November 1, 2149.
A total of four weeks had passed since the start of the training camp.
While the last week would be the ideal time to hunt, Amelia decided to change her course of action.
After all, the situation could vary—a high chance she would have to compete with the others who had the same thoughts as her.
At the moment, she had collected a total of six badges—all from her own class.
For some reason, she had never encountered a single cadet from class B or C.
But that didn't matter.
There was something that was lingering in her mind.
'Where is Brandon?'
For the past month, not once had she ever seen Brandon—even though she had met up with everyone in her group.
It was a curious question—not out of her feelings for him, but genuinely, she wanted to know what the hell he's up to.
In any case, Amelia wasn't worried.
Brandon probably had a plan in mind.
It was just like him.
That aside, Amelia traversed the snowy forest—following the direction of the sound of magic crackling in the air.
Swoosh—!
At that moment, Amelia intervened between two cadets—who's magics were about to clash, a collision of flames and frost.
Her hands shot towards the sky, then dragged downward. A hail of magic swords rained down, incapacitating the two cadets instantly.
The cadets stared at her wide eyed.
"Shit. It's Senior Amelia."
"Ah...."
At her sudden appearance, it seemed like they had instantly given up.
"Hm? Do you know who I am...?"
Amelia asked. She wasn't familiar with any of them at all, giving her the impression that they were cadets from the lower classes.
"The General...."
"Haa..... This is unfair."
But their expressions did not escape Amelia's keen sight. That subtle change on their faces was enough for her to know that something was amiss.
Kracka!
At that moment, a jagged bolt of lightning sparked across her back. Realizing this, Amelia deftly spun her body and avoided several other spells targeting her.
The ground shook, layers of snow scattering as sparks of magic fail to hit their target.
So it was an ambush by using the two cadets as bait. Either—their target was Amelia, or the higher classes overall.
From the amount of cadets that had just emerged from the lush greenery, Amelia surmised that 1/3rd of class C had formed one large group.
A thunderous impact resounded as a particularly strong fireball collided with her sword, sending sparks and flames flying in all directions.
The heat seared her skin slightly, but not to the point where it would leave long lasting injuries. Her lips curled into a determined smile.
She focused, and in an instant, three of her swords shot forward, piercing through the gaps in the cadets' formation.
The first cadet staggered, clutching at his chest as a blade embedded itself in the ground next to him.
Bang! Bang!
The second went down just as quickly, the sword hitting its mark with precise accuracy.
"Damn it! She's picking us off!"
One of the cadets shouted with a hint of desperation.
More cadets lunged forward, but Amelia was already moving. With a fluid motion, she spun, her swords tracing arcs through the air, slicing through the incoming magic.
The ground trembled beneath her feet as earth-based spells erupted around her, but she sidestepped each one flawlessly, her body a blur of motion.
Kracka!
A bolt of lightning struck where she had been standing mere moments ago, but she was already airborne, flipping gracefully over the head of one of the cadets.
As she descended, her sword swung down in a perfect arc, smashing into the ice shield the cadet had hastily conjured.
The shield shattered, and with a swift kick, Amelia sent the cadet sprawling.
"Ukeh—!"
Her senses sharpened. Ninety cadets or not, as long as she played her cards right and picked them off one by one, she knew there was a chance it could all work out in her favor.
However, Amelia wanted to play it safe. Ninety cadets would take a lot of time and would burden her stamina.
She didn't have enough patience, nor the endurance to actually pick them off single handedly.
For that reason, the sword in her hand distorted—rematerializing into a different weapon.
It was a handgun.
While barrages of spells caneered towards her, Amelia swiftly dodged each of them and extended her hand, pointing the gun in the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With her finger on the trigger, the gun banged loudly, sending deafening reverberations throughout the entire forest.
At that, for a second, attacks stopped and all the cadets looked for any signs of attacks that might've been the result of the gun.
However, in the brief second that passed, nothing peculiar happened.
Amelia seized that exact opportunity to swiftly disappear into the forest.
With over eleven badges in her hand, she tucked them inside her pocket and swiftly rushed through the visible greenery without looking back even once.
However, in the next ten minutes or so, she had no choice but to halt in her steps.
There was a woman, with long lustrous black hair, her body wrapped in frost, and was facing several monsters all on her own.
She gracefully blitzed through all the monsters without even moving once from her position.
Amelia could recognize her, but was unable to recall exactly what her name was.
However, at that moment, the woman turned around. Her crimson gaze met Amelia's, and a sense of recognition seemed to wash over the woman.
"Lady Amelia?"