End of Tier 2 Exam

On the other side of the forest, the beast wandered hungrily, sniffing the scent of his next victim. He'd shredded two more candidates and was now impatiently awaited for the next.

His nostrils flared as he sniffed the scent of the approaching prey. He took a step back, poised to pounce on the prey as soon as he was in the vicinity.

*****

Evelyn noticed that her limbs were becoming numb. She was fatigued from walking nonstop. Her throat was dry, and her head was fuzzy due to an empty stomach. Waiting for the sunrise was all she hoped for.

From the corner of her eye, Evelyn stared at Felix. She kept a safe distance from him as they walked alone in the forest. The silence on the walk was frightening.

Suddenly, an arm seized her neck from behind and strangled her. Her eyes expanded in shock and bewilderment.

"Get off my back!" Felix yelled, which she heard.

She struggled to free herself but the grip was extremely tight. Suffocation turned her face blue-red. Her vision gradually clouded, and her wide-open eyes started closing on their own.

As soon as the attacker felt her struggle ceasing, she stomped on his leg with her heels, taking him in surprise, loosening the grip around her neck.

He clenched his teeth and swore profusely, "You unworthy woman."

Evelyn whirled around and pushed him away. She felt a sliver of agony in her throat when she touched it. She took a defensive position while gasping for air and looking at the attacker through half-opened eyes.

"You think you're gonna fight me, lady? Look at you," he said as he examined her. "One punch, just one punch is enough to knock you down." He laughed and stared at her with contempt.

Evelyn answered firmly, "We'll see, Mister." All those years of secret training with Earl had finally paid off. 

His male blood boiled as he gazed at her with disgust for daring to challenge him. He surged towards her with the intent of knocking her out. Evelyn swerved to the side and entangled his leg with her outstretched leg.

The man tripped on the ground, burying his face in the mud. He stood up and clenched his teeth, plainly expressing his distaste for her.

"How dare you!" He said glaring at the smugness on her face.

He braced himself for another attack, but Evelyn deflected it each time. Frustration welled up within him. He pulled out his combat knife and pointed it, threatening her.

Evelyn chuckled at the way he was holding it. The man had obviously never held a dagger before. The man was taken aback when he saw her smile and was completely perplexed.

He was drenched in sweat and exhausted from attacking yet unable to injure even a single hair of hers. This made him question his manhood and aroused his inner beast. He mustered all of his strength and leapt at her with the dagger in his hand. He went after her shoulder with the intention of slashing it.

Evelyn dodged his attack, profoundly and hit his wrist, loosening his grip on the dagger. The man's eyes widened as he watched the dagger fall from his grip. Evelyn bent down to grab it before it touched the ground and slashed his left leg and right arm.

She saw the man groaning in anguish as blood started oozing. He squeezed his eyes and fall on the ground, kneeling for the support. Opening his eyes, he saw Evelyn holding the dagger, ready to slit his neck.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" pleaded the man, his voice twitching.

"I smell fear," Felix said with a smug as he approached Evelyn.

Felix stood there, watching Evelyn fight the man the entire time. He had knocked down the man as soon as he grabbed his neck. Their strengths were incomparable. Felix simply seized his hand and twisted it, causing him to groan in pain, and the man was knocked off in a matter of seconds.

He looked at Evelyn and said, "You're good at combats."

She smiled valiantly and asked, "What to do with them?" She motioned at two guys, one of whom was unconscious on the ground and the other wailing for mercy.

"Kill them," Felix said sharply.

The man stared at him with wide eyes and shivered in terror. Evelyn was astounded as well.

Felix laughed and said, "Just kidding." "Look at the chicken twitching like a fish on land. What happened to your punch now?" His speech was laced with sarcasm.

Evelyn was perplexed when she stared at Felix. She hadn't realised he had been watching her the entire time.

"I reckon we should begin heading towards the forest's exit," she advised.

The sun had just begun to rise. There was no danger as the imposters were bound.

"How many candidates have you brutally murdered?" She enquired.

"Five," he replied. Evelyn looked at him in disgust.

"What about him?" Felix inquired, pointing to the man who was unconscious.

"None, he ain't an imposter. Believed whatever I said. What a knucklehead." Maniacally, the man laughed.

"What does it mean he is not an imposter? He went after Felix!" Evelyn interrogated him.

The man looked at Felix, "I said you two were an imposter and he believed. I thought we'd both kill you first, then slice his throat. But you women," he looked at Evelyn with an utter distaste and added, "ruined all my plans." As he stared at her, his eyes burned with contempt.

"Serves you right," Evelyn replied.

She heard a few footsteps approaching and turned in that direction, only to see two councilmen approaching.

Saerus gazed at the four candidates in front of him.

"Sir, we were told to report to the exit." He looked at a grey-haired man questioning him.

"Did you have any plans on your way out, young man?" Saemus questioned him. Felix shook his head once and looked perplexed at the sudden appearance of councilmen.

"I presume the tied ones are imposters," he said generally.

"Sorry to interrupt you, sir," Evelyn politely informed him, "but the unconscious man is innocent."

"That we will investigate by ourselves, young lady or should I address you as Princess," he said.

Evelyn was silent as she looked at the councilman, unsure how to respond. Any response she gave him right now would come off as an order. However, remaining silent would be disrespectful to the councilman. In the end, she decided to smile gently.

The councilman nodded and scribbled a few notes in a small diary. Evelyn turned to face Felix, only to find him staring at her, baffled. He was flabbergasted by the reveal, which she can clearly see from his disappeared colours from the face.

"Follow me back to the exit. The task is over," the councilman announced.

Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief. She expressed gratitude to God for keeping her alive. Her body, which was already fatigued, needed to relax. Her mind was on her comfortable cloud-like bed in her room as she followed him.

She whispered, "Finally it's over."