On a vast field of blinding white snow, two bursts of flame clashed violently.
BOOM.WHOOSH.
A whirlwind erupted, tearing through the ground and sweeping everything away—fire, snow, and sound.
Emma stood in the midst of chaos, a blue flute in her hands.She lifted it to her lips and blew.
FUUUU~
A blazing fireball shot toward her—but it was stopped mid-air by an invisible barrier.
Dozens more followed, raining down from all directions,yet Emma didn't flinch.
Her long black hair danced wildly in the storm,and the wind seemed to wrap around her like a shroud.
Then, it absorbed the incoming fire,turning the flames into a veil that cloaked her entire body.
"Attack!!"
The ground trembled beneath her feet—a massive stone arm burst from below.
Emma leapt back, but not fast enough.Dozens of rocky hands emerged, clutching at her all at once.
The flames around her began to tremble—then spin—faster and faster, swirling into a fiery storm.
FUU~Fwoosh. Fwoosh.
Then—light.A flash so bright it swallowed everything.
BOOOOOOM.
The explosion shattered the stone hands that bound her, scattering dust and debris across the snow.
Emma landed lightly, breathing hard. She reached for her flute—but a sudden blast sent it flying.
"Don't let her reach it!!"
A voice echoed from afar.Dozens of figures charged from every direction.
Emma didn't care.Her eyes were fixed solely on that flute.
BANG!
Fire and lightning struck her at once—but her body remained unscathed.
"You okay?!"
A tall man and a red-haired girl stood in front of her, shielding her from the assault.
"I'm fine! I can still fight!" Emma called out, chanting as she ran toward the fallen flute.
"AFSSFSFA! (Restrain!)"
FUUU~
Six opponents lunged toward her and her teammates—then froze mid-charge.
"What the hell?!""Shit!!"
The snow beneath their feet had hardened—turning into solid ice that bound their legs in place.
"Burn it! Melt the ice!" one shouted.
Crack.
Before they could react, the ice beneath them shattered—tiny shards glittering under the pale sun.
From beneath those shards, white translucent hands emerged,grasping at their heads.
"Wh–what is this?!""Is that a Gift?!"
"GWAA—!"
The glass-like hands touched a man's face, and he screamed in agony.
Despair, cold, and pain seeped into their bodies with every touch.That was Emma's Gift—a power that reflected and amplified her enemy's fear and suffering.
"GWAAAA!!""FUCKKKKKK!""UGHHHH!!"
Some vomited, some fainted, others simply broke down crying.
From afar, another group was watching.
They hid behind a frozen ridge, using a mana-vision technique to observe from a distance.
"So that's really the treasure we're supposed to find,"a woman's voice murmured.
"Yeah. The moment she picked up that flute, her mana levels spiked like crazy," said a man beside her.
"Then the treasure this year must be some kind of power enhancer."
Three silhouettes emerged from their hiding spot and walked away.No need to keep watching—the outcome was already clear.
With the treasure's strength, Emma had become one of the most dangerous contenders in the entire exam.And with her Gift, it wasn't even a fair fight anymore.
But now they had something more valuable—information.If Emma's team had taken the treasure from the frozen region,then this area no longer held any worth.
"Should we keep fighting Jax? He seems exhausted after defending that cave," one of them asked.
"He beat us in under ten minutes. We were lucky to escape alive, Evelyn,"Rack grumbled.
"Lucky? You mean distracted—you fell for every one of his childish tricks!" Evelyn snapped back.
The two bickered as usual, while Julien followed silently behind them.
He had fought on the front lines during their earlier battle,while the other two supported from the rear.Now, he simply sighed and trudged along, occasionally chiming in to keep the peace.
Step. Step.
They reached the edge of a roaring river—a river that flowed through all eight regions surrounding the ninth.
"So this might be another clue?" Evelyn asked, pointing at an oddly shaped tree.
"I'm not sure. Maybe," Julien said dully.
"Of course it is! The stone tablet we found pointed straight here," Rack added.
The others nodded and approached the tree to investigate.
Then—
BOOM!
A smoke bomb exploded out of nowhere,and several figures appeared from within the mist.
"What the—"
Before Rack could finish, two metallic sounds rang out.
CLANG! CLANG!
[You have lost.]
In an instant, Rack vanished—teleported away.
Evelyn gasped and raised her hand to cast a spell,but before she could—
CLANG. CLANG.
Julien stepped in front of her, a barrier flaring to life.
"Do something—!"
He didn't finish.A sudden invisible force struck him, hurling him backward.
Standing there was Jax,a faintly golden necklace in one hand,and a short sword in the other,its tip pointed straight at Evelyn.
High above, two figures hovered in the air.
"So… have you figured out what he's planning?"
The speaker was a short-haired blonde woman in a long coat—Star Pholen, one of the exam supervisors.Beside her floated Wellay, another proctor.
"Chaos," Wellay said uncertainly. "He's trying to eliminate as many people as possible?"
They were observing Ron Irus,the one the headmaster had specifically told them to watch.
Wellay still didn't understand what Ron was doing.He had spent an entire day carving strange markings into stones,making certain areas look—deliberately—unnatural.
It was as if Ron was creating confusion on purpose,pushing others into fights over meaningless 'clues,'as though he sought nothing but chaos itself.
"Well," Star chuckled, crossing her arms,"then let's just watch. The fun part's about to start, Wellay."