---
Steven advanced a distance and heard a roar not far away. He moved stealthily to see what kind of monster it was and its rank.
He found a small fox of Rank F—it seemed like the perfect target for Steven.
Before the test, Steven had decided he would not use any of his skills except for the Vital Point skill and his basic swordsmanship.
The Blood skill was very noticeable—where could one find a human who could use the Vampire skill?
As for the Shadow Sword, he had used it many times as Black Crow. If he used it now, his identity would be revealed.
And his Shadow Art skill was still underdeveloped. He decided that after the test, he would improve this skill.
Steven raised his sword but didn't move forward. He stayed in place, observing the fox's movements. The fox was walking slowly, seemingly searching for prey as well.
When the fox approached close to where Steven was, he tried to advance quickly and stab it, but unfortunately, the fox noticed him and dodged Steven's sword at the last moment.
*Sigh… I still haven't gotten used to lowering my rank.*
Steven stood facing the fox, watching it. The fox opened its mouth, and Steven quickly stepped back from his spot.
A small flame shot from the fox's mouth toward the place Steven had been standing moments ago. Fortunately, he avoided it. Then he activated his Vital Point skill and observed the fox.
There were several points on the fox's body: yellow points in multiple places, four orange points on some parts, and two red points—one near the chest and the other on the back of the neck.
Yellow indicated minor damage, orange critical damage, and red lethal damage. This skill was extremely useful against certain enemies.
Steven targeted the red point and stabbed the fox with his sword.
A blue screen appeared before him:
[You gained 10 points, and with your special card points, 20 points. You have a total of 30 points.]
*So my special card gives 20 points, and from others' cards, I only get 10 points. If I lose my card, I'll fail the test.*
*Good thing there are 1,500 students who passed.*
Steven continued forward. After a while, he heard:
"Grrr… grrrr…"
He prepared himself and looked around but found nothing. Then he heard the sound again:
"Grrr… grrr…"
He looked at his stomach and realized the sound was coming from his own belly.
"….."
Steven felt embarrassed. Fortunately, no one was nearby.
*I came here early in the morning and haven't eaten anything.*
He raised his hand and pushed his hair back, embarrassed.
*Since when have I become so foolish? I thought my stomach's roar was a monster's roar.*
Trying to erase that moment from his memory, Steven pulled a loaf of bread from his storage ring and began eating. The VR capsule cleared all his belongings, even those in the storage ring, so he could use them without issues here. Of course, the storage bracelet containing all of Black Crow's essentials could not be erased by the capsule—it had been given to him as a gift from an annoying old man.
After feeling full, Steven continued searching for points.
---
After a while, Steven noticed the place was becoming more humid, and a small lake appeared before him.
In the middle of the lake, a small patch of soil sprouted a blue flower called Boehnia.
The Boehnia flower was used in potions to restore mana.
Steven raised his guard because, as long as this flower was here, there must be a monster guarding it.
He looked around but saw nothing. However, with his experience, he thought:
*This monster is clever—it lures prey with the flower, and when the prey approaches, it attacks. So it must be hiding in the water.*
*The monster should be Rank E.*
*Should I leave or make it look like I killed it by chance?*
Steven thought for a second and decided he would make it look like an accident because he didn't want to lose the points ahead of him.
Steven entered the small lake and moved toward the flower. As he reached for it, tentacle-like appendages emerged from the water and lunged at his head.
Steven noticed the attack, quickly moved his foot forward as if stumbling, grabbed the flower, and cut it while falling.
A monster half the height of a human emerged. Its lower body resembled an octopus with three tentacles, and its head looked like a fish.
Steven looked at the angry octopus creature and stood, sword in hand.
The octopus charged at him. Steven activated Vital Point, finding the red point on one of the three tentacles.
He lunged toward the octopus, appearing to aim for its head, but as the sword neared, he "accidentally" stumbled and pierced the red point on the tentacle.
Steven stood before the dead monster, a hint of curiosity on his face, as if wondering why it had died that way.
A blue screen appeared:
[You gained 15 points for obtaining the Boehnia flower and 20 points for defeating a Rank E monster. Your total points are now 65.]
Steven stared at the flower in his arm in amazement, then placed it in the VR storage and exited the water, pushing back his wet hair. His white shirt became transparent from the water, revealing faint lines on his back.
*These are scars from battles during my journey as Black Crow.*
Steven tried hard to hide them from Mark. If Mark knew, Steven wasn't sure how to explain the scars, so he didn't remove his clothes in front of him.
---
Outside the virtual reality:
The screens displayed students' battles. Many spectators and some students who had been killed or failed the test were watching.
Teachers were observing the students' skills with amazement.
One teacher said,
"These students this year are exceptional, especially the twins, the Snow Princess, Ozburon's grandson, and there's a crazy kid who attacks any target in front of him. The talented girl, Elisa, and Kai—both of Rank C—are equally strong."
All teachers agreed.
"Yes, this year's students are monsters. I just hope my child isn't their enemy… *sigh*."
Another teacher looked at the remaining screens and said to the others,
"Look, there's a student approaching the lake guarded by a Rank E monster."
They focused on the student's screen. One teacher said,
"It's Steven Rauld, 14 years old, Rank F. I don't think he can defeat that monster."
The teachers sighed sympathetically.
"He's unlucky."
They watched Steven approach the flower with tension. When he reached for it in the water, one teacher said,
"Unfortunately… it looks like he's dead…"
Another teacher interrupted,
"No, he stumbled and avoided it."
The teachers looked at the screen in surprise.
"Well, he was lucky. He won't be able to avoid it next time."
When Steven lunged at the monster, aiming for its head, they said,
"This time… it looks like he'll die."
When he was about to strike the monster's head, he stumbled and hit one of its tentacles, stopping the monster's movement.
One teacher shouted,
"What? He hit the lethal spot while stumbling? He's incredibly lucky!"
They sighed.
"It's true… luck can be a person's weapon."
The other teachers agreed.
One girl looked at Steven's screen and saw him exit the water, pushing his wet hair back, and said absentmindedly,
"So beautiful… like a fairy."
Her face turned red. The other girls who had been watching the screen started murmuring,
"Beautiful!"
"Does anyone know his name?"
"Wow, amazing!"
"How is someone like this real? He's gorgeous!"
---
Inside the virtual reality, Steven had no idea what was happening outside.
Time in the VR differed from the real world. Inside, the sun had set, and the forest became dark.
Steven wanted to find a suitable place to rest. He searched for a while and finally found a tall tree. He climbed it and lay on a strong branch.
He didn't want to use the tent from his ring because it would make him stand out from the other examinees. This could attract attention, the teachers might interrogate him, and other students might suspect he knew the test content. So he avoided the problem entirely.
He slept lightly, ready to wake at the slightest movement in his surroundings. Nothing happened all night because chaotic events occurred only in the open space of the forest.
He took out bread and a bottle of water from his storage ring.
As he was eating, he heard a slight movement behind one of the trees.
A boy about Steven's age appeared. He had pale blond hair and black eyes, wearing a patch over his right eye. He was smiling, looking almost insane. When Steven noticed him from the tree, his smile widened enjoyably, revealing sharp teeth.
Anyone could notice a hint of madness in his eyes.
"Look what I found here—someone eating bread and drinking water while the others are desperately searching for something to eat."
He stepped toward Steven and looked at his blue card.
He sighed regretfully.
"Hey… it's unfortunate that I also have a blue card."
He looked Steven up and down, then laughed.
"Hey, I can't kill you, but I can make you feel pain. As long as I don't kill you, it'll be an interesting experience for you."
Then he seemed to remember something.
"Oh, how could I forget? I need to see what level of pain you should feel."
He slightly lifted the black patch from his right eye and looked at Steven.
When he saw Steven, he widened his eyes, raised his eyebrows in shock, and disbelief, staring for ten minutes before finally recovering.
He quickly advanced, stood in front of Steven, and shouted,
"What did you do? Did you disrupt my skill or what?"
"Impossible… how is this possible?"
Steven was confused by the appearance of another character in his story—not just any character, but a mad one who had caused a student's death in the academy and was expelled.
His name was Nathan. Steven hadn't remembered much about Nathan except that he was completely insane. He wore a black eye patch over his right eye—no reason was given in the story.
Steven said coldly,
"What skill? I didn't do anything."
Nathan yelled angrily,
"How is this possible?"
Steven frowned and said,
"I really don't know what you're talking about."
Nathan muttered to himself,
"This is impossible… if what I saw is real… is this madness itself!?"
Steven looked at Nathan muttering incoherently and decided to ignore him.
As he turned to leave, Nathan stopped him quickly.
"Okay, tell me your name."
"From now on, you're my friend."
Steven frowned and replied firmly,
"No."
---