178 No! Dont come any closer! (1/2)

”...What?” Ms. Snow said in surprise. What was going? Was this perhaps one of his ploys? Was he trying to make her drop her guard with this kind of pathetic acting?

Unbeknownst to her, however, Linri was really scared shitless. He didn't know why, but, in his eyes, Ms. Snow looked like a dangerous monster. He knew that she was stronger than him, but not by this much! If she really was this strong, then he really made a mistake with pitting James against Zero. He should have made Ms. Snow fight him instead.

”Just stay away from me, scary lady!” said Linri as he tried to get away from her even more.

”There is no need for-” Ms. Snow said, but she was interrupted by Linri.

”Get AWAY!” Linri screamed when Ms. Snow got up from her chair.

She was stumped. From the looks of it, this didn't seem like it was some sort of deep scheme. He was genuinely scared of her. But why? Did she really look that scary? Sure, she didn't really put on makeup or made her hair, but she shouldn't have looked scary, right? She never cared for her looks but she was aware that she was extremely beautiful. It didn't feel nice when someone looked at you like you were some sort of monster. It also didn't help that the one scared of her was a literal mythical monster.

”Well...” said Ms. Snow as she walked towards the opposite corner of the lab. If this didn't work out, she could always trap Linri in a cage and then feed him sedatives. If even that didn't work, she could copy his brain to a virtual database and search his memories.

Seeing her walk away, Linri visibly relaxed as he wasn't trembling that much anymore. He had also regained his rationality and the ability to think more clearly. That really was scary for him. And it wasn't just Ms. Snow. The fact that he lost his ability to think rationally was even scarier. He really needed to get rid of his [Ex-Burst] form. During fights, [5x Burst Instict] seemed like it would be an extremely useful tool, but what good would it do to him if he suddenly lost his rationality and ran away from the fight? Despite the good attributes and buff in his ability, why did this [Ex-Burst] feel like it was such a drag? First, he had to be beaten till kingdom come, then he had to empty his prana reserves before he can finally transform. What use would it be if his opponent was too strong and didn't even give him the ability to transform first? Not to mention the [Bloodlust] racial trait.

”So?” Ms. Snow pulled Linri away from his thoughts. She was getting impatient with him.

”Sorry, sorry, I am sorry, but the behaviour you just saw was one of the reasons I needed your help,” said Linri after getting back his bearing.

”Before asking for help, shouldn't you tell me what you promised before?” said Ms. Snow.

”Hm? I thought you would have figured it out by now. Haven't you seen the participants list?” said Linri in surprise. Maybe Ms. Snow was not as smart as she claimed to be... at least when it came to human interactions.

”Of course, I know that. Hayato just disqualified himself and then sneaked away from my prison to deactivate the bomb. The question is how did he know he wouldn't die?”

”That's because I told him that. At the time, the other students weren't aware that disqualification would mean death, so it was pretty easy to convince him.”

”But how were you so sure that I wouldn't catch him in the act?”

”I wasn't, but I did everything I could to make sure you didn't. After all, I should have put a show you couldn't pry your eyes away from, right?”

He was right. Throughout this Game, Ms. Snow was constantly watching him. He first picked her interest when he declared he was going to betray and afterwards he kept on making more and more interesting decisions. At least he was more enjoyable to watch than other students so, before she noticed, she was sucked in.

”That doesn't make sense. If you wanted to make sure I watched you, why did you ask for that interval?”

Linri shrugged. ”Because I wouldn't have been able to beat Rina without my full strength and by that time Hayato should have already deactivated the bomb.”

”Hm? But you could have easily beat her with your- You weren't able to transform before that fight. So I was right!”

”I don't know what you are right about, but yeah: I couldn't transform before that. How could I? I am a mixed-breed and none of my bloodlines is stronger than the other.”