Chapter 11: The final test (2)
Ivo appeared in the middle of a very dense forest. Various kinds of trees towered and their leaves formed a canopy that could block sunlight from entering the forest.
It's like entering a tropical rainforest. It looked beautiful and calming but Ivo knew there were all sorts of unknown dangers here.
Recalling, the third test was never explained clearly by the supervisors. They only said that this test was a point hunt, but did not say the essence of this test.
Survive
Even though it sounds unreasonable, this is a survival test set up by the white snow academy. A cruel test that throws all the trash that is not worthy of entering the academy.
White Snow Academy only accepts as many as 100 people each year. With more than 1,000 people who took the second test, it's not surprising that the test takers will try their hardest to become one of the 100 people.
This is why this test is called a survival test.
"I have to get out of this forest." Ivo started walking towards the north. Even though he had passed this last test several times, he had no clear idea of how large this place was.
Krsskkk…
"...?!" Ivo heard something and his instincts told him something very dangerous. He immediately jumped aside and took cover behind a tree. Where he stood, 3 sharp stones were stuck into the ground.
"You must be kidding." Ivo cursed under his breath. He had walked only a few minutes just to encounter a monster.
It's a rock monkey. A monkey with some parts of its body covered by stones.
'This is bad, I don't have the means to kill him at long range.' His current weapon was a sword, not a bow or spear. If he insisted on fighting at long range, he would lose. Primarily the monkey has the terrain advantage while he will be at a huge disadvantage.
Plakkk…Plaakkk…Plakkk…
Sharp stones shot right at the tree where Ivo took cover. The rock monkey continued shooting 3 times before stopping.
Ivo peeked at the monkey from behind a tree. 'He's up in a tree, about 50 meters away. Still not enough. I have to finish them at once'
"KUAAAAKKKK!!!!" The loud sound resounded through the forest and attracted many other monkeys.
5 monkeys hung from one tree to another and came to where the first monkey was. Stone monkeys are monsters that live in small groups. They rarely drift too far from their group.
Sharp stones shot again at the tree where Ivo had taken cover. But it couldn't penetrate the tree trunk.
Not yet…Still not…
The heart of fearlessness responds to resistance and continues to increase its power. Moreover, Ivo's current state was extremely weak where his mana senses were sealed and he couldn't sense outside magic. His status has almost touched the 3-digit number.
Kuakkk!!! Kuakkk!!! Kuakkk!!! The monkeys were angry because they couldn't beat their prey and started to cling to the tree where Ivo was hiding.
"...?" They jumped from the tree only to see no humans there. There was only gray smoke before disappearing.
Just as they were about to turn around, a sword blade cut through the throat of one of the rock monkeys, separating its head from its body.
"...!!!" they were confused to see this incident. One of the stone monkey's heads detached from its body again.
Out of thin air, Ivo's figure slowly appeared. He didn't waste much time before the monkeys reacted to what was happening. Ivo swung his sword right at the stone monkey's shoulder.
His blade smoothly cut right at the joints of her wrists. Not stopping there, Ivo immediately proceeded to cut right around the neck and separate the head from the monkey's body.
Kuaaaakkkk!!! the two remaining rock monkeys let out an angry scream and rushed toward him. Their bodies slowly turned to stone and covered vital parts like necks.
They know if they do this, they can never live a normal life again. But anger controls their bodies because of grief over the death of their group members.
"2 left." Ivo didn't move and took a defensive stance. He observed with all of his senses and caught the stone monkey's path and made a prediction of the incoming attack in his head. With a state where his head didn't have the pain from the clash of his talents, doing something like attack prediction was very easy for him.
The stone monkeys clenched their fists and turned them into stone. They started hitting Ivo from all directions.
Ivo blocked that first strike with his sword and counterattacked right in the heart of one of the stone monkeys. The light of life disappeared from his eyes.
"Keuk…Shit." A hard punch landed on his right shoulder. He had no time to react as his senses slowly dulled back to their original state.
had no time to react as his senses gradually dulled back to their natural state.
The fewer enemies you fight, the less boost the heart of fearlessness provides.
[Magic arrows]
A magic arrow shot straight through toward the last rock monkey's head. Luckily the monkey fell in front of him after throwing his punch so the arrow didn't miss.
"Damn I didn't expect the duration of the distortion body to be that short." Ivo fell and leaned against one of the trees.
Before the monkeys could get to his place, Ivo activated his talent and transformed his whole body so that it blended with nature. This talent doesn't use any mana because it's a change made by the body directly.
"Moreover…" Ivo checked the information panel and looked at the races section. [Human: 97%]
"I only used it for 10 seconds but it has decreased by 2%. I have to be more careful next time." Ivo woke up and started walking out of the woods. Currently, his body is filled with blood that can attract monsters closer.
Ivo could bear no more fighting. He had to conserve as much stamina as possible in this final test. Since he already knew what was going to happen Ivo had no interest in having more fights.
"This is going to be a very long day."
…
At the outskirts of the forest, Ivo thrust his sword into the hairy monster's head. It was a monster called a shallow river monster. They are usually found in groups on the banks of rivers.
"This is the last one." He drew his sword from the monster's head. Around him, as many as 10 to 20 lay down and died with many slashes carved in their body. The blood flowing from the monsters made a pool of blood. A rotten smell spread around the place.
Even though he avoided getting into battle not everything went his way. He was lucky enough to find a shallow river monster. Although they live in groups, shallow river monsters are not creatures that live interdependently like rock monkeys. The shallow river monster's blood could be used to prevent other monsters from approaching. He just had to endure the stench emanating from the monster's blood.
Ivo made a simple resting place and proceeded to dismember the monster's body and extract its heart.
Ivo popped the heart straight into his mouth and ate it deliciously. Even though it looks disgusting from the outside, the taste it gives is not too bad. Ignoring appearances, it was like eating sashimi.
Since morning he did not eat much food. Plus he had to fight against monsters ever since coming here with very dull senses. Stamina is quite drained.
If it wasn't for the effect of the heart of fearlessness, he would have immediately died miserably.
"They should have increased my points by now." Ivo put down his sword and took a dip in the river.
"Open points." Ivo holds the pin Argon gave him back in the hall. The crystal in the center of the pin shows the number he currently has.
10,000.
Ivo had a bitter expression on his face. "10,000. That's pretty high. The point scoring system is terrible." Participants' points will be assessed not only from hunting monsters, but all actions taken will increase the points they have.
What's more, points cannot be shared with other people. Examinees must defeat people and earn their points. This causes a lot of betrayals to happen to the people who make up the group.
Ivo looked left and right. He was sure, somewhere someone must be watching him right now. As he looked back at the pin. The numbers slowly started to add up.
12,000
Ivo shook his head and sighed softly. "haahhh... You don't make it easy for me."
…
Far up in the hills, a woman in academy teacher's attire sat in a tree and watched Ivo graham. In front of her is a screen showing candidate Ivo graham's data.
"This should be enough. Argon said to pay extra attention to him because he is an interesting person."
"Really, Can't that man take his job seriously? Letting two people start the exam early with very high points."
She felt sorry for candidates Ivo Graham and Kevin Heider. Even though they were still candidates, his heart ached if talented people like them were to be hunted down.
"Forget it, I have to get on with my work. If they were indeed talented, these two would past this test. If not…it's better to throw away useless trash."