Ten days have passed and, like me, most people have decided to wait and gather points. I can already tell that the hunt has begun, as some points have been surging the last few days. After exploring a bit, I have discovered that we are on an island; it's not too big, but it allows all 1,000 of us to move freely. 300 students have already been eliminated, either by beasts or other students. Maybe some have already given up.
I have been moving and hunting. Sometimes I even meet other students; the wise ones change their route, but the fools I have already eliminated. I haven't met anyone in the top ten yet, but I have a feeling things are about to change. With the way things have been going, I think students aren't really going to wait 30 days in here. Most of them have come up with the same idea as me: eliminate until you are the last person standing. If I run into Sierra again, I will make sure I eliminate her properly before she gives me anymore problems.
Two days have passed and the exam has been going on for 12 days. Dark clouds have gathered in the sky and conflict has started, as both students and monsters have started looking for shelter. I am currently standing on the highest point on the entire island; I can see the entire island from here. Seeing the storm brewing, I have decided to go wild and start the chaos. We can't have a bored audience, right? I know there is no need to thank me.
The wind carries me as I lift off and start floating in the sky. Man, how I wish I had a Rinnegan right now. My mana starts going wild as I pour it into the clouds surrounding the island. I could feel it drain at a fast pace, but with Undying Body, I can regenerate it at a fast pace, so I am not too worried about it affecting the oncoming fight. Lightning cracked in the clouds, going crazy and lighting up the place like a fractured mirror.
After a few minutes, I can tell the idiots down below have started to notice the abnormality in the sky.
"Let it rain," I said.
Bolts of lightning started descending like pillars of divine judgment, hitting anything and everything down below. The earth groaned as the strikes detonated on impact, sending plumes of dirt and fire into the air. Animals started running in fear, and students were either running or forming defensive barriers that flickered and cracked under the relentless celestial bombardment.
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Hope walked through the forest. It had been 12 days since her fight with Lucien. That bastard is really strong. To think he broke my illusion just like that. It's a damn shame I haven't truly mastered the ability, so I can't exactly replicate everything as it is. I can't believe I forgot the damn sword; if I hadn't made that mistake, I would have probably eliminated him. Now he is going to be guarding against me. After he started using his ability, I stood no chance.
I should probably find someone to team up with to take him down. I should look for Tamy; with her, we can eliminate him. That brute, not knowing how to treat a delicate lady like me. There have been more fights and people are already eliminating each other.
"Are you going to come out, or continue standing there like a creep?" Hope asked.
"Forgive me, my lady. I was waiting for a good time to introduce myself," a voice replied. "The name is Tkos Van Gold, but just call me Tkos."
He stepped out, his emerald eyes scanning her every move in case she attacked. Hope activated her ability to pull him into an illusion so she could sneak up on him, but he looked at her as she tried to move. With the same smile, he told her that her ability would not help her, leaving her confused.
Is he immune to mental attacks? Hope asked herself. "Are you by chance going to let me leave?"
"No," replied Tkos. "I will have to eliminate you. Do forgive me again."
He rotated his spear with a terrifying whistle before holding it with both hands and getting into a battle stance.
"Stop being polite and call me Hope," she replied, pulling out her tachi.
"Okay then, Hope," Tkos said, this time serious and no longer smiling. "May I have this dance?"
He vanished in a blur of speed and stabbed his spear forward, the tip piercing the air with a sonic pop. She jumped back—the wind of the spear tip grazing her cheek—dodging his attack.
"First Form: Falling Petals!" she cried, stabbing 20 times in a second. Her blade appeared as a flurry of shimmering pink streaks.
"Third Form: Falling Stars!" he countered, meeting her attacks head-on. His spear moved like a wall of rotating steel, sparks flying in every direction as metal clashed against metal. He wasn't just defending; he was pushing back, each of his strikes carrying enough force to vibrate through her entire arm. He wasn't losing in the exchange.
She slashed at his right side, feeding him the illusion that her attack was coming from the left side, the phantom blade cutting through the air. However, he accurately blocked her real blade with a heavy thud, making her frown. What's his deal? Even Lucien fell under my illusion at one point.
Tkos found an opening and hit her thigh with the back of his spear with a bone-jarring crack, causing her to lose her balance. He spun to give her a heel kick right to her face. She barely lifted her hand in time, the impact sending a shockwave through her shoulder, and slashed with her sword only for him to intercept with the spear in a shower of sparks.
"Fifth Form: Petal Hurricane!" she yelled.
She fired off dozens of razor-sharp mana slashes that tore through the surrounding trees, only to have them vanish before him as if hitting an invisible vacuum. None landed on him. Okay, what's this guy's ability? What is he doing? My First Form worked fine, why is the Fifth not working?
"Time to get serious, Hope," he said.
His skin started turning into dark, gleaming steel across his entire body, his muscles bulging with newfound density. He charged at her like a living juggernaut and swung his spear from the left with a horizontal sweep that shrieked through the air. After blocking it, she could feel her hands going numb; the vibrations threatened to shatter her grip. He put more strength into the spear, the ground beneath him cracking, and sent her flying like a ragdoll. She went crashing into some rocks with a violent explosion of debris, a purple shield surrounding her just as her body impacted the stone.
They looked at each other through the smoke, breathing hard and ready to start another round, only to have a figure crash between them from the sky like a falling meteor, sending a massive shockwave of dust and rocks flying all over the place.