Surviving in my Own Unpublished Failed Novel

After a few minutes of sitting in the Obelisk Cafeteria Two, Russell and Freya went back to the Obelisk Public Training Grounds. There were roughly 15 minutes left until the beginning of the 'Battle Royale' for every Rank Bracket.

Walking for some time, the two of them found their usual seats and sat there, while waiting for the remaining time to pass as they watched other students that were not participants of the Disciplinary Officer Trial Exam temporarily using the four arenas.

'Are those third years?'

Russell inwardly thought as he saw with his profound vision the middle of the training ground that was reserved for mock battles.

Then, some first-years and second-years were not using the arena, but rather the training dummies from the perimeter.

Although there were many students with different professions in Russell's sights, he didn't bother to check every one of them because aside from the Status Appraisal Skills like his Gaze of the Abyss (EX), one of the ways to guess one's profession was to check the weapon they were holding or how they behaved.

'Though it's hard to guess, at least the player will have a rough idea about the possible skills or fighting style of the other party.'

Russell thought as he was sitting with his younger sister, who was chewing at the moment as she bought something like gum before they went back.

"Oppa, oppa. What do you think about the difference between Profession and Class? I wonder why such a trivial thing exists."

Freya asked out of nowhere, causing Russell to feel pangs of needles that seemingly poked themselves in his chest.

'I'm sorry Freya, your brother was a foolish author.'

He lampooned inwardly before he pondered about his younger sister's question.

"Well, I guess it's just for formality and informality, you know. 'Profession' is used in a formal setting, while 'Class' is for informal setting or situation like when talking to a peer or having real-life combat."

Russell expressed what he recalled in his unpublished novel.

"I know what it means, it just seems unnecessary... Though I'm glad we are not using it in the academy, it's confusing. Haha."

Freya cackled before the ticking of time passed by quickly.

...

Without doing anything purposeful at the moment, and with just a few minutes left since the start of the Battle Royale per Rank Bracket — the decider match on who would become a part of the Disciplinary Committee; Russell – who felt bored guessing the professions of some of the students – scanned the surroundings and tried to repeatedly use the Skill: Gaze of the Abyss (EX), though he's not interested in reading everything in other students' Status Windows, he took a peek to their Professions.

'There's quite a few Rare professions and no unique... I guess there's no one here that is contracted with a Constellation.'

Having a contract with a Constellation, causing something like Profession Evolution was a private thing, and must not be divulged easily by the contractee.

A player could decline a Constellation's offer, and the Constellation couldn't force the player to sign a contract with the prospected contractee. Though, there were some ways in which a Constellation could threaten the player of interest in signing a contract; it's up to the player of interest if the threats were just a bluff or could be taken seriously.

'I wonder what would have happened when I rejected the Goddess of Night's offer... But I feel like refusing wasn't an option.'

"Oppa... what are you thinking about..?"

Russell's little reverie ended upon hearing his younger sister's words.

After pondering a little, Russell answered by asking a question to Freya.

"Freya... do you know Amery Blight? I saw she's your classmate."

Not everyone in the A-1 class had been written in detail in his unpublished novel, just like Freya's existence.

Russell didn't know everyone that was currently in the A-1 class aside from his younger sister and quite a number of people including the major characters.

'It's the same case with Freya's friend that she made... I didn't know that cheerful person.'

Russell looked at his younger sister, who was pondering for some time.

"I remember her yesterday after the Student Welcoming Ceremony, and even though it's just the second day since the classes started, she's already getting bullied by some hoodlums in the class. Apart from that, I think she's a loner."

'Hoodlums...'

Russell pondered a little about the word that Freya used when she spoke nonchalantly.

He asked because when he scanned some of the students' Status Windows randomly, he did the same with Amery Blight, who was sitting alone while waiting for the match to start.

With that, he noticed something on her Status Window.

...

Profession: Swordsman, [Sealed]

Unique Skill: [Sealed]

...

As he racked his brain for the possible indication of the Sealed Profession and Unique Skill of Amery, the Goddess of Night sent him a message through the System.

[The Constellation, 'Night of Primordial Chaos', asks you to keep an eye on the individual named Amery Blight.]

[The Constellation, 'Night of Primordial Chaos', goes back to "Her" sleep after smiling mischievously at "Her" champion.]

...

'Hmm... I feel like I get the gist of the Goddess of Night's intention.

'I'll include her in the list in "making" that, including Maya, in the future.'

Maya's one of the salesclerks in the Player General Store where Russell bought some necessities before encountering the Goddess of Night in the Hidden Dungeon.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Battle Royale for the E Rank Bracket will now commence. For our remaining five participants, please proceed to the arena."

The words of the referee or the custodian assigned for the E Rank Bracket cut off Russell's thoughts.

"Oppa, it's my cue...!"

Freya stood up, looked at her older brother, and revealed a faint smile before proceeding to the arena.

Russell responded with the same smile as he nodded his head, silently bidding her good luck.

"Whoo-!"

Shouted reverberated in the soundproof barrier that's covering the arena for the E Rank Bracket. Students flocked everywhere to the Battle Royale they wanted to watch.

...

In the arena, the five remaining participants of the E Rank Bracket formed a circle by maintaining their distance of at least 10 meters apart.

They were grasping their respective weapons while observing each other with cautiousness in their eyes.

Two of the five participants; Rekker Wolf, the one who tricked his opponent in the fifth match of the first round, and Roxia Luvile, the Mage with Skill: Fireball seemed uneasy.

Amery Blight and Ken Raven were eyeing each other, although it was mostly Amery that did the intense glare as if she found Ken Raven worthy of being cut down first, which caused him to be on guard against her even though the start signal has yet to go off.

'Oppa didn't give me any advice... I wonder how should I proceed with this... Well, I'll have to aim for that bastard first.'

"Are all of you ready?"

The referee asked, cutting off Freya's train of thought.

"The same rules are applied; your training suit has been enchanted to withstand a maximum amount of damage before it will trigger a barrier, and if the barrier was triggered, it means you are out.

"It is the same if you get knocked out of the arena or rendered unconscious, and..."

Even though the referee said that the same rules were applied, he still repeated them, but this time, he followed up with a warning due to the case with someone earlier who couldn't control his emotions.

"No questions?"

The five participants fell silent before they nodded, and at that time, the referee raised his right hand, and then said the start signal.

"Begin!"

...

Russell didn't give a few pieces of advice to his younger sister on purpose, but it was alright because Freya knew herself that she didn't need to be always dependent on her older brother.

'I knew it...'

Russell thought about the pettiness that he, and his younger sister, Freya has.

Freya rushed towards the man, Rekker Wolf — the one who tricked his opponent by making him surrender by faking a Mana Blade.

At that moment, something that Freya didn't expect tingled her senses as she quickly dodge from the side, unable to cut down Rekker whose eyes widened with the very unexpected attack as soon as the battle started.

Boom-!

A Fireball hit the ground of the arena that was originally targeted at Freya.

Her momentum slightly faltered during the unexpected attack behind her back as she looked with her constricted deep blue eyes to Roxia Luvile, who fired the Skill: Fireball against her.

"So this is how it's gonna be, huh...?"

An intimidating blue aura due to her Mana-related skills that came from her Trait: Blessed One emanated from her body.

The two participants; Rekker Wolf and Roxia Luvile, who talked about teaming up before the start of the Battle Royale looked at Freya with a somewhat nervous look, but after a few seconds, they composed themselves and did a coordinated assault against Freya.

Rekker Wolf, a Swordsman, did a frontal assault, while Roxia Luvile, a Mage, did support from the rear by aiming for an opening, causing Freya to split her focus. It's a well-done, simple strategy, but very far-off coordination when compared to High-Rank players in a party.

"Is dodging all you can do? I guess your luck of getting me off-guard ran out!"

Bam-!

But, Freya — who learned about her older brother's advice — just proceeded to clash with Rekker as she didn't reply because she's someone who adhered to the saying "Less Talk, Less Mistake".

...

After a few exchanges of strikes, while maintaining her alertness from Roxia's possible surprised attack, Freya vanished from her spot.

"W-what?"

Rekker, who didn't expect such a development, muttered in disbelief; there's one thing he didn't account for, which was Freya's specific profession, although he had no way of knowing without Status Appraisal Skills, it was better to presume such a case.

At that moment, Rekker saw Freya, who vanished with Skill: Short Blink, behind Roxia, wielding the training sword prepared to cleave Roxia down through her neck.

Bam-!

Then, he was about to make a response when Roxia vanished from where she was standing, causing Freya to hit the ground.

...

"I knew you'd do that."

Freya's cold voice sounded behind Roxia's ears after she just used the Skill: Short Blink

Roxia attempted to use the Skill: Short Blink as a Mage, but, it failed due to the nervousness she felt and the short time it needed for the skill to be triggered.

Bang-!

A diagonal slash reached Roxia's neck, but before it made contact, the Barrier Enchantment has been triggered, stopping Freya's training sword in midair.

"Participant: Roxia Luvile, out!"

The referee's voice reverberated in the arena, temporarily stopping the two; Amery Blight and Ken Raven from battling each other.