It was absurd.
This should never have happened.
“I… lost?”
Min Ah-rin, who had been thrown to the forest floor beneath a sky speckled with stars, could hardly believe the situation she found herself in.
At the start, the battle had been neck-and-neck. No—since she had launched the first strike, she had clearly held the upper hand.
But the tide shifted dramatically the moment they closed the distance.
Unlike her, the disciple of the Witch of Seven Colors wasn’t only adept at magic. She was proficient in martial arts as well.
“If someone threatens me… Gyeon-woo told me not to hold back.”
She murmured something cryptic.
Without hesitation, the disciple had swung her iron hammer and smashed through Min Ah-rin’s magical barriers, giving her no time to properly cast spells. Her movements were swift, and her kicks precise.
Though she was eventually caught in a blast of Min Ah-rin’s magic and thrown through the air, that wasn’t the end.
“W-Wait…!”
“This is going to hurt.”
Before Min Ah-rin could react, the disciple had leapt effortlessly into the night sky, securing the high ground.
With the iron hammer gripped in both hands, she drew her arms behind her shoulders.
Sensing what was to come, Min Ah-rin’s eyes widened in horror. She tried to stop her—but it was too late.
────!!
The disciple slammed the hammer down with all her strength.
The impact struck Min Ah-rin directly, sending her plummeting to the earth. She blacked out briefly.
When she came to, she could no longer move. Her strength was gone.
She had lost.
Without a shred of doubt.
“This has to be a dream…”
But she couldn’t accept it.
She was Min Ah-rin.
A prodigy, hailed as the most gifted direct descendant of the Arcane Min Family. The beloved granddaughter of the current family head, a girl known as the “Little Griffin of the Arcane Family.” A rising star expected to bring glory to her generation.
Someone like her… wasn’t supposed to lose.
“I… I lost? I did? Me, Min Ah-rin?”
Unacceptable.
Intolerable.
The battle wasn’t over. She had to get up.
Gritting her teeth, Min Ah-rin willed her body to rise.
But her body refused to obey.
“….”
“Ah…”
It was then that the disciple of the Witch of Seven Colors approached.
Min Ah-rin opened her mouth in despair.
“If you force your body to move, you might damage your mana circuits. It’s better to just rest and recover.”
Under the moon and stars, her white hair danced in the wind as she spoke calmly.
Crunch.
Min Ah-rin looked up at her.
Despite the fierce battle, the girl showed little sign of injury.
That thought alone made Min Ah-rin’s jaw clench.
‘Don’t look down on me…’
It was humiliating. Her pride was in tatters.
She looked at the disciple with a storm of emotions. But unaware of Min Ah-rin’s inner turmoil, the girl gently reached out a hand.
“I’ll be taking these. You’ve collected quite a lot.”
“Ah…”
The disciple began to collect Min Ah-rin’s exam tokens.
Min Ah-rin tried to resist.
But her paralyzed body betrayed her. She could only watch helplessly as the tokens were peeled away, one by one, from her uniform.
“…don’t…”
“….”
“Don’t take them…”
Her voice trembled as she begged.
She had never lost before.
She had never felt the sting of defeat.
For someone born into superiority, it was the first time she experienced such crushing humiliation.
She never imagined she would beg like this, pride discarded.
But the tokens were everything to her. Especially her own.
They were her pride.
“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”
“Ah…”
“Then I’ll be going. Take care, and I hope you recover soon.”
The disciple ignored her plea.
With all the tokens in hand, she turned and left.
Min Ah-rin could only look up at the night sky where her figure had disappeared.
“But I… I’m Min Ah-rin…”
She was supposed to be the top entrant.
The night sky that looked down on her was disgustingly beautiful.
And so, Min Ah-rin finally cried.
Last night, monsters had attacked.
Having spent the night alone, I hadn’t managed much sleep—and had to fight them off several times.
Luckily, they seemed to avoid direct confrontation. I imagine the other examinees had it worse trying to stay up all night.
“Time to move.”
So began my second day on Forest Isle.
I woke at the place the triplets had prepared for me and decided to explore the island like yesterday.
But wandering aimlessly wouldn’t do.
I checked the time on my gate watch.
08:58:23
Just over a minute until 9 AM.
I waited.
When the minute changed, a sharp beep sounded.
Beep!
Every three hours, the gate watch sounded a chime and displayed a message.
I read it carefully.
[09:00:00]
[Displaying all exam tokens within a 500-meter radius.]
Dots appeared on the grid-like screen, scattered like stars on a map.
The cluster in the center marked the tokens I personally held.
I focused on the other points surrounding me.
‘If I head to where there are more people, I might find clues about Lee Ga-hyun.’
I made my decision.
I would head toward the cluster with the highest concentration.
I knew not all dots represented individuals. Like me, someone could have gathered many tokens.
But that didn’t matter.
‘Everyone will converge there for tokens anyway.’
It was a simple equation.
By now, the examinees nearby were likely heading there. Perhaps some were even approaching me.
Waiting could be a valid tactic.
But I wasn’t the waiting type—especially not with so many tokens in one place.
Eventually, I arrived.
‘They’re already fighting.’
There were quite a few examinees. Scattered everywhere, caught in scrambles and skirmishes.
This time, the nature of the fights had changed.
“You bastard…!”
“Hand over your token!”
With the exam ending tomorrow, everyone was more aggressive. Few held anything back.
Also…
“More people are forming groups.”
Yesterday, it was rare. Today, it was common.
All around, examinees were fighting in coordinated teams.
They must’ve decided grouping up was the best way to snatch—or protect—their tokens.
It was good news for me.
‘Less hunting, more collecting.’
I charged straight into the metallic chaos.
Focused on their battles, they didn’t notice me at first.
“Y-You…!”
“From the Sword School…”
Stop talking and start swinging.
I leapt from a tree and struck before they could even finish their sentences.
The one at the front couldn’t withstand the blow and was thrown back.
“How many tokens does he have?!”
“Be careful! It’s the Sword School guy!”
“We have to stop him first!”
“You damn bastard… You’ve hoarded enough! Just go already!”
Their internal fight instantly became a united front—against me.
Weapons raised, they circled in, trying to box me in.
I remained calm, scanning my surroundings.
Whoosh!
Flames sparked midair.
Some in the rear were casting spells.
Others notched arrows or loaded magazines.
‘I need to take out the rear first.’
I acted immediately.
Dashing past the front lines, I was too fast for them to react.
Their average agility was around 30. Mine was 71.
More than double.
“…What!?”
“S-Stop him! Quick!”
They screamed in panic.
But they wouldn’t stop me.
Even as attacks flew from behind—
Crackle!
I dodged them instinctively, tapping into my natural evasion.
My body coursed with mana.
Blue energy enveloped my blade, electricity arcing in all directions.
〈Royal Beast Style: Sixth Form – Lion’s Frenzy〉
A feral, unrestrained sword style.
My first strike severed the staff of a spellcaster mid-chant.
The second strike deflected the incoming bullet and sent the gun-wielding examinee tumbling.
The third strike shattered a bow and slammed into the examinee who was hastily switching to a dagger.
The fourth. The fifth.
The whirlwind of swordplay showed no signs of stopping.
And just when it seemed my rapid slashes were coming to an end, I launched into another sequence—without pause.
〈Royal Beast Style: Fifth Form – Lion’s Onslaught〉
I braked with one foot and twisted on the other, spinning into a wide arc as I changed direction.
The rear had been thoroughly cleared.
Now, it was time to sweep the front.
I lunged, blade-first, toward an examinee directly in the path of my pivot.
“Guhak!”
Strike One.
With a twist, I moved on to the next—Strike Two.
And I didn’t stop there.
I kept going, chaining strikes together in a seamless flow, until no one was left standing.
Wherever I passed, trails of crackling blue lightning marked my path through the chaos.
“Haa…”
Soon, the battlefield was quiet.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t managed to catch the examinees who had been fighting from afar. The moment they saw my display of skill, they had turned tail and fled.
Not worth chasing.
I turned my attention to the ones who had fallen.
Time to collect tokens.
“Might as well gather what I can while it’s quiet.”
Sparks of lingering thunder energy still flickered in the air.
I raised my Azure Blade, its special property humming faintly in response.
〈Azure Blade: Lightning Absorption〉
The currents of wall-lightning drew inward, coalescing into the dark steel of the blade.
Blue arcs danced sporadically across its surface before quieting.
When the final spark had died, I sheathed the blade.
Then I began picking up the scattered exam tokens.
“Let’s see… how many points does this make now?”
The examinees I’d taken down hadn’t come empty-handed.
With every token collected, the total ticked upward—roughly 600 points, give or take.
I clicked my tongue in mild disbelief.
Still, I reminded myself not to get distracted.
‘Lee Ga-hyun… she’s not here, is she?’
From my perch in the trees earlier, I hadn’t spotted anyone who matched her description.
This place was a dead end.
Unfortunate, but it couldn’t be helped.
There was only one thing to do: keep searching.
As long as I moved through areas where examinees gathered, I’d find her eventually.
Resolved, I turned to leave.
Just then, the gate watch on my wrist chirped again.
Beep!
“Hmm?”
What now?
I glanced at the screen.
[Supply drop incoming.]
Supplies were distributed once per day.
The timing wasn’t fixed, nor were the drop locations—it was completely random, falling from the sky without warning.
Today, it was now.
I looked up.
“….”
Parachutes.
Wooden crates, dangling from them, floated gently down through the clouds.
I searched for the one nearest to me.
“I should go for that one.”
Truth be told, I’d already secured a supply crate yesterday.
I had water. Food. More than enough.
But having extra never hurt.
And more importantly—
‘People will be drawn to the drops.’
No doubt, everyone on Forest Isle had begun to move the moment the alert went off.
For me, there was no reason not to join them.
I took my first step and sprinted toward the prize.
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