Meanwhile, Uma began channeling the wind element. He crafted shimmering vacuum bullets in his palms and launched them at Karna. The bullets streaked through the air with a high-pitched whine, forcing Karna to dodge. One bullet grazed his arm, leaving a shallow cut.

Fumiko watched anxiously, her fists clenched. Her thoughts raced as she saw Karna under relentless attack. Summoning her resolve, she raised her hands, and medium-sized trees erupted from the ground. The trees intercepted Uma’s next volley, weakening the attacks enough for Karna to evade.

Both Karna and Uma paused momentarily, turning their attention to Fumiko.

Uma's grin widened with amusement. “Oh? Plant magic? Now that’s a rare sight. Your team keeps surprising me, Twilight.”

Karna gave Fumiko a short, acknowledging nod and charged forward again. Meanwhile, Fumiko commanded tree vines to lash out at Uma, attempting to entangle him. Uma raised a hand, summoning a small but intense wind whirl that tore through the vines with ease.

Karna closed the gap, lightning crackling in one hand and a glowing magic sphere in the other. He hurled the sphere at Uma, using the distraction to extend his lightning-charged arm forward. Uma deflected the magic sphere with his wind-enhanced arm and, seeing Karna’s lightning strike incoming, leaped into the air to avoid it.

Uma, mid-air, grabbed Karna’s extended arm and used the momentum to hurl him away. As Karna was thrown, Uma unleashed a barrage of wind slashes. Karna twisted his body mid air, dodging most of them, but one slash grazed his arm, leaving another small cut.

At the rendezvous point Kenta, Gyoda, and Reiko regrouped. Kenta looked around, his expression filled with concern. “Karna’s not here. Something’s wrong.”

Without hesitation, they sprinted toward Karna’s last known location. As they arrived, they saw the intense battle between Karna and Uma.

Kenta and Reiko wasted no time. Kenta conjured a water bullet and fired it at Uma, who deftly dodged. At the same time, Reiko unleashed a flurry of magical beams aimed directly at Uma.

Uma, smirking, formed an air element sphere around him, blocking the beams with ease. He retaliated by launching the sphere toward Kenta.

Kenta, reacting quickly, erected a barrier to block the attack, but Uma’s sphere tore through it, hitting Kenta squarely in the chest. The force sent him skidding backward, leaving small scratches on his body.

Gyoda, seeing Kenta get hit and pushed back, clenched his fists in anger. A glowing magical orb formed in his hand as he glared at Uma.

“How dare you hurt my friends!” he roared, and heaved the orb at Uma with incredible force.

Uma smirked and raised a magic shield, confident it would hold. However, the orb slammed into the shield, pushing Uma back. Cracks spread across the shield until it shattered, forcing Uma to leap away, his expression shifting to one of surprise.

This guy… broke my shield? Uma thought, startled. I shouldn’t let my guard down.

From a distance, the examiner, Hatake, and Mawang Kyofu watched the battle from the airship.

“Interesting..” Mawang Kyofu said, sounding amused.

“Impressive, but even then, they should be no match for Uma,” Hatake replied calmly.

Back in the fight, Uma summoned a barrage of magic needles and fired them at Gyoda. Despite the enhancer still tied to his back, Gyoda weaved through the attacks with raw agility, narrowly dodging the needles. He closed the distance to Uma, his fist reared back for a punch.

Gyoda swung at Uma, aiming straight for his face, but Uma blocked it with his forearm and countered with a swift kick. Gyoda caught Uma’s leg by the ankle.

Uma, however, twisted his body mid-air, breaking Gyoda’s grip, and landed a powerful kick that sent Gyoda flying backward toward Karna and Kenta.

Uma wasted no time, conjuring multiple wind whirls and firing them at the group.

Reiko raised a magical shield to protect them, only for the whirls to shatter the barrier on impact. One of the whirls headed straight for them. Gyoda jumped forward, shoving Karna and Kenta aside.

He took the wind whirl head-on, the force of it blasting him backward and leaving him sprawled on the ground with scratches across his body.

“Gyoda!” Karna, Kenta, and Reiko exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with worry.

Uma clicked his tongue in frustration, glancing at the radar. “Tsk! The rabbit is getting away. I’ll deal with you idiots later.”

He raised his hands, summoning a massive wind whirl, which he hurled at the group to distract them. The whirlwind churned the ground, forcing them to shield their eyes.

“It’s your lucky day, Twilight,” Uma said with a smirk as he walked away. “Next time, you won’t be so fortunate.”

Uma disappeared in the direction of the Bunny’s last known location.

The group rushed over to check on Gyoda, who was lying on the ground, scratched up but grinning.

“He got me,” Gyoda chuckled. “Guess I should’ve used more strength.”

“Thank goodness you’re alright,” Reiko said, relieved. “But why didn’t you use the enhancer? You had it the whole time!”

Gyoda blinked in realization, patting the still-attached enhancer on his back.

Karna grinned, a hint of teasing in his voice. “Knowing that you will use it like an idiot, you didn’t pull it out, did you? I’m so proud of you, Gyoda—you’ve finally realized you’re an idiot!”

“Oi Karna!” Gyoda said, sitting up with a glare. “You wanna get your butt kicked?”

Before they could start bickering further, Reiko smacked both of them on the head.

“Cut it out!” she scolded. “You two are impossible.”

Hatake narrowed his eyes as he watched the fight below. “I’m surprised he sustained that attack with nothing but a few scratches. He’s strong.”

Mawang simply smirked, a hint of amusement in his voice. “They’re holding back. I wonder why?”

Meanwhile, Uma, having left Karna’s team behind, successfully captured the Bunny. A notification blared across the arena, adding 30,000 points to his team’s total. The scoreboard now displayed a daunting 90,000 points for Uma’s team.

In another part of the forest, Goro’s team was engaged in a fierce fight with a rival group. They quickly overpowered their opponents, knocking them out with cold efficiency and collecting their points. Goro’s team now held a total of 35,000 points.

The fifth cloaked figure, Han, sat on a big boulder, his attention fixed on the transparent shop menu floating before him. He scrolled through the list of items, his gaze finally settling on a massive Earth Enhancer Hammer priced at 40,000 points. He tapped the icon, and a distinct "cling" sound confirmed the purchase.

As the menu vanished, the view widened, revealing the gruesome aftermath of his last battle. A lifeless body lay crushed between two enormous rocks. Nearby, another figure was pierced through the chest by a massive, rocky thorn. A third was simply flattened beneath a colossal boulder.

Just then, two black-suited delivery men appeared and handed the colossal weapon to him. Han rested the immense hammer on his shoulder, the weight of it barely affecting him. He then smirked, a look of pure menace on his face, as he began to walk away, the head of the hammer gleaming ominously in the sunlight.

Back with Karna's team, Reiko was carefully healing the wounds on Karna's arms. Fumiko watched them, her head down, a look of guilt on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I couldn't help you guys much."

Karna grinned reassuringly. "Don't say that! You were a great help." His eyes lit up with curiosity. "So, you can use plant magic, huh?"

Gyoda’s eyes widened with excitement. "Really? Can you show me? Please, please, please!"

Fumiko nodded and, with a soft hum, a beautiful rose plant sprouted from the ground. Gyoda's jaw dropped.

"That's amazing!" he exclaimed in awe.

Before Gyoda could say more, Karna rushed forward, kicked him lightly in the shin, and dropped to one knee. He grabbed Fumiko's hands, his voice laced with exaggerated drama, “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You’re an angel!”

Before Fumiko could react, Reiko smacked Karna on the head.

"Get healed first, idiot," she scolded.

As Karna sat down, rubbing his head, Kenta checked their team’s points on the radar.

"We’ve only got 9,000 points," Kenta said, his voice grim. "That’s not enough."

Suddenly Karna’s expression turned intense. His eyes met Kenta's as he spoke in a low voice. "Looks like those caped guys we saw during the start of the test are spying on us. They knew I could use lightning. They didn’t seem surprised at all."

Kenta’s brow furrowed in thought. "Hm… Looks like HE has made his move as well."

The scene shifts to Goro, standing in a dimly lit area, his eyes fixed on the radar. The faint glow from the device illuminates his cold, menacing expression. He speaks in a calm yet intimidating tone, his voice low and chilling to his teammates:

Looks like the first bunny was captured. As expected, you guys are good for nothing. If you fail to capture the second one… I’ll end your lives.”

His words hung in the air, a heavy weight that sent a shiver down the spines of his teammates.

A faint orange hue began to blanket the sky, signaling the coming dawn. Adheera quietly departed from his position, leaving Bagi behind.

“Stay here. I’ll collect more points,” he said.

Bagi simply nodded, settling into a relaxed, almost lazy, position on the forest floor.

Just then, a group of shadowy figures emerged from the nearby brush, their eyes locked on Bagi. He appeared to be asleep, but his Zone ability had already detected their presence.

“Now’s our chance,” Ambusher 1 whispered. “He’s completely defenseless.”

“Let’s finish this quickly,” Ambusher 2 said with a smirk.

The ambushers moved in simultaneously, striking from all sides. A moment later, a magic circle materialized in front of Bagi, glowing with a fiery intensity.

“What the—?!” Ambusher 3 exclaimed in shock.

A torrent of fire erupted from the circle, engulfing the attackers.

A massive explosion shook the forest, and a plume of smoke and fire rose into the sky, silhouetted against the early dawn light. Unaffected by the chaos, Bagi sat up nonchalantly, his calm demeanor contrasting starkly with the devastation around him.

“Amateurs,” he muttered.

The forest grew quiet again, but under that silence, pressure mounted. Day 3 would not be kind