"Ck."Elian clicked his tongue in annoyance and glanced upward—toward two people hovering in the air, standing atop a single large magic circle that was clearly being controlled by a woman.
"That bastard really came down from the sky just to save some random person," he muttered quietly.
Several figures began to land. As their feet touched the ground, one of them immediately locked eyes with Elian.
"Wait… aren't you Elian?"A blue-haired girl holding a magic staff asked in surprise."And why did you attack your own sister during the exam?"
"That doesn't matter," a brown-haired young man cut in from behind, his voice filled with anger."Everyone, let's defeat him and kick him out of this exam. That way, I can finally avenge the humiliation I suffered in our previous duel!"
Elian recognized him instantly. William.The one he had defeated without any difficulty not long ago.
"In that case," said the man who had been protecting Liana as he stood up and pulled the shield embedded in the ground free, "we have another reason to take him down."
Behind them, Liana looked at Elian with a complicated expression—neither fully angry nor calm.
"Then we need to be careful," the blue-haired girl said."According to the data, his combat power is recorded as Rank E at Sequence 9. But… there's a high chance the data hasn't been updated."Her eyes glowed blue as she analyzed Elian.
Elian frowned. This situation was clearly developing beyond his expectations.
Originally, he had only planned to earn points by eliminating Liana.Despite her strength, her abilities focused on stealth and surprise attacks—completely useless against Elian, who could detect every movement and pinpoint the source of attacks.
But now… four versus one.
Their team composition was balanced, greatly reducing his chances of winning.
Suddenly, William raised his hand and fired a fireball.
Having already read the trajectory, Elian merely tilted his head slightly. The fireball flew past him and smashed into a tree behind.
The tree burned for a moment… then the fireball disappeared, dispersing into magic particles in the air.
Elian's eyes glinted.Several ideas formed at once, and a faint smile slowly appeared on his lips.
"Everyone, I think he took a non-combat fate at Sequence 8. Still, stay alert—he can predict our attacks!" the blue-haired girl shouted.
The group immediately formed a battle formation, following her instructions.
"Hoh?" Elian raised an eyebrow, intrigued."How did you conclude that I took a non-combat fate at Sequence 8?"
The girl smiled confidently."It's simple. From how you dodged that attack just now, I assumed you have either Dynamic Vision or Danger Instinct."She paused briefly before continuing."But remembering your duel with William… you're clearly a mage. So the fate you chose must be Divination."Her eyes gleamed as she stared at Elian, as if convinced her assumption was correct.
Elian nodded lightly, feeling her reasoning was fairly sound.
"I'm impressed," he said flatly."But I hope… you have enough points."
"Huh?" The girl sneered."You think you can beat us just because you can see a bit of the future?"
Elian shook his head."No."
He raised his hand.
"It's because… you'll be disqualified the moment you decided to fight me."
A wind blade shot forward—fast and sharp—only to be stopped by an invisible shield.
…Extremely sturdy.
"Hahaha!"The shield-bearing man laughed loudly, gripping his shield tightly."That's it? Is that all you've got? Come on, attack me again!"
"Martin, draw his attention," the girl ordered quickly."William, prepare the next attack!"
Martin let out a loud roar.
A sound wave slammed into Elian.
In an instant, unease surged in his chest. When he looked at Martin, an overwhelming urge to attack him burst forth—irrational and uncontrollable.
Elian moved forward.
At the same time, William fired another fireball.
The collision sent Elian sliding backward, flames engulfing his body—but the barrier around him absorbed all the damage, leaving him completely unharmed.
"Martin, do it again!" the girl shouted."If his magic power runs out, we'll win for sure!"
Elian realized what had just happened.
He immediately closed his eyes—and sank into the dream realm.
When he felt magic power strike his body again, he opened his eyes and attacked forward.
Another fireball flew toward him.Bigger. Hotter.
Elian smiled.
A wind vortex formed around his body. The fire collided with it—and in an instant, the wind turned into flames, trapping Elian inside.
"I don't know how you escaped Martin's taunt," the girl said,"but hiding inside a wind vortex was a stupid decision."
"Really?"Elian's voice echoed from within the fire vortex."Then let's see whose decision was stupid."
The fire vortex exploded outward.
Flames slammed into the surrounding trees. Violent winds fanned the blaze, spreading fire from one tree to another.
"William! Put out your fire—now!" the girl screamed in panic.
William's face turned pale as the heat reached him. He desperately tried to cancel his spell—but nothing happened.
Elian manipulated the surrounding wind, making the flames burn even more violently.
He had mixed William's magic with his own. With his high INT, his magical control was far superior—even preventing William from reclaiming his own flames.
"You're insane!"The girl sighed in frustration."Just because you can't beat us, you decide to burn the entire forest?!"
A large magic circle appeared. Dark clouds gathered overhead, lightning writhing within.
Elian directed the lightning downward.But the strike was stopped by an invisible barrier.
Realizing the attack was pointless, he dispersed the lightning and cleared the sky.
"You—" The girl was nearly screaming in frustration."Stop this! There are other people living on this island!"
But she received no response from Elian.
Liana touched her shoulder."Do it again. This time, I'll help you."
The girl nodded slightly and began forming another magic circle. She failed several times—but then something strange happened.
Despite the absence of dark clouds, a drizzle fell from the sky.
Elian opened his eyes, sensing something was wrong.
He activated the magic circle he had prepared from the very beginning.
In an instant, a massive tornado formed, absorbing the surrounding flames. Fire spun violently as fireballs were flung outward, igniting areas that had yet to burn.
With this… the spread of the fire will accelerate.
"Stop!" the girl shouted."You'll kill people!"
Elian considered her words. In the game, there were no human NPCs here.But then he remembered—when fighting boss monsters, smaller creatures like merfolk, tarzan yeti, and others would appear.
Now that the world had become real… where did they go?
Elian already had his answer.
"I'm only burning trees," he replied flatly."If anyone dies, it's their own fault for not leaving when they saw the fire."
Whether it was a hundred or a thousand, it was just a number.He didn't see their faces.So why imagine it and feel guilty?Other people's lives weren't his concern.
The girl grew even more frustrated at his response.
"It's fine. I'll take over this time," Liana said calmly from behind.She closed her eyes, and a blue light began to gather around her.
Dark clouds formed and expanded rapidly. Heavy rain poured down on the surrounding forest.
Elian frowned as the clouds spread into areas the fire hadn't reached yet, showing no sign of stopping.
In that brief moment, Elian made his decision.
He closed his eyes and gave a single command to his body.
"Burn."