The Huntsman Of Death:A Gamer's POV As Side Character

The tension in the place thickened. Some students stiffened, others lowered their heads. The excitement from earlier was gone, replaced by a quiet, uncomfortable weight.

Few have already opened their lips to brag and introduce themselves, especially the noble brats only to cough and swallow their words.

Just as everyone wondered if this was it, they heard a warm voice.

"Ah, so this is the future of the Academy," he said, his voice smooth and comforting. "Good morning, everyone. I am Professor Linden. Some of you may know me, but for those who don’t, I’ll spare you the long introductions. Let’s just say I’ve been around longer than most of you have been alive."

The cadets chuckled softly, the tension easing a little.

Professor Linden stepped closer to the group, his eyes sparkling with interest. He pointed at one student in the second row. "You, what’s your name?"

"L-Lucas, sir," the boy stammered.

"Lucas, good to meet you. Judging by the way you’re standing, I’d say you’re a tracker. Am I right?"

Lucas nodded, his nervousness giving way to pride.

"Thought so," Linden said with a grin before turning to another cadet. "And you, young lady, the one with the determined look?"

"Marina, sir."

"Ah, Marina. You look like someone who’s good at strategy. Am I wrong?"

"No, sir."

"Excellent! I hope to see those skills shine today," he said, his tone encouraging.

He continued like this, engaging with a few cadets and putting them at ease. It was clear he had a gift for connecting with people, making even the most anxious students feel valued.

But his chatter stopped when it reached Freya, "Lovely lady what’s your name."

Freya took a step back in disgust and spoke, "Sorry sir I feel a bit uncomfortable so please stay away from me a bit."

It seems she tried to be as polite as possible but Linden’s smiling face cracked. Holding himself he turned to Edwin whose expression was already screaming.

[Stay away from me.]

[Don’t talk to me or I will kill you.]

Nudging his glasses, he finally returned to the front, addressing everyone. "Remember, teamwork will be your greatest weapon today. The forest may look daunting, but trust in your skills and each other. Now, let the hunt begin!"

The students straightened, their earlier nerves replaced with determination. Professor Linden’s warmth and encouragement had given them the boost they needed.

"Ah."

I looked back at that man who stood at the front. He seemed like an extremely warm person at first glance. Like a neighborhood uncle who everyone was friendly with and then looked at Freya.

Before I could open my lips, I heard an unpleasant crunching voice.

"That bitch is really good at attracting aggro."

"Hey, don’t say that ’cause if she heard that she might kill you."

"By the way, doesn’t that old man look familiar? Where have I seen that guy?"

"It’s because he was the same gentleman I met after coming out from the temple."

"Yeah, I remember now."

Closing my lips, I turned my head, only to feel my words catch in my throat.

There he was the familiar chunni boy, Reed, looking as eccentric as ever. But what really threw me off wasn’t what he said or how he said it. No, it was the person standing beside him. The blue-haired kid, none other than Ashton Grim.

My expression immediately soured as I asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Ashton looked at me, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why do you look so... comfortable talking to him?" I gestured toward Reed.

"What do you mean by that?" Reed cut in, his voice rising in mock offense, but Ashton ignored him entirely.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Ashton replied, "Well, I came looking for you. But since you weren’t around, he started talking to me, and... we just hit it off."

I blinked, struggling to process his words. "You hit it off... with him?"

Noticing my incredulous stare, Reed narrowed his eyes at me. "Why do I feel like you’re thinking something insulting about me, my favorite disciple?"

"Disciple, my ass…" I muttered under my breath.

CLAP! CLAP!

Our odd conversation came to an abrupt halt as the sound of clapping echoed through the area. The old man at the front, probably saying something profound or motivational, had everyone’s attention except ours.

Ashton glanced at me, then back at Reed, clearly curious about the "disciple" comment. But before he could ask, I shook my head, signaling to drop it.

Some things, I thought, were better left unexplained.

We three followed suit and clapped ignorantly.

He returned our claps with a slight bow as Professor Alex stepped ahead.

"You’ve heard him. Don’t feel too pressured. There will be many chances for you to prove yourself."

"Then let’s begin team segregation." as he spoke Emilia pulled out a tablet.

Soon, the beeping sound echoed.

"You all have got your team name."

Hearing this, I looked at the smartwatch whose screen lit up with corresponding names but the moment I saw the team, I couldn’t help but curse.

"FUCK!"

However it seemed, I wasn’t the only one who had the same reaction as I heard many curses as if I had arrived in the street of a fish market where people were haggling for prices.

"TSK!"I clicked my tongue.

People lost their composure because of some bias.

Then, I checked my smartwatch for the name of my team.

[Team 15]

Freya Osborne – Student Rank 2

Ryan Trent – Student Rank 7776

Talia Greaves – Student Rank 14230

Lukas Star – Student Rank 18924

"Dogshit!"

"What the fuck?"I screamed in terror but just then, Emilia’s figure started levitating as she extended her hand.

A pale whitish aura encased giving her a shining and stunning look drawing everyone’s attention.

"Since you have seen the team. I will directly send you and your team to the dungeon so it will save the time you will waste in bickering and arguing."

"So I wish you good luck and have a nice trip"

"Brace yourself!"

CLAP!

"UUH!"

WHAT?

Then like a blinding flash of lightning, an illuminating flash struck everyone’s vision and became blind and when intense light disappeared, the entire line of cadets had disappeared from sight, disappearing out of thin air.