The test was simple, but not easy.
All students were asked to kill one of their peers. Whoever the most creative one was would be allowed to enter a class of their choice.
But…
How could a normal person kill their peers?
For example, Ars.
He was never a killer. He was a pacifist that only loved games. Violence was a no-no for him. He liked playing games where he could control his character without being pressured by anything.
In fact, his game time was longer than the time he spent outside. Naturally, his physical ability wasn't that great either. But... For some reason, he managed to retreat to the corner faster than anyone else as chaos erupted in the hall.
"DIE!"
A green haired girl with slimy tentacles as her limbs charged at a boy with crab claws as hands. She had a pretty face, but her eyes were filled with madness.
The boy that was charged retreated a few steps before stopping. His claw opened and a yellow ball flew out from it.
"Fist of the Kraken!"
The ball exploded upon impact, turning into a water fist. It was a powerful attack that blew away the girl. However, she got back on her feet immediately and lunged at the boy again.
At another place, two boys with six arms each were fighting. Their arms were elongated and they used them to fight like whips. They clashed with each other, trying to grab their opponent.
"I have always wanted to kill you! Now, I finally can!" One of them shouted.
"Not if I can kill you first!" Another one answered, lunging forward with a punch.
It was a melee. Everyone fought without holding back.
The middle of the hall was where the true chaos ensued. There was no way someone could move there.
Blood and guts flew everywhere.
Ars saw this and covered his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting. He was already near the door, but the chaos in the middle of the hall stopped him from running.
"How do you like it, Ars?"
Suddenly, a voice came from his side. He turned his head and saw Blanche standing there with a grin on her face.
"I see that you're holding off a grin. I bet you really like this sight."
'Far from it!'
He wanted to retort, but the smell of blood and gore assaulted his nose again. He covered his mouth once more and looked at her.
Right now, he was Ars from the Eldritch family, or so thought. The only reason why no one got close to him even though he was just standing there was because they thought he was a cruel monster that might kill them if they made eye contact.
His action was not helping his case. Even Blanche mistook him from grinning when watching this carnage.
"Too bad no one gets close to you. They are too scared." Blanche said, walking closer to Ars. "If there are only half of them left, I will be forced to stop the test. So far, I am enjoying myself."
'You call this enjoyment?!' Ars screamed in his mind, unable to say it out loud. He wasn't sure what would happen if he said something that offended this madwoman.
"You're right. Such a shame."
But a voice was heard. It was from one of the boys that Ars saw fighting with a whip-like arm before.
'Eh? How did he get here?'
He was on the other side before. His arms were bloody, and his face was pale. He should have been in a worse condition than Ars. But he was able to make his way here safely. It seemed like he had managed to kill his opponent.
He was now standing in front of Ars, eyes bloody red as he looked at him.
"You..." He called out. "You're too strong. So I will kill you first."
Blanche giggled.
"Look, a challenger for your place as the strongest freshman. What will you do?"
Ars didn't know how to react. Should he answer yes or no? If he said yes, the boy would kill him.
He just sighed and accepted as the tentacle-armed boy rushed at him. But when he did that, the same purple smoke that obliterated his pajamas earlier came out his mouth.
"?!"
The boy's eyes widened. He stopped on his track when the smoke hit the ground in front of him.
Crack!
The hard floor of the hall turned to dust and was blown away by the smoke. Without having a chance to react, the boy's clothes and skin wrinkled up. He disappeared into dust along with the floor, leaving no trace behind.
Blinking his eyes, Ars turned to Blanche. She was looking at him with a wide grin and sparkling eyes.
"Not bad. You have a pretty interesting power. I will look forward to seeing it more. Is that power the reason why you went to the corner? If you did use it in the center of the hall, I don't think any of the new students will survive it. Good decision."
Ars nodded without saying anything. He didn't have the energy to retort to her nor had the ability to understand what she said. He just knew that he somehow survived, and the guilt for killing the boy was... not present.
It might be because he didn't understand what just happened or didn't care because that boy wasn't human. That was something he realized and acknowledged.
'Well, that's not important. I managed to pass the test, right? Let's just be happy about that. At least, I still have a life.'
It was better than nothing.
"It seems the time is up!"
Blanche shouted, her voice amplified by magic. The students who were fighting each other immediately stopped. They looked around and counted their peers.
There were more than 300 people when he entered. But only around 200 were left. It was a 30% culling.
"The test is over! Stop fighting!" Blanche ordered, and the students complied. "Too bad not all of you managed to kill a student, but that's fine. You can try again after you improve yourself."
No one said anything. Everyone was just relieved that they were still alive.
"Those who managed to kill a student will return to the dorm right now. Wait for the announcement. As for those who couldn't even kill a person..." Blanche's eyes sharpened and Ars could see the madness in them. "Don't worry. We will help you practice. But you have to take those corpses to the Revival Chamber. Now go."
Ars looked at Blanche for a second and nodded.
"Alright. If you insist, let me personally guide you to your dorm."
It seemed like she misunderstood his intention. But he didn't retort. It was better to go to his dorm and hide than standing here where the students came to pick the scattered guts and meat. They put them inside a black plastic bag as if they are trash.
"Let's go."
He just said that and walked forward. Blanche followed him with a smile.
After that, no one dared to get close to him. No one tried to talk to him or Blanche either. He was an untouchable existence that was escorted by the Student Council President.