I came back but the world is still a fantasy!? – Garesto Academy – Exam Arc: Chapter II – Those Who Take Advantage of the Test – 04-27: How the Weak Fights II (4/4)

As expected, even all of that wasn’t enough to knock them unconscious, but it was enough to immobilize them.

Due to some of the functions of their exoskeletons having been paralyzed by the electric shock, and them dropping like a rock from the sky, their exoskeletons have now essentially been turned into their own little prisons.

“GAH!?”

“So this is the level of terrorists who’ve deluded themselves for revolutionaries. Pathetic,” Shinichi stomped on one of the terrorists’ head and said with contempt.

When the terrorists realized it was that boy mocking them from earlier, they became even angrier, but they couldn’t move.

“It’s because you people can’t face reality that you lost to a bunch of kids like this.”

“GU, s-screw, you!”

“H-Hmph, s-something, on this, level… don’t think, you’ve, won…”

“Our… comrades, will, come, immediately— GAH!?”‘

Shinichi mocked them one-sidedly, but he had no plans of listening to their arguments. While his foot was still on the head of one of the terrorists, he took the terrorist’s arm and said.

“‘Disarm’.”

“Huh, what!?”

Suddenly, the terrorist’s exoskeleton returned to his terminal (foster) and was stolen.

Just like that, the terrorist’s exoskeleton fell into the hands of the boy.

Even with some of the functions sealed, the military terminal could only be used by a member of the same army.

But even that common sense was overturned. At this point, the terrorists really had no idea what was happening to them anymore.

No one could have ever imagined that there existed a person who could look into the system of a terminal and overwrite it just by touching it.

Speechless, the remaining two terrorists were also disarmed, then as Shinichi showed off his three new terminals to them, he said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to keep in contact with your so-called comrades, so they don’t suspect a thing.”

Just like that all hopes of reinforcements were crushed.

After being stripped bare of all their possessions, the students tied them up.

The way the three terrorists looked as they tumbled onto the ground with photon ropes tightly binding them could only be described as pathetic.

“…We won, guys.”

“These guys were former soldiers equipped with exoskeletons…”

“This isn’t a dream, right?”

Even as the students looked at the terrorists gagged with ropes, it didn’t feel real.

“It’s not a dream. You might’ve taken advantage of the enemy’s negligence, but a win is still a win. It’s their fault for turning their back on us. No matter how amazing the equipment, when the people using them are stupid, the result could only be this.”

Shinichi’s words were clearly meant to mock them, so the terrorists ranted and raved despite their gags, but Shinichi just ignored them.

“I don’t want to see any of you putting on a display as shameful as these guys, okay? Those things on your arms are tools meant to show your worth. Use them well and do put on a somewhat decent show.”

Despite the cynical smile on his face, there was a warmth and gentleness to his voice.

It even seemed as though he was holding some expectations for them.

It was the first time for the students to receive such words, so they felt a little ticklish.

“In other words, regardless of the weapon, it all depends on how you use it, right? Why do you have to be so long-winded and condescending all the time?” Tomoe said.

“Well, I am the examiner,” Shinichi said.

“You never lose a conversation, do you? Why are you so cheeky anyway when you’re the younger one here!?”

Tomoe yelled at Shinichi, but the latter just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

Seeing that happy scene, everyone else also smiled.

By this point, no one was looking oddly at their fosters anymore.

Since it was meant ‘to show their worth’, then they couldn’t afford to use it poorly.

But of course, the real reason was because they didn’t want to put on a display as shameful as what they were shown just now.

“Ha ha… Ah, but Nakamura. Are you sure it’s okay to tie these guys up this much? Weren’t these people prepared by the teachers to help us in our exam?”

“MNN!?”

When the student suggested treating them better, the terrorists were shocked.

They wanted to ask what the student was talking about, but the rope gagging their mouths kept them from saying anything.

“These guys will be playing(・) terrorist until the end of the exam. They may have only been assigned the role of a bunch of angry idiots, but we still need to keep them heavily restrained until the end of the exam. Don’t forget that there’s a huge difference between your abilities and them,” Shinichi reminded them, while also informing the terrorists of their situation.

He wanted them to taste the humiliation of being defeated by foes that didn’t even see them as foes and even having the reason for their fight turned into nothing more than a play(lie).

“That being said, it would certainly be ungrateful for us to just leave them like this. Students, line up!”

At his behest, the students lined up almost by reflex.

As the class lined up, all of their eyes turned to the soldiers.

No fear nor hostility could be seen on their faces, only gratitude.

“To these soldiers who cooperated with our exam and played the fool(Pierrot), bow!”

「「「Thank you very much!!」」」

All of the students and even Shinichi simultaneously bowed to the three terrorists as they thanked them.

Tomoe made a strange expression and was belated, but she followed suit and bowed as well.

Shinichi was the first to lift up his head. On his face was the smuggest grin that could make anyone’s blood boil.

“NGUGUGU!!”

“MUGAMUGAH!!”

“UGUGU!!”

At that, the soldiers knew that Shinichi had done everything on purpose. Their face turned beet red and their blood pressure spiked, but all their attempts to curse him were to no avail.

“…I gotta hand it to you, your personality is seriously screwed up,” Tomoe said.

Tomoe had long noticed that these guys were related to the people that schemed against them, but after seeing them abused this much, she didn’t feel like getting even with them anymore.

Tomoe figured Shinichi would just reply with that usual face of his, but…

“Hmph. Serves them right. There are kids doing their best out here, and yet because of some stupid reason, they actually tried to get in their way.”

What she saw instead was a quiet but angry expression.

Seeing him seriously angry for the first time, Tomoe didn’t know what to say.

“Dropping excuses like they don’t like it or don’t understand it, so they’re going to destroy it by force is nothing more than an act of selfishness. Especially these Gaen whatever guys. Their claims were off the mark from the start. A bunch of wastrels.”

Shinichi didn’t even bother to glance at the terrorists rolling on the ground as he turned around and gave an order to the students.

As the mixed class took formation once again, they resumed their march for the river.

Tomoe was concerned about the strong emotions that Shinichi showed, but as the core of the rear guard, she had to pay attention to the whole class.

“…”

Meanwhile, Shinichi marched along quietly.

In his hands were the three military terminals that he stole from the terrorists.

Either they had taken precautions in case the terminals fell into the hands of the defense unit or the terminals given to the scouts never had the data in the first place, but regardless, the specific details and objectives of the terrorists’ attack weren’t in the terminal. However, Shinichi did succeed in acquiring the transmission code of the Gaen Volunteer Army.

—This is Alpha, we’re currently at a deadlock, requesting reinforcements!

—This is Beta. We’ve successfully installed everything. We’ll now be moving onto phase 2.

—This is Delta. Roger that. We’ll rendezvous now.

—This is Gamma. We’ve arrived at the designated location, waiting for further orders.

Unbeknown to everyone, Shinichi was snickering.

There were several reasons why he caused the explosion.

One was of course to kill the giant worm, but another was to teach the fearsomeness of the foster to the students, as well as to lure the enemy out.

By luring the enemy out, he could teach the students by using them as a bad example, and at the same time, he would also be able to secure the transmission codes of the enemy.

Shinichi’s mana hacking was convenient, but it wasn’t all-powerful.

He couldn’t reach out with his mana to ‘places that were completely void of information’.

Moreover, the school personnel and students were also able to communicate within the fields.

With how congested the air space was within the fields, it would take Shinichi a considerable amount of effort to figure which one was which, as he would have to figure out where the information was coming from and where it was headed to.

That’s why he needed a terminal from the volunteer army.

As long as he could figure out one code, he could figure out the rest. That was the convenience offered by his mana hacking.

For example, even if the only code he had now belonged to a single squad, he could use that code to pinpoint the location of the headquarters(hub) that’s receiving it. From there he could figure out the location and messages of everything else that’s connected to the hub.

Moreover, he was free to alter anything as he pleased and none would be the wiser.

—Now, dance on the palm of this evil god’s(my) hands.