Marcus and Liora each took one of Rylan's arms, supporting his weight as they guided him through the forest. His steps were unsteady, every breath ragged with pain, but he forced himself to keep moving.
Eventually, they reached a cave—Liora and Rylan's hideout. The entrance was narrow, hidden behind thick brush, but inside it widened into a space large enough to rest safely. They laid Rylan down carefully against the stone wall, his wounds more visible now under the dim light.
Liora knelt beside Raylan, raising her wrist to transfer the remaining points to him. But Marcus raised a hand and shook his head.
"Keep them," he said calmly, though his voice was firm. "I'd rather exchange information first."
Liora looked at him with a surprised expression. "Information? About what?"
Marcus lowered his voice slightly, his gaze fixed on her. "About those two. The sabertooth and the guy from before. Who were they?"
Liora replied with a sigh, "Well… it's a long story. They're from a group, you know?"
Marcus frowned, clearly puzzled, and rubbed the back of his neck as he processed what Liora had just said.
"Group?" he repeated, his voice thick with disbelief. "Like… they were a team?"
Liora nodded, her eyes fixed on Rylan's wounds as she moved her hands, making small green bubbles float that healed the young man's cuts and bruises.
"Yes," she said calmly, as if it were obvious. "Apparently, the leader of Class 1B, Victoria Knight, gathered her team before the exam and gave them a very clear strategy."
Marcus raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. Liora let out a soft sigh before speaking again:
"The strategy is to use their numbers. They would all land on the island together and operate as a single unit. Instead of each person hunting monsters and points individually, they hunt the other students, eliminating competition and racking up points quickly. It's aggressive, safe, and highly calculated."
Marcus thought for a moment, picturing the scene: a group of coordinated students moving like experienced predators, while he and the others scattered, trying to survive. The plan was clever—and dangerous.
"So basically, it's not just the monsters you have to worry about," Marcus murmured, with a trace of irony, "but now you've got an entire class trained to hunt you too."
Liora nodded gravely as she placed the last bubble over Rylan.
Marcus leaned against the cave wall, arms crossed, watching the sunset light filter through the entrance as he listened to Liora's explanation. His curiosity grew with every word she spoke.
"And those two… how did you find them?" he asked, careful with his tone, trying not to sound too probing, but with the intensity of someone who needed answers.
Liora sighed, taking a moment before beginning the story, her gaze fixed on a point beyond the cave, as if she could see each scene replaying in her mind.
"It all started yesterday," Liora began, her voice calm but tense. "I stepped away from Rylan for a moment, and suddenly, a monstrous form lunged at me.
It was fast, brutal—an attack that would have caught anyone off guard—but I managed to hold on long enough until Rylan reached my side. Together, we took it down without much trouble.
"At first, I thought he just wanted my points," she continued, crossing her arms, her gaze fixed on a point beyond the cave. "But something in the way it moved, in its behavior, told me it wasn't acting on its own. Someone had sent it. So I started questioning it…"
And that's when it told us everything it had just explained to you.
Marcus narrowed his eyes, processing every detail with careful attention. He knew no one gave up information willingly, especially when it involved betraying someone as dangerous and calculating as that Victoria sounded. His mind began reconstructing the scene, imagining the tension, the pressure, and the methods they might have used to make the transformer talk.
The realization hit him hard: they had resorted to torture to extract the information. Marcus was shocked; he hadn't expected such cruelty even in the middle of a survival exam. But what truly unsettled him was an even more alarming question: how had they managed to torture it without triggering its bracelet? Why the tortured didn't surrender? It was an absolute rule—once someone surrendered, they couldn't be touched.
Suddenly, Marcus looked at Liora and her brother differently. They were no longer the kind sibling duo who had greeted him on the first day. Sitting there in the cave, calm and composed, they radiated a quiet, dangerous confidence. They were true Transformers, ready to do whatever it took, no matter how ruthless, to achieve their goals.
"Then earlier this morning," she continued, her voice steady but tense, "three figures attacked us. They went after both of us, which means they must have tracked us. We fought them… and managed to take down one of the attackers. But in the end, we had no choice but to split up and escape.
Marcus listened, his brow furrowing. The calmness in her voice contrasted sharply with the danger she described, and it only made the reality of their situation hit him harder. These weren't just isolated incidents—they were being hunted, and Liora and her brother were capable of surviving attacks that would have caught most off guard.
"So what do you plan to do now?" Marcus asked, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity.
Marcus let the information settle in, his mind racing. If what Liora had said was true—if there was a group working together, hunting other students and racking up points quickly—then the game wasn't just about killing monsters anymore. Someone else was playing a faster, more strategic game. And if Class 1B was doing it, maybe other groups were doing the same, moving in shadows, taking advantage of every opportunity. The traditional method of earning points, hunting monsters individually, wouldn't be enough to reach the top three. To survive—and to rise—he would need to adapt, to find a more efficient way to gain points.
Marcus shifted slightly, curiosity and cautious calculation in his voice. "So… what do you plan to do now?"
Liora's gaze stayed fixed on a point beyond the cave, thoughtful and distant. "I don't know," she admitted. "The smartest thing is to move deeper into the forest, lay low, and wait for this to blow over. We can't fight back directly… they're stronger. Far stronger."
Marcus hesitated for a moment, then tried, careful but hopeful: "Well… what if I join you? I could help you fight back."
Liora's eyes met his, calm but firm. "It's true that you're strong, and you know how to fight. You'd be a valuable asset," she said. "But at the end of the day, there are only three of us. In first-year academy classes, groups usually have five to eight members. Even if you join, we still wouldn't be able to win."
Marcus shrugged, trying one last angle. "Why don't we recruit more allies, then?"
Liora shook her head tiredly. "It's not that simple," she said. "People don't trust easily. Asking strangers to join something that could get them killed or branded as cheaters is a lot to ask. Most just want to pass the exam—they don't want trouble or to take risks. And even if you convince someone, there's always the fear they'll betray you; one defector and everything falls apart. On top of that, why would anyone risk their points and safety for a plan that benefits others more than themselves? The incentives just don't line up."
After a moment, Liora's eyes lit up. "But… maybe I know three people who would accept the proposal."
Marcus straightened, alert. "Who?"
"Our classmates," Liora replied calmly.