The beachside had transformed under the night sky, the familiar sands and surf now bathed in a soft, eerie glow. Starlight shimmered on the dark ocean, casting rippling silver trails that seemed to reach out to the shore. A salty breeze brushed against my face, carrying a chill that made it feel less like a tropical paradise and more like the stage for something strange and foreboding.
Everyone was gathered by the beachside again, but this time, the mood was anything but festive.
All around me, hunters stood in full gear, their figures sharp and alert. Gone were the relaxed swimsuits and carefree laughter from earlier; now, it was all polished armor, reinforced fabric, and weapons glinting faintly under the moonlight. Shadows and dim lights from the distant resort added a faint glow, making the hunters seem like dark, vigilant silhouettes against the shoreline.
Bob stood on a makeshift podium, his voice carrying across the crowd.
"It's time for the sixth stage. Let's call this test 'Read the Stars.' Now, what's it gonna be? Kaliya Beach Resort isn't exactly what it seems... This island wasn't funded by the Hunter's Association just so hunters can get discounted vacations."
I noticed a few curious heads tilt. I leaned in, intrigued myself.
Bob grinned. "You see, there's a peculiar celestial phenomenon that only occurs here. Starting tonight, and lasting for nine days, this entire resort will be trapped in eternal night!"
Murmurs swept through the crowd as we processed the implications.
I stood near the edge of the crowd like a bystander. Selena was on my left in her most alert state, while Black flanked me on the right with arms crossed as he scanned the surroundings. Together, we waited, listening as the chairman's voice cut through the stillness, setting the tone for the night and whatever awaited us in the "eternal night" ahead.
Bob's voice echoed over the beach as if he was taunting us.
"So, what are you going to do? Simple… Escape! There will be a teleportation box waiting at the other end of the island. Arrive there before the ninth day, and you pass this test... but be forewarned. The night has ways to distort perception, not to mention wild beasts that the night ushers to hunt! Also, the resort will be closed down for the rest of the test. No harassing the staff, okay? Or I will kill you."
For a moment, a suffocating wave of killing intent washed over us. It was sharp and cold like a sudden blade pressed to the throat. Even the most hardened hunters shifted uneasily, no one willing to question if he meant it.
Then, with a flash of light, he was gone, likely teleported away as abruptly as he'd appeared.
The others dashed forward, grouping up and sprinting toward the darkened treeline. I stayed put and considered our approach. Selena and Black looked at me, clearly waiting for some guidance.
But this was the first I was hearing of this test, and any concrete strategy escaped me.
"If Leora were here," Selena said with a pout, "she'd breeze through this."
Unfortunately, I wasn't Leora.
"Let's hold back for now and strategize," I said, scanning the forest edge. "Rushing in without a plan won't help. The chairman didn't specify cryptids, but that doesn't mean the creatures out here are any less dangerous. We're at the sixth stage, so if all we're up against are animals, there's got to be more to it."
Selena raised an eyebrow, slightly skeptical. "Hopefully, you're not overthinking it," she said, crossing her arms.
"Better to overthink than be caught off-guard," I replied, glancing around at the other hunters already fading into the trees. "Besides, nothing about Bob's tests has been straightforward."
"Good point," Black said, relaxing slightly. "So, what's the plan? I'm not too confident my spiders will be much help navigating. They're built for surveillance, not exploration, and they're way too small to cover much ground out here."
I gave him a reassuring nod. "No worries. I've got navigation covered."
During the party last night, while everyone else was celebrating, I'd been quietly working, spreading Soul Marks and Soul Links throughout the area. I could use those Marks like anchor points, building a mental map of the forest. It was rough, but it was something to work with. I focused, bringing up the list of attributes I could borrow through my Soul Link, searching for one that might make this easier.
I found an unexpected match. It was from Gerry—the same guy who'd tried to kill me earlier in the exams. His attribute, "Homing," was designed to guide projectiles to their targets, but I could adapt it to lead us toward our destination. I borrowed it, feeling a faint sense of direction solidify as if an invisible arrow pointed me forward.
"Got it," I smiled.
The exams had been almost too easy for me so far, and that creeping sense of unease was starting to settle in. It felt like I was waiting for the real test, the one that would knock me back on my heels with no way to pull through.
I glanced at Black. "Mind if I borrow that pendant you got from the fifth stage?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
The items we won in the last exam weren't just rewards; they were top-quality semi-finished Maker products, almost like a blank slate ready to be shaped into an artifact tailored to our individual aura. For most hunters, this kind of thing was a rare luxury.
I held up a hand, reassuring him. "Don't worry—I'm not going to steal it or change anything about it. I just need it as a medium for something."
Black handed over his pendant with a curious expression. I took it, focusing as I wrapped my fingers around the cool metal chain. Carefully, I imbued it with the homing attribute I'd borrowed. Slowly, the pendant began to tremble, then floated upward, pointing in a specific direction as though it were a compass.
Selena let out a low whistle. "Now that is convenient."
Black's curiosity turned to intrigue. "How does it work?"
I glanced at him, figuring honesty wouldn't hurt—especially since the homing attribute wasn't technically mine. "I used a borrowed attribute—homing—on the pendant to make it point away from this area. It can only do that because I have my Soul Marks and Soul Links scattered as anchor points. They give me a rough idea of direction."
Both of them nodded, impressed, though I could see them mentally filing away the idea. The pendant pointed steadily, leading us forward.
We moved ahead in formation: me at the front, Selena right behind, and Black flanking my left. Every step felt deliberate, but we knew what we were doing. We had a clear line, purposefully ordered for stealth, strategy, and efficiency.
Selena couldn't cloak us fully in invisibility while we were moving, but she'd done something clever with her aura technique: she'd disguised each of us to look like someone else in our group. I was disguised as Black, Black as Selena, and Selena as me. A solid countermeasure. Anyone tracking us or plotting an ambush would find themselves targeting the wrong person if they made a move.
It was an odd sensation, seeing each other like this, but I knew the strategy would pay off if someone attempted anything. It was like we'd weaponized deception itself, and it was just one more layer of advantage we had going into this test. Sadly, this deception wasn't foolproof or that useful, since hunters could sprung up an ambush on us regardless of the information they have on hand.
The island was unlike anything I'd seen before. As the chairman warned, the celestial phenomenon threw my perception off—subtle shifts and warps in the landscape, shadows flickering and stretching in unnatural ways, and a constant feeling of disorientation. The trees looked darker, the paths twisted and wound back in ways that defied logic, and even the stars above seemed to sway slightly, distorting what should have been a simple night sky.
But, with the techniques I'd prepared, I managed to keep us on course. The pendant imbued with the homing attribute guided us steadily, while my Soul Marks and Soul Links helped me keep track of our position, recalibrating my bearings each time the island played tricks on us.
Every so often, cries and howls echoed from deeper in the forest, blending with the sounds of scuffling and occasional shouts from the hunters ahead of us. They were likely clashing with the beasts the night had unleashed. It was clear they were taking the brunt of whatever roamed this place.
I was grateful for the choice to hold back. Letting the others rush ahead had worked in our favor, giving them the honor of clearing out—or at least distracting—the creatures lurking in the darkness. It wasn't a coward's move; it was smart. With each step, we advanced cautiously, ready for anything but mindful of letting the island's dangers thin out before we faced them.
I knew better than to let my guard down, but… this was almost too easy. Just like the last tests. Was I actually overpowered? It was peculiar how smoothly I was adapting to this world, to everything about aura—even though I'd only recently awakened mine. It should've been a gradual, challenging process, but here I was, picking up advanced techniques and executing strategies with relative ease. If I was being honest, it scared me.
I let out a quiet sigh. Dwelling on it wouldn't help, though. I had a reason for being here, and I couldn't afford to get distracted by my own doubts. This was all for my family, and I wouldn't stop until I had eliminated the threats looming over us.
My train of thought cut off as Black held out his hand, signaling us to halt. He leaned forward slightly, squinting into the darkness. Even though scouting wasn't his primary skill, Black was the best scout we had, especially with his aura beasts supporting him. In a low whisper, he murmured, "There's something up ahead. Be ready."
We went silent, instinctively tightening our formation as we waited for whatever lay ahead to make its move—or for us to get a better look.