Desmond set the two unconscious men down on the ground, then looked back at Sai and smirked again.
"So what will you do now? Will you run, or will you save them?"
"Why didn't you attack me too?" Sai asked. "If you want to stop all of us, why not do it now? You're just wasting time."
"If I attacked you as well, I wouldn't be able to guarantee your safety if I left you here. The forest is dangerous. If none of you can fight when danger comes, you'll end up as lunch for the monsters here."
Sai frowned. "So you left me awake just so someone could guard them?"
"If you won't stay here to protect them, then I might as well knock you out too and leave you all here. And if you're lucky, maybe someone will survive if a beast happens to pass by. Is that fine with you?"
The boy couldn't answer right away. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Now, I'll ask again, Sai Floshen. Will you leave, or will you stay here with them?"
Sai turned his gaze away. He cursed under his breath and glanced at his companions, then heard strange rustling and howls around them.
He clenched his jaw and looked back up at Desmond.
"When I wake up my companions, we'll chase you again. Remember that."
Desmond quietly observed Sai. He wanted to see whether the boy was telling the truth, and when he confirmed he wasn't lying, he said nothing more and simply vanished from the area like lightning.
Once Sai was alone, he immediately approached his two companions and dragged them toward a tree, then went to the three others who were hanging upside down.
"Help us," one pleaded. His face was red from being stuck in that position for so long.
Using fire shaped into a blade, Sai swung once and cut the ropes.
When the three were freed, the relief and gratitude on their faces were clear.
"I helped you, so you should return that favor. We'll wait for my other companions to wake up, then we'll go back into the fight together."
As Sai said this, the three looked at each other as if speaking with their eyes before turning back to him.
"No problem," one of them said.
Sai nodded slightly with a faint smile. "Thank you."
__
Elsewhere in the forest—several kilometers east of the center—one of the instructors was sitting on a high tree branch.
He was a 3rd Grade Falcon Adventurer. With his sharp senses, he easily avoided being noticed by students who had nearly spotted him several times.
Because of each Guild's tactics, searching for the ten targets had become easier, but the real problem was that the targets were not easy to find at all.
They were like shadows—appearing faster than half a second, then disappearing again before anyone could notice.
Aside from that…
The teachers' mission wasn't only to hide and protect their badges—they were also tasked to reduce the number of students by any means necessary through traps.
In the hours since the competition began, many students had already fallen into their traps.
Some fell asleep from magic smoke.
Some were trapped in metal cages that were hard to break.
Some were hit by thorns or scents that caused illusions.
Others barely avoided wild creatures they accidentally encountered.
And many more dangers awaited them.
All of these events were visible to the three kings and to Hanzuo from their seats, as if they were watching a show.
"Why hasn't that boy made any move in the forest until now?" King Sauro wondered aloud.
King Walder swallowed as he focused on the ongoing battles and shared his thoughts.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he acts this way. After winning the first contest, it's impossible for the other students to surpass him in points. So there's no reason for him to try anymore."
"What he's doing is insolence," King Xien interrupted, clenching the hand holding his wine glass so tightly it was close to shattering. "If he refuses to fight, he should have been removed from the competition right from the start."
This king wanted nothing more than to eliminate the boy Emrys from his path.
Even if it meant tarnishing his own honor, he didn't care.
All he wanted was to see that boy defeated, by any method possible.
Hanzuo glanced at him.
"Please don't worry too much, Your Majesty. The day will come when all things will fall in your favor. This isn't the last competition—just a little patience, Your Majesty."