Chapter 33: Beautiful Death

Both Bella and Rani had short black hair with athletic bodies, and they wore tight shorts and T-shirts with suspenders. The only difference between them was their face. While Bella had a small face with a usual warm look in her eyes, Rani always wore a fierce expression with a piercing gaze. Both of them nodded at Leon, and he also returned their greetings. All of them casually ignored Natasha. "Professor made these teams to pair up the weakest with the strongest to balance the teams. In the Primordial Expanse, teams are always better than a solo run, so this is kind of practice for it," Natasha sat down on a chair and added. "She will be counting points on various aspects like team coordination, the number of monsters we kill, and other things. The top two teams who get the highest scores will have the chance to visit the Primordial Expanse with her." "And you’re the leader of this team?" Leon asked. "Of course. Do any of you have problems with that?" Natasha asked sweetly, but there was a hidden threat in her voice that everyone sensed. "You are the strongest, so naturally, you will be the leader," Rani spoke calmly, and her friend also agreed with her. The two boys also didn’t have any opinions since they were the weakest bunch here. Just then, the door burst open as Amber strolled in with a happy smile on her face. She jumped on a table and clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, though it wasn’t really needed, since she naturally garnered attention from everyone. "I have already given enough theory classes and also explained everything that was needed for this Dungeon Raid, so I’ll keep it short," Amber said. "First and most important thing you need to remember is...I won’t save you." Everyone got confused hearing her words, but nobody dared to question her. "It means that whether you lose limbs, get burnt alive, get smashed to the ground, or more, I won’t be saving you in these situations," Amber said. "The only situation where I’ll step in is if you’re going to die because it is my responsibility to keep you all alive. But before that, you’re all on your own." Everyone shivered hearing that, but none of them backed away. The moment they had decided to join her classes, they already knew they would be facing brutal situations. This was still better. "There are ways to heal you even if you’re on the verge of death, so that isn’t really a problem for me. As long as you have a breath left, I can save you," Amber said as she jumped down from the table. "Prepare yourself. In two minutes, I will send you all into different parts of the dungeon. Your objective is to clear the dungeon, and you have six hours for that. Then, I’ll take you out at exactly 3 in the afternoon. As I’ve told you before, I will count the points, and I have my ways to keep an eye on all of you. But there’s an exception to this. The team that kills the boss and clears the dungeon will automatically win." She paused and added with a chilling smile, "Oh yeah, I wanted to let you feel the real world, so kill stealing is also allowed. So, if you work hard to bring the Boss down and someone else takes the credit, don’t come crying to me." With that, she clicked her fingers, and the side wall shifted upwards, revealing a pulsating violet circle carved into the fabric of reality. Wisps of dark energy slowly drifted outwards from it while the violet color took a hue of indigo. Amber looked at the time and declared, "And... your time starts now." One by one, ten teams entered the violet circle, and Leon’s team was the last to enter. But before they did, Sarah came toward them and pointed at Natasha. "I challenge you to a fight. Whoever comes out on top will have to publicly apologize to the winner, and the loser will also have to call herself a bitch fifty times." The hall turned silent as everyone stared at the two of them, but it was clear to anyone with eyes that only Sarah was taking all of this too seriously. "Stop being childish," Natasha waved her hand and said. "Why would I even agree to such a nonsensical bet?" "So what? Are you afraid that you’ll lose because of these weak men in your team?" Sarah mocked while giving a disdainful look to Leon and Denver. Bella and Rani frowned upon hearing that and turned toward Natasha to see how she would respond. After all, she was their leader, even if only temporarily, so they had to give her the respect. On the other hand, one of Sarah’s teammates was massaging her forehead in frustration, and others were simply enjoying looking down at Leon. ’Oh boy, looks like just because one guy dumped her, she considers all men scumbags and blah blah blah.’ Leon was speechless and turned toward the circle. He had no interest in their skirmish, so he really wanted to leave quickly. As for Sarah insulting him, why would he care about someone like her? However, Natasha didn’t seem to share the same sentiments as she took a step forward and smiled, but this smile was vastly different than before. There was something chilling about it. "First of all, they aren’t weak. Second of all, I alone am enough to rough you all up like a ragdoll. And the reason I refuse to participate in this bet is because I never gamble where I don’t see any benefits for me." She scoffed while looking up and down at Sarah, "What would I gain from you publicly apologizing to me? Nothing. As for you calling yourself a bitch, heh. That you already are, and everyone knows that. There’s no need for you to acknowledge it in front of everyone." Her voice grew colder as she took a step forward, "Don’t blame your incompetence on other people. Your boyfriend left you not because of me. He already knew he could never have someone like me. He left because you are lacking in everything. You can’t provide what he needs. You’re a bitch who can’t even satisfy her man." She leaned forward and whispered in Sarah’s ear, who was already frozen in fear and shock under such a front-line assault, "Lastly, insult my friends again, and I’ll show you why they call me the Beautiful Death."