Chapter 27 (continued)

Qi Yue had long since discovered that as long as he never clicked an option the Panel gave him, it would remain there. The Panel itself existed beyond this world, and judging by the forum discussions, apparently none of the time it was present had been drawn. To avoid having anything he didn't want included in the manga drawn in, Qi Yue often exploited this Panel bug, and was already used to doing it.

After putting on his cloak, Qi Yue continued to play the part of someone "unfathomable" once the Panel disappeared. He thought that the Panel probably hadn't expected him to find this use for it either.

Who cares? It's not like... the Panel will get angry.

After leaving the cave, Qi Yue let the sea breeze lend every move he made an air of effortless ease. Looking as relaxed as if he were strolling through his own garden, he subtly quickened his pace and continued surveying the area in person.

He aimed to get a clear idea of the situation and set killing "traps" where Third Level Aberrants appeared, all before night fell and the Aberrants came out.

Without an Esper Ability, he had to use the "props" he carried to make the Aberrants' bodies uncontrollably "melt" or go "mad" when they approached him, just as they did when they approached Beixing. That would add to the evidence that his Esper Ability was similar to Beixing's.

The assessment lasted five days, and there were exactly five places where Third Level Aberrants appeared. Setting up one "trap" each night would give him plenty of time.

Hopefully nothing unexpected happens.

"More than half an hour?!" Only after Qi Yue disappeared from sight did Beixing lower his binoculars and glance at the Kill Point Judgment Calculation Wristwatch on his wrist, which also functioned as a clock. His expression was one of surprise.

"What on earth is in there?!"

The room was silent. Apart from the sea breeze outside the window, there wasn't a sound. No one could give Beixing an answer.

"I'll ask him when he gets back..."

Muttering to himself, Beixing picked up the binoculars again to observe the surroundings. As he watched, he kept Qi Yue's words firmly in mind and took care not to expose his head at the window. He pushed a table over to it, then hid underneath and peeked out on the sly.

During the day, when no Aberrants appeared, Qi Yue continued his investigation while the other First Hunter Academy students each found an area to stay in for the next few days and prepared for the coming night's battle.

In a place where they could lose their lives at any moment, no student dared let their guard down.

The YR Research Institute was one of the regular locations for the Weekly Assessment.

It was called an assessment for esper hunter students, but almost everyone taking part knew perfectly well that it was really a monthly cleanup conducted specifically for the YR Research Institute under the guise of an assessment... no, rather than a cleanup, "maintenance" would be more accurate.

Although the YR Research Institute had been abandoned, its core area still existed to this day. And during every Weekly Assessment, students were expressly forbidden from approaching it.

The stated reason was concern for the esper hunter students' safety, but any esper knew that was a lie. The real reason all the students taking the assessment were forbidden from approaching was that the core area held secrets its owners didn't want discovered, as well as enormous potential benefits that could not be replaced for the time being.

But what did it matter where they carried out a cleanup? As New Humans favored by the heavens after the world changed, they had been granted the heavens' favor and Esper Abilities, but that had also determined that they bore responsibilities Old Humans could not acknowledge. Wherever Aberrants existed, they were there too. Besides, the YR Research Institute belonged to the First Hunter Academy.

Even knowing that the origin of the Aberrants at the YR Research Institute and the cleanup and maintenance were abnormal, none of the academies that drew the institute as their Weekly Assessment location raised any objections.

In Area F, in a forest separated from Area E by only a narrow boundary.

After making sure no one was around, Qi Yue triggered the Panel again. While the Panel bug kept him out of the manga's view, he swiftly and discreetly placed the props he carried in suitable spots, forming a defensive perimeter that also served as a killing zone.

Even with the Panel bug keeping him out of the manga's view, Qi Yue didn't let his guard down. The entire time he set the traps, his movements looked like those of someone taking a stroll.

Even if a student suddenly barged in now, they wouldn't suspect what Qi Yue was doing. After all... this was one of the places where Third Level dangerous creatures appeared. It wasn't strange for Qi Yue, the strongest person in Class F, to be here.

After setting up the "trap" for killing tonight's Third Level dangerous creatures as quickly as possible, Qi Yue returned to the position he had been in before triggering the Panel and clicked the "confirm" button.

Once the Panel disappeared, Qi Yue pretended he had just entered the area for the first time, but walked purposefully toward the boulder in the middle of the "trap."

Still wearing the oversized hood of his cloak, Qi Yue raised a hand and swept it across the boulder, then sat down cross-legged in an easy, graceful manner.

It was the largest boulder in the nearby forest, a spot Qi Yue had deliberately chosen after arriving and observing the area.

Tonight, he would sit on it, playing the part of "a powerhouse who utterly overwhelmed his opponents," and watch expressionlessly as the approaching Aberrants all "melted" uncontrollably before him and wailed because of his "Esper Ability."

Qi Yue's inspiration for today came from the gossip about Teacher Bai Yening he had heard the Class F students discuss in class.

According to the students, Teacher Bai Yening's Esper Ability wasn't particularly powerful, but when it came to defense, she was a genius. In her duels with teachers from other Hunter Academies, Teacher Bai Yening still focused on defense. Yet hidden within her seemingly endless layers of defensive devices were deadly threats. Each time an opponent destroyed a defensive layer, it was equivalent to making a "suicidal" approach. Thus, although Teacher Bai Yening's Esper Ability wasn't particularly powerful among the teachers, she could win every time in an Esper Ability duel against someone of the same level.

He wished that tonight he could be like Teacher Bai and win this "duel," successfully looking strong.

Beneath his cloak, Qi Yue prayed silently as his eyes darkened slightly and he looked toward the grass in front of the boulder. Transparent threads were attached and tied around the roots of one clump.

The boulder was not only the sole "conspicuous" feature in this area where Third Level dangerous creatures appeared, making it stylish to sit on.

It was also a place at just the right distance from the surrounding trees, making it convenient to use threads and the trees to manipulate various tiny needles and defensive devices.

Rumble...

Drip, drip...

After the thunder and lightning came the patter of rain.

When Qi Yue heard raindrops falling on the leaves, he let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

Just as his earlier research had indicated, it was raining.

Once he had confirmed that his Esper Ability was useless, it was only natural to use every means at his disposal to stay alive. Qi Yue had not only brought plenty of auxiliary props while ensuring he wouldn't break character, but had also checked Katebis Island's weather over the previous month. When he discovered that rain always fell on Katebis Island after the last rays of the setting sun disappeared each day, he decided to use water-soluble threads to control the "trap."

The threads could hold out for six hours while soaked in rainwater.

That way, after the heavy rain, all traces of his "crime" would vanish completely in the rain. No one would have any reason to be suspicious.

As the last rays of the setting sun sank below the horizon, the pattering rain arrived along with the darkness.

Everything was ready. It was time for him to look strong tonight.

Here's hoping... everything goes smoothly.

In the darkness, Qi Yue raised his hand and, following the routine he had planned, removed the oversized cloak hood he had been wearing all evening with a movement that would look "perfect" from any angle. Then he raised his head to look at the falling raindrops.

He did this only because... if this scene were drawn into the manga, it would not only look cool, but make him "gazing at the rainy night sky" before taking action seem "merciful," reluctant to kill yet unable to avoid it.

That would make it easier for him to refuse if he encountered something he couldn't act on in the future, without arousing suspicion.

In short—

To stay alive at an academy full of espers, looking strong was all he could think about from the moment he opened his eyes each day.

"..."

Keeping up this damned persona was hard on him. Yet despite his inner suffering, Qi Yue's face remained completely expressionless after he removed his hood, his features betraying not the slightest hint of his true feelings.

The rain could "clean up" Qi Yue's crime scene, but it also made it harder for him to hear. Even as he grumbled inwardly without missing a beat, Qi Yue kept his eyes and ears open in every direction, not daring to relax in the slightest as he carefully distinguished every sound in the rainy forest.

Drip, drip...

That was the sound of rain striking leaves.

Crack...

No, that was the sound of a branch breaking and falling.

Swish—hiss—

The sound of limbs brushing against grass and trees as something moved swiftly.

They're here!

Two, from the same direction!

Hearing sounds different from the others, Qi Yue, facing Aberrants for the first time, felt his heart pounding wildly. Still, he forced himself to calm down and put on the air of "a big shot with everything under control." Unhurriedly, he shifted his gaze from the sky, where he had been looking with his head slightly raised, and fixed it precisely on the place the sounds came from. Even in the rain, he insisted on keeping his crimson eyes naturally open, as though it took no effort at—

Huh?

Wait, can someone tell me what's going on?

Qi Yue's gaze fell on the Aberrants charging rapidly toward him, on the red health bars above them that were the same color as his eyes.

The two Aberrants' health bars were different lengths, and the Aberrant with the longer bar was moving toward him considerably faster than the one with the shorter bar.

Thanks to his experience in Class F and the level classification of Aberrants that appeared in this area, Qi Yue could easily tell the levels of the Aberrants charging toward him from the lengths of their health bars.