Arlo forcibly shook that thought from his head and muttered.
"Where could the other boss monster be?"
Then he turned his head and looked at the denser, darker part of the forest.
"In the deepest part, of course."
Arlo didn't hesitate after thinking this and headed there. He didn't know if his theory was real, but he didn't have many options left.
As they proceeded into the depths of the forest, the trees became increasingly dense, and visibility decreased because of the sun being blocked. Furthermore, the strength of the monsters he encountered gradually increased.
'I'm on the right track.'
Arlo and the group behind him made a loud noise as they ran through the silent forest, and their sounds echoed everywhere. This attracted the surrounding monsters.
No matter how far Arlo ran ahead, the choice the monsters made when they had to choose between one person and a whole group was obvious.
"Shit, get away from me!"
"Where did this snake come from?"
"Help!"
As the noises behind him slowly increased, Arlo finally relaxed. At this rate, they would abandon the chase even before reaching the boss monster, either due to monster attacks or fear of progressing further.
"Guys, if we continue like this, we'll let this charlatan escape. Those with close-combat abilities, spread out! Those with long-range abilities, come closer! So many people have been eliminated because of this monster; if we abandon his pursuit, it would be a betrayal to our eliminated brothers."
'...'
"What betrayal? Just a few hours ago, you were about to grab each other's throats!"
Arlo finally couldn't hold it in and roared. The strange persistence of these men had exhausted him.
"That's something you wouldn't understand, you dog. You are probably so ugly that a ghost would kneel down in worship without fighting you. That's why you cover your face, right?"
'...'
'Did this idiot just use my own line against me? He should have at least changed it a little; everyone here already heard me say that line.'
The more absurd part was that the person who said this was a mage from the Tolkar Magic School.
The even more absurd part was, the man he had said the line to was also in this group.
And the most absurd part?
They were the same person.
Arlo was torn between cursing the man or not, but he noticed that although the team behind him had slowed down slightly due to the division of labor, they could resist the monsters more easily.
'...'
Realizing there was nothing else he could do, he drank another recovery potion and continued on his way. His potion stocks were running out, and his legs were on the verge of collapsing.
Arlo was considering whether suicide would lead to elimination when everyone suddenly jumped in fear at the great roar that echoed around them and looked ahead.
Except for one person.
Arlo was more excited than scared.
Everyone, including the attacking monsters, stopped for a moment under the pressure that descended upon them. Arlo was thankful that he could finally breathe for a second, but this feeling lasted only until he saw the colossal monster emerging from the forest ahead.
The monster was a lion, but a slightly different lion.
Just one of the lion's legs was the size of their bodies. It looked terrifying with its fire-red mane and teeth, each the size of a human arm.
Even though they knew they wouldn't die, everyone there couldn't stop trembling.
Arlo felt his tongue go dry as he looked at the gigantic lion. He had guessed it would be a powerful monster, but something like this…
The king of the jungles from his previous world would remain like a cute kitten next to this.
At that moment, Arlo realized he hadn't planned what to do after finding the boss monster, and he immediately decided to implement the most logical plan right there.
Run
As the ancients also said, you don't need to outrun the monster. As long as you run faster than the person behind you, you can win.
The people behind him looked at the small person running away right in front of them and the lion roaring furiously, and they understood the situation.
"Shit. Run!"
After that, a chase started again, but this time, things were completely different.
Arlo was running in the very front, perhaps due to the fear of the monster behind him, on the quickly cleared path, and a group was still running at a full gallop behind him. The difference was that right at the back was a gigantic lion, which was still gliding through the trees like a cat despite its colossal size.
"What happened? How does it feel to be chased?"
Group '...'
Arlo shouted with delight, and those behind him were unable to find any curses left to throw at him.
"We'll see if you'll be this cheerful when we eliminate you!"
One of them retorted despite the situation, and Arlo immediately answered.
"Eliminate me? I would have already escaped while dealing with you!"
'...'
The group behind him finally understood his plan and cursed again, but solving how to get out of this situation was more important.
"Guys, if we don't fight this monster, we will all be eliminated, and only this monkey-face will remain."
"Hey, I'm a rabbit, not a monkey. Are you blind?"
The group behind him no longer bothered to answer, and the previous person spoke again.
"But if we unite, we have a chance even against this monster. Remember, this is a competition; they wouldn't give us an opponent we couldn't defeat."
His words must have sounded logical, as calls for unity rose among the breathless voices.
"Then let's move! Everyone spread out around the monster on the count of three. Mages focused on defense and close combat in the front, and those focused on long-range and attack in the back. We will attack it from all sides, the oldest yet most effective method."
Everyone agreed unanimously, and the self-proclaimed leader began to count.
"1... 2..."
"4!"
As the confused group stumbled with this sudden change in number, the lion finally caught up with some people and eliminated 3 of them in a single move, sending them flying into the air.
'...'
"3... 3... Damn it, attack!"
They must have been truly busy this time, as they didn't even find time to curse at Arlo.
The team immediately tried to form a circle around the monster, and although there were a few casualties as they were a newly formed team, they finally achieved a proper formation.
"Attack!"
What followed was a battleground. Wherever the monster turned, every kind of wall, from rock walls to fire walls, appeared, barely stopping the monster's attack. Meanwhile, the mages in the back rained abilities down on the monster.
Although the abilities alone didn't have much effect on the monster, when all of them combined, even this colossal monster was forced to roar in pain.
Arlo?
He had long since run away.
At least, that's what everyone thought.
The battle continued at a high pace, and the group's coordination gradually improved, and they started moving backward together. After all, even though the monster was large and powerful, its attack methods were limited. Moreover, the constant damage inflicted on its body was slowly causing it to lose strength.
This situation further encouraged the group, and shouts flew through the air.
"Attack!"
"Watch the back!"
"It's attacking with its tail! Defend!"
"There is a big wound on its back; target there!"
As the monster's strength gradually waned, the voices around them grew even louder.
"HAHA, it's almost dead!"
"First we'll kill this monster, then that rabbit demon!"
"We must finish quickly; my stamina is running out."
"Same here. I can barely keep my eyes open. I feel like I'm going to pass out from exhaustion."
"Me too. I just want to curl up right here and sleep."
"HA! I'm starting to feel sleepy too."
"..."
The group finally realized something was wrong, and one of them quickly understood the situation.
"THAT DAMNED RABBIT!!!"
Yes, Arlo was currently implementing his 'reuniting the lovers' tactic.
As the sleeping gas fully took effect, gaps began to form within the group, and things got even worse as the near-death monster went berserk before dying.
"Defend, defend! It's almost over."
"Mom, what are you doing here? It's too dangerous."
'...'
As the group descended into chaos, one of them finally couldn't bear it anymore.
"Damn it, I can't fall here! I need those magic stones!"
Then he turned back and ran. At least, that's what he thought until a wall of fire appeared in front of him. But the man was so exhausted from constantly running and fighting large and small monsters that he couldn't even stop his run and plunged straight into the fire wall.
Team "..."
"HAHAHA! DID YOU THINK YOU COULD GET RID OF ME THAT EASILY?"
The students were so terrified by the sudden high-pitched voice that a crack formed in their defense against the monster, and a few more people were eliminated.
"WHAT HAPPENED? WEREN'T YOU GOING TO CATCH ME AND BREAK MY FACE?"
The voice came from the exact opposite direction of the previous one this time, and the students shivered coldly.
"THIS GUY IS A MANIAC!"
"HAHAHA!!"
After that, the sound of laughter circled around them, and the students felt as if they were frozen stiff. Whenever someone tried to run away, a Fire Wall or Fireball appeared out of nowhere and eliminated them. Coupled with the increasing sleepiness, the half-asleep students began to feel like they were fighting a devil, not a person.
"Devil, leave us alone."
"Damn it, where did you come from?"
"Ugh, ugh." (Crying sound)
As the sounds slowly faded toward the end, the monster also realized it had defeated its opponents and collapsed on the ground, breathing its last.
'Finally, silence.'
All the noise that had just been created vanished, and the environment, although riddled with holes, fell into silence as if nothing had happened.
Arlo slowly emerged from the trees.
His clothes were filthy, his hair was messy, and his face was full of fatigue that was evident even through the mask.
"I don't understand why people choose to die like this when they could have died peacefully."
Arlo sighed and collapsed onto the ground, thinking he could finally rest a little, but he sighed again at the sound that echoed in the air.
...
The competition has ended.
Everyone will be teleported to the entrance of the forest in 10 seconds.
...
Hearing this sound, Arlo, who had just sat down, immediately stood up, and another sound was heard in his mind.
---
Quest completed.
Quest: Participate in the fighting tournament and defeat everyone, friend or foe.
Quest Reward: 10 EXP per eliminated opponent
Quest Reward: 560 EXP
---
Bonus quest completed.
Bonus Quest: Eliminate 50 people
Quest Reward: Ancient Blacksmith King's Body Ability
---
Quest completed.
Quest: Eliminate the crowd behind you.
Quest Reward: 150 EXP
---
Name: Arlo Klser
Level: 4th-Level Mage Apprentice
Abilities: Fireball (Medium) , Fire Wall (Medium), Line Movement Technique (High)
EXP: 797/150
---
Perhaps the only good thing about this chaos was that he had more EXP than he had seen since coming to this world.
---
You have reached the leveling threshold. Do you want to level up?
---
Arlo immediately accepted, and a movement occurred in his body, but it quickly passed, just like before.
The EXP amount dropped to 647, and the limit to pass to the new level became 200.
---
You have reached the leveling threshold. Do you want to level up?
---
He accepted again, and this time the EXP he had became 447, and the limit became 300.
---
You have reached the leveling threshold. Do you want to level up?
---
Arlo accepted for the last time, and a movement occurred in his body, and he reached his final level.
---
Name: Arlo Klser
Level: 7th-Level Mage Apprentice
Abilities: Fireball (Medium) , Fire Wall (Medium), Line Movement Technique (High)
EXP: 147/500
---
Arlo took a deep breath and finally took off his mask and burned it with a fireball. As his body strengthened and his fatigue decreased from the effect of leveling up 3 times at once, he waited to be teleported back.
"It's time to be the gentle and charming Arlo."
If the people he eliminated heard this, they would probably be eliminated just by fainting from anger, without doing anything.