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Van remained staring at the window above his head. Could it be… they were stuck in here because of him?

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Van could not help but look at the panicked faces of his classmates as the roar crowed nearer and nearer to them, some were even trying to cover their ears, wanting the noise to stop. But alas, the only consistent thing in the Portal right now was that this monster called Cockatrice was about to approach them.

"Van, what's it saying?"

Seeing the furrow on Van's eyebrows, Harvey got curious.

"What?"

"The monster, what's it shouting?"

"It… it's just roaring."

"It's not saying anything?"

"...No."

"Shame. I thought it was cursing us or something. Anyway, this… Cockamonster, why does everyone seem to be so afraid of it?" Harvey also turned his head towards the panicking students.

He didn't know a whole lot about the Portal monsters. He had read the books on his father's study on where the monsters might have originated from. But the books were illegal to read, much less to own. So the extent of his knowledge stopped when his father's cane made contact with the back of his head.

"It's… a dangerous monster." Beatrice joined the conversation as she stared at where the roar is coming from, "It is said it could kill someone just by looking at it."

"...What!? How are we even supposed to defeat something like that!? Have a staring contest with it!?"

"No. Since this is only a C Rank dungeon, it should only be capable of turning us into stone with its breath. If so, we should be able to defeat it, I can just push away its breaths while someone finishes it."

"Good thinking there, glasses fish!"

...Glasses Fish? Was that supposed to be her? Beatrice thought as she slightly adjusts her glasses when she heard Mr. Jacobs approaching them.

"But you are forgetting something," Mr. Jacobs let out a long sigh as he turned to the other students, "You may be able to push its breath away, but this is still a C Rank dungeon. Its physical prowess alone would squash most of you here."

"But--"

"And its sharp tail would cleave through your bones like nothing."

As Mr. Jacobs' words reached the other students, they could not help but slightly flinch. The roar that was getting stronger by the second now felt even heavier.

"Gemma and Gerald, you're with me." Mr. Jacobs pointed at the two, not even bothering to flex his muscles this time, the students knew then that they were in a much dire situation than they initially thought.

"We will try to kill the cockatrice as fast as possible to avoid the casualties."

"Hmph…"

"Okay, sir." Gemma quickly started to transform.

"Good, let's have ourselves some roast, shall we?" Mr. Jacobs slightly chuckled before looking at a skinny student.

"You, you're the one with the same powers as that piece of sh*t, right?"

"M… me?" The male student could not help but stutter as Mr. Jacobs suddenly talked to him in a very apprehensive tone.

"Yes, you. You have the same powers as Lang? You're able to control dirt?"

"Y… yes?"

"Then erect a wall strong enough for all of you to hide in. I don't want any of you fish leaving it before we eat this monster alive, you got it!?"

"Y...yes, sir!"

"Glasses fish, be sure to focus on containing the monster's breath from a distance!"

"Alright." Beatrice took in a deep breath as she checked her status thoroughly, it would be a suicide if she suddenly runs out of SP.

"Oi, Lang Fish Junior, what are you waiting for!?" Mr. Jacobs once again pointed at the skinny student, "Erect a f*cking bar-- sh*t!"

Before Mr. Jacobs could even finish his words, a large blur suddenly rushed out from the forest, pushing away the trees like they were nothing. And that large monster was currently on its way towards the students.

"That!?"

But before the monster could approach his students, Mr. Jacobs instinctively grabbed its foot, completely stopping it from its tracks.

"That… that's a Cockatrice!?"

"I didn't imagine it being so big!"

Most of the students were frozen in fear as they stared at the monster in front of them.

A giant chicken monster. That was the first thing that came into Van's mind. Except it was about 5 meters tall. Has an elongated neck, a sharp metal-like beak that would probably crush his small frame into a paste.

And instead of feathers, the cockatrice adorned its body with scales. But the most noticeable thing about this giant chicken monster was its tail. Van could not help but squint as he watched it flail in the air. It reflected the sunlight and seemed to be cutting the air itself.

Just… how sharp is that? He wondered.

"R… run!"

"What are you doing!? Erect a wall!"

"Everyone, run!"

"No! Don't turn your backs to it!" Mr. Jacobs' tightened his grip on the cockatrice's foot. The cockatrice, however, stopped struggling as it focused its head towards the student who started to run.

Its tail also stopped moving as it pointed towards the student, and, as if it had a life of its own, whipped its sharp edges straight to the student's back.

"No!"

"Kyaa!"

The students watched in horror, closing their eyes at the last second as the student who had her back turned from the cockatrice got cleaved in half… or so they thought.

When they opened their eyes, the female student was nowhere to be seen. But as they heard a stuttered shout from the distance, they all turned to look at the same time.

And there, the female student was clumsily sitting on the ground, her skirt ruffled and her hair disheveled. With her eyes almost popping out from the shock. Her head then slowly turned towards her right, immediately seeing a small boy beside her.

"V… Van?" She whispered, "Thank y--"

However, her thanks only reached the air as Van suddenly disappeared from her sight. The cockatrice once again flailed its tail, threatening to once again split a student in half.

But once again, Van was able to pull the student away.

"T… thank--"

"Don't just stand there you motherf*ckers! Move!"

Before the student could even thank Van, Van's sharp roars pierced his ears, completely waking him up from his stupor.

The other students also flinched as they were deafened by Van's words. The student, which was now titled Lang Junior, quickly used his skill and erected a wall, completely covering and protecting his whole class, except Van and his group.

Van once again disappeared, appearing near the first female student he saved. The female student was about to say something again, but before she could do so, her vision quickly shifted.

And once she came to, the other students were already looking at her.

So this… is what the top 1 freshman could do? She thought as she tried to get up. But alas, her legs were noodles, unable to lift her. She had also been feeling something heavy wanting to come out from her stomach.

And as soon as she thought of that, the sound of her retching echoed through their small confinement. Perhaps the fear of almost dying, or perhaps the feeling of being suddenly moved without her even realizing it finally got to her, but it felt like her whole body wanted to collapse now.

She suddenly felt embarrassed as she once again looked at Van, only to notice that he wasn't even looking at her, but towards the monster rampaging outside.

In fact, none of the other students seemed to mind her puking on the ground, as they too were in a stupor, looking at Van with awe.

They were all freshman students, but the difference between him and them was too large. And it wasn't only because of his skills, but also, out of all of them here inside the wall, he was the only one that was able to remain calm.

"Can you open a path? I need to go out."

"...Okay."

Even though Mr. Jacobs had strict orders for them not to leave the earth wall, Lang Fish Junior did not even stop or question Van as he quickly opened up a path for him to leave.

"W… wait!"

Before Van could exit the earth barrier, a male student stopped him. It was the 2nd one he pulled out of the way.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving me, Van!"

Hearing the sincerity of his classmate's tone, Van stopped in his tracks, the rays of the sun, seeping from the edges of his silhouette.

He slightly turned his head back, glancing at his classmate with a smile on his face as he said…

"You can thank me with a Crystal."