Chapter 45: Entrance Exam (4)
Third Person POV:
A few minutes earlier...
Explosion!
The sound of an explosion echoed in the forest. Abel, with her Light magic, made the forest tremble and shine for a moment.
She chanted spells as if singing. Seven people surrounded Abel.
[Magic Circle ★: Light of Purity!]
Boom!
Another explosion occurred, throwing the people she attacked and making them vanish like light. Then, quickly, she spread her arms again, creating ten magic circles.
[Magic Circle ★★: Light Spear!]
As she chanted the spell, spears of light appeared from the magic circles surrounding her.
"Attack," Abel said while lowering her fingers.
The spears immediately shot toward the participants around her quickly. Two people still survived, but Abel quickly finished them off.
She took a slight breath. Then started walking with graceful steps.
"He said he would also be a hunter for the participants, right?" Abel tilted her head slightly, her brow furrowed, "But, what did he mean by saying he was the one to be chased?"
Abel sighed in annoyance. The sounds of battle were heard everywhere, yet she did not panic. Slowly she raised her hand and said while closing her eyes.
"Oh, Goddess of Light, your sinful servant begs you to give a little of your mercy..."
Slowly but surely, golden light gradually gathered in her hands in the form of small Mana balls.
[Light Bow.]
Instantly, a bow appeared in her raised right hand. The bow was white with golden lines on its grip. The bowstring was made of light forming threads to draw the arrow.
Opening her eyes. Abel stared at the bow for a long time, then smiled faintly.
"Let's do it."
How could she get a bow? Could Abel use it? She is a mage-type class, so why?
Ahem, here's how: Abel is a Saintess, and her class rank is SS. It's impossible for her to be just a healing mage; there must be something unique about this class.
The bow is one of them. Besides being able to heal allies with its arrows, it can also attack enemies from a distance.
Abel saw several people in front of her fighting.
Seeing that, she slowly raised her hand, pulling the bowstring with a controlled movement.
As Abel pulled it, an arrow of light appeared. The arrow was made of light and was golden in color.
"I'm sorry..." she said so, but she still pulled it.
Abel aimed the bow at the participants who were fighting. Then with terrifying accuracy, she released the light arrow.
The arrow shot through the wind, flying towards a participant who was distracted while fighting with another participant.
Before the participant could react, the arrow smoothly pierced his head. His eyes widened.
The other one flinched instantly, and before he could turn towards the direction the bow was fired from, another arrow came and pierced his neck.
Swish~!
Slash!
They were all finished off almost simultaneously and disappeared, eliminated. Other participants froze, seeing who was attacking.
The person who shot, or Abel, walked with slow steps. There were still many participants here. The participants snapped out of their reverie, and one of them attacked.
He cast a fireball spell. Seeing that, Abel quickly raised the bow and shot the fireball. The arrow pierced the ball and immediately attacked the participant.
The participant ducked to avoid it, but another arrow came and quickly finished him off.
"Once again, I apologize..." she felt a little sad, but this was an exam, and also a matter of survival to meet him.
Abel wasted no time admiring her strength. She shot the bow at the participants with lightning speed.
She fired twenty arrows in 2 seconds.
"Dodge!"
One strong enough participant lunged. He raised his sword high, but as the sword was about to hit Abel—a shield of light blocked it.
"What!?" he was surprised and jumped away, but Abel was slightly faster. She drew her bowstring and shot.
It was then that someone was waiting for. With a quick movement, that person sneaked behind Abel, stabbing her back.
Abel's eyes widened, shocked. The person smiled triumphantly, but before he could attack—Abel moved first.
[Mana Explosion!]
Boom!
The explosion threw the attacker backward, but Abel was not finished. While jumping, she fired three arrows at him.
The person instinctively threw his body to the side.
Another participant attacked; he chanted a one-star spell. Abel saw that and did not give him a chance to finish his spell.
She spun in the air while shooting with her head down and feet up, like a professional shooter.
"I guess the warm-up is enough," Abel muttered softly.
Her feet touched the ground, and her bow disintegrated into fragments of light. Right then, she spread both hands and chanted a spell.
A giant magic circle appeared slightly high above her head. She clapped her hands together, making a loud sound.
[Magic Circle ★★★: Goddess's Judgment.]
The circle shone brightly, then light appeared and descended like a golden laser. Several participants who were still standing widened their eyes before their vision turned white.
Abel, still standing in place, gently smoothed her clothes. She raised her hand to look at her points now.
[Abel Montain]
Points: 120
Abel sighed softly, then looked up at the widely displayed panel in the air:
=====
Lira Tempest: 300 points
Noah Raven: 230 points
Maira Paradiss: 220 points
Kyle Ohan: 190 points
Lia Elamin: 170 points
.
.
Mia Ohan: 140 points
.
.
Abel Montain: 120 points
=====
Seeing the panel, her eyes twitched slightly, then she began to walk and muttered.
"Noah... that bastard... " she mumbled, clenching her fist a little tighter, she continued, "This time, I definitely won't make that mistake..."
Abel's eyes flashed cold as she walked with steady steps, but behind every step and the facade of a Saintess.
She was hiding something surprising.
....
Meanwhile, on another side...
The black-haired girl, or Lira Tempest, was fighting someone who was quite strong, strong enough for her to try a little harder.
That person was a half-cat human girl.
Lira narrowed her eyes slightly, then gently snapped her fingers. The shadow beneath her trembled, then rushed toward the cat-human.
Spikes protruded from the shadow. The spikes were so sharp they could pierce bone as if it were butter. But the cat-human moved quickly.
She moved zig-zag through the spikes because, as a half-cat, her instincts and reflexes were much stronger and faster.
A moment later, she closed the distance from Lira and stabbed her sharp hand towards Lira.
Lira immediately reacted; she twisted her body sideways. The claws nearly hit her cheek.
"Tsk! You're annoying!" the cat-human quickly twisted her body, about to lunge again.
But before she could do anything, a scythe cut through the air. The scythe came towards her so quickly that it made her eyes narrow deeply.
She tilted her head back, arching her waist strongly. The scythe passed her, and she immediately backflipped, maintaining distance.
"W-what was that!?" she snapped, turning quickly.
There—Lira stood with a scythe by her side, staring intensely at the cat-human. That made her flinch and step back half a step.
Her instinct told her to run away now, and that's what she did. She turned and ran at lightning speed. Although she was half-human, she was not foolish enough to fight Lira during the exam.
Her goal here was to enter the academy, not just to fight. Rather than dying here and not being able to enter the academy—she'd better run.
There is no such thing as self-respect for the sake of goodness and survival. The world is cruel in its own way.
Meanwhile, Lira watched the cat-human run away without chasing her. She was like that not because she was kind but because the girl was a named and important character.
Lira gently turned her face away and began walking toward the forest, her scythe slowly disappearing. She murmured softly in the middle of her steps.
"If the plot hasn't changed, it seems he is in the middle of the forest," she muttered with a faint smile.
"And as for our protagonist, it looks like he's in trouble right now..." she continued in a low tone. Every time she stepped, her shadow moved gently as if it were dancing.
[Aduh... I'm starting to get bored watching this, kid!]
A voice echoed inside her. Lira sighed softly and said, though in her mind.
'Be patient, Nyx. We will meet a very strong person and fight him.'
[Really? Is the person you mean the one on the stage earlier?]
'That's right, so please be patient. Well... Even though I don't want to fight him, and I will clearly lose... but—we should try first."
[Humm! I think so too, kid.]
Lira nodded, still walking with graceful yet deadly steps, because the one who made her aura like that was—Nyx, the Goddess of Chaos.
.....
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