Roderick Stormrider POV
I entered the forest and ran as fast as I could. There were many students running like me, but soon I was ahead of everyone. Then, I sighted a monster.
It was confused at first by all the noise, but then it got scared seeing the crowd behind me. It ran—or at least tried to.
I picked up even more speed, rotated my spear, and thrust it forward. It died instantly.
A few students, maybe thinking I hadn't killed it yet, attacked the monster's corpse.
Idiots.
After some time, I slowed down. The students, who before were in the hundreds, were nowhere to be seen.
I took a few deep breaths and started looking for more points.
"Points… ahem, monster, where are you? If you tell me, I won't hurt you, I swear."
I hope these monsters don't have truth detection abilities… though I've never heard of such a thing before.
Where are all the monsters? Maybe those students scared them off.
I should've poked a few of those idiots and said they ran into my spear.
Those bastards are hurting my points.
I kept walking but couldn't find a single one.
Why can't a monster find me? They have a reputation to keep!
Soon, I heard something—
'Oh, sneaking up on me? Good, I like you, hehe…'
I turned and saw a student.
I asked, "What the hell are you doing?"
He replied, "I thought you were a monster."
I shouted angrily, "I swear to god, disappear or I'll kill you and say you attacked me!"
He spoke weakly, "Each of us is being monitored by a third-year student."
I snapped without thinking, "I'll kill them too!"
He asked, astonished, "You can tell their locations!?"
I couldn't. I just said that out of anger. But he doesn't need to know that.
"Y-yes," I lied.
He smirked and ran away.
That bastard!!
I turned around and took a huge breath for about a minute to calm down. Then I heard the sound of rustling leaves.
This bastard again!!!
I turned around, aimed my spear, and shouted, "Bastard, you're dead meat!!!"
But it was a monster… who got scared.
Was that an Angry Ape?
Then I smiled, trying to soothe it.
"Oh, don't be afraid. I just thought you were a bad human. I'm very tasty. Why don't you try a bite? If you don't like it, don't eat."
I don't know if it understood or not, but it ran toward me.
I quickly thrust my spear at it, but it swung its claw, changing the course of my attack entirely.
I still kept moving forward and used my momentum to strike with the handle. But it caught it with both claws.
I smirked.
Tightening my grip, I hung myself on the spear, then with as much force as I could muster, kicked the monster in the face.
It released the spear.
"I'm bored of this now. Let's end it."
I ran toward the monster, gripping the spear close to the blade.
Seeing me approach, the monster swung its claw. I ducked, loosened my grip slightly, then rotated on one leg.
The centrifugal force slid the spear so that the blade moved farther from my hand. Once it was near the edge of slipping away, I tightened my grip again.
Rotating once more, I moved behind the monster. Now I was as far from it as the length of my spear's shaft.
Using all the rotational force I had gathered, I struck the monster along the neck. My spear still followed the arc of a circle—
"Circle of Death!"
The monster fell, headless.
Finally, a good exercise.
Alright, time for my next monster.
---
Sylwen Starleaf POV
I started walking inside the forest.
"Spirits, I need your help."
"Spirits, if you see any creature wearing the same clothes as me, tell me. And if you see any other creature, tell me what it looks like."
As an elf, I can talk to spirits.
Weak spirits can't help in fighting, but they can inform me about monsters. However, I'll have to look out for C-Rank monsters myself, since the spirits will get scared of them.
My contract spirits can also help gather information and tell me about stronger monsters, but if they're too far, I can't use their help in combat.
Well, my plan is simple. I know the characteristics of many monsters—especially the ones listed in the test.
I'll find monsters using the spirits' information.
If they're weak E-Rank monsters, I'll strike them down with my bow before they even notice me.
As for stronger monsters, I'll avoid them until the last few hours of the exam.
Food is also easy to find with the help of spirits, and I don't have to cook monster meat.
"Hmmm…"
Just then, a spirit appeared and told me its findings.
"There's a monster? …Oh, a pack of Quick Wolves?"
---
Seraphine Nightingale POV
I walked into the forest, holding my staff and ready for action.
"Using fire magic isn't a good idea right now," I murmured.
"Let's use lightning magic for now, until I really need to switch."
I scanned the sky and suddenly saw something.
Gale Harrier!
An aerial monster.
They have sharp talons and wind-element affinity.
"Wind Barrier!"
They're known to dive at blinding speeds—and today, I saw it firsthand.
That must be its Dive Slash.
Its specialities, as far as I remember, are Dive Slash, Gust Kick, and Keen Eyesight.
But their wings are fragile, and they can't recover easily once grounded.
It's a D-Rank monster.
Now that I think about it, that Elric had good flight magic… but I can't fly that fast. So I'll have to use my advantage.
Suddenly, it used Gust Kick. At this rate, it'll break my barrier.
Then I saw it fly away.
It must be preparing for another dive.
Alright, my timing has to be perfect.
Here it comes—
"Ignis Bloom!"
It's a fire spell—concentrated at first, then it blooms like a flower, increasing its range.
I can't use it on the ground because of the trees, but it's perfect for an aerial monster.
"Hmmm.....water barrier?"
" Don't tell me I struck third year student responsible for me too!!"
"SORRY!!"
As for monster.
It crashed to the ground, but it was still alive.
After all, since the spell covers a large area, its power is spread out.
"Wind Edge!"
A gale of wind slashed through it, finally killing it.
"Haaa… even if it's a monster, I don't like killing."
Many monsters must have seen my fire magic. Let's move quickly.
---
Althaea Arkwright POV
I have to do well.
I want to grow strong like Father, and kind like Mother.
I've never seen Mother, but when Father talks about her, I can see her in his eyes.
I'll kill a lot of monsters.
I walked for a long time but hadn't encountered a single one yet.
Suddenly, I felt disoriented.
Why?
The teacher said only the monsters listed on paper would appear.
Which one matches this feeling…?
Bloodwing Bat!
An aerial predator.
I looked up, scanning the sky all around me. My senses were disoriented, which didn't help.
It's a D-Rank monster.
"There!"
A medium-sized bat that feeds on blood and uses echo pulses to disorient its targets.
Its abilities: Echolocation Shriek, Blood Drain, Swarm Calling.
I need to kill it quickly before it calls others.
A swarm makes them C-Rank.
I ran toward it, and it flew up into the sky.
Damn it… if it gets out of reach, I'll be in trouble.
"Tree Ladder!"
It's a technique Father taught me to use before I could use aura-based attacks.
I used the trees to climb closer to it, but it kept changing directions.
It needs to target me directly to attack—it can't strike from too far.
"Let's see how long you can run."
Wait.
Don't tell me it's luring me toward its swarm.
To test my suspicion, I changed direction slightly. It tried to bait me by coming closer.
You bloodsucker!
You think I'm an idiot!?
I slowly moved back toward the ground. To bait me again, it got a little closer.
Then I placed one foot on a branch and the other on the trunk for support. Pushing off, I rotated my body and threw my sword at it.
It got slightly injured and descended a bit. I quickly climbed higher and grabbed it.
It bit into my hand, trying to drain my blood. Its bite has a slight paralyzing effect, but I used the fall to crush it beneath me.
I tightened my grip around its neck, and the impact broke it.
I quickly ran to retrieve my sword and sprinted in the opposite direction from where it had been trying to lure me.
I felt a little sluggish from the paralysis, but it would wear off in a few minutes.
I will have to hide a little I am in no state to fight some other monsters.
Also I have to stay on guard maybe someone from it's swarm is also roaming around.