CHAPTER 5

In the outskirts of the forest, in the region where first degree monsters could be found, there was a short girl.

She had a petite frame with blonde hair and pink eyes.

She was wearing a black top that stopped below her belly button and flowed in the wind.

She had a black frilly dress, with high boots that were matted in dirt.

The girl didn't mind this though, she kept walking deeper into the forest.

Whenever she saw a beast, she would raise her hand and point at it.

[Mana bullet]!

A translucent sphere of mana would appear and blast a hole through the beast she was looking at.

She'd encountered many beasts already, like boars, massive snakes and even a second-degree tiger!

She was deep in second degree territory by now.

Her calm expression didn't falter. She hopped over a thick root, and went on her way.

Her face didn’t show it but she had a kick in her step. She slightly skipped instead of walking.

She studied the forest with mild curiosity, turning her head every few seconds.

Spotting a curious bug, she bent down to examine it closer.

'Cute!' She exclaimed inwardly, as she looked at the red bug that was eating a leaf.

She stayed there for a couple of minutes, losing track of time as she admired the pretty thing.

The bug finished eating the plant and revealed its wings as it flew away.

The girl followed it excitedly, running after it. It flew a bit above her weaving through the trees.

She trailed after it, stumbling over some rocks on the ground in the process. She had to look up to follow it after all.

The scene was quite funny. She was supposed to be in the middle of an exam, a fairly important one at that.

Yet here she was, following a bug through the forest. With an entirely serious expression on her face.

She was doing a good job of keeping up, but she hit her head against something hard.

She stumbled back and rubbed her forehead in pain. "Ah! What was that!"

She looked up and saw a guy. He was standing with a spear in hand, looking at her with a menacing expression.

Now that she was focusing, he wasn't alone. There were three other guys standing behind him each with weapons of their own.

"Hmm?" She asked frowning, "What? What do you want?"

"Heh! Cocky much?" He sneered at her.

"What's a little girl like you doing wandering around a forest alone?" He bent down to get a closer look at her.

"Are you even old enough to be here, little girl?"

The guys behind him snickered in amusement.

"What! Don't get ahead of yourself. For someone who needs a gang to have a fighting chance at this exam, you sure are cocky!"

The boy in front frowned at her words. "Don't get me angry little girl, we are allowed to get rid of the competition."

"If you apologize for your rudeness, I'll let it go."

The girl scoffed, "You? Forgive me? You must be kidding." She laughed at him.

"And who do you think you're calling little girl?" Her face returned to its former calm state.

"Jay! We don't have time for this. There are only so many beasts to hunt."

The boy in front, Jay, looked back at his companions and nodded.

"Blame your arrogance for your loss." Jay pointed his spear at the girl, while she just calmly looked at him.

Jay furrowed his eyebrows. 'What is she...'

He lunged at her stabbing towards her with his spear, expecting to wound her.

CLANG!

Instead, the spear bounced off her skin.

"W-What?!" Jay stumbled back in shock, "What, what did you do?"

He looked down at his spear in shock to find it bent! Jay looked up at the girl in horror.

The girl shook her head in disappointment. "Did you live under a rock?"

She stepped forward into Jay's personal space and slammed her fist into his stomach.

"Argh!" Jay’s body contorted and he got knocked out immediately.

As his body dropped to the floor, the girl stepped towards the three remaining guys.

"Hah," She let out a sigh, "As expected, this is the difference between those who need to team up and those who don't." She muttered.

The others took their respective battle stances, eyes darting between her and each other.

"Don't worry, I'll make this painless for you." She rolled her shoulders.

"Don't panic," One of the guys who was wielding a bow said.

He walked back so he could put more distance between him and the girl.

"This is weird," He said, "Jay was strong, no way he was knocked out by a frail girl."

"Hmmm..." The girl smirked, "So you're not completely stupid."

She stepped closer, closing the distance between her and the group.

They didn’t let her though, taking several steps back in caution.

Her face twitched in annoyance.

"Let me help you grasp how outclassed you are."

Suddenly... she was gone.

'What!!!'

The group looked around in shock, trying to find the girl who was just in front of them.

"L-Let's get out of here!" One of the guys said, sweating in fear.

"We're clearly outmatched!"

The bowman was inclined to agree.

He turned around only to hit something hard and fall.

His back hit the floor and he looked up only to see the girl. Her blue eyes looking down at him in pity.

She kicked his head knocking him out. The other two followed.

She looked down at the bodies on the floor.

"Well, the test won't complete itself."

She started on her way deeper into the forest. She hummed a tune as she walked.

The four people on the ground were left unconscious for quite a while.

They should have chosen their opponent more carefully.

***

At another place in the second-degree territory, the scene was far different from the others.

The trees in the area were dyed red. Bodies were littered on the ground, some strung by their guts on the tree branches.

There were boys and girls all left dead, slaughtered in brutal ways.

The apparent culprit was a boy of average height and build. He had a pair of daggers held in a reverse grip.

He had black hair and black eyes. They matched with the black sheen of his blades as they dripped with blood.

These eyes were currently curved in ecstasy as blood painted his face. His smile stretched as wide as his face would allow.

He looked up at the sky feeling a euphoria difficult to describe.

It was... eerie to say the least.

The boy was still basking in the afterglow of his massacre when he heard footsteps heading in his direction.

He paused, then smiled in anticipation.

"It seems I'll be able to taste my fill today." He waited excitedly.

The footsteps became louder and louder until a person came into view.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see a massacre of this caliber in this exam."

The voice came from a boy. He had white hair and yellow eyes. His face showed his surprise at the sight of people bleeding out.

"Why thank you." The boy with the daggers made a bow. His etiquette was befitting that of a noble.

"I am Vincent von Stakid of the house of Stakid." He said blood still dripping off his face.

The boy he was facing paused, then mimicked his pose, "I am Kasen, former member of the house of Ironuv."

Kasen straightened, then looked around at the bodies that littered the scene.

"I have to say, you did a fairly impressive job here." He walked over to a nearby body.

He looked a bit closer and let out a gasp of surprise. "Was this intentional?"

Vincent smiled in delight, "Oh, you noticed!" He raised his voice, eager to explain.

"They're alive." Kasen interrupted; He touched the neck of the person below him.

"All of them." He said looking around at the gruesome scene.

Vincent's smile dropped, "Well that's no fun." He sharpened his blades against each other.

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out like the screams of the fallen.

"It's not nice to interrupt an artist explaining their work." He shook his head.

"Well... I think you'll make a fine addition to the piece."

He smiled, "I hope you put up more of a fight than the rest of them."

Kasen remained silent for a while, looking at Vincent. He didn't bring out any weapons, choosing to remain unarmed.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what his plan was.

Kasen stayed in the same position, not even attempting to run away.

Vincent soon grew tired of this and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He responded.

Vincent put his weapons down and frowned, "Guess, I asked for too much."

He lunged at Kasen, his daggers flashing for his throat.