The area fell into silence, broken only by the bone-crushing sound of the tiger gulping down what remained of Sceptil, once a genius from a noble family.

Watching this macabre spectacle left the group of geniuses in terror, and, surprisingly or perhaps unsurprisingly, it was mostly directed toward Nova. In their eyes, Nova had repelled the tiger with ease, saving Sceptil in the process, only to then throw him back to it without any hesitation or reason. The casualness of the act sent a shiver down their spines, making them forget entirely to grieve about their former competitor and wonder instead if they would be the next to suffer the same fate.

To add insult to injury, if the tiger was so powerful that none of them could even react to it when it pounced on Sceptil, then there was no need to say how strong someone had to be to face it head-on, and from what they had seen, Nova was even stronger. They were feeling like sitting ducks ready to be reaped at one's own will.

One of the participants standing in the back muttered, "run…" under his breath, his voice growing louder as he repeated, "Run," until he finally gathered all his courage and shouted at the top of his lungs, "WE NEED TO RUN!"

He turned around and was about to take a step forward when he felt his cheek burn and something warm run down from it, staining his clothes. His head slowly tilted downward where he saw droplets of blood dripping onto the fabric, freezing him in place.

"Nobody can leave until I find three more people." Nova's voice rang out at that moment.

Three more? Who? Will I be next?

That was the thoughts running through in everyone's head. Cold sweat rolled down their backs, soaking their clothes dark. Nobody dared to make a peep, afraid that even the faintest noise might make them the next to be chosen.

Nova saw he had everyone's attention and nodded. He briefly glanced at the tiger who, seemingly having already forgotten about the situation, was taking its sweet time eating before addressing the participants with a light smile.

"You don't have to be afraid. I didn't throw that guy to the tiger just for fun."

He waited for them to relax, but their nerves were pulled so tightly that some began to shiver.

'Are these truly the best of the best in Lotra?' Nova thought.

"Look, here's the situation. Your elders, at least the majority of them, agreed to a condition if I saved your lives from the tiger, and I'm here to uphold that. That means I'm your biggest ally here."

Nobody believed that.

Andretas, suffocated by the pressure, finally snapped and shouted what was on everyone's mind but were too afraid to say, "You think we'd believe what you say after you threw one of your so-called allies into the tiger's mouth?! Do you think we're idiots?"

Immediately, those standing near him jolted and moved away, giving a wide berth to Andretas, making sure Nova saw exactly who had spoken and ensuring he wouldn't mistake them for the outburst.

"Before I answer, what's your name?" Nova asked.

"A-Andretas."

"Good." With a nod, Nova said, "As I mentioned, only the majority of your elders agreed to my simple request. There were a few who didn't, and thus I won't be saving their geniuses."

"But—" Andretas was about to speak when a clear voice interrupted him.

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"You're here to save those who agreed, not to kill those who didn't, right? So why did you kill Sceptil and why are you still looking for three more people? This doesn't make any sense, you're just being a hypocrite."

Nova turned his head toward the speaker and saw a young woman with long red hair. He nodded and replied, "What you said would make sense, if not for the fact that the tiger would've killed him had I not intervened. Since he was one of the four whose elders didn't agree to let me save him, I simply returned him to the same position I found him in."

Stunned. They were all stunned by those words.

Logically, it made sense, he was here to save only the ones whose elders had agreed, and Sceptil's hadn't thus he was sent back to his previous fate. But from an emotional standpoint, none of them could accept it. If they had the strength to save someone, and had already done so, nobody among them would ever choose to throw that person back to their death.

To them it was so surreal, so unreal, that their fear of Nova rose. Should they control their breath around him? Would he kill them if they accidentally stood in his way?

Right then, Nova glanced at them one by one, which caused them lower their heads and avoid eye contact, and lightly added, "Just to be clear, if I hadn't been here all your lives would've ended today by the tiger. Consider yourselves blessed that you're still breathing." Turning back toward the red-haired girl, he asked, "I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

"V—"

"Don't say it!" one of the two men standing next to her immediately shouted, stepping in front of her and blocking Nova's view.

Nova stared deeply at the man, who was nervously trying to act tough in front of the girl. 'How pointless. This would only work if the group were united, but they're all from different families, likely with hidden alliances and enmities. I don't need to do anything and…'

"Her name is Valera, and the two guys next to her are Erbert and Leonard!" Andretas shouted without hesitation, afraid Nova wouldn't hear the names clearly.

Erbert turned to Andretas and said, "Did you really have to?! What if something happens to us?!"

"Andretas, if we die your family will follow us," Leonard spat.

"Don't worry. I believe our elders were smart enough to accept whatever deal he mentioned," Valera said calmly.

When he heard the three names, Nova's smile widened, causing a sinking feeling to arise in them that soon turned to horror when they heard his next words. "That saved me quite some trouble." He turned to Andretas and said, "I'll recommend you to someone. When they come looking for you, don't hesitate to join them."

"Y-Yes, I'll join them!" Andretas caught by surprise hastily nodded.

Nova gave him a nod and looked at Erbert, Leonard, and Valera, who seemed as if their souls had left their bodies, and said, "As you might've guessed, you're the last three of the four whose elders didn't agree."

The three's heads inadvertently turned to the tiger, which was almost done with Sceptil's body, and they trembled like leaves while the rest of the group cried tears of joy at having escaped death.

"Don't worry. I won't feed you to the tiger, I'll make it painless instead."

"It can't be! Please, I'm the family head's nephew, if you let me live I can promise you to accept any deal you have!" Erbert said.

Leonard, too shaken to even plead, could only go down on his knees and mutter "This isn't real…"

Valera broke down. "Wait, wait, that's not my fault. It's the elders' fault for not agreeing, why should I die?!"

Andretas, along with the rest of the other geniuses, once the euphoria of having escaped death settled in, watched in silence as Erbert and Leonard joined Valera in pleading, begging for their lives, some even mocked them with an air of superiority.

"How unsightly," a young woman said, not hiding the disgust on her face.

A woman next to her reflexively snapped, "Shut up, you'd have done the exact same, or worse, if you were in the same position." When she heard herself, she awkwardly added, "Sorry…"

"Hmph."

'Wishful thinking. The elders who accompanied you are high-ranking in your families. If they don't agree to save your lives, that either means you're expendable or they're too proud to bow to a nobody like me. What will happen when I'm no longer here? It's too dangerous. Since I'm here, I'll set it right,' Nova thought, and, without another word, wind swept by and three heads rolled down.

"When we're out of the forest, you will tell your elders how dangerous the situation was and how I saved you all. If you don't, your heads will be next." Nova looked at them, and when he saw they had all shakily nodded, he waved his hand and continued, "Leave this clearing and go back into the forest, I'll come pick you up when I'm done here."

There was no need to say it twice, they didn't even question what had happened or what will happen. When his words rang in the air, the geniuses ran, some even wobbled on trembling legs in an attempt to get back into the forest as quickly as possible.

Seeing them go, Nova nodded to himself and turned toward the tiger, which was crouching on the grass. He muttered, "Now it's time for payback."

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