"Hmmmm," I murmured, nodding slowly as I took in my surroundings. I found myself in the same space where the assignment test was taking place. Fortunately, it wasn't much different from what I expected. Glancing down at myself, I noticed I was wearing a tight black tracksuit with white stripes that glowed faintly from the light magic. Around my wrist was a bracelet—a device that indicated how many points you'd accumulated. But what really caught my attention was a dot at the far end of the map, moving towards me at breakneck speed like a missile. That dot was, of course, Leslie.
The world we're in spans about 200 kilometers from end to end, so Leslie would probably face some challenges getting to my position. Swallowing dryly as I watched the dot zoom closer at an insane speed, I couldn't help but think, "She's a damn monster, no words for her physical capabilities." Shifting my focus from the watch... wait, now that I look closer, it's actually a watch...
I was surrounded by trees and large bushes, and there was no noise at all—everything was eerily silent. I have four hours... Leslie's words give me some peace, so the best move I can make is...
I quickly moved to hide in one of the bushes around me.
"..."
*****
"Get out of my way, you piece of trash!" A large sword gleamed cruelly as it sliced a poor aspirant in half, someone who had been desperately running for his life.
A pair of purple eyes shone with a bloodthirsty hunger. Clicking her tongue, Leslie stepped on the body of the fallen aspirant, crushing the bones even further and leaving the corpse unrecognizable. She continued running.
"Where are you? Why are you so far away?! Don't you want me by your side?!" In Leslie's mind, she believed that Art had intentionally distanced himself from her, but that wasn't true. The aspirants were randomly placed on the map... She bit down hard on her inner lip.
The sword in her hand left a trail of blood as she ran, and anyone who dared to stand in her way was cut down like a pig in a slaughterhouse. The terrifying aura of bloodlust around her was more like a death sentence for anyone nearby...
Her eyes were empty, devoid of any vitality, her body itched and burned as if she were dying, and her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might explode...
She couldn't understand how it happened or when it began, but she could remember the first day they met. Just a day before the academy's inauguration, she was trying on her uniform when she heard a blood-curdling scream. Normally, she would have ignored it, but for some strange reason, she went to check it out. At first, she didn't think much of it, assuming she'd forget all about it the next day, but... the next day, his scent, his presence, his body, his hands, his eyes, his skin, his hair, everything about him drove her insane...
As she sliced another student in half, her cheeks flushed red. Fresh blood splattered all over her uniform, but she didn't care. Running at top speed again, as fast as she could, she rushed towards her destined love, her only love...
****
"Hehehehe, stupid bastards!" I watched and laughed silently, hiding like a damned rat as I watched a pair of extras fight to the death... I was quietly observing when suddenly, explosions erupted beside me. Refusing to look at what was happening, they came to my location. At first, I thought about escaping, but they didn't seem to notice me and continued fighting among themselves...
The idea is simple... I'll launch a fireball at the victor who manages to survive... It's a rat move, I know, but the coward is the one who survives, while the hero is the one who dies...
"Die!!" One of the young men screamed in madness as the spear in his hand shot like a projectile towards his opponent, a comrade he had known for about 10 minutes...
"Urgh..." The other young man spat out a mouthful of blood as the spear's tip pierced his chest... He fell to the ground, dead.
Looking at the blood and the wounds on their bodies, they looked so real... and the smell of blood seemed real too... Licking my lips, I silently prepared a fireball in my hands...
The young man had a deep cut on his chest and some burns on his arms... Gasping heavily, he dropped his spear to the ground and raised his head as tears began to flow from his eyes... He raised his hand in a victorious gesture...
-Mom! Your son did it! Woooooaaa!!! ARGHHHTTT!!!!
At the moment the blue fireball hit his body, it quickly engulfed the young man... watching with pathetic eyes! Only a real nutjob would start shouting in the middle of a test! Damn it, you could attract others to this place. The scream started as a victorious one but soon turned into one of agony... He writhed like a chicken being strangled before finally being completely charred...
[Congratulations!]
[You have gained 200 points!]
Nodding silently... I hid even deeper in my bush... it was a great haul for being a sneaky rat...
"..."
Trying to make as little noise as possible...
"Hey... what are you doing here?" A young girl's voice whispered in my ear...
"I'm hiding," I replied as I carefully scanned my surroundings, eyes wide open...
"Oh, I see... it looks fun. Mind if I join you? Honestly, I'm feeling a bit sleepy...?" she said in a tired voice...
"Of course, just don't make any noise..." I nodded seriously, turning to face the girl...
"Kyah!" My soul nearly left my body... I jumped like a scared rabbit, my eyes widening...
The girl with red hair and nearly light red eyes looked at me while tilting her head... "Hey! Didn't you say we shouldn't make any noise?" she whispered angrily...
"Uh... oh yeah, sorry," I said, silently hiding in my bush again... "Wait a minute..."