-Fuuuuuuuuu
The sound of the air whistling through the mountains was the only thing I heard for a while, which seemed to get even longer thanks to the snow and my breaths visible in the air, which were always constant and the same.
-Tap. Tap.
The cycle of boredom finally stopped when the sound of small footsteps approaching spread through the place, reaching where I was sitting - a long, thick branch growing out of a tall pine tree, which seemed to be white from the snow accumulating on it. Patiently I watched as a small red-eyed figure approached down the tree.
The figure was white, with a large pair of ears that fell to the ground, which stopped moving when the small rabbit was a few feet from the tree, watching a mound of flesh curiously and with his guard up.
His ogling lasted for a while, in which he circled the tree until he seemed convinced of his safety, approached the mound of meat, and took a few small bites.
-Thud - Spurt.
Before it could begin to eat freely and with large bites a tympanum of ice was generated in my hand and soon after flew in the direction of the rabbit, splitting the air and its head in the process.
-Tap.
I leaped to the ground, the momentum I carried was cushioned by the snow and the very air I conjured, ridding me of any damage.
I rushed towards the rabbit and grabbed from the blood-stained snow, both the mound of flesh and the long-dead rabbit.
As I walked to a small cave in the mountainside I reflected on what had happened so far.
Today marked the second day since the test on Aute Mountain began and I had managed to harvest 3 lives.
The first had been the girl, whom I killed at the beginning of the exam.
The second was the boy who had fought with a rabbit in the river.
And the third was another boy who was passing by the stream, there was nothing to note about the fight, it was lightning fast, literally as it was enough to conjure lightning around my sword and freeze the boy's feet.
By the time he realized I was attacking him it was too late.
After that I found this small cave, where I took shelter and replenished mana, it was also where I cooked both this and the other rabbit.
According to what I had read in the encyclopedia of monsters. This beast was ranked F and was called Stubborn Rabbit the name was given because of its annoying ears that it swung back and forth.
Its flesh was quite normal, though perhaps it was because it had eaten premium food since arriving in this world.
-Slurp.
I slurped my fingers that were stained by the rabbit's meat and put out the fire with my feet.
By this time night was falling and this was the best time to look for people to kill.
It was useless to stay locked up in the cave all the time, it was better that I helped in the reduction of opponents, of course, I did not plan to risk my life.
According to my calculations, which were based on the bodies I had seen lifeless since the beginning of the examination and in the process of it, approximately 90 participants had already died.
Or maybe more, I didn't know for sure.
My steps accelerated even more when in the distance I managed to see a small spot of light, which generated the elongation of 5 shadows that were sitting.
At a decent distance I stopped in my run and crept towards a tree close enough to hear what they were saying, but far enough away to give me the advantage of fleeing if I was discovered.
"It's been 2 nights since the test started and we still haven't found a trace of him."- Said one of the five boys sitting around the campfire.
"Don't despair, Tomas," said one of the other boys as he took a sip of water, "We still have time for this to be over. There is still time for this to be over, as far as we know the announcement will be made soon."
"True, we have to wait for the announcement, only then can we define the next course of action."
"Mmm. But guys," said Tomas, the first guy who had spoken, with a touch of nerves in his voice. They think the five of us will be able to take him down."
"Pfft, hahaha. What are you saying Tomas, even if he is the Grandmaster's son, he's just no more than a kid of at least 15 years old now - Said another of the boys contemptuously while taking a piece of meat that was cooking on the campfire - if we want to finish him off, now is the time."
"Still, we should not dismiss him," said the boy who was drinking water earlier, he seemed to be the leader, "We should not underestimate him. It is precise because he is the son of the great master that we must take more precautions - he paused in his words while looking into the eyes of each of the four boys - that is why we have waited all this time."
"That's right, we shouldn't be afraid, remember that this exam could be applied only to people under 18 years old and not exceeding Rank E+."
Hmm, so that was the reason why most of the examinees didn't seem to be very old.
"There are five of us, every one of us is at Rank F or F-, the boss Cristian being a Rank F+ who is about to break towards E, even a Dawnwinter should have trouble with us."
The words of the last boy - who had said nothing so far - seemed to have a calming effect on the rest, as their faces relaxed.
They were looking for Alan, I didn't know the reason, but I could get a small idea seeing the organization they had, they are probably from an enemy sword school, or maybe they allied to survive the exam.
I kept watching their movements, but there was nothing more striking than the sleeping arrangements they made.
I thought about attacking them but dismissed the idea as I remembered the ranks they reportedly possessed.
Carefully climbing down the tree I approached a bush where I left a small gift, just because I couldn't fight now didn't mean I would leave empty-handed.
Cautiously I went back on my way and re-entered the cave, which I covered with some leaves that I had prepared since discovering this place, and proceeded to approach the bottom of it.
With nothing else to do and with the warm feeling of the fur of the bear I was wearing as a sweater on me, sleep came over me.
***************
-Hooooooowll!
The howl of a wolf awakened my consciousness that was plunged into darkness.
My instincts kicked in and my muscles instantly tensed.
Without thinking I summoned Rose to my hands from my storage and placed her in her sheath at my side.
With slow but sure steps I approached the entrance covered by the white sheets.
Through the openings, I managed to visualize a wolf, which was approaching the cave while sniffing the snow, as if looking for the ascent.
Fortunately, the scent and anything it revealed to me had disappeared because of the snow, which had fallen during the night.
Taking advantage of this situation I gave myself the calm to generate a plan in my head, as I could not simply run away.
At some point it would discover me and if I tried to leave it was very possible that its speed would be equal or greater than mine.
-Traka.
My monologue stopped when I heard the lightning bolts I had conjured around my sword rattle.
-Ziiing.
The sound of the metal pinking echoed the sound of my sword being unsheathed.
I took a couple of quick steps and slashed at the wolf's neck.
Despite my surprise attack, the wolf was able to save itself from death, albeit sacrificing its tail, which I split in half.
-Grrrrrr.
We stared into each other's eyes for a brief second.
The first move was made by me as I turned my hand towards the wolf and conjured six ice bullets.
As the bullets flew I resumed a comfortable position and ran towards the wolf.
-Hoooowl!
A howl escaped from the wolf's mouth, which somehow destroyed the five bullets.
I didn't have time to think about what happened when the wolf revealed its teeth and ran towards me.
I jumped to the left and as I fell I jumped back up, dodging the wolf's claws.
I conjured air around me and used my momentum to spin around before falling, gaining strength which I reflected in a kick to the animal's back.
As soon as I landed on the solid snow I tensed my strength on my legs and arm, swinging towards the wolf's neck.
The wolf quickly responded with a spin and revealed its teeth.
In an instant, a blast of air was generated and flew towards my head.
I moved my head to the side, but it was not enough to save me completely as a deep cut was left on my cheek.
But I ignored the pain and swung my sword forward.
-Clank.
My sword collided with the wolf's claws, which jumped away, and as it fell it began to run to my left.
I slashed to my right, blocking an air bullet.
I did as much as I could to block the bullets that kept flying in my direction, but some of them had already left marks in the form of cuts on my body.
There was no longer any room for doubt.
That a monster could make use of a spell meant only one thing, that I was at E-Rank.
-Zap.
A silver lightning bolt was generated in my hands and flew towards the already tired wolf.
-Hooooooowl!
A howl resounded.
The lightning and sound vibes collided for a moment that seemed to go on forever.
And before I knew it the wolf was gone.
An alarm went off in my head and my survival instinct screamed at me to move.
The instant I moved my eyes, black claws threatening to cut me flooded my vision.
My hands moved on their own, positioning my hilt to block them.
The claws collided with the hilt of my sword, digging into my fingers.
-Gafhu.
All the air escaped my lungs as the wolf's head hit the pit of my stomach.
My head spun and my vision spun until I felt my body hit the ground.
My wavering, unfocused eyes moved toward the wolf, which with each step left a trail of blood trailing from its tail.
Once again it took a great leap toward me.
Using all my strength I put my body I lifted my legs and managed to deliver a kick to its stomach.
"Catatumbo."
The moment it landed a silver bolt of lightning flew through my hand and shot out towards the wolf, which was unable to respond and ended up with two of its legs destroyed.
The white snow had been dyed scarlet thanks to the blood that came out of the wolf.
I used my sword like a cane to stand up.
The wolf writhing in pain on the ground desperately clung to life and slowly opened its snout full of teeth.
I felt the mana gather around its mouth and a deafening noise was generated.
Even though mana was not scarce inside my core I felt tired, limp, and weak.
But I couldn't afford to charge here, there was still a long way to go.
I overcame my weakness by gathering all my mana into Rose's white sheet, which became covered in ice.
I felt the temperature drop beyond what my ability would allow me to withstand, but I ignored the cold and concentrated on conjuring even more lightning.
-Hooooooooooooooooooowl!
Even a howl that contained sadness, but at the same time hatred and resentment came from the wolf's muzzle, announcing its attack and at the same time its death.
I tensed my whole body and swung my sword towards the void that glowed green.
At the sound of my attack, an explosion echoed throughout the mountain of Aute, reaching the cliff where it echoed for a long time.
The snow that rose from the attack covered the battle between the silver-blue-haired boy and the green void.
-Crack - Thud.
The surrounding trees broke and from them fell a young black-haired boy.
His scarred eyes, especially the right one, moved until they stopped on the boy who had been fighting with the wolf.
With slow steps, he approached him while placing his hands on the sheath of his sword.