After safely ascending the canyon, Simon had now entered the core area.
The vegetation was dense, and the jungle had become even more lush, spreading out like a painting.
From this point on, the atmosphere was undeniably different.
Explosions erupted from various places, and the sounds of weapons clashing filled the air chaotically.
Monsters of level three and above, the apex of the island's food chain, had also appeared.
Having retrieved the core of the golem, Simon began his search with even more caution than before.
A single mistake could make him a target for both the students and the monsters.
"Huff."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Simon glanced around.
He hadn't faced a single Kizen student, yet he had already accumulated over 127 points from hunting.
Still, from here on, he had to be prepared to fight at least two or three Kizen students.
Whoosh! As expected, Simon felt a wave of heat and looked up.
Suddenly, black flames fell from above. 'Just like Mei Lin's pitch-black flame!' Boom! As Simon dodged backward, he watched the black flames spread across the grass, only to see another flame flying toward him from the side. 'So fast...!' Bang! Boom! The firepower was capable of rapid-fire attacks.
Simon ran frantically, evading the onslaught.
Just as he tried to leap onto a tree to widen the distance, a massive flame swept through, engulfing the entire tree.
The sight of a single tree being incinerated in mere seconds sent chills down his spine. 'This is a bit dangerous.' Changing direction mid-air, Simon landed on the ground.
At that moment, the one who had unleashed the flames also descended from the tree, revealing herself.
Simon's eyes widened in surprise.
"Mei Lin!" It was indeed Mei Lin.
With her arms crossed, she smiled and waved her hand lightly.
"So it was you, Simon."
"I was worried! How have you been? Have you eaten...?" Just then, Mei Lin spread her palm, signaling him not to come closer. "...... Me, Mei Lin?"
"We've been in the same group since entering Kizen. We've cooperated and relied on each other."
Simon quickly grasped the situation.
The atmosphere was different from usual.
Her eyes had a somewhat hazy look.
"Honestly, aren't you curious?" Black flames flickered on her palm.
"Which of us is stronger?"
With a serious expression, Simon summoned his own pitch-black flames.
"Are you thinking of fighting me?" "Yes."
Mei Lin answered immediately.
"Such an opportunity to fight with all our might doesn't come often."
"Calm down. Wasting energy in a situation like this is inefficient for both of us."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Get ready!" Whoosh! The flames intensified from her hand.
Simon took a deep breath and focused his thoughts. 'This is definitely strange.' He knew that Mei Lin was striving to surpass the top of Class A.
He was aware of her competitive spirit and ambition.
He had vaguely thought that they might clash one day.
But wasn't this a bit too sudden?
Thinking something was off, Simon summoned skeletons from his spatial pocket.
"Hah!" She jumped into the air, stepping on the pitch-black flames, and unleashed a barrage of black flames.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Each shot was a terrifying assault.
The angles and directions of the projectiles varied greatly.
Moreover, when the black flames hit the ground, they ignited the grass and trees, creating danger zones.
The space for evasion was shrinking in real-time.
"Hah!" Mei Lin was serious.
Furthermore, she was demonstrating the technique she had shown during the last duel evaluation, 'Multi-Casting.' While pouring firepower with her right hand, she was preparing a finishing move with her left hand, the Dark Flare.
Perfectly flawless, as the name suggested.
Mei Lin was cornering Simon with her overwhelming specs.
'If it comes to this, there's no choice.' Simon decided to fight seriously. 'Just as well as you know me, I know you well too.' What Simon pulled out from his spatial pocket was a one-gold bow.
He held the bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right, infusing it with pitch-black energy.
"Hah!"
Ducking to avoid the incoming black flames, Simon nocked the arrow and turned his back.
Aiming at Mei Lin, who was continuously pouring out black flames, he released the arrow.
Ping! The arrow pierced through the black flames, and Mei Lin couldn't track its trajectory due to her own attack.
Thud! The result was a hit to her side.
Thanks to her protective suit, she wasn't injured, but her barrier gauge dropped significantly.
She stepped back in surprise. 'In terms of attack power, Mei Lin is among the top in all of Kizen.
However, pouring all her firepower into suppressing the opponent's attack like this...' Simon nocked another arrow and shot again. 'Without needing any complicated tactics, she's vulnerable to pure pinpoint physical attacks.'
Thud! The next arrow lodged itself into a tree beside Mei Lin's face.
Sweat dripped down her forehead.
"Don't underestimate me!" Now, she charged at him more aggressively.
As Simon maintained his distance and fired arrows repeatedly, she began to manipulate her internal pitch-black energy.
Her running speed increased, and arrows began to pierce the ground.
'Wow, if she manages to pull this off until the end, it'll be tough.' Simon clicked his tongue and nocked the next arrow.
It wasn't easy to hit an opponent running at full speed.
The best timing was...
"Hah!" The moment she unleashed the black flames, Simon also released his arrow.
As their attacks coincided, both of them executed evasive maneuvers.
She tilted her head, and Simon tumbled backward to evade.
Whoosh! Thud! The two exchanged attacks and retreated, scraping the ground.
Mei Lin smiled. 'There's no need to rush.
If I can buy time until the Dark Flare is ready...'
Thud! Suddenly, she felt a shock on her thigh and turned around in surprise.
"What? Who just...!" As if not giving her time to think, Simon shot an arrow straight at her from the front.
She jumped sideways to evade while keeping an eye on him.
Crack! Bang! This time, arrows flew from both sides, damaging her barrier gauge as they passed by.
The arrows alone had already reduced her gauge by more than half.
"What is going on?!" Mei Lin, who had landed on the ground, quickly began to think.
Attacks from three directions.
She recalled that Simon was using three skeleton archers. 'I see.
The skeleton archers...!' However, the direction from which the arrows came was dark due to the dense forest, making it impossible to pinpoint their exact location.
It was also out of reach of the black flames.
"Reload."
Simon nocked an arrow.
The three skeleton archers connected to his thoughts also nocked arrows simultaneously and aimed at Mei Lin. 'Your weakness is long-range physical attacks.
Plus, attacks from four directions.' The identity of summoning studies was, without a doubt, numbers.
Simon, utilizing that advantage to the fullest, cornered Mei Lin in return.
"Don't underestimate me. I'm not the only one thinking!" She bit her lip tightly and unfolded a new magic circle.
Bang! Two of the four arrows grazed past her, causing her gauge to drop significantly again.
Simon and the skeleton archers began to reload.
With her back against a tree, she knelt on one knee and placed her hand on the ground. <Pitch-Black Elemental Magic: Black Ice - Wall of Ice> Rumble! An ice barrier covering three directions unfolded.
The next arrows all collided with the barrier and bounced off.
Seeing this, Simon let out a relieved expression as he lowered his bow. 'This is it.'
In truth, Simon had no intention of knocking her out.
Since she had taken a defensive stance, he could simply raise his pitch-black energy and escape.
Just as Simon was about to turn around smoothly, "Simon!!" Mei Lin's shout came from behind him.
"Are you really going to end it like this? Are we going to finish our first match so boringly?!"
"......"
Simon turned back again.
"Let's fight properly!" Whoosh! Finally, the Dark Flare was complete.
The ice wall quickly melted in the heat. 'I don't know why you're doing this.' Simon gripped his bow again. 'If you're going that far, I can't back down either.'
As the ice completely melted, she began to run.
Activating her internal pitch-black energy to the extreme, she gripped the Dark Flare with both hands.
A combination of speed and attack that didn't even consider defense.
Simon aimed his bow again, concentrating pitch-black energy in his legs.
The skeleton archers also prepared to snipe. 'With my skill, precise predictive shooting is still out of reach.
I'll finish it with close-range shooting when she gets closer.'
The distance between the two was shrinking rapidly.
It was a tense situation.
Just as Simon was about to release the arrow... '......
Huh?' He saw cracks forming in the ground beside Mei Lin. [Boy! It's him!] The urgent voice of Pier echoed in his mind. [It's Big Kroom!] Is that Big Kroom? Simon's eyes widened in shock.
The cracks in the ground were approaching her at an incredible speed.
At this rate, they would collide head-on.
"Ugh!" Simon threw the bow he was aiming.
Then, gathering all the pitch-black energy in his legs, he lowered his stance.
With the maximum output of pitch-black energy, he charged toward her.
"What? Why is he suddenly doing that?" Mei Lin's pupils shook.
Charging like that in front of the Dark Flare was a suicidal act.
She could activate the Dark Flare by extending her arm, but she hesitated.
That desperate expression looked nothing like that of an attacker trying to harm her.
Her arm momentarily hesitated and stopped.
And finally, the question arose. 'Why am I... fighting Simon?' Crack! Seizing the moment of hesitation, Simon struck her on the back of the neck, knocking her out.
Without delay, he grabbed her and performed a powerful backflip.
Boom! Simon felt as if the ground was flipping over.
The earth trembled and exploded as a massive something emerged from the cracks. 'What the...!' It was the arm of a gigantic monster wrapped in green biological bandages.
Its grasp clutched at the empty air, and Simon and Mei Lin, entangled together, barely managed to evade it.
"Ugh!" In his reckless leap, Simon couldn't prepare for a landing.
He tightly embraced her and slammed his back against the ground.
Bang! With a sound, Simon's body sprang up like a spring, and she rolled on the ground.
"Mei Lin!" The unconscious Mei Lin was being pushed toward the cliff.
The massive arm was busily sweeping the surroundings as if searching for something, then it pressed its palm against the ground.
"......!" Simon froze.
From the opposite cliff, the face of the gigantic monster emerged. 'That is...!' The leader of the former giant army, Big Kroom.
Big Kroom looked around with a dazed expression, then turned his back as if he couldn't find what he wanted. [Boy! He's escaping!]
"But...!" The unconscious Mei Lin was rolling toward the sloped ground.
That side was a cliff.
Alternating his gaze between Big Kroom and Mei Lin, Simon gritted his teeth and ran toward Mei Lin. 'Again, pitch-black energy!' Simon sprinted with all his might.
Just as Mei Lin, who was being swept down by the slope, was about to fall off the cliff, he grabbed her wrist at the last moment.
Covered in mud, Simon gasped for breath and looked up.
Boom! Boom! Boom! A giant so enormous that it left him speechless was walking across the opposite cliff.
As if searching for something, its body began to shrink slowly.
Eventually, it became smaller than a tree and disappeared from sight.
'Huff.' Simon pulled up the unconscious Mei Lin.
Thanks to her protective suit, she didn't seem to be injured.
Her barrier gauge was precariously low, barely a single digit left. 'What is this?' However, an unfamiliar white feather was stuck in her nape.
As Simon reached out to examine it closely, the feather scattered into the air and vanished.
Pitter-patter.
Pitter-patter. 'Ah.' Simon looked up.
Raindrops began to fall from the overcast sky, one or two at first, then quickly turned into a downpour. 'I need to find a place to rest first.' He could listen to the details later.
Simon lifted the unconscious Mei Lin and stood up.