Then she continued.
"If a participant manages to obtain more than one hundred flags..."
"The additional flags will be converted into Academy Points."
I immediately understood the rules.
So that was the essence of the examination.
Find the flags.
Take them from other participants if necessary.
Then protect what you had collected until the examination ended.
It wasn’t simply a test of strength.
It was also a test of perception, strategy, adaptability, and resource management.
Astrea continued.
"However..."
Her tone became slightly more serious.
"Killing is strictly prohibited."
"If the examination system detects an attack that would result in the death of another participant..."
"The attacker and the victim will immediately be separated."
"The victim will be teleported directly to the medical staff."
"And all the flags in their possession will be dropped."
I nodded slightly.
So even if someone completely overwhelmed another participant, they couldn’t simply kill them.
The strongest participants couldn’t freely slaughter their competition.
They had to take the flags without killing.
And because the flags were limited...
Conflict was inevitable.
I looked at the screen again.
Thousands of participants were already spreading throughout the massive forest.
Some were searching for flags.
Some were forming groups.
And some were already hunting other participants.
A small smile appeared on my face.
Interesting.
This might actually be fun.
The screen suddenly changed.
It zoomed in on a single flag standing in the middle of the forest.
An elf immediately noticed it and rushed toward it.
But just as he was about to reach the flag—
BOOM!
A massive fire attack struck the ground.
The elf barely managed to avoid it.
He immediately turned toward the direction the attack had come from.
Standing there was a young dragon in human form.
Dark-red horns protruded from his head, and flames flickered around his body.
He looked at the elf arrogantly.
"Do you want to live?"
"Abandon the flag and piss off."
The elf didn’t back down.
He immediately pulled out his bow.
An arrow formed in his hands, its body resembling twisting roots.
He released it.
Whoosh!
The dragon easily dodged the arrow and immediately rushed forward.
But the arrow struck the ground behind him.
The moment it landed—
Countless vines erupted from the earth.
They wrapped around the dragon’s legs and body, binding him tightly.
The dragon looked down at the vines.
His expression was filled with disdain.
"Weak."
Flames suddenly erupted from his body.
The vines were instantly burned away.
The dragon broke free with ease.
But when he looked toward the elf again—
The elf was already gone.
And so was the flag.
The dragon froze.
Then his expression twisted with anger.
He turned around and punched a nearby tree.
BOOM!
The tree shook violently.
I quietly watched the scene.
Interesting.
That dragon had made a simple mistake.
His pride had made him focus entirely on the vines.
He had been so confident that he could burn them away effortlessly that he stopped paying attention to his opponent.
And because of that...
He had given the elf the opportunity to escape with the flag.
I made a mental note.
If I ever find myself in a situation like that, I need to keep my eyes on my opponent at all times.
Strength alone wasn’t enough.
Even a stronger opponent could lose if they became careless.
The screen suddenly switched to another location.
This time, another flag was visible.
There were four participants nearby.
Two beastmen.
One elf.
And a phoenix.
I watched with growing interest.
Now this is interesting.
Will the beastmen team up?
Or will they fight separately?
And if the phoenix and elf work together, can they defeat both beastmen?
I leaned forward slightly.
Luna, sitting beside me, was watching with just as much interest.
The four participants looked at one another.
The two beastmen exchanged glances.
Then they nodded.
That was all the confirmation the elf and phoenix needed.
They hadn’t formed an alliance.
Instead, each of them immediately moved toward one of the beastmen.
The phoenix coated her body in flames and charged forward.
The beastman didn’t retreat.
His body suddenly tensed as he entered a berserk state.
His speed increased dramatically.
He rushed toward the phoenix and swung his claws.
The phoenix dodged the attack.
Flames erupted around her body, scorching the beastman.
But the beastman used his superior physical abilities to avoid the flames and immediately counterattacked.
The two engaged in a brutal close-range battle.
At the same time, the elf fired a barrage of flaming arrows toward the other beastman.
The beastman easily avoided them.
Then he punched the ground.
BOOM!
The earth shattered.
He grabbed several pieces of broken stone and hurled them toward the elf with incredible speed.
The elf ran through the forest, dodging one attack after another.
But a few of the rocks still managed to strike him.
He quickly raised his hands.
Mud gathered in front of him, forming a thick wall reinforced with vines.
He took cover behind it.
But the beastman didn’t stop.
He charged forward and punched through the wall.
BOOM!
The barrier shattered.
But the elf had already created distance.
He immediately released several arrows.
The beastman was caught off guard.
Several arrows struck his body.
He staggered backward, visibly injured.
The battle continued.
Both beastmen gradually realized they were at a disadvantage.
They exchanged another glance.
Then—
They suddenly rushed forward.
But at the last moment, both changed direction.
They switched opponents.
The beastman fighting the phoenix suddenly attacked the elf.
The other beastman turned toward the phoenix.
Both the elf and phoenix were caught off guard.
The sudden switch allowed the beastmen to land heavy attacks on their opponents.
I narrowed my eyes.
Interesting.
They understand each other quite well.
They didn’t need to communicate verbally.
A single glance was enough for them to understand what the other intended to do.
The battle continued for several more minutes.
Eventually, the elf and phoenix managed to regain control of the situation.
The phoenix’s flames burned away the wounds on her body, and her injuries began healing at a visible speed.
The elf, however, was clearly reaching his limit.
Still, neither of them backed down.
They exchanged another glance.
Then they nodded.
This time, they decided to work together.
They immediately rushed toward one of the beastmen.
The remaining beastman tried to intervene.
But the elf was prepared.
Vines suddenly erupted from the ground and bound him in place.
That single moment was enough.
The phoenix and elf focused all their attacks on the other beastman.
Their combined assault overwhelmed him.
Eventually, they managed to force him out of the examination.
Without wasting any time, they turned toward the remaining beastman.
He was already exhausted.
He struggled against their combined attacks, but he couldn’t keep up for long.
Eventually—
He was defeated as well.
The battlefield became quiet.
The elf and phoenix stood there, both exhausted.
Their bodies were covered with injuries.
They slowly turned toward each other.
Hostility was clearly visible in their eyes.
Neither of them wanted to give up the flag.
For a moment, they simply stood there, catching their breath.
Then both glanced toward the flag.
And froze.
The flag was gone.
"What...?"
Before either of them could understand what had happened—
A figure suddenly appeared behind the phoenix.
A human assassin.
His presence had been completely concealed by the shadows.
Slash!
His dagger struck the phoenix from behind.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Before the attack could become fatal, the examination system detected the lethal blow.
Her body immediately disappeared.
She had been teleported to the medical area.
The elf’s expression changed.
He waited until we were exhausted...
The assassin didn’t give him any time to recover.
His gaze shifted toward the elf.
The elf immediately raised his bow.
But his breathing was heavy, and his body had already been pushed to its limits after fighting the beastman.
The assassin rushed forward.
The elf released several arrows.
But his movements were noticeably slower than before.
The assassin slipped through the attacks using his shadow movement and closed the distance.
The elf tried to defend himself.
But he was simply too exhausted.
The assassin landed another decisive attack.
The examination system activated immediately.
The elf’s body began disappearing.
He glared at the assassin with anger.
"You despicable human..."
His figure vanished.
The assassin looked at the empty space where the elf had been.
There was no pride on his face.
Only disdain.
He turned around, took the flag, and disappeared into the forest before anyone else could arrive.
I watched the scene carefully.
He didn’t waste a single opportunity.
He waited until both of them had exhausted themselves fighting the beastmen, then took advantage of their weakness.
It was ruthless.
But it was also efficient.
I wasn’t going to condemn him simply because his methods were unpleasant.
This was an examination.
Everyone had their own way of winning.
Inside the VIP observation room, the Elf Queen’s expression became grim.
She turned toward Aunt Auralia.
"Your humans are truly despicable."
Auralia simply laughed.
"Oh?"
"Is that so?"
She glanced back toward the screen.
"Winning is what matters."
"Not the process."
Then she smiled.
"He’s an assassin."
"What did you expect?"
The Elf Queen’s expression darkened.
But she had no answer.
She simply turned her attention back toward the examination.
Meanwhile, I continued watching the screen.
A small smile slowly appeared on my face.
This examination...
Is going to be much more interesting than I expected.
————-
A/N:-
Echo_7642 here the first Chapter of the magic castle 🥹
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