The class placement exam existed for one reason—to separate those capable of becoming heroes from those who merely wanted the fame.
Every student already had a ranking based on the entrance exam, but high scores alone couldn't measure everything. Judgment, teamwork, adaptability—those could only be tested in the field.
Or so the handbook said.
Kylen couldn't remember the details.
Leaving the cave, Kylen and Lynda couldn't help but sigh as they looked over the edge of the cliff. Their cave sat halfway up a small mountain—the perfect location for a base camp according to the handbook.
"So, Kylen, how are we supposed to collect 600 points?" Lynda asked.
Kylen thought about it for a second as he scratched his chin.
If we were to go hunting, it will be hard to even find a monster worth 100 points, let alone 600. And if we were to fight a teacher, the rules said to only fight one on one. I'm not confident I can even scratch a teacher. So that leaves us with...
...Well, eliminating students it is.
"We'll fight other students." Kylen said, a confident smile on his face.
"Good grief... If you say so." Lynda let out, already knowing how it would end.
So they jumped off the cliff and into the forest below. With her spell, Lynda caught both of them using Levitate.
And with quick steps they went forward.
"Now how are we supposed to find other students in this massive forest?" Lynda asked, sweat starting to form on her forehead.
"Hahaha... You seriously need to exercise more. But don't worry, I know a place."
"Fine."
◆◆◆
It was well known that Humanity's Academy of Envy—Leviathan—was a school for the privileged. For commoners, their only path inside was through scholarships.
Getting admitted was difficult enough. Surviving the class placement exam was even harder. That is the hurdle the scholarship group was currently facing.
"Damn it, we still need more points," the group's leader muttered.
The members of the group stayed silent after hearing the leader's complaint, but what could they do?
They were currently the weakest group of all. Even with 5 members, the amount of points they could collect was far too lacking.
"This might be a stupid suggestion, but what if we attack a solo student?"
The leader scratched his chin, considering the suggestion deeply before saying, "At this point, it's the only safe path. But we need to find another student quickly!"
The students leaned closer as he spoke. "Don't worry about that. While I was out scouting the nearby area, I saw a girl with a red hair and she was carrying a sack."
"What's so good about a sack anyway?"
"In this exam, that can only mean one thing. That's a sack full of points."
"But are you sure we can defeat her? If she was alone in this exam, she must be a strong student," a girl asked.
"I'll back him up." Another girl suddenly cut in.
"Tris, I know you believe in us and all, but we must count the risk." The girl tried to correct Tris.
Tris sat there, glaring at the girl with a very warm smile, but something about that smile felt unsettling, a bit uncanny for a bright student like her.
"Ok, ok, that's enough! As the leader, I will agree with his suggestion. In our situation, we cannot complain about any method."
They all lowered their heads before finally settling on the leader's decision. And so, with a few hours left on the clock, they picked up their weapons and headed towards where the guy had last seen the sack girl.
"You sure you don't want to follow us?" the girl asked.
Tris shook her head.
"Someone needs to watch the base camp."
"If you say so."
The girl whispered something into the leader's ear before they left.
"Something is very wrong about Tris."
"You worry too much."
As the group left the base camp, Tris's smile immediately dropped. She stretched her body and massaged her face.
Her brown hair color started to melt, replaced with a bright pink color. Her green eyes turned blue, and her overall posture changed.
"Good grief, that takes a while."
Tris turned around and searched around the bushes. There, a sleeping girl was hidden beneath the leaves.
She had the same exact appearance as Tris previously, or rather, Tris had the same look as her.
"Sorry that I had to steal your identity for a sec. It's hard for me to find another student." She gently brushed off Tris's hair.
She carried Tris into the tent and started to check her pockets. She pulled out a small item made of gold attached to a string.
Calling it a key would be wrong. Calling it a coin would be wrong too. It looked as though someone had melted several unrelated objects together and stopped halfway through the process.
"I can finally leave this God-forsaken place." She said with a genuine smile.
She put the gold necklace in her pocket before cleaning off the dust from her uniform and pulling out something from her bag.
It was a doll, a very well-made one at that. It was a doll in the shape of a leviathan. She slowly put the doll next to Tris and left the camp.
◆◆◆
Nothing.
There was nothing in this place.
What I remembered as a small base camp was now just a patch of grass devoid of any human touch.
"I forgot that remembering isn't my gig."
The scholarship group was supposed to be here. They were one of the few groups we could loot after all. Kylen tried to recall the minimap from his previous gameplay.
Suddenly a sharp pain appeared at the back of his head. He stumbled forward, forcing his legs to stand. As he took a glimpse at what attacked him, the angry face of Lynda appeared right behind him.
"You... You liar." She said, covered in sweat.
Oh yeah, I just made her walk very far to reach this place.
"Umm... What would you like as repayment?"
"Your head."
In the end, Kylen was once again reminded of how weak he currently was. Even the all-so mage Lynda was able to beat him into a pulp.
"S-sorry. I will never do it again."
"I expect something nice from you." She said as she let go of Kylen's collar.
Kylen had forgotten the place, not because he lost his memory or anything in particular. His memory was just that bad.
I'm sure the place was near a river. Kylen thought as he recalled the minimap in his mind.
Suddenly Kylen felt a heavy weight pressing on his back, and a pair of arms hugged him from behind.
"Carry me, my legs given up."
"Sorry."
Kylen picked up Lynda on his back, readjusting her weight before walking back to their cave.
On the way, Kylen saw a suspicious-looking path suddenly appear out of nowhere, creating a T-junction.
I'm sure this wasn't here before...
"What's wrong?" Lynda asked, peeking her head slightly.
"Can you get down for a sec? There's something weird going on."
Lynda acted accordingly and got down from his back. Kylen sneaked forward, trying to see where the intersection ended up.
As he tried to peek where the path led, Kylen immediately bumped face-to-face with another student.
They bumped into each other hard, enough to make Kylen kick the air before landing on the ground.
"Shit, shit, I have had enough beatings for today. Please, no more." He yelled, a tear shedding down his face.
"Kylen, what's wrong?" Lynda asked.
Kylen forced himself to stand up and face the mysterious student. She appeared to be exhausted as she was breathing heavily.
"Who are you?" Lynda asked, pushing Kylen behind her back.
"You're the one who asked first, so shouldn't you tell me first?"
They kept glaring at each other, refusing to give up their pride. Kylen, on the other hand, was trying to recall the girl as he gently stroked his forehead.
A flowing silky pink hair that drifted alongside the wind. Her height was much shorter than Kylen's, but her presence alone made her seem taller than him.
That face... Oh yeah! Xio!
Finally his memory worked with him, but that didn't mean it was a good memory.
Of all people, why does it have to be her?
He was caught by Byul-A? Fine, she's the protagonist. Let her do whatever she wants.
This girl, on the other hand, was very much bad news in the form of a human. Because deep in Kylen's memory, he could clearly remember how hard it was to fight Xio.
Because this girl is the main boss for this arc.
"Hahaha... Sorry, she's always this rude. My name is Kylen, and she's Lynda." Kylen said, clearly anxious.
Please don't be mad.
Xio, if I were to defeat her now it would ease my journey a bit, but the real question is...
...Can I even stop her?
He looked around, calculating the possibilities.
Lynda, after my buffs, will she be strong enough to fight her? No. That's like throwing a baby with a knife at a literal bomb.
If I were to call Iliana, I think it would be enough? No. It would take her a while before she arrived.
If only I knew how strong Xio was before she ended up corrupted.
I hate to do this, but I need to let her go.
She kept her posture and introduced herself. "Tris Rian, a student."
Can't you lie more obviously?
Kylen put up a bitter smile, wondering if this girl was the same mysterious girl from the game. She's so mysterious her middle name is secret.
"Well... It's nice meeting you, and sorry for my previous mistake. Ah... You can go now."
"Kylen!" Lynda whispered.
"You're letting me go?"
"No, yeah. Be careful on your way." He tried to smile as politely as possible.
"Well then, goodbye." She immediately left them.
"Thank God she left, those etiquette classes saved my ass." He wiped off the sweat that had collected on his forehead.
As Kylen turned around to talk with Lynda, he was immediately slapped by her. He stumbled back a few steps before letting out a groan.
"Youch! That's the hardest slap you've ever done."
"Why did you let her go? We had to walk all this way to kill a student, and the moment we met one, you let her go!"
Man, how am I supposed to tell her that Xio is dangerous?
There was no explanation Lynda would accept.
"She's stronger than us" wasn't enough.
"Trust me" sounded pathetic.
Even I couldn't convince someone without evidence.
"Lynda, I know you see me as a butler and all, but believe me as an advisor right now, that was the best decision I could make at the time."
"Whatever." Lynda walked towards the place where Xio came from, grumbling along the way.
Well, at least she didn't hit me this time.
"Wait for me."
To be continued.