get it done as quickly as possible; there can be no interference during the testing period."
Amelia breathed a sigh of relief; her plan had succeeded for the time being. She silently repeated to herself, "This was all for my son."
However, unbeknownst to anyone, this disruption to the system was the prelude to an impending catastrophe. The instance's security system began to flicker, and the simulated monsters gradually exhibited signs of frenzy, their eyes gleaming ominously on the screens. A storm was brewing, and chaos awaited.
......
As expected, the dungeon's scenery changed after the battle.
The surrounding environment changed from hot to cold.
'Comparison of environments?'
Huhu
A biting wind swept in, and the team's visibility was obstructed by the blizzard.
That's not the case for me. I can see traces of magic in blizzards and find tiny footprints left by monsters.
'Hmm... considering the depth of the footprints and the intensity of the blizzard, I can deduce that these monsters were quite large. However, they've been gone for some time now.'
Since we are in a snowy environment, the traces left by the monsters will soon be covered by new snow.
'They must be snow tigers.'
On Earth, lions and tigers typically inhabit areas near the equator. However, in this world, evolutionary forms are diverse, and many similar monsters exist in the game, evolving from tigers that live in snowy environments.
'If that's the case, there should also be snow squirrels.'
In the game, the environment for this practical exam will constantly change; there will be no fixed environment. I am somewhat familiar with this environment.
This is because this was the route I chose when I first completed the game, but it's also one of the most difficult routes.
“Sigh… From hot to cold, why do they have to force us like this…” Byron sighed as he pulled his clothes tighter.
“Yeah… I thought the second environment would also be hot, but they want us to give up on this exam…” Leon replied, clutching his clothes tightly.
The two men kept casting annoyed glances at me, but they said and did nothing. They were probably afraid of Irina, because she seemed even angrier after defeating the boss.
"Everyone, come closer."
At this moment, Irina beckoned everyone to come closer and gestured for them to stand together. However, when she looked at me, her eyes seemed to be telling me not to take a single step forward.
As everyone gathered around her, an orange circle appeared at her feet.
"Huh? What's this?" Nora was the first to notice, looking at the circle.
“This will help you stay warm,” Irina said proudly, continuing to walk forward. With each step she took, the surrounding area shifted, providing a warm climate to those around her.
The snow around her began to melt, and even the snowflakes in the air melted under the influence of the high temperature.
She glanced at me every now and then, her eyes full of arrogance. She seemed to be showing off, or perhaps blaming me, but I didn't care.
That's why it's so important to be prepared.
The coat I'm wearing now is serving its purpose perfectly. I bought it in preparation for my time in the Forest of Time, and I've kept it in my bracelet ever since.
Thanks to it, I'm not too affected right now. Without this coat, I'd probably be the first person to give in, because my body simply couldn't withstand the cold.
My boots and trousers were provided by the college and were of very high quality, but this jacket played a huge role.
However, our time walking peacefully through the storm is coming to an end, for monsters are approaching.
'Sure enough, it's a snow tiger and a snow squirrel.'
I thought to myself, sensing the presence of the monsters. Although I couldn't see them, my enhanced senses were extremely sharp, now approaching level three, far exceeding the normal level.
Just as I was thinking this, suddenly, a group of shadows appeared around us and surrounded us.
"Monster!" Leon was the first to notice, and he shouted to warn everyone.
Swoosh
Immediately afterwards, Irina quickly identified the approaching snow tiger and snow squirrel by using her ability to detect the surrounding magical fluctuations.
"keep away."
She gave no further instructions and took the lead, her eyes flashing with anger and a hint of resentment.
'She must be angry because she couldn't handle the lava dragon.'
The Irina I met in the game would definitely vent her anger on the monsters, which is exactly what she's doing now.
She swung her staff sharply, summoning fire magic.
hum!
Flames erupted, leaping in the cold air, their heat contrasting sharply with the surrounding snowscape.
"Gurgle..."
As if responding to a call, a group of snow tigers appeared from the snow-white environment, their white fur blending seamlessly with the surrounding snowscape.
"Waaah..."
Snow squirrels darted through the bushes, their eyes fixed on the intruders who had entered their territory.
'Hmm... 13 snow squirrels and 5 snow tigers.'
I immediately counted the number of arrows; my arrows were ready to respond to any unusual situation.
"Go to hell."
Whoosh!
With a wave of her hand, she suddenly unleashed a burst of flames that pounced towards the approaching snow tiger.
"Roar!"
The scorching flames engulfed them, their white fur offering no protection. The monsters were burned by the powerful fire magic, letting out painful roars.
But she was not appeased by it.
At the same time, she channeled the magic into the trees where the snow squirrels were hiding.
Whoosh! Squeak!
The flames engulfed the branches, forcing the snow squirrels to reveal their true forms. They tried to escape, but Irina's fierce attacks gave them no chance to get away.
'That's truly powerful.'
She was even more powerful than before; her fire magic reduced all the monsters to ashes in almost a second. It seems she, like me, wasted no time.
The rest of the team could only stare in disbelief as Irina single-handedly dealt with the monster. Her mastery of fire was unparalleled; in this snowy environment, her power was unmatched.
'As expected, students ranked in odd numbers are different.'
There's a reason she's ranked third, and she's proving it now. While she didn't quite show her true potential against fire-resistant monsters before, the situation is different now; almost all the monsters here have very low fire resistance.
Furthermore, the environment is filled with ice elements, making it much more difficult to use fire magic, as their density is much lower.
But this only further proves her talent; even in this environment, she can still perfectly control the flames.
As the last embers dissipated, the battle ended. The monsters fell, leaving only charred remains.
Eager to win Irina's favor, Byron seized the opportunity to express his admiration: "Incredible, Irina! Your control over fire is truly astounding. I have never seen such power before."
He immediately began to flatter her, but his words revealed genuine admiration. I could tell that this time he truly admired her.
Nora echoed the praise. "Yes, that's amazing!" Her eyes gleamed as she approached the corpse. "You killed 17 monsters in an instant."
However, when Nora said those words, I suddenly felt a chill. The number of monsters didn't match the number I had just counted.
'Could it be that I haven't miscalculated?'
Suddenly, a monster leaped out from the charred trees, revealing its small fangs, from which green liquid gushed.
Whoosh!
"Croak!"
It was a snow squirrel, but there was one difference. Unlike normal black eyes, this monster's eyes gleamed with a bright red light.
'A follower of demons.'
I immediately understood why this monster was different; it was a common scenario in the game. Some monsters are affected by the magic of demon cultists, causing them to go berserk.
'Tsk... I didn't help you for nothing.'
The Eye of Time
After activating my skill, I felt the surrounding environment slow down instantly. Then, I drew my bow and infused the arrow with a large amount of magic power.
Whoosh!
The moment I released the arrow, it flew right past me.
Pierce! Spray!
The arrow struck the monster in mid-air.
"Chirp!"
The monster let out a piercing scream, and its body changed trajectory in mid-air.
boom!
It fell heavily to the ground, its white skin gradually turning red.
......
"what is that?"
The first to notice something was wrong was Irina, who looked toward the source of the sound. Her gaze first fell on the monster.
There, she saw arrows pierce through the monster's body, the arrows overflowing with magic.
Her eyes widened as she turned to the trajectory of the arrow. Her gaze shifted from the fallen snow squirrel to Morse, who held his bow and arrow, his eyes focused.
Her expression was a mixture of surprise and some complex emotions.
'I missed a monster.'
She was astonished that the monster was able to bypass her senses and almost successfully ambushed her.
'But... how did he find it?'
However, what is puzzling is not that she missed the monster, but that Morse was able to detect it.
Byron and Nora were also astonished by Morse's accuracy and perception in shooting that arrow. The sudden appearance of the snow squirrel caught them off guard, and it was clearly Morse who saved the day.
“That’s… amazing!” Erica exclaimed, completely unaware of what had happened.
Irina regained her composure and nodded in agreement. She and Morse exchanged a brief glance. She realized that it was his timely intervention that had averted the impending danger.
A hint of arrogance flashed in Irina's eyes as she looked at Morse with a critical eye. Instead of expressing her gratitude directly, she frowned. "Not bad," she said, a touch of annoyance in her voice.
'I don't know how he did it, but I will never owe this guy a favor.'
"After we leave here, I will settle this score with you. I won't owe you any favors." After saying this, she turned around and continued walking.
“That would be best,” Morse muttered, then walked toward the corpse.
"What did you say?"
"I said I understand, I didn't help for nothing."
"cut......"
Irina pursed her lips and walked ahead, while Morse went to the corpse and retrieved his arrows.
boom!
Just after the group had walked a short distance, they suddenly heard an explosion and screams from all around.
"It seems we've arrived in the BOSS's territory."