Luriel found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment. Despite being teleported along with the rest of the participants, he was completely alone is a desolate forest.
'Well, at least that gloomy guy is not here. God, I wanted to punch him so bad!'
Taking a moment to familiarize himself with his surroundings, Luriel decided to climb a tree to take a better look. Suddenly, a ball of light appeared before his eyes, shaping itself into words. As for Luriel, he almost fell down the tree after seeing it.
'I thought it was an enemy attack! Damn it, couldn't they make it more subtle!'
...
On academy grounds
"Robert, did you forget to brief them on what the exam was about?"
Robert, a professor barely past his early twenties, looked at the principal with a sheepish grin.
"That um, I forgot..."
...
Back to the present
Luriel casually inspected the words floating in the air.
[Young beasts - 1 point each]
[Adolescent beasts- 5 points each]
[Adult beasts - 10 points each]
[Apexes- 20 points each]
'So it's a test of who can hunt the most powerful beasts.'
In the knowledge Hans provided him in the past, there was a section about demonic beasts. The beasts in the 1st and 3rd stage of their realm are called Young, followed by those at the 4th to 6th- Adolescent. 7th-9th stages are referred to as Adult beasts. Those at the 10th stage are called Apex.
'Hunting an apex is out of the question.'
The gap between the 7th stage and those below was enormous enough, a 10th stage beast could probably wipe them all out, unless it was restricted in some way. Adult beasts are highly sensitive to mana, but it's still possible to hunt one with careful planning and a bit of luck.
'As for the Young and Adolescent, I should be able to deal with them rather easily. For now, I should stay clear of the center of the forest.'
Generally, the strongest beasts reside near the core area, while the weaker ones spread out to the outer areas. From his current position, Luriel deduced he was somewhere near the middle- territory of Adolescent and some Adult beasts. He wondered if it was on purpose, placing him where beasts his rank roamed.
'Doesn't matter. I should probably get going, though.'
The point system was gone, forming into a new shape.
[Time left: 6d 23h 47min]
Luriel focused mana on his legs and leaped forward, moving along the trees in an attempt to not be noticed. After wandering for a few minutes, he came across his first beast.
It was a deer, roughly 2 meters tall. Its mighty antlers added a sense of danger to the demonic beast. Its skin was covered in illusory sand-colored scales, a stark contrast to its surroundings. By the amount of pressure it was releasing, Luriel speculated it was in the 5th stage Broken Vessel realm, an Adolescent.
'I should probably launch a sneak attack. A confrontation with that beast head on will be more trouble than it's worth. Judging by the color of its scales, it's quite strong compared to others.'
His only weapon was the dagger he's got a while back, and he wasn't so sure it could piece through its hide. He decided to quietly follow it from above, waiting for a chance to strike.
The deer walked calmly through the forest, occasionally stopping to eat some berries. After about half an hour, it headed towards a lake and bent down to drink water. Such an opportunity was hard to pass.
In a matter of seconds, Luriel was in the air above the deer, lifting his dagger above his head with both hands. The deer, having sensed danger, abruptly stopped and turned around, releasing a fierce roar.
Luriel stabbed his dagger towards the head of the deer. Unfortunately, the beast blocked it with its antlers and pushed him away. Now they were both face to face.
'Tsk, not going down so easily, huh?.' That strike had left his wrists somewhat numb.
His current position was not advantageous at all. Not to mention coming face to face with an Adolescent, its prior roar might have attracted other powerful beasts. The question now was- fight or retreat?
'Although its strength is way higher than mine, it's just a beast with no intelligence. I should be able to deal with it. Can I do it in a short amount of time, though? Forget it, go back and wait for another opportunity'
He felt it was not worth the risk. The academy staff wouldn't let them die, but failing the test in such a manner was quite embarrassing. Focusing mana on his legs, Luriel hid in the forest once again. Of course, the deer wouldn't let him go that easily.
It charged forward, its bloodthirsty eyes fixated in him. Luriel, however, was unfazed. He calmly manoeuvred between trees, taking a path the deer couldn't follow due to its large size. Once he was out of sight, Luriel climbed a tree and waited. That;s when an idea popped up in his mind.
'It's path is relatively simple. I should be able to go ahead and make a trap.'
Careful not to get noticed by the deer or other beasts, Luriel ran in front, stopping about 300 meters away from the deer. Along the way, he came across a couple of Young beasts and swiftly dealt with them, earning a total of 2 points.
After making sure there was no danger nearby, Luriel augmented his body with mana and began digging a giant hole in the ground. Back at the village, he was a successful hunter. The process was quite simple for him. After finishing the trap, he hid and waited.
A few minutes passed, but the deer was nowhere to be seen. Out of nowhere, a heavy sound was heard in the deer's direction.
'Did it get into a fight with another Adolescent? This might be easier than I thought.'
If they were distracted or wounded, his chances of getting 10 points was quite high. Arriving at the location, he saw the 2 similar sized deers pushing each other with their antlers, with neither backing down.
'Should I give it a little push?'
Picking up a stone from the ground, he circulated his mana to enhance his body and threw it towards one of them, hitting it in the leg, causing it to lose its balance and fall back. The other beast, noticing its opponent's weakness, pushed harder.
Once the enemy was on the ground, the deer stomped on it vigorously. Before it could kill it however, a dagger came flying, piercing its head and killing it on the spot. By the time Luriel arrived to kill the fallen deer, he found it already dead from its wounds.
'Damn it, I should've acted sooner. Sigh, at least I have 7 points now. I wonder how I'm doing compared to others.'
"Aargh!" Suddenly, a feminine scream sounded from behind him.
Luriel was stunned and quickly made his way to the source of the scream. Noticing the familiar environment, he had a strange thought.
'No way. It couldn't be'
Arriving at the place, he saw his trap had caught something. Looking down in the hole, he saw a girl with dark hair and red eyes covered in dirt. Sensing his gaze, she looked back.
Seeing this, Luriel didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In the end, he released a quiet chuckle, much to the annoyance of his 'prey'.
It was Fier.