"Haah," I sighed, trying to get into the pod numbered 473. It looked rather... comfortable. Wow. I could literally sleep in here.
[But... isn't that the whole essence?]
"... Oh... yeah, you're right."
It was probably designed this way so the user would feel extremely comfortable and easily slip into unconsciousness.
"Hm," I hummed as I settled in snugly. But jokes aside, this place is cozy as hell. I would definitely steal one of these if my dorm bed turns out to be a log of wood.
"?!"
What the hell?! I looked behind me, still feeling that sharp glare. It was instinctual; it felt like someone was trying to strangle me with their eyes!
"Oh... crap," I said, my blood running cold.
Shit... There she is. Seated in the pod right next to me was the freaking elven princess! She seemed to be gritting her teeth, squinting at the back of my head. But she wasn't saying anything—just staring.
Shit! This is getting creepy.
[Number 473. You are advised to sit properly in the pod.]
Hearing this, I gulped down a mouthful of saliva and tilted my gaze away from hers. Damn. It seems this will really be hell. There's a reason I keep calling that girl a bitch—a crazy one at that. It's because she is literally 'that' type of princess. Yeah, she would probably stop at nothing to kill me.
HaHa. What great luck I seem to have. First, there's the crazy bitch called Anna, who's probably the most insane of them all, right around the corner. But as if she isn't enough of a pain in the ass, now I have a maniac on my back.
Suddenly, something gripped my head tightly, and before I could react, I blacked out.
"HaaH!"
I screamed as my eyes shot open.
"Get up, we don't have all day," I heard a sharp, uncaring voice and groaned.
Wait... who the heck is that?
I looked up, and there, gazing down at me, was... her. Maria, I think.
"Ugh," I grunted, sitting up before begrudgingly getting to my feet.
"Where... are we...?" I asked in confusion, taking in the destruction surrounding us.
We were in the midst of what would probably serve as an apocalyptic sight: buildings on fire, broken glass, cars lodged in high-rise buildings, and whatnot. It was the very description of a place ravaged by an apocalypse.
However, instead of a modest reply, I got an irritated glare.
"Hey, don't look at me like I'm an idiot. That was just a rhetorical question..." I said, dusting myself off as I saw our other team member approaching.
"I think it's better we find a place with food to serve as our base for the time being since this exam is meant to last a week," said Loren, who seemed to have surveyed the current location.
"A what...?!" I blurted, my eyes widening.
[Oh... well, you kept getting lost in your thoughts, so you missed out on pretty much everything the instructor explained about the exams.]
At this point, both Loren and Maria were looking at me as though I were some... idiot.
"Didn't you hear a single thing that was said about the exams?" asked Maria, who seemed most annoyed by my estrangement from the whole situation.
"I... just got sidetracked," I replied, trying as much as possible to avoid her scrutinizing gaze.
"But you do know about the amount of points needed to pass the exams, right?" she asked.
"... Yeah?" I replied, unsure where she was headed with this.
"Then focus on getting a thousand points. I don't care how useless you two are, but if either of you fails to get that number of points... I will make sure you both see a horrible end," she said, then walked toward a huge building far to the east.
"Ah?" muttered Loren, equally shocked, as he processed what just happened.
She literally just threatened the two of us right now. And that... only solidifies my suspicion. That Maria girl is probably a villainess. I don't know why I can't recognize her, but that doesn't matter. All I know is that being close to her spells bad news.
With that thought in mind, I waited for Loren to follow her before I made my move.
I disappeared into the alleyway. It seems I have only myself to rely on in this exam.
Haah. Well, at least things won't be boring.
[... Definitely.]