Samuel choked on his words,
"So do I..."
Blepharo slowly walked towards Samuel before standing next to him, a small bag held between his fingers.
The groups gradually formed, and it was almost time to begin the examination. Out of the corner of his eye, Samuel spotted Diallo with a frightened-looking teenager, no older than 14 years old.
Good luck, Diallo...
He couldn't spend all his time worried about Diallo, he had to focus on the task. Looking over at Blepharo, Samuel remarked, "What should our plan be?"
While Samuel did have his plan, he felt that the intelligent and stoic Blepharo most likely had a more effective one.
The hazel eyes glanced at Samuel, "To successfully pass this portion of the exam, I will suggest that we not exert too much energy into finding shelter."
Samuel's eyebrows crinkled, "What do you mean? Isn't that the most important part?"
Blepharo remained deadpan, "No, a common misconception that most participants will follow. Instead, we will follow a separate tactic I have come up with. Killing the weak fighters first, so we can thieve their belongings."
Samuel was beginning to understand where Blepharo was coming from, but multiple questions arose.
"Won't that attract attention?"
"Who's to say that we do not welcome attention?" He answered with a question of his own.
"..." Is he saying that no one can beat him?
"That's precisely what I'm saying." It was like he plucked the thought right out of Samuel's head.
"No one in this forest, including the instructors, has any chance of beating me." His tone hadn't changed once.
"A-alright.." Samuel trailed off. He knew Blepharo wasn't the type of person to lie for no reason. However, he questioned the potency of his power.
Even the instructors?
Nadia's commanding voice interrupted his thoughts, "Line up. You guys will enter the forest now."
As instructed, each pair lined up. "The moment you enter, it's free for all. Meaning the exam can end today."
With a powerful command, "Go!"
They all ran, inside the dark and massive forest. The next three months would be some of the hardest months in their lives.
Samuel was about to run as well before a hand was placed in front of him. "Walk."
Looking to his right, the handsome and stoic Blepharo was as serious as ever. "We will wait by the entrance. I have already spotted some eager pairs waiting for a chance to strike. Those will be our first targets."
Samuel nodded, "I understand. I won't try to slow you down either, I can fight."
In his spare time, Samuel trained his body and fought tremendously, awaiting this moment. He knew he wasn't the strongest, but he still could put up a fair fight.
Their targets were four groups that seemed to be working together, they all had malicious expressions, as if they were wolves eyeing their next meal.
Blepharo stuck his hand out, and coils of dark purple magic began surrounding it, like a serpent. The magic spun and mixed and finally formed an obsidian claymore.
The weapon in his hand buzzed fervently, He has magical powers? Is he part of The Transcended? Shock slowly spread across Samuel's face.
With a quiet but apathetic tone, he directed a message towards his partner, "Clean up my messes. I will kill the fighters."
Disappointed he didn't get to fight, Samuel somberly nodded.
They were slowly approaching the group of eight, who finally noticed the pair. One of the boys, who had long dirty hair spat, "Heheh. Fresh meat walking towards a trap! Are you stupid?"
"Those who have no power speak the most. While those who have power stay quiet. An interesting discovery in our history. Does it not tell you about how you should carry yourself?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" The same boy snapped, "It's always these crazy ones that try to think their strong."
His muscular hand reached towards his jacket pocket, pulling out a small knife. Stepping back, he hurled it at Blepharo.
The apathetic individual did not react and blocked it with the flat side of his broadsword. However, to his surprise, smoke erupted.
Smoke? How? It was a knife..? Samuel wondered while standing in a ready stance.
Blepharo swung his sword to clear some of the smoke. Right then, another boy appeared in front of him. He held a dagger aimed at Blepharo's eye.
"Idiot!" He laughed.
A stomach-churning squelch was heard moments later. The little smoke left rendered the observers unable to see clearly.
Walking out of the white fog was none other than Blepharo, who swung his sword to the right and cleared off any blood remaining.
Behind him, the boy was on the ground, his brown eyes losing their color. On his stomach, a gruesome wound was leaking crimson liquid.
He didn't scream or cry in agony. He just laid there, stomach spasming. Everyone who looked at him already knew, he was dead.
"He's crazy! This guy's freaking crazy!" The rest of the boys pounced at Blepharo, who swiftly dodged their attacks.
Once the group surrounded him, he smiled, "Imbeciles."
He launched at the first boy, who tried to attack back but was abruptly stabbed. Blepharo opened his mouth and commanded, "Obey me!"
The color in the boy's eyes faded to light grey. He spoke in a robotic tone, "Yes, master."
Blepharo sneered, "Attack the six boys in front of me. Kill them all."
Without hesitation, the boy Blepharo stabbed immediately spun and began attacking his own.
"Malcolm!" One of the boys shouted. "What the hell are you doing?" Malcolm didn't listen, he couldn't. He was mindless. His only task was to listen to Blepharo's orders.
Malcolm pounced at the first boy, biting his nape and then hurling him to the ground. Sticking his large hand inside the boy's mouth, Malcolm ripped out the boy's tongue and choked him out.
"Where the hell did you find that strength? What the..." One of the boys stood, petrified.
The rest of the boys jumped at Malcolm.
It wasn't before long they managed to kill Malcolm. However, he did successfully take one of them out, dwindling their numbers to five.
Blepharo's grip on his claymore strengthened.
Another boy, who was burly and had short hair, charged at Blepharo. Unfazed, he aimed his weapon at the boy's knees, slicing them in half.
With a thud, the boy dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. Walking over him, Blepharo approached the other boys, who were finally aware of the monster he was.
Slowly but surely, Blepharo slaughtered every last one of them.
Samuel watched in awe, his mouth agape. Such... power!
After it was over, he looked towards Samuel, "Let us gather their belongings and begin our search for shelter."
Didn't you say that shelter wasn't important? Samuel's eyebrow twitched as he followed his partner's orders.
The claymore dissipated in Blepharo's hand.
While picking up the belongings, Samuel inquired, "Do you think those are the strongest ones here?"
Blepharo shook his head, "No. I surveyed the participants earlier. According to my assumptions, those unfortunate boys were one of the weakest ones here."
A drop of cold sweat ran down Samuel's temple. "Really?"
Blepharo nodded, "Yes. However, as I have stated before, no one in this exam can defeat me in combat. Rest assured, you will not die."
Samuel heaved a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he was afraid of fighting, he just didn't want to die so soon.
As he stood up, Blepharo mentioned, "Despite my assurance, we may be split up in the near future. So I recommend you find a weapon fast."
Samuel's heart palpated, "What do you mean.?"
"I mean, the instructors are after us, after me. They will eventually find a way to split us up and kill our group."
"How do you know?"
"I have taken this exam more than once."
What does he mean? The instructors were only introduced this round, right? How could he have taken the exam more the once and known this?
Is he hiding something?