"So… what are your thoughts on the candidates today?"
"None of them seem to stand out as much as the candidates we had on the previous day… nothing special.
"Isn't it too early to say? The exam only just began."
In a dimly lit room, there were countless silhouettes seated at a long rectangular table. There was an image floating in the air at the center of the table, broadcasting the exam.
There were around five students being broadcasted at once. Often, the cameras would switch between different students.
For some students nothing special seemed to be happening as they were running straight to the cliff, avoiding any confrontations. These tended to be the students with abilities less suited for combat and more for movement.
The majority of students however, were already engaged in battles, displaying their skills against other students or monsters.
Watching intently, the silhouettes observed each student's abilities. Those in a separate room were noting down all the information they could on the students who stood out.
"Huh? This student is walking?"
Student [Number 378], a young curly black haired man, caught the attention of silhouettes in the room. He looked incredibly tired and traversed through the forest at his own pace.
"Looks like he already gave up. Is that katana on his waist just for show?"
"Why did he even come here if he had no intention to win?"
The man with the fattest silhouette there, slammed his hand on the table.
"Disappointing! broadcast something more interesting, our students are watching this!"
Immediately after his complaint, the image on the display stopped showing Julius and instead showed [Number 304], a different student.
Number [304] was currently engaged in a battle with Number [325.]
"Much better, this is far more interesting." He declared somewhat satisfied.
-
Julius sneezed as he continued to walk through the tree's vines. After rubbing his nose, he looked around.
"Hm? The feeling of being watched that I was getting has disappeared…"
Looking up at the sky, he checked his distance from the cliff. As far as he could tell, it hadn't gotten any closer.
'Should I start increasing my pace? I haven't encountered a single person yet… at this rate, I'll fail the quest.' He thought to himself as he glanced at the screen beside him.
[Quest: The Candidate Hunter.]
[You must collect ten chest tags from different candidates.]
[Chest tags collected: 0/10]
"Haa… I'd wish someone would just show up-"
*Snap!*
A snapping sound was heard in the bushes in front of Julius. Getting into a fighting stance, he quickly grasped the handle of the sword on his waist.
As he wasn't taught how to wield a sword, his stance was a shallow imitation of Ava's but he had to make do with it.
'Is it a player…?'
Julius took a step towards the bush, at that instant, a large dark figure shot at him.
*Fwoosh!*
Julius avoided, rolling to the side before looking up at the figure which had almost torn through him with excitement
The moment he raised his head, his excitement died down.
"A monster, huh…" Julius muttered, disappointed.
The monster's skull was long with an upturned snout and serrated teeth on its long jaw. In addition to its long tail and large feet, it had three strongly curved claws.
It also had long, wing-like arms and a wishbone similar to those of earth's birds. A reptilian monster that resembled a dinosaur, a raptor.
Letting out a sigh, Julius unsheathed the sword on his waist causing a surge of ominous aura to be released.
[You have equipped: Cursed Blade - Yugen]
[The sword has a curse applied to it, which must be inflicted by cutting a target.]
"Well, at least I'll be able to test out what this curse can do."
Suddenly perceiving Julius as a threat, the creature kicked off the ground, lunging at him. Julius's eyes widened at how easily it covered the distance between them.
'It's fast-'
*Chomp!*
Julius barely avoided have his head torn off as he leapt backwards, but before he could land, its tail slammed at him from the sides, sending him sliding down the grass.
The monster stepped in with a bite, raining down attacks on Julius. It was fast, one bite coming after the other.
Julius had his hands full on avoiding, it wasn't giving him much of an opportunity to counter.
Seeing this, Julius turned his back and began to run away from the creature. Infuriated, the creature relentlessly gave chase, lunging at him with it's mouth wide open ready to bite down on his flesh.
'Just as planned-'
The moment it was in the air, Julius ducked, causing the monster to go right over him.
As he stared at its figure from below, the small window of opportunity became apparent to him. He took it without hesitation-
*Slash!*
A smooth arc was traced by the cursed blade as it cut through the stomach of the monster. Upon landing, it turned back to Julius and growled.
It could still stand as blood trickled down from its belly.
'Shit, the cut was too shallow… Fuck, it won't fall for that again, maybe I should…'
Julius's thoughts suddenly ceased as he noticed that the small trickle of blood slowly turned into a stream as more and more blood began to flow down the monster's belly.
The amount of blood that was coming out of such a shallow cut was incredible.
The monster had stopped attacking, it's movements slowed as it growled at Julius. It also seemed confused as to why it was bleeding so much.
"Wait, don't tell me…"
Seeing the sword's black blade, Julius smiled excitedly.
"This is the effect of the blade's curse… it causes excessive bleeding…"
Knowing its life was on the line, the monster charged at Julius, aiming to kill him quickly. As a result of all the blood that it had lost, however, its movements were sluggish.
Julius easily avoided its bite attempt him with a side-step before countering with a downward swing at its neck.
*Splatter!*
Its head was cleanly severed from the body before it collapsed.
[You have killed a Direseer.]
[+10 Experience Points.]
Blood still gushed from the severed corpse even after death. A frightening curs.e
Julius on the other hand had forgotten the exam for a moment and gazed at his sword with excitement.
'A blade which applies a curse of excessive bleeding… just how much would something like this be worth?' He wondered.
Julius's pupils for a second reflected gold, but they quickly reverted to normal once he shook his head.
'Wait, focus on the exam for now.'
He looked down in the direction of the cliff.
'Even if I were to run at full speed I doubt I'd be able to make it in time… Those guys are physically superior to me in everyway."
Julius placed his hand beneath his chin and looked around, trying to think of a solution. His eyes landed on the two trees in front of them.
He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the two trees, they were spread quite evenly apart and looked well etched into the floor.
"I just got an idea… but It's not a good one."