Chapter 89: The Drunkards Trap-5.

What was the second event?

In the game, it wasn’t anything big. More like a filler.

It was meant to show off how strong the main cast was—and to make the game feel more real, by showing how differently students reacted when things got dangerous.

But still, it had meaning.

In that event, a pure demon—not a half-blood or cursed human, but a real, full-fledged demon—had quietly interfered.

He was called The Drunkard.

And what he did was simple. He took control of the strongest monster among the test creatures.

The Gargoyle.

Using his power, he pushed it into a wild frenzy. The creature went berserk and started attacking everything.

But even then, in the original version of events, Raymond had taken it down with only a little trouble. He’d won, and the event ended there.

That was how it was supposed to go.

But now...

Everything was different.

From the edge of the forest, dozens of monsters were slowly stepping out—eyes clouded and strange, their movements jerky and unnatural.

It was like they weren’t even aware of what they were doing.

"Sh-Shit... that’s too many," one boy muttered, stumbling back, eyes wide.

He wasn’t the only one. Some were backing away. Some had already dropped their weapons. One student just sat on the ground, hugging his knees.

"We’re gonna die!" another student wailed, tears running down his face.

Samuel scoffed. "Seriously? And these people want to become warriors? Look at them. Shaking like leaves and crying like children."

Azhriel didn’t even glance at the students. His eyes were locked on the monsters slowly surrounding them, step by step.

"It’s normal," he said quietly. "That’s just human nature. When people see death staring at them, their courage fades. They forget how to fight."

Samuel went quiet.

The situation was getting worse by the second.

Azhriel clenched his fists once.

’The game’s events have already changed. No point waiting around now...’

He took a step forward.

’Might as well jump in.’

Raymond stepped forward too, calm but alert, his eyes sharp. The rest of the main group followed behind him—Elizabeth, Arianne, Chloe, Kevin, and the others—all tense but holding their ground.

Yet strangely, the monsters didn’t move.

Dozens—maybe even hundreds—stood just beyond the tree line, growling lowly, twitching, some drooling. But none of them attacked.

They just... waited.

It was eerie and really unnatural.

And in that moment of stillness, a small breath of relief passed through the students. A moment to think.

To plan.

Elizabeth took a look at her smartband, tapping quickly before shaking her head.

"The contact with the academy is cut. No calls, no messages—it’s like we’re completely blocked out. I think the barrier’s interfering."

Azhriel didn’t speak aloud, but in his mind, he already understood the deeper truth.

’It’s not just signal jamming... even the space around us is sealed. Even if the academy activates the teleportation circle from their end, it won’t reach us. We’re trapped.’

His eyes moved to the sky.

Up there—barely visible through the thin veil of crimson mist—stood three strange pillars, glowing faintly with dark red runes. They were far, but their presence felt suffocating.

’Those are the anchors. They’re stopping all external magic from entering... including any rescue.’

However, just in that moment.

Boom!

A loud shockwave rippled through the air.

And from the shadows... something finally moved.

Hisss...

The sound slithered across the field like a whisper of death.

From the thick mist near the treeline, a giant serpent emerged, its obsidian scales glistening faintly under the blood-tinted sky. Its body coiled and uncoiled with slow, terrifying grace, each movement stirring the dust and leaves in wide gusts. The ground beneath trembled with every shift of its massive form.

And the moment its full body came into view—everyone felt it.

The pressure.

It was heavy. Like something sitting on their chest, pressing harder with every breath. Even the stronger students instinctively took a step back, their skin crawling from the sheer aura of the beast.

An [Advanced-] rank monster.

It was far beyond anything they were meant to face in this test.

Clang.

A sword slipped from someone’s trembling hands and hit the ground with a hollow thud.

"I... I don’t want to die..." The boy who dropped it fell to his knees, his face pale, tears streaming silently. He stared at the snake as if death itself had taken form before him.

And he wasn’t the only one.

More students—those less trained, less mentally prepared—began crying.

Some tried to flee, only to find the barrier wouldn’t let them out. A few froze in place, weapons limp in their hands, lips trembling, eyes wide with pure fear.

The image of students breaking, of hopelessness blooming across young faces—

It was everything he wanted to see.

"Hehe... yesss..."

A slurred, chilling voice echoed in a faraway space. It didn’t come from the battlefield—but from a hidden place, one connected to the scene by a crystal globe glowing faintly with dark energy.

Inside that swirling crystal, the battlefield was reflected clearly.

And behind it—a man sat atop the very same serpent, chuckling like a madman.

His hair was a mess, greasy and stuck to his skin.

His robe was loose and stained, and in one hand he held a long bottle, half empty. His lips curled in a lazy grin, eyes bloodshot and unfocused—yet somehow still gleaming with twisted delight.

The Drunkard.

Not a demonic human, but a pure demon in a man’s skin. A creature who once wandered the edges of hell and laughed at the cries of dying cities.

And now—he was here, watching the fear he’d planted blossom beautifully.

"Ahhh~ That’s the face... yes... that’s the look they should have... Fear. Despair. Hopelessness..." He took a swig from the bottle, some of the liquor spilling down his chin.

"Just seeing those expressions... Hah, it makes me so high."

He leaned back, the serpent beneath him hissing softly in response. Its cloudy eyes didn’t shine with malice, but with emptiness.

It was being controlled—completely. Not by collar or chain, but through pure domination of its soul.

"Such a shame I can’t be there myself," the Drunkard muttered, smirking. "But ah well. It’s just the beginning anyway. Right, Snaky?"

The serpent hissed once more, low and deep, almost like a growl.

The Drunkard grinned wider, raising his bottle again.

"To terror! To ruin! And to the screams of the next generation!"

And with that, the serpent on the field began to move.

*****

Azhriel’s thoughts raced like lightning. The moment the crimson sky fell and the monsters emerged from the shadows, the plot had changed.

’Alright, let’s go step by step,’ he told himself, keeping his expression calm even as his mind spun at full speed.

’We’re trapped inside a barrier. No help is coming from the outside—not on the time, we have.’

He scanned the field quickly, eyes sharp.

’There are at least a hundred monsters on the island. Maybe more. We’re just over sixty students. That ratio is horrible, but not impossible... if the main cast works together.’

He took a slow breath, his fingers tightening slightly around the hilt of his weapon.

’The real problem is that giant snake. It’s at least Advanced rank. There’s no way Raymond, Samuel, or even Arianne can take it on alone. Two ranks of difference—that’s not something even pure skill can cover.’

But then, his gaze slid toward Caelyn.

She was quiet, her posture lazy as always—but for the first time since arriving at the academy, her eyes weren’t sleepy or uninterested.

They were locked onto the serpent, sharp and calculating.

’If I can count on her... maybe, just maybe, this plan can work.’

Azhriel moved through the group slowly but surely, stepping toward the others—toward the core students.

He wasn’t someone who usually took charge. He trained alone, fought alone. Not because he disliked them, but because it was easier that way.

Cleaner and much more efficient.

Still, he knew when the moment demanded leadership. And this—this was that moment.

He stopped beside them, eyes still fixed on the serpent.

"I have a plan," he said calmly.

The others turned to him.

It was rare for Azhriel to speak first. Even rarer for him to make suggestions in front of the group. So when he did, everyone instinctively paid attention.

Raymond, standing at the center, gave him a quick nod. "Go ahead."

Chloe raised an eyebrow, then smirked slightly. "Well, it’s not like we’ve got anything better. Let’s hear it, Azhriel."

He nodded.

"We are sperating." He said.

Everyone for a moment, thinked like they had heard wrong.

"What?"