[Raul PoV]
The following morning, Valeria and I were scouting the city center to locate food supplies held by other participants.
"Raul, at 7 o'clock, there's a team on the move," Valeria said.
The two of us were hiding atop a building to secure a better visual of the surrounding area. Turning in the direction Valeria pointed, I saw six participants running through the city streets. They were being pursued by another group that seemingly shared our objective: scavenging for supplies.
"After them! Don't let our food supplies get away!" shouted one of the pursuers.
I signaled Valeria to move closer to the two groups to prepare for our strike. The six being chased suddenly stopped; a thick white smoke abruptly billowed out, triggered by their mage's spell. It seemed those six were merely bait, and their eight pursuers had walked right into the trap.
—Bomb! Bomb!
Explosions rocked the battlefield, followed by the screams of the participants caught in the blast.
"Valeria, get ready to strike when I give the signal," I whispered.
"I understand."
I began to prowl through the buildings to close the distance. Once the white smoke cleared, the eight pursuers had all been incapacitated. I spotted two individuals positioned on a nearby roof—likely the hidden members of the group that had acted as bait.
"Yes! Our plan worked!"
The two on the building descended to join their comrades.
"Didn't I tell you? This plan is brilliant," the man said, looking quite proud of himself.
"Well... you did adapt this tactic from that Rotten Noble during the first stage exam, didn't you?" the mage of their group remarked.
"Hey, wise men say experience is the best teacher, you know," the man replied half-jokingly. "Yesterday's first stage exam really gave us a lot of useful knowledge."
Hoho~ So you've realized that field practice is far more effective at teaching students than theoretical lessons in a classroom. I felt a slight pang of guilt about eliminating them now just to seize the food supplies they possessed.
"Save the chatter for later. Quickly grab their supplies and let's get out of here," said a man carrying a sword. "I'm afraid other groups will show up soon, forcing us into a non-stop fight."
Well... it seems they had already predicted that many other participants would arrive, including me. This is the result of my teaching them how to fight on a real battlefield during the first stage.
Seeing their group preparing to leave, I signaled Valeria with a wave of my hand to attack, prioritizing their mage first. Valeria nodded and launched a wind element spell, sending the mage spiraling into the air.
"Enemy attack! Take cover behind the buildings!"
The remaining seven participants scrambled for cover within and behind the structures to shield themselves from Valeria's magic. However, their efforts were in vain.
It was time for my move.
Activating my Acceleration magic, I blurred toward a participant taking cover behind a wall. His face contorted in shock at my sudden arrival.
"Y-you! Why are you here, Rotten Nob—"
Before he could finish his sentence, I slashed his neck. The man collapsed, clutching his throat as blood began to spill. Moments later, a magic circle manifested and swallowed his body, signaling his elimination from the exam.
Without wasting time, I rushed into the building and found two others hiding. Beside them sat a fairly large supply bag.
"Dammit! Why is that Rotten Noble here?!"
"Talk about bad luck!"
Both shouted, looking exasperated by my appearance. Each gripped a sword.
"Sial! We won't go down without a fight!" one of them yelled, charging forward to attack me.
He launched a blind, frenzied assault, aiming to make it difficult for me to counter. Behind him, his partner watched the duel patiently, likely waiting to cover him if I managed to mount a counter-offensive. These two were quite clever.
But...
—Clang!
Our blades collided, but the man was pushed far to the side, his strength no match for mine during the clash. Seeing his defense wide open, I lunged toward him, ready to deliver the finishing blow. From behind, I sensed his partner moving to intercept me. However, this had been my plan from the start.
Spinning my body rapidly, I switched targets and slashed the partner instead. Caught off guard, he could neither parry nor dodge my strike.
"No, Jason!" screamed the man who had been my initial target.
Without pausing the assault, I thrust my blade into his chest until his body was engulfed by a magic circle, marking his elimination.
"Well... let's finish off the remaining four."
I walked to the window and saw the four survivors from the group we were attacking fleeing the scene.
"Smart of them," I muttered, noting their quick response. "Seeing an enemy far stronger than their group, they didn't hesitate to flee and abandon the loot they had worked so hard to get."
Carrying the supply bag I had just secured, I exited the building. Valeria descended from her vantage point and approached me.
"The rest of them escaped, Raul," Valeria said. "Shouldn't we chase them down?"
"No need to bother. We've got what we wanted," I replied, declining her suggestion. "Better we leave this place immediately before more participants arrive and target our food."
***
[3rd PoV]
Not far from Raul and Valeria's position, specifically near the Edessa Town Hall, several teams were clashing over food supplies.
"Dammit! Why is it so crowded here?!" one participant cursed.
Nearly 70 people were gathered in the city center. Each group had occupied a building to form a defensive perimeter. They traded magic through cracks and windows, firing at other groups across the street.
In one building, a group of six participants—an alliance of three teams—held a large stash of food.
"Ughhh... we shouldn't have stolen food from others here! This place is crawling with people, and we've been trapped in this building for hours!" complained a male mage named Russel.
"Keep firing, Russel! The decision to scavenge here was a group agreement!" said a man wielding a spear. "We all agreed on this plan, including you, right?"
"Look out! A fire spell is heading for the building!"
At their comrade's warning, everyone in the building hit the floor. An explosion rocked the front of the structure. Black smoke filled the room, and the wall crumbled from the force of the fire magic.
—Tap... Tap... Tap...
The sound of footsteps echoed in the room. The participants inside looked up to see a blonde man and a red-haired woman entering their hiding spot.
"It's Brian... and Scarlett..." one of them whispered.
"It's over, the two of them will take us down!"
Brian's expression soured upon hearing their words. Earlier, Scarlett had fired a powerful fire spell at the building under Brian's orders. But now that he was here, he was disappointed to see his enemies giving up before the fight had even begun.
"Cih, cowards! At least fight me and lose with honor!" Brian shouted, his voice laced with annoyance.
It was true; Brian and Scarlett's combined strength could easily overwhelm them. No one could match those two in direct combat except for Elena or Raul.
"Fire Punch!"
Scarlett began her assault with her flaming fists, while Brian, having lost interest, finished them off out of necessity.
"Scarlett, grab the supplies quickly and let's go," Brian ordered, clearly no longer in the mood for battle.
Scarlett nodded and slung the heavy bag of food and drink over her shoulder. They exited the building, but a flash of yellow lightning suddenly streaked across their vision, forcing Brian into a defensive stance.
—Clang!
Elena appeared out of nowhere, attacking Brian with her sword.
"Well... Princess Elena, it seems I've found a worthy opponent today," Brian said, a smirk forming as he faced the blonde girl.
"We'll see about that, Brian," Elena replied, her mana surging. "Let's see if you can stop me here!"
The two began trading blows. Elena unleashed a flurry of slashes that seemed to overwhelm Brian. On the other side, Scarlett stood facing her twin brother, Geralt.
"Sister..." Geralt murmured.
Scarlett dropped into a combat stance. As a Brawler, her fighting style was vastly different from Geralt's.
"We're going to take this fight seriously, Geralt," Scarlett said, finally speaking after being silent throughout the second stage. "Show me everything you've got!"
The twins clashed—Scarlett attacking with her fists while Geralt countered with his sword.
Multiple battles erupted around the Town Hall area. On this fourth day, participants were fighting desperately for the provisions needed to reach the finish line on the final day. Magic explosions went off everywhere, and the shouts of the examinees echoed like a true battlefield.
However, they were oblivious to the swarm approaching them. A mass of blue creatures with brown legs had already surrounded the area.
"Huh? Why are there suddenly so many monsters here?!" one participant cried.
They halted their infighting to face the new arrivals.
"Attack the monsters!"
Dozens of participants launched an assault, easily slicing through the creatures. However...
"Dammit! Why won't they die even after I cut their heads off?!" a participant protested as the monster he had just decapitated stood right back up.
"It's not just that! The ones I slash are multiplying!"
The participants were quickly cornered. They began to flee toward other groups, hoping to force a collective defense against the swarm.
Meanwhile, Elena and Brian were still locked in combat. Brian's uniform was tattered, his body covered in minor wounds.
"Not bad, Brian," Elena praised. "But your skills are still below Raul's in terms of pure martial arts!"
Hearing a beautiful woman like Elena compare him to the man he loathed most made Brian's face twist in rage.
"Don't talk about that man while fighting me!" Brian roared, gathering his mana. "I am the one who will become the strongest knight in this country!"
At this, Elena let out a mischievous laugh.
"Fufufu~ Is that so? You have quite the lofty dream, Brian," Elena said, preparing to lunge again. "But before you reach that dream, you have to beat me!"
They both charged at each other.
—Groooaarrrr!
However, their movements froze at the sound of a thunderous, earth-shaking roar.
"What was that sound?" Elena asked, canceling her magic.
Brian did the same and pointed toward a nearby building. "I think it came from over there!"
—Grooaarrr!
Suddenly, a giant monster standing seven meters tall emerged from behind the building Brian had pointed out. It was followed by a pack of similar-looking creatures, though smaller at two meters tall.
"Oh Goddess Diana... how is a monster this massive allowed to roam during the exam?!" Elena said, stunned by its presence.
"Help us!"
"These monsters can't be killed!"
Soon, other participants from the surrounding area appeared, fleeing from the monsters at their heels.
"What is actually happening?" Brian muttered.