SSS Awakening: Conquering Worlds with My Cupid System

The forest echoed with the sound of their laughter. Gromda had no idea what grades were, but it sounded funny and scary enough to incite laughter from her. The system remained silent for several seconds and suddenly said to Silas.

[I’ve analyzed the situation.]

’And?’

[You are both idiots.]

’Rude.’

[Accurate.]

Silas ignored it.

"So."

"Hm?"

"You said female orcs take the name of their mate."

"Yes."

"What happens to male orcs?"

"They try not to get punched," Gromda thought for a moment and answered, demonstrating the punch. Silas stopped walking and looked at her with a panicked expression. He was strong, yes, but the thought of getting punched by an orc was scary. Gromda was one. She was a weird breed of orc, possibly a mutation or an evolved orc, but the ones like her father were scary. Their fists were about two or five times or more than his head. That wasn’t a being you took a punch from. You either dodged with everything or ran as he had done.

"What?!"

"They try not to get punched."

"That’s not an answer."

"It is in village."

"..."

Silas suddenly found himself understanding why the orc chieftain had looked perpetually angry. The poor man probably spent his entire life getting punched by his wife. It seems it wasn’t related to the other orcs, but his mate. Still, it was a scary thought, though the image of the orc chieftain getting punched by his wife nearly made him laugh again.

As they continued deeper into the forest, they didn’t notice several pairs of eyes watching them from afar, creatures hidden among the trees. They had witnessed the destruction of the spiders, the fleeing baboons, and had witnessed the unfortunate creature that had been kicked into a distant hill earlier that morning.

And now they were witnessing something even stranger. The terrifying pink-haired human was laughing. The monsters collectively decided that whatever territory he was entering now officially belonged to him. None of them was interested in arguing otherwise. If it were only the orc lady, they could manage, but the strange human? They were animals, but even mindless monsters knew when to back away.

***

Unlike Silas, the camp of participants was dead silent as Mrs. Loraine stood in front of them, announcing the situation of the rift to them, and they didn’t look happy about it.

"It is survive or die now. I won’t sugarcoat my words. We are in grave danger, and if you take this as just an outing, then you will be the first to die. The awakened will protect the unawakened from now onwards. We have already lost two members; we can’t lose more. Each awakened will take a group of unawakened under them. We are camping here for now. We will move at the first sign of danger we cannot control or take on.

Help is coming from nowhere. We are in a blue rift at the very least, so be very vigilant. Move in groups at all times. When you are out to ease yourself, gather wood, hunt, and move in groups. Once an unawakened awakens, they will join the awakened and take an unawakened under them until everyone awakens. This is a rift where the more firepower you have, means survival, unless you are an S-Rank.

And none of us is an S-Rank. We have only one S-Rank, and he is missing. Even he couldn’t escape the jaws of the rift. So, if you still think that this is a game, then wake up. You either die or try surviving as long as you can until whatever help comes."

The faces of the students twisted in fear and frustration. They didn’t like the tone of Mrs. Loraine. Most of them were commoners, but quite a number were rich kids. And one of them announced his dissatisfaction, only to get slammed down.

"Aren’t you supposed to be our supervisors? You can’t even do your job, and they pay you. I will let my fa-"

"You are free to announce to your father if you leave this place alive," Mr. Fatars said with glowing eyes. His aura bore down on the boy, by name Victor Wesley.

"Do you think this is your flimsy excuse of a mansion? We are in a fucking rift. We are all in danger, but we haven’t forgotten our main objective. Our objective is to supervise, not to save your weak asses. If you cannot protect your mates, then what is the essence of you being here? Do you think any of us is happy with this situation? You are even a C-Rank, so much for the heir of the Wesley family."

Victor’s face turned red instantly.

"You-"

"I what?"

Mr. Fatars took a step forward, and the pressure increased, causing Victor to immediately shut up. The difference between them was too large. A C-Rank student and a B-Rank veteran weren’t remotely comparable.

Fatars looked around at everyone, his gaze sweeping over the assembled students. They looked angry, afraid, and lost. Fear was better than arrogance. Fear kept people alive.

"Listen carefully," His voice carried across the camp. "Your status doesn’t matter here."

He pointed toward the endless wilderness beyond the mountain.

"The monsters out there don’t care if you’re rich. They don’t care if your father owns half of City A. They don’t care if your family is influential."

His expression hardened.

"They’ll eat you all the same. The only thing that matters now is survival."

Mrs. Loraine nodded.

"Which is why we’re reorganizing." She unfolded a sheet of paper. "The unawakened will be assigned to awakened students."

Several students immediately looked relieved. One unawakened girl raised her hand.

"What if our protector dies?"

The camp turned silent as this was a very important question.

"Then you’ll have to survive until another awakened can take you," Mrs. Loraine didn’t avoid the question.

The blunt answer sent chills through everyone. This wasn’t school anymore, or a simulation. This was reality.

"We have nine awakened students," Mr. Fatars stepped forward and glanced at the assembled group. "And twenty-nine unawakened."

A rough division had already been prepared. Each awakened would be responsible for three to four unawakened students. The awakened students exchanged looks of confidence and worry. Among them were several notable names. Victor Wesley, despite his attitude, was still one of the strongest students present. Alicia Hart, a calm B-Rank with wind abilities. Marcus Doyle, a muscular C-Rank with reinforced body enhancement. Nina Brooks, a support-type awakened, and several others.