Chapter 50: Axe of Slaughter [2]

"10 million credits. If you give me 1 million credits, I’ll take you with me. Well, even 5 million is okay. I don’t get much from it, as I have to give some money to those fishermen. Look over there."

He then pointed to one side of were students were few gathering, those students didn’t join Josphe and his group who went to hunt Ice-Yeti."

"Don’t you want to join them? One of those guys has boat on his stroge device, with that boat you can still make it to the the world government Island base that is few hours away here and from there we can use teleportation gate to teleport back to Nova City."

I responded calmly to the guy who spoke like that

"You. What’s your name?"

"Huh? Name? Capone Lucas. Oh, are you asking because that instructor lady told you to introduce yourself?"

Capone Lucas.

"Are you by any chance from the ’Family’?"

When I asked nonchalantly, he widened his eyes in surprise and then patted my back.

"What’s this? I didn’t know you’re ’one of us’? Then we can understand each other. That’s right, I’m part of the ’Capone Family’ under Riina. This might work out better than I thought, huh?"

Under Riina family? Who would have thought that guy I thought as some delinquent would be part of mafia family.

As I was thinking that, he put his hand around my shoulder and said, "If you’re one of us, it’s better to please me, right? Who knows, I might even make a spot for you? Kukhahaha!!"

I casually shook off his arm and moved my steps to where the other students were gathering.

"Oh, are you also want to join?"

As I approached, the guy with platinum blonde hair and purple eyes was supervising the others spoke to me.

"I’m Lorenzo."

I said as I shook a hands with him or her?

"I’m Alex Valor."

Valor? Could he be...?

"Are you...."

"Yes, I’m younger brother of the student council president, Elise Valor."

Indeed, there was resembles.

If there was one word to describe his appearance, it would be... beautiful.

’... Is that a guy?’

I stared at Alex Valor for a few seconds longer than necessary.

Platinum-blond hair, purple eyes, smooth skin, and facial features so delicate that even some of the girls in the class might have felt jealous.

If someone told me he was a princess from a fairy tale, I might actually have believed them.

Unfortunately, he was a guy.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this world?

I’d lived two lives, and I’d never encountered a man this beautiful in either of them.

It was almost offensive.

I wasn’t particularly ugly myself. In fact, with my appearance, background, and the \[Rogue Charmer\] trait, I had more than enough advantages to attract attention.

But this guy?

He was operating in an entirely different category.

At this moment I thanked [Perfectionist] trait of mine.

"Is something wrong, Lorenzo?"

Alex tilted his head slightly.

That innocent gesture somehow made him look even prettier.

I resisted the urge to rub my eyes.

"No. Nothing at all."

I shook his hand and immediately withdrew mine.

It’s creepy.

I decided to put the matter aside before I began questioning my own understanding of human beauty.

More importantly, I needed to understand what these students were planning.

I glanced at the group gathered around Alex.

There were approximately a dozen students, most of whom looked considerably less confident than Joseph Goldberg and his group. A few were checking their smartwatches, while others were discussing possible escape routes.

Some were clearly frightened.

That was understandable.

We had been transported to Eastern Antarctica, an area infested with monsters, and our homeroom professor had cheerfully abandoned us here.

If that wasn’t enough to make someone nervous, I didn’t know what was.

"So, Lorenzo," Alex said, bringing me back to the conversation. "Are you planning to join us?"

"That depends. What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Survive, obviously."

He smiled as if the answer were self-evident.

"We don’t have to kill any monsters to complete today’s assignment. Professor Hayasaka explicitly said that returning to the classroom before four o’clock would be enough."

"That’s true."

"Then there’s no reason to take unnecessary risks. Joseph and the others have already headed towards the central region to hunt Ice-born Yetis. They’re strong enough to attempt it, but the rest of us don’t necessarily have to follow their example."

Alex gestured towards the students behind him.

"We’re planning to reach the World Government’s artificial island base instead. One of the students has a boat stored in his storage device, so we should be able to cross the sea and reach the island."

I raised an eyebrow.

"So you’re planning to swim through the freezing ocean while relying on a boat?"

"Not exactly. The boat will carry us most of the way."

"And what happens if something attacks us from beneath the water?"

"We’ll deal with that if it happens."

Wonderful.

A flawless plan.

What could possibly go wrong with crossing monster-infested waters in a boat with a dozen inexperienced Awakeners?

I almost wanted to applaud.

Still, I couldn’t deny that their plan had some merit.

The World Government maintained a heavily fortified base on an artificial island near Antarctica. A teleportation gate connected the base to Nova City, allowing personnel and authorized Awakeners to travel between the two locations.

If they could reach that island, returning to the academy would be relatively simple.

The problem was getting there.

The seawater was cold enough to kill an ordinary human in a matter of minutes. Even Awakeners weren’t immune to the effects of extreme temperatures, particularly those whose ranks were too low to reinforce their bodies sufficiently.

And the sea was home to creatures that could make Ice-born Yetis seem harmless by comparison.

There was a reason the World Government maintained a fortified base instead of allowing people to travel freely across the surrounding waters.

Still, I wasn’t particularly interested in lecturing them.

If they wanted to risk their lives, that was their decision.

As for me?

I was going to hunt down some Ice- Yeti.