Chapter 34: The Exam's Under Dog (Part 2)

"I suddenly got an idea... but it's not a good one." Julius murmured as he gazed at the two trees. "Nightmare Domain."

[Nightmare Level 1: Nightmare Domain.]

[Energy: 100% -> 98% -> 96%]

Suddenly, the stars and the moons disappeared and a single waxing crescent moon was visible in the night sky of this other world. Julius's domain had been deployed. 

In the distance, Julius could feel a few monsters, but none that resembled humans. He must've been truly far behind. 

"This place is filled with monsters, haha…" Julius muttered as he walked up to the the trees and stood in between them. 

It was then that a shadow string burst out of the left tree and onto the right tree. Multiple shadow strings overlapped on top of this shadow string, creating a thick string connecting the two trees.

After that, Julius pushed against the string with his back, causing it to stretch out farther and farther as he walked away from the trees. 

At one point, the string had stretched so far back that it was trembling. Julius tried pushing even further but it wouldn't move.

"It's my first time doing something like this… will it really work?" Julius asked as he angled himself so it would launch him up high into the air. 

Julius's plan was to create a slingshot to catapult himself. So far it looked perfect.

"Oh well, only one to find-."

Julius's feet, which had been holding the elastic string back, slipped at that very moment. 

"Ah-"

In that instant, he shot straight up into the air. 

"Ouutttt!!" He yelled.

He soared through the sky, resembling a speeding bullet. Only when the wind pressure slammed against his face did he realize how bad the idea really was.

The distance of his domain was also 800 meters, and he had left it in seconds, so he had no way to stop himself once he'd start to fall.

'I'm fucked!' Julius yelled inwardly. 

- 

On their way to the cliff, a few candidates in a group couldn't help but look up at the air as they saw a figure zoom past them.

"What the fuck was that!?" 

"Another monster!?"

By the time they looked up at the sky, Julius was already gone.

-

"Honestly, that Julius… He always finds a way to surprise me." Ruby muttered to herself as she leapt from tree to tree whilst invisible.

She had just barely caught a glimpse of him in the distance before losing sight of him. 

"Well, at least I know what direction he's in."

-

"Hey! Did anyone catch that on camera just now? Something just zoomed past the screen in the air." 

"Must've been a candidate with the ability to fly. We haven't set up any cameras on the air though so we weren't able to catch it… for now let's wait until it lands and broadcast in that area.." 

Those at the table, whose attention had been focused on the many students fighting, had momentarily turned their attention to a single screen which had showed a glimpse of the dark-haired flying individual. 

-

-

-

In the middle of the forest, two candidates engaged in active combat, keeping a distance of a few meters between them. 

One was a brown haired candidate who launched constant earth spikes from the ground at a green haired candidate who deflected them with air swipes. 

They were constantly on the move, alternating from offense to defense. They were completely absorbed in their battle. 

[Earth Formation: Quagmire.]

Slamming his left leg on the floor, the brown-haired student created a quagmire into which the green-haired student unintentionally fell.

"Shit!" The green-haired boy cursed as earth spikes rose from around him, stopping by his neck. 

He was unable to move, and sharp spikes were placed around his throat. It was his loss.

"Do you surrender?" The brown haired young man asked.

"Tch, I surre-"

*Fwoosh!*

In the midst of surrendering, a figure blew past them, crashing straight through the trees and sliding down the field before stopping fifty meters away. 

"What the fuck!?" 

Both candidates stared in the direction that the figure had crashed. 

There was a young curly black haired man sat below a broken tree. Blood was flowing down his head and he was covered in injuries. 

His right hand was holding a dark ominous-looking sword, and his left hand covered his chest tag [378] to protect it. 

"Fuck, is he dead? Where did he-"

A swipe of air was launched at the brown haired candidate while he was distracted, cutting his cheek.

"I was aiming for your neck but you managed to avoid it…" 

He stared in the direction on the green haired candidate only to discover that he had freed himself from the quagmire and trap during the time he was distracted by the unusual individual.

"You little shit…" 

"No one told you to get distracted." The green haired candidate grinned. "That quagmire trick won't work on me aga-" 

Suddenly, the starry sky above their heads became pitch black and the two moons disappeared, leaving just a crescent moon visible above the candidates' heads.

"Aah… that was close… I almost died just now…" 

In the distance, a different voice could be heard. Turning to the source they found Julius slowly approaching them with his sword in hand. Injured, he staggered towards them.

Based on his condition, it didn't seem like he was capable of taking anyone on a fight. However, they weren't sure why, but with every step that he took… 

Their instincts screamed at them to run. 

"But finally… I've found some candidates…" Julius grinned coldly. 

The two candidates which had fought one another glanced at each other. 

"Hey, let's sort out our problems after this, this guy looks dangerous."

"I don't want to work with you, but I'll make an exception this time." 

Julius was perceived as the greater threat, so they decided to work together to beat him. They had a feeling that if they didn't they would die. 

"Don't hold me back." The brown haired candidate grinned nervously.

"I could say the same to you." The green haired candidate responded with a smile.