The Author's POV

"...hmmmm"

Looking at the blueprints of the building through the holographic function of my tablet, I fell into deep thought.

It was already the next day, and today was the day that 'The massacre of Hollberg' event would start.

After running around the mansion all night yesterday, I finally managed to secure myself the blueprints of the building...and looking at them now, I couldn't help but think one thing.

Big.

The mansion was big.

...and when I mean big, I mean very big.

If we exclude all of the outside facilities, the mansion was about the size of a football stadium.

It had five levels, with the bottom level being a parking lot filled with multiple cars and the ground level being the place where the reception and dining hall were located.

The first and second floors were where the guest rooms were located, with the professors staying on the second floor and the students on the first floor.

The last floor had an outdoor swimming pool with training facilities that the students could use at any time of the day.

Though they weren't as advanced as the ones in the lock, they were still equipped with state-of-the-art equipment such as gravity rooms and training dummies.

Supporting my body with my arms on the table, I took a careful look at the blueprints of the building.

...I needed to carefully analyze all of the exits and entrance points of the building. Where the closest and furthest exits from my location were located as well as which areas were the most secure.

Pinching the hologram to zoom, I carefully looked at the layout of floors one to three.

The goal of the assassins was to will infiltrate the top three floors as well as the bottom floor.

...If I don't remember wrongly, at around 8:00 P.M. the assassins will infiltrate the mansion when the trip end dinner banquet was being held

Their plan was to attack each student as soon as they returned back from the dinner banquet. Meaning that by the time the banquet ended, the assassin's preparations were done.

The stronger assassins will attack the professors so that they could hold them back and prevent them from helping the students.

According to what I wrote in the novel, reinforcement will come exactly one hour after the attack, and it will be Donna who with her strength alongside another professor managed to singlehandedly kill most of the assassins on the second floor.

...so for one hour, the student's goal was to survive.

After one hour, most of the assassins would've been mostly killed by Donna who will then help Kevin and the rest.

Though I said the goal was to survive for one hour...It was easier said than done.

The assassins that attacked the students were ranked from <G> to <D> and were highly skilled and experienced.

This meant that even if the students fought against an assassin of the equivalent rank, there was a high chance they would still lose due to their lack of experience.

Fortunately for me, because no one knew about my strength, I could more or less quickly get rid of the people that were after me and surveil the situation carefully.

Now the real question was...

How do I proceed from then?

Do I silently get rid of some of the assassins or do I hide?

"Hmmmm...."

I guess the first option wouldn't really be plausible since I need to take into consideration what my meddling would do.

There was a chance I could screw up the plotline if I killed some of the assassins who were supposed to carry out an important role in this scenario.

...in the end, after thinking for I bit, I decided that the best option for me right now was to stay put, and only interfere was when I needed to defend myself.

Excessive meddling on my part could cause future anomalies in the plotline which could create unwanted scenarios like back in the afterparty.

"Alright, I guess that's that"

Checking my watch and seeing that it was already 6:30 P.M. I closed my tablet and headed for the shower.

In thirty minutes' time, I needed to get dressed and head towards where the end-of-trip dinner was being held.

Sighing, I could already imagine myself going through an hour of long boring speeches that seemed to go on forever.

The funny thing was that during those boring speeches, assassins were infiltrating the building.

Even if I wanted to warn them about the impending danger, chances were that they would scoff and laugh at me.

I'd love nothing more but ignore all those long and boring speeches, but it's not like I could just say 'We are currently being surrounded by multiple assassins and a lot of us are going to die so hurry up and finish your speeches and get ready to defend yourselves~"

Moreover, with my current reputation, there was a high chance no one would listen to me. In fact, I'd probably get ridiculed.

...bastards.

In the end, after taking a quick shower and changing into a set of new clothes, I headed towards the dining hall with heavy thoughts.

...

Dining hall, 8:15 P.M.

"...after infiltrating the facility and taking out the person responsible for communications I..."

It's been about an hour since I entered the dining hall, and the world around me had turned black and white.

I was having trouble keeping my mind focused.

One hour.

I went through one hour of roundabout speeches from different professors and representatives going on about how proud they were proud of us and what they learned throughout the trip.

From how monsters were processed and from what they learned during their mission.

I want to die...

Who thought that giving such long speeches was a good idea?

Quite honestly, I'd rather be attacked by multiple assassins at once rather than listening to any more of this gibberish.

Sighing and looking left and right, I could see some students in similar situations, as they too seemed to be on the verge of passing out from boredom.

"...after this long trip, I have seen the growth of a lot of you and I can say with confidence that you are slowly shaping yourselves into becoming strong and capable heroes that will soon shoulder the heavy burden of protecting humanity from the demons."

Raising his glass of wine, the current professor that was speaking looked at everyone and said

"It is with great pride and honor that I would like to end my speech saluting the future heroes of our world!"

-Clap! -Clap! -Clap!

After finishing his speech, a wave of applause engulfed the entire dining hall drowning all other sounds.

I too clapped.

...but for an entirely different reason.

"Alright guys calm down, calm down"

Standing up, the professor of Class A-17 gestured for everyone to calm down.

Connor Norvak

That was the name of the professor in charge of class A-17, and despite not being a ranked hero, he was still a formidable S ranked hero that even contributed in the defeat of a Marquis ranked demon.

...and from the way he carried himself, I could see how he defeated a Marquis ranked demon.

He along with Donna slaughtered most of the assassins that stopped them from helping the students and would be instrumental in the future for a couple of events that involved Kevin.

Looking at him, his presence completely engulfed the entire hall, making most of the students stop whatever they were doing.

I too felt overwhelmed.

It felt as if a massive bear was looking down on me ready to rip my head off at any moment.

His appearance reminded me of a Viking which I used to see in movies.

He was about two meters tall and had massive broad shoulders. Below his nose was a long blonde beard that stopped halfway through his neck, and his sea-blue eyes and long blonde hair that cascaded all the way to his back made him look quite handsome.

His muscles which were three times the size of mine were extremely impressive, and his white T-shirt which was too tight for his body perfectly emphasized his bulky outline.

Standing up and looking at everyone in the room and making sure that everyone was quiet, Connor's deep voice resounded across the hall.

"I know that most of you are bored senseless from all those boring speeches, if I had to be honest I too am on the verge of dying due to how boring they were..."

Stopping halfway Connor paused and smiled as a wave of chuckles could be heard from multiple students and professors.

"I will keep it short and make a short announcement."

After waiting for the hall to become silent, Connor continued

"Your assignment work can be handed in right after you return from the trip and that today apart from relaxing and enjoying yourself, you don't have to do anything else. I don't want to go into too much detail regarding what you need to do as you can just ask your professor regarding the details of the work. All I want you guys to know is that the deadline for your assignments is two days after the trip and your group will be graded based on what you present..."

Looking around and seeing that everyone understood what he said, Connor smiled and said

"So in conclusion, please enjoy yourselves for the rest of the day. You deserve it"

-Clap! -Clap! -Clap!

Finished speaking, Connor sat down and took a big gulp of his drink amidst the wave of applause coming from the students and professors.

Soon after, all of the students dispersed and went to the buffet area filling their plates with all sorts of delicious food.

...alright.

Looking at the students heading towards the food area, I checked my watch and let out a long breath.

It was currently 8:30 P.M and in a little bit more than an hour, the event was going to start.

If I said I wasn't nervous that would be a lie.

It felt as if a million butterflies were fluttering inside of my stomach making me lose my appetite.

Looking around and seeing all the students and professors joyfully laughing and chatting with each other, a small part of me felt guilty.

A lot of them will die.

...and despite me knowing that, I didn't do anything to stop it.

I guess this was the price I had to pay as the author of this novel.

-Gulp!

Taking a cup of wine from one of the waiters, I gulped it all in one go.

"haaaa... "

Staring at the empty glass in my hands, I thought.

'I really need some proper alcohol...'

...

9:30 P.M.

"...Fifteen minutes to go"

The way back to my room seemed to be much longer than ever before.

Each step I took seemed heavier than the other, almost as if led was stuck on them.

Looking behind me, at the students who were returning at the same time as me, I bit my lip and continued making my way towards my room.

...it was finally time huh.

The moment I dreaded since coming on this trip.

'The massacre of Hollberg'

An event that resulted in a quarter of the first years to die, and one of the biggest events that contributed to the growth of the main protagonists.

An event that will shock the whole human domain, and result in the lock becoming heavily scrutinized by the media.

...In the end, what will happen will happen.

Arriving in front of my room and placing my hand on the doorknob, I let out a long breath.

"Fuuuuu...."

This was it, I thought.

Once I opened this door the event was going to start...

A couple of assassins would ambush me as soon as I opened the door, and from there the rest of the students would too be faced with a similar situation.

Closing my eyes and activating [Monarch's indifference], I slowly opened the door.

-Click!