Strings of extensive movements came along as Ena struggled to evade the pursuit of multiple people simultaneously.
[Time left for the current section: 4:06… 5… 4…]
Beside her, a timer was slowly ticking down as time passed, and she continued to grumble with each dodge. On her sleeve, she bore a golden mark, a triangle connected to a line, resembling a flag.
It wasn't just her sleeve that shared that burden, but everywhere on her clothing.
"Come on, Miss Semi-pure! Don't let them catch you!" The speaker said enthusiastically, enjoying the show from a different screen.
'That audacious bitch! Rooting for me as if she hadn't given me all these restraints!'
"Even if you're caught, all you have to do is disconnect from their touch before three seconds. Come on, I know you're better than this. You got my full support!"
At this moment, Ena couldn't tell whether the vein that popped out of her forehead was from her anger or from her exhaustion—but it was safe to assume it might have been both. Yet, despite acknowledging her own anger, she had nowhere to vent it. All she could do was grit her teeth and endure her teasing words.
Instead of focusing on her teasing, she made use of her memories and carefully recited each rule to familiarize herself. Just earlier, after the declaration of Ena's role as headmaster, she heard the voice of the teasing woman in her mind.
***
"To all the flag bearers, all you need to do is mark the headmaster with your flag three times. In doing so, you will pass this test with average marks. Here's the catch: you can only install one flag per sector. Also, naturally, this is an individual test, which means each of you needs three flags of your own."
Ena focused entirely on her explanation; however, she soon realized that it was a fatal mistake. Although she had kept her guard closed, with most of her cards restricted, she was a beat delayed from noticing a sole participant reaching out to her. Just as her opponent closed in, she had reacted, but again, with her chains, she was slightly delayed.
With a single grasp, the pursuer caught the semi-pure's sleeve. Still unclear of the rules, she hesitantly cast his hands away from her sleeve.
Unfortunately for her, the moment the three-second mark had passed, a slight spark was ignited.
"So impatient. To think you'd strike the moment she was surprised. I didn't even get to mention that you need three seconds of touch to instill a flag yet."
Seeing that the sole participant was left unpunished by the moderator, they realized the test had actually started, and they changed their gazes into vicious glares—all directed to the semi-pure.
"How bold. Well, I guess I expected something like this, but this early? Where do you get such courage? I'm so envious. As I was saying, for the headmaster, your goal is to guarantee that you do not have more than 25 flags instilled in your body. If you do, you will fail, while every single present flag bearer will pass.
I'm done, so have fun~."
***
Since then, six minutes had passed, and 12 additional golden flag marks had appeared on her clothes. Mixed with those flags were rags and scratches that revealed wounds underneath, received from the weapons of other participants.
Which wouldn't have happened if the speaker hadn't questioned why they were not using weapons during the first two minutes. Since then, she has had a harder time evading their constant attacks, relying solely on her own hands for defense.
But the fact that they forbade her from killing made her retort even more. Knowing this truth angered her entire being because it forced her to only evade, with no way to refute her opponents.
"… At least, right now, killing is forbidden. So hang in there, little miss~" The speaker said. "The headmaster already has multiple restraints; any more will only be unfair to them."
"BULLSHIT! IF ANYTHING, THIS RULE IS HOLDING ME BACK EVEN MORE!"
"Aw, really? Well, I can't just get rid of it, can I? After all, it would be unfair to all the previous headmasters if I gave you special treatment… Besides, not everyone is like you, you know."
Ena bit her lip, listening to her words, grinding her teeth as she forcibly tried to calm herself.
'It's fine, it's fine! The first sector is done, anyway!'
Aligning with her thoughts, the timer hit zero, creating a loud, alarming sound that echoed through the entire room. Bringing the first section to its end.
"Ten minutes already? Well, I can't do anything about it, sigh… To everyone who didn't manage to set their flags, you all fail. Nice meeting you!"
According to her words, the eight participants who surrounded her vanished into golden dust, disappearing completely from the room, leaving only 12 people remaining. Following suit, a robotic voice filled her ear, which somewhat lessened her frustration.
[All types of internal energy have been restored.]
"Now that the second sector has begun, one out of five of the restraints has been abolished. Oh, yeah~ Keep in mind—for each new sector, one restraint that is holding the headmaster will be severed."
Ignoring the speaker's annoying voice, Ena gazed at the blue window screen with disappointment trailing from ear to ear.
That was solely because internal energy was her weakest stat.
That was because internal energy was her weakest stat. However, she didn't complain. Although being her weakest state and having yet to reach the proficiency of mana storage, it was still undoubtedly useful because internal energy—like mana—can be used to substitute strength.
Though possible, there was still a lingering problem that remained: Mana was not the internal energy used for body enhancement. While possible, controlling it was as difficult as rolling a boulder down a steep hill.
Because she still hasn't unlocked the full potential of path divergence, only making it to the fourth stage, just below mana storage, Qi was a scarce resource.
***
"I told you it would be entertaining to watch. So, what do you think? I'm open to any thoughts."
Kilian said, his eyes scanning Haruo's expression, as he kept tabs on the screen.
"That speaker… She's almost as annoying as you. I see quite the resemblance," Haruo said in a hoarse tone, his face glued to the screen.
"Path divergence really is interesting, isn't it? The moment you begin, your entire life changes. It can even serve as a substitute for a person's ability if they lack one. And while multiple people use it, it doesn't mean it's easy."
Kilian brought a cup to his lips, lightly blowing the steaming tea in his hand before taking a sip. Haruo, confused by his sudden shift, temporarily set his eyes off the screen and scanned Kilian thoroughly.
"Where are you getting at?"
"What sets you and Ena apart from people is that you two are very special. While most focus on deciding which path to take, you maximize the things you have now…"
Haruo sharpened his gaze, his mind instantly recognizing his reasoning. "How long have you known?"
Without any clear evidence, Haruo made a bold assumption, and because of his baseless accusation, Kilian couldn't help but laugh to himself.
"How'd you know I was talking about that?"
"It was a thought that appeared in my head."
"I already knew when I first saw you. The fact that you can't even choose which path to take. And besides, wouldn't it be strange to you when a person at the peak of path divergence still can not change his internal energy?
A person who can't even use his ability properly without backlash. It was obvious from the start. You are weak."
"…"
"If it were anybody else, you could have fooled them."
The surrounding air turned stiff, with the temperature slowly decreasing as seconds ticked by.
"What do you want?"
"Wow, you even froze my tea," Kilian said, turning his cup upside down. The tea had solidified, becoming a block that stuck to the cup as though it were glued.
"But since we're on the topic, what I want is simple. Where did Seiji die? Where his gravestone is. Not too demanding, right?"
Haruo sighed, casting away his hostility, and continued to watch Ena through the screen.
"It's not like I was trying to hide the fact that I was weak, anyway."
Hearing his reply, Kilian chuckled to himself, thawing his tea back to liquid form before taking another sip.
***
Although Qi was a scarce resource for her, she had spent most of her days trying to maximize as much as she could to strengthen herself. It was a hard task, since despite unlocking in the fourth stage of path divergence, only a speck of it was actively being produced within her meridians.
However, that speck of Qi was enough for her. Ever since her journey with Haruo, her efficiency in using Qi had improved.
Taking a deep breath, Ena focused with all her might and gathered all the Qi in her body to a single area. Because she was only in the fourth stage of path divergence, her Dantian was still closed.
With no storage to store her energy, she could only make do by creating a temporary star in her heart to circulate it there.
'This will have to do,' Ena thought, her neck sweating before opening her eyes completely.
Under the pretense of resoluteness, her aura alone shook their whole. Despite having unlocked only one restraint, their confidence wavered, feeling a wave of uneasiness crossing over them as they stared at Ena's lone figure across from them.
"The second section will now begin, like last round, still ten minutes. Good luck~."
Without missing a beat, multiple participants from every one of her sides charged towards her. Breathing to herself, she tactfully matched their movements, dodging each one of them with a focused mind. Her eyes darted from one spot to another, filling herself through the gaps the group had made.
Only for her to stop in her tracks by a downward slash from a double-sided great axe.
The axe whistled through its motion, slashing the air that made its way to Ena's skin. A drop of sweat flowed down her forehead while she viewed the thin silhouette of the edge of the weapon. Not wanting to be cut in half, Ena side-stepped to her right, meeting the gaze of the woman who wished to tear her apart.
'This woman again!' she screamed inwardly. 'Among everyone in the flag bearers, she was by far the strongest!'
Lightly stepping away, a new person appeared from her shadow, prepared to attack Ena. The man then spread his hand out, gripping her clothing as tightly as she could, making her unable to escape his grasp.
In haste, Ena turned a full 180 to slap the hand of the man. But in doing so, she created another opportunity for the woman who wielded the great axe.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, the woman abandoned her weapon and charged towards Ena.
With both her front and back being open to two enemies, she immediately escaped by jumping out of their way, creating a crossfire between the two. However, even her sides were vulnerable, with two other people directing their blades at Ena.
Gritting her teeth, she held both her hands out and caught the blades with her bare hands, causing them to bleed.
Fortunately, with Qi now in her possession, she could strengthen herself enough for their blades not to cut her entirely. Left with no other choice, she sprang to a corner and glared at the four people in front of her.
Ena recognized them at a glance. They were the first four people to instill their flags into her clothes during the first section.
However, that wasn't the only reason she recognized them. But also because they were both her allies and enemies in the last test.