"What else can we do?!" Tama-na said angrily.
He then looked at Makishima, who kept moving forward, then at the three girls lagging behind at the rear. In the end, he gritted his teeth and made a decision.
"We have to believe that our decisions can make up for these unexpected incidents, so there's no need to dwell on minor matters."
"Leave behind everyone who can't keep walking!"
There was no other way, but it probably would not affect the bigger picture. That was what Tama-na thought as he continued climbing upward despite being nearly out of strength.
Gradually, he pulled away from the main group.
By the time he reached the top, only he and another bespectacled man remained.
He lay on the ground, panting heavily. After such intense exertion on an empty stomach, his muscles had begun twitching from a lack of nourishment.
The other bespectacled man did not look much better. He was kneeling on the ground and dry-heaving. The strenuous exercise had made his stomach violently uncomfortable, but since it was empty, he could not throw up anything.
"Only two people managed to keep up? Their physical fitness is way too terrible, isn't it?" The blond university student walking with Makishima looked at Tama-na and the bespectacled man with clear displeasure.
Makishima was equally disappointed in Tama-na's group.
Night was about to fall, yet these people had been dragging their feet. Did they even know how dangerous nighttime was?
"Take out your plan and put it into action right now!" The black guy in the group grabbed Tama-na off the ground by his collar.
"But... we have insufficient manpower right now. We still need to wait until everyone has gathered before continuing with the plan."
Tama-na spread his hands helplessly, then put on a confident expression.