Exam Ends.

Chapter One (Continued)

"Wow, how is this possible? Weren't we just down in the room below the stairs?" Alex asked, squinting. He focused on one person in the distance and realized he could zoom in on them, even though there weren't any windows.

"It's about Spark magic. Look," Pericles said, extending his hand through the window. A slimy substance stretched out from his hand.

"This is realized Spark. What's a realized Spark? When you gather Spark in one place—like a rectangular shape—for years at a time, it starts to liquefy," Pericles explained.

"Wait, if that's true, why have I only seen this here?" Alex asked.

"Manpower. Slaves are necessary to do this because it takes centuries to form even a small rectangular shape of this stuff. It's extremely powerful too. It can resist up to Tier 6 Spark Magos," Pericles answered with a smile.

"It can also detect your thoughts and give you what you want. This one is programmed to zoom in on the person you're thinking of. Realized Sparks can be set up in different places to do different things. Only the most powerful empires have them," Pericles continued, retracting his hand.

Alex nodded and reached his hand in, feeling as if he were dipping it into a clear, gel-like substance. He nodded again and pulled his hand back, then sat down with the others to watch the unfolding scene below.

"It looks like only five people have figured out this is an illusion. Everyone else is still trying to climb the mountain, thinking there's some secret way to reach the top," Pericles observed.

In the Forest

Alicia was staring up at the sky.

"Damn it, no matter what I shoot, the damn illusion won't break..." she muttered through gritted teeth, wiping the sweat from her brow. She was drenched, her clothes clinging to her curves.

"Hm?" Alicia noticed something and looked over.

There was a figure at the top of one of the three large trees.

"We lost three people today. It seems we underestimated the talents of the examinees..." said a man wearing a black scarf and puffed-up black clothing.

"This mission must succeed..." he muttered, glancing down and noticing Alicia.

"Found one..."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"Huh?" Alicia didn't feel anything at first.

BSHHHHHHHHH!!!

She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach and lost consciousness within a second.

A hooded figure, showing only his black eyes, caught her body.

BZSSTTT...

He pulled out a stone.

"The entrance stone still has 23 hours left. After that, we'll need to get out, or our bodies will be forcibly expelled to the entrance open space," he said, looking around.

"Found one..."

Around the forest, people were being kidnapped one by one, but no one noticed—neither the examinees nor the supervisors. But what they didn't realize was...

At the top of the mountain, a man stood with a young boy on his shoulders, watching over the entire forest.

"Now, let's see... the king and..." he murmured.

Alex stayed in the room for three days, bored out of his mind. He couldn't understand how the others kept watching the scene continuously. He felt filthy and longed for a bath. They were given food three times a day, but this was the most boring experience he had ever endured.

"You know what, let's do it..." Alex muttered, looking up.

~~

[Mythology Simulation System

Start the simulation?

Life Simulator - Y/N

Prompt Simulator - Y/N

Summon Simulator - Y/N]

~~

"Do it..."

[At age 28, you passed the exam with flying colors, surprising everyone on the examiner's team. They didn't expect much from you initially, but you exceeded their expectations. You received compensation for defeating the enemy in the forest and were sent to the resting room before the exam ended.

At age 28, you noticed three flashes in the sky above the forest, moving around and colliding with each other as explosions filled the air. You wanted to escape, but as soon as you tried, your three new friends were killed. You managed to defend yourself and defeat the attacker, but after a few moments, the sky split apart, and an enormous beam of light incinerated you.]

~~

[You can keep one thing from the simulation:

The strength you had at age 28

The experience you had at age 28

The knowledge you had at age 28]

~~

"Huh?"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"Fuck..."

"What's wrong, Alex?" The others looked up at him.

Alex jumped up so fast that a sonic boom nearly erupted. He looked around, sweating, and answered, "We... kinda have a big problem..."

Up in the Mountains

A man watched as an individual carrying Alicia zipped around, finally moving out of his range.

"It looks like the guild has been spotted..."

He vanished in a flash.

A man in black rushed toward a specific destination.

"It's time. I managed to extend the limit for three days, but it has finally ended. We need to leave..." He took out a stone and uttered a few words.

"The mission is done. Return."

He hurried away toward a building that was the focal point of the illusion—a dome-like structure, about 80 meters long, made of sandstone with a golden tip.

The man stopped at the entrance and bowed.

"Mr. Ghost... the mission is over. We captured 30 highly talented youngsters. We lost three of our members, the strongest being Lami—" Before he could finish speaking—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A black light shot into the sky, attempting to escape, but—

"Where are you going... Asticious..."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Air pressure rippled through the atmosphere, striking the black light.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

With no other choice, the black light stopped the blow, waves of power radiating through the air and destroying much of the surrounding forest.

In the Supervisor Building at the University

Three Days Earlier

All the examiners were closely monitoring about 340 examinees, constantly using their minds to ensure no one cheated.

But now, everyone had furious expressions on their faces, barely holding themselves back from rushing out.

"Not now... hold it..." A man with an aristocratic demeanor commanded, his body trembling with tension. Alicia... was his daughter. He knew she had been kidnapped, but he couldn't do anything. He watched his daughter get taken and couldn't intervene. It was torturterous him. His hands were clenched so tightly that his clothes bore the imprint of his fingernails.

Then...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The building shook with intense light.

"NOW!!!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Lights flashed as the supervisors dispersed.

End of Chapter.