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[Begin!]
Soren scoffed as the voice echoed from his bracelet, tinny and far too cheerful for what it meant, then he rolled his shoulders as if he could physically shake off the ridiculousness of it.
"Fantasy my ass."
It came out quieter than he expected, the words swallowed by the trees, and for a brief moment it actually helped, a thin strip of humour laid over his nerves like a bandage that didn't stop the bleeding but made it feel less raw.
He focused, blinking as the blindfold came off, the light filtering through leaves and branches in broken patterns across the forest floor.
'Okay… think.'
The air smelled like damp soil and sap, and somewhere nearby water ran over stone in a steady, small rush.
His boots sank slightly into uneven ground, roots pushing up like knuckles, and the quiet wasn't truly quiet, it was alive with insects, distant birds, and faint movement that could be wind or could be people.
His body felt too alert, as if every nerve had been tugged tighter the moment the countdown ended, and he hated that his hands wanted to tremble, hated that his heart was already acting as if he had started sprinting.
Winging it had been his plan for days, because every "proper" plan collapsed under scrutiny, but even improvisation needed a direction, otherwise it was just panic dressed up as confidence.
Rushing in mindlessly would get him eliminated first.
He forced himself to take stock of his surroundings, eyes tracking, ears listening, mind pulling up what he remembered from the game map and the way this exam site tended to be divided.
Trees, uneven ground, and a stream nearby.
It was the southern forest.
Relief washed through him so sharply it almost made him dizzy.
'Luck really is on my side… for once.'
He was in the south-eastern section of the site, which meant he was on the exact opposite side from where Amelia started, and Alex, according to the pattern he remembered, should be somewhere in the north.
So even if the two of them went at it like they did in the game, it was unlikely either of them would have any reason to come down south early, not unless the barrier forced it or the beads clustered this way, and Soren could work with unlikely, he could work with time.
"As long as I stay in the south, I should be fine for a while."
The problem, of course, was the transparent red barrier he couldn't see from here but could feel in the back of his mind like an invisible wall waiting to shift.
Even in-game, the barrier movement was randomised, or at least random enough that he couldn't predict which direction would become unsafe and when, which meant that "stay south" was not a plan so much as a prayer.
Bzzt—
A sharp vibration from his bracelet broke his train of thought, the screen lighting with a ranking feed.
.
– 1st - Amelia Einhardt (2 Points)
– 2nd - Raylin (1 Point)
– 3rd - Esper Rupindolf (1 Point)
.
Soren grimaced.
'Already…?'
It had only been about five minutes, and Amelia was already on two beads, which meant she was either moving like a predator with a perfect route or she had simply stumbled into them and kept going without slowing down.
Either way, it was a reminder that for some people, this exam was effortless.
Another name that tightened his stomach.
Raylin.
Not as physically terrifying as Amelia, but still a monster in her own way, ranked first in Arcane Studies, the sort of student who could cast intermediate magic from day one with a kind of clean precision Soren couldn't imitate no matter how many circles he memorised, because for her it wasn't desperation, it was foundation.
The bracelet buzzed again, then again, names shifting as points increased, and after a few more minutes the top ten finally settled into place.
.
– 1st - Amelia Einhardt (5 Points)
– 2nd - Raylin (3 Points)
– 3rd - Renen Karnstein (2 Points)
– 4th - Esper Rupindolf (2 Points)
– 5th - Edward Undilten (1 Point)
– 6th - Alex (1 Point)
– 7th - Eiser Undyne (1 Point)
– 8th - Carlen Frenun (1 Point)
– 9th - Annie (1 Point)
– 10th - Olivia (1 Point)
.
'Five points alread…, She's a monster…'
He stared at the list, recognising most names even if he had never met them, pieces on a board he had watched in another life, except now they were real people with real bodies and real intent.
One name, though, made him blink.
"Olivia?"
In all his playthroughs, he had never seen Olivia on the list, and for good reason.
Olivia was a student of the Divine Studies department.
Priests were strong later, terrifying even, but in the early game they were usually limited to minor blessings, basic support, and healing, and while there were exceptions like paladins or saintesses who could turn divine power into something offensive, Olivia wasn't supposed to be one of those exceptions.
'At least not right now.'
Later, she would awaken as a saintess, a genuine powerhouse, but right now she was a slightly above-average priest with more kindness than combat experience, which meant that if she was in the top ten, it probably wasn't because she had beaten anyone, it was because she had picked up a bead and immediately regretted existing.
Soren's mind shifted, gears grinding, and for a moment he simply stared at her name as if it might rearrange itself into a solution.
A plan began to form, slow at first, then sharper, then frighteningly tempting.
If Olivia was on the list, her location would be broadcast, which meant she would become bait without meaning to, which meant someone would come for her, and if someone came for her, then…
He licked his lips, thinking harder, forcing himself not to leap at the first desperate idea like a starving man grabbing scraps.
He didn't want to rely on someone else.
He didn't want to drag anyone into his mess.
But he also didn't want to be alone.
A priestess, early stage, likely scared, likely willing to trade support for protection, and if he could team up with her, he could split the burden, he could have healing on hand, he could have someone to trade beads with strategically, and he could potentially use her as a way to avoid direct confrontations.
And if he was honest, if he stripped the logic down to the ugly core, she was also the kind of person who might actually say yes, not because he deserved it, not because she trusted him, but because she would be more afraid of being alone than she was of him.
The thought made something sour twist in his chest.
He held still for another few seconds, staring at the screen, weighing it, imagining the approach, imagining her reaction, imagining the possibility that she would see him and immediately run, because why wouldn't she? He looked like trouble.
But the longer he thought, the more the desperate practicality settled.
"If it works, it works."
He tapped on Olivia's name.
A map appeared on the bracelet, clean and modern, annoyingly familiar in the worst way, and he ignored the flare of irritation at once again being handed twenty-first century UI in a world that still had sword duels as homework.
He checked the distance from his current location.
'Not too bad.'
Her marker was in the south as well, only a short distance away, close enough that he could reach her before too many people decided she was an easy win.
Soren pushed off the tree he had been leaning against, the bark rough against his shoulder, then started moving, careful at first, then faster, feet picking paths over roots and uneven ground as he headed towards the penniless future saintess with a plan that had come out of nowhere and still felt half-insane.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
"Hee… I got lucky."
Olivia's voice was soft, breathy, more exhale than statement, as if saying it out loud might jinx it.
She sat atop a broad, flat rock that jutted out of the earth like a table, chestnut hair spilling down her back to her waist in a loose curtain, strands sticking faintly to her cheeks where sweat had gathered.
Her uniform robe, pale and modest compared to the flashier styles some students wore, was smudged at the hem with damp soil, and her sleeves had caught on brambles at some point, small pulls in the fabric hinting at how frantic her last twenty minutes had been.
Her chest rose and fell a little too fast as she tried to calm her breathing, fingers tightening around the wooden staff resting across her lap as if letting go would make her float away.
Her legs ached.
Her arms felt heavy.
Even sitting still, she could feel her pulse thudding in her wrists.
She raised her bracelet with a shaky hand, eyes scanning the feed again, then again, as if Alex's name might appear with an update that made her feel less alone.
"I hope Alex is doing well…" she whispered, barely louder than the stream of wind through leaves.
Anxiety twisted in her stomach, sharp enough to make her swallow.
The reason for it was embarrassing, and she knew it, which only made it worse, because she couldn't separate the feeling from the logic no matter how many times she tried.
Alex was her childhood friend.
She had rarely been apart from him, not truly, not in any way that mattered, and even when she had been surrounded by other people, she had always known he was somewhere nearby, close enough that she could find him if she needed to.
Now, in a forest full of strangers and competitors, he was nowhere to be seen, and the space where his presence usually sat in her mind felt painfully empty.
"I want to see him…" she admitted, voice thin, then immediately flinched as if she had confessed to something shameful.
Smack.
A crisp slapping sound echoed as she brought a hand to her own cheek, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to jolt her out of spiralling.
"Wait, no, stop being silly, Olivia," she scolded herself under her breath, cheeks warming. "If you keep acting like that, he'll think you're… he'll think you're creepy."
Even imagining Alex looking at her differently made her throat tighten, fear cold and immediate, as if the thought alone could rewrite her entire world.
"But still…"
She clutched her staff tighter, knuckles paling.
Being a priestess meant she had almost no experience with fighting, and today had made that glaringly obvious.
When she had stumbled across a mana bead early on and picked it up, there had been a moment of stupid triumph, a little spark of 'I did it!' before reality crashed down, because the bracelet had buzzed, the ranking feed had updated, and her name had been plastered into the top ten like a sign that read, free points, right here.
She had regretted it almost instantly.
"I hope I lost him…" she said, and her eyes stung as if she might actually cry, but she blinked hard and forced it down, because crying would make her breathe worse and breathing worse would make her panic.
— Oh, lucky me! A priestess, this'll be an easy win.
The memory of the voice made her stomach churn.
A boy, somewhere behind her in the trees, amused, confident, and fast enough that she had heard him closing in whenever she slowed, and even though she had prayed and stumbled and nearly tripped over roots, she had managed to keep running, burning through almost all the stamina she didn't have.
Now she was here, perched on a rock like it could protect her, trying to pretend the forest wasn't full of people who would hurt her for one bead.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of movement in the bushes snapped her upright so quickly her muscles protested.
"Eek!"
She stood in a panic, staff clutched to her modest chest as if it were a shield, shoulders tense, eyes wide, face turning paler with every second the rustling grew louder.
'Please just walk past.'
She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed, not a formal prayer, not the polished kind she had been taught, but a desperate, messy plea directed at Goddess Aryn with all the sincerity of someone who didn't know what else to do.
It didn't help.
The rustling stopped.
Then a soft, androgynous voice called out from just beyond the leaves.
"Hello?"
Olivia didn't answer.
Her throat locked, fear pressing tight, because if she responded, she might as well hand over her bracelet and lie down.
Footsteps came closer, careful, not rushing, and she forced her eyes open, staff shaking slightly as she pointed it towards the sound.
A person stepped into view.
Only slightly taller than her, with pure snow-white hair that caught the light in a way that made it look almost unreal, and warm-looking red eyes that, at first glance, didn't match the softness of their voice.
Their face was delicate enough that Olivia's mind hesitated, unable to decide whether they were a boy or a girl, and that hesitation alone felt dangerous.
Olivia's instinct screamed at her to run.
She was just about to move when she noticed two things at once.
The person was unarmed.
And their hands were raised, palms open in a clear sign of surrender.
For a heartbeat, relief tried to slip in, foolish and eager, and Olivia clung to it because she needed something to hold onto.
"Hello…?" she answered quietly, voice trembling but not breaking, eyes fixed on the raised hands as if they were a promise.
She was a naïve girl.
————「❤︎」————