The large screen projection showed candidates going about normally; the vast forest looked no different from usual. Yet the teachers all sensed the anomaly.
“What do we do, Principal? Pause the exam first?”
Shirley Teacher sounded tense. Fewer magic beasts wasn’t a big deal—candidates might just be unlucky. Plus, the Teleportation Magic Devices were insurance.
But with many noble-born students, any incident would be hard for the academy to explain.
“No need to stop the exam over this… The upperclassmen just entered. Let them check the situation.”
The Principal stroked his beard thoughtfully before deciding.
Stopping now would be overkill, and with school starting soon, rescheduling would be a hassle.
If time ran out, they’d have to assess magic levels for class placement like other schools, but the Imperial Capital Magic Academy emphasized well-rounded development. This forest exam was ideal.
Fine, wait for the upperclassmen’s report… The Principal mused inwardly when someone hurried over and whispered in his ear.
“An explosion in the Alchemy Institute lab?” The Principal blinked. “Any students hurt?”
The reporter nodded tensely, and the Principal’s expression grew serious.
“I’ll head there now… Instructor Shasta, come with me.”
“What happened?”
“An accident in the Alchemy Institute lab. Students injured. I’m worried about alchemy contamination—you’re the expert in alchemy…”
As he spoke, the Principal rose hurriedly.
“Principal, what about the entrance exam…?”
“We’ll see. Pause if necessary. I leave it to you, Teacher Shirley.”
The Principal left in haste, glancing back at the massive barrier over the forest one last time.
Talk about bad luck piling up… Oh well, just stepping away briefly, and the exam seemed fine…
—
At that moment, inside the Mist Forest.
“Hunter? What’s that?”
Ximo scratched her head at the new exam rule on her Student Terminal.
“Upperclassmen enter as ‘Hunters.’ Hunters have all examinees’ location info. If an examinee is defeated by a Hunter, deduct ten points.”
After reading, Ximo nodded thoughtfully. This rule targeted students trying to game the system.
To pass the entrance exam, one just needed to last until the end. Slackers could dig a hole and hide till over, undermining the point of using the Mist Forest.
Hunters fixed that—with locations, hiding examinees became easy targets, forcing everyone to move.
Ximo pocketed her Student Terminal, unconcerned. She hadn’t planned to hide anyway. After her System task, she’d meet Xiliya.
But the fight with Jackson’s trio had taken her far; she sped back, hoping her rabbit wasn’t burnt…
Then, Ximo slammed to a halt, dropping low into a patch of grass.
Good news: her rabbit looked unburnt. Bad news: someone was eating her rabbit!
…
In a clearing in the Mist Forest, Melrose sat on a large rock, watching the roasting rabbit and bubbling iron pot with interest.
This little maid was quite handy, but was she not coming back for this?
Melrose glanced at her Student Terminal; the nearby red dot was prominent.
“How long do you plan to hide? Keep it up, and your pot might burn.”
Melrose spoke first, looking toward the still grass patch shown on her terminal… Did this little maid think hiding there meant she wouldn’t be found? Hunters had locations.
No response. Melrose stood, drawing her rapier from her waist.
“Sigh, didn’t expect freshmen to fear me so much. A bit hurtful…”
Melrose wasn’t too wary; as an upperclassman, she was surely stronger. She parted the grass with her rapier but found no one.
No one? But the terminal showed the position right here…
The next instant, killing intent flared. Rustling leaves behind her alerted Melrose instantly. Without turning, she blocked backward with her rapier, clanging precisely against the attack.
She blocked it? Ximo’s pupils shrank. She hadn’t expected a mage to parry her sneak attack up close. Jackson’s trio hadn’t even had a chance to react.
“Didn’t expect to get countered like that.”
Melrose turned around, and upon seeing Melrose’s smiling expression, Ximo froze.
Melrose? How was it her?
She hadn’t met Melrose many times, and just now she had only noticed that this uninvited guest was wearing the academy’s uniform, so she had judged her to be a Hunter. She had come up with that plan to turn the tables on her, but she never expected this person to actually be Melrose!
“Hey, Ximo, I didn’t expect it to be you. Looks like we really do have some fate together.”
Melrose also showed a surprised expression—of course, it was faked.
Though it felt a bit like cheating to say it, Melrose had already confirmed Ximo’s position via the large surveillance screen outside before entering the exam grounds.
As a senior student, she was more familiar with this forest than the freshmen, so after entering the Mist Forest, she had deliberately searched around and unexpectedly found the spot where Ximo was cooking.
Ximo’s expression stiffened a bit. She really didn’t want this kind of fate with Melrose!
“So… Senior Melrose, you’re… a Hunter?”
“No worries, I’ll go easy on you. The academy doesn’t send senior students to play Hunters just to make things hard for you all.”
Melrose pointed her rapier at Ximo, and the atmosphere immediately grew tense.
Neither of them moved for a moment. Ximo stared nervously at that rapier… Wasn’t Melrose a Magic Department student? Why was her weapon something like this? And as a mage, she had actually reacted to her sneak attack?
Melrose also looked with interest at the dagger Ximo had deliberately hidden in her sleeve. She hadn’t expected this little maid to try a sneak attack. Most freshmen would run at the first sight of a Hunter—after all, avoiding unnecessary fights preserved more energy for hunting magic beasts—but Ximo had turned around and tried to ambush her instead.
The two stood in silent standoff for a moment before Ximo finally broke the silence.
“So… how about we fight later?”
“Hm?” Melrose blinked. “Why?”
“Well,” Ximo looked a bit embarrassed, “if I don’t tend to it soon, I’m afraid my rabbit will burn…”
The unexpected answer nearly made Melrose burst out laughing. A roast rabbit? What kind of reason was that? Cooking in the exam grounds was already surprising enough, but Ximo was actually pleading with a Hunter to delay the fight for it? So this little maid was such a glutton?
