All examinees had entered the gate.
Scattered across the island, each of them was carefully biding their time, seeking the perfect opportunity to steal the exam pass from a rival.
In such an atmosphere, only two kinds of people dared to walk about openly:
Those confident enough in their abilities to avoid being hunted.
Or those who had yet to understand the true nature of the test.
“What a pain.”
Cha Eun-sol, heiress of the most prominent spirit arts family in the Circle Clan, fell into the former category—though barely.
She wasn’t arrogant enough to believe she was invincible, but she knew she wasn’t weak enough to be outplayed by just any examinee either.
More than anything, she simply didn’t want to think. It was all too troublesome.
Running low on sugar again.
Calorie drain is real.
“I must protect my sugar and fat reserves at all costs.”
They had to survive three days on this island.
In a place where food was scarce, energy conservation was paramount.
Cha Eun-sol rubbed her stomach, already feeling the familiar pangs of hunger. She gave her belly a gentle squeeze to check her condition.
“My belly fat… it’s gone.”
Her voice trembled.
The usually pliable softness of her belly now felt thin. Too thin. It didn’t stretch like it used to.
It felt like she had lost a full millimeter.
For someone with a naturally high metabolism who had always struggled to gain weight, even a millimeter was a monumental loss.
Of course, maybe it was just her imagination. Maybe it hadn’t shrunk at all.
But the very feeling of it was a problem.
“Yum.”
Whether to preserve her precious belly fat or to restore her blood sugar, Cha Eun-sol pulled a sausage from her pocket and bit down.
“Yumyum.”
It was dark in color—chocolate-flavored.
As the sweetness melted across her tongue, her tense expression softened.
Whenever she felt low on sugar, this was her go-to snack. Her stash included sausages in a variety of flavors.
They were high in calories, rich in nutrients, and perfect for snacking.
“One more won’t hurt.”
This time, she unwrapped a cheddar cheese flavor.
Still chewing, Eun-sol remained in place.
“More people are targeting me now.”
Even as she snacked, she was aware of the examinees lurking around her. The spirits had already informed her.
She knew their genders, appearances, numbers, weapons, even the colors of their exam passes.
She felt it all.
Rustle.
So, when the ambush came, she wasn’t surprised.
“One white, three yellow, one green.”
One hundred points in total.
If she could collect their exam passes, she’d meet the test’s passing criteria.
She summoned the wind.
Whoooosh—!
“What the—?!”
Responding to her call, the wind spirits whirled around her, deflecting incoming attacks.
But it didn’t stop there. The wind surged into the trees, uprooting hidden examinees and launching them skyward.
Their startled cries echoed through the forest.
Eun-sol paid them no mind.
“Lend me your strength.”
There was one on the ground who hadn’t yet been lifted by the wind.
As the tides turned, he tried to flee.
Eun-sol raised her hand.
Shhhrk!
Earth answered her call.
A giant hand of rock erupted from the ground, lifting the examinee into the air. He panicked, scrambling to escape.
Too late.
The wind spirits moved again, effortlessly stripping away the exam passes.
“Got them all.”
She raised her arms, and the passes rained down onto her palms.
With a flick, she scattered them far away, ensuring no one could follow her trail.
Then she turned her eyes toward a certain spot.
“Aren’t you coming out?”
Aside from the ones swept away by wind, there was one more examinee.
Naturally, she had sensed this presence too.
Realizing she had been discovered, the hidden girl stepped out from behind a tree.
“You’re from the Circle Clan, huh? I was watching because you were pretty… No wonder your spirit-handling skills were impressive.”
She wore a yellow exam pass.
She spoke with feigned friendliness, but Eun-sol said nothing in return.
She could see it—the insincerity in her heart.
Her soul was not pure.
And her eyes… Eun-sol’s gaze narrowed.
“Your body and soul… they don’t align?”
That was when the woman drew twin blades.
And lunged.
“Let’s see just how strong you are.”
She chuckled darkly.
Eun-sol summoned wind once more.
It whipped around to protect her.
Snap!
But the woman danced through it effortlessly, shielding herself with a barrier.
“Help me.”
Eun-sol swept her arm.
The ground answered.
Jagged spikes of rock jutted out behind her like spears.
She launched them all.
Crack! Ting!
The woman deflected them with her blades, dodging what she couldn’t parry.
Some grazed her legs, her waist—drawing blood.
“Not bad.”
Unfazed by the pain, the woman smirked.
And she was already at Eun-sol’s doorstep.
“She’s… strong.”
For the first time, Eun-sol stepped back.
Emotion stirred in her usually expressionless face.
She called on the earth spirits again.
A pillar of stone rose up before her.
Fwoosh!
The woman flinched—but only for a moment.
Her eyes narrowed. Her lips curved into a smirk.
Her mana-infused blades gleamed.
Crack—!
“…!”
The twin swords pierced through the pillar.
Stone crumbled away.
There stood Cha Eun-sol, eyes wide.
She hadn’t expected this.
The woman—Lee Ga-hyeon—read her face, watching for panic.
But Eun-sol steadied herself. Her eyes locked onto Ga-hyeon’s.
“You… who are you?”
Ga-hyeon said nothing.
Eun-sol wasn’t looking at her face.
She was staring straight at her soul.
Ga-hyeon sensed it.
And then—
Fwoosh!
“…!”
Behind Eun-sol, a fireball ignited.
She had anticipated being overpowered and had set this trap in advance.
Ga-hyeon’s eyes widened in realization.
Boom!
Eun-sol twisted her body, narrowly evading the twin blades.
The fireball behind her exploded into Ga-hyeon.
A pillar of flame rose into the sky.
Eun-sol used the chance to gain distance.
“Those eyes…”
“…”
Ga-hyeon emerged from the flames, only slightly burned.
She stared at Eun-sol’s vivid green eyes.
Her tone was amused.
“Those are no ordinary eyes, are they?”
“…”
“Eyes that see the unseen… Beautiful and useful. I like them. I want to add them to my collection—right now, if I could.”
She licked her lips.
Eun-sol met her gaze, her skin crawling.
“But causing trouble isn’t wise, and you’re from the Circle Clan. Can’t take you so recklessly. Who knows how much more you’ll bloom?”
She was rambling. Nonsense, really.
Eun-sol remained tense.
Suddenly, Ga-hyeon clapped her hands.
“You pass.”
“…Huh?”
“I’ll be looking forward to your growth.”
With that, Ga-hyeon turned and vanished into the forest.
Eun-sol stood still, staring at her retreating figure.
“…”
She could follow if she wanted.
This woman was dangerous.
Should I really let her go?
Eun-sol hesitated.
She didn’t hesitate long before making her decision.
“What a pain. Yum.”
Cha Eun-sol mumbled with a sigh, biting down on a chocolate-flavored sausage.
She had already collected the points she needed.
There was no reason to expend more effort.
Any further action would only waste energy.
So, just like that, she decided to forget about the strange woman and move on—chewing away on her snack with a mouthful of sweet distraction.
Since acquiring Nam Yu-ri’s exam pass, I had been walking openly through the island, confronting examinees as I pleased.
Unfortunately, there was still no word about Lee Ga-hyeon.
“That makes it 350 points.”
In the end, the only thing I had gained was more exam passes from defeated candidates.
As I pinned the newest badge to my clothes, I glanced up at the sky.
“That should be enough for today.”
Without noticing, the day had slipped into dusk.
And when night came, the monsters would become vicious.
Staying active after dark would be a mistake.
Anyone with common sense would stop hunting now and prepare to weather the night.
So that’s exactly what I decided to do.
“Time to find somewhere to sleep.”
I didn’t need a place to rest comfortably.
Such spots would attract other examinees and keep me on edge all night long.
Instead, I just needed a place where I could hide—somewhere people wouldn’t think to go.
“If I stay near monster territory, others will likely avoid it. But going too deep could backfire… Better to settle somewhere near the border.”
With that, I stepped into the forest.
The woods were already cloaked in darkness.
As the sky turned a dim bluish hue, the shadows beneath the trees deepened, swallowing the path ahead.
It became harder to see with every step.
Rustle.
That’s when I felt it—something circling me.
“…A person.”
It wasn’t a monster’s presence.
More likely, it was examinees who had entered the forest before me and were now tracking me.
“Can’t see them from here.”
They were above—hiding in the trees.
I could sense them moving swiftly, blending into the shadows, but I couldn’t spot them directly.
Then again, the same was true for them.
To pierce the darkness around me, I cast a Tier 1 elemental spell of light—Light.
A small orb, no larger than a fist, formed from radiant energy and hovered above my palm.
The glow slowly bathed the forest floor in pale illumination.
Unlike Radiation, which simply emits light by condensing mana, this was actual magic.
“…Still can’t see them.”
I raised my hand higher, hoping to stretch the light farther.
But it wasn’t enough.
The light didn’t reach the treetops where they waited.
All it did was reveal my own location.
But I didn’t mind.
I had no intention of extinguishing the light.
“Let’s lure them out.”
There wasn’t just one—there were several.
Naturally, ambushing them all at once would be more efficient than taking them on one by one.
So I kept walking, letting the glow follow me like a beacon.
Rustle.
They followed.
This time, they made no effort to hide it.
They wanted me to hear them. To feel their presence.
To be afraid.
But they were smart about it.
“…Three of them.”
They revealed their presence one at a time, rotating the noise to guide me—herding me.
Trying to scare me into changing direction.
Of course, it only worked because I allowed it.
Eventually, they seemed convinced that they had cornered me.
That’s when I heard their laughter echo through the trees.
“You’re trapped now!”
“Didn’t even know we were baiting you, huh?”
“What a fool!”
…Somehow, those voices sounded familiar.
That’s when I knew who they were.
And right on cue—
“Hand over your exam pass if you want to live!”
“Give it up, and we might let you go!”
“We won’t ask twice!”
They dropped from the treetops in unison.
Triplets.
My loyal little lackeys.
“Been a while since I’ve seen you three. But what the hell are you talking about?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.
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