At the very start of the competition,
Cassius sat on the ancient throne, his posture relaxed but his mind calculating.
The stone seat was cold even though his uniform, carved from the dark granite that had stood for centuries in this abandoned castle. Dust mites drifted through shafts of pale light filtering down from high window.
"So they teleported us into five different zones"he murmured to himself, his grey eyes scanning the vast throne room.
"Completely randomized placement, which means no pre-planned teams will work…"
He drummed his fingers on the armrest thoughtfully.
Killing monsters individually gives more points through the solo bonus.
But against stronger monsters, teamwollrk is practically required…
A slight smile crossed his face.
Individual strength and quick teamwork adaptation.what elegant way to design a test.
His mind turned to the numbers 1,000 points to qualify for S-Class. But that's not his goal.
"Top rank,"he said quietly, his echoing in the empty chamber..
"That's what I'm aiming for."
He leaned back into the throne for a moment, allowing himself to appreciate the view.
The throne room stretched out before him like something from a forgotten age—the long King's Path leading from the entrance to where he sat, flanked by rows of ornate chairs coated in dust and cobwebs.
Tattered banners hung from the walls, their emblems faded beyond recognition. The whole place reeked of abandonment and decay.
His eyes flickered with satisfaction at the dramatic setting—
Something touched his cheek from behind.
Cassius immediately bolted from the throne, spinning mid-air and landing in a battle stance fifteen feet away, his hand already reaching for his ring. His heart hammered in his chest as adrenaline flooded his system.
Aria stood beside the throne, one hand still raised where his face had been moments before. A soft smile played across her lips—the kind of smile that suggested she found his panic adorable.
"How did you even—?!" Cassius sputtered, his usual composure completely shattered. His face flushed as frustration and embarrassment warred for control. "I told you not to do that again!"
Aria's smile widened, and a quiet chuckle escaped her—a rare sound that somehow made Cassius even more flustered.
"You're impossible," he muttered, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. Then, despite himself, his expression softened. "But... it's sweet of you to come. It makes scoring top rank a lot easier."
As if responding to his words, the throne room began to fill with the sound of grinding metal.
From the shadows at the far end of the hall, figures emerged—Armored Knights (C-Grade), ten of them in total.
Their plate armor was rusted and pitted with age, and they moved with the jerky, unnatural gait of undead constructs.
Ancient swords scraped against the stone floor as they advanced in formation.
Cassius's demeanor shifted instantly, all traces of embarrassment vanishing. "Ready?" he asked, his voice calm and professional.
Aria nodded once. The ring on her right hand glowed briefly, and a coiled whip materialized—the Serpent's Fang Whip, her signature weapon, a weapon forged from condensed magical energy and reinforced with silverthread.
She flicked her wrist, and the whip cracked against the stone floor with enough force to leave a slash mark in the ancient granite.
Without another word, she rushed forward.
Cassius's fist tightened around his spear as his grey eyes tracked her movement. Now.
In an instant, Aria's speed increased dramatically—She became a blur.
Her whip slashed through the joints of the Armored Knights with surgical precision—ankles, knees, elbows, shoulders. The movements didn't make physical sense; she was taking sharp ninety-degree turns at impossible speeds, her whip singing through the air with a whistling sound that filled the throne room.
Slash. Crack. Snap.
In less than ten seconds, all ten Armored Knights were dismembered, their limbs separated from their bodies but still twitching with undead animation.
They collapsed in heaps of rusty metal, unable to fight but not yet truly dead.
Aria didn't even look surprised. She casually deflected a volley of iron arrows with a flick of her whip, the projectiles clattering harmlessly across the floor.
Her red eyes tracked new movement—more Armored Knights emerging from the far end of the King's Path, this time accompanied by Armored Bowmen positioned in elevated alcoves.
Their eyes glowed faintly through the darkness, dozens of them.
"Perfect," Cassius said softly.
From his own ring—a twin to Aria's, worn on the same finger—a tall white spear materialized. The Ivory Piercer, elegant and deadly, its blade gleaming despite the gloom.
He walked peacefully down the King's Path, almost leisurely, stabbing each dismembered knight through the helmet.
Stab.
First knight—head pierced cleanly.
Stab.
Second knight—through the eye socket.
Stab.
Third, fourth, fifth—executed with the calm efficiency of someone performing a familiar chore.
The moment the tenth knight died, his point counter flared:
+100 points!
Cassius pulled his spear free from the final corpse and turned to Aria with a slight smile.
"Was that a fine warm-up?"
She nodded, already scanning the approaching reinforcements.
"Good," Cassius said, his smile widening into something more competitive. "Let's clear this entire zone alone."
As they walked deeper into the fortress, Aria spoke up, her voice quiet but carrying weight.
"What should be done about Snow Guild?"
Cassius's expression didn't change, but his pace slowed slightly.
"Investigating is one thing," Aria continued, "but if they've been operating for a month without our notice... isn't that worrisome?"
Silence.
Then Cassius spoke, voice low.
"Indeed. And the new owner is an aura user with such high-level mana circuits..."
He paused, jaw tightening.
"RVF must be advancing at a huge pace if they think I'm this easy to harass."
Aria tilted her head slightly, blue hair catching the torchlight.
"Do you think there are more traitors in our Ivory Guild fold?"
Cassius hummed thoughtfully.
"Probability isn't high, but it isn't low either."
His grey eyes darkened.
"In the end, RVF vassals are perfect blenders. They mix among the ordinary, among allies. After all, they're free from all human weaknesses..."
He gripped the Ivory Piercer tighter.
"Until they show their fangs, it's impossible to identify them. Honestly, I believe Snow was a vassal betraying us rather than fighting that stranger.
No matter how well RVF blends among the guilds, it should be impossible for us not to notice a complete leadership change.
"He straightened, stretching his shoulders."Let's finish this exam. We're already nearly halfway through the three-hour time limit."
Aria hummed. "Should we speed up?"
He paused, considering. "If we speed up too much, we'll accidentally kill students in other areas.
Monsters fleeing our attacks could cause collateral damage. This pace is good."
"I'm sure we're in the lead. Don't worry."
Aria nodded, then looked toward the far right—toward the entrance chamber.
"Is it possible," she asked carefully, "that monsters above A-Grade exist here?"
Cassius shrugged. "Probably not."
"I sense one," Aria said.
"It feels quite similar to a Death Knight. Should we hunt it?"
Cassius raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
The conversation remained silent the quite whispers among the two didn't reach the control room…
The professors leaned forward, eyes fixed on Zone 4's crystal.
"Is this even fair to other students?" one murmured.
Professor Whisper's doll-like face remained blank.
"It's fair," she said softly.
"Student Cassius is nearly the first to qualify for S-Class, but Aria is nowhere close. If this continues and Cassius aims for top rank, Aria will not qualify for S-Class.
"Professor Sylvia sighed. "She seems fine with it, but that team coordination is perfect. Are you sure they were randomized?"
"To think the prince and his servant landed in the same zone..." Professor Lydia muttered.
Marcus nodded. "It was randomized. He got lucky. But I don't think they'll hold the lead for much longer."
His eyes flickered to another display.
"Student Draekon has nearly caught up."
The scoreboard updated:
Cassius: 824 points
Draekon: 823 points
Lyralei: 659 points
"But above all," Marcus continued, "we've already started the second phase, correct?"
The student monitoring assistant grinned and nodded.
"Elimination Squad is dispatched."
Zone 1: Verdant Meadows
The camera zoomed in on Draekon wiping blood from his face with the back of his hand, grinning like a wolf.
Professor Luna chuckled. "He's a perfect hunter!""Not only does he lure out A-Grade monsters,"
she continued, "but he uses them as bait to bring out their natural enemies. As far as I can see, his hunting tactics even surpass some of our seniors!"
The view shook.Five Charging Hornbulls—massive, bull-like creatures with horns the size of lances—stampeded through the forest, kicking up dust that mixed with a faintly pinkish mist in the air.
They were sweating, visibly terrified, paying no attention to anything in their path. Boulders shattered. Trees splintered.
They were blinded by fear, driven forward by the Panic Pollen saturating the air�.And they ran straight into another predator.
A Titan Thornbeast—an A-Grade monstrosity covered in bark-like armor and dripping with thorned vines—lifted one of the Hornbulls clean off the ground with a massive clawed limb.
The bull squealed—a horrible, high-pitched sound—as the Titan bit it in half.The creature's eyes were unfocused, dilated.
It didn't notice the vines slowly wrapping around its own legs, creeping up its torso.The other Hornbulls were strangled mid-run, caught by writhing plant tendrils.
A Grand Treant—another A-Grade, even larger than the one Lyralei had fought—emerged from the treeline, its ancient wooden limbs slowly crushing the Titan Thornbeast as it began draining its life force.The air grew hazy with Narcotic Mist, a paralyzing fog released by the Treant.
Then—Draekon took a deep breath, chest expanding, lungs filling completely.And released a Stormflame Torrent.
A massive gout of fire erupted from his mouth—not a burst, but a continuous stream, like a living flamethrower.
The flames burned through everything: the Treant, the Thornbeast, the remaining Hornbulls.Wood crackled and exploded.
Flesh seared. The entire clearing became an inferno.When the flames finally stopped, Draekon's point total jumped by 160.
Professor Kazuki —a stern man with iron-grey hair—nodded approvingly.
"Indeed. Being born and raised in Dragon Valley made him a top-tier hunter."
"If we're talking about fairness," another professor said, "it's actually unfair for Lyralei.
Apart from the beginning, she hasn't encountered a single A-Grade monster.
They're all being slaughtered by Draekon."If he continues at this pace..."
Professor Whisper nodded. "He'll win.
Top rank in this year's exam."
Student Loren chuckled. "Let's see, though. After all, they still have to go through us, right?"
In the shadows of the monitoring displays, several figures moved—members of the Elimination Squad, preparing to enter the zones.
Zone 1: Verdant Meadows -
Lyralei walked through the forest, swinging a lizard's eyeball idly in one hand like a pendulum.
She looked pissed."So it's him," she muttered.
To challenge me to a Heart Duel...Ah. So he had a strategy all along.
Her jaw clenched.
It's still fine. If I hunt all the lower-rank B-Grades, I can catch up and surpass him.
She was going all-out now.
Lyralei stopped walking.
Her Spine heat spread further through her body—
The aura coils within her heart started spinning faster, climbing up her spine, spreading outward through her nervous system.
She took a combat stance.Black lightning crackled across her hands, her arms, her shoulders.
"I'm going to kill everyone," she hissed.
Then—Something touched the top of her head from behind.
Her extremely sensitive spatial awareness shivered.
Every nerve screamed danger.
A calm, soothing voice spoke:"That's a big no-no. Everyone? I think you need to be held back for that."
Lyralei's towering presence sent shivers down her own spine as she bolted—sweeping backward, creating distance in an instant.
Such presence, and yet completely blank until she was so close!How?!
The voice continued, still calm, almost amused."So who's the one annoying such a pretty lady?"
Lyralei looked at the source.She was tall—6'5"—but she felt dwarfed under this woman's presence.
The figure wore a plain white mask that covered her entire face. A flowing mage's dress, elegantly cut. Lush white hair that fell past her shoulders. Sun-kissed skin visible at her neck and hands.
The masked woman hummed, and her fingers flickered.
A sharp gust of wind slashed across Lyralei's cheek, drawing blood.
The masked woman blew on her fingertips as if cooling them.
"This is what killing is," she said, voice still soothing.
"If my juniors think it's a pleasure for others, they'd better experience a near-death situation themselves."
Lyralei's eyes narrowed, black lightning coiling tighter around her hands.
The hunt had just changed. And she had to make this quick.