As much as Luxinna wanted to celebrate, she knew she fucked up.

[Overflow]

She scanned the crime scene. Five bodies were utterly reduced to a pile of blood. There were no fixing that. The old uncle groaning on the ground needed immediate medical attention, but the guy lying in the pool of his own blood seemed worst.

Luxinna sped to his side. She winced. Something blasted a hole through his stomach, taking a chunk from the victim’s intestine. His right arm reduced to wrangle flesh and muscle. Such injury needed Cytortia’s [Tir Na Soal] to reverse. For all her power, Luxinna lacked the gift of healing. The Arcane to perform that feat is [Necta Floral] and her [Static Glass]’s destructive capabilities would never catalyze it.

Still the elf did her best, a first aid medical attention, and recovery medicine was poured down to stabilize his condition. Sadly, it simply wasn’t enough. In a desperate gamble, Luxinna Latoria threw all caution away and surrendered herself to the last-ditch option.

She plunged her hand into the grisly hole and cast [Static Glass].

It was a hopeless attempt to screw a nut with a sledgehammer. Luxinna’s True Magic might fell hypersonic jet and sank air-craft carrier, but it couldn’t return life. Still, she tried everything she could. The elf defaulted everything to her instinct, scrapping the bottom of her bag-of-trick using her True Magic. She knew it was pointless, but she got to try.

Something emerged inside Luxinna and flow down into the heavily injured man. She breathed a sigh of relief as the golden graft of glasses covered the man’s injuries.

“Bunch of trash,” a voice rumbled as a body climbed from a crater.

Sorin Enma rose like a monster. His broken body creaked ominously as sparks of lightning crackled from the demigods. Dopamine and Adrenalin pumped through his bodies, nullifying the pain he racked from his clashes with Luxinna. The beatmen’s pupils lit with white madness and lightning.

“You trash better dug yours eyes out of your socket. I am the esteemed prince of Enma clan. I have overseen death of a million! Help my family hunt the world most dangerous beast! I execute thousand by age seven. You think you can save these insignificant bugs by defying me. Fools! I will kill all of them. You are below me.”

Sorin’s word must not register on an emotional level.

Luxinna tossed the groaning grandpa a recovery pellet.

“Those will heal you,” the elf nodded to the two adventurer girls. “Take care of him while I handle the idiots.”

“Don’t you dare ignore me!” Sorin screeched, shoving his injured body beyond its limit and charged toward Luxinna.

[Overflow]

The world around Luxinna stopped as her brain calculated the sequence to scar Sorin Enma’s ego to submission. She weighed every muscle movement. Every shifted in emotion and seismic reaction. Instinct honed in the forest was put on display before the world.

Redirected a feral claw with a punch. Shocked the solar plexus with an elbow. Black-fisted the nose to daze. Employed body shot, then weakened the knees. feeble counterattack intercepted with elbow block. Targeted windpipe to stun. Released limiter and executed coup de grâce with a haymaker. Full summary; torn ligaments, 3 cracked rib, 4 fracture, nose broken, throat damage and dislocated jaw. Ability to threatened: removed. Complete mental and physical recovery time: no one care.

Time resumed, and Luxinna became a blur.

Sorin barely comprehended what happened. Something fast knocked his lightning-infused fist upward. A truck caved his chest. Black object resembling a sledge hammer hit his nose. His ribs cracked and left knee painfully folded in a wrong angle. He tried to punch, but his weak attack went sideways. Then a blur smacked his throat. Sorin Enma caught sight of a jaw-dropping fist, crackling with power, traveled to his jaw.

“Oh, sh-“

A direct impact rang.

Sorin Enma blasted across the ground. His brain barely started extracting the chain of event resulting in his immediate high velocity travel. Emotionally, Sorin was cratered. He usually put on a fight. Sure, Tai Hua and Solaron bounced him like a basketball, but at least Sorin registered them coming. Even his regular tormenter Shyme needed over three minutes to beat him.

But this… this was real humiliation. He didn’t even realize what hit him. His opponent launched no specialty. The masked woman disassembled Sorin like jigsaw using raw close-quarter-combat at speeds barely any 33 Stars could respond. It was unfair. How could she handle him so brutally even with [Divine Beast Raiment] boosting his Stats to rival Tai Hua?

Sorin slammed prone into the earth, but his indignation refused to surrender.

Sorin’s Storage Ring flashed as the dogged Enma refused to surrender. He needed to counter-attack with that. A silver object appeared in his hand, but Luxinna entered before he could arm the grenade. She wrenched the object from his hand after disabling him with a kick in the ball. Sorin felt his Storage Ring being pulled from his fingers as a foot stomp his face to sleep nation.

Luxinna barely got a look at Sorin’s final weapon when Sun Senwei teleported behind her, surrounded by wind. She felt Aryssa Mana snaking around to bind her movement and saw Mamacia secretly sneaking to her needles.

Sadly, Holyworth’s binding was obsolete. Circumstances forced the Dawn to adapt to curse and direct body manipulation a month ago as Hikma’s [Nicholas] and Rem flinging sparring partners like a sack of potatoes became herculean sparring infamy. HD invested and invented a new technique. They commandeered their Mana as thin armor to conduct energy from attack and curses off body. Some like Hikma even learned to use it to manipulate external energy. While successful, the ability remained incomplete, unable to nullify heavy objects like boulder or train. Still, it worked phenomenally against [Tenshou], bindings spell, metaphysical and an energy-base attack.

They named this barrier [Aura].

[Aura] helped restore a measure of balance to the sparring room. Statistically, the proficiency of [Aura] corresponded to understanding and manipulation of Mana — best represented by WIS stat. Rem possessed the strongest followed by Hikma, but Luxinna’s protection was no slouch. She couldn’t match Hikma’s mastery, but a mere Holy Church binding couldn’t stop her. Hell, every Horizon Dawn member could at least resist Rem’s mental beat-down. They would rather be caught dead than folding to Holy Church holier than thou restraining spell.

[Overflow]

Aryssa watched her control spell shattered, and the beating resumed faster than she blinked.

…

After she finished offscreening the 33 Stars, the elf found herself in a pickle.

“So Sorin ambush you with this,” Luxinna showed the girl the silver grenade she plucked from Sorin’s hand. Beside her was the 4 elite of the 33 Stars bound and impaled with [Static Glass] needles to induce paralysis. “It exploded, killing five of you in the instant.”

“Y-yes,” the girl replied.

“Do you recognize what it is?”

“N-No,” another girl said.

Luxinna hung around Rem enough to know the jig.

“An arms trade…”

Suddenly, something suddenly groaned loudly.

“Fuck you,” Mamacia struggled as her countermeasure against paralysis kicked in. “I don’t care how bloody ridiculous you are. A masked joke would never inherit the Isle of Knowledge’s authority.”

“Well, I have two jokes to tell,” Luxinna stated coldly as she pocketed the explosive. “First, you are a savage little brat who need to learn humanity and humility. Second, there aren’t any inheritance here. Hell, I doubt Alcra is even alive.”

Silence.

Aryssa Holyworth’s mouth hung open like a goldfish. The answer caught the other conscious 33 Stars by surprise.

“What are you saying!?” Mamacia was in shock.

It was Luxinna’s turn to be flabbergasted.

“Wait. You guys came here with no research or understanding of Alcra Shaxter?”

Holyworth’s face told Luxinna the entire unfortunate tale.

Luxinna would be disappointed if she wasn’t so outrage.

“Incredible. You entered without knowing the rule, the game or the examiner. Risking your life in a lottery without researching the context or backup plan. Do you even do any testing? No wonder this place turns into a brigand fest within the first ten minutes. Unbelievable. I spend several hours saving clueless hamsters who keep leaping at the gold-plated mountain like an overeager magpie. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you? Are you all relate to lemmings?”

The crowd in front of Luxinna went into silence. They never saw event from Luxinna’s angle. They saw a massive mountain of opportunities worth risking death, but they never dug deeper beyond what the word of mouth told them. The knight of Dawn’s overwhelming power and her criticism illustrated how unrealistically suicidal their entire plan spelled.

Mamacia sneered.

“You act like you know!”

“Wait!” One girl yelled before eyeing nervously at Sorin’s disabled slave pinned by several [Static Glass] shackles. “Do Ms…”

“Ace. The name is Ace.”

“Okay,” the girl squeaked. “What does Ms. Ace know about this competition?”

“Wow, smart girl,” Luxinna found it pleasantly surprise to find a keen listener. Clearly, it was too early to judge the collective IQ of the participant. “Since you ask nicely, I will tell you a tale of woe. The story of Alcra Shaxter; the genius, the fighter and a good man.”

…

On the farther section of the forest of the forest, Hikma narrated the same story.

“Alcra was born the middle-child in a loving family of five. He had 2 brothers. His family is normal. They weren’t rich nor poor. A perfect image of a middle-class. Alcra grew surrounded by love. He was a curious kid, often drove his parent and older sibling’s crazy with questions. His father, being a supportive man, sent him to apprentice under the late Dr. Ehto Semmelweis. Semmelweis was quite a character. He graduated with honor from Balperia scientific academy at the top of his class, but his controversial opinion and papers on the vampires offended the mainstream opinion and he never shifted beyond managing self-employed clinic. Semmelweis died, mocked and shunned by the research community. But in all honesty, my friend believe Semmelweis might be on to something.”

The Aztellic and the elves listened intensely.

“How do you find out?” Emily asked.

“Research and creating countermeasures are my friend hobbies,” Hikma shrugged. “Dream might not be the strongest amongst us, but his insight is downright frightening. Let circle back at the main topic. Semmelweis taught Alcra everything he knew. However, happy times wouldn’t last. Unfortunate circumstance happened.”

…

“His older brother died in a training accident. Well, we suspect he got caught up in a joint assassination plot from the Holy Church and Elypt. Apparently, some big shot wanted to kill a member of Balperia council and Shaxter’s older brother applied for the wrong job at the wrong time.” Luxinna glared at her prisoner. “Must be familiar to you morons? I will bet the 33 Stars do this all the time.”

Luxinna continued the tale as the beaten assembly listened. Mamacia and Aryssa deduced they won’t like the Aesop at all. Meanwhile, Sun Senwei and Sorin still enjoyed their quarantine with the Sandman.

“His elder brother’s death and his mentor’s disgrace convinced Alcra the authority is the enemy of progress. Hence, he joined hand with several aspiring academic rebels to create the Isle of Knowledge, breaking off from Balperia. It was around this time Shaxter faced a second tragedy; his little brother caught a rampaging epidemic and died. It hit especially hard given that the plague was curable, but thank to Alchemist Association’s ego, Enma’s price-gouging and Seven Continental Alliance performing within the expected disappointment, the pandemic reached a devastating height and decimated Alcra’s childhood home. Finally, to atomize the bridge between the future world-smartest-man and anything resembling the status quo, those vain morons had the galls to cover-up the disaster.”

…

In Horizon Dawn’s base-camp Rem was recounting the detail. His brain combing over every detail of the Dawn assembled through [Clairvoyance] and Contemplation.

After his losses, it was no surprised Alcra held authority figures and media in disdain. However, losing his brother also fuel his desire to protect those less fortunate than him. Alcra was a true philanthropist. Whether it be Eco-dam, bio-engineer crops or easily available, low-cost material; all of Alcra’s contributions to IK directly helped the less fortunate among humanity. He partnered with Zenith Lochwain to build a private security company that gave slums’ kid a chance at life. Alcra impressively mentored both Santo Ahoy and Madam Marmel in their youth. He designed fortification, green houses and affordable multimedia entertainment. He created oceanic farms and several next generation conservatories. Even now, Ehto Utilities found by Shaxter supplied Elypt’s most underprivileged with water, energy and employment. The man was architect and funder of Intercontinental Peace Association with goal deescalating international conflict and provided humanitarian aids.

Alcra Shaxter was more than a scientist. He was the man who spent 40 years fighting for a better world. A true Horizon Dawn’s candidate if they existed back then. The man nursed his dying parent on their deathbed. If Buddha himself would praise anyone, Shaxter would be among the top candidates.

Hence, the entire scenario facing them made no goddamn sense.

…

In the wood, Hikma continued Rem’s internal monologue in his story-telling.

“Color me doubtful, but I found it impossible the man who spent his entire being advocating for benevolence and progress to start a kill-tournament rewarding Leprechaun gold. This is a guy who sponsored a kid in his community to reach his dream as a spiritual leader. The math was impossible. This entire incubating disaster doesn’t a share a strand of Alcra Shaxter’s DNA.”

…

“Yes, we are aware Alcra could change,” Luxinna resumed the tale. “Hence, we research the unwritten history. Official record states Alcra quitted the limelight 6 years ago after disagreement with Director El Acerbia on the Isle of Knowledge’s direction. This was where the hard question started? Where did Alcra go? What happened in that six years gap? What could change a model human like him into maniac using nervous-system control drone to engineer a massacre? It took time, but we finally got the clues in order.”

…

Rem reflected.

First, they worked back from the assumption that this event connected to Alcra. Thus, the man must live within this area for sometimes. They selected several town and hamlet that Alcra might hypothetically use to resupply. Suddenly, viola, they found several suspects.

Then they narrowed down the search by questioning the locals and began producing the times lines and community models for post-IK Alcra Shaxter.

The model answered many questions, but raised a truck worth more complication.

…

Horizon Dawn finished relaying theory.

“For three years after leaving the Isle of Knowledge, Alcra retired with his only contact being a remote town 1.65 kilometers from this forest. He visited there monthly to resupplies and befriended an orphanage. The last witness in the timelines claimed Alcra promised to teach her how to make portable Mana-battery the next month he visited.”

“That was three years ago. The girl waited from then until today, and Grandpa Shaxter never returned. It was impossible for his personally to go 180 in a month — real life was not an episode of RWBY — nor it explained his disappearance. The likeliest explanation for the snafu is this entire kill-fest was the brainchild of an imposter pretending to be Shaxter. All possibilities showed Alcra was killed or captured by this enigmatic malefactor. Personally, we believed it was the later. The purpose of this event wasn’t finding an inheritor but to gather as many experiment subjects for reason unknown. In conclusion, the competition is a massive fraud in progress. This is a trap.”

…

Down beneath the earth, a series of ominous cyan LED blinked.

Unexpected variable entered its equation. Reprocessing input.

Path of progression shifted — launching phase two.