The Broken System Chose the Antagonist
Chapter 5: Some fear Heights more than Others

Chapter 5: Some fear Heights more than Others

Creeeaak~!

The rear door of the military aircraft slowly fell open, revealing a port city that, upon closer inspection, was half in ruins and half overgrown with plants.

They have arrived in Calais.

Herman Ritchel, the overseeing examiner, got up from his seat and began to walk around, passing out two things to each examinee. One was a large-sized satchel that carried 3 days’ worth of rations and a small stack of yellowish-green slips of paper. The other was a parachute.

"Remember, three days! Survive three days until extraction, and you will pass! If you’re weak, stay near the water. If you’re not, take this opportunity to kill Predicaments and be seen as an asset!"

He eventually reached Hilda.

After passing the satchel, he gave her an inquiring look, which was later answered with a shake of her head.

With a nod, he continued.

"Now that everyone has a parachute, who’s brave enough to jump out and land into a place that could very well be their grave?!"

A feeling of anxiety washed over the examinees; no one wanted to be the first to jump out, especially at a height like this!

But eventually—

"I will, Sir!"

—Someone stepped up.

A tall man with broad shoulders and a muscular build stepped out. He had cropped copper hair, a scar beneath one of his brows, and wore a white tank and cargo pants. He had your typical "macho-man" look.

Saluting with a fist over his Heart, he shouted:

"Ross Kestrel, sir!"

Herman nodded in satisfaction as he saluted him back.

"Give your Heart for the Good of Humanity, Mister Kestrel."

Afterwards, when he leapt out and pulled his parachute, the number of courageous examinees began to steadily grow, eventually leaving only three behind to have yet to jump out.

Nadia clutched the side as she peered over the edge, gazing down at the enormous drop.

Although her expression held traces of indifference, she did have some anxious thoughts, like any normal person would from being hundreds of metres in the air.

’It’s going to be fine... remember what you came here for.’ She thought to herself.

As she was about to jump out, a voice called out to her.

"Meine Dame!"

She looked back and immediately furrowed her brows when she found Hilda waving at her.

"I hope you stay safe until we meet again!"

Nadia immediately shivered a bit from that.

"Thanks... you too."

Watching as Nadia was the next to jump out, Hilda turned to gaze at the next person yet to jump.

"I can’t do this, I can’t do this..." Seraphine repeated, clinging to the wall for her damn life as she refused to look over the edge.

It was already hard enough to come to terms with the fact that she was going to be left in what was equivalent to a pit of snakes, so gathering the courage to even jump out of a plane was extremely pushing it!

’I want to go home...’

"Meine Freundin, are you having trouble?"

Hilda walked over to the quivering girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You mustn’t be afraid, Miss Halloway, this part of the exam is to test your Heart! If you don’t make the leap now, I’m afraid you will fail."

"W-what if I want to fail?" Seraphine answered shakingly.

Hilda’s eyes became half-lidded.

"Then, the government would cease its support for your family. Would you like for that to happen?"

Seraphine stiffened as a complicated expression spread across her face.

Although the family that Seraphine had in this world wasn’t originally her own, that didn’t mean she didn’t care for them in the slightest after getting her original body’s memories—in fact, after getting the original Seraphine’s memories, she too began to see them as her own.

’If I survive, my family would be able to enjoy benefits they couldn’t before...’

Seraphine clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, struggling to choose between possible benefits and her survival.

This, of course, was picked up by Hilda.

"Come, meine Freundin, I’ll help you face your fears!"

The German woman grabbed the quivering girl’s hand and gently pulled her towards the open door—taking her to the very edge for her to peer down.

Seeing the large drop, Seraphine immediately clung to Hilda, completely forgetting that the woman was supposed to be an antagonist.

"Steady your breathing und keep your body relaxed. Close your eyes und feel the air brush against your skin, Miss Halloway."

Listening to her instructions, Seraphine did just that. And almost instantly, she could sense her mind becoming more and more relaxed.

’To think I disliked her before... she’s so much nicer than the story portrayed...’

Seraphine had even begun to think the developers weren’t doing Hilda justice by making her out to be evil.

’I’m so calm... it’s like I’m falling...’

"Wait, falling?"

Opening her eyes, Seraphine found herself plummeting rapidly through the air as Hilda waved down at her from above with a gentle smile.

Hilda had shoved her off...

She then watched as the German woman saluted her.

"Give your Heart for the Good of Humanity!"

Seraphine widened her eyes. Then, from the depth of her Heart, she shouted:

"HILDAAAAA!"

The German woman chuckled amusedly at Seraphine’s roar.

’To temper one’s Heart, you must face the unexpected and step out of your comfort zone.’

Turning back to face the examiner, Hilda saluted before falling backwards and dropping as well.

In this world, Vitalists draw from a special source that holds all their power: their Heart. By manipulating their Vitality, Vitalists would be able to strengthen and push their bodies to their theoretical limit.

However, in the past few decades, they realised they needed something more.

Predicaments were devilish fiends. They were monsters that could survive radiation, regenerate from even the gruesomest of wounds, and even unleash elemental attacks. Against such a foe, your conventional weapons weren’t enough. Humanity knew they needed something special to have even a winning chance.

So, they researched, going into depth on how the Heart worked. And when they finished, they discovered a totally new path that Vitalists can direct their Vitality towards.

This path was called Spiritualism!

Now rapidly approaching the ground, Hilda swiftly fished a slip of paper from the satchel she was given before imbuing it with Vitality.

Next, in under a second, the yellowish-green blank slip of paper was marked with a mystical drawing on one of its sides.

"{Levitation}."

A magical grey aura wrapped itself around Hilda, which, upon completion, completely halted the German woman in the air, negating all the momentum she had built up and ultimately saving her from being a blood splatter on the road.

Now only a few inches above the cracked road, Hilda carefully twisted her body around and lowered her feet to the ground.

With the grey aura around her soon dissipating, she took a look at the slip of paper she held and found it to have been reduced to what could only be described as black particles.

She smiled slightly.

After brushing her hands, she folded her arms behind her back before walking forward.