Dante pulled his team into a tight circle away from the chaos.
They stood together, calm and focused, while everyone else panicked around them. Students shouted, argued, and clung to each other like drowning people.
But Dante knew the truth. Control didn't come from numbers. It came from information.
And he planned to know everything.
"Listen carefully," he said. He met each of their eyes, one by one.
"This is the most important part. We're not wasting our questions on hope or comfort. You will ask the Goddess exactly what I tell you to ask."
"No mistakes. No deviations. Understood?"
They nodded, their faces tight with focus.
He turned to Erica first. She looked nervous, but her quiet nature made her perfect for following orders.
"You're first," he said. "Ask about the forest. How it's divided. Where the weak monsters are, and where the dangerous ones hide. Get specifics."
Erica swallowed hard and nodded. She walked toward the glowing door without another word.
Next, he looked at Masha. Her calm confidence made her ideal for the second question.
"Ask how to get stronger. Not vague answers like training or practice. Get the mechanism. The system. How this world actually works."
Jin stepped forward, his martial artist's discipline clear in his stance.
"You'll ask about hidden resources," Dante said. "Items, weapons, anything powerful in this forest. If there's treasure, we find it first."
Finally, he faced Edgar. The engineering student adjusted his glasses with trembling hands.
"Your question is critical," Dante said. "Ask what the final challenge is. What we have to face to escape this place. Be specific."
They all nodded. The weight of their task settled over them like a heavy cloak.
"The rest of you, stay here. No noise. No panic. No attention drawn to us."
The minutes crawled by. Each second felt like an hour.
Erica returned first. Her face was pale, but her eyes burned with new knowledge.
"I asked," she said quietly. "The forest is divided by monster ranks. E to S. The deeper we go, the stronger they get."
"But there are zones even worse. Places with creatures that can kill ten S-ranks at once. She... she marked them in my mind. I can feel where they are."
Dante nodded once, impressed. "Good. You just saved our lives. What's your skill?"
Erica lifted her hand. A small spark flickered above her palm, dancing like a living thing.
"Pyrokinesis," she said softly. "I can create and control fire."
A slight smile touched Dante's lips. "Perfect. You're our artillery now. When the time comes, you burn everything."
Masha returned next. Her usual composure had been replaced by something harder, colder.
"I asked how to get stronger," she said. "The answer is simple. We kill."
The team went silent.
"Monsters or people, it doesn't matter. When something dies, it releases energy. Pure mana. If we focus, we can absorb it."
"That's how we level up. That's how we survive."
The weight of her words settled like lead in their stomachs.
"So the path forward is paved with death," Dante said quietly. "And your skill?"
Masha exhaled, and frost formed in the air. "Cryomancy. I control ice and cold."
Fire and ice. Destruction and control.
Dante felt a cold satisfaction growing in his chest. "Perfect. You and Erica will dominate the battlefield together."
Jin arrived with a longsword strapped to his back. He held out a strip of thick leather covered in faint, glowing lines.
"I asked about items," he said. "She gave me a list, but I couldn't remember it all. So I asked for a map instead."
Dante ran his thumb across the glowing lines. They pulsed under his touch, forming shapes that seemed almost alive.
"And the sword?"
Jin grinned slightly. "Swordsmanship. She said I have a natural affinity for any blade now. It's like the weapon is an extension of my arm."
Dante nodded. "Then you're our vanguard. Keep that blade sharp."
Edgar returned last. His steps were slow, heavy. He looked like someone who had seen the future and hated what he saw.
"The final trial," he said quietly. "It's called the Bone Dragon."
The team tensed.
"She said even large groups struggle to kill it. We'll need perfect strategy, perfect timing, and luck to stand a chance."
Dante's jaw tightened. He had expected something dangerous. But hearing it confirmed made the threat real.
"And your skill?"
Edgar adjusted his glasses. "Appraisal. I can see information about targets. Health, strength, weaknesses, skills."
He looked down. "It sounds useless in a fight. I promise I'll train harder than anyone else. I'll become stronger, I swear."
Dante stared at him. Then he laughed softly. It wasn't cruel, just genuinely amused.
"You think that's useless? Edgar, you have the most valuable skill in this entire group."
Edgar blinked in surprise.
"You can read the enemy before the fight even begins. You're our intelligence network. Our tactical advantage."
The others looked at Edgar with new respect. He straightened slightly, realizing his worth.
"So I can see their weak points before we attack?" he asked.
"Exactly," Dante said. "Which means we plan every fight. No surprises. No wasted effort."
He leaned in closer. "Now, go scan the crowd. Quietly. Tell me only the dangerous ones."
Edgar nodded and slipped away.
He returned minutes later, his face pale.
"I found several," he whispered. "Electrokinesis for lightning. Terrashaping for earth and metal. Umbrakinesis for shadow manipulation."
"Sanctification for holy magic. Skills for poison, curses, gravity manipulation, and teleportation."
Dante's brow furrowed. "That's already bad. Anything else?"
Edgar hesitated. "One more. Mimicry. It copies any skill it sees and uses it temporarily."
The circle fell silent.
Dante's mind raced. 'Mimicry. The single most dangerous skill in this entire forest.'
"That one changes everything," he said softly.
Erica looked around nervously. "Someone here can copy our powers?"
"Yes," Dante said. "And if they decide to attack, they'll use our own abilities against us. Fire, ice, even my necromancy."
Jin's grip tightened on his sword. "So what do we do?"
"We wait," Dante replied, his eyes scanning the crowd. "They'll reveal themselves eventually. When they do, we eliminate the threat."
"No hesitation. No mercy."
The forest grew darker around them.
Dante's hand rested on the glowing map inside his coat. The Bone Dragon waited somewhere in the depths.
And Mimicry lurked among them, unseen and unpredictable.
'The game just became far more complicated,' he thought.