Ezra ran a hand through his hair and let out a long breath. "Alright, that could've gone worse."
Vincent was the type to hold a grudge, which meant avoiding him for the rest of the trial would be a pain. But for now? He had a window to move without getting sucker-punched by some rich brat with an ego problem.
Survive for six hours.
The easiest way to do that was to hide. But hiding meant no points, and no points meant getting stuck in Class C—the bottom of the barrel, full of weaklings destined to be stepping stones.
And that? That was a problem.
I don't need to be at the top, but I can't be at the bottom either.
Class C students were treated like shit. If you were lucky, you'd just get ignored. If you weren't, you'd get used as training dummies for the strong.
Ezra wasn't about to live like that.
Which meant he needed points.
Which meant he needed a damn weapon.
He took a quick look around. The forest was dense, full of old trees with thick branches. If he could find something sharp, he could at least make a crude spear.
His eyes landed on a broken-off branch, long and sturdy enough to work. He grabbed it and tested its weight. Not bad. It wouldn't do much against strong opponents, but against small monsters? It'd work in a pinch.
"Step one: weapon secured," he muttered. "Step two: find an easy kill."
The problem was, he had no clue where the weaker monsters were. In the novel, the protagonist would straight get to the best targets. Ezra, on the other hand, had nothing.
Well, almost nothing
He did have common sense.
If big predators were deeper in the forest, then smaller prey should be closer to the edges.
Ezra moved carefully, sticking to the shadows and keeping his footsteps light. If he ran into something too strong, he needed to be able to bolt without tripping over his own feet.
Fifteen minutes later, he found his first target.
A Shadow Hare.
Ezra exhaled slowly. Alright. I can do this.
He gripped his makeshift spear, creeping forward. The hare twitched but didn't run. Good. It hadn't noticed him yet.
Step by step, he closed the distance.
Then, just as he raised his weapon—
CRACK!
A branch snapped behind him.
Ezra froze.
The hare bolted.
"Oh, for fuck's sake—"
He spun around, already knowing who he'd see.
A student stood there, looking just as surprised as Ezra felt.
The guy was short and scrawny, with messy brown hair and wide green eyes. He wore the academy uniform, but it was slightly disheveled—his coat unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up.
Ezra narrowed his eyes. "...Who the hell are you?"
The guy blinked, then grinned sheepishly. "Uh. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare off your rabbit."
Ezra sighed. "Great. There goes my easy kill."
The guy scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that one's on me. But, uh. Since we're both kinda struggling here… wanna team up?"
Ezra frowned. "Why?"
The guy shrugged. "Survival's easier in groups, right?"
That was true. But it also meant splitting points, which wasn't ideal.
Ezra studied him for a moment. He didn't recognize the guy from the novel, which meant he probably wasn't important. Just another extra trying to survive.
"…What's your name?"
"Leo. Leo Ashford."
Ezra crossed his arms. "And what do you bring to the table, Leo Ashford?"
Leo grinned. "Uh. I'm pretty fast?"
Ezra gave him a flat look. "Yeah, I'm gonna need more than that."
Leo sighed. "Alright, alright. I can use some basic magic. Not much, just wind spells. But they're good for distractions. Plus, I'm not completely useless in a fight."
Ezra considered it. Having a magic user on his side wouldn't be the worst thing.
"…Fine. But if you screw me over, I'll make sure you regret it."
Leo held up his hands. "No betrayal here, man. Just two guys trying not to get our asses kicked."
Ezra smirked. "Alright, partner. Let's get some points."
Ezra and Leo moved deeper into the forest, the thick trees stretching high above them. The ground was uneven, covered in roots and fallen leaves, making every step a potential death trap. The distant chirping of birds was the only sound breaking the eerie silence.
Ezra exhaled sharply, adjusting his grip on his shitty excuse for a spear. "Alright, we need a plan before some overpowered asshole jumps us."
Leo, walking beside him, nodded. "Agreed. You're the one with the stick, so I'm guessing close combat's your thing?"
Ezra shot him a deadpan look. "Yeah, because I totally know how to fight with a goddamn twig."
Leo chuckled. "Hey, gotta start somewhere, man."
Ezra rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll handle melee. You cover me with those wind spells of yours."
Leo gave him a thumbs-up. "Got it."
Now, they just needed a target.
Ezra scanned the forest, trying to remember what he could from the novel. The weaker monsters usually stuck to open areas or near water sources, so—
Rustle.
Both of them froze.
Something was moving in the bushes ahead.
Ezra took a slow step back. "If that's something big, I'm fucking out."
Leo elbowed him. "Dude, it might be an easy kill."
Ezra clenched his jaw. He really, really didn't want this to be some bullshit overpowered monster. But… they needed points.
He crept forward, spear ready.
The rustling got louder. Then—
A creature shot out.
Ezra barely had time to react before it lunged straight at his fucking face.
"SHIT!"
He swung his spear on instinct, smacking the thing mid-air. It tumbled to the ground, letting out a furious screech.
Ezra finally got a good look at it.
A Feral Fangrat.
An oversized rat, about the size of a small dog, with jagged teeth and glowing red eyes. Its fur was patchy, and its tail thrashed violently.
Ezra grimaced. "Giant rats? Really?"
Leo took a cautious step back. "Uh. You got this, right?"
The Fangrat let out a guttural snarl and charged again.
Ezra barely had time to react. He braced himself and thrust his spear forward—
MISS.
The rat was fast. It swerved to the side at the last second, dodging the attack entirely.
"Fucking hell."
Ezra barely managed to jump back as the creature snapped at his leg.
Leo, to his credit, actually reacted fast. "Hold up—Wind Shot!"
A burst of air shot from his palm, smacking the Fangrat off balance. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
Ezra didn't waste the chance.
He lunged forward and stabbed the fucker straight through the chest.
The Fangrat let out a horrible squeal before twitching and going still.
Ezra panted, glaring down at the corpse. "…That was disgusting."
Leo let out a breath. "Well. We lived."
Ezra wiped his forehead. "Yeah. Barely."
Leo nudged the dead rat with his foot. "So, uh. How do we get points for this?"
Ezra sighed. "No clue. Maybe the professors are watching?"
Leo made a face. "Creepy."
Ezra shook his head. "Whatever. One kill down. Let's keep moving."
They didn't have time to waste. The real threats weren't the monsters.
It was the other students.