*
A bizarre bat flying by my side was torn in half and fell to the ground.
It was weak enough that I didn't even need to draw my sword, but the sound it made was intense.
Because it kept disturbing my sleep like this, I felt like I was getting more and more on edge.
Simply not being able to sleep was something I could endure, but spending the whole day with my nerves constantly on edge was another story.
It had been long past midnight, making it the last day of the exam.
Contrary to expectations, it was rather quiet.
I could only hear monsters crying or passing by with heavy footsteps from time to time.
It seemed they didn't plan to move around at night when it was hard to secure visibility.
They probably wanted to fight in the best possible conditions for the final battle.
As morning slowly approached, the surroundings began to brighten.
Once the sun fully rose, there was a high probability that a grand festival would begin.
After keeping my nerves on edge like that for several hours, I heard someone passing by below.
When I used Mana to increase my concentration, I saw a welcome face.
'Kang Ju-won? He managed not to fall behind.'
I hadn't been paying much attention to him lately, but I knew that guy's ranking had risen quite a bit.
Well, I only needed to target Soo-ah, so there was no need to fight him.
Looking at him now, a rather interesting scene caught my eye.
A woman with a moderately plump chest and a not-bad appearance was next to Kang Ju-won.
"Ju-won-ah, are you really going to fight alone?"
Had they been in the jungle area until now? She was dressed in relatively light clothing.
Both of them had jungle knives, the kind you'd carry in the jungle, strapped to their waists.
This was almost certain, not just a possibility.
"I don't want to win in such a cowardly way."
"But Ju-won-ah, Yoon Seo-ah, Lee Da-eun, and Park Hye-ji are not opponents we can beat. We should form an alliance to take them down..."
The moment Lee Da-eun's name came up, I could see Kang Ju-won's emotions wavering.
I heard he was dating Jeong Soo-ah, but he still couldn't let go of his lingering feelings for Lee Da-eun?
The female student's appearance wasn't bad. She was quite high-ranking among ordinary people, but because the people around her were so outstanding, I didn't feel much.
Have my standards gotten too high?
'Anyway, an alliance.'
It seemed there was a reason why it was so quiet.
Rather than fighting each other, they were planning to take down the top three first?
It certainly wasn't a bad idea.
That's because those three were in a league of their own.
The reason why Yoon Seo-ah and Lee Da-eun were getting attention wasn't just because they were the top and runner-up.
Like awls, they had skills that were incomparable to the students below them.
In Park Hye-ji's case, her recognition was lower compared to the other two, but frankly, based on my experience fighting her, her skills were similar.
All three of them were at a level where you couldn't call them the same students, so they were going to form an alliance because they couldn't win?
Not bad. If they could somehow succeed in getting the last hit, it would be the best opportunity to skyrocket in the rankings.
It was guaranteed to be a higher score than fighting among the low-scoring guys.
It wasn't bad, but I had to say, it felt unpleasant that they were messing with my woman.
I held my breath above and focused on their conversation.
"Sorry... Heum... Then I'll go with Ju-won!"
"Huh?"
"It's okay, right? Actually, I didn't want to join the alliance either~"
She naturally linked arms with him.
Knowing where her strengths lay, she subtly began to rub her large chest against Kang Ju-won's arm.
Even the most oblivious person could tell that this woman had feelings for Kang Ju-won.
"We're in the middle of an exam..."
He outwardly refused, but he didn't strongly express his intentions.
If he was thinking of Jeong Soo-ah, he should have drawn a clear line.
When you think about it, couldn't you say that I stole his childhood friend Lee Da-eun and Jeong Soo-ah?
I had a little bit of guilt, but seeing this, I thought I did well.
'Actually, I don't feel guilty...'
I secretly cheered for the female student.
What would Jeong Soo-ah think if she saw this?
It was clear that the last line of resistance for Jeong Soo-ah would collapse.
Then, naturally, there would be only one person to rely on.
That's me.
I was already looking forward to seeing what kind of expression she would make then.
*
Just before dawn, light gradually began to enter the dark field.
The figures of the students arranged like a military formation began to appear.
"Shibal... I'm so tired because of those monster bastards..."
They tried to hide, but as the scale grew, monsters kept rushing at them.
How much did they suffer, even using magic to avoid making noise?
They didn't have the recognition of Lee Da-eun or Yoon Seo-ah, but they were also top-ranking students.
It wasn't easy to hide this many people while fighting alone, but it wasn't impossible with skilled students gathered together.
There was a reason why it was so quiet without any noise.
"Yeah. You guys worked hard yesterday. The exam ends today, so let's hang in there a little longer."
"Is it this way?"
A magic-type Hunter who looked a little tired pointed in one direction with his fingertips.
"That's right. Looking at this delicately woven Mana array. Who else but Lee Da-eun can use magic like this at our level?"
It was evaluated that Lee Da-eun might be behind in combat, but she had an advantage in magic skills.
The magician students removed the intricately woven trap magic and secretly exclaimed in admiration.
The level of completion was so high that they couldn't believe it was magic used by a student of the same age as them.
It would have been strange if they didn't know their location, since they had been in one place for a long time.
Other students were wary and didn't enter this range, but they didn't care at all and seemed to be maintaining their top rankings by sweeping away monsters.
"Are you okay with Park Hye-ji being a problem?"
Unlike Yoon Seo-ah and Lee Da-eun, who stayed in one place, it was difficult to pinpoint Park Hye-ji's location because she didn't stay in one place.
"It can't be helped. Let's take care of those two first."
No matter how outstanding their skills were, they were also students in the top ranks.
It wasn't easy to get into the top 10% among the 1000+ students.
They were bothered that some of the ranked students hadn't participated in the alliance, but they couldn't keep putting it off.
Today was the last day of the exam.
"Are they still inside?"
Even though they were removing the trap magic one by one, Lee Da-eun, the owner, didn't counterattack.
"Could she be scared?"
"There's no way."
They continued to move forward without letting go of their guard.
The time when people are most sleepy.
"Maybe she's sleeping."
They were moving as secretly as possible, so she might not know they were approaching.
Because skilled people were gathered, they weren't afraid of the great Lee Da-eun.
'If not now, when will I ever catch Lee Da-eun?'
Even if it wasn't for the points, defeating Lee Da-eun would surely have more value than that.
The problem was that it wasn't a solo effort, but wasn't that the same with hunting?
When hunting, they also formed parties or moved in guild units, so there was nothing strange about it.
"But why does it feel so humid?"
"The floor is wet too..."
As they went to the central area, they felt strangely more humid.
And even a strangely humid area.
"..."
"..."
The students who were disarming the trap magic checked each other's faces.
Ossak.
They suddenly felt a creepy feeling.
They were also experienced Hunters, and there were times when their primal instincts reacted like this, even though they couldn't explain it in words.
"Everyone...!"
Before he could finish speaking, they felt a large amount of Mana flow, and before they could react, a strong electric current covered them.
They couldn't even react because it was too fast.
Hunters with good reaction speeds gathered Mana and resisted somehow. But Hunters who couldn't do that fell from the blow.
Black smoke began to rise with the smell of something burning.
"Kkeureureureureuk..."
Students who couldn't even speak properly began to fall one by one.
Even if they were in the top ranks, there was a difference in level. It seemed like all the people with lower levels had fallen out.
The number of people was cut in half in an instant.
They couldn't help but be amazed by the power, speed, and range.
They said that if you met Lee Da-eun as an enemy, you wouldn't even be able to react, and it seemed like that wasn't an exaggeration.
But they weren't so weak that they would fall from just one attack.
"She must have used a lot of power with that attack! Let's charge right away!!"
"We can win too!!!"
"I'll take the lead!!"
Kwagwang!!!!
Pung!!!!
Trap magic was activated every time they charged forward, but they didn't stop.
A tanker-type student created a shield with Mana and charged forward.
The traps worked precisely, but they couldn't do much damage to the student with the shield in front.
'This is why you make a party!'
As they started running quickly along the path created by the tanker, they felt a strong energy in front of them.
"Lee Da-eun!!!"
Finally, Lee Da-eun's figure came into view. She must have been preparing magic in advance, because her energy was unusual.
"Everyone, come behind me!!!"
Kim Cheol-byeok, called the Knight of Protection, used his unique ability that specialized in protecting the students behind him.
Lee Da-eun's attack flew with tremendous force like before.
Kwagwang!!!
It was such a strong attack that all the trees around them flew away, but Kim Cheol-byeok succeeded in defending.
"Please... take care of the back..."
He himself was eliminated by the attack, but looking at the results alone, it wasn't bad.
It seemed like she had consumed quite a bit of power using strong magic twice.
Lee Da-eun, who had a pretty fierce face, was visible.
"Give up this exam to us!!!"
At the moment they shouted and tried to rush at her, a strong slash flew from behind.
"Who is it!!!"
"Da-eun-ah, hello?"
"Si-woo-ya?"