"Ooh..... I'm shaking in my boots here. A couple of new students at the prestigious Yulen Academy are going to take us on. You hear that boys?"

The scar covered elven man pointed to the five with mocking tone, sarcastically acting as if he were scared.

"Hahaha!!"

"What a joke!"

The men surrounding him joined in with laughter, mocking the resolve of the students who stood forth.

"None of you have even been trained in combat yet, and you're going to try to take us on? You would have been better running, you know. Even if you all were selected to be in the first division, the fact of the matter is that this school has no standards when it comes to who they accept. Which means...."

Pulling out a long dagger from his side, the man smirked as he cracked his shoulder, preparing himself for some exercise.

"You're nothing more than a bunch of kids who have never been in a fight in your lives."

The man then rushed forward at Edward, raising his dagger above his own head and then bringing it downwards in a slashing motion.

"Hahaha! It's too bad your parents couldn't care less about you, or else I'd give them my condolences!!"

'Wha-'

Edward could only watch as the dagger bore down on him, unable to react in time.

He could see it, but just seeing it was not enough to dodge it.

'It's.... gonna hit me! Shit!'

Planting his foot to jump aside, he could already tell that he wouldn't make it.

But even so, he tried to dodge.

'It's going to hit.... but that doesn't mean I will just let it!'

Jumping to the side, Edward rolled on the ground.

Looking up, he realized that he had indeed been in time.

'Huh?'

And then, in turning back, he saw it.

Victor was standing there in front of where Edward had previously been standing, with a blade in between both of his hands.

"Wha.... what are you doing!? Catching my blade like that.... are you suicidal, kid? Do you like pain!?"

The elven man tried to yank the blade back, however it didn't budge.

Edward merely watched with eyes widened as he took a closer look.

"He..... no, he didn't catch it in his hands..... there is.... a space between his hands and the blade!!"

"This is called a mana field. I can use it to surround my body with concentrated mana, almost like armor. And it allowed me to catch this blade in my hands without so much as getting cut."

Grabbing the blade and ripping it out of the hand of the elven man who was covered in scars, Victor now held the weapon, tossing it from his right hand to his left.

"Wha..... so you had that type of ability, eh? Haha...."

Stepping back behind his men, the elven man merely laughed it off.

"I guess that it isn't all trash here. Looks like there are a few people who have natural talent before they've even had time to learn anything. But that's fine. Men! Get him!"

The burly subordinates smiled as they shouted "Yes boss!", rushing forward with clubs and all sorts of other weapons to attack.

"Hahaha!! Take that!!! Even if you're a little skilled, you won't be able to defeat all these men!!"

The men rushed forth, surrounding the group quickly.

There were about 20 of them in total, making the students completely outnumbered.

"Wha..... how are we supposed to.... take on this many?", Alexa whispered with quivering voice.

"It's..... alright.", Vivian reassured her, holding out her hands.

And then, she closed her eyes.

"I.... think I can do something here."

And then, three men begun to choke.

Foam formed at their mouths, and the eyes of the large men rolled back into their heads.

Their necks turned purple with pressure, and the men fell limp after a few seconds of struggling.

"I..... knocked them out....huff... urgh...", Vivian said while panting.

"Hey! Are you alright!! You look exhausted after doing all that!", Alexa shouted.

Meanwhile, the other men were now irritated at seeing that their comrades had been taken out so quickly.

"Hey, what the hell!"

"You little bitch..... come here!!!"

A few men rushed forward, aiming right for Vivian as she was bent over, trying to catch her breath.

"As if I'll let you do something like that!!", Edward shouted, rushing over to block the attacks of the men.

'They're slower than the leader. I can.... redirect them....'

In that moment, as multiple weapons converged on Vivian, Edward held forth his hands and from them a burst of wind propagated.

This burst of wind was enough to send the clubs on a different trajectory, knocking the three men backwards, into the ones who had been knocked out.

Looking at his own hands, Edward glanced back and forth between the men and himself.

"Did.... I do that?"

"Nice going, minus 6. Now leave them to me."

Edward heard the voice of Victor in his ear as the boy passed by him, rushing at the three with the knife branded.

Edward watched as the boy darted forth, slicing the necks of the fallen men with perfect motions before jumping right back into the center.

'He.... is really skilled.....', Edward thought.

Blood sprayed from the necks of the men, and they weren't even given the time to cry out in pain before their eyes became lifeless.

"That's six down. 14 more to go.", Victor stated.

Heading in the other direction now, Victor whispered into the ear of Griffen as he passed him by.

"Try and imagine shooting a line of water. That should be your specialty."

Griffen watched as the boy now stood in front of him, drawing the blows of three more men as they swung at him, all missing as he dodged around as if he were dancing.

However, as Victor was now facing off with three men, another three rushed over to join the fight, making it a six on one.

"Hey.... how is that....."

Alexa held out her hand about to protest, about to ask 'how is that fair?'

However, mid sentence she realized.

These were criminals.

There was nothing fair about them, nor about the way they lived their lives.

Noticing his predicament, Victor clicked his tongue, throwing the dagger as it landed in the neck of a man who was in mid swing.

This man toppled to the ground, blocking the path of two others who were attempting to rush in on Victor, however Victor was now faced with three in front of him and two behind him who were making their way around the fallen man.

"Tch....."

Dodging a blow from one, Victor found himself midair as the others thrusted their own weapons forth in unison.

Meanwhile, Griffen shook his head, coming to his senses.

'I have to do something.... or he'll die!'

Holding out his hands in a pistol formation, Griffen closed his eyes.

'Shooting.... a line of water..... water..... water..... water!!!'

He scrunched his face, hoping and praying that something would happen, but nothing did.

Victor held out his hand, grabbing a dropped spear with mana and throwing it to the side as it pierced a man's stomach, however the two men behind him were now right on his tail.

"WATER!!!!"

And then, faced with a moment of desperation, Griffen shouted out this word.

Slowly, blue particles gathered at his finger, and Griffen felt the mana flowing within his hand, gathering.

"COME ON!!!"

However, it was too late.

The men swung down their blades at the back of the boy, who flinched to the side.

One of the blades was dodged altogether, and the other was thrusted into the boys shoulder, drawing blood from the dark elf.

The boy didn't let out a cry, but rather jumped away quickly, holding his injured shoulder with his other arm.

"Tch...."

And then, a bullet.

Shooting through the hearts of three men who had lined up perfectly, a bullet of water exploded forth, forming a perfect line as it tore through the men.

"Ugh!"

"Agh!"

"Ngh!"

The men let out their final cries before falling to the ground, blood forming puddles underneath them.

"I..... did it..... but...."

Griffen looked over to Victor, who put a thumb up with a pained expression as he held his shoulder.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Keep on fighting."

These were the words Victor said as he stumbled over to grab a blade, however the two men who remained were having none of that.

"As if we'd just let you grab a weapon!!"

The two swung once more at Victor, however he dodged underneath their blows, grabbing a sword while he was at it.

Dodging over to the side, he now stood away from any foes, however his movements were beginning to slow.

"Ah ah..... these idiots.... you guys can't even take on a single kid!? I'll keep him occupied for now, just get the others!!"

The scarred elf shouted this as he rushed forth, approaching Victor with immense speed.

And then, the two were interlocked into a swordfight.

Swinging back and forth, the two were caught in a deadlock where if either of them stopped, a blow would be landed and the fight would be over.

"Huff.... huff.... urgh...."

Victor was clearly struggling, yet even while injured his own speed was able to match the one known as the boss.

However, Victor was not the only one struggling.

Vivian was now on one knee, unable to move as she tried to catch her breath, and Griffen was the same.

"How..... urgh..... ugh!!"

These two had used up their mana, and as a result this had taken a great toll on their stamina.

"Hey, what the heck? You two are so tired already after shooting off one shot of magic? How are you gonna...."

Edward spoke up to the others, however as soon as he spoke he felt as if his heart stopped.

It was as if he had been filled with adrenaline at first, but all of a sudden the rush had ceased, and he realized the fatigue which had built up within his own muscles.

"Blergh!!!"

Bending over, Edward begun to throw up all over the ground, leaving Alexa to merely watch as all those around her were pushed beyond their limits.

"H-hey.... guys....."

Looking up, she saw that a number of men were now closing in on them, all of whom were smiling with delight.

"Heh heh..... looks like you guys put up a bit more of a fight than expected. I guess you all held some natural talent, but in the end it doesn't matter. You haven't been trained, so even that talent will only get you so far."

On seeing the men surround her, Alexa felt terror overcome her.

What would happen to them?

Would her classmates be killed?

Would she be taken away with Vivian?

Would she become the plaything of these criminals?

Tears came to her eyes as she thought this.

"Oi oi..... looks like you're really just a little girl on the inside. Hahaha..... well, at least there's one of ya who is too weak to even fight back."

Raising his club, the man smiled, however Alexa then raised her own hand.

'It.... doesn't matter how little it is..... I have to do something...."

And then, a blanket of light formed above the man who was now standing before her.

This blanket of light bore down on the man, wrapping around him and encasing him in an elliptical orb.

"Mmph!!!! Mmph!!!!"

This orb got smaller and smaller, and the sound of crunching bones and the juicy squishing of flesh could be heard as it shrunk, completely mutilating the man as the matter of his body was compacted.

Tears flowed from the eyes of the girl as she clenched her own palm, forcing the blanket to become smaller and smaller.

"Urgh!! Just.... just die already!!!"

Shouting this, she grasped her hand, making a fist as the blanket of light shrunk to the size of a hand, a horrid series of gruesome noises accompanied with it.

The girl looked up in terror, letting go of her hand as the blanket of light disappeared.

And then, as the blanket of light disappeared from existence, a chunk of compressed meat and bones fell to the ground.

The girl widened her eyes, watching as this scene played out, realizing what she had done with her own two hands.

"I....."

"You bitch..... how dare you kill him like that!!!"

"Get them all!!!"

And then, a shockwave of fatigue.

As if she was having a heart attack, a wave of pain overcame Alexa as she fell to the ground, grabbing her chest.

"Urgh!!"

All four of them were now on the ground, panting and struggling to breathe.

Their mana reserves had been depleted.

And then, a scream.

"Agh!!"

Looking over, the four saw that the scarred elf had thrusted his dagger into the side of Victor, who was now gripping the dagger in his side as he knelt.

"Hahaha!!! With a wound like that, you'll die on your own!!"

The elven figure backed off, heading over to join his subordinates who were surrounding the four students.

"Looks like that's all of em. None of them will be fighting back now, so finish off the males and grab the females. Then let's get-"

"Hey. I was trying to sleep, but I kept on hearing all this screaming and throwing up, and a whole bunch of other annoying ass sounds."

It was at that moment that a horrid voice overcame the field.

"Don't you know how to shut the fuck up?"

This voice sent shivers down the spines of each and every criminal present, as if their ears had been placed right next to a set of nails viscously screeching across a chalkboard.

And then, they felt something.

It was as if fear itself had overtaken every one of their senses, replacing their own perception of reality with nothing more than terror.

"I was in a pretty good mood for the past few days.... but now you just came and ruined it. Heh..... hehe...."

It was the voice of a girl, and she laughed in demented manner, overtaking the minds of the men.

And then, they were forced to the ground with a pressure so great that their bones snapped, their flesh was pulverized into a paste, and the ground itself caved in.

"So why don't you pay me back with your souls?"

----

"That was pretty cool, Alexa. I like how you compressed him like that. Reminds me of something that happened a while back. Hmm..... lemme try doing that again."

Walking forward was an elven figure with horrid white hair, which had been thrown about in all directions.

Her green eyes were dead and emotionless, and the bags underneath them were heavy enough that one would never imagine the girl was just sleeping. Rather, one might think she had gone months or even years without a good nights sleep.

"Let's see..... up... and..... all together now...."

The already battered men were lifted up into the air, at which they begun to scream.

"Agh!!!!"

"Help!!!!"

"Put us down!!!"

"What are you doing!?!?!?!"

The girl smiled sinisterly, covering her mouth with one hand as she held the other forth, performing her spells with just that single hand.

"Hehehe..... it's actually kinda funny to leave their voices on. I like hearing their screams of terror as they beg me for mercy."

Victor, who was kneeling on the ground with the dagger in his side, was now watching as the girl stepped forward without a care in the world, taking on all the remaining men at once without even breaking a sweat.

"...."

He merely watched, understanding the difference between himself and this girl in mere moments.

"Haha....."

The other four could do nothing more than witness the scene with their jaws wide.

After having been devastated by overusing their own mana reserves just to perform one spell each, they watched as this girl played with the men as if they were toys.

"Is her mana..... huff.... infinite or something?", Edward mumbled under his breath.

"It's.... gotto be.....", Griffen said with a light laugh as he looked up to see the men floating above them.

In the next moment, the men all converged onto a single point.

"Agh!!! Help!!!"

"Stop!!!"

The men flung into one another, hitting each other at an immense speed before cracking sounds overwhelmed the group.

And then, the shrieking began.

Horrid shrieks of pain were heard as each and every man shrunk in size, the bodies being compacted into a smaller and smaller sphere.

"EEEEEK!!!!"

"AGH!!!!!"

And then, moments later, the horrid shrieking stopped.

There was now a ball in the air, so small that it couldn't even be compared to the tip of a ball point pen.

The girl brought this ball over to her, and it landed in her hand.

Looking down on it with a demented smile, she let out a single laugh.

"Heh...."

And then, placing it between her index finger and her thumb, she squashed it.

Throwing it behind her, the girl approached the five.

"Ah..... well, that was fun. So? Now that I'm awake, it looks like I better eat something. Ah! Did I just throw away all that meat? That was probably worth a lot of calories, even if it was so small. Ah well."

The five were left shivering in terror, yet a sigh of relief overcame the group.

The girl before them was powerful beyond belief, and yet it was that power which had saved them.

Even so, they could not completely shake the feelings of terror they had.

"A....Ally..... what....."

Alexa tried to speak up, however she was too scared to get the words out.

"What was that? It was just magic. I uh.... did something similar to what you did. I just used mana to compress them. That's all. Ah, are you gonna yell at me about killing them? You killed one yourself. Don't go and tell me that you're better than me because of that. As a matter of fact, let me ask you a question."

The eyes of the girl were filled with bloodlust as she looked down on the five.

"Which would you prefer I had done? Killed em? Or left em alive to butcher all of you?"

"O..... of course..... killed them....", Edward said, slowly getting up.

As the only one who had not killed someone during this fight, he spoke as a representative for the group.

'Weak..... I..... was so weak....'

Holding his hand to his forehead, Edward looked around him.

He was the only one who was too weak to even finish anyone off.

If it weren't for Ashley, and if it weren't for the others who had been able to kill the opponents, he would have long ago died.

'Why.... was I so weak?'

The others however, felt the same.

Even Victor, who had taken the lead and killed more than anyone, had found himself cornered.

"Thanks. If you hadn't killed all of them, we'd all be dead.", he said as he pulled the dagger out of his side, grabbing a set of bandages and beginning to wrap his injuries up.

Holding his hand onto his wound, he applied magical pressure to it so that the blood wouldn't flow endlessly.

"So do you all see now?"

Walking back over to the campfire, Ashley left the others behind as she mumbled loud enough for them to hear.

"Killing someone..... well, it's not a matter of who you are. It's a matter of the situations you've been put in. And I just so happen to have been in a whole lot of situations.... where killing is the best option."

Putting her finger to her lips, Ashley thinned her green eyes with a smug grin.

"Although.... I won't deny that I've enjoyed it every time I've killed someone."