"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

【A CLASS】

【7:58:45】

Katsuragi Kohei looked at the screen and nodded calmly.

"In that case, we can consider it a successful occupation."

Masumi Kamuro, who was beside him, gave a soft "hmm".

His face showed no extra expression; he simply confirmed:

"It looks like it. The process is the same as described in the guidelines."

Having completed their mission, the two did not linger and quickly turned and walked out of the cave.

Bathed again in the tropical afternoon sun

Kamuro Masumi narrowed her eyes and said:

"Now that we've successfully captured one stronghold, we shouldn't delay. We should take advantage of the fact that the other classes haven't fully grasped the situation yet, and use the sand table information provided by Sakamoto-kun to capture more strongholds as soon as possible."

Katsuragi Kohei's gaze swept across the dense jungle, his voice steady:

"Yes. That's why we need to split up now to increase efficiency. Our group has completed its mission, and the next step is to proceed to the designated rendezvous point to meet up with the other groups and exchange intelligence, as planned."

He paused, turned his head to look at the shrine, and deliberately lowered his voice to remind him:

"Also, Kamuro. When discussing action plans in the field later, be mindful of the setting. There's no guarantee that other classes won't be lurking nearby."

Kamuro Masumi glanced at him and responded indifferently:

"I understand. I'll be careful."

There wasn't much communication.

The two determined their direction.

They then disappeared quickly into the shadows of the dense forest, one after the other.

……

Shortly after Katsuragi and Kamuro left,

A very faint rustling sound came from the dense bushes beside the cave.

A figure emerged silently, like a ghost.

It was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

He patted the grass blades stuck to his clothes.

He stared blankly in the direction where Katsuragi and Kamuro had disappeared.

"Walls have ears," Katsuragi was absolutely right.

The reason he is here is

It was purely by chance.

Previously, he had been acting with the maverick Rokusuke Kōenji from Class D.

Responsible for exploring a specific area.

However, Koenji's modus operandi defies all conventional wisdom.

The speed varied, and the route was unpredictable.

Ayanokoji hesitated for a moment at a fork in the road and lost sight of Koenji.

In the process of finding a path on my own

He stumbled upon the hidden entrance to the cave.

I originally intended to come in and investigate whether it was a base.

However, they unexpectedly stumbled upon Katsuragi and Kamuro from Class A completing their occupation operation.

Ayanokoji stepped into the cave.

His gaze was immediately drawn to the metal stake that was emitting a faint glow.

The information displayed on the screen was clearly visible:

【A CLASS】

【7:57:01】

"It really is a base... and it was just taken over by Class A."

According to the rules, capturing a stronghold must be activated by the class leader using a key card.

So, the logic is very simple—

Of the two people who were operating here just now, Katsuragi Kohei and Kamuro Masumi, one of them must be the leader of Class A.

however,

This seemingly logical conclusion,

But this raised a question in Ayanokouji's mind.

"Is it really... that simple?"

He recalled the few words he had vaguely overheard outside the cave. Katsuragi and Kamuro had mentioned "information about Sakamoto" in their conversation.

If Sakamoto is the leader of Class A, then such an important key card should rightfully be held by Sakamoto himself.

Katsuragi and Kamuro were merely executors.

However, the rules clearly require that the occupation operation must be carried out by the leader himself.

Therefore, the most direct explanation seems to be that the key card is in the hands of Katsuragi or Kamuro.

contradiction.

Ayanokouji felt that,

The selection of the leader for Class A is probably not as obvious as it seems on the surface.

Sakamoto's existence,

It can make even the simplest logic complicated.

"It seems that more observation is needed."

He did not linger in the cave.

He turned and left.

The most urgent task is to return to Class D's camp and rejoin the main force.

Teacher Chazhu's "reminder" still rings in my ears.

He really needs to pass this special exam.

They started to "exert more effort".

at the same time,

In another dense jungle far from the cave.

A black figure.

It is moving at a speed that is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Sakamoto utilized the resilient vines that hung between the tall tree canopies,

His body swung through the air as if it were weightless.

His movements weren't as wild and unrestrained as Tarzan's.

Instead, it carries a sense of lightness and elegance.

Each swing, each letting go, each grabbing of the next vine,

They are all so precise, as if they have been calculated countless times.

His body traced a smooth arc in the air.

They moved silently through the woods.

It was as if he were part of this jungle.

Almost at the same time,

On the treetops on the other side,

Another figure was also moving at an astonishing speed.

He was a tall, blond-haired boy.

Koenji Rokusuke.

His movement style was completely different from Sakamoto's.

It does not rely on vines,

Instead, they leaped and tumbled directly among the thick branches.

The movements were full of power and wildness.

His face beamed with an extremely confident, even narcissistic, smile.

He occasionally murmured:

"Yes! I am so beautiful! Such a graceful figure!"

Two figures were among the crisscrossing branches.

We met unexpectedly at a certain moment.

Koenji stopped what he was doing.

Standing on a thick horizontal branch,

He looked with great interest at Sakamoto, who was swinging towards him from the opposite side.

He temporarily stopped muttering about "beauty."

He carefully observed Sakamoto's fluid and extremely elegant movements.

A confident smile still lingered on his lips.

Sakamoto seemed completely oblivious to Koenji's gaze.

His movements were without the slightest pause or hesitation.

Just as they brushed past Koenji,

He didn't even glance at the other person.

With just the swaying of the vines and subtle adjustments to its body, it nimbly glided past with a hair's breadth of difference.

It then disappeared into the deeper grove of trees.

Koenji stood there, gazing in the direction Sakamoto had disappeared.

The smile on his face seemed to have deepened.

After a while,

He then began to move again.

The distinctive whisper returned once more:

"Yes! As expected, beauty always attracts beautiful eyes! I am truly beautiful!"

……

The light and shadow in the forest shifted once again.

Sakamoto's figure had already arrived at a higher slope.

There is a relatively open clearing in the woods here.

A clear stream flows gently by.

In the center of the open space,