The designer story: I was reincarnated as a villain in a game

Chapter 13: Simulation 3

"Haah?!"

I lost my balance for a moment.

My body quickly fell toward the ground, directly toward a sharp rock pointed like a needle, capable of piercing through my head with ease.

But that was not the worst part.

The ice mage had already taken advantage of the opportunity, rushing toward me while forming a sharp piece of ice, aiming for my back.

I had expected something like this.

Well, not exactly ending up on the verge of having my skull pierced by a rock, but I had been cautious enough.

From the beginning, I had hidden an arrow behind my back and controlled it mentally, preparing for any surprise.

And fortunately... I was not wrong.

Sshkrrsh—!

In a single moment, the arrow shot forward, piercing through his skull.

A hole instantly appeared in his head, and it was only a second before I saw his body turn into tiny particles and disappear.

But unfortunately for me...I was also about to crash.

Whoosh—!

I quickly stabbed my sword into the ground beside my right side with all my strength.

Boom—!

I forcefully pushed my body toward the other side.

The sharp rock passed beside my head by a narrow margin.

I miraculously survived being eliminated.

I fell to the ground and lay there for a few seconds, staring at the sky while panting from exhaustion.

I was truly exhausted. All I wanted right now... was sleep, on a huge and soft bed.

But unfortunately... I could not lie there forever.

I forced myself to stand up.

The moment I stood, I headed toward the others, who had already finished the fight.

Silence spread between us for a moment.

Then I said:

"We need to split up... if we want to stay alive until the time runs out."

Alfonso furrowed his brows and quickly said:

"And why should we do that, Mr. Neron? Wouldn’t it be better if we stayed together and supported each other? Like what happened earlier."

"He’s right."

"I agree with him too, we don’t have to split up."

"You are wrong. If we stay together, the chances of all of us being eliminated at once will increase. If a strong opponent sets an ambush for us, we will not lose one or two people only... we may all end up finished in an instant."

The group exchanged glances.

It was obvious that they did not want to split up, but they realized that my words made sense.

Even so, Alfonso still did not seem convinced.

"But... isn’t splitting up more dangerous? If one of us faces a strong opponent alone, there will be no one to help."

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth before replying:

"True. But it is the less terrible option."

"If we split up, it will be difficult for one enemy to wipe us all out. And even if one of us falls... the others will remain."

I cast a quick glance around me.

"Also, we do not have time to argue. That female archer may attack us again at any moment."

"...I hate to admit it, but you are right."

"Me too."

"I have no choice but to agree."

I nodded.

"Listen carefully. Do not look for fights with anyone. Hide, watch your surroundings, and run away if you have to. Our goal is not to win... but to survive until the time runs out."

"And what about you, Mr. Neron?"

Me?

Of course, I will hide behind Nox until the test ends.

As for you extras... do whatever you want, I do not really care.

...But of course, I did not say that out loud.

I simply smiled and said:

"Me? I will go search for the flag with Nox. What else were you expecting?"

...

...

...

"So... where are we going?"

Nox asked while walking over the rocks, before jumping onto the elevated part of a ruined building to get a better view.

We had split from the group around twenty minutes ago, after I convinced them with my plan.

Where are we going?

Isn’t that obvious?

Of course... to hide. No, not that—we are going to get the flag, I want to see if I can do that or not.

Also, I still remember its location from the events of the story.

At least... if things have not changed.

As far as I remember, the flag was located inside the monster area. Or rather... inside the stomach of a monster called: "Stone Eater."

And as expected, the first one to arrive there... would be Ethan.

And who else could it be? He is the protagonist, after all.

He possesses as much luck as he possesses misfortune.

Some might envy him for his talent, for the opportunities that constantly come his way, and for the strange luck that always seems to bend toward him.

And they might wonder: why him? Why not me?

But... if they were asked to live his life itself...

to carry the heavy burden on his shoulders, to sacrifice his life repeatedly to save people he does not even know...

to live in constant pain, loss, and endless pressure... how many of them would accept that?

Probably... no one.

"Haaah..." I sighed lightly. Why did I suddenly become so pessimistic?

"Hey! Oi, why are you spacing out like that?"

I blinked several times before turning.

"Huh?"

Nox looked at me with a slightly annoyed expression. "Don’t tell me you weren’t listening."

"...Did something happen?"

"I’ve been asking you for about five minutes where we are heading."

"...Oh." I scratched my head a little. "Sorry, I was thinking about something somewhat important."

"I see. So, have you finished thinking already?"

"I think so." I said that while climbing until I stood beside him.

I glanced around briefly, while in front of me stretched the ruined city, rocks and debris scattered in every direction, while Nox... stared at me in silence for several moments without saying anything.

Then he finally sighed. "So? Have you decided on the destination or not?"

I turned to him while slightly furrowing my brows.

Strange... why do I feel like he is treating me with exaggerated respect? Or... as if I am the leader?

Even though reality says the complete opposite. He is stronger than me.

Much stronger, in fact.

He can ignore me whenever he wants. So is the reason that he is afraid of angering me? ...Afraid that I will use my family’s influence against him or his family?

No. That does not seem logical.

Nox cares about his family a lot, yes, but he is not someone who panics easily.

So... there must be another reason.

Maybe he wants to get close to me. In the end, he found himself in the same team as someone from one of the four great families.

And who would not want to take advantage of such an opportunity?

I know his personality well, somewhat. He is cunning, very much so, and he can do anything if it serves his interest.

He must be trying to benefit from me in some way or another.

Even those three fools did not try to hide their intentions.

As for him? He is at least smarter than that.

He does not want to make it look like he is deliberately approaching me.

Rather, he is trying to make everything seem... natural.

"Once again... I really want to know exactly what you are thinking to make you space out that quickly."

Nox said in a slightly annoyed tone, which forced me to stop thinking.

I stared at him for a second before saying: "It is not something interesting. Just the worries of an adult man... you would not understand even if I told you."

"An adult man?" He paused for a moment and pointed at himself and me. "Aren’t we the same age anyway? Or what? Don’t tell me you’re an old man in disguise."

"We may be the same age... but our minds are not."

"..."

Nox looked at me for several seconds, then exhaled slowly.

"Why... do I feel like you are mocking me?"

"It’s not like that... Oh, well, let’s go from this direction." I said that while descending downward, heading toward the northern side, while Nox remained staring at me for a moment before sighing and following me in silence.

I could not stop myself from smiling a little.

If you are trying to take advantage of me... then you have no right to complain when I do the same.

In fact... I will exploit you more than you will ever exploit me.

What the hell... what could a rational person even gain from someone like me in the first place?

Other than that I am rich, of course.

I took a deep breath as we continued running without stopping.

And to my surprise... I did not feel as tired as I expected.

In fact, even I was surprised by myself.

It seems that Arch’s training has started to bear fruit.

I let out a short sigh.

Maybe I should not have complained about the training so much...

If I had known its results would be like this—damn, what the hell am I thinking, for the love of God, damn it.

"Fooo" I sighed while we continued moving without interruption. freēwēbnovel.com

We did not encounter any students on the way, except for scattered sounds of fighting coming from afar.

Other than that... our journey went suspiciously smoothly.

Until we finally arrived at the monster area.

We automatically slowed down.

The surrounding sounds of combat became much clearer, to the point that I thought for a moment that battles were taking place only a few meters away from us. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

And for that exact reason... when the ground beneath me began to shake— I was a fraction of a second late in reacting.

Shkkk—!

Rows of giant teeth erupted from beneath the ground.

A massive jaw opened directly beneath me... threatening to swallow me in a single instant.