Inside the faculty office, multiple teachers observed large screens that floated overhead on a giant board.
Divided into sections based off environment, each screen showed a student as the survival test was finally ongoing.
Ms. Hellena walked inside, placing a cup of coffee onto Mr. Seyor's desk, who was carefully observing the students in his designated section.
"How's it going? Any of the second years drop out yet?"
"A few. But most are still managing to go strong. They were trained for this, remember."
Ms. Hellena turned her attention to his screens as she noted a few.
"It seems like you have some stars this year. Living up to your expectations?"
"I will admit, some of these kids are monsters. Give them a few more years, and I swear some of them could make me have a run for my money."
"That's high praise from you. I wonder who has you saying that?"
*
"Fuuuuuck!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs, thrashing my arms around the nearest tree to me and hurling myself up it.
A loud roar echoed from the tree line as a boar slammed its skull onto the tree.
Gripping for dear life, I hurried up to the highest point I could as my eyes wandered down.
The boar circled the tree for a few minutes before walking away back into the tree line.
I sat down on the branch I had been standing on and let out a wave of air from my lungs.
The survival test had officially begun.
At first, I considered myself lucky.
I had been teleported into a dense jungle, which meant an available source of water had to be nearby, and the fruits that grew from the trees could offer themselves as my food source.
What I did not anticipate was the high-tier monsters that lived here.
This was my third time already having a close encounter with a beast, and I highly doubted it was going to come to an end soon.
I was so scared I didn't even draw my sword!
I laid my head into my arms and waited, to make sure the boar was truly gone.
As the sun finally set, I smiled in relief as the fire I had managed to make kept me decently warm.
The camp may not have had walls to keep me safe, but I did find a large burrow underneath a tree to crawl into whenever I slept and set a few traps just in case.
It was decently deep, so it gave me peace of mind of not getting mauled to death.
BRSH!
A large spiral of flames erupted into the sky, acting like it had become the sun for only a second before dying out again.
Someone was clearly having a bad time over there.
I felt sorry for whatever had to be on the receiving end of that magic.
Its distance gave me a relative sense of relief, but also meant people were nearby.
The teachers went through a good amount of detail with the rules, but the thing that stuck with me throughout the entire thing was the fact that they didn't forbid student-on-student violence.
Thankfully, if your life were to be put in any danger, the bracelet tracker they had given us would automatically teleport us.
I chowed down on some of the fruit I had managed to pick from the tree earlier, enjoying the juicy flavor.
Snap!
My body snapped as I placed my hand on the handle of my sword, ready to draw it as I stared at a bush.
Within the darkness of the trees, more and more rustling echoed louder and louder.
My heart rang through my ears, and my grip shook as I stared into the darkness.
My eyes widened as my sword quickly escaped my sheath as my body was slammed to the ground.
Jagged teeth bit down on my blade, which had managed to block the beast, as blood dripped onto my face.
Using all of the strength I could possibly muster, I shoved the beast off of me as I placed one foot in front of the other and pointed my blade.
The beast resembled that of a fox, yet its body held multiple mouths that ran within its flesh, leaking some odd black ooze.
Its four scarlet-red eyes pierced through mine as it once again leapt toward me.
I raised my blade as its body came slamming down against me.
Blood leaked down the base of my sword as it skewered through its torso.
Using my knee to keep my blade high, I backed my face away from its onslaught of mawing at my face.
Finally, I twisted my blade and yanked it horizontally, slicing through the beast as it yelped before going limp.
My breath eased as I stared at its lifeless corpse, stabbing it in the head for assurance.
A happy grin grew on me.
The sense of accomplishment fluttered within my stomach as I began to drag the fox's corpse away from my camp to prevent any more beasts from coming.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
My sword quickly returned to my hands as I raised my guard.
Boosh!
A swing so heavy struck me in the head, causing my entire body to be sent rolling.
My sword lay in pieces before me as the feet of a giant beast came into contact with my campfire's light.
My chest tightened as I ran as fast as my feet could possibly carry me toward the hole in the tree.
Boosh!
Another hit, this time making contact with my left arm, sent me flying as I crashed directly into a tree.
Blood leaked from my arm, dripping onto the dirt as my body screamed in pain.
It was an ogre.
Its skin was a dark gray, and it wielded a large piece of a tree.
My legs shook as I managed to rise.
This monster was beyond my level entirely!
Taking off again, the ogre raised its club and swung downward toward my direction.
Managing to stop in time, I backstepped as fast as I could as dust scattered everywhere when his club slammed into the ground, sending rubble everywhere.
The ogre scanned the area as the dust slowly faded away.
Snap!
Hiding behind a tree, my foot had stepped onto a twig.
My heart drummed rapidly in my chest as the ogre's footsteps grew louder with each step.
Finally, the ogre turned the corner and looked at me directly with hunger in its eyes.
"Got you."
My hands, which were gripping a vine, loosened as it soared into a tree.
Following instantly, a symphony of twigs and branches snapped in unison.
A log which had loomed over us, supported by the vine, came crashing down as I jumped out of the way.
Chunks of flesh flew everywhere as the log crushed the ogre, nearly splitting it into two.
As the adrenaline slowly began to wear off, my body jolted in pain as blood continued to run down it.
Pain was all I could feel, yet I couldn't help but be amused with myself as a grin crept onto my face.
"Caelum?"
My eyes rushed behind me as Mirelle escaped the darkness within the trees.
A flash of worry ran over her as she rushed toward me, who had fallen over in relief.
Lifting my limp body, she grabbed my damaged arm as another wave of pain let out an audible grunt from my lips.
Although I knew I'd be fine since I hadn't teleported yet, I couldn't help but be scared as darkness overtook my vision.
"Thank you."
*
Regaining consciousness, a faint smell caught my nose as I leaned my head over.
I was still at camp, bandaged up and laid down with a sheet over myself.
Morning had finally come.
Sitting down around my campfire, a large man ate from a crockpot that sat above the flames.
My face lit up as I finally noticed the large patch over his shoulder.
He was part of the student council.
Weakly sitting up, an unusual weight pressed down against my body underneath the sheet.
Taking a peek under it, my face went a beet red as I met Mirelle's sleeping face.