The air was tense, hundreds of students stood on a bloodied field, teenagers dressed up in black and white adorned with the emblems of their families.

High above them stood a tall yet lanky man, he was standing on the sky itself, his face was friendly yet his voice roared loudly.

“Welcome witches from around the world! This will be the official entrance exam for Hex Academy, I don’t want to make the introduction too long so here are the rules”.

He began to float down from the sky towards the ground.

“Only 40 percent of you will pass, so that’ll be about 120 students, you have to gather golden points hidden around the entire forest, the entire exam will last a total of 36 hours and you will be allowed to steal points from others, the top ten will be given special treatment and prizes, so everyone”!

He smiled.

“Anything goes, even killing each other isn’t off limits, good luck”.

Drones flew above them, recording their every step and broadcasting it to the public.

Thousands of people tuned in to see the young witches tearing each other apart.

The ground itself shook as the large steel doors in front of the students creaked open with splendor.

Shirogane stared at the watch on his wrist, as he slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling for an object that he had sneaked into the field.

“The security was so goddamn tight, I had to disassemble it and hide it in my armor”.

His eyes narrowed as the sight of the forest came into view.

Beside him was a girl with long disheveled brown hair with blue eyes that yearned for an end.

She breathed in and out slowly, her eyes tired and scared.

Shirogane walked towards her, curious about her.

Students around him began to collapse onto the ground with a thud.

“The hell”?

Shirogane’s vision started to blur, the world around him began to spin.

“I’m going to vomit”.

His legs suddenly felt weak.

His eyes suddenly opened wide as he held his breath, he remembered this situation very vividly.

[Reina put me through this before, the sensation]

Carbon monoxide poisoning

His mind immediately pinpointed her.

[I remember her, I saw her at the entrance, Kira Aamon]

As soon as the gates fully opened, Shirogane held his breath and dashed straight into the forest, his intense mana began to fade within the thick darkness of the trees.

Kira stood up as she breathed deeper and deeper, the students around her collapsed with every step she took.

Shirogane grabbed onto the bark of the tree and climbed up, sitting down on the tree branch, he leaned against the wood, the rough texture pressed against the back of his head.

Trees loomed tall and twisted as the sunlight dimmed beneath the canopy, the temperature immediately dropped as he felt a shiver go down his spine.

“Kira Aamon…. I saw the back of her throat open up, seems like a mutant type manifestation that allows her to exhale carbon monoxide”.

He loosened his pants as screws and pieces of metal began to fall out.

“All witches have a counter”.

It was a guarantee that Dominic would completely sweep the competition, but the real question was.

Who would get second place?

30 minutes passed since the exam began.

“I have to at least get third”.

The wind rustled the leaves as he stepped through the thick bushes, his white gloves brushing aside leaves and thorns without complaint.

He wore a clean, white uniform, his family’s emblem hanging on his shoulder. Unlike the others, his boots were clean and unstained with any dirt or blood, his eyes were determined and stern, ready to win no matter what.

His name tag read:

“David Smith”.

One of the four great families known for their ability to combust any flammable object with a single touch.

In a forest is where he shines.

“I only have 35 points so far, I need to find someone”!

He grabbed the points from within his pants, they were fighting over flat, round pieces of plastic coated in a thin golden splendor.

He immediately stopped in his tracks the moment he heard rustling that wasn’t from him.

Then a snap.

David’s legs started to tense as he felt the ground itself rumble, rocks started to jump.

BOOM

He quickly jumped away as the nearby trees bursted into shards of wood and the burst of sound tore through the ground itself.

He landed on the nearby grass, as he barely managed to avoid being completely obliterated.

“What the hell is this”?

“What else? Your points are mine”.

Coming out the darkness was a small girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, she wore this long brown coat that reached to her knees and a short red frilly skirt.

Her bored eyes staring at David with a blank expression.

“I’ve met you before at the usual family meetings, David was it”?

David wiped away the drool off his mouth.

“Neila Shaw, the youngest of the Shaw family”.

His breathing rapidly sped up, he grabbed onto the dropped branches as he hurled them towards her without hesitation.

“I’m sorry but I’m going to beat you”.

Before reaching her face, the branches crackled as the air heated up and bursted into flames.

Neila’s eyes squinted as she immediately dashed away from the flame.

“What did you say, you filth”?

David immediately closed the distance, launching a mana enhanced punch straight towards her face.

“Hm”?

Within a fraction of a second, she immediately dodged the strike, ducking under as her blonde hair swayed with motion.

David’s fist cut through the air, smashing into the bark of a tree behind her.

“You’re too slow”.

Neila muttered, her voice a small whisper muffled up by the sound of the collapsing tree.

David didn’t give her a chance, he immediately closed the gap again, combusting his own leg, swinging his leg towards her stomach.

Neila was fast, immediately jumping away and landing with a soft thud as she slid across the dirt.

[He’s setting himself on fire, isn’t that risky?]

She looked down as she patted away the small flame that started to eat through her shirt.

[I’d better save up my mana, I can’t use it recklessly]

Neila dashed towards him, immediately dodging the incoming punch from him as she grabbed his head, kneeing him in the face.

David stumbled backwards as he grasped his broken nose, his dirty brown hair blowing in the wind.

“You’re strong”.

“You don’t have to tell me that”.

Neila gripped her fist as she swung her entire arm towards his face, launching him into a tree.

David smiled, spitting out the blood from his mouth, as he stood up and his knees shaking.

“I’m done here”.

He immediately turned around as he dashed away as fast as he possibly could.

Neila stared at him with a look of confusion on her face.

Her eyes suddenly widened as she searched for anything in her pocket.

It was gone, all 60 points that she gathered, disappeared into thin air.

Her brows furrowed as she gritted her teeth.

“I’m going to kill that bastard”.

The air immediately tensed up, Neila couldn’t even move a single muscle, completely frozen in place.

She had never felt this much bloodlust before.

And then she saw a familiar figure come out of the shadow.

A man with a large build and dark blue hair.

Dominic Walker.

With a total of 150 points.

He looked at her with a smile on his face.

“Heyyy”.

He leaned against the tree.

“Hand over your points and let’s make this easy”.

Neila crossed her arms as she sighed dramatically.

“I don’t have any, I just got mugged by a peasant”.

Dominic barely contained his laugh as he grasped for something to hold on.

“How? Imagine getting robbed, couldn’t be me”.

He stepped forwards, the ground cracking beneath his feet.

“Miss stuck up princess finally got humbled”.

Neila’s arms remained crossed as she looked at him with a look of disdain, her foot tapping against the soil.

Dominic raised an eyebrow.

“Who even robbed you”?

“It was David Smith”.

One of Dominic’s eyebrows was raised.

“One of the Smiths, huh? They’re sure are aggressive, how badly did you damage him”?

She waved her hand dismissively.

“I broke his nose”.

“Hm”.

Dominic hid his smile with his hand.

“Make sure not to kill him, even I can’t deal with an entire great family by myself”.

Neila sighed loudly as she ran her fingers through her hair, her frustration barely contained within her.

“I wasn’t planning on killing him”.

She brushed some dirt off her shoulders.

“Just enough to do some damage to him”.

“You sure you’re not just lying so you can get away with your points”?

His eyes narrowed as a smirk spread across his face.

“You gonna frisk me for it? Bit desperate for the future head of the future head of the Walkers family”.

She looked at him from beneath her eyebrows with a scowl on her face.

Dominic turned his back on her as he began to walk away from her.

“Keep the attitude, it suits you”.