CHAPTER 47: COWARDS AND SURVIVORS
Within the hall, the group of four collected themselves, while the principal stumbled onto the floor, his face pale and his hands trembling.
'I used up all my mana. It seems teleporting four people is my limit for now. Anymore, and I should only be able to do so once, if at all.'
"You foolish brats! What the hell were you doing? Were you trying to kill us?"
The principal was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Daniel's angry voice.
Daniel barked at the group huddling on the other side of the massive hall, his eyes almost spewing flames.
Cries of panic and pleading soon filled the space as many voices overlapped.
"We didn't mean to."
"The door is already barred. It can't be opened."
"We are sorry...we thought it was monsters."
The more he heard, the angrier Daniel felt. Especially when he scanned all of them. His eyes flashed with disdain.
'Many of them are still at level 1. And there are only a few with rare classes.'
He noticed that the strongest was only at level 5, and he only had a common class. But when his eyes fell on a certain girl, a strange light shone within them.
'Iris? She is still alive. And she also has an epic class.'
If there was someone Daniel had always fantasized about, it wouldn't be the cold beauty, Elena, or that stoic student whom he had been hoping to teach yesterday but who had not been present in his class. No, it would be Iris. Despite being a junior, Iris was so endowed that she looked no different from a university girl.
"That is enough." Principal Martin suddenly spoke before walking to the front of the group, a gentle smile forming on his face.
"I am very happy to see many of you alive. You have all suffered." His eyes couldn't help but become wet when he looked at these kids whom he considered his own children. Most of them came from wealthy families and had likely never experienced true hardship before, yet here they were looking filthy, weary, and pale. It had barely been a day since the apocalypse descended, yet hunger had already hollowed their faces and dimmed the light within their eyes.
Many of the students, especially the females, cried out their hearts, their fear and worries, their heightened emotions spilling over from seeing the principal and hearing his words. Hope flickered in the eyes of many when they saw not only their principal, but even a teacher and the president of the student council.
Principal Martin saw that hope and quickly moved to capitalize on it. He spoke of how they couldn't remain in hiding, and how they had already formed a group. He spoke of why they needed to combine their strength together if they wanted any chance at surviving. Many voiced their opposition. They spoke of how they could simply remain in hiding and wait for the government to arrive. The principal tried to convince the whole group, but a few remained stubborn, unwilling to leave their safe shelter.
Left with no choice, the principal could only take those willing to leave with him, which barely numbered ten out of the group of almost thirty.
'What a pity.'
He shook his head, a sad expression on his face, as he watched those willing to stay. He could only sigh before turning to those leaving with them, among whom were Iris and the three highest leveled students.
The group of students, seeing their strongest members willing to leave, almost panicked. But when one of the students spoke of how they could hide in the basement concealed at the back of the hall, their fear of meeting whatever was out there returned in full.
Seeing this, Principal Martin spoke:
"You will remain here for now. We will leave and check the higher floors to see if there are more survivors."
"You will have to be careful." A charming voice suddenly echoed within the hall.
"Oh!" The principal turned to Iris, who spoke for the first time.
Iris flashed a beautiful smile, and leaned a bit forward to bow her head, but in the process, exposing her bountiful bossom. The principal merely smiled at her actions. "Do you know something?"
"There have been sounds of explosions coming from upstairs. Also, a few hours ago, the sound of falling objects resounded from behind the building for quite a while."
The principal's eyes sharpened with caution. After some time, he nodded with a grateful smile.
"Thank you."
He turned to Elena, who had merely watched the scene unfold since the beginning, and spoke.
"Let's leave."
---
On the corridor of the first floor of the girls' dorm, a bright purple light suddenly flashed before the Principal, Daniel, Elena, and the middle schooler appeared.
"Our next goal is the upper floors."
They were just about to move towards the entrance of the stairwell leading upstairs when a disheveled figure suddenly appeared in their vision. The girl's face was pale, with tear stains marking her cheeks. Her eyes looked a bit vacant, as she muttered incoherent words under her breath.
"Rachel?" the principal suddenly spoke, prompting the little girl to tense. But when she noticed them, her shoulders relaxed slightly.
The coldness in Elena's eyes gained a slight bit of warmth when she saw this young junior of hers. If there was anyone Elena knew who had a miserable life like hers, then she knew it was this young girl.
She watched as the principal asked about her well-being before quickly asking his main question.
"Are there any other survivors upstairs?"
Rachel lingered for a moment before speaking in a low but certain tone.
"No."
Elena's eyes narrowed.
'She is lying.'
She could hear how Rachel's heartbeat had spiked the moment the principal asked the question, and it didn't take a genius to deduce the reason why.
"Hmm..." A thoughtful look appeared on the principal's face. He wasn't willing to remain outside, and he had promised their main group they wouldn't take long. Not to mention that moving the survivors they met to the main building wouldn't be an easy endeavor.
'We don't have the time to waste. The situation can change at any moment, and it will be too dangerous if we are not together.'
A part of him was still willing to check the upper floors for any survivors. After all, there were many rooms, and one of the students might be hiding within. But when he remembered they were also yet to check the boys' dormitory, he could only shake his head before his eyes focused back on Rachel.
"We need to leave."