For I Am A Side Character - 118: The Second Event Finally Starts.

“Did you pack everything we need for the event?” Jessica asked, adjusting her hair in front of the mirror.

“I think so,” I replied, double-checking our belongings. “All we really need are a few clothes, our armor, and our weapons. Didn’t the academy say they’d handle the rest?”

“They did, but I wanted to make sure we didn’t forget anything important. It’s almost time for the bus to leave, so we should get going.”

After making sure everything was secure in my storage bag, we locked up the house and headed out.

As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice the excitement in the air. The upcoming event at the ‘Tail-Back Dorm’ had everyone buzzing. The experiences awaiting us in that region might just change us all in ways we couldn’t predict.

The academy had prepared six buses for the event. Five were for each class and their guild leaders, while the sixth carried all the necessary supplies.

When we arrived at the academy, we were immediately greeted by drones hovering above us, their lenses fixed on us as if we were part of a live-action documentary.

“Um, what’s going on?” I asked, uneasy under their gaze.

“After the issues with the last event—drones malfunctioning and going offline—the academy decided to step things up,” Sgt. O’Riley explained. He was joining this event as part of the security detail for the students.

“Step things up how?”

“Ever seen those shows where hunters document their dungeon expeditions? It’s going to be like that, except this time, it’s live. No edits, just raw footage. If you check the academy’s website, you’ll see that these drones are streaming everything in real-time,” he said.

“What about our privacy?” Zelisha asked, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of being filmed constantly.

“Don’t worry,” Sgt. O’Riley reassured her. “The drones are equipped with AI that respects your privacy. They’re programmed to blur out certain scenes as needed.”

“How many drones will be following us?” I asked.

“For now, just one per bus. They’ll be recording the whole trip. But once the event starts, each student will have their own drone,” Sgt. O’Riley explained.

“Exactly,” Ms. Seraphina added as she approached to greet us. “So, make sure you’re on your best behavior.”

“Ms. Sera, you finally arrived,” Jessica said with a smile.

“Alright, kids, get on the bus. It’s a long ride, and the sooner we leave, the better,” Ms. Sera instructed.

As we boarded, the drone followed us inside, its lens capturing our every move like a reality TV show. The atmosphere was tense, everyone hyper-aware of being watched.

In the silence of the bus ride, the unease was palpable. We all felt the weight of the drones’ gaze.

“So, Soril, how have things been?” Ms. Sera asked, sitting across from me.

“Nothing much,” I replied. “My life isn’t as exciting as you might think.”

“Really? It seems like you’ve grown a lot recently.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Soril, you’ve become one of the pillars of this group. Your classmates look to you, and you often take the lead when I’m not around,” she observed.

“I’m not much of a leader. If you want someone who’s good at that, talk to Jess,” I said, nodding toward Jessica, who was chatting with Zelisha and Marilyn at the back of the bus.

“You’re selling yourself short. In this event, it’s not going to be student against student. We’ll be facing monsters, and things could get dangerous. I need you to help keep the group focused and together,” she said as her tone was serious.

“I trust my friends. They won’t crumble under pressure.”

“Maybe, but remember, a leader’s role is crucial in any raid. They boost morale and keep everyone on track. If you get separated, do you really think everyone can handle themselves?” she pressed.

“I’m not a babysitter,” I replied, feeling a bit defensive. “And that’s an insult to their abilities.”

“I’m not trying to insult anyone. I’m just saying some of your classmates might not be ready to work alone.” she said gently.

I sighed, knowing she had a point. “If things go south…I’ll do my best to keep everyone together.”

“Good.”

“Ms. Sera, Soril, look here! Some people in the comments are asking about you. Introduce yourselves,” Zelisha called out, her phone in hand as she scrolled through the live stream’s comments.

“I’ll say hi,” Ms. Sera said, smiling. “The better our ratings, the more favorable it is for us.”

“…Okay,” I agreed reluctantly.

Later, as we settled in for the long ride, I decided to check out the academy’s live-streaming platform. Five drones were streaming footage from the different buses, each labeled for the corresponding class.

We were on Camera-C, and I noticed that over a hundred people were watching our stream. By comparison, Camera-A, where Jason and his group were, had over a thousand viewers.

It wasn’t surprising. Jason and his friends were popular both at the academy and in the city as promising young hunters. People were curious to see what kind of leaders they would become.

When I switched to their stream, I wasn’t surprised by what I saw. They were charismatic, engaging, and completely at ease, even after everything that had happened in the first event. Despite the challenges they’d faced, they were still smiling and interacting as if nothing had changed.

And that was a good thing.

“Hey Soril, come here and introduce yourself.”

“Do I have to?” I asked as I find it quite of an annoyance.

“…Please do it, at least try to direct the audience’s attention away from Kenji. Look, he’s going crazy with the drone trying to spread his name out there.” said Jessica.

“Hmm, fine.”

After a while, we finally arrive at the Tail Back-Dorm.

And just as to what I expected, we didn’t stop in any sort camp or resort, we wee simply immediately kicked off right from the start in the middle of the road.

“Okay everyone, bring all your things with you and start heading north! The faster we get there, the sooner we can eat.” said Sgt. O’riley who was holding on a speaker phone to communicate with everyone on class-C.

“Where are the other class meeting up?” I asked since we were the only ones stopping in this part of the road.

“The other classes will be dropped off on another part of a random road. It doesn’t matter which part you were dropped off, all that matters is that you make your way North.” he said.

“Your first objective in this event is to find a flag mark somewhere deep in the forest. It’s found north, so be careful and try to moving at a moderate pace. If you can’t keep up, this will be a disadvantage to your groupmates.” said Ms. Sera.

“This is the Tail Back Dorm. Unlike your usual dungeon where monsters gather at certain points inside a dungeon, some monsters here have the freedom to roam around at different areas of the forest. So be careful, its better to think of the entire Tail Back-Dorm as a large D-ranked dungeon.”

“Its labeled as a D-rank because most of the monsters roaming around are at that level…if you want to look for some strong monsters, they are found in certain parts of the forest.” said Sgt. O’riley.

“Although this first part of the event is labeled as the start, the real objectives start once we make it to the flag mark.” said Ms. Sera.

Without wasting anymore time, our group started walking deep into the forest.

As we ventured deeper into the forest, the dense canopy above gradually blocked out the sunlight, leaving us with an eerie twilight. The usual chatter among my classmates had died down, replaced by the rustle of leaves and the distant calls of unseen creatures. The atmosphere grew tense, every step forward feeling heavier than the last.

Halfway through our trek, just as I was starting to get used to the oppressive silence, something felt off. A chill ran down my spine, an instinctive reaction that I couldn’t shake. I glanced around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary—just the trees and the shadows they cast.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a figure appeared on the path ahead. He was cloaked in a dark, hooded robe, his face completely hidden in shadow. The figure moved with a predatory grace, and before I could react, he lunged at me with a speed that took my breath away.

“Watch out!” screamed Ms. Sera, but it was too late.

The stranger’s attack was precise and brutal. His fist, which was encased in a sparking force that resembled a beast that was glowing with a potential strength that could tear through a field of trees, yet that force choose to slam into my chest, sending me flying backward.

The moment it did, I felt the pain exploded through my body as I crashed into the ground, gasping for air. My vision blurred, but I could still see him advancing on me, his movements smooth and confident.

“Soril!” Zelisha shouted, trying to rush to my side, but the man raised his hand, and an invisible force slammed into her, pushing her back toward the others.

“Stay back!” I yelled, struggling to stand, but the stranger was relentless. He moved in again, his strikes coming faster than I could block. Each blow reverberated through my body, weakening me bit by bit.

In the chaos, the group was forced to scatter, everyone trying to evade the stranger’s overwhelming power. But the man’s attention was solely on me, his intent clear—he was here to take me down, no matter the cost.

As I tried to counter his attacks, he suddenly pulled out a scroll from his robe, and my heart sank. A teleportation scroll.

“No!” I shouted, realizing what he was about to do, but I was too slow. The man activated the scroll, and in an instant, a blinding light engulfed us both.

When the light faded, the forest around us had changed. We were no longer on the familiar path with my classmates. Instead, we stood in a darker, more ominous part of the forest. The trees here were twisted, their branches reaching out like claws, and the air was thick with a sense of foreboding.

I staggered, trying to regain my bearings. “Where are we?”

The man said nothing, his face still obscured by the hood. He simply raised his hand, and a wave of dark energy shot toward me. I barely had time to react, throwing up a barrier just in time to absorb the brunt of the attack. But the force of it sent me reeling, and I crashed into a tree behind me, pain shooting through my back.

We were alone, deep in the forest, I didn’t know how far I was from my group. My mind raced, trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation, but the man didn’t give me any time to think. He closed the distance between us in a flash, his movements unnervingly smooth.

“!?”

“You won’t survive this,” he said as his voice turned low, like a menacing growl that echoed in the desolate forest. He was a predator out to kill his prey.

“I’ve been through worse.” I said as I stood back up, wiping off the debris that was on my body.

Without another word, the man attacked again, and this time, I was ready.

[Enlightened Domain of the Dark]

The moment I activated my domain, he was instantly swallowed inside, and I had the liberty to watch every inch of his moves…

I read it all like a novel…

And before I knew it, I countered every fist he made my way.

But as I did, I started reading into his moves more.

‘Martial arts?’

His attacks were uniformed…as if he was trained by some sort of school.

As we fought, it became clear that he was stronger, faster, and more experienced. But that was only because I didn’t fully opened the seals in my body.

I was curious as to who he was to attack me in such a specific place like this.

But despite this, I didn’t want to waste anymore time.

Without holding back, I opened my seal to that of an S-rank’s strength.

From here on out, I started attacking in ways that started pushing him back.

He wasn’t the only one trained to use martials arts…

Like a flurry of hits raining from the sky, I didn’t held back.

And it didn’t last for him either.

Sooner than later, he realized that he was outmatched.

Despite the strength he showed at his ambush, his current strength now was merely that of an A-ranker.

He didn’t stand a chance against me…and I’m starting to get bored of it.

“Tsk!” he clicked his tongue knowing that he couldn’t defeat me with how I revealed half my strength.

Yet he didn’t give up fighting. Each claim to his fist reaching out was as if he really wanted to kill me. His eyes were filled with bloodlust…

“So, who sent you?” I asked as I continued to pummel him down like an child. I grabbed his hoody forward and I struck his face with a force that could blast open a tunnel through a house.

*Thud!*

“Khf!-”

He was sent flying straight to one of the crooked trees and he fell flat all but immediately.

But even so, the fire in his vengeful eyes didn’t disappear.

“Ahh…fuck, even with this much enhancements, I couldn’t kill you…you monster!” he said as he couldn’t move his body.

“You’re not going to answer my question?” I asked.

*cough!* the blood sprayed to me as he coughed.

“…Fine.” without holding back, I put a solid clean hit on his chin from where he layed, and the force of my fist was so strong that it tore off his hood like it was smoke in the wind.

It revealed his face.

“…!?”

It was him.

Out of all the people I’ve thought of to come after me, I never thought that it was him.

“…Conner O’Niel?”

He was the bastard from class-B.