"That's...!"

Amell's expression shifted as he noticed the distant pillars, which upon closer inspection revealed themselves to be thick, sturdy legs supporting a small, elevated body.

A strong oppressive aura descended on all of them, rooting the first-year cadets on the spot. It was quite far, but Amell knew it was looking at them.

It had noticed their presence...

With a grim look, Amell looked in Julien's direction.

"We have to help them."

"....If we help them, they'll be automatically disqualified from the competition."

Julien's calmness despite the situation was something Amell found noteworthy.

However, his words weren't something Amell agreed with.

"That's only on the premise that we help in a situation they could've handled. This over here is a Terror Ranked monster. There's no way they can handle it."

"Pay close attetion."

Pointing at the monster in the distance, Julien's deep hazel eyes rippled.

"....The mother is yet to be Terror-rank. It's a newborn."

"That's a newborn?"

Amell looked stupefied by the information, but upon closer look, it really did seem like the monster's aura was somewhat feeble. He wasn't wrong in thinking it was a terror-ranked monster, but it was also right to say its power was beneath it.

In that case then...

"If we interfere, they'll be eliminated."

The rules for the guardian usage were clear. They were only allowed to interfere in situations where they had no choice but to or when the team called for it. If they interfered because the opponent was impossible for the team to beat, then there would be no penalty.

If they interfered because the team made a mistake then it would be a point penalty, and if they interfered because the team decided to not handle the monster, then it was equivalent to complete elimination.

In the current situation, the team could definitely outrun the mother. The only issue was that they had yet to understand that they could.

All of them were petrified by the monster's aura.

"W-what should we do?"

Sophia stuttered as she looked back in Jacob's direction. She wasn't the only one. Pretty much everyone within the group turned in his direction.

By now, this had become the norm.

Linus had become an afterthought in everyone's mind. The 'nominal' captain for the better part of the word.

"This..."

Jacob's mouth slowly parted, his complexion growing paler with each passing second. His eyes remained transfixed on the mother in the distance, alternating towards his team members who were all looking at him with panicked expressions.

Jacob nervously licked his dry lips, a lump forming in his throat.

With a defeated look, he shook his head.

"I'm getting the guardians to interfere."

His voice emerged hoarse. As if he was someone who had smoked their entire life.

He hated this choice, but it was a rational choice. Jacob could tell that there was something wrong with the 'mother'. This much was obvious from the lack of reaction from the guardians.

He would've wanted to continue, but taking into account the team's lack of coordination and their current panicked expressions, this was the best option.

'Yes, this is the best option. This is...'

Clench!

Jacob's fist clenched tightly.

Even so. Despite it all. He had hoped. Hoped that there was a way for them to pull through this. He didn't want things to end like this, and…

"Don't do it."

A certain voice cut in all of a sudden, gathering the attention of everyone present. Standing by the corner, Linus looked at everyone present, his expression unusually calm.

"There is a way."

***

"There is a way."

What fucking way...?

The words just came out of my Linus's mouth before he knew it.

Something came over him all of a sudden, and he started to move without even thinking. Every action and movement seemed to have a purpose and a peculiar calmness settled over him, dissipating the lingering remnants of panic that had previously consumed him.

The world around him faded into insignificance as his focus narrowed solely on the distant monster, its enormous presence towering over him.

"Don't do it."

His mouth parted open.

"There's a way. If you calm down and listen to what I have to say, then we might be able to handle this."

Linus was in control. There was no fear or anything else that was controlling him. At that moment, he was in control of himself and every action. He felt strangely lucid. Ideas and all sorts of ways to handle the beast continued to enter his mind.

What prompted such a change in him?

....And why now?

"Will you trust me?"

His words were met with a subtle tone of silence, and right then, a hand pressed against his shoulder, pulling him back harshly.

"What do you think you're doing."

It was Jacob. Veins were bulging down the side of his neck as he angrily looked at him. He looked incredibly pissed, yet, under his pressuring gaze, Linus only calmly looked back at his gaze.

"Is this some sort of joke to you? Do you not understand what is going on? ...Or are you drunk on your power that you want to fuck us up again? Even if we do end up engaging against the 'mother' do you think your safety will be guaranteed? No, fuck that!"

Angrily clenching his teeth, Jacob pulled tightly on Linus's collar.

"I don't give a fuck about what happens to you, but as the captain you should be worried about what happens to your group members! If you're trying to pull this stunt just to fix your bullshit mistakes then save—"

"I can do it."

"Uh… you what? ...Did you not hear me? Do you not realize that they can die...? This isn't some simulation or a vision. This is real life!"

"I can do it."

Linus repeated, his tone even calmer than before.

"I know of a way."

"Ah… This fucker."

It seemed like Linus's calmness left him somewhat flustered as he seemed to struggle to find any words to say.

Scratching the top of his head, his face underwent a series of changes, alternating his gaze between Linus and the group members. Eventually, he shook his head.

"No."

Jacob wasn't going to risk it.

He couldn't afford to risk it. He—

"Pussy."

"....!"

Jacob's eyes widened abruptly. He turned toward Linus, where faint popping and cracking sounds filled the air as Jacob's forearm began to swell and expand.

"What did you just say?"

He struggled to understand if he had heard correctly.

"Pussy."

But he hadn't heard wrong.

"That's what I called you."

"Ah."

The veins on Jacob's forehead became more pronounced. It had been a long time since he'd felt such rage, and his face twisted with barely contained fury.

'Should I just kill him?'

Jacob looked back in the guardian's direction. His expression twisted further as he raised his clenched fist, but just as he was about to punch Linus, the ground trembled once more.

Rumble—!

Jacob's head flicked to the right and his expression changed.

"It's coming...!"

Thump! Thump!

A low and muffled 'thumping' sound echoed in the air, shattering whatever anger Jacob previously felt. Letting go of Linus, Jacob hastily looked in Julien's direction. He was about to shout at him to interfere when a hand pressed against his shoulder once more.

"...I can do it."

It was Linus again.

However, differently from before, he was even calmer than before.

To the point where it felt creepy. Turning around and staring directly into Linus's eyes, Jacob felt his lungs lose all air.

There was something about Linus's eyes that felt unsettling.

They almost felt creepy and the hair at the back of his neck involuntarily rose. It almost felt like the more dire the situation became, the calmer he became.

How was this possible?

Linus didn't understand either, but his mind felt so incredibly clear at this very moment.

It had never felt so clear in the past.

...He almost felt like he could do anything.

With just a thought, he could recall almost everything he had learned in the past. In particular, the details of the current monster they were facing.

— ●[Monster Encyclopedia]●—

Monster : Mother of all spiders

Rank : Terror

Description :

﹂ The "Mother of All Spiders" is a truly terrifying creature, epitomizing the sheer horror of arachnids. Towering above all other spiders, it possesses a body that towers above several dozen meters. Its size is immense, with a massive abdomen that resembles a swollen sac, capable of producing countless offspring. The creature's legs are long, sinewy, and covered in jagged spines, enabling it to scuttle across any terrain with unsettling agility.

﹂Unless one has adequate equipment that is able to handle poison, and the sheer strength of the beast, then it is advised to immediately use the return stone and flee. It is not a creature to be taken lightly.

Weakness :

﹂Red colored smiley face.

﹂Location varies accordingly from boss to boss.

— ●[Monster Encyclopedia]●—

Linus could recall all of it and staring at the approaching figure in the distance, he turned his head in Jacob's direction once more.

"I can do it."

He was sure of it.

***

—Retreat immediately. Go back to the Academy and keep the cadets safe! I repeat, keep the cadets safe!

A voice continued to squeal from the communication device which I quickly turned off.

"....What are they doing?"

At the same time I turned off the communication device, Amell's shocked and confused voice reached my ears from the right. His body was tense and looking at him, I could see he was ready to interfere at any moment.

I held out my hand in his direction to stop him.

"What?"

"Don't interfere."

I nudged in Linus's direction.

"Watch."

I could tell that something was happening and the corner of my lips pulled up slightly.

'As expected, I wasn't wrong.'

Seeing how calm Linus was acting, I knew the fruit of my training wasn't for nothing. The extreme fear that I had previously subjected him to served to keep his mind calm in a situation where he would experience a similar type of extreme fear.

...And though he appeared calm on the surface, I noticed a faint trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

He was using 'pain' to keep himself calm and steady.

He was reminding himself of that time...

'Once you've faced a fear greater than anything imaginable, everything else will seem insignificant.'

Thump! Thump!

Feeling the ground shake once again, I turned to look at the approaching monster and stepped back. Seeing Jacob's flustered and confused expression, I could see he was unsure of how to proceed.

All he needed was a little kick to help him make his mind up.

...And that kick came in the form of a fist.

Bang!

A clean fist to his face from Linus.

"Hurry the fuck up and listen to my commands. I don't have time to waste on a waste."

Linus then turned to look in my direction.

"Don't interfere. I'll kill you if you do."