Chapter 15: The First Hour

I ran through the trees, keeping my presence hidden.

After passing a certain tree, I saw him—about twenty meters away—a boy my age holding a sword. Inside his body, I could see his shining spirit and assessed his power: Advanced First Rank.

The difference between the top four ranks wasn’t very large, so if you had the necessary skill combined with a strong ability, you could defeat ranks higher than yours… of course, only a few could actually achieve that.

Still, I didn’t let my guard down.

I pushed a bit of mana into my muscles and closed the distance. When only a few meters remained between us, he noticed me.

He stopped and turned toward me, but I was already above him. I swung my sword in a vertical strike; he had no time to comprehend his situation.

His expression twisted as he raised his sword in a defensive stance to block my strike.

The swords collided with a loud clang that echoed through the forest.

The boy let out a painful groan as his feet sank into the ground from my strike, but I didn’t give him any chance, risking that he might activate some strange ability.

I moved my other hand, holding the sword toward his neck: “Please, don’t hold any grudge against me. It’s just your bad luck that you met me first.”

My sword cut through his armor and sank slightly into the flesh, but before the wound became serious, the sword stopped on its own… as if an invisible force had held it back… and it had.

When the sword stopped, the armor’s protection mechanism activated, and the unlucky boy’s body vanished before me.

All he could do was curse me before disappearing… he was eliminated.

My watch beeped, indicating that I gained five points.

The encounter had been fast and smooth, but it wouldn’t stay that way.

I sensed another spirit heading toward my location. Perhaps they heard the clash and came to scavenge what was left of the fight.

A moment later, I heard rustling in the bushes before a small blonde girl with short hair appeared, looking very cute.

I stood still, watching to see what she would do next.

She smiled and waved at me: “Hello, I heard a noise from here, so I came to check… Looks like you eliminated someone.”

Her smile deepened as she tilted her head teasingly: “Hey… how about we team up to get through this test?”

I smiled back: “So you want to form a team.”

She stepped closer, her body tilting seductively: “Yes, you seem strong… and I like strong men… How about this: out of every ten people, I take four and you take six, and you can claim your share first.” Her voice carried a hint of temptation.

“That sounds very tempting,” I replied.

“So, what’s your decision? Will we cooperate? It will also be a chance to build relationships for the future… as you know.” Her smile deepened even more.

My expression shifted slightly as I considered whether to agree, while she waited patiently.

“Alright, let’s form a team,” I decided.

“Great!” she clapped happily… like someone who had just gotten a new puppy.

Her gaze fell on the swords in my hands: “So, can you return your weapons… you know, to build trust between us.”

I smiled and returned the swords to the storage space, then raised my empty hands toward her: “Here, I’ve put them back.”

She smiled and stepped closer until the distance between us shrank by a few feet. Then, without warning, she grabbed my hands with her small ones: “I’m glad to work with you… My name is H—” But before she could finish, I extended my other hand toward her neck.

I tightened my grip and lifted her as she struggled to breathe: “W… why…”

She smiled sincerely this time: “Do you think I didn’t notice the needle you were hiding on your wrist? Perhaps you were trying to poison me with it.”

She tried to protest: “No… I wasn’t!” But I interrupted her: “It doesn’t matter… I would have done this anyway.”

Her expression twisted with anger and she shouted: “You… scum!”

She tried to resist, but I tightened my grip, and then the armor mechanism activated before she disappeared, while at the same time my watch beeped again, indicating I gained another five points.

Why did I do that?

Well, I could have just fought her and eliminated her like I did with the first one.

But why do that when I could deceive her easily and save a few drops of mana…

And, well, because it was a little fun.

I looked ahead and continued moving while glancing at my watch:

Time remaining: [9:49:03]Points: 10Top ten rankings: …..

Only eleven minutes had passed since the test began.

I moved toward the center, searching for other prey.

Although my ability didn’t consume much mana, I couldn’t keep it active throughout the test, especially since I needed mana for upcoming battles.

So, as I made my way forward, I briefly activated my ability to scan my surroundings before deactivating it again.

I did this every two or three minutes.

Then I sensed two people close to each other, so I changed course and headed toward them.

On the way, I heard the clashing of weapons. They seemed to be fighting.

It didn’t take long before I got close enough to see the fight.

It seemed I had arrived at the end of it.

One person was kneeling on his knees, panting heavily, while another stood in front of him.

It was clear they had fought an even battle, both with some injuries and tears in their leather armor.

The standing person stepped forward to finish the fight.

Of course, I wasn’t about to let free points slip away.

I headed straight toward them. The first to notice me was the standing person.

“Damn…” he cursed as he adjusted his stance to face me, though it was clear he was tired from his previous fight.

I didn’t even draw my sword. With a swift move, I kicked him in the ribs. A loud cracking sound echoed before he flew backward, then disappeared, eliminated before hitting anything.

I turned to the kneeling person: “So, how do you want it? A kick to the face, the ribs, or maybe a sword stab?”

His expression fell: “Can I refuse all of them?” He smiled like someone on the verge of tears.

I replied: “No.”

I swear I saw tears well up in his eyes when I said that.

He was taking too long to decide, so I chose for him.

I kicked him straight in the sternum. If it weren’t for the armor that stopped my strike and moved him away, it would have been a gruesome scene.

Without caring about what happened, I continued forward and resumed my path.

On the way, I encountered many other unlucky people, and of course, I eliminated them all.

As I advanced, the forest ended and the terrain changed.

Ahead, the ground was dry and barren, while massive rocks and ravines stretched everywhere, forming a natural maze, like those found in deserts.

I moved toward it, leaving the forest behind.

As I stepped forward, I heard a whistling sound heading toward me. Without hesitation, I leaned my body slightly, and a swift arrow zipped past me, another hitting a rock beside me.

I activated my ability quickly and ran in the direction the arrow came from. It wasn’t the only one.

Several arrows flew toward me, but using my ability, I predicted their paths before they even reached me and dodged them.

Finally, after some running, the archer appeared at the edge of my perception.

It seemed he realized I knew his position and began to move:”Where do you think you’re going, my dear target?”

A few minutes later, I stood atop one of the highest rocks. Below me, a handsome young man groaned in pain—the archer who had tried to hunt me.

I moved my hand, aiming the finishing blow before he could be moved away.

I glanced at my watch:

Time remaining: [9:00:45]

Points: 159

This opponent had granted me five extra points on top of 35 points, meaning he had 70… clearly he had worked hard.

More importantly, only seconds remained to display the top ten rankings.

I lifted my head and looked toward the forest. After a few moments, a thick gray fog rose and engulfed the forest, rendering it invisible.

At the same time, my watch beeped and new data appeared:

Top Ten Rankings:

1.Garon Blackfall [263]

2.Elliot Sivrax [254]

3.Ivan Rexel [195]

4.Ellen Asterval [187]

5.Kyle Astro [176]

6.Izel Ashvil [172]

7.Caius Astroweild [159]

8.Leona Starlin [141]

…..

I didn’t recognize the ninth and tenth places.

It was true that I was in seventh place, but that wasn’t a problem.

I smiled:”Now the real challenge begins.”

>>>>

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