Kaen was walking through the forest with a clear goal in mind.
He looked at the bracelet.
"63 points? Well, better than nothing."
It wasn't a bad score, but most of Class S was probably somewhere between 60 and 80.
Kaen wanted to push a bit higher.
Even if things were different from the game, he could still orient himself on the map.
BOOOOOM!
A distant explosion echoed, followed by subtle tremors in the ground.
Kaen heard the sound and raised an eyebrow.
"...Hmmm, finally getting close."
BOOMM!
Another heavy impact shook the forest.
He turned his head, red eyes narrowing.
'It came from that direction...'
Without hesitation, Kaen continued walking south on the map.
He glanced at the bracelet again. Ten minutes left until the exam ended.
As he got closer, the noise became clear.
Shouts echoed between the trees.
They weren't cries of despair, but of combat,quick commands, students calling to each other, trying to coordinate their attacks and cover.
Kaen approached silently, stopping behind a moss-covered rock ledge.
Ahead, a wide battlefield opened between the trees. The ground was torn up, cracked, and scorched in several spots. Fallen trees formed improvised barricades, some still smoldering.
In the center of the makeshift arena, a Class 3 monster ruled the area.
The creature had a colossal, symmetrical body, like a mix between a magical beast and an ancient machine.
It had four long arms covered in gleaming mineral plates, and its skin pulsed with glowing veins of living mana, flickering in shades of blue and violet. Its face was hidden behind a cracked metal mask, two yellow eyes shining through the slits.
Kaen watched from above, arms crossed over the stone.
He saw a group of six students struggling against time and exhaustion. They were clearly worn out, clothes torn, dried blood on their hands, sweat dripping down their faces. Each attack required coordination, but not all of them were in sync.
Two of them were already down, lying outside the main combat zone,likely drained.
A dark-haired boy in reinforced armor shouted urgently, gripping a cracked magic spear.
"Watch the tail!"
On the other side of the arena, a girl with short silver hair raised her hands, conjuring a wind barrier around her teammates.
"Now, all together!"
A third student, blond and covered in soot from head to toe, pointed to the sky as he noticed a shift in the monster's movement.
"It's jumping again! Get ready!"
The boss's attack patterns were ridiculous compared to real monsters.
Even being a Class 3, it still felt restricted,too artificial.
Kaen looked at the bracelet again. Only five minutes left.
"Looks like I made it just in time."
"Hnn... hnn."
He let out a dry, amused chuckle through his nose.
"Too bad... for them."
His gaze returned to the group.
They shouted, ran, cast spells, and tried to catch the monster off guard,but it still fought back with power.
Time was an invisible enemy, and every lost second was a chance slipping away.
Kaen observed in silence.
Like a hunter watching its prey being surrounded... just waiting for the right moment to strike.
Among the students, one figure stood out without saying a word.
Amid the chaos, she stood tall and focused, like the gravitational center of the whole scene.
Long, dark hair, partially tied with a blue ribbon on her left wrist. Her pale skin reflected the glow of magic around her, and her incredibly blue eyes seemed to absorb every detail of the battlefield like mirrors of mana.
Yenne.
Unlike the others, she didn't yell. Her commands came through gestures and sharp, efficient words.
While the others distracted the monster, she stepped back a few paces, gathering energy around her hands.
Crystals of ice began to form around her.
'As expected, she's holding back.'
Kaen knew Yenne's abilities. He knew that wasn't one of her strongest spells. She avoided using her full power because she still didn't trust her control completely.
The circle of ice beneath her feet expanded, and then dozens of frozen spears formed in the air, launching precisely at the boss.
CLAAANG!
The attack made the monster stumble back, shattering part of its metallic shoulder plating. But it wasn't enough.
The beast roared in fury, the sound echoing through the nearby trees. Its yellow eyes locked onto Yenne.
She had become the target.
They were close to winning. If they had more time, maybe they could've brought the monster down on their own.
But time wasn't on their side.
'One minute left...'
Kaen slowly rolled his right arm, warming up his shoulder. The gesture was simple, like an athlete about to start a race.
Down below, the monster charged.
Yenne sensed the killing intent before she even saw it. The monster came at her full force, all four arms raised, ready to crush.
'Damn... I won't dodge that in time.'
She started conjuring a wall of ice in front of her body, but her arms trembled. Her mana was nearly drained. She had spent too much keeping the smaller spells going, afraid of losing control.
'I wasted too much time on this Class 3 monster... If I knew I'd fall here, I would've aimed lower.'
Time remaining in the exam: 32 seconds.
"Alright then. Let's do this."
Kaen jumped from the rock, heading straight into the arena.
Time seemed to slow.
The forest sounds vanished for a moment. The air grew heavy. The embers still flickering on the ground wavered as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Kaen descended in a straight line, posture firm, body perfectly aligned.
He was falling fast, but his speed gradually slowed, as if something invisible was holding him.
GGRRRAAAOOORHH!!
The monster roared in rage, charging straight at Yenne.
"YENNE, MOVE!!"
One of the students shouted.
She was still finishing her ice barrier, her fingers trembling, her magic unstable.
And then... she saw him.
He appeared between them.
His body had fallen from above, but it slowed midair as if floating. He landed gently, barely raising any dust. His white hair swayed lightly from the soft impact.
Yenne recognized him instantly. Even from behind. Even without seeing his face.
The energy surrounding him... was unique.
He was the same boy from the training field she had seen the day before.
"Alright... let's test this."
Kaen stretched one hand forward. The other remained in his coat pocket.
The air around him seemed to tremble. Leaves quivered even without wind.
An invisible tension built up.
The monster swung its arm in a brutal, downward strike.
Kaen opened his hand.
VOOOM!
The sound was like a muffled explosion, a silent implosion.
Invisible force shot forward in a straight line.
THOOOOOMM!
The impact exploded at the center of the monster's chest. A shockwave rippled through the entire arena.
The students were pushed back several steps.
Dust shot upward.
The sound was felt more than heard, like internal pressure shaking their bones.
When the vision cleared, a clean, deep hole had opened in the creature's chest.
The monster dropped to its knees and disintegrated into black particles.
At the center, a golden crystal slowly rose into the air.
When the dust settled, all they could see was Kaen standing in front of the crystal, tapping his bracelet.
[ +153 Points ]
He held the golden crystal in his hands, unhurried.
But since he had only arrived at the end of the battle, he didn't receive any participation points.
A shame. Still, he kept the full points from the crystal.
Seconds later, a notification flashed on the bracelets of everyone else involved in the battle:
[ +50 Participation Points - Collaboration in Class 3 Creature Defeat ]
Yenne, still standing near the center of the battlefield, looked at her own wrist. She now had 123 points.
One of the students shouted upon seeing Kaen walking away with the crystal.
"HEY! HE STOLE THE CRYSTAL!"
But Kaen didn't react. He just stared at his bracelet screen as the crystal disappeared.
Before anyone could say another word, a new message appeared for everyone:
[ Exam Concluded - Returning to Main Arena... ]
One by one, their bodies began to be surrounded by luminous particles, fading out from the quiet arena.
But in that brief moment before disappearing, Yenne saw something no one else noticed.
Kaen brought his hand to the lower part of his face, wiping quickly just below his nose. A thin trail of blood was there, subtle but visible.
It was a quiet sign that the attack had taken more from him than anyone could tell.