บท 27: Real Objective

We are spawning on the south 600 meters to our objective, approximately; it was a Minotaur.

"Can you run faster?" Sonia asked me.

But do you think I can consistently run at 25 kph? They're running like it's nothing—what's going on with these people? Even Alisha!

I chuckled, panting heavily. I was too tired to run faster. I needed a brief rest.

"Stamina!" Sonia used her skill on me. I didn't allow it to, but she still cast it.

I felt a lot better, but I knew it was only temporary.

"Do you want me to lift and carry you?" Ginger offered, but I hesitated. I'd rather not be carried by a girl.

That's how Mel pointed out the enemy, even though she could already see it. How convenient to be a ranger!

"Wait, why do we have two supporters? A ranger and me. How can a four-range type be on the same team? "I ask everyone like it was a general question.

"Maybe they give a specific member a better understanding of the skill," Sonia said.

"In that case, I should switch to melee too!" I declared, revealing my bag and transforming it into a sword.

"Wow!" Everyone exclaimed, but I knew the feeling of witnessing a transformed weapon. It wasn't your average daily weapon.

"Let's go!" I said as we spotted the cow-like monster standing on its own two feet—it was a minotaur. Our objective in this exam was—

"Ginger, aim for its heart or weaken it by cutting its horn," I instructed. "With two supports now, even if we fail, the healer can keep up!"

I knew its weaknesses.

"Okay," Ginger replied.

"Alisha, prepare the paralysis potion," I said.

But as I took the potion out, I noticed something odd. Why was the glass so thick? How could I break it after throwing?

I handed her some bottles from my inventory for examination.

I took out paralysis and poison potions from my bag. We applied poison to Ginger's sword, and once everything was ready...

This was also taught in school—poison weakens the opponent gradually during a fight. It's effective but risky.

*Crack* I hurled a paralysis potion. As we hid, the Minotaur slowed and eventually became paralyzed.

Ginger swiftly moved in, aiming to strike the Minotaur's neck. Her first attempt resulted in a shallow cut, so she aimed for its heart.

"Guwaaaah!" The Minotaur's scream faded as its life ebbed away.

I stood idle, and Mel remained patient. Our goal wasn't to kill the monster in the usual way but to assist the student in gaining points.

"That was easy!" Mel said.

I understood what she meant; compared to the ogre we faced earlier, this was a breeze.

"Then let's go," Ginger said, dissatisfied with the fight.

However, I had a plan. Killing the Minotaur wasn't the real objective of the examination—it was merely a requirement to pass the test.

Meanwhile...

Many officials closely monitored a single person on the screen. Viewers had access to thousands of drone-recorded videos showcasing how each student completed their fights. The students' statuses were indicated by icons: a red dot for those in battle, a blue light for those still in progress, a green light for those who finished but hadn't returned, and drones were off for the deceased or returning students.

"Look at how he slashed the monster! Equivalent to a mid-boss dungeon in the green wormhole. This student shouldn't hide, or he'll waste away," said the explorer government official.

"Exactly, wanting to be an explorer just for personal gain!" added the defender government official.

These officials, known as recruiters, were observed by numerous curious onlookers.

In a corner of the crowd, two figures observed the exam.

"What are you doing, Cliff? Being the best in the world doesn't mean you can do as you please! Fix your clothes; why remove your suit? Maintain formality," scolded the man in black, holding a wand.

"Don't worry, Ken. We need to recruit someone who'll meet people's expectations. We need to act fast before those undesirables do," Cliff said, gesturing angrily towards the government official.

Apart from the government, private recruiters affiliated with ranking organizations were also present.

Among them were Erdene Cliff, a 5th-world ranker in the swordsman class, and Ken Shui, a 7th-world ranker classified as a mage. Both shared the objective of recruiting the highest achieving and earliest finishing students.

"What's the name of that student?" Cliff inquired to an Avalon staff member who checked the information.

"Sir, it's Steve. He was a swordsman and the top ranker in our school!"

"Ah, I see, I see!" With this information, Cliff's mission was clear—he needed to recruit Steve.

No student passed up the opportunity to join the ranks of the best. The organization of top rankers in the world was almost entirely under the control of this private government.

After observing Steve, Cliff witnessed him continue hunting more monsters.

Each wormhole has its own ruined city, referred to as a dungeons—a special place for monsters within the wormhole, akin to their spawning grounds. These monsters continuously spawn, much like in RPGs, making it an area no one ventures into.

Even rankers avoid these dungeons because the ruins interfere with the bracelet's wave signal. Drones may work, but the teleport feature of the bracelet becomes unable to be used to teleport back. This makes it extremely dangerous, yet no one is stopping Steve from entering.

In this battle, every responsibility falls on the students.

Hence, all recruiters meticulously observe every move and action of the students, sometimes unintentionally capturing even their private moments on screen during this exam.

[Returning to Felix…]

"As I suspected, Steve would be here! But where are Elina and the other members?" I muttered to myself after spotting Steve.

Steve ought to be aware of the risks of exploring the dungeon. However, I know this is where he'll gain some of his most valuable abilities and skills. In the story, he also gains another skill during this exam.

"Steve!" Sonia exclaimed joyfully, waving at him.

I tried to communicate with Steve using my eyes, inquiring about his actions, but he merely tilted his head in response.

"Hmm..." Sonia appeared like a lost child seeking her parents after a long separation, clearly looking for Elina.

"She's already gone back," Steve said sadly. He and Sonia had known each other for a long time.

"What?!" Sonia exclaimed, seemingly disappointed by Elina leaving their friend behind.

"Well, I asked her to leave first because of her trauma. I'm here to earn more points for our group, but killing monsters only yields 0.01 points. How do we gain more points this way?" Steve complained about the scoring. Despite killing 50 monsters, he had only earned a score of 0.5.

"I know how we can score more!" I said.

Everyone looked at me as if I were crazy, but Steve gazed at me with genuine belief.

So, we pursued higher scores, just as Steve wanted. After this exam, in my memories...

I recall he attempted to reject recruitment by the private government of high rankers, facing backlash, and eventually joined the explorer government. Still, tragedy struck during a raid on the Red Wormhole when Elina succumbed after being trapped by those high-ranking individuals.

How do I know? I wrote it, and now I regret it after all.