After the turtle situation, I found myself fighting another demon. So far, it was the first humanoid demon I saw in this forest.
[Appraisal]
Demonoid [Lv.22]
Strength: 30
Defense: 10
Endurance: 48
Intelligence: 0
Charisma: 0
Not so impressive, and neither is it easy.
Grueh!
The demonoid began to rashly swing its thin arms at me, keeping a close distance which made it impossible to use my spells.
'0 Intelligence my ass! They know what to do even while being mindless!'
Avoiding close calls was my specialty, but this kind of frantic assault was not something I could deal with for long periods of time.
'Gotta kill it right now.'
Instead of keeping my distance, I decided to get closer. Its claws were inches away from my face, but before it hit, I threw an uppercut, causing it to float slightly upwards and giving me enough time to act.
"Flare: Shot!"
The magic circle appeared on my palm, a blast of flare was unleashed, easily incinerating the demonoid.
"Whew, close one I say..."
[Notice!]
Demonoid Defeated
Leveled up 2x!
Level 13 reached
Available Status Points: 8
"Now that is something,"
I muttered to myself, glancing at the notices.
'Points... 2 on Strength, Defense, Endurance, and Intelligence. That should be enough for now.'
[System]
Status:
Strength: 12↑
Defense: 10↑
Endurance: 10↑
Intelligence: 15↑
Charisma: 5
Available Status Points: 0
'That should be a decent increase for now...'
I thought, opening the details regarding Flare Magic.
[System]
Flare Magic:
-Highly Effective against Demons
-Weaker Variant of Fire Magic
-Capable of minor healing
-Ineffective against Demons with defense double the Host's Intelligence Stat unless hit at critical points (e.g., face, open wounds, etc.)
'This new information is good and all, but that just means I'm screwed when paired against demons with crazy defense stats.'
I inwardly sighed before looking ahead, as so far, that was the second demon I had killed.
"Time to find more."
I then rushed forward, trying to locate more demons in this deadly forest. At some point, I found a demon or two, but before I could even reach them, other examinees began to fight them.
Instead of waiting for them to die, I moved on, searching for new prey.
Though, while searching, an unexpected encounter came.
"Fire: Shot!"
A blast of fire was shot directly at me, but I narrowly dodged it. That didn't mean I avoided all the damage, though.
"Fuck!"
I hissed, clutching my arm where the fire had burned me. I turned to see where the attack came from and was met with a band of four examinees.
"Hey, ain't this the Bastard of the Bloomlyn?"
One of them said with a sneer.
"Looks like 'em. No one else has crimson hair and blue eyes in this entire exam," another, wearing glasses, stated matter-of-factly.
"Heh! Now this is just a jackpot!" a third said, grinning from ear to ear.
'Who the fuck are they?'
Sweat trickled down my face as I tried to figure out who these guys were.
"You're probably wondering who we are," the one who shot the fire said indifferently.
"Well, to say the least, we are just people who wish to kill you."
"Why even kill someone as insignificant as me?"
I asked, though it stung a little to call myself insignificant.
"Hm? Oh, that's EXACTLY why we're gonna kill you," he replied with a cruel smile.
"The academy does not accept insignificance, and you are worse than trash."
Okay, now that hurt.
"Prepare to face death, you bastard."
Magic circles formed on their palms, each of their faces brimming with murderous intent.
'... Now not killing them ain't an option, huh?'
[Notice!]
New Quest Added To Quest List!
[System]
Quest: Kill the Assailants
Goal: [0/4]
Rewards: 5 Levels, Attribute added to Flare Magic
Failure: Death and Oblivion
'This system really is a piece of shit.'
I sighed heavily, the weight of the situation pressing down on me. The assailants, emboldened by their belief in my inferiority, closed in with palpable bloodlust. My heart raced, adrenaline surging through my veins as I prepared to fight for my life.
________________________________________________________________
Boom!
Narrowly dodging a fiery blast from one of the assailants, I skidded across the dirt, barely managing to keep my balance. Their coordinated attacks weren't something I could ignore anymore. I needed to assess their capabilities fast.
[Appraisal]
Dane Gumvile [Lv. 15]
Strength: 15
Defense: 10
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 20
Charisma: 10
Fil [Lv. 13]
Strength: 20
Defense: 5
Endurance: 12
Intelligence: 14
Charisma: 1
Liam Elvis [Lv. 17]
Strength: 9
Defense: 7
Endurance: 20
Intelligence: 30
Charisma: 3
Josh [Lv. 5]
Strength: 8
Defense: 8
Endurance: 4
Intelligence: 0
Charisma: 0
'Okay, while the last guy is definitely pure dogshit, I can't underestimate them. These four are grouped up for a reason.'
Ducking under a volley of fire and wind spells, I noted that only three of them were actively attacking. The weakest one, Josh, lingered at the edges, watching for an opening.
Their strategy was simple but effective: pin me down and wear me out. The more I dodged, the tighter their noose became. My back pressed against a tree, leaving me with no choice but to counter.
"Flare:—"
"Now!"
Predictably, they saw my spell as an opening. Josh charged in, grinning like he'd already won. But I had anticipated this.
"—Burst!"
The glowing magic circle on my palm imploded, sending a fiery shockwave directly into Josh's chest. He flew back with a guttural scream, slamming into a tree. His body crumpled to the ground, motionless.
"Ack!"
"Josh!"
"Fucking hell, I knew he was useless!" Dane spat in frustration, but Liam adjusted his glasses, his voice calm.
"Don't be rash. He may have failed here, but he succeeded in other tasks."
"You're right. My bad," Dane muttered, though his frustration was still evident.
Their gazes turned back to me, cold and calculating.
"Who would've thought he'd be this skilled?" Liam mused, adjusting his glasses.
'Skilled my ass. The guy you brought was just utter dogshit,' I thought, unwilling to provoke them further aloud.
"Plan B," Liam said simply.
Plan B?
Before I could react, a trio of magic circles materialized around me—fire, wind, and explosion magic combined in a devastating trap. Pure instinct drove me to leap back, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the attack.
BOOM!
Despite my quick reaction, the explosion caught my arm, searing flesh and leaving it beyond recognition. Pain shot through me like a lightning bolt.
"FUCK!" I screamed, clutching the charred remnants of my right arm. Blood poured from the wound, and the agony made it hard to think.
"He survived." Fil's voice was laced with irritation.
"Surprise, surprise," Dane added mockingly.
"But he's not going anywhere now."
Liam stepped down from his perch in the trees, his boots crunching against the dirt as he approached. His cold gaze locked onto mine, and a smirk twisted his lips.
"Yo, how does it feel to be so injured? First time feeling so helpless?"
I couldn't muster a reply. The pain was too overwhelming. I bit down hard on my tongue, trying to redirect my focus.
"Oh? Biting your tongue to endure it? That's cute."
Liam's boot came down on my leg, applying pressure until I felt the bone strain.
"NNNNGH!"
Blood trickled from my mouth as I bit harder, the taste of iron mixing with my rage and despair.
He laughed, his amusement at my suffering clear.
"You're pathetic. Let's see how much more you can take."
His fist struck my gut with brutal force. The air left my lungs as blood and spit erupted from my mouth. My vision blurred, and the world around me dimmed.
As they stood over me, laughing and reveling in their triumph, I saw something... odd. Their laughter turned to shouts, their smug faces twisting into expressions of fear.
'What's happening?'
[Notice!]
Host has suffered Death.
Quest Failed.
[Warning!]
<+̸̬͎͚̤͎̩̠͑̒̈̈͊̈́̔͑̉#̵̡̡̧̛͎̜̣̺̬̭͚̭̫̺̘͚̪͚̼͙̙͕̜̙͍̞̻̺̼̙̙̼̥͔̫̹͓͇̬̯͋͜͜͜͝3̴͚͈͇̫͎̘͇̀̔̚ ̸̨̡̨̯̪̺̞͍͙̣͙̜̠̰̭̼̬͓͎̖͈̳̺͇̻́̿͛̎̊̉͌͊͆̋̓́̑͋́̈́͒̈́̓̌̃̅̎͗̄̍̃̅̚͘̚͝͠ͅͅ@̵͔̝̎̋͂̍͌̈́͊͐̈́͋̑͂͒̿̍̈̔̀̔̉̓̈̕̚͝͠Ŕ̵̡̡̢̧̧̨̨̛̛̫̞͖̫̭̤͖͔͈̰̬̤̤̘̝̣̹̪̭̩̖͔̼̝͚͎̺̲͓̹͋̊̊̓̓̀̏̒̆̍̈́̏̔̂́̀̑̎́̇̾́̔͌̚͠͝͝ͅͅç̷̧̨̢̖̪͕͍̫͈͔̹͔̪͖̤̗̬̗̫̲͚̹̥̲̼͙͔̣̺̫̠͖̖̱̙̫̦͒̈́̀̅̉̈̈́͌̿́̿̆̇́͘͘̚#̴͓̮̠̩̦̭͚̠͈̞̤͉̀̀̂͐̊́͂̊̓̉́̆̋̀̌͛̃̀͝͝!̶͈̃͛̇̉͋̋̊̈́͑͐̀̓͌̊͂̎̽̀͘͝͝͝+̸̢̡̢̨̱̫̮̱͎͇͔̤͉͎̻̯̪̰͔̭͉͙̮̤̬̼̘̹͙̬̭͓̹̙͇̩̬̖̱͕̅͑͂̾̋̓́̾̓͋̈́̈̓̏̂͐̒̈́̾̑̑̈́͐̕̕͜ͅ3̶̢̢̛̺̘͍̞̼̠̱̟̞̻̦̞̺̮͇̠̽̓͆̒́̃͊̈̑̎̈̈́̄̓̋̈́ͥ̕̚̚͠͝͠͝... overwrote System Rules>
[System Notice]
Quest Succeeded!
Rewards: 5 Levels, Random Attribute added to Flare Magic.
Attribute Attained: Hasty
'What the fuck...?'
Those were my last thoughts before I succumbed to unconsciousness.