Chapter 43: Entrance Exam (2)
Third Person POV:
A few minutes later...
Someone dashed through the forest at a blurring speed—Noah Raven. He ran through the dense trees, occasionally encountering other participants, but he quickly cut them down.
When Noah emerged from the forest, an open grassland met his sight. Several people were fighting. Noah wasted no time and lunged at one of the participants using a sword.
He reached the participant, then leaped into the air, attacking with his longsword.
Noah's sword sliced through the wind, but before it could hit the participant, the sword was blocked.
Then, with a quick movement, the participant shifted his sword and thrust it towards Noah's chest.
This slightly surprised Noah, and he leaped back before the sword could hit him.
The participant clicked his tongue in annoyance and said loudly. "You are a hero?" he squinted, "As a hero, you fight dirty!"
Noah didn't say anything and stood up with slow movement, slightly adjusting his grip on his sword—his movement was calm but sharp.
The participant pointed his sword at Noah, saying again, "Fight like a man!"
Hearing that, Noah closed his eyes for a moment, then looked up, "You're noisy."
He lunged at the participant with blurring speed, coating his sword with a golden Aura. The participant was not to be outdone, also coating his sword with Aura and stepping forward.
Their swords tore through the air as they slashed towards each other, then a huge clash occurred, cracking the ground beneath them.
CLANG—!!
...
In another place.
"Dodge!" someone shouted as the ground beneath them turned black like a shadow.
Then a sharp spike emerged from the shadow, causing the participants hit by the spike to turn into light and disappear.
"Y-you monster!" said the surviving participant to a woman in front of him.
Her long black hair flowed down to her waist, and her purple eyes stared coldly at the last surviving participant.
Although stunningly beautiful, she possessed an Aura that made people almost kneel before her.
The girl's name was Lira Tempest. Lira raised her hand gently and the participant was immediately stabbed by a spike, then he disappeared like light.
Silence for a moment.
Lira looked up at the sky and murmured.
"The main story has just begun."
Then she walked deeper into the forest. Every movement was graceful, like a goddess, but beneath that elegance was something else.
She was a reader.
Lira's shadow slowly vanished behind the trees, while on the other side of the forest—another battle was taking place.
...
Inside the forest, several participants were walking together; it turned out they had formed a group.
The first participant asked with a slightly nervous tone, "This forest is dense... Aren't you scared?"
The second participant turned with a mocking grin, "You're scared? Tsk, coward!"
The first participant's brow furrowed, he gritted his teeth, then another voice interrupted them.
The third participant said in a firm tone, "You two, don't fight here!"
He pointed into the forest filled with trees and said again, "Be careful, ambushes usually happen here, you know?"
That made them stiffen, but as if the words were a prophecy, an arrow shot towards the second participant, instantly finishing him off on the spot.
"Humans are truly foolish, entering a forest territory that clearly belongs to the Elves' expertise."
A man's voice was heard in front of them; his words were so condescending.
They turned forward quickly and nervously, seeing an Elf man walking towards them.
Then another voice was heard again behind them, "Don't be like that, Lucius. They are just greedy creatures."
Lucius looked toward the source of the voice, then sighed, "Oh come on, Umara, he's just a low-ranking human!"
The group, which now consisted of only two people, stood frozen, unable to move. Lucius saw that and he smiled mockingly.
"Well, look at them—!"
"Quiet, Lucius. I didn't tell you to insult them."
A voice and footsteps were heard behind him, making Lucius flinch. He hurriedly moved aside and bowed his head slightly.
"I apologize, Your Highness!"
The Elf Princess, or Maira Paradiss, walked past Lucius without answering. She stared coldly at the two people.
Her golden hair shone even in the forest, and her golden eyes, which seemed to demand attention, sparkled.
Her face, as beautiful as a goddess of beauty, and the symbol of a gold line on the left edge of her eye, made her even more stunning.
"Hand over your stones." She said, not asking but commanding.
The two participants looked at each other nervously. One of them swallowed hard, then with trembling hands, took the glowing blue crystal stone from his waist.
"P-please don't kill us..." he said softly.
Maira looked at the stone briefly, then held out her hand. A tree root grew from the ground and took the stones from the two participants.
When the crystal touched her palm, its blue light turned into a glow and shattered.
[Maira Paradiss]
Points: 220
"Good, you know your place," Maira said coldly.
Her tone was not raised, but every word contained a pressure that made the two participants choke on the air.
Lucius, who stood behind her, smirked. "Your Highness, may I—"
"No need." Maira's voice cut him off without turning.
The two participants flinched as the ground beneath their feet began to tremble softly. Thin roots crept up from the ground and wrapped around their ankles.
"W-What!?" one of them screamed in panic.
Umara, who had been silent all this time, slowly raised his hand and looked at both of them with faint pity.
"Consider this... a lesson."
The roots wrapped tightly around the two participants. Maira raised her hand gently, then clenched her fist and—the participants exploded into blue light, eliminated from the exam.
After a long silence, Maira turned and said.
"Let's go."
Lucius and Umara looked at each other and then followed Maira in silence behind her.