Hunt rabbits to gather mana stones. Trade the stones for chips and use those to claim a room.
That was, in essence, the objective of the third practical exam.
“We’ll now begin the test!”
The examiner shouted after concluding the explanation.
The examinees, who had been standing by the fountain, bolted into the forest all at once.
“Ha-neul, let’s go too.”
“Yeah, we’ll fall behind at this rate.”
“What about you, Eun-bi?”
“I’ll go with you guys for now!”
We couldn’t just stand there doing nothing.
So, we entered the forest.
Examinees who had moved ahead of us were already scouring the area meticulously.
Suddenly, from beneath a hollow tree stump, a phantom rabbit leapt out.
“There! A rabbit!”
“You idiot! Why would you yell that!?”
“Out of the way! I’m catching it first!”
“It’s getting away!”
A brown rabbit with small horns bolted with incredible speed.
The phantom rabbit vanished like a blur.
A crowd of examinees gave chase, but soon after, angry voices echoed from deeper in the forest.
“How did it vanish so quickly?”
“What kind of rabbit moves that fast?”
“Because it’s not just a rabbit. It’s a monster.”
Frustrated murmurs rose all around us. Everyone seemed to be struggling.
Phantom rabbits were, after all, experts at hiding their presence and vanishing without a trace.
And they can even use camouflage.
I shifted my gaze.
A few examinees were creeping toward a phantom rabbit, which was nibbling grass, unaware it was surrounded.
Rustle, rustle.
The rabbit hadn’t realized the trap closing in around it.
Just then—
…Kkyuung?
Its ears perked up.
Lost in its grazing, it must have finally sensed the danger.
“It noticed! Get it!”
“It’s heading that way—cut it off!”
The examinees sprang from their hiding spots.
But the rabbit activated its camouflage and melded seamlessly into its surroundings.
Just like that, it vanished from sight.
Once it uses camouflage, forget spotting it with the naked eye.
The examinees tried to spot it, but it had already slipped through their encirclement.
I noticed the underbrush around them rustling.
And then—
Rustle!
Bushes near us began to shake one by one.
The rabbit was heading straight toward us.
Looks like it came to me on its own.
I deployed my detection field.
Even if it was invisible to the eye, I could still sense its mana.
Got you.
It was right in front of me.
Rustle!
The bush ahead shook, and a small gap opened—something was coming out.
I focused mana at my toes and launched myself forward.
Thud!
…Kkyuk!
I felt the impact at my toes.
It was the phantom rabbit.
It had taken a blow to the side and crashed into a tree trunk.
Kkyuu….
[Monster Encountered]
[Phantom Rabbit (Rank 1) x1]
The camouflage dissipated.
Now visible, the rabbit lay unconscious on the ground.
Thunk.
I finished it off quickly.
Then, I retrieved a mana stone. The rabbit’s body dissolved into particles of mana.
“…Small.”
I examined the stone’s size.
It had a faint blue glow and was only about the size of two knuckles.
I wonder how much this is worth.
It was clearly smaller than the example the examiner had shown earlier, which was valued at 3Gg.
Estimating roughly, this one wouldn’t fetch more than 1 or 2Gg at best.
If one phantom rabbit yields about 2Gg, then I’ll need to hunt five of them just to earn a single chip.
And even for the lowest-tier Standard Room, I’d need fifty.
And if I aim for the highest-tier Suite Room, I’d need 250 rabbits…
Phantom rabbits were hard to find, and with everyone competing to hunt them, catching even 250 felt like a long shot.
And if I factored in Yeon-ha-neul’s share too—then we’d need 500.
Not that I planned to hunt that many.
After all, the condition to pass the third exam was simply to claim any room, regardless of its grade.
But still—
If that’s the case, why is there a difference in chip cost between rooms?
Only one conclusion came to mind.
The examiner had mentioned the fourth exam would take place in a hotel.
Though I didn’t know what kind of test it would be, the room grade might affect what advantages or challenges examinees would face.
So I couldn’t just settle for a Standard Room.
I needed to collect enough chips to secure a Suite.
And to do that…
I can’t waste time chasing small rabbits like everyone else.
They were too quick, too hard to spot, and too inefficient for the effort required.
I needed one big score.
Either steal chips from others… or—
Hunt the leader of the rabbits.
The examiner had clearly said monsters of up to Rank 2 could appear in this forest.
Which meant there was a high chance a higher variant of the phantom rabbit might spawn.
The mana stone from that one should be different.
The Phantom Rabbit Leader—a Rank 2 field boss that appears once enough of its kind are culled.
If I could take it down, the chip grind would become so much easier.
But the issue was—
I’m not the only one aiming for it.
Some examinees had stopped hunting rabbits and were carefully surveying the area.
They were waiting for the leader to appear.
…
To fight the boss, I’d first have to compete with them.
And even if I succeeded, I’d be the next target.
After all, whoever kills the boss gets the prize—and then becomes the prize.
Fighting while guarding the mana stone would be tough.
I needed a plan.
“Tch… So close. I almost hit it.”
Just then, I noticed Go Eun-bi.
She had just loosed an arrow at a phantom rabbit that had shown itself in a nearby bush.
But, sensitive to sound and presence, it had dodged easily.
It hopped away, unbothered, and went back to grazing.
“This time for sure—take this!”
I could see her frustration.
She nocked another arrow and aimed again.
Whoosh!
She even tried to predict its escape direction.
But the rabbit was smarter.
Pretending to move right, it abruptly darted left.
Her mana arrow struck the ground harmlessly.
“Ugh! Why can’t I hit it?”
Go Eun-bi pouted in frustration.
She began preparing another shot.
I walked over.
“Don’t aim for its feet.”
“Huh?”
She glanced at me, puzzled.
I pointed past her, toward the rabbit.
“You timed your shot right as it twisted its foot to move right, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. But it suddenly veered left…”
“It tricked you. That movement was a fake.”
“Wow… What a clever monster.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t watch its feet—watch its eyes.”
“Its… eyes?”
I nodded and tapped under my own eyes.
She blinked.
“Feet can lie. But eyes rarely do. Any creature—animal or monster—when it moves, even just for a second, glances in the direction it plans to go. Always.”
“….”
“You did well judging the distance, but next time, focus on its eyes. There it is again. Nock your arrow.”
“Huh? Oh, o-okay.”
Eun-bi hesitated, then quickly obeyed.
She drew her bow and aimed at the rabbit, now scratching its neck with a hind leg.
“Deep breath.”
“Fuu… Fuu…”
“Now—watch its eyes.”
“Okay. I’m watching.”
“Which way do you think it’ll go?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure yet.”
“Don’t rush. Just keep watching.”
“….”
“A window will open.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Maybe for one second, or two. But before it runs, it’ll always glance at its escape path. That’s when you shoot.”
Go Eun-bi was a sponge.
She had the highest growth potential next to Kang Han-byeol. She’d understand and adapt quickly.
All she needed was direction.
And then—
Whisssh!
She released the bowstring.
The arrow flew.
Hop!
The rabbit jumped.
Camouflaged again, it pretended to move left, then abruptly switched direction.
But this time—
Thwack!
“Ah! I hit it! Gyeon-woo, I hit it!”
The arrow pierced the rabbit’s side.
A clean kill.
The camo faded, and it collapsed mid-air.
“Well done. That was sharp.”
“Thanks! I feel like I really learned something!”
“Good. Don’t forget that feeling.”
Overjoyed, Go Eun-bi bounced in place and grabbed my arm.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Then, I made her a proposal.
“I might need your bow for something. Want to help?”
“Yes! Just tell me what to do!”
“Great. Here’s the plan…”
“Um… guys? Could you not just leave me out and talk between yourselves like that?”
The mana stones from Rank 1 Phantom Rabbits were valued between 1 to 5 Gg.
Special variants of Phantom Rabbits—those with distinct colors—belonged to the same rank but had their stones valued between 5 and 10 Gg.
In simple arithmetic, that meant that passing the exam could take anywhere from 10 to 100 rabbit kills.
If you were only aiming for a Standard Room, that is.
“Are the examinees passing as expected?”
“They’re progressing steadily.”
“Most of them are only going for Standard Rooms, though.”
“Superior Rooms are rare—just a few here and there.”
Superior. Deluxe. Premier. Suite.
The higher the room’s rank, the more Phantom Rabbits one had to hunt.
To secure a Suite Room, one needed to hunt at least 50 rabbits, and at worst, up to 500.
And with examinees fighting over kills, it was an uphill battle.
That’s why most opted for the easier path.
“Hmph… Looks like they’re all just aiming to barely pass.”
The official requirement for passing the third practical test was merely to claim a room.
If passing was your only goal, you didn’t need a high-grade room.
Even the lowest-tier room would suffice.
But that was the same as devaluing your own potential.
Anyone with half a brain could see it.
“Think even a little, and you’d realize the fourth exam is tied to room grades…”
“They’re being shortsighted.”
“Or maybe they do know—but they just can’t collect enough chips.”
The fourth exam would be held in the Hotel of Reverie, the very core of this gate.
And the difficulty of that exam would change based on the grade of the room you secured.
In that sense, the third test wasn’t just about survival or collection—it was about choosing your own difficulty level for what came next.
No matter how well you performed during the fourth exam, you couldn’t make up for the disparity in room-based scoring.
Those who settled for low-tier rooms were essentially deciding to lower the ceiling of their final evaluation.
“This test also measures ambition. You can’t give high marks to someone who won’t even try.”
“Ambition is one of the key traits of a top-tier Hunter, after all.”
“But not everyone plays it safe.”
Sometimes—just sometimes—there were outliers.
Like Cha Eun-sol, from the Wheel Clan.
[I’d like a room. Standard, please.]
[…Are you sure, examinee? You won’t regret it?]
[Yeah. I just want to rest.]
[Truly… no regrets?]
[Please, just give me the room.]
Cha Eun-sol stood at the hotel’s front desk and casually handed over ten chips.
The proctors watching the monitor collectively clicked their tongues.
“What’s her deal? She’s even wearing a black test badge…”
“Yeah… I don’t get it.”
“Does she just not care?”
“She’s got that ‘I can’t be bothered with anything’ face.”
Cha Eun-sol was an exception.
Most examinees who understood the true purpose of the test were fighting tooth and nail for the highest rooms they could afford.
Some didn’t hesitate to resort to robbery.
[Look at the size of the mana stones he has!]
[D-Don’t come any closer!]
[Just hand over one. Each of us takes one, alright?]
Mana stones weren’t exactly small.
You could just barely fit them into a pocket.
But to make a single chip, you needed 10Gg worth of stones.
To get more? You’d need to carry even more stones—an impractical task, both physically and in terms of safety.
And then there were those who went even further—
[I know you already converted them into chips.]
[Hand them over if you don’t want to get hurt.]
Chips were small and light—easy to carry, but not easy to acquire.
Worse yet, to convert mana stones into chips, one had to visit the hotel’s fountain.
And there were examinees who ambushed others at that very spot.
[He stole mine! That bastard took my chips!]
[Don’t let him leave!]
[Let’s split whatever he’s carrying!]
But stealing wasn’t a flawless strategy.
In the end, chip thieves still had to walk into the hotel to claim a room.
And those they had robbed… often came looking for revenge.
The safest method was still honest hunting—but catching hundreds of rabbits? Unrealistic.
At least, if you were targeting only Rank 1.
“There are examinees who aren’t even hunting in the forest.”
“They’re waiting… for that one.”
“Most of them look like they’re from elite bloodlines.”
“And their test badges are all green or higher.”
The forest surrounding the Hotel of Reverie allowed for up to Rank 2 monster spawns.
Among them was the Phantom Rabbit Leader—a Rank 2 monster, the evolved form of the ordinary rabbit.
It only appeared in areas where the mana of its fallen underlings had thickened.
And it didn’t come alone.
Its mana stone? Worth at least 20Gg, if not more.
“Isn’t that a bit too generous?”
“Life’s all about that big moment!”
“A top Hunter needs luck too, right?”
“…You fools. It’s worth that much because it’s that dangerous.”
If one aimed for the Suite Room, hunting the Phantom Rabbit Leader was simply the best option.
And then, it appeared.
Crack!
A rupture opened in the air, reacting to the lingering mana from the slain rabbits.
From within the spatial tear, the Leader of the Phantom Rabbits emerged with a retinue of its minions.
[KUUUUUAAAAAGH!!]
“Still terrifying, no matter how many times I see it.”
“Childhood innocence ends here.”
Unlike its smaller counterparts, this rabbit walked on two legs.
Its upper body was absurdly muscular compared to its lower half, and a deep scar ran over one eye like it had survived countless battles.
It let out a furious cry, as if to avenge its fallen kin.
[KUUUAAAAGH!]
[Damn it—why do I feel so heavy…!]
[Pressure! Snap out of it!]
The examinees rushed toward it all at once.
But the leader was a Rank 2 monster.
And not just any Rank 2—a high-tier variant.
For most 17-year-old examinees, it was a hopeless fight.
For most.
[Beast King’s Style: Form Seven.]
[Lion’s Descent.]
Examinee No. 1532.
Do-gyeon-woo of the Shinsword Clan.
He didn’t count among the ordinary.
From a nearby tree, he descended, cloaked in crackling blue lightning.
The next moment, a spiraling bolt struck the boss rabbit’s skull like divine judgment.
“…Incredible.”
“He commands lightning like it’s part of him. No other examinee from Shinsword Clan looked that competent.”
It was a flawless strike.
The boss phantom rabbit vanished in an instant.
[Obtained one.]
Amidst the dispersing lightning, Do-gyeon-woo stood clutching the monster’s mana stone.
“But he drew aggro.”
“Yeah…”
“The examinees who were too scared to fight the boss are coming to their senses now.”
“This is where it gets tricky.”
Having the mana stone wasn’t the end.
He had to keep it—while surrounded.
The proctors watched closely, eager to see how he would escape.
Then—
“…What?”
Their eyes widened.
I had obtained the Phantom Rabbit Leader’s mana stone.
Now, the examinees were closing in, trying to take it for themselves.
The stone didn’t fit in a pocket, so I had to fight with it in my hand.
A massive burden, in more ways than one.
Which is why I—
“Go Eun-bi!”
“Yeah!”
She had been sneaking closer while everyone’s focus was on me.
Raising her bow hand high, she signaled her position.
Toward her, I shouted—
“Catch!”
“What!?”
“…!”
And I threw the mana stone.
The examinees surging toward me froze in confusion.
“Go after it! Quick!”
“It’s with her now!”
They spun around to chase Go Eun-bi instead.
But it was already too late.
“Ha-neul! Catch this! My heart’s in it!”
“…!”
With a grin, Go Eun-bi tied the stone to an arrow and fired it high into the air.
Whoosh!
The arrow sailed through the sky, trailing a blue glint as it soared beyond the treetops.
It traced a graceful arc, finally landing somewhere beneath a tree.
Ha-neul probably caught it.
I chuckled quietly.
I didn’t need to worry.
Yeon-ha-neul would not disappoint.
Now then—
“Time to gather some chips.”
“….”
“We’ve got a lot to collect. So be good and hand yours over.”
It was time to avenge the fallen Phantom Rabbits.
Because from this point on… I’m the boss rabbit.
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