The Alloces Academy's round 1 of the entrance exam ended with only 739 people remaining. It lacks 61 people for the exact requirements of the passing examinees for the first round.
Back again at the Alloces Academy and having a one-hour break between the 1st and 2nd trials, Rumpel noticed the hostilities that formed between the examinees. Due to various reasons, like attempted murder, being eliminated, etc.
The former red faction and eliminated members, Rumpel, Faust, Wagner, and Gretchen, are being assaulted with penetrating and hostile glares, while some of the professors are guiding the eliminated and alive examinees outside the Alloces Academy.
For the remaining former faction members who passed the first trial and some of the former blue faction members who also passed, they were being given a wary and suspicious look.
It was to be expected since they had racked up a lot of points from the red faction by throwing a lot of sleeping regents at them and stealing their red bracelets. Most of them were helpless from the sleeping regent that was equivalent to a sleeping gas or a very extreme dose of sedatives.
Rumpel, Faust, Gretchen, and Wagner have bombarded them with their sleeping gas. Their enemies couldn't do anything to avoid it.
Right now, the hostilities are being directed at Rumpel. They immediately concluded that it was his fault. And Faust and the others are his accomplices.
Considering how much a sleeping regent cost, they didn't want someone to bombard the red faction members several times with it. The sleeping regents cost 500 coins for each flask of them.
For ordinary people and insects, it was an expensive thing to buy. It would be much better to buy a weapon than to miss their aim. They wouldn't even risk buying a lot of it since sleeping regents is a one-time use.
Rumpel's presence and the other senior elites on this entrance examination at Alloces Academy are extremely unfair. They should have stayed where they belong and didn't come here to the lower layers.
Among Rumpel's fellow Excelsior Elites, he was the one who stood out the most. The one whose actions were the most disgusting for them. He has played too dirty in their eyes.
Looking briefly at the hostile glares directed at him by the other examinees, Rumpel chuckled awkwardly before getting closer to Gretchen and the others.
"What's wrong, young Master Rumpel?"
Gretchen raised her eyebrow, curious about what had gotten him uncomfortable. Seeing Rumpel's reaction, Faust chuckled while they were walking away from the other examinees.
"He doesn't like the negative attention that he was receiving."
"You're uncomfortable?"
"Unusual, isn't it Gretchen, Wagner?"
Both of them replied.
"Yes."
"Usually elites and elite excelsiors wouldn't bother with the opinion of an infernus.""
Rumpel is slightly offended that they are talking in his presence and treating him like an animal in a zoo.
After a while, they stopped under a tree, and Rumpel summoned a fabric from his storage ring and spread it to the ground.
Rumpel invited them to sit with him and eat them.
"Waahh!! It's delicious!! "
Gretchen exclaimed while eating her own food and occasionally snatching from Wagner and Faust's plates. The former sighed over her behavior, while the latter quickly ate as fast as possible before Gretchen could snatch the rest of his food.
After the four of them had eaten, Wagner and Gretchen thanked Rumpel while an intrigued gaze appeared on Faust's face.
"You truly appeared to be prepared for everything, don't you, young master Rumpel?"
"Of course!"
"I assume that there are a lot of interesting things in your storage ring. Yet at the same time, the time of the foods in your storage ring has probably passed. Before you place them in your storage ring, are they warm?"
Rumpel gazes at Faust with a bewildered and impressed look.
"Yes, you guessed it right."
Chuckling, Rumpel continued.
"My storage ring isn't imbued with time magic. My family can't afford a storage ring of that kind."
Hearing Rumpel mention his family, the trio's interest was piqued.
Since Faust has made a deal with Rumpel, he is interested in this young man's identity.
In the Goetia Kingdom, the first name of everyone is unique and only belongs to them. There are no duplicates or someone who possesses the same first name as the other person.
When Faust made the deal with Rumpel, it was through writing their first name and dropping blood on the lowest kind of contract. Rumpel never once wrote his family name in the contract with them.
The easiest guess was that Rumpel is an Elite Excelsior from the 6th Region. But from the clues that Faust gathered, it doesn't sound correct.
"Young Master Rumpel, are you not from the 6th Region?"
Wagner asked before Rumpel affirmed it.
"Yes. I am not from there."
Minutes later, the trio learned this morning, aside from Rumpel not being from the 6th Region. Rumpel mentions to them that his family name isn't important, which is completely absurd.
When the break ended, the professors directed them to the waypoints where they would be teleported to the second trial. Surviving and spending their time there for 3 days.
A forest filled with low-ranking monsters and magic beasts. Being normal citizens of the Goetia Kingdom who still have not unlocked their magic capabilities, it would be daunting for the examinees. There is a high chance of death for them. Even if they had weapons to defend themselves, they would struggle just so they could survive and not end up being killed by the monsters and magic beasts.
Rumpel has no fighting experience aside from the fencing sword lessons that the original Rumpel left on this body. He hoped that this body's reflexes would help him when the time to fight and defend himself came.
When their quartet group is in front of the waypoint portal to the forest, Rumpel suddenly hears the voice of someone calling out to them.
"Umm... please!""
They turned their gazes to where the voice came from. There was a lady with long, light purple hair tied into braids and adorned with small, light green ribbons at the tip of her hair. She has striking light green eyes and is dressed in a white puffy dress extending past her knees. She wore long brown leather boots. The sleeves of her white dress are puffy, reaching before her elbow. She was wearing a pair of short white gloves that only reached her wrist and were inlaid with light green crystals.
The adorable-looking lady was gazing at them with a desperate, pleading expression.
"I'm T-Tabitha!"
She introduced herself, nervous and stuttering.
" Ummm... The 2nd trial. It required 5 members.. "
Rumpel has a clue about where this is going.
"Would it be alright? Please, could you accept me to join your group? I promise that I will do my best and not be a burden!"
After her plea and declaration, there was a troubled expression on Gretchen's face. Faust and Wagner are frowning while the other examinees stare at her, surprised, before chaos breaks out because of her actions.
"No! Not her! You should pick me up as your last team member!"
"Me! Pick me! I'm a good member, unlike that girl!"
"I want to join your team, young master!"
"I'm useful!"
"I could do a lot of things!"
"Young master!"
"Young master..."
"Young master..."
Rumpel unconsciously backed away when he saw them looking at him intensely and with clear ulterior motives. Faust and Wagner, surprisingly, decided to step in front and hide him behind them.
Gazing at the girl who introduced herself as Tabitha, it appears that she was surprised by the result of her actions.
For the next few minutes, Faust and Wagner turned down the offers of the other examinees while the professors watched on the sidelines with amused expressions. Enjoying the unexpected entertainment in front of them. They wouldn't do anything to interfere with the chaos. Thankfully, some sensible people had already formed their team of five and entered the waypoint to the forest, ignoring the commotion happening.
Insults came from the other examinees towards Faust and Wagner when the former declared himself the leader of our group while rejecting their offers. With the insults that they threw at Faust, the future devil returned them with very sharp, scathing remarks that almost made Rumpel pity those poor examinees.
After a while, those examinees were dissatisfied, but they couldn't do anything towards Faust but only swear their revenge before entering the Waypoint Portal.
When those examinees disappeared heading into the second trial, Faust glanced at the remaining examinee. The lady Tabitha accidentally caused the commotion with an unimpressed and cold golden eye gazing at her.
"That was one of the most idiotic things that I have witnessed."
Tabitha appeared ashamed and guilty of the consequences of her actions. Her head hung low and she stared at the ground.
"I'm sorry. "
Scoffing, Faust replied.
"Well, hurry up."
"Huh?"
"Enter the waypoint portal. You're right that we need one more member in our group."
"Ahh, thank you!"