The jungle had grown quiet again after the chaotic beginning of the exam.
Morning sunlight filtered through the thick canopy overhead, breaking into scattered beams that painted shifting patterns across the forest floor. Moist air hung heavily between the towering trees, and the distant sound of insects and rustling leaves blended into the steady rhythm of the wilderness.
Somewhere nearby, a creature moved through the undergrowth.
It was an odd-looking monster—something that looked like a mismatched blend of several animals. Its body resembled that of a wild boar, but its legs were longer and leaner like a deer's, and its head carried a set of twisted horns that curved outward like those of a ram. Its skin was covered in coarse patches of dark fur and scaled plates that glinted faintly under the morning light.
The creature snorted and pawed at the ground.
Low guttural noises escaped its throat as it sniffed the air, clearly searching for something.
A twig snapped somewhere in the trees above.
The monster's head lifted sharply.
But it was already too late.
A shadow dropped from the branches overhead.
Damon descended like a falling blade.
His first strike landed before the monster could react—a sharp elbow crash into the back of its neck that forced its head downward violently. In the same motion, Damon twisted his body, using the momentum of the fall to drive a short boxing hook into the creature's jaw.
The monster staggered sideways, letting out a startled shriek.
Damon didn't give it a second to recover.
His foot planted firmly on the ground as his body flowed into the next movement. A quick low sweep kick struck the creature's front legs, collapsing its balance completely. As the monster fell forward, Damon stepped in close and drove a precise knee strike directly into its skull.
Bone cracked loudly.
The creature tried to thrash, but Damon had already shifted again.
His body moved fluidly, combining instinct and technique.
A palm strike to the throat.
A downward hammer fist.
Then a final spinning kick that snapped across the creature's head with brutal force.
The monster collapsed instantly.
Before its body could even settle against the forest floor, it began dissolving into particles of green light.
The glowing fragments floated upward like fireflies before gathering into a small cluster and drifting toward Damon's wrist, as his Manacron absorbed the light.
A sharp notification sound followed.
DING
A holographic message appeared briefly in front of him.
DAMON VALECREST
MONSTERS KILLED: 2
POINTS: 20
Damon loosened his fingers slowly, rolling his wrists as the tension left his muscles.
"Definitely easier than the first one," he muttered quietly.
For a moment, he stood still, analyzing the situation in his mind.
Without resonance, I can only rely on sneak attacks for now.
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
Still…
I didn't notice it earlier while fighting those robotic things.
He flexed his hand once more, feeling the strength in his grip.
This body is definitely stronger than an average person back on Earth.
He glanced down briefly at his arm.
It might be because of mana.
Maybe living in this world strengthens the body naturally.
After a moment, Damon began walking again through the jungle, stepping carefully over tangled roots and fallen branches.
His gaze scanned the forest around him.
"…Now where can I find a breach?"
***
The jungle was no longer quiet.
Across the vast expanse of the simulated world, similar scenes unfolded simultaneously as the exam truly began.
In one clearing, a group of three students worked together against a hulking reptilian beast with jagged scales and glowing red eyes. One of them distracted the creature with quick strikes while the other two attacked from its flanks, their movements clumsy but determined. After several tense moments, the monster finally collapsed under a coordinated barrage of attacks, dissolving into green spheres of light as their Manacrons chimed with earned points.
Not far away, another student fought alone.
His breathing was heavy, his arms shaking as he swung a blade again and again against a wolf-like creature that refused to fall. Every movement of the monster forced him back step by step until, with a desperate shout, he drove the weapon forward with all his remaining strength. The beast dissolved seconds later, leaving him standing there with trembling hands and a look of exhausted disbelief.
Elsewhere in the jungle, the battles looked very different.
A tall beastman charged through the undergrowth like a living battering ram, smashing aside two monsters with raw physical strength alone. Each strike of his fists sent creatures crashing through trees before they dissolved into glowing points of light.
In another part of the forest, a young elven woman barely seemed to move at all. Graceful gestures guided arcs of energy through the air, cutting down approaching monsters before they could even reach her position.
For some students, the exam looked like a desperate struggle.
For others, it looked like nothing more than a casual exercise.
But the jungle was unpredictable.
More than once, the hunters suddenly found themselves becoming the hunted.
A pair of students fled desperately through the trees as a massive horned beast thundered behind them, its roars shaking the forest floor while they shouted frantically for each other to run faster.
Another student barely escaped when three monsters emerged from the foliage at once, forcing him to retreat deeper into the jungle rather than risk fighting them alone.
Victory and survival were not guaranteed.
Not every encounter ended with monsters dissolving into green light.
Some ended with students sprinting for their lives.
Still, despite the chaos spreading across the jungle, the exam system continued tracking every participant.
So far, not a single student had been eliminated.
Well…
Except for one.
***
Back at Crownspire Academy, the once-empty auditorium had transformed into a massive monitoring chamber. The central stage was now surrounded by dozens of floating projection panels, each displaying a different section of the simulated jungle.
Nearly fifty to sixty screens hovered in the air, their glowing surfaces showing countless scenes unfolding across the exam site—students battling monsters, fleeing through dense foliage, coordinating attacks in teams, or cautiously exploring the unknown terrain.
Before these screens stood a group of roughly twenty to thirty observers, mostly academy staff and assistants tasked with monitoring the exam. Their attention shifted constantly from one projection to another as the simulation progressed.
Amid the quiet hum of magical devices and murmured commentary—
A loud maniacal laugh suddenly echoed through the hall.
"Hahahhaiaehiehahahaehah…!"
Professor Valerian Vox stood near the center of the room, clutching his stomach as tears formed at the corners of his eyes from laughing too hard.
Beside him, Instructor Garrick looked utterly exhausted.
"You idiot," he muttered while rubbing his temples. "How long are you going to keep watching that in a loop?"
Valerian wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling uncontrollably.
"Haha… hah—but how can I not?" he said between bursts of laughter. "How does someone get eliminated within ten seconds of the exam starting?"
His laughter erupted again.
"Hahahahhehahha!"
Garrick clenched his forehead in frustration.
"Isn't that because of your foolish mistake?" he snapped.
The laughter stopped instantly ,as Valerian's smile vanished.
For a brief moment, a strange cold madness passed through his expression.
"How can you say that?" he replied quietly.
His eyes remained fixed on the replaying footage.
"Isn't it clearly because of that student?"
The image showed Damon striking with ruthless precision.
Valerian leaned closer to the screen.
"Such decisiveness," he murmured.
"No hesitation in his strikes… and they didn't stop until he confirmed his opponent was completely eliminated. Isn't that something?"
The cold seriousness disappeared just as quickly.
Then the laughter returned.
"Hehehehahahah!"
Garrick stared at the screen again, his expression looking completely done with everything.
Before he could say anything further, a warm voice interrupted them.
"What are you two watching?"
Miss Elowen had approached quietly from behind.
Valerian immediately turned toward her with excitement.
"Ohhhh—Elowen!" he exclaimed. "Come here, come here!"
He waved dramatically toward the screen.
"Let me show you something very interesting!"
"Hehehehahahah!"
Elowen simply smiled patiently as she walked closer.
"Alright, alright," she said gently.
Then she glanced briefly toward the many screens still showing the jungle battlefield.
"But isn't it about time we start opening some breaches now?"
***
Damon stood in the middle of a small clearing.
Another monster had just collapsed before him.
Its strange body—some grotesque fusion of a wild cat and a reptile with elongated limbs—twitched once before dissolving into drifting green spheres of light. The glowing particles floated upward and streamed toward Damon's Manacron, disappearing into the device with a faint pulse.
Damon exhaled heavily.
His breathing had grown deeper now, his chest rising and falling as sweat clung to his skin. Several faint scratches ran along his hands, and the edges of his academy coat showed small tears where claws or branches had caught the fabric during earlier encounters.
He wiped the sweat from the corner of his mouth using the back of his sleeve.
"Just what kind of imagination is needed to create such ugly things?" he muttered under his breath.
His Manacron chimed softly as the points updated.
But before the sound could fully fade—
"TRINGTRINGTRINGTRINGTRING!"
The device suddenly rang out with urgent intensity.
A holographic alert appeared in front of his wrist.
MANA INSTABILITY DETECTED NEARBY
A BREACH MAY OPEN SOON
BE ALERT
Damon's eyes sharpened immediately.
Then a small, excited smile appeared on his face.
"…Finally."
Without hesitation, he turned toward the direction highlighted by the Manacron's navigation indicator and burst forward into a sprint, pushing through low branches and uneven ground as he moved toward the developing disturbance.
But he had only taken a few steps—
When an arrow suddenly shot into the ground directly in front of him.
"BOOM!"
The projectile detonated on impact.
Damon's instincts reacted instantly.
He twisted his body sideways and jumped away just before the explosion blasted dirt and debris upward from the forest floor.
His feet slid across the soil as he landed, using the momentum to rotate smoothly back into a ready stance. In one continuous motion he pushed himself upright again, his golden eyes already scanning the surroundings.
Four students stepped out from behind nearby trees and boulders.
Three males.
One female.
They spread out slightly as they approached, clearly having been waiting in ambush.
Damon's gaze moved quickly.
Then he looked upward.
On the thick branch of a nearby tree sat another student—a woman crouched with calm precision, a crossbow-like weapon resting against her shoulder as she aimed down at him from above.
Damon chuckled lightly.
Then he brushed a bit of dirt from his sleeve as if the situation were merely inconvenient.
"Can you step aside?" he said casually.
He glanced briefly toward the direction where the Manacron's alert was still pointing.
"You see…" he added with mild amusement.
"I'm in a bit of a hurry right now."