After a few minutes of rest, the final test for entrance was about to begin.
"The Forbidden Forest can be dangerous," Agor began, "but I won't stop you from venturing deep into it. However, if you want to hunt stronger beasts, you have no choice but to go deeper."
"You will be given twenty-four hours to hunt as many beasts as you can. You are allowed to take nothing with you except your weapons; no medicine or rejuvenation potions are permitted."
They were brought to another part of the Forbidden Forest, which seemed less ominous.
"This part of the forest will be your starting point. After the hunt, you are to regroup right here," Agor instructed.
The awakeners knew it was too late to back out.
They could only grit their teeth and venture into the Forbidden Forest, doing their best to hunt as many beasts as possible while protecting their prey from poachers.
A bell rang, signaling the start of the final test—the beast hunt.
The awakeners rushed into the forest, their futures hanging in the balance.
Sam sprinted into the forest, moving quickly.
For now, he had no particular goal other than to earn enough points to pass.
Temporarily, he decided to keep an eye on the other awakeners, especially the ones who had caught his attention.
Approximately two hundred and twenty awakeners took the final test.
Once inside the forest, everyone went their separate ways.
Sam noticed some awakeners forming hunting parties.
There were also individuals like Yuki Asuna and Isabella Lancaster, who chose to hunt alone, showing no fear.
As for Sam, he was unsure of what to do.
He didn't want to join a party; he was a loner with secrets he preferred to keep hidden.
"It seems that guy Yami formed a hunting party with his underlings," Sam observed, noting that Cedric Wardrad was among them.
Yami and his group also noticed Sam, and their expressions were not friendly.
Sam ignored their hostile looks and ventured deeper into the forest.
Soon, he encountered a beast.
It was a huge brown snake with glistening scales, large enough to wrap around a full-grown elephant with just a quarter of its body.
Despite the pair of wings on its back, Sam knew the beast was not aerial.
[Winged Earth Snake Titan (Infant Stage)]
Its horrible hiss reverberated through the air, adding to its menacing aura.
"It's about as strong as me," Sam muttered, sensing the aura it emitted.
His perception stats were higher than his other stats at the moment, enhancing his overall senses significantly.
Sam's eyes locked onto the snake's as he drew a long, pointed sword with broad edges from his storage ring.
The sword gleamed in a silvery-white hue, reminiscent of the moon.
[Equipment Equipped: Eclipse Sword]
Upon seeing the weapon in his hand, the snake hissed viciously before lunging at Sam, its pointed fangs aimed directly at him.
Just before its fangs could tear through his flesh, Sam vanished from the spot, reappearing at the center of its body.
"Shit," the snake reacted swiftly, its tail slashing at Sam.
Yet, Sam was even swifter than the snake.
He planted his foot firmly into the ground, propelling himself into the air, and landed on its head, piercing his pointed sword into one of its eyes.
Fresh, cold blood spurted out, causing the snake to panic and attack him on impulse.
Sam utilized its compromised vision, exploiting its blind spot to launch successive attacks on its head.
More cold blood gushed out as Sam relentlessly slashed his sword dozens of times, creating deep cuts on its head, causing it to bleed profusely.
Finally, he thrust his Eclipse Sword directly into its head, ending its life.
"Mm, that was easy," Sam remarked, making a deeper cut on the back of its head to create a hole before retrieving a brown-colored gem as big as a baseball.
[Infant Winged Earth Snake Titan's Core: +1]
Suddenly, Sam felt a chill run down his spine, and his pupils dilated.
Without hesitation, he moved from where he was standing.
Not even a second later, a slash of dark energy struck the spot he had just vacated, scorching the ground with jet-black flames.
"What the fuck?" Sam exclaimed, pointing his sword at the person who had ambushed him.
It turned out to be Yami, accompanied by his underlings.
"You bastard, you are going to die today," Yami grinned viciously.
In his hand was a sword, emanating a menacing dark energy.
It gave off an aura that sent a shiver down Sam's spine.
"What is that?" Sam wondered as he analyzed the situation.
Yami had brought six underlings with him, including Cedric Wardred.
Sam wasn't worried about the others because he could sense they weren't as strong as he was.
His main concern was Yami and Cedric.
[Skill Activated: Eye Of Truth]
Sam finally decided to use his system rewards.
His eyes took on a faint, almost imperceptible white glow as he examined Yami's status window.
---
[ Name: Yami Kusanagi ]
[ Hero Level: 16 ]
[ Race: Arcanian ]
{Physical Stat(s)}
Strength: 21
Agility: 21
Stamina: 21
Perception: 18
Heroic Power: 16
{Rare Stat(s)}
Dark Power: 10
[ Skills:... ]
[ Techniques:... ]
---
"Dark power, huh? It seems like an offensive ability," Sam muttered, narrowing his eyes. He also had two rare stats, but they were more supportive in nature.
'It looks like he awakened a rare stat during the awakening ceremony,' Sam thought, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword.
He didn't have time to ponder further. He was already surrounded by Yami and his underlings, and the threat was imminent.
"You do know killing is not allowed, right?" Sam casually asked.
"Then we won't kill, we'll just break all your bones. That should be enough," Yami snorted.
"I highly doubt you can accomplish that," Sam smirked confidently.
He wasn't intimidated by Yami and his group.
Though they might pose a challenge in numbers, he was certain he could defeat them with enough effort.
Yami felt a vein bulge on his forehead. "Finish him," he ordered.
Hearing his command, his underlings drew their weapons and swiftly moved to subdue Sam.
Though weaker individually, their sheer numbers posed a threat.
But to Sam, it was an opportunity to hone his skills.
He didn't rely on any fancy techniques; he believed he didn't need them to defeat these mere underlings.
Five of them, except Cedric, rushed at him with swords in hand.
Sam pressed his foot and appeared before one of the attackers, striking like a baseball bat, using his sheathed sword to deliver a powerful blow to the abdomen.
The force sent the poor soul flying, blood leaking from his mouth as he crashed to the ground, unconscious.
Without pause, Sam used the momentum to kick another assailant in the solar plexus, the sound of bones cracking echoing as the man groaned in agony and collapsed.
Witnessing their comrades falling, the remaining three attackers hesitated.
Two of them decided to attack head-on, while the third attempted a sneak attack from behind with heroic energy.
Sam sensed their movements and raised his own heroic energy, channeling it through his sheathed sword to intercept the incoming attack from behind, neutralizing it.
As the two attackers lunged forward, Sam proved too quick and strong for them.
He seized one by the hand, pulling him in before delivering a powerful punch to his nose, disfiguring it horribly.
Then, he struck the other assailant in the abdomen, causing him to double over in pain before collapsing to the ground.
Utilizing the energy within him, Sam channeled it through his eclipse sword, unleashing a condensed ray of energy at the last remaining attacker, sending him crashing to the ground.
"You'll regret ever crossing me. What you sow, you will reap," Sam warned, his voice firm.
"You can either stop now or suffer the same fate as your comrades."