"FIRE AT WILL!" A tremendous roar came from Kairos who in his own hands held a bow which he used expertly. Trained by Edward, he has become rather adept at using the weapon.

A rain of arrows fired from behind each barricade flew unhindered into the midst of the Orcs, though the shields had blocked most of them.

The barriers are placed in a way that allows projectiles to fly freely without fear of friendly fire.

But the Orc army fearlessly ran through the arrows to crush the steel bars. Each of their attacks dented the thin metal a little. In the students' struggle for survival, their only hope is to delay their enemy's advancement with what little they have, until reinforcements could arrive. Of course, whether any cavalries are coming is in the air, but they had not given up hope.

Fortunately, the rooms are designed to accommodate only a small number of students, and thus greatly hindered the Orc army.

Another day passed in fierce combat, and finally, at daybreak, the Orcs destroyed the middle barricade despite being under the assault of countless arrows.

They poured into the hole they made, rushing towards the group of students, but three fighters stood in their way at the very front. These three heroic figures are Tommy and two pig-heads.

Although, if one looks closely, they will make out that those two next to him are human; Alan and Jim, with badly swelling faces.

After Tommy had awakened, he saw the unflattering portrait and the three flares arranged in a way like joss sticks would. Without needing to confirm with anyone, he smacked the two, changing their species from mankind to pig-mans.

Now, two new portraits drawn by Edward joined the first. Paintings of the swelling faces of those two idiots, Jim and Alan, and they have been told that should they die in this battle those two pictures will definitely become their commemorative portraits.

The three fought grimly against the Orcs, as no one wishes to fall in battle. For a number of reasons.

One may wonder that only a day has simply passed, yet why did Tommy stand once again at the front to hold back the Orcs?

After all, life force is a type of energy that recovers much slower than Ki. After sleeping for an entire day, he only managed to recuperate a little more than half of his life force.

The combat he had gone through earlier had given him invaluable experience, and he could feel he is inching towards the E rank.

It is Tommy’s wish to enter a battlefield where only the strong could enter. He did not hesitate to join the battle right when he awoke.

There is a peculiar thing about the weapons that the five of them chose. The two who picked extremely close-ranged weapons, Tommy and Jim, were warmongers that enjoyed extreme contact battles, while the pacifist, Edward, took up a bow. Their sensible leader, Kairos, favoured a weapon effective on the battlefield, his Swallow, which could cut down many like a sickle reaping through wheat. Whereas for the last person in the team who is also their ex-leader, Alan, selected his Tonfas simply because he was tricked by Jim who told him that Tonfas are only used by the coolest grandmasters of combat.

In truth, no grandmaster actually uses Tonfas. In fact, only a minority of people use Tonfas, and none of them had any large accomplishments yet.

It was sort of a boring weapon after all and sorely lacked killing power. Even its disabling ability is rather limited, and being two sticks, it doesn't have the range of a spear nor the guard of a shield.

It isn't the first time Alan was gullible enough to be tricked by Jim, but unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be the last time.

When the Orcs rushed through the gap, Tommy was the first to step up, with a grin on his face. His powerful and fearsome fists hammered down any challengers. Just with his base cultivation at Peak F rank, the normal Orcs are hardly his match, and whenever a stronger opponent steps forward, he will quickly finish the fight by tapping into his life force.

His fighting spirit is quickly displayed in battle. His classmates who were watching felt their hearts resonating with him, and likewise, their blood began to burn with fire.

Jim who was fighting by his side was the most affected. With daggers shining, he easily cut down all in front of him.

In the heat of battle and a moment of madness, he forwent all his fighting habits and took every attack head-on. Scratches began appearing all over him, but the smile on his face only grew.

The two battle-crazed boys fought ferociously, scaring even the War Beasts. The Orc army which was trying to push through suddenly stopped moving forward. Then, just by the fearsome disposition of those two, the tides of battle had turned, and the Orcs were forced out from the gap.

For a moment Alan's participation became forgotten, he stepped back a little allowing his brothers to fully absorb their combat experience while ensuring no Orc could get past them.

The two boys in front attacked wildly, but they accurately struck their enemies' weak points despite being overwhelmed. The benefit of Soul Perception made it as seem as if they had eyes all over their bodies and no small movements could escape them. As they continued to fight, their fighting abilities rapidly improved.

However, it wasn’t Tommy, but the youngest brother among them became the first who reached the next rank. Jim’s aura turned sharper, and with a loud outcry, he broke through and attained Peak F rank.

This boost almost increased his speed and strength a fold and gave his poor stamina a much-needed expansion.

His fighting style that was refined in battle improved once again. His strikes became swift like the wind, slicing in an intricate, yet, mesmerising manner, even as he dodged every attack by a hair’s breadth.

The students behind them that they were protecting have long retreated, moving into the second room to set it up.

Unlike the first room, the second has a few contraptions provided by the Saint Cadets academy in addition to the barricades.

The idea of the hill base is to have ten rooms within, each more difficult to break through until the ninth room where it is a resting room and the last room where the flag pole is placed.

However, while the difficulty increases, none of those contraptions are made for killing, so besides helping them to delay the Orcs by a little more, it is hardly useful.

They defended for another ten minutes of fierce combat before Tommy, who did not have full energy, to begin with, and Jim, who still have a disadvantage in stamina, started running out of gas.

More and more Orcs snuck past them, but Alan ensured none got through.

Even so, Tommy gritted his teeth and refused to stop. His wish to raise his strength burned within his chest.

He pushed forward, releasing his Ki to the maximum, and every step brought him closer into the midst of his enemies. But he refused to stop until he is unable to move an inch more.

His buddies watch in fear, as he dodged deathblows after deathblows by the skin of his teeth. His desire to enter E ranks is amazing, but he was unable to improve any further without aid from external stimulus like spirit pills.

Tommy's eyes shone with deep regret, he felt as if he had seen and touched E rank, yet was refused entry. The Orcs quickly took advantage of their fatigue and tried to overwhelm their position, and Alan swiftly charged to the front.

He expertly aimed at weakening spots on their bodies, and for the moment, they were safe.

But at this point in time, as if fate does not wish to let them off, another barricade is broken through. The students behind that metal grill quickly retreated.

Behind this barrier, Kairos alone blocked the wave of Orcs rushing in.

Now only one last barricade remains, guarded by Edward and the four captains of Snowdrifts. Behind this final barrier, they fired arrows non-stop as if their lives depend on it. And in fact, they do. Unfortunately, only one group of archers proved hardly enough to deter their foes.

The first group had died out, but over 600 Orcs are left. Seeing only a single person in their path, the War Beasts switched a group of Orc Masters to the front, trying to let their more powerful members cut through Kairos and rush to the exit behind him.

However, what happened next, were far beyond their expectations. The Orcs poured into the gap they created without being hindered. They gleefully tried to surround Kairos, while letting their companions behind them run through the door to level two, but before they could take another step forward, a silvery line appeared at the mid-section, and the first group became lifeless bodies that fell onto the ground.

Then, Kairos twisted his body, stepping to the left and reversing his Swallow in a graceful full-circle. Once again, another line of silver glow is cast upon the Orcs, and those that were trying to sneak past fell from that one strike.

His attacks started with a gentle silver glow, traced by the metal tip of his weapon. And when that light disappears, a group of Orcs immediately fell dead without even a cry of anguish. His victims looked almost peaceful in their eternal slumber.

But, like a relentless reaper, Kairos took another step forward. With it, an arc of light travelled from the bottom right of him upwards in a beautiful diagonal slash and claimed the lives of another group.

Unlike a spear, the Swallow has blades at both ends and could attack from many positions. He twirled his weapon like a deathly performance. Another step forward, a new row of Orcs fell at his feet.

In the silence of their deaths, the only sound was a light wisp of air from his weapon whistling through flesh.

The entire room froze in astonishment. Neither man nor beast could understand the inevitable death that Kairos brought about.

Tommy had played a large part in the phenomenon happening right now.

Unlike what Kairos had once thought, his interest in the magic waves that Orcs use for communication were not useless.

Although untested previously, it had brought about new insight on different types of wavelengths and how he could use it. His study on this subject gave him ideas on how to use light waves and sound waves for communications, and he began to wonder if a person' soul might resonate with one another in this manner.

As he used his Soul Perception to explore the area of soul waves, he somehow heard the loud cry of Tommy's regret like a shout that reverberated throughout the entire East hill. It is amazing how no one else could feel it when it was sent out with such a hair-curling strength.

Suddenly, Kairos felt as if this regret was his and not Tommy's. His blood cried out with the wish for advancement and a desire to enter the battlefield that only the strong can see. The strong spirit emitted from the depth of Tommy's heart has somehow affected him deeply. Almost in a trance, he walked forward into the midst of the Orc army.

Once again, the War Beasts tried to force their way past him. If they could not defeat the boy, they can keep him occupied as they hunt down the rest. After all the humans were killed, they will have ample time to deal with him.

But they stopped once again. This time, it was not a fatal blade that blocked their path, but a bewildering sight. A beautiful, radiant glow escaped from the ground and following it, another ball of light appeared in the same way but of a different colour.

They continued appearing until they number 16 in total, then they floated upwards combining into a large glowing sphere.

Within that sphere, a new universe could be seen if one looks closely, but instead of stars and planets, it was filled with brightly glowing gas of prismatic colours.

Even Kairos, the one who summoned them, did not know this, but if that sphere is left unmolested for a time almost uncountable, the gases will cool to form into new planets, and the field will behave like an isolated universe.

This cosmic sphere hovered towards Kairos who, in his trance, continue walking forward extremely slowly one step at a time. All this while, his weapon never stopped its movement, still cutting down the Orc Masters that he once had a hard fight with.

When the sphere met Kairos, its prismatic glow grew brighter until it looked like an aurora, and then it started revolving around him creating trail behind it like a tail until a full circle of prismatic coloured glow cycled him.

Without warning, the colours still. The brightness grew in intensity until it shone like the sun halo. Then when it became too bright to behold, multiple rays of light burst outwards.

The lights bounced off all the surfaces they touch and changed directions unnaturally. They continued to bounce through the rooms until they reach someone who is a member of the Snowdrifts.

Regardless where that person is, even if he is in the second room, the rays will trace him down and reach him.

Each was struck by at least one ray, but there were also some touched by multiple rays of different hues.

The panting and heaving Tommy and Jim suddenly recuperated some of their energy as several rays entered them, but more shockingly, each person that was struck by a beam has the same blank look as Kairos, as if they too had gone into a trance.

This daze quickly disappeared in just a blink of an eye, but something is left within their soul. A foreign energy that stored not only power but also knowledge.

Their leader has somehow shared his combat enlightenment with them by planting it into their souls. They instinctively know that they can bring forth that power anytime, entering into a trance themselves.

Because this enlightenment came from combat, only by fighting will they quickly absorb this experience.