[All examinees, a disruption has occurred in the test. A large number of bomberry plants have been discovered in the forest, which has caused quite a chaos.]
The voice rang out clearly in my ears.
Just a single bush of bomberries shouldn’t have been enough to force them into making an announcement.
My mind raced as I scanned my surroundings, the earlier adrenaline rush from racking up points had left me a bit too careless.
I gathered psychic energy and channeled it into my hearing.
In an instant, countless explosions echoed into my awareness, scattered across the forest, overlapping each other like distant thunder.
’What the hell is going on? Did Nyx plant bomberry bushes somewhere else too?’
I considered it for a moment before shaking my head.
No... I only gave him a single sapling to plant. It couldn’t be him.
But if not him... then who?
After all, only I knew about my plan to use bomberries in the first place.
[Due to the sudden appearance of these bomberry plants, the rankings have shifted significantly. But as future arcane warriors, you must be prepared to adapt to such unexpected situations.
To keep things interesting, we have decided to release three thick-skulled armadillos into the forest. Each is worth 500 points.
They are at the late stage of the third ring and completely immune to bomberries. So hunt them down and prove you deserve to be at the top. Also, the exam will end in ten minutes.]
The announcement ended as the sound of explosions once again filled the air. The number of explosions was only increasing with every passing second.
I tilted my head upwards, scanning the leaderboard once again.
I had slipped from 12th to 29th in what felt like the blink of an eye.
The gap between me and the tenth spot? It had grown to about 350 points. I clenched my teeth as I looked at the leaderboard above to double-check.
’Wonderful,’ I thought dryly. ’One moment I’m riding high, the next I’m barely clinging to relevance.’
I was still cursing under my breath when light footsteps crunched over the leaves behind me.
"You know," Aurelia’s voice called out, playful but edged with curiosity, "You sure were staring at that leaderboard for an awfully long time."
I stiffened at her words, but didn’t turn. My gaze stayed fixed on the trees ahead.
She laughed softly, catching up to walk beside me. "And since you were staring at the 29th spot for a whole time... I’m guessing that ’someone’ is you, isn’t it?"
I forced a smirk. "Wouldn’t you like to know," I muttered, already starting to move forward.
Her grin only widened with amusement. "So it is you. Knew it."
"And here I thought you’d be too busy counting how many monsters you stepped on," I shot back.
"Third-ring armadillos," she countered my words, her tone bright with challenge. "They are 500 points each. Want to see if 29th can catch up to me?"
I didn’t answer. Instead, I crouched slightly with steady breathing as psychic energy coiled around my fingertips.
Then I lunged forward with boots tearing into the mossy earth. "Keep talking, princess," I called over my shoulder. "Maybe I’ll leave you one to play with."
Her laughter chimed through the clearing, light and teasing. "Careful! If you trip, you might slip down to 39th instead!"
But her voice blurred into the rush of wind and the crack of twigs underfoot.
I ran into the inner region without a second thought.
As Loki disappeared into the shadows of the inner region, Aurelia lingered behind, her playful smirk slipping away like a mask peeled off at the end of a performance.
Her ruby-red eyes swept over the wreckage he had left behind: the scorched earth, the scattered bomberry husks, and the faint scorch marks where explosions had torn open the underbrush.
Cold calculation settled into her gaze.
He had weak mana control... but he was clever. Very clever.
Despite his apparent flaws, he had bent chaos to his will. And that seven-ring grimoire of his? That was the part that truly caught her attention.
Aurelia knew her own strengths and, more importantly, her limits.
She didn’t have the most powerful grimoire. Five-ring potential wasn’t bad, heck, it was elite.
But in a world where monsters wielded six, seven, eight, or even nine rings, "elite" often meant little more than second place.
The only reason she sat comfortably at fifth in the rankings right now was because she had started earlier than most, receiving her grimoire at thirteen instead of seventeen.
Years of training bought her this head start, but it wouldn’t keep her ahead forever.
And Aurelia Pendragon had never been content to trail behind anyone.
If raw strength couldn’t bridge the gap, then she would use something else—her mind. She had full confidence in her ability to read people and play them like strings on a harp until they danced to a melody only she could hear.
But she needed people beside her. Strong and unpredictable ones. People who could do what she couldn’t and go where she dared not.
Watching Loki’s retreating figure, something cold and sharp flickered behind her crimson eyes.
’Why does he remind me of myself?’
Aurelia thought. He wasn’t just cunning—but the kind of cunning that wears a grin to hide its fangs. The kind willing to burn the forest down if it meant climbing one step higher.
Aurelia’s lips curled into a small, knowing smile—not playful this time, but calculating. Almost possessive.
Her gaze lingered on the spot where Loki had vanished. Then, without turning, she spoke—
Behind her, Ray stepped forward, his midnight hair barely shifting, the black blindfold hiding any hint of expression.
"Keep an eye on that one," she murmured, almost to herself, but loud enough for him to catch every word. "Something is unsettling about him. As if he isn’t human."
Then she tilted her head slightly, her ruby eyes narrowing as she replayed what she had seen: the wild explosions, the grin that hid calculation, the almost shameless way he had thrown bomberries at them just to buy a heartbeat of time.
"And try to bring him in," she added, her tone cooling further, like frost settling over steel. "We need people like him. Not loyal. Just... useful."
Ray inclined his head, posture as precise as clockwork. "Understood."
Aurelia’s gaze shifted back toward the thickening forest, where smoke still curled lazily into the sky.
’Not loyal. Just useful.’
After all, monsters could be broken, enemies could be crushed—but people like him?
They could be pointed at something... and unleashed.
Aurelia’s gaze lingered on the shadows a moment longer, and then, as if someone had flicked a switch, her posture softened.
The calculating sharpness in her eyes melted into a playful gleam, and a gentle smile curved across her lips.
She turned away from Ray, spinning lightly on her heel so that her white hair fanned out like silk.
"Oh, come now, Ray," she chimed, voice suddenly sweet and musical, "don’t look so serious! We can’t have you scaring everyone away."
Her laughter danced through the clearing, warm and effortless. It was the kind that could coax even the most cautious heart into lowering its guard.
I had eight minutes. Just eight damned minutes to find and kill one thick-skulled armadillo before this whole stunt turned into a spectacular waste of bomberries and pride.
The air here felt thicker and oppressive as I ventured deeper into the forest. Old moss hung in sheets from ancient trunks, and the light barely made it past the canopy. Each breath tasted of wet leaves and distant decay.
Come on... where are you...
I fanned my psychic energy outward into quick, thin waves, sweeping over roots and brambles like fingers on piano keys. I detected first and second-ring beasts twitching at the edge of my perception, but none mattered now.
Then I finally found it.
I sensed a dull, stubborn throb of mana. It was heavy and slow. My heart stuttered as it entered my perception range.
I pushed through a curtain of low branches, leaves catching on my coat, and then froze.
The armadillo was monstrous up close, with iron-grey plates covering its back like the ribs of a buried fortress. It scraped at the earth lazily, each movement radiating casual contempt for the chaos exploding elsewhere in the forest.
’Oh, you sweet baby! Look at you! My ticket to the top!’
But I wasn’t the only one with that thought.
And just then, an announcement rang in the air.
[Five minutes left for the end of the trial.]
I sucked in a slow breath as I heard it and pulled out my grimoire. It was time to make a new vow.
Five minutes. One armadillo. One shot.And only one bastard crazy enough to pull it off.