The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-335

Chapter 335: Mating Room (3)

Darkness fell within the breeding grounds.

Judging by the disappearance of the faint light beyond the translucent walls, it seemed either night had fallen or the lights had been turned off.

Consequently, the temperature inside the breeding grounds began to plummet rapidly.

Frost formed white on the walls.

Moreover,

[Entering mating environment]

[1st time limit 00:00:00]

[2nd time limit 10:00:00]

.

.

Drizzle started falling from the darkness of the ceiling.

Although it was only dampening the surface of the sawdust, it was quite threatening due to the surrounding cold.

Vikir sought shelter from the pouring rain and entered the sawdust burrow below the hill.

“…The first timer, huh?”

The blue mist that had induced the giant mantis’ into heat earlier was undoubtedly the second timer.

It seemed to occur once the time limit for the first round was over.

‘It was so hot before that I was sweating, but now it’s raining and frosting. It’s a crazy temperature difference.’

As Vikir pondered silently, Sinclaire, who had been sitting beside him, spoke up.

“Are they trying to freeze us to death here? Making us sweat openly and then freezing us in the rain.”

Until a while ago, Sinclaire had been wearing only a black tank top on her upper body because it was hot inside the breeding grounds.

But even though it had gotten colder, putting the cloak back on was out of the question.

It was already dampened by sweat and drizzle.

…Bang! …Bang!

When Vikir vigorously shook his clothes to shake off the moisture and turned his head, Sinclaire was resting her head between her knees, quietly breathing.

Seeing her breath gradually diminishing, she seemed to be in a rather poor condition.

‘It seems like hypothermia. If she doesn’t pull herself together, she might freeze to death.’

Vikir moved to sit beside Sinclaire.

And he engaged her in conversation to keep her from losing consciousness.

“What were the missions on the previous floors?”

“….”

“Sinclaire, what were the missions on the previous floor?”

As Vikir shook her shoulder and asked, Sinclaire suddenly snapped out of it.

Then she shivered once and opened her mouth.

“Oh, inside the Magic Train… we were fighting each other.”

Sinclaire said she encountered a pack of Hellhounds on the 3rd floor and survived, then experienced the Bloodsoaked jade flower on the 4th floor, and ascended to the 5th floor.

Although there was quite a long interval between them, it wasn’t particularly strange since time within the Tower varied from floor to floor.

“Hellhounds and the Bloodsoaked jade flower. I’ve experienced those too.”

“Really? How many days did you endure, Big Brother?”

“I didn’t endure. I killed that damn flower.”

“What? You killed that? Really?”

Sinclaire was genuinely surprised.

She then spoke in a gloomy voice.

“We fought it too, actually. We couldn’t sacrifice anyone… but then, since the flower ended up devouring most of the survivors automatically, the mission got cleared.”

“Maybe that was the best outcome, realistically.”

The chances of students at the Colosseo Academy catching the Bloodsoaked jade flower were almost nonexistent.

Vikir was just exceptionally strong.

Eventually, Sinclaire opened up about the previous floor, the 5th floor.

“The 5th floor… was hell. Much worse than the 3rd and 4th floors.”

“What was it?”

“….”

After a long pause, Sinclaire answered in a small voice.

“A slaughter-fest.”

Her following words were quite shocking.

“The place was a carriage inside the Magic Train. When we woke up, everyone was sitting on the seats of the train.”

And the mission that appeared before everyone.

[Mission] – Team Project of Sticky Friendship! Let’s make our team the best!

※ The closest five people will form one team from now on!

※ If anyone in the team dies, they will automatically be eliminated! Everyone will die!

※ If you have weak friends, you should help and protect them, right? Not only the results but also the process is important! Cooperation is also a criterion for evaluation!

※ The killer will automatically absorb the stats of the deceased!

※ Let’s eliminate all other teams and be the last one standing!

※ P.S – I deliberately put together people who seemed friendly to each other to form teams ^^

It was a ‘struggle of all against all’ that the survivors had to wage.

Five close friends in one team. And if even one of them is lost, all of them die.

Furthermore, if you kill a member of another team, you can take all of their stats.

As soon as the mission appeared, some students began to act.

A female student swiftly pierced the throat of a bulky male student next to her with a spear before he could even scream.

The stats of the male student who died instantly were all attributed to the female student.

Using the enhanced stats of the muscular male student, she began to attack other students.

In an instant, the carriage turned into a battlefield.

Coincidentally, Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclaire, who became a team, managed to defend against all incoming attacks by combining their strength.

Just as they managed to fend off all attacks, another mission appeared.

[Special Mission] – Even in the best team, there must be the best member, right? Who will be the MVP player?

※ Winning after enduring seems a bit anticlimactic, doesn’t it? Don’t make the game too boring for yourself ^^

※ Congratulations to the five challengers who seem very close to each other!

※ But unfortunately, only one person can pass this stage! 😭…

※ From now on, except for one person among the five survivors, the rest will be sent to the Bloodsoaked jade flower on the 4th floor again!

From the beginning, forming a team of five close friends was a wicked whim of the fairy.

The surviving five had already bonded tightly while enduring the hellish battlefield.

Moreover, not only were they close friends from the start, but they had also saved each other’s lives several times.

Among these five, only one could survive.

The remaining four would be dropped into hell, where monsters roamed beyond regulations.

Avoiding Vikir’s gaze, Sinclaire smiled wryly.

“I was the first one to act.”

“I understand.”

“…Is it contemptible?”

“No. No one could blame you.”

Vikir spoke in a dry tone.

And he continued.

“In that situation, it’s right to let the one most likely to survive go. I would have done the same.”

Indeed, Vikir had experienced such situations countless times.

Whether being the one discarded or the one surviving, he had always managed to survive time and time again.

Sinclaire silently watched Vikir with a strange look.

Then she asked in a small voice.

“…If, hypothetically, you were in a team with me, would you have done the same?”

“Of course.”

“Then you would have survived after all. Because you’re stronger and wiser than me.”

“That’s also obvious.”

With a nonchalant nod of his head, Vikir’s words left Sinclaire with only a subtle smile.

“It’s a strange feeling. It feels like being comforted, but also a bit hurt…”

After hesitating for a moment, Sinclaire continued.

“No matter how hard I try, it seems I can never become as emotionally strong as you, Big Brother.”

Sinclaire then went on to tell the rest of the story.

Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclaire.

Among these five, only one could survive.

And the first one to act was Sinclaire herself.

Sinclaire had been secretly trying hard to detach herself from her friends in preparation for her imminent withdrawal from the academy.

So, once again, she closed her eyes tightly and attempted to cast a powerful spell.

…No, she tried to.

However, Sinclaire ultimately couldn’t cast the spell.

Guilt. Friendship. Emotions that couldn’t be put into words flooded her mind like a tsunami, disrupting her mana.

“…So what happened then?”

Vikir continued speaking.

Staying silent would only invite sleep, and if that happened, they might truly freeze to death.

Sinclaire, still half-dazed, replied with a muddled gaze.

“At that moment, Tudor spoke up.”

In Sinclaire’s recollection, Tudor’s words were exactly as Vikir had anticipated.

‘In this situation, I think it’s right to let the person most likely to survive go.’

And immediately, Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Bianca all turned their gaze towards Sinclaire.

‘You’re the smartest among us, Sinclaire. It’s definitely better for you to go.’

‘Get revenge on those damn demons. With your skills and talents, it’s possible.’

‘I thought it was only natural for me to stay behind. Please make sure to survive until the end!’

‘…Hmph. Do you know how disappointed I’ve been in you lately? Seriously, reflect on that. Where can you find a good friend like me?’

Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Bianca unanimously chose to save Sinclaire.

Hearing this, Vikir nodded.

“Well, that makes sense. My thoughts were also influenced by Tudor before his regression.”

During the time of the apocalypse, the great hero Tudor always made rational choices.

However, there were times when he acted irrationally, sacrificing himself and saving others when he was involved in the decision.

Vikir, too, had once had his life saved by Tudor’s sacrifice at a critical moment when life and death were at stake.

Tudor, who was dying in despair. Bianca, who was wailing. The warriors of the Human Alliance who survived but remained locked in anguish for a long time.

At that time, Vikir pondered and pondered why the great hero Tudor had sacrificed himself for his worthless junior warrior.

And eventually, Vikir found the answer.

“…He said, ‘Because that’s what heroes do.'”

Sinclaire’s eyes reddened.

Tudor supposedly smiled reassuringly at Sinclaire, who was reluctant to go.

‘Don’t worry. If things go wrong, we’ll use the return spell.’

A penalty where instead of returning to the Tutorial safe zone, all levels are reset to 1.

Upon hearing this, Vikir nodded.

“Fortunately, it seems everyone had a return spell.”

The return spell saved lives in critical moments.

While resetting to level 1 was painful, ultimately, there was nothing more precious than life.

“Yeah. Using the return spell is the wise choice. It sets the foundation for becoming even stronger, despite the level reset. Your stats will remain the same, and with information about future missions after using the spell, you’ll become much stronger. Of course, after using the return spell, you’re classified as Tower’s resident creatures, destined to create even more victims… Huh?”

Vikir had to stop his words midway.

“…”

Suddenly, when Vikir turned around, I saw Sinclaire crouched over, her head bowed, not saying a word.

She seemed to have fallen asleep, tears still streaking down her face.

Her breath had become so faint that it was almost inaudible.

Tap-

Sinclaire’s head rested on Vikir’s shoulder.

A faint warmth carried in her breath tickled Vikir’s neck.

However…

“Wake up. If you fall asleep, you’ll die.”

Vikir ruthlessly slapped Sinclaire’s cheek.

“Huh, huh! Did I doze off?”

Sinclaire hastily opened her eyes and stood up.

“Thank you, Big Brother. I almost froze to death if I dozed off. I don’t know when, but I started feeling warm, then drowsiness crept in… But why does my cheek hurt so much?”

“It’s because of the mood.”

Sinclaire nodded at Vikir’s words.

But once body temperature dropped, it couldn’t be raised by sheer willpower.

Eventually, Sinclaire whispered softly into Vikir’s ear.

“I’m sorry, Big Brother… I think… this is the end for me…”

There was no more mana to draw upon. Both body and mind were already exhausted.

“If only one of us can leave… Big Brother… I trust you… I can leave it to you…”

But Vikir wasn’t listening to Sinclaire’s words anymore.

‘What should I do?’

Vikir decided to check the other rooms beyond the wall.

The other rooms were also covered in mist, with frost clinging heavily.

Vikir carefully observed what the creatures in the other room were doing.

Creatures burrowing deep into the damp, wet sawdust, tightly huddling together in the dry sawdust layer.

Even the hostile creatures were huddling together for warmth against the cold.

‘…So the intention behind sprinkling water was this. It’s beyond clever.’

The owner of the rooms seemed to have certain expectations.

Stripping off his soaked clothes, Vikir approached Sinclaire.

Seeing Vikir approaching, Sinclaire, with widened eyes and trembling voice, asked,

“B-Big Brother? What are you…?”

To which Vikir replied shortly,

“I guess I have to meet their expectations.”