Night Raid

At two thirty in the morning, the camp below the high ground still smelled faintly of a dying campfire.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood at the edge of the ruins, looking over the supplies everyone had managed to salvage: three bags of compressed biscuits, five bottles of water, a first-aid kit, and two usable entrenching shovels. That was all they had left.

"That bastard Ryuen..." Ken Sudō gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly they crackled. "I'm going to beat the crap out of him!"

"Calm down." Suzune Horikita's voice was cold. "Anger won't solve anything."

After counting everyone, Yosuke Hirata breathed a sigh of relief. "At least no one's seriously hurt. Just a few minor injuries."

Ayanokoji said nothing. He was thinking about the system's three options.

Abandon the high ground? Impossible. Class D had worked too hard to get this far. Giving up now would make all of it pointless.

Negotiate with Class A? Katsuragi wouldn't be that generous. Even if he agreed to a trade, he'd demand something they couldn't accept.

That left only one option: hold the high ground and search for alternative resources.

But how? It was pitch-black, and the island was full of dangers...

Wait.

Ayanokoji suddenly remembered something. Yesterday afternoon, he and Horikita had discovered a small waterfall—a hidden water source.

The system had said it could become a focal point for conflict, but now it might be their lifeline.

"I have a plan." Ayanokoji looked up. "Sudō, Horikita, come with me. Hirata, keep everyone else here and reinforce the defenses. Don't let Class C catch us off guard again."

"Where are you going?" Hirata asked.

"To find something that'll keep us alive."

The jungle at night was dangerous and silent.

Ayanokoji, Sudō, and Horikita hurried through the woods with their flashlights on. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, barely lighting the way.

"Where exactly are we going?" Sudō couldn't help asking.

"The waterfall," Ayanokoji replied briefly. "There's clean water there, and there might be food nearby."

"Going now? What if we run into a wild animal..."

"Better than dying of thirst or hunger."

The three fell silent and focused on making their way there.

It had taken them over half an hour to find the waterfall last night, but this time they moved quickly, reaching their destination in just twenty minutes.

When they were about a hundred meters from the waterfall, Ayanokoji suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"Someone's there." Ayanokoji turned off his flashlight and signaled for the others to crouch.

They hid behind a thicket and watched carefully. There really was a fire burning near the waterfall, and they could hear people talking.

They were from Class C.

"Damn, this water's cold," a boy said.

"Quit whining and fill the containers," another voice replied. "Ryuen said the fire nearly destroyed Class D's camp. They won't last much longer. We'll take the high ground back at dawn."

As expected, Class C was after the water source too.

Ayanokoji counted four of them, all armed. If they fought head-on, it would be three against four. Even with Combat Mastery on their side, Sudō and Horikita might not be able to handle them.

They needed a clever approach.

"Sudō, make some noise to the east and draw their attention," Ayanokoji whispered. "Horikita, circle around to the west. Once they're distracted, attack from the side. I'll break through from the front."

"Got it."

Sudō nodded and quietly moved east. A few minutes later, a sharp crack rang out from the woods in that direction, like a branch snapping.

"Who's there?!" The Class C students immediately went on alert.

"Go check it out." Two of them took their flashlights and headed east.

Now was their chance.

Once the two had gone far enough, Ayanokoji gave a signal. Horikita burst out from the west, swinging her wooden club at one of the two left behind.

The boy couldn't react in time. The club struck his shoulder, and he cried out in pain as he fell.

The other one spun around, but Ayanokoji was already in front of him.

With no flashy moves, he simply put the boy in a hold and disarmed him, then kicked the side of his knee. The boy screamed and dropped to the ground.

The whole thing took less than five seconds.

The two on the east heard the commotion and hurried back. But Sudō had already blocked their way.

"You..." One of them recognized Sudō. "You're from Class D?"

"Right answer." Sudō grinned and charged straight at them.

It was two against one, but Sudō clearly had the advantage in strength and stamina. The narrow terrain also kept his opponents from moving freely, and they soon found themselves on the defensive.

Ayanokoji didn't go help. He knew Sudō could handle them. Instead, he walked over to the Class C student he had subdued and crouched down.

"How many of you came?"

"...Four. Just the four of us." The boy clutched his knee, grimacing in pain.

"Where's Ryuen?"

"At... at the camp. He said he'd personally direct the attack at dawn."

Ryuen clearly cared about this water source, but not enough to come himself yet.

By then, the fight on Sudō's side was over too. Both Class C students were on the ground. Sudō was holding one down, and the other had passed out.

"What now?" Sudō asked.

"Tie them up." Ayanokoji took some rope from their supplies. "Bind them to a tree. We'll deal with them in the morning."

They quickly tied up all four and stuffed cloth in their mouths, leaving them unable to move or speak.

With the threat dealt with, the three could finally collect water in peace.

The pool beneath the waterfall was crystal-clear and full. They filled every water pouch they had, then found some wild fruit and mushrooms by the water. Horikita confirmed they were edible.

"That's enough." Ayanokoji looked at the food and water they had gathered. "This should last us until dawn. We'll send people back for more once it's light."

"But Ryuen won't let this go," Horikita warned. "He'll definitely send more people."

"I know." Ayanokoji stood up. "That's why we're going to surprise him."

At four in the morning, at the Class C camp,

Ryuen Kakeru sat beside the campfire, his face dark.

The four people he'd sent to fetch water had been gone for nearly an hour and still hadn't returned.

"Ishizaki, take two people and go check," he ordered.

Daichi Ishizaki nodded and was just getting to his feet when a commotion broke out outside the camp.

"We're under attack!"

As soon as the shout rang out, several torches came flying through the woods and landed on the tents and supply piles.

"Put out the fire! Hurry!"

The Class C camp descended into chaos. Some people rushed to put out the flames, while others grabbed their weapons, ready to fight. Everyone was in a panic.

But the attackers never showed themselves. Once the torches had been thrown, the woods fell silent again, as if nothing had happened.

"It was Class D!" Ishizaki shouted. "It had to be them!"

Ryuen's expression darkened further. He hadn't expected Class D to dare launch an attack while their supplies had been destroyed.

"Check the damage," he said through gritted teeth.

The damage wasn't serious. They had only lost two tents and some odds and ends. But the blow to morale was huge. How could Class C have been ambushed by the weakest class, Class D?

"Ryuen, look at this." Mio Ibuki picked up a scrap of paper from the ground. Written on it in charcoal were the words:

"A favor returned. —Class D"

There was another line in small writing on the back: "If you want your people back, bring supplies to trade."

"They took our people?" Ishizaki stared at her in disbelief.

Ryuen took the note and read it, then crushed it in his fist.

"Good. Very good..." A dangerous gleam shone in his eyes. "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka... You've really made me angry."