Chapter 77: Survival exercise 3.

"Seems fate wants us to be together." Luciano gave out a low chuckled as he came to Blake's side.

'You were meant to say no homo man.' Blake gave him a smile and said. "I don't believe in fate."

Esmeralda the rank 10 was the first to join them, followed by the aquamancer Layla the rank 12, and Ansgar the rank 9.

'I must say this team is really overpowered. We have a great attack and a nice defense, but not too sure about this Ansgar guy.' Blake noted their strengths and weaknesses.

They took their positions in the warp array before being warped to an unknown part of the forest.

[This is the elite class, so of course, it would be an overpowered team.] The system said as both of them began checking the new environment they found themselves in.

'Scan the area for life forms.' Blake had a stern expression because there was a chance that they had been warped in the midst of beasts. So, he had to be careful and not let his guard down.

[No life form detected within 100 meters of host.] The system replied.

'It is better I make the first move by mentioning the need for a leader, which will make them see me as the perfect one for the job…' Ansgar schemed. "I think it is best for us to chose a leader..." Ansgar said with a serious expression.

"And let me guess you want to be the leader? Pitiful…" Esmeralda snorted.

'This bitch!' He cursed at Esmeralda who had seen through his plan. He was not sure if his plan was too obvious or if it was just Esmeralda, but just a few words couldn't just stop his agenda.

If a team managed to win the survival exercise, most of the praises and more points will go to the leader. And since rank 1 and rank 2 were in the same team, Ansgar felt they had a higher chance of winning the exercise.

Even if the extra points and praises, he could still use his position as the leader to grab extra shares of the spoils when they killed beasts or so he thought.

"What made you think I want to be the leader?" Ansgar retorted.

"Does that mean you should be exempted?" Esmeralda said with a provocative smile.

"Say what you want to, but I think it is better a leader is elected now because it will go a long way in helping us in being coordinated and winning the survival exercise." Ansgar said in an attempt to dodge the question.

'Why did I have a feeling this would happen?' Blake couldn't help but facepalm.

[It is clear this red-haired prick named Ansgar is up to no good, but I must say he must be as naïve as a kid to think that the others don't have brains to see through his flimsy plan.] The system chuckled at Ansgar's stupidity.

'This was what I was talking about. These numbskulls are nothing but dead weight, like why the f*ck will you be screaming in the forest? Are they trying to get us killed by announcing our arrival?' Blake smacked his face when he saw them bickering.

Just like Blake, Luciano and Layla seemed indifferent about the whole thing. They had no plans of joining the argument so they decided to just see how everything goes.

"What makes you think you are the best candidate for being the leader when we have the rank 1 and 2 in the team?" Esmeralda sneered at Ansgar's futile efforts.

"Not interested in being the team's leader ." Luciano said in a calm and indifferent tone.

"Same here, it's too much hard work." Layla said with a lazy tone but got glares in return from both Esmeralda and Ansgar that said 'she had no say in the matter'.

'I expected something like this to happen. I don't want to be the leader, but neither do I want a princess who I doubt had ever gone out of the city walls or a red-haired fool who can only boast of his sheer stupidity.' Blake was seriously thinking of what to do, he had expected Luciano's indifference because that was his nature to practically everything, but had hoped he would have sensible teammates.

[A fraxen has entered my range of perception and is closing in fast.] The system's sudden notification put him under alert and into further thought.

"You see his silence is can be taken as him rejecting the post, which means I am next in line for the leadership position." Blake had a decision he still had to take and coupled with the system's alarm, He had wasted so much time, causing Ansgar to use it in his favor.

"Shut up!" Blake said while looking around their environment.

[The fraxen is circling you guys preventing you from locking on its presence and waiting for when you let your guards down.] The system warned Blake about the fraxen hunting traits.

"How dare you tell me to shut up? I am the scion of the Ulrik family and you are nothing but a lowly commoner!" Not knowing about the impending danger, Ansgar thought Blake's words were an insult so he lashed out at him.

'I never expected him to accept, but this gives me a good reason to subdue him and become the leader since Luciano isn't interested.' Ansgar thought as he feigned his anger.

"Today I will show you that the only reason you are still the rank 1 is that you were left there not because you merit it!" Ansgar said as he conjured fireballs and made the wind around him to churn faster.

'What a pain in the ass.' Blake ignored Ansgar's ranting and tried to predict the fraxen movement. 'Since it's waiting for us to drop our guards, it should be here!' Blake activated lightning reinforcement and dashed at Ansgar at a blinding speed.

Blake spawned behind him and gave him a spinning back kick that sent him flying out of the way.

Immediately he was kicked out of the way, the fraxen came dashing through the spot with its maw wide open.

The fraxen was an orange-haired creature with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears that gave it uncanny hearing perceptions. It had a slightly upturned snout, a long bushy tail, and a pair of high-speed wings. Due to its streamlined features, fraxens were known for their high speeds and maneuvering ability, but they lacked a lot of defense.

Seeing it has failed hit his target, the fraxen quickly scanned the area and knew that the other humans were ready for it, so it decided to go for the shocked Ansgar in an attempt to make a quick kill and leave before it got encircled.

'That's a f*cking mutated fox!' Could help but think as he went into position to intercept the fraxen.

'Shit how can it be that fast?!' Blake had tried to intercept the beast but it was just too fast for him.

Luckily for Ansgar, before the fraxen could grab him and take off, thick plant vines broke out of the ground and grabbed its limbs causing it to fall and graze its skin on the rough ground.

Having gone through worse, the fraxen managed to get on its feet and try to tear the vines, but it was more than enough time for Blake to seal the deal.

'Nice timing girl!' Blake couldn't help but praise Esmeralda's quick thinking. He instantly spawned to the fraxen's side before unsheathing Reaper and beheading the beast.

"How did you know a beast was here?" The whole team except for Luciano were surprised by what just happened.

"If you all were not announcing our location to all the beast while you were struggling for the leadership position, you would have been able to know!" Blake lied through his teeth, If not for the system's detection he wouldn't have been able to sense the fraxen unless it came within 25 meters range from him.

"First, let's get out of here before more beasts get attracted by the smell of blood." Blake stored the corpse of the fraxen before leading them out of the area.

"Before things get out of hand again, it's time I address some problems because we are stuck with each other for a week." Blake decided to take the 'mantle' of leadership since the only person he felt was okay for the position, Luciano, was not interested.

"And who made you the leader to address those issues." Ansgar snarled at Blake for posing as the leader.

'Does this guy think through his b*tt hole?' Blake was considering giving him a proper beating, but luckily for Ansgar Luciano gave him a glare that made him shut up and listen.

"First, let's talk about the rules of the forest. Don't make unnecessary sounds, leave immediately after you kill a beast because the smell of blood might attract other beasts to the areas..." Blake took his time to explain the does and don'ts of the forest before he emphasized the last part.

"If you see a prey know that there is a chance that another predator is around and also remember that the members of its pack might also be around so be careful."