Chapter 262: Unnamed


    ?


    ***


    "Ayaaah.... this dumbass, what the hell is he doing?!"


    Morgiana voiced out as she and Ragnar face-palmed in unison.


    Only Emir showed a smile at Elijah''s actions.


    "Bro, you should''ve taught him better than to lose control like that."


    bbergasted, Emir eyed his brother with a frown.


    "Ha? I''ve done all I could... And besides, I was swamped, you know."


    Then, all of a sudden, thementators cut into their conversation as was usual for the past few minutes:


    "It seems as if an unnamed yer joined the fray! How do you think she''ll fare with this group?"


    Their loud voices boomed through the private watch room...


    "Well, she survived long enough unlike the rest, so we can definitely-"


    And Emir instantly grew interested as his gaze returned to the holoscreen.


    "Yeah, yeah, let''s see how she''ll perform against the elite!"


    ''Unnamed, huh...''


    ***


    "LET ME GO, YOU BASTARDS!"


    Held back by Sofia and Aria, Max kept struggling to set himself free as his hands iled around, hitting both of the girls repeatedly.


    "I''ll kill you; I swear I''ll kill you..."


    Blood loss made Max slightly dizzy, yet his threats never stopped.


    ''Damn, this guy is seething.''


    Elijah remained standing just out of the hound dog''s reach, almost teasing him.


    "You shouldn''t have done that, you know..."


    Avamented as she stepped closer.


    Sofia nodded and tightened her grip around Max''s shoulders, holding him down to the ground.


    "We''re stuck, and now we''ve got baggage."


    Truuumpet!


    The ground shook once again as mammoths from the east kept getting closer to them.


    But as Elijah looked down from the beast, he noticed a woman''s silhouette approaching. ''Another one?''


    After a few more steps, her figure appeared more clearly.


    She was a girl with a pale skinplexion, her hair, a rich ck cascaded in smooth strands, styled in a short, practical bob.


    Her ck eyes held an intense gaze, framed by subtly arched eyebrows.


    "What are you guys doing? Run away already!"


    Elijah silently eyed her for a moment, then looked back at Ava.


    "He''s calmed down now, so can you heal him already?"


    "Humph!"


    She begrudgingly followed hismand and stepped closer to Max while oozing annoyance.


    He clicked his tongue at that sight, absolutely despising how bratty they were, and stepped closer to the new girl, not caring how they''d deal with Max.


    "Name?"


    "Q-Quinn... Mercer."


    Elijah flinched, his blue eyes holding subtle killing intent-something that Quinn didn''t fail to pick up on.


    ''Mercer... she''s that bastard''s daughter, huh.''


    "Don''t worry, I don''t care for your father."


    Quinn''s face showed relief as she stuttered.


    "T-Thank you."


    "Anyways you in SS?"


    "Yeah, I''ll be in your ss."


    "I see..."


    Elijah nodded his head and gestured for her to follow him, epting her into the group.


    He truly didn''t care for her dad; his life only improved because of him, so he was actually thankful instead.


    The reason he allowed her in wasn''t because of that, however.


    At first nce, she looked ordinary, but she was nothing but.


    Quinn''s appearance juxtaposed flesh and machine.


    Metallic traces subtly traced her temples and neck, hinting at the cybeic beneath.


    Her gaze concealed pain, while her synthetic limbs blended seamlessly into natural flesh, engineered to resemble her original form.


    Her movements were precise yet tinged with a hint of the mechanical.


    That was an obvious sign of major cybeic enhancements.


    But most, if not all of the girls her age would never forsake human pleasure for strength.


    This meant that whatever happened to her changed how she viewed the world entirely.


    A mindset that he really needed right now since two of his teammates were brats, another was


    a cold girl who barely spoke, and thest was a young master with a short temper.


    And speaking of, the cold child finally let Max go after he promised her that he would calm


    down.


    How did she achieve what seemed to be so impossible?


    Well, that guy was crushing hard on her.


    A cute little puppy love that did not match him at all.


    Max disguised it as preserving the noble lineage and whatnot but he didn''t care much for that.


    It was twisted purity.


    The one receiving those feelings ignored it entirely, however.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Whether it was on purpose or not remained to be seen.


    "We''re done; let''s move!"


    With Sofia and Elijah in the lead, the group pushed forward.


    The fire was close, and the mammoths were closer.


    "We move through them!"


    Everyone flinched at Elijah''s demand, but as they saw Sofia''s nod, no oneined.


    Their movements became increasingly frantic as they headed directly towards the nearest


    mammoth.


    Once they got close to it, they all looked up, watching as its top left foot flew high in the air, leaving behind a trail of tree crumbs in its wake.


    "NOW!"


    Like rain, wood fell all around them, showering their bodies with splinters.


    "COVER YOUR HEADS!"


    Thankfully, the team followed Elijah''s roar and used their augmented suits to protect them.


    BOOM!


    They all couldn''t help but look up once again, their eyes widening in horror as they witnessed a mammoth''s foot descend upon a nearby set of trees, their massive trunks splintering like matchwood under the creature''s weight.


    The sheer power disyed and the scale of the mammoths sent a chill down their spines,


    causing Ava to fall on her bottom.


    "H-How are we supposed to survive?"


    Aria, her chest heaving with exertion, grabbed Ava''s arm, pulling her back into the group.


    "We have to keep moving!"


    Her shout was barely heard over the cacophony of destruction and the ground shook violently


    as another mammoth thundered past, one of its back legs blocking the way forward.


    ''Where? Where?!''


    Elijah scanned the surroundings, his mind racing for a solution.


    They were surrounded in all directions by mammoths that gave them no way out.


    And adding to the already bad news, a fire reaching the sky was a minute away from reaching


    them.


    He thought about going through one of their legs again, but it appeared obvious that the mammoths intended to keep them in as they no longer moved, and simply stood still. Now... the students were effectively trapped within a ring of titans.


    Insignificance.


    Slight indifference.


    Fear.


    Despair.


    Rage.


    eptance. Absolute calm.


    Each one of the seven held a certain emotion.


    The forest that once felt like a prison was now rendered trivial.


    And at that moment, everything felt...


    Hopeless.


    They all shared that one feeling.


    The mammoths, their size and power unmatched, stood tall, treating the towering trees like


    mere des of grass as they mowed them down with their tusks, putting out the fire.


    The resulting rain of debris had them franticly run around, hiding beneath other trees for the big ''rains'' and sidestepping the small ones as they charged into safety. Elijah''s mind continued to race with thoughts of escape, but the sheer scale of the mammoths


    and the imprable wall they had formed seemed insurmountable. Like ants surrounded by humans with Myrmecophobia, they''ve managed to find a small clearing to hide from their fearful wrath and huddled together to take a breather, their eyes


    fixed on those that loomed.


    During that short minute of reprieve, Sofia calmly said:


    "How about everyone introduce their ss?"


    Max''s head snapped towards her.


    "Now?"


    "Yes, now."


    Elijah quickly agreed and then confidently added:


    "Elijah, Ex-MoonScribe, Reaper, 3rd ability." Sofia nodded.


    "Sofia, Ster Corp., Ranger, 3rd ability."


    "Aria, Gold Leaf, Spell Weaver, ninth ss."


    "Ava Nguyen, Hyperion Arms, Zenith Warden, 2nd ability."


    "Max, ckwood, Brawler, 3rd ability."


    "Quinn, I haven''t chosen my path yet, but I can use Aetheric des."


    Arthur was thest to speak, as he remained the most quiet, even rivaling Sofia:


    "A-Arthur... Arcanist, 12th ss."


    ''Ha?''


    Elijah immediately caught on to his lie, or rather, it appeared not as a lie but as Arthur''s


    ''truth.''


    He truly believed that he wasn''t eleventh-ss.


    ''He''s dumber than I expected...''


    "Alright everyone-"


    Truuumpet!


    They ignored the mammoth''s interrupting rumble and focused on Elijah''s words.


    "After listening to everyone''s abilities, I can say with certainty that..."


    Truuumpet!


    "We''re fucked."


    Truuumpet!


    "We''ve got no chance to escape, none."


    Max, uncharacteristically, didn''t fan the mes but instead asked a simple question:


    "And what do you think, Sophie?"


    "...I''ve got an idea, but you wouldn''t like it."


    Her response was quiet, and her voice was somehow still calm despite the chaos surrounding


    them.


    "Just say it!"


    Aria demanded while Ava nodded her head repeatedly.


    Sofiaplied, and her right hand extended forward, then slowly...


    It was raised high until it pointed at the heavens.


    As if by instinct, they all looked up at the mammoth nearest to them, which was now almost


    towering directly above them.


    Then it clicked.


    With its immense size, it offered a possible escape route.


    And as if to confirm their thoughts, Sofia finally stated:


    "We climb..."