Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

'Is that like a personal attack or something?'

Eren snorted his nose as he watched Hansen talk about the members of the Bare Minimum Gang.

As much as he felt uncomfortable about hearing it, he had to say that Hansen's point of view about rankers was quite on the mark. However, the butcher could relate to this group of rankers more closely than someone like Hansen. After all, he was one of these rankers himself in his past timeline.

Hansen focused mainly on the outcome of passing the academy by meeting the bare minimum requirements instead of addressing the underlying causes. And in doing that, Hansen sounded like an elite to Eren who considered himself to be nothing special among the group of special individuals all around him.

There was some part of Eren that felt like he should defend the bare minimum gang members. It wanted to list out the problems and injustices they faced both inside and outside the academy. It ended up that they became monkeys in the middle who neither received welfare nor a chance to rise above their circumstances. A middle class of monkeys that could only watch as the game got passed from one end to another.

What's more? Such rankers were even more miserable than the dropouts from the four academies. Because at least the drop-outs could make peace with their lowly existences in the rankers' society.

However, Eren's revised timeline made him see the error of his ways. He felt that the things his past self would have cited to defend the bare minimum gang in this situation were simply excuses for him. No matter how valid the excuse may seem, in the end, it was bound to sound and work like an excuse.

Hansen knew what potential quitters were thinking. And he couldn't blame them.

He was surprised to see that more students from the four academies were not thinking about quitting. But he did not want to degrade the level of competition by encouraging the weak-minded to participate. So he decided to scare them even further.

'When I say that you might experience death, I do not mean that you will have to kill each other for real to obtain the Sage legacies. There's a difference between the experience of death and real death after all.

The kingdom of Edinburgh doesn't want its young rankers dying at each other's hands even if there are four Sage legacies at the stake. At least not at this time.

We will try to make sure you come back alive, irrespective of the physical and mental condition you will be in at the end of the event. However, nobody's safety is guaranteed in the Sansara array.

There are cases of rankers dying with perfectly healthy bodies and unharmed souls after they experienced the Sansara array. They start believing in their death so much that they refuse to come back to life.

One could say that the Sansara Sage's drive to seek perfection in his work is both a boon and a curse for the young rankers."

Hansen said and sighed. He put his hands behind his back and started pacing along the lateral length of the platform before speaking up.

"It takes courage to admit one's limitations. And quitting before the start line is a much better choice than trying things half-assedly.

Decide to stay in the event... and you won't be able to quit until it's over. Now it's your turn to choose. Which way will it be?"

Hansen posed a question to the crowd and allowed the participants some time to think. After about a minute or two, he spoke again in a more commanding tone.

"Those who wish to quit take a step back from their positions. And those who want to participate in the event step forward."

The majority of the rankers stepped up without a moment's delay. Some hesitated but decided to step forward nonetheless. It was only a handful of rankers who felt that the "experience of death" was more than they had expected.

Everyone in the White Raven crew stepped forward right away as well. Everyone except Ana. She was hesitant to participate in the event. She felt like she wasn't ready to face a life-altering event like this.

Ana's on-field assignment was further away from conflicts and battles than the rest of the rankers. As a healer, she had progressed a lot. However, her mind wasn't quite ready to accept the brutality that would unfold as the event progressed.

Becky wanted everyone to accept Ana's wish to stay out of the event. The mage was about to say something in support of Ana but Steve didn't let her speak.

'Ana… you know what giving up feels like. Do you want to find out what happens if you don't?'

Eren on the other hand felt irritated by his team's healer. With no inhibitions, he spoke in a grim voice.

'Lass… I don't care about giving up or not giving up. I don't care about your sanity post event either. Some of us are already broken inside and we'd like to see more of you guys join us.

For your own sake as well as mine, you better step forward. Do you have any idea how much effort and resources I have put into your growth? How are you going to repay me for that? I'll turn you into a hooker if you don't step forward before I count to three.'

Ana froze in her steps when she listened to the butcher's warnings. The butcher didn't even look at her before continuing. 'One!'

Ana hurriedly took a step forward when she heard Eren's blatant countdown. The other members of her group laughed it off. But for some reason, she believed the butcher's threats. She looked at him angrily before speaking up.

Eren… Even though I have talismans to heal even the C-rank entities… I'll not heal you at all during this whole event.'

Ana thought of scaring Eren a bit. The latter was only amused by her way of rebelling against him.

The butcher chuckled before retorting.

'I don't need a healer for myself anyway. Suit yourself.'

The butcher's claim made Ana speechless and other White Raven crew members looked at him in surprise. The healer narrowed her eyes on the butcher and decided to test his bold claims.