Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss

\'Lila is strong, but if we get ambushed, it\'s over.\'

Next, he looked at Seojun, who leaned against a rock, looking calm. \'I don\'t know what Seojun can do. I shouldn\'t expect much from him.\'

Then, Andrew glanced at the siblings. The brother and sister stood together, not saying anything. \'Can we count on them? Will they even help us protect the marbles?\'

Andrew clenched his fists and closed his eyes tightly. \'And me? What can I even do? I only got this far because of Lila. I\'m sorry, sisters. Oni-chan isn\'t like Sir Thomas.\'

Seojun noticed Andrew\'s worried face. With a sigh, he stood up and put his hand on Andrew\'s shoulder.

Andrew jumped in surprise and looked at him.

"We will pass this," Seojun said calmly.

Andrew smiled weakly and shook his head.

"Thanks for saying that, Seojun, but it\'s no use," he said sadly. Then, he looked at Lila. \'If we fail, will this be the last time I\'m with Lila? Will we still be friends after this?\'

Lila felt Andrew staring at her and turned to glare at him. But she froze when she saw his genuine smile.

Her cheeks turned slightly red, and she quickly looked away, muttering, "What\'s wrong with him?"

Suddenly, glowing magic circles appeared under each group. The ground lit up with bright light.

Mr. Gideon\'s voice echoed loudly. "The test begins now!" he said. "Each group will be teleported to a random place. Your job is to find three marbles—one blue, one red, and one yellow."

The glowing circles grew brighter as Mr. Gideon kept talking. "The marbles are inside beasts scattered across the area. Since the participants this time is interesting, Word clues [Beast]"

He paused and gave a clue. "Follow the trail of light and listen for the roar. Good luck!"

The cameras turned off, and the magic circles flashed.

In a blink, Andrew\'s group disappeared.

They reappeared in a thick forest. The trees were tall, and the sunlight barely reached the ground.

Lila looked around quickly, her eyes sharp. "We\'re separated," she said with a frown.

Andrew blinked. "Separated? From who?"

"From the other groups,Of course" Lila replied, annoyed. "We\'re alone here."

Seojun took a deep breath, looking calm as he scanned the area. "Let\'s go," he said simply, walking ahead without waiting.

The siblings exchanged nervous looks. Andrew hesitated but followed after Seojun. Lila sighed and followed too, muttering, "This is going to be a disaster."

Meanwhile, The guy that bullying Lila walked through the forest with his group, a confident grin on his face. The tall trees cast shadows, but he didn\'t seem bothered. His focus was clear, and his arrogance filled the air.

"Beast? Is that even a clue?" one of his group members asked, scratching his head.

"Idiot," another guy said with a smirk. "It means the marbles are in the beast, Inside or out."

"Oh…" The first guy looked confused but didn\'t say more.

"Tsk." The woman in the group clung to the bully\'s arm, her voice turning sweet. "Anyway, darling, do you have a plan?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

The bully smirked, looking down at her. "Don\'t waste too much effort. We don\'t need to search for beasts. We\'ll find Lila\'s group and take their marbles," he said, his grin widening.

"Will they even find any marbles?" the confused guy asked.

The bully\'s grin grew sharper. "I know Lila. She\'s stubborn. She\'ll do whatever it takes to find the marbles. Once she has them, we\'ll take them from her."

The woman clinging to him pouted, pulling back slightly. "Why can\'t you let her go? Why do you keep chasing her?" she said, clearly irritated.

He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against a tree. Before she could react, he kissed her passionately. She froze for a moment but then responded to the kiss, her irritation fading.

After a few seconds, he pulled back, his grin returning. "I\'m not chasing her, darling. I\'ve moved on. It\'s about teaching her a lesson for." His voice turned colder, more dangerous.

"What do you mean?" the woman asked, her tone softer now.

The bully\'s eyes darkened, his grin turning wicked. "If I can\'t kill her, then making her useless is enough. A broken arm, a crushed leg—she won\'t be able to fight anymore. That\'s all I need to ruin her."

The group fell silent, some of them exchanging uneasy glances.

"Darling… is that really necessary?" the woman asked, her voice trembling slightly.

He turned to her, his grin still in place. "What? You\'re scared now? Didn\'t you say you\'d follow me no matter what?"

She quickly shook her head. "No, I\'m with you. I just… didn\'t expect this."

"Good," the bully said, his tone sharp. "Now, let\'s move. We\'ll find her soon enough."

As they continued walking, his mind was filled with cruel plans. "Lila, you\'ll regret ever standing up to me," he thought, his grin never leaving his face.

"And once I\'m done with you, no one will ever look at you the same way again.You\'ll regret cheating in me with my bastard brother,"

Seojun\'s group walked through the forest, scanning their surroundings for any sign of beasts. It had been several minutes, but there was nothing—no marbles, no beasts, just endless trees and silence.

"Are we even going the right way?" Andrew muttered, glancing at Seojun, who walked calmly at the front.

"Who knows," Lila replied sharply, clearly annoyed. She was starting to feel frustrated. "This group is useless. It\'s been minutes, and we\'ve found nothing. And now…"

Behind them, the woman in their group was breathing heavily, her face pale. She leaned against her brother, struggling to keep up.

"I need a break," she whispered.

Her brother frowned and nodded. "Let\'s rest for a moment," he said, helping her sit on a fallen tree trunk. He pulled out an inhaler and handed it to her. She used it quickly, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Lila turned around and glared at them. "Are you serious? We\'re wasting time!" she snapped, crossing her arms.

"Hey, she\'s tired!" the brother shot back, his tone defensive.

Lila scoffed, looking away. "This is just great. They\'re going to hold us back."

Andrew hesitated, watching the tension rise. He decided to step in. He walked up to Lila, his expression serious. "Uh, Lila?"

"What?" she asked, her tone sharp.

Andrew hesitated. He had wanted to talk about something important, but seeing her frustration, he quickly changed his mind.

"Um… I was thinking, why don\'t we make a plan?" he said awkwardly.

Lila sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Fine. Do you have any suggestions?"

Andrew brightened up and started listing ideas. "What if we split up into pairs? Or maybe we set up a trap for the beast? Oh, or we could climb a tree to get a better view—"

Seojun, who had been silent, finally spoke. "Splitting up is a bad idea. If one pair is attacked, the others won\'t be able to help in time."

Andrew blinked. "Oh, right. Then maybe the trap idea?"

"And what happens if the beast doesn\'t show up? We\'ll waste time waiting," Seojun said calmly, looking at Andrew.

Andrew scratched his head. "Well, climbing a tree could—"

"Climbing a tree makes you an easy target. If another group sees you, they could ambush us," Seojun interrupted, his tone matter-of-fact.

Andrew sighed, feeling defeated. "Then… what should we do?"

Seojun looked at him for a moment, then turned to Lila. "We keep moving. The marbles won\'t come to us. And if we meet another group, we avoid them. Fighting wastes energy."

Lila nodded, her expression softening slightly. "Fine. Let\'s go."

She glanced at the siblings. "Are you done resting?"

The brother helped his sister stand, and she gave a weak nod. "I\'m fine now," she said quietly.

"Good. Let\'s move before we fall too far behind," Seojun said, already walking ahead.

The group followed, tension still hanging in the air, but with a clearer plan in mind

As the group continued walking through the forest, the ground beneath them suddenly began to shake.

The trembling was subtle at first, but then it grew stronger, making leaves fall from the trees.

"W-What\'s happening?" Andrew stammered, trying to keep his balance.

The ground shook violently, and the woman in their group fell to her knees, grabbing onto her brother for support.

"What the heck?!" the brother shouted, helping her up. "Is this an earthquake?! Seriously, now?!"

Seojun stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing. His expression turned serious as the shaking intensified.

"Climb the trees! Now!" Seojun shouted, his voice sharp and commanding because if not they\'ll not listen immediately.