The Broken System Chose the Antagonist

Along with Beatrice, Roxy led Hilda throughout the entirety of Fort Risban, touring the weathered fortress. There weren’t many rooms, nor was the smell all too pleasing; it was stuffy and earthy at the same time.

Catching several glimpses of holes in the roof, it was clear to Hilda that the cause of the smell was undoubtedly moss, most likely forming from rainwater that leaked in. Yet, there wasn’t a single colony of moss to be found inside the weathered fortress.

When Hilda inquired about this as a simple conversation starter, Roxy swiftly clarified:

"We have a lot of people here with allergies, you see. Considering that we already had the repair in mind, it only made sense to clean out the insides, while we were at it."

Hilda couldn’t help but hum in silent satisfaction. Just this simple act alone had further placed Roxy’s group above Ross’ group. ’Could it be due to different way of leadership, or the people?’

It didn’t take long for Hilda to figure out the answer to her own question.

"Hey, Roxy! How’s that bruise doing!" Someone from around the corner waved.

"It’s getting better! How’s it going with your arm?"

"It’s in tip-top shape now!"

Throughout the tour, they had been approached and called out to countless times by several different people. None of them held any traces of hesitation or caution when speaking to Roxy. It was clear that the woman was rather popular among her group, unlike Ross, who voluntarily secluded himself from others.

Without a doubt, the two were polar opposites when it came to leadership.

And while Roxy’s popularity was definitely an effective way to maintain control over the people in her group... it was quite the hassle to have their tour interrupted constantly; something that didn’t happen when Ross was her tour guide for Rusty Den.

So while Roxy might be the ideal way to lead people... there were just some areas where Ross won in terms of efficiency.

Though Hilda did eventually get to explore the entirety of the weathered fortress, in the end — granted, it took almost a quarter to an hour to do just that.

There weren’t many areas in Fort Risban that interested Hilda, even if she did feign interest. However, she did manage to stave off her boredom by delving into various conversations with both Beatrice and Roxy.

Conversations that revolved around what happened after they separated and what reactions she received when she returned to Rusty Den, etc.

And during these conversations, she had let slip about Beatrice’s sudden ambush on her earlier, which led to an entertaining show for the German to watch.

Eventually, though, Roxy did bring her to a room that caught her attention: the place where they kept their inventory, which so happens to be both the last room on the list and the place she wanted to explore.

The room was guarded by two people and a coarse wooden door.

The guards immediately caught Hilda’s eye. If this was a simple storage room, was there a need for guards?

’I wonder if this is where they keep their eyes...’ Hilda pondered.

The moment she stepped in, she was met with a neatly organised inventory. The items were separated into different and efficient piles. One for utilities, one for miscellaneous, and more she couldn’t quite identify because of how much they had in storage — it was rather daunting.

"After we stumbled onto this fortress and explored its inside, we found out this room used to be a storage room of some kind.

"Unfortunately, apart from a few scraps here and there, it looked to have been ransacked. So, unfortunately, no guns, which I had hoped."

Roxy sighed deeply, still disappointed at the possible prospect of having firearms. "But whatever, you just got to make do with what you have."

Hilda held her chin in thought.

’Storage room with guns? It is definitely possible that this room could’ve had firearms, considering it was previously used for coastal defence. But perhaps they were later removed when civilians moved in for shelter...’

She then shook her head at that point.

’There would’ve been guards in place to stop civilians from equipping themselves with firearms.’

If Roxy’s prediction that this place had been ransacked was true, then where were the guns currently being held? And by whom?

’Guns are rather ineffective against Predicaments; unless you’re a good shooter with precise control over Vitality, they’re only really useful when dealing with other people.’

She knew that past exams had taken place in this city. So, the possibility that these firearms had been used by past examinees to ransack each other and had them confiscated by the LRM at the end of the exam was definitely a possibility.

But Hilda couldn’t be sure of that.

’I’ll just be more cautious moving forward,’ Hilda mused.

For now, she needed to focus on her plan.

She then looked towards Roxy, who seemed prepared for her questions, like a speaker who had just finished their speech.

"I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I recall Elias robbing you of your eyes last time. Have you decided to place them in a more secured location now?" Hilda inquired inconspicuously.

Roxy nodded confidently with folded arms. "Naturally. With the incident with that rat, we decided to learn from our mistakes and hid it in a much harder to find place," she replied almost instantly.

"I see..." Hilda stroked her chin.

If she wanted to claim monopoly over the eyes, she needed to figure out where the eyes were stashed before moving forward.

While brute-forcing and tearing the place apart was definitely a solution, it would also be the equivalent of throwing her own spanner in the works — messing up her own plan.

’The people I knocked out should wake up in a few hours, at the least. So until then, I need to figure out a way to locate the eyes and steal them undetected before leaving this place.’

Unbeknownst to what Hilda was planning, Roxy called out to her:

"Well, then! I still need to finish up some stuff in here, which might take a while, so you don’t need to stay for that."

Hilda nodded. "I’ll leave you be, then."

The German chuckled and nodded again.

The two then watched as Hilda left the room. And once they were certain that she was a decent distance away, they turned to each other.

"So, what do you think about her?" Roxy asked.

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