Somewhere deeper in the mist-filled forest, a girl with snow-white hair strolled through the silence causally.

Her crimson eyes scanned the surroundings without blinking as if the dense fog didn't affect her at all.

The mist gathered at her feet but she didn't seem to notice… Or care.

Then,

"RUMBLEE~"

A low growl echoed from her stomach, breaking the eerie silence of the forest.

She blinked once as a frown appeared on her lips.

"…hungry?"

It had been a day since the entrance exam started and Arza had done nothing but wander around the forest while occasionally dealing with hordes of beasts.

But even a high-blood demon like her had limits.

Her fingers slipped into the inner pocket of her coat and pulled out a half-eaten chocolate bar as she took a small bite carefully.

Then,

Fshhh.

A wind blade hissed through the fog, coming straight for her head.

She bent backward, spine arching in a fluid motion, never looking away from the chocolate in her hand.

Still chewing on chocolate and still expressionless.

Another wind blade followed, lower this time, angling toward her waist.

She jumped weightlessly, letting it pass beneath her.

Not a single hair was out of place.

Not a single emotion appeared on her face.

The chocolate melted slowly on her tongue, leaving a faint warmth in an otherwise cold world.

Only once it was gone—completely dissolved—did she turn her head and put the remaining chocolates back.

And finally… look toward the direction of the attack.

There she saw a horde of orcs led by an orc chieftain.

But that wasn't what caught her eye.

Standing behind them, small and hunched beneath a dark robe, was something stranger.

An orc… wearing a mage-like robe with a twisted wooden staff in hand. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto her from the shadows.

A shaman.

She blinked once.

So that's the one who dared to interrupt her chocolate.

With a blink of an eye, she vanished from her position, appearing straight behind the shaman.

A long blood-red schythe curved like a crescent moon appeared in her hand, its edge glowing with cold light.

Without a word or any hesitation, she swung.

One clean, merciless arc without any wasted movement.

But before it could connect with the orc a mana-barrier appeared before the shaman as the other orcs attacked her.

But she didn't flinch.

"Shatter."

A single word spoken in a voice without warmth.

The mana barrier cracked… then broke like fragile glass.

Her scythe sliced clean through the shaman, parting its body in two as easily as paper.

She didn't stop

Her mana surged through the blade until the edges began to pulse with something forgotten.

Something ancient.

A power that once belonged to gods, now buried by time.

Then, with one sweeping slash,

A crescent wave of dark energy shot outward, brimming with red lightning.

The world stilled for a moment as the crescent arced across the battlefield, cutting through the orcs charging at her from every direction.

They didn't scream.

They didn't bleed.

They just… stopped.

Their bodies didn't have a single injury…

… and yet each orc collapsed, like puppets with broken strings.

She didn't smile.

She just reached into her coat and pulled out the half-eaten chocolate…

…and took another slow and silent bite of the last chocolate she had left as if nothing had happened.

—

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the mist-drenched forest…

A girl with lavender hair and golden eyes sprinted through the forest, her breaths ragged and uneven.

Blood dripped from a deep gash along her arm and one of her eyes was swollen shut.

How? How is there a D-rank monster in this test?

Didn't they say, the test will only have monsters at E-rank and below?

Even as Sylvie ran, her mind raced to make sense of the monstrosity she had encountered.

Her body shivered slightly even as she recalled the horrific appearance it had.

Sixteen eyes on its stomach which twisted with every step. A mouth which continued to cry like a child. A body which looked like a mixture of a human and a goat. And a skull covering where its head should have been.

And most of all, that undeniably strong aura… That monstrous pressure that bent the air around it.

She had never felt anything like it. It wasn't just strong. It was wrong. At least at D-rank.

And worse? She hadn't seen its kind in any textbook.

Maybe it was a mutated hybrid of this forest?

She didn't know and she didn't care.

All she knew was that she should have died.

If not for her tough body…

But she couldn't afford to overthink as she could hear the same wailing sound following her.

She pushed her legs harder, even as pain stormed through her chest and limbs.

I need to run away faster.

Her thoughts grew even more desperate.

I can't die.

Not like this.

Not without taking my revenge.

But before she could run anymore, her body froze.

Not from fear but from something far worse.

Invisible strings of mana coiled around her, stopping her every movement.

Her limbs locked.

Her jaw clenched.

Not even a twitch of her finger obeyed her.

She wanted to scream but no sound came out.

Panic erupted in her chest as the strings started digging in.

And then, she felt it.

The sound.

That wretched, unnatural wailing.

It wasn't behind her anymore.

It was right next to her ear.

So close, she could feel its breath.

She closed her eyes.

Is this how I die?

In her final moments she didn't feel fear… instead she felt regret.

I'm sorry, Mom… Dad…

I couldn't even take revenge for you.

And then,

Silence.

But it wasn't the silence of death.

It was the silence of something else arriving.

Something that made even the wailing… stop.

—

Author's Note

If you are enjoying the story don't forget to send some power stones, golden tickets, gifts or even super gifts. Rael will accept them all with open arms and absolutely zero shame.

And don't forget to drop a comment—I read every single one.

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