The moon hung high above the trees, cold and pale. The sky was cloudless, exposing a sprawl of stars that looked almost too serene. The students, however, had no time to appreciate it. Their breaths still burned from the ten-mile underground run, that had already chewed away at both their strength and their pride. Even now, many were hunched over, chugging water, trying to calm the fire in their lungs.
Dakota wasn't one of them. He laid quietly gathering his thoughts, his expression unreadable but his body trembling faintly from exhaustion. Sota stood now, breathing calmly, though his face still looked pale. Yuji was stretching his arms wordlessly, while Marlon rolled his shoulders with the kind of grin that could only belong to someone who liked what was coming.
The crowd of third-years, thousands strong, had gathered outside the massive dark forest. The trees towered like ancient sentinels, shrouded in fog that moved unnaturally slow. A sense of foreboding hung thick in the air.
Rosa: "Alright, listen up!"The shout cut through the murmurs like a whip. All heads turned toward the raised platform where Hunter Rosa stood. Her presence was enough to silence the chaos. Her expression was sharp, but her grin was sharper. "The one-hour break's over. Congratulations, you survived the warm-up."
A few nervous laughs rippled through the crowd.
Rosa: "Don't laugh yet. That was the easy part."
Behind her, the other four Hunters stood, each radiating the kind of pressure that made students subconsciously stiffen. The most unnerving part was how calm they looked.
Rosa: "You're all probably wondering what the next part of your final exam is," she said, her voice carrying effortlessly through the area. "So let me explain before you all soil yourselves in anticipation."
A few groans echoed from the crowd. Someone coughed, "Too late for that," and was immediately elbowed by their teammate.
Rosa's grin widened: "This is called the Dark Arena. You'll enter this vast forest. Inside, scattered across the terrain, are gold coins. You'll need at least five by sunrise to pass."
A collective murmur ran through the students. Five coins? With thousands of them here?
Rosa: "That's right," she continued, clearly enjoying the unrest. "There are fewer coins than students. Meaning, some of you will not make it."
That did it. The chatter rose again.
Rosa raised her voice: "Oh, and before you get any bright ideas, yes, stealing from other teams is allowed. In fact, it's encouraged."
That single word—encouraged, hit like a spark in a gunpowder room.
Rosa: "Each of you will be given a wooden sword," Rosa continued, holding one up. "You'll have until sunrise, ten and a half hours from now. The exam begins the moment you see the flare signal."She pointed toward the forest. "Until then, you've got thirty minutes to spread throughout the forest. Once the flare goes off, the Dark Arena begins. Teams with less than four members, tough luck. Let's hope your strength can make up for your lack of numbers."
Some students looked around awkwardly, especially those who had lost teammates during the run. Others straightened their backs, excitement flickering in their eyes.
Marlon cracked his knuckles: "So basically… a scavenger hunt with violence."
Dakota sighed: "That's one way to put it."
Yuji: "Think of it as training. Only this time, people might actually try to kill you."
Dakota: "Encouraging words, Yuji. Really gets me in the mood," he deadpanned.
Sota smiled faintly: "At least… at least we made it this far, right?"
Dakota gave him a small nod: "Yeah. Let's just make sure it wasn't for nothing."
Thirty Minutes Later
The forest swallowed sound. The air changed—damp, cold, and filled with the faint hum of insects. The further they got in, moonlight barely reached the ground, leaving everything tinted in gray and shadow. Each step crunched faintly on leaves. Every breath felt heavier.
Yuji: "Keep your guard up."
Marlon sing a little tune: "Come out, come out wherever you are gold coins."
Sota: "Dakota…" He calls out in a low voice while grabbing his shoulder.
Dakota jumps: "Ah!! Jesus Sota, don't scare me like that."
Yuji: "How tense are you right now? Relax."
Marlon: "Bwahahaha. You got him good."
Sota: "I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry..."
For the first hour, it was mostly quiet.
The teams spread out, searching under roots, inside hollow trees, and near streams glimmering faintly under moonlight.
Dakota's group moved surprisingly efficiently, Yuji scouting ahead, Marlon smashing through brush with zero stealth, and Sota marking their route with a stick by carving the letter X in trees. They had found two gold coins. One was near a dried pond, another hidden under a slab of stone.
Sota: "We're almost halfway there," he said, smiling nervously.
Dakota: "Let's not jinx it."
Marlon: "Too late."
Dakota followed his gaze.
Four silhouettes stood about thirty meters ahead, half-shrouded by mist. The lead figure's glasses reflected the moonlight—an unmistakable glint.
Dakota sighed: "Oh great. It's Mike."
Mike pushed his glasses up with a smug smile: "Well, well, looks like we found ourselves a charity. Have anything for us?"
Marlon clicked his tongue: "Who the hell is this?"
Dakota's group spread slightly, instinctively falling into position.
Yuji stepped forward, resting his sword on his shoulder: "I'll deal with Mike."
Dakota shook his head: "No. Let me."
Yuji blinked: "You sure?"
Dakota's tone was calm, almost indifferent: "Yeah. I think I can beat him."
Mike scoffed: "You think you can beat me? That's hysterical."
Dakota didn't say anything else. He just drew his wooden sword.
Mike lunged first with a condescending look, he was fast and precise, a clean overhead strike that would've cracked skulls if the blade were real. Dakota sidestepped, barely shifting his weight, letting the swing slice through the air.
Dakota countered, swinging low toward Mike's ribs. Mike parried but stumbled slightly, the impact heavier than he expected. But he tries to play it off.
Mike: "Someone's getting full of themselves."
He charged again, attacks flowing one into another, slashes, feints, and sharp footwork.
Each one carried intent, but also arrogance. He was trying to overwhelm him through sheer tempo. Dakota's breathing stayed steady. His eyes tracked the motion of Mike's shoulders, his hips, predicting the angles before they came. His blade moved efficiently, not flashy, just enough to deflect, redirect, and counter.
The wood colliding caused echoes throughout the forest.
"Don't hold back, Mike!" one of Mike's teammates yelled.
Mike snarled and twisted his blade upward, breaking their lock and swinging for Dakota's throat. His true colors were showing themselves.
Dakota ducked under it, stepped in, and slammed his shoulder into Mike's chest. The force knocked him backward.
Dakota: "You're telegraphing, Mike. That's pretty sloppy."
Mike's face twisted: "What did you say—"
Before he could finish, Dakota's wooden blade flicked up and stopped an inch from Mike's chin.
He froze.
Dakota: "You're too predictable."
Then the forest exploded in motion. Yuji and Marlon had already engaged the rest of Mike's team. Yuji's strikes were fierce, breaking guards in seconds. Marlon's fighting wild, laughing through each clash like he was born for this. Sota supported from behind, using fallen branches as makeshift distractions, throwing them to break line of sight whenever someone tried to flank.
Mike roared and attacked again, furious now, abandoning precision for aggression. He swung faster, harder, almost unhinged. Dakota parried once, twice, three times, then twisted, using Mike's own momentum to spin him sideways and trip him.
Mike crashed into the dirt, breath exploding from his lungs.
Dakota: "Is that all you got?"
Mike's hand trembled as he pushed himself up: "You… you think you're better than me? You're supposed to be a nobody."
Dakota: "And you're losing to a nobody."
That somehow angered him even more. Mike screamed and swung wildly—his strikes erratic but desperate. Dakota exhaled softly and stepped in, deflecting every blow. A clean horizontal strike across Mike's midsection connected. Mike froze, his body seizing up in instinctive pain.
Dakota lowered his sword. "It's over."
All around them, the sounds of fighting faded.
Yuji had disarmed one opponent cleanly, his blade resting on the guy's neck.
Marlon stood atop two fallen students, wooden sword resting across his shoulder.
Marlon: "Is that it? Boring."
Yuji: "That was barely a fight."
Sota jogged over, wide-eyed: "Dakota! That was amazing!"
Dakota grins as he hands him a small golden coin. Mike's coin.
Dakota: "2 more."
Mike glared from the ground, gripping his stomach: "You… you'll regret that."
Dakota glanced down at him: "Maybe. But at least I'll regret it while passing the exam."
Then he turned and walked deeper into the woods, his team following behind.
As they disappeared into the darkness, the forest seemed to grow quieter again. But for the first time that night… Dakota felt something else. Not just exhaustion or adrenaline, but presence. From somewhere deeper in the forest… someone was watching. A faint glimmer of gold eyes shines through the dark leaves.