Steven arrived at the open area and looked around. He found the situation chaotic.
Ignoring the chaos, Steven went to the place where the blue-card students were gathering and sat a little apart from them.
There were still ten minutes before the mission began. Steven decided to wait here. The number of students who hadn't failed the test was still very high, despite everything that had happened in the past days.
Steven knew that the numbers would decrease significantly on the final day once the mission started.
He hadn't waited long before a blue screen appeared, announcing to everyone:
[**Tower Mission Started: Monster waves will flow from the tower. Each wave will bring higher-ranked monsters. Waves occur every 2 hours.**]
[**How to succeed:** 1. Survive for 12 hours
2. Destroy the tower core]
The students were confused.
"What's going on? What kind of mission is this?"
"We're on the final day! Why is a mission appearing suddenly?"
"What? The monster ranks increase with each wave? Damn, if we survive for 12 hours, the monsters in the last wave will be Rank B!"
"Does the academy want us all to fail?! Wait… the mission says we have to destroy the tower core. We still have a chance."
"Yes, you're right."
Some students began discussing the mission details.
Steven, still expressionless, thought,
*Do they really think reaching the tower is that easy? How foolish… If it were that simple, this wouldn't be the hardest test in the academy.*
As he finished thinking, he heard screams from inside the forest. Large groups of students were entering the open area quickly.
"Aaaah! Large numbers of monsters are attacking! Help!"
Steven looked at the students and realized the first wave had begun. Even though the first wave was Rank G, there were so many monsters that it was impossible for a student to defeat them alone. Students had to cooperate, ignoring cards and colors.
*Yes… the final test is to see if students will cooperate to defeat a common enemy, even though they were enemies just moments ago.*
Steven decided to ignore the disturbing events and let Kai handle it. He needed to stay near Kai.
He searched for Kai's group. Kai now had to lead his team through the open area—not to avoid the monsters, but to avoid the forest trees. The trees wouldn't let anyone pass naturally; they attacked humans.
Steven knew the only way to prevent the trees from attacking was to close their eyes—meaning not to look. But no one would discover this except by chance.
*Should I let them discover it early so this annoying test ends quickly? Or should I do nothing?*
Steven's thoughts were cut off as Kai's group entered and the Rank G monsters began attacking.
*Hmm… I should collect the points I've targeted first.*
Steven drew his sword and moved near Kai's group.
He began attacking the monsters. He wasn't the only one; other groups were also attacking monsters to gain points.
After a while, Steven killed four monsters, gaining 20 points. Groups continued attacking as the wave lasted one hour before stopping. Students could now rest for the next hour.
---
Kai wanted to figure out a way to pass the forest because even with his rank, he could barely defend himself. He looked at the beautiful girl who had fought him earlier and smiled.
"Hey, Elisa… looks like we won't complete this mission unless we work together."
Elisa sighed.
*Although I want to defeat you, Kai, what bad luck…*
Kai thought seriously,
*The tower is half an hour from here, but how can we reach it? It's impossible to survive the final wave; it would annihilate us all.*
*We have no choice but to cooperate with some strong students. There are a few I have in mind, but will they agree?*
Although Elisa wanted to stay alone and fight monsters to grow stronger, she realized it was too risky to remain solo. She decided to cooperate with Kai, whose strength matched hers.
"Yes, we should cooperate. We need to find a way to reach the tower."
Kai smiled.
"There are some people I want to cooperate with. Will you help me find them?"
Elisa thought for a moment and then nodded.
*Rustle, rustle!*
Their expressions became serious and cautious. They stood in a defensive stance, scanning their surroundings.
*Boom!*
They were both pushed forcefully. Kai collided with a tree, while Elisa rolled a long distance on the ground.
Kai stood quickly despite feeling pain.
"Watch out! The trees!"
Elisa also stood up, looking carefully around.
"The empty area is close. I think it's safe. Let's go there."
*Whoosh!*
This time, both avoided the attack. They had to return to the empty area.
---
Meanwhile, Steven sat in a secluded spot. Despite the chaos, some girls tried to approach him, but he refused them mercilessly.
He thought,
*Should I make it look like a coincidence that I found a way to cross the forest, or should I just wait? I really want this test to end quickly, but if I do it, the supervisors might become suspicious.*
He thought sarcastically,
*I've stumbled enough already.*
Steven sensed someone approaching and thought annoyed,
*What now…?!*
He raised his head and saw the small vampire, Max.
Max hesitated and said,
"Hi… do you remember me?"
Steven looked at the guitar Max carried, then at his green card, and nodded.
Max covered half his face, hiding his expression, then asked hesitantly,
"Can I sit near you?"
Steven didn't mind but gave Max a warning:
"Just don't touch me."
Max quickly nodded.
Steven ignored Max's presence and continued his thoughts.
At the same time, a team had gone toward the tower and entered the forest. After a while, no one returned, and everyone assumed the team had died.
But eventually, someone appeared, covered in wounds and blood, eyes closed.
Students were amazed at how he survived.
Kai approached him, smiling, and asked,
"Hello. How did you survive?"
The student replied with enthusiasm and fear,
"I discovered how to make the trees stop attacking me."
Kai asked eagerly,
"How?"
"When the trees attacked me, I was scared, so I closed my eyes. When I opened them, the trees stopped. When they attacked again, I closed my eyes, and after repeating it several times, I realized the trees only stop when you don't look."
Kai was delighted and said to Elisa,
"Hey, Elisa, let's try this method."
Elisa replied,
"We haven't confirmed if it works yet."
Kai said,
"No problem. I want to try."
Elisa looked at Kai as if saying, *Are you crazy?*
Kai laughed at her look,
"I like taking risks."
He closed his eyes and entered the forest. After a while, he returned, opened his eyes, and smiled at Elisa.
"It seems to work."
Elisa nodded.
Kai said,
"Let's start gathering people now."
---
Soon, the second wave of Rank F monsters began.
Steven rose from his spot and drew his sword to start collecting points.
An hour had passed since the second wave began. Steven killed five monsters, bringing his total points to 270—more than the points he had set to remain unnoticed.
Steven thought,
*It seems Kai discovered the method. How? He should figure it out in the third wave. Is this because of the Butterfly Effect?*
He looked at the team gathered at a distance.
*It seems Kai and Elisa have gathered most of the main characters.*
---
Near Kai, there was a pair of twins with light brown hair and honey-colored eyes. They looked very similar; one was male, the other female, with her hair tied in a ponytail.
The girl looked at her brother angrily.
"Leo, get up! We have to go to the tower. These weak monsters won't tire you, so stop pretending."
Leo said sadly,
"Ivy, is it necessary for me to go? You can handle the tower yourselves."
Ivy snapped,
"You're coming with us, or I'll have to pull you by your hair."
Leo looked pitiful,
"Alright, I'll go."
Leonard and Evelyn Taimor were twins from the famous Taimor family—one of the four powerful families in Oro City, alongside Arno, Fabian, and Ferdinand.
Five characters appeared in the story from these four families. The twins, Evelyn and Leonard, are from the Taimor family. Evelyn uses a bow and wind powers, while Leonard uses earth powers.
The other characters are:
* **Eira Arno**, the Ice Princess from the Arno family, noble and beautiful, blue hair and eyes, uses ice and sword.
* **Agnes Ferdinand**, Eira's friend, kind, blonde hair, blue eyes, childlike, healing powers.
* **David Fabian**, the spoiled and proud child from the Fabian family, handsome, black hair and eyes, uses a spear.
These five joined Kai and Elisa's team.
Kai asked Elisa with a smile,
"Hey, how did you get them to agree?"
Elisa calmly replied,
"I talked to them."
Then she looked at Kai,
"And you? How did you get the others to agree?"
Kai avoided her gaze, embarrassed.
"I talked to them, but they didn't agree, so I defeated them and brought them along."
Elisa:
"….."
Kai quickly changed the topic.
"When should we head to the tower? We must hurry; we have only an hour."
Eira and Agnes stepped forward and asked,
"When will we go?"
Elisa replied calmly,
"Now. But before going, we must announce who's coming with us."
David raised his head,
"Why announce? We're enough to reach the tower."
David looked at Kai with hatred.
*Damn Kai, I'll make you regret hitting me.*
Evelyn stepped forward, pulling Leonard.
"Yes, why?"
Leonard said,
"Ivy, are you stupid? Many people must go with us to stay safe since we don't know if they can protect themselves in case something unexpected happens."
Evelyn snapped,
"What do you mean by stupid?"
Elisa said,
"Yes, he's right. The more people in our group, the better. We must be cautious of unexpected events."
Kai interrupted,
"Alright, alright. We have little time. Let's hurry."
---