OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 415: Come Kill Your Professor VI

As the students converged on Emir's position, he moved up the building almost like a drill, breaking through walls while dodging their shots and returning fire with precision.

Those trailing behind watched in awe as he took down three students in quick succession without even glancing their way, their bodies dropping as the augmented suits took hold of them.

But the remaining students didn't falter.

They pressed forward, using their numbers to overwhelm him.

Surely, even Emir, who was undeniably and overwhelmingly skilled, couldn't handle all of them at once... Right?

No-he could. And he did so with almost frightening ease.

As the students reached the makeshift stairwell Emir had created, they could hear his footsteps above, accompanied by staccato bursts of gunfire.

It was always a double tap followed by a quick lone shot.

They knew exactly what he was doing, it was one of the drills they were taught.

Two shots at the body and one at the head.

A sure-fire way to end hunters without an Aether Core.

"We'll go this way."

"We'll go through the stairs."

"We'll go from the outside."

Once halfway through the building, the team leaders signaled for their cohorts to spread out, attempting to reach the roof through different routes.

That decision sealed their defeat.

If the total remaining students' status was any indication, those on the roof had already been taken out.

Splitting up now would only make it easier for him to pick them off one by one.

Those who burst through the roof's doors were met with a hail of bullets, while those who tried to sneak around were shot once in the head, 'eliminated' before they even saw him.

Emir predicted their every move by sound alone, countering their every attempt at an ambush.

The students fell, and it wasn't a slow process.

Their professor was a monster in human skin.

It was as if the stat was a countdown; every passing second, another student would 'die.'

Some even thought the system was glitched, but they 'died' before that thought could go anywhere.

They could see him through walls, but he was too fast for them. They'd spot him one moment only to lose track of him the next.

It was as if their wallhack was a disadvantage, something that he was somehow using against them.

Emir was simply terrifying.

The 'unnamed' could only watch in absolute panic as one by one, their classmates fell.

And it wasn't long before only one remained.

She was behind him, desperately firing one shot after another, but Emir dodged them with ease, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat.

Before she could react, he disarmed her and brought her to the ground.

The last thing she saw before 'death' was a knife heading towards her and her professor's face, showing a victorious smile.

"Not too bad."

Soon after, the simulation ended, and the augmented suits released their hold, the room returning to clear white as it completely reset, which was quite unlike before when only the buildings had reformed.

This technology was truly a marvel.

Emir, who usually chalked it up to Magitek, couldn't help but feel a twinge of curiosity. And as always, once something piqued his interest, he wasted no time in quelling that curiosity.

[Ly, if you're not too busy, explain Magitek to me.]

[...I'm never too busy for you.]

[And I appreciate that.]

As always, they were straight to the point, and Lyra didn't waste time before beginning her explanation.

[I know... So, it's mostly runes that pull the weight of rooms like this. They expand them, kind of like how Ragnar does it, only on a much larger scale. While illusions are involved, the buildings themselves aren't fake-how else could you climb them? The runes create structures that fit the outline of the illusion, avoiding the creation of anything the suit can't handle, whether it's impact or movement...]

While Emir and Lyra were off in their own slowed world, with her going on and on about the tech's intricacies to him, the students looked around, defeated.

Elijah's heart still pounded in his chest, the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

{WIN: Emir. Emir...} {LOSE: Students. Students...}

{Leader Board:}

{Rank 1. Elijah Oliver:

Time: 1:54. Skill: E+-> C-. Instinct: E+-> D+. Intellect: D+-> B+.}

{Rank 2. Sofia Alexander:

Time: 1:52. Skill: B+. Instinct: D+-> C+. Intellect: C+ -> B+.}

{Rank 3. Max Blackwood:

Time: 1:54. Skill: E+-> D+. Instinct: E+-> D. Intellect: E+ -> D.}

{Rank 4. Aria Goldleaf:

Time: 2:02. Skill: E+ -> D+. Instinct: E+ -> D+. Intellect: E+->D+.}

{Rank 5. Xavier Jr:

Time: 1:48. Skill: E+-> C+. Instinct: E+-> C+. Intellect: D+-> C-.}

{Rank 6. Arthur:

Time: 1:41. Skill: E+-> D-. Instinct: E+-> D. Intellect: E+ -> E.}

{Rank 7. Ava Nguyen:

Time: 2:02. Skill: E+ -> D+. Instinct: E+ -> D+. Intellect: E+ -> D-.}

{Rank 8.....}

{Rank 9.....}

{Rank 77. Quinn Mercer:

Time: 1:59. Skill: E+-> D+. Instinct: E+-> C-. Intellect: D+-> D.}

Like the rest of the students, Elijah looked at the leaderboard, feeling frustration on a level

never felt before.

He wasn't the only one feeling that way, as most of the students' determination was squashed into nothing, leaving only a bitter feeling.

They had fought harder and planned better, but still, it wasn't enough, not even close.

"...Dammit."

He turned his gaze, wanting to see the reactions of his fellow students, and he noticed a shift

in their demeanor.

It wasn't random, it happened each time their eyes met.

Their frustration was snuffed out, replaced by a burning feeling of desire. Of a need to prove

themselves.

They saw how their leaders did, and how high their grades became on the leaderboard...

Any outsider seeing it could easily say that they had carried them, minimizing their

contribution.

No, they wouldn't stand for that.

Elite or not, they all had one thing in mind.

'This is just the beginning.'

...

They went again and again, each round presenting a new challenge, a new opportunity.

The students began to recognize patterns in their movements, finding ways to improve and

adapt.

By the end of the lesson, they were exhausted, mentally more than physically, but even so, their desire didn't wane.

Despite their miserable losses, they weren't as disheartened as one might expect, especially considering the buffs they had been given.

Their abilities had been heightened to a degree they could hardly have imagined at the start. They saw through walls, had enhanced reflexes, increased strength, faster movement, enhanced aim, improved HUD, complete night vision, bullet resistance, extra lives, and even

auto-aim assist.

Indeed, by the final round, they didn't even need to aim directly for their bullets to hit Emir-

they just had to press the trigger.

Yet, they still lost. Meanwhile, Emir's debuffs only worsened with each round.

His movement speed became half as fast, and less fluid while his shots grew increasingly

inaccurate.

Disorientation, limited mobility, increased recoil, slower reload times, blurred vision, restricted hearing, periodic weapon jams, periodic loss of sight, and general slower

movement-he faced it all.

And yet again... they had lost.

{WIN: Emir X10.} {LOSE: Students X10.}

{Leader Board:}

{Rank 1. Elijah Oliver:

Time: 9:12. Skill: C--> B-. Instinct: D+-> B+. Intellect: B+.}

{Rank 2. Sofia Alexander:

Time: 11:45. Skill: B+. Instinct: C+-> B+. Intellect: B+.}

{Rank 3. Max Blackwood:

Time: 6:34. Skill: D+-> C+. Instinct: D -> C-. Intellect: D.}

{Rank 4. Aria Goldleaf:

Time: 11:42. Skill: D+. Instinct: D+->C+. Intellect: D+ -> C+.}

{Rank 5. Xavier Jr:

Time: 12:35. Skill: C+-> B+. Instinct: C+-> C+. Intellect: -> C-.}

{Rank 6. Arthur:

Time: 5:11. Skill: D-. Instinct: D. Intellect: E.}

{Rank 7. Ava Nguyen:

Time: 11:06. Skill: D+. Instinct: D+. Intellect: E+ -> D+.}

{Rank 8.....}

{Rank 9.....} {Rank 77. Quinn Mercer:

Time: 8:14. Skill: D+. Instinct: C-. Intellect: D--> C.}

Elijah looked at the leaderboard once more, feeling complete respect.

Desire, frustration, and whatever else he felt during the last eight rounds was gone,

dissipated.

Now he just felt respect.

They had given it their all, and used every advantage to the fullest, but Emir had still come

out on top.

Around him, most of the other students shared the same sentiment.

Their expressions, a mix of exhaustion and awe, reflected their feelings.

They did their best, at least they could be proud of that...

"You fought well."

Emir's voice suddenly broke the silence that had settled in the room over the past minute or

so.

'What?'

Every student, without exception, snapped their heads toward him, their minds struggling to

process what they had just heard.

Those simple words-coming from him-were more surprising than anything they had ever experienced in their entire lives.

He... Emir, the very man who had effortlessly outclassed them, had complimented them.

Their professor never lied-at least not when it came to matters like this.

So it wasn't just empty praise; he genuinely meant it. Though some students had eventually caught on to a subtle compliment they missed not so

long ago, they recognized this as something entirely different.

They could see a rare hint of pride on his face, and his next words didn't tear them down and

bash them in as usual. Instead, he continued with the extremely rare precedent he had set:

"Today, my opinion changed about many of you. It's good to know that my teachings have gone somewhere... Now, remember, in real combat, your survival skills, instincts, and intellect will keep you alive. Learn from your failure today, adapt, and improve as all hunters do. Who knows, one day you might reach my level."

With those words marking the end of his lesson, he turned around and left the classroom

under the confused gazes of his students, utterly flabbergasted at what they heard.

'Did someone kidnap Emir and replace him with a doppelganger?'

No. The thought briefly crossed their minds, but they quickly dismissed it.

Such an idea was laughable, they couldn't even imagine it happening. Their professor simply recognized their efforts and decided to praise them... for once.

As they calmed down and reflected on his actions, they began to realize that, in a strange way, this did match his MO.

Emir was direct, whether he was bashing them or complimenting them. He just happened to

have a few sadistic tendencies and enjoyed playing with his students' emotions from time to

time.

Actually, now the more they thought about it, the more they wondered...

'Does he hate us?'

Elijah knew the answer: no, Emir didn't hate them.

Well, not all of them-he certainly hated Arthur quite a bit. But the rest?

He simply didn't care enough about them for him to have any emotions relating to them,

whether hate or otherwise.

Would one hate an ant he saw walking across a broken pavement?

In any case, unlike most of his classmates, Elijah had received a few compliments from him

here and there, so he wasn't as shocked, regaining his composure relatively quickly. He then started reflecting on the simulation, about how he and the class still had a long, long

way to go.

It wasn't that defeating a man who could catch a bullet with his teeth and spit it out was

impossible; they were just too unskilled to make it happen.

If they could achieve close-to-perfect movements, like he did, victory would be within reach,

there was no denying that.

Emir would have to be as skilled as a god for it to be otherwise.

'Heh... One day he just might be.'

With those ten rounds, they got a glimpse of what it took to be truly Elite.

That was Elijah's goal, like most of the students present.

To become 'someone of importance' on Earth, a Celestial capable of matching and perhaps

even surpassing the caliber their professor had shown.

'One day, one day...'