CHAPTER 86: PERPETRATOR

The days passed by, and many things changed. The number of students joining them decreased, and the tall Walls giving them sense of security from dune crawlers.

But one thing remained constant—Death. Students kept dying at regular intervals.

Tension ran high in the settlement. All the students were on edge, yet no one had found anything so far.

The foundation supporting the students’ survival was slowly crumbling under the weight of continuous tension and the fear of death.

"People have already started leaving the settlement," Theron said, looking up to meet the group’s eyes.

Gracie rubbed her temples. "That’s not the problem. They’ll eventually return if they don’t want to die. The main problem is—" Gracie hesitated, "how long can people hold out before they start killing each other?"

Those weren’t just words—they were weights that crushed hope. The only silver lining was that not many students were there. Only the strongest and most optimistic were present.

"How many students do we have currently?" Gracie asked.

"Ten thousand... at least ten thousand," Gareth said, raising both hands and showing ten fingers.

Gracie stood up as Tyler entered.

"Did you find anything?" she asked, her voice full of expectation.

Tyler entered nonchalantly, both hands resting in his pockets.

"Not much, but I have good news"

"figured out that it has nothing to do with any beast, so we are safe on that part" Tyler said approaching a corner and leaned against the wall.

"What are you saying?" Sylas asked.

Tyler raised both hands. "I mean, sitting in a room won’t help you."

Sylas’ eyebrows furrowed, as if ready to lunge at Tyler.

"Just say it already," Gracie said, annoyed.

"Haha... sure. You know what rumors are spreading among the students?" Tyler asked. Seeing their curious gazes, he continued, "There’s a rumor that this test will end once the number drops to 10,000." Tyler tapped his badge.

"What kind of bullshit is that?" Theron cursed. But when he thought about it—wasn’t it convincing enough?

"I’m confident that whoever spread that rumor is behind these deaths. They—or he—are trying to plant the idea into everyone’s heads. So when students become desperate, some will consider that option," Tyler explained.

---

Another week passed.

Things hadn’t worsened, but they weren’t getting better either. Thanks to heightened security, the number of deaths reduced slightly—but they never stopped. One or two students died every day.

The atmosphere in the settlement had become grim. Some who left to find a better place returned—but not all. Some died in fights, while others might have encountered different student groups.

It was like a bubble—just one extreme event could burst it, leaving the settlement in utter chaos. There was no solid solution, though Gracie and the others tried to maintain control.

On top of that, the continuous attacks by hordes of centipedes were exhausting. Their coordinated strikes felt too organized—perhaps someone or something was orchestrating them.

Thoughts like these crept into the minds of every student. And the situation kept deteriorating.

As Gracie finished off another centipede horde, she spotted a man approaching—his legs half-cut, blood pouring from the wounds.

He walked slowly, steadily. But as he got closer to the walls, his movements weakened. Upon seeing Gracie amidst the piles of corpses, he collapsed.

Gracie rushed to him.

Just as she was about to pull him inside, he pointed toward the direction he came from.

"Settlement...run" he mumbled. Then, with a long gasp he lost consciousness.

Gracie was stunned, but quickly brought him inside to treat his wounds.

She had already searched three directions and found nothing. But the man said there was a settlement—could she have been so unlucky to miss the only key direction?

An annoyed laugh escaped her lips. "Why... why?" If she had checked that direction first, she wouldn’t have faced so many problems.

But now what? They had information—there was another settlement south of theirs.

"You really think they’ll accept all our students? And why do you think they’re doing any better?" Tyler smirked as he watched others argue with Gracie about relocating.

"At least we could try. It’s better than dying inside these walls," one student argued.

"Silence," Gracie ordered. "First, we don’t know if the information is even correct. That said, if anyone wants to leave—you can. It’s not like we’ve ever stopped anyone."

The only reason she considered leaving was to stop the mysterious daily deaths.

But despite disagreements, no one left.

"Haha, it’s funny. They want to leave but they’re too cowardly," Tyler sneered.

"Well, that’s not entirely true. They’re waiting for that guy to wake up. No one knows why he was so gravely injured—they just want to make sure," Gareth argued.

"By the way, I’ve found some clues... it’s not just one person, it’s a whole group," Tyler added.

"I figured. You don’t show up with me, so needling people is easier for you. But I have my ways too," Gracie said, smirking.

She could feel emotions. And emotions revealed a lot about people. She had already identified some students full of bloodlust. It was difficult to determine their intent—many feared her simply because of the vast difference in power levels.

Sylas entered the room holding a student, then threw him to the ground.

"Here’s one of them," Gracie chuckled.

Feeling unrestrained, the man tried to escape.

But with unbelievable speed, Tyler pinned him to the ground.

"You better speak fast," Tyler said calmly.

The man’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even realized when he’d been slammed down.

He looked up—and recognized a familiar face.

"You... what are you doing here?" he asked in panic.

"I guess I wasn’t too far from exposing you guys," Tyler said, increasing the pressure of his grip.

"Stop... I’ll tell you," the guy cried out in pain.

"The more truth I hear, the less you’ll suffer," Tyler warned, not loosening his hold.

"It was a group of people... but they already left the settlement," the man gasped. "I just overheard them once. They were talking about killing students to pass the exam."

"Stop lying." The man felt like his life was hanging by a thread.

Gracie was certain—she could feel his emotions. He was mixing truth and lies, playing it smart. But not smart enough.

---

Meanwhile, Harry stood in front of two level-seven Behemoths, a long black sword resting on his shoulders.

"Let’s see if I can break your hides," he said, cracking his knuckles.