A monster burst out of the bushes and lunged straight for Ao, sinking its jaws into his arm without hesitation.
"A monster!? Already!?"
Ao immediately swung his fist at it, but the creature refused to let go.
There was a sickening tearing sound near his ear—
a moment later, the monster flew backward, his entire arm clenched between its teeth.
Ao leapt away in panic, clutching the stump where his arm used to be.
Thick, black sludge oozed from the wound, coating his palm.
The severed limb in the beast's mouth was melting into the same murky liquid.
His breath trembled as he stared the creature down.
It was huge like a wolf, with long, lean legs like a cheetah.
Its fur was pitch-black, dull and shadowy rather than flashy.
Screams from other examinees echoed through the forest—
cries, wails, the tearing of flesh. Even the sound of footsteps faded, as if the entire forest was holding its breath.
"Looks like… Layer 1 isn't gonna be easy, huh…"
He forced a weak smile and raised his remaining arm to guard.
Wind rustled through the leaves, like the quiet breathing of a hidden predator.
The two glared at each other, neither moving an inch. A deep growl rumbled from the monster's throat.
Ao dug his feet in, refusing to budge.
Suddenly, the monster pounced, jaws aimed at his throat— but Ao managed to spring backward in time.
He rolled across the dirt just as it charged again, forcing him to scramble to his feet.
"Damn, you're fast!!"
The beast lunged again. Ao countered with a desperate punch, clipping its skull—
Thud!
"Yelp!!"
The impact knocked the creature off its trajectory.
It's tough…! And that was me punching with everything I had…
He narrowed his eyes, refusing to break focus.
The monster growled again, fur bristling as it prepared to pounce once more.
Fwish!
Ao threw a counterpunch as soon as he heard its footstep—
But hit nothing but air.
The real attack hit his leg.
"Shit!!"
No time to react— the beast yanked him off his feet and dragged him across the ground at high speed.
Ao slammed into roots, rocks, and branches as he was pulled through the forest.
"Gah—! Ugh—!! Stop—!!"
He kicked at it with his remaining foot, but the blows were too light. After a long, violent drag, the monster suddenly skidded to a stop—
—and Ao's body flew forward with all the leftover momentum.
Crack!
"Guh—!!"
He slammed into a tree so hard the air blasted out of his lungs.
"You damn mutt…" he growled weakly, pushing himself upright.
The moment he got to his feet—
He collapsed again.
His eyes widened. His ankle was gone. Completely torn off.
The monster held the missing foot between its teeth, the limb already melting.
With uneven footing and only one arm, Ao forced himself to stand, guard raised.
He couldn't think of anything except survival.
No matter the injury, he wasn't going to die here.
The creature snarled again. Ao stared right back, tension swirling in his chest.
His mind drifted to Renuru's lesson— the one about Release.
"First, relax your muscles. Stop tensing. Deep breaths. Slow, steady."
The shaking in his body slowly calmed. His breathing smoothed out.
"Then—you'll need something to ignite your emotions. Imagine yourself in a real fight."
Ignite emotions… imagine fighting…
FWIP!!
The creature lunged for his leg again— but this time its fangs couldn't pierce him.
The air around Ao shifted.
Mana burst from his body like a dam exploding.
He raised his fist overhead, eyes blazing—
And drove his arm straight through the monster's torso.
CRUNCH!!
"Yelp—!!"
Its death cry was cut short as its body went limp.
Ao exhaled deeply, as if he'd been holding his breath the entire time.
"Man… that was suffocating. Why doesn't this feel anything like back then? But… at least I survived."
He looked at the arm he'd used to strike.
Crack…
Fractures split across its surface like broken clay.
"H–huh!? Why's it cracking!?"
His arm shattered instantly, pieces falling off until nothing remained.
He stared at the stump, bewildered.
"What the hell is happening!?"
Then he remembered the announcer's words.
"Right… the clone body only feels about 20% of the pain.
Guess losing limbs isn't a big deal here… so now what? I've got no arm again."
He sighed, cursing himself under his breath.
Eventually, his limbs regenerated completely.
"A-amazing…
So the regeneration resets the whole limb from scratch!?"
Just then, a robotic voice chimed from the sticker:
"15 points acquired."
"Fifteen points…? So monsters give points too, huh? Hopefully stronger monsters give more, otherwise that's gonna be annoying."
He muttered while watching the corpse melt into sludge.
Then he looked at his hands again.
"This body's a lot more fragile than I thought… One punch and my arm explodes… This exam has too many restrictions."
He sighed again.
He moved deeper into the forest. The screams had mostly faded, and even the monster noises were scarce.
"Looks like everyone else managed to beat theirs… Probably the lowest-tier monsters."
He didn't sound pleased.
Another rustle— Another ambush.
The same kind of monster leapt out.
Ao dodged easily, grabbed it midair, snapped its neck cleanly.
"15 points acquired."
"That's like… what, the fifth one? Fifteen times five… seventy-five? Can't believe I almost died to these things…"
He watched it melt away again.
After that, he encountered more of the exact same beast— defeating each one without struggle.
"So boring… I expected something way more intense. This is almost putting me to sleep."
He yawned.
His thoughts drifted.
Every time I try to Release… it never feels like when I fought at Terromagia.
My attacks get stronger, sure— but it feels wrong. Heavy. Like I'm forcing my body.
Renuru said it requires emotional flare and imagining a real fight… but doing that just feels… uncomfortable.
What am I missing…?
He jogged forward, heading toward Layer 2.
Leaves cracked under his feet. The endless forest stretched out ahead.
Despite everything, the wind, birdsong, and rustling grass felt strangely calming—
Thunk!!
"Huh—?!"
Something pierced his leg.
He had been sprinting straight ahead when a gravel bullet struck him clean through the knee.
His body collapsed forward, rolling violently across the ground until he lay flat in the dirt.
He blacked out for a moment.
When he came to, confusion hit him all at once.
He tried to stand— and collapsed again.
"My leg…"
His knee was completely pulverized.
"Damn it—!"
CRACK!!
Debris exploded near him as another shot slammed into a tree.
Shards of stone ricocheted and struck his face.
"A sniper…!? Where!? From where!?"
Ao dragged himself behind a large trunk.
"It doesn't hurt much… but that was a direct hit to the knee… Can't move like this…"
He peeked out— a shot forced him back instantly.
More followed.
A hailstorm of gravel bullets hammered the tree, sounding like a battlefield. Dust sprayed everywhere.
He couldn't hear anything except gunfire.
"I know where you are now… Behind me, huh…?
Five minutes. I just need to wait five minutes for the leg to heal.
But this guy's firing nonstop!!"
He tried to glance out again, but no opening appeared. The barrage was too dense.
Each bullet hit like violent rainfall.
Ao kept his back pressed to the tree— but then he felt it.
A vibration.
A tremor not caused by the bullets. Something moving beneath the ground.
Every sense in his body screamed.
His muscles reacted on instinct— He kicked himself sideways with his remaining leg—just in time.
BOOM!!
The tree exploded behind him.
Stone spikes had shot up from the ground, piercing straight through where his torso had been.
He would've been skewered.
"…Whaaat the…? How'd you dodge that…? Thought you wouldn't notice…"
A strange, lazy voice came from the bushes.
A boy emerged— holding a wand, slumped over like he was exhausted.
Ao froze at the sight of him. This was the one who nearly killed him.
The boy raised his wand smugly.
"Hey you… You're that guy with the empty score, right?
Looks like you're not as weak… as I thought."