In the depths of the same vast forest where Adam found himself, far beyond his reach, a pristine lake lay nestled against a rolling hillside. Its surface, smooth as polished glass, reflected the surrounding greenery in a near-perfect mirror image. By the water's edge, a lone silhouette stood, gazing into its own reflection, a figure seemingly sculpted from divine artistry.
The reflection belonged to Aurora De Silva, the scion of the great De Silva family. Her porcelain-white skin appeared almost luminous beneath the soft sunlight filtering through the trees. Her high cheekbones and delicate nose gave her an ethereal beauty that seemed unnatural, as if the gods themselves had chiseled her form from the essence of moonlight. But what stood out the most were her eyes—twin amethysts, shimmering with an unfathomable depth, framed by long, dark lashes. Flowing cascades of dark purple locks tumbled past her shoulders, reaching her waist, each strand gleaming like silk spun from the night sky.
With effortless grace, she stepped away from the lake, her hair bouncing slightly with each measured stride. She had always known she was different. From the moment she could form coherent thoughts, she understood that she stood apart from the rest of people. Unlike others who spend years before awakening their bloodlines, she had been born with hers already coursing through her veins. She was a prodigy—no, a phenomenon—the greatest genius since 'The Emergence.'
Whether in combat, tactics, or raw power, she had never met an equal. And yet, despite the world's obsession with her talents, nothing truly captivated her. Status, prestige, the constant adoration of others—none of it mattered. Even among the scions of the great families, she remained detached, her expression perpetually unreadable, making her seem as distant and untouchable as a goddess in an ancient temple. Her heart, untouched by the trivial ambitions of lesser beings, longed for something beyond the mundane. Something that would finally make her feel alive.
Her current presence in the entrance exam was mere formality. As a scion of the Big Seven, she was bound to attend an academy whether she liked it or not, though she knew it to be a meaningless endeavor. At three-star rank two, she could ascend to rank one at any moment. Whether her opponents were first, second, or third-year students, none would stand a chance against her.
She walked leisurely through the forest, and every creature unfortunate enough to enter a ten-meter radius around her was instantly bisected by ethereal razor-sharp purple blades that materialized from the air itself. Even the trees, sturdy and resilient, bore no resistance to her presence. They stood as silent witnesses, split apart by an invisible force, their leaves fluttering to the ground in eerie silence. Blood never stained the earth, for her cuts were so clean, so absolute, that the very essence of her victims seemed to acknowledge her supremacy and vanished before sullying the ground.
The forest, once alive with the sounds of rustling leaves and distant cries of beasts, had become eerily silent around her. Even the air itself seemed hesitant to move against her presence. She sighed, her expression unchanging. This was boring.
---
Meanwhile, a young man dashed through the dense woodland, weaving through trees with feline agility. Adam had been hunting for nearly eight hours, yet he had yet to encounter a single other participant.
'Are they all just biding their time?' he wondered.
His thoughts were abruptly cut short by a sharp, whistling sound. His instincts screamed at him to move. He twisted his head back just in time, narrowly avoiding an arrow that sliced past, missing him by a hair's breadth. The projectile continued its lethal path, striking a tree and piercing clean through it, emerging from the other side as if the wood were nothing more than paper.
'An ambush. If I had been even a second slower, my brain matter would be decorating the ground.'
Three more arrows followed in quick succession. But this time, Adam was prepared. He turned toward the attack and thrust his palm forward.
"Repel."
The arrows reversed direction, hurtling back at even greater speed. A faint rustling in the foliage signaled movement. More arrows followed, each fired from different angles, creating an illusion of multiple attackers. Adam wasn't fooled. His eyes had already pinpointed the true assailant—a lanky figure dashing through the underbrush, bow in hand. Each time he pulled the ethereal string, an energy construct formed, loosing spectral arrows at inhuman speeds.
Adam bolted in pursuit. But more spectral arrows burst towards him once again, some even changing directions to keep him busy. After dealing with another volley of arrows, he had enough. He manipulated his essence, expanding a field of increased gravity in a ten-meter radius.
"Keuk—!" The archer gasped as the sudden weight pressed down on him, forcing him to the ground with a thud.
Adam approached and crouched before the fallen youth, eyes narrowed slightly. "Nice to meet you."
The archer glared at him with pure venom.
Adam's gaze flickered to the youth's waist. "Is that a dagger I see?" He swiftly unfastened it. "I'll be taking that."
The weapon was sleek, double-edged, and perfectly balanced. Far better than using his fists. Testing its weight in his grip, Adam turned his attention back to his opponent.
"Well, time for you to go home."
With a swift motion, he plunged the dagger into the youth's back. The moment the blade pierced five centimeters in, the boy's body was engulfed in a blinding light before vanishing entirely.
'So the safety feature works,' Adam mused. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. 'But I really need to work on conserving my essence. I barely held the gravity field for ten seconds, and I'm already down to thirty percent.'
A hologram sprung up from his bracelet announcing:
"Announcement: 1652 participants have been eliminated. There are 1500 participants remaining."
Adam was genuinely surprised.He had expected way more than that, but it kinda made sense. For him to have only encountered a single candidate after all this time was enough to tell him that the forest was massive. 'Then I guess I should focus on hunting more beasts. I might not be able to rank in the top 50 or even 100, but I want to at least rank in the top 200' He refocused, determined to gather points.
---
In an unknown place, somewhere a large room or more specifically a hall was filled with multiple holograms showing what could be described as a thick forest. Officials were overseeing holographic screens displaying the exam.
"This year's batch is something else," one overseer commented.
"This generation really deserves it's name as the golden generation. Scions of the great, medium and small families and even commoners of this generation are all extremely talented" another overseer solemnly said.
"Sometimes I do wonder how the children of the big clans and families of every generation seem to be almost the same age, do they plan it or something?" Another stated not expecting an answer as if just asking himself.
On one of the holograms was a boy with fiery red hair and crimson red eyes facing a beast.
Blood red flames emerged from him and immolating the beast. What remained was a gory black colored monstrosity. All it took was at most three seconds.
On another screen was a guy with silver hair and blue eyes was using thick lightning lightning tongues to instantly pulverize his any beast he encounters or paralyzes any participants he sees.
And on one it was a golden haired girl weaving light constructs into multiple shapes and defeating beasts with them.
One screen, however, showed only darkness—an abyss even the devices couldn't penetrate.
On another one, it was a green haired girl, the forest was her domain, literally as the trees and other plants help her to incapacitate beasts and she herself turns part of her body to branches.
And then there was Aurora De Silva, strolling effortlessly, her mere presence turning beasts into neat, bloodless halves.
Adam pressed forward, determined to earn enough points to place at least in the top 200. As he moved through the dense forest, he stumbled upon a chilling sight. A pack of wolf-like beasts lay scattered, each one split cleanly in two.
His breath hitched. 'What the hell did this?'
As he advanced, the carnage only grew worse. Corpses of all kinds—ranging from low-ranked E-class creatures to formidable C-class beasts—littered the ground, each slain with the same effortless precision.
Then he saw it. A B-rank beast, a true monster, lying in two perfect halves, as though some unseen force had sliced through its massive frame without resistance.
'This… this wasn't done by just anyone,' Adam realized, his palms slick with sweat. 'Even a rank-two bloodline holder would struggle with something like this. Unless…'
A sudden thought chilled him to his core. 'No. It's impossible. No one our age should be at rank two. He didn't even want to entertain the thought that a candidate could reach rank two. Not unless their bloodline is…'
He didn't finish the thought. Instead, he did the only logical thing.
He changed direction.
Whatever had done this, he wanted no part of it. If he encountered the perpetrator, there was a very real chance that he would be next.
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