We split into multiple groups, lining up in long rows across the training hall and started moving slowly towards the glowing blue orb sitting on the pedestal.
The teachers walked down the lines, handing out the watches.
They told us to strap them tightly to our wrists and said the watch helps them monitor our heart conditions and track our vitals.
If something life-threatening occurs in the simulation, the device is supposed to trigger an emergency exit and pull us back to the real world.
'Yeah, right,' I thought to myself, adjusting the tight leather strap on my wrist.
'That safety function is going to fail when we need it most.'
Professor Blaze stepped forward again.
His voice cut right through the nervous chatter.
"Listen up. Your points and your final score will depend upon the rank of the monsters you kill. Both F and E rank grunts will give you exactly ten points. D rank beasts will give you twenty points. C and B ranks will give you fifty points. If you somehow manage to kill an A rank monster, it will give you a hundred points."
He paused, letting the numbers sink into our heads.
"The type of monsters you find will vary drastically. You will see everything from normal goblins in the dirt to giant untamed serpents hiding in the trees. Be careful when you engage in combat. Do not bite off more than you can chew, because the pain you feel in there will be real."
The panicked murmuring of the students increased significantly.
A few of them looked like they were going to be sick right on the floor.
But all the teachers ignored their fear.
They did not react at all and just started actively powering up the orb with their own mana.
"Good luck, students," Blaze said.
The first group stepped up to the pedestal.
One by one, they started touching the orb. A blue energy covered their bodies, and with a quick swoosh, they disappeared into nothing.
Then, the LED scoreboard hanging on the wall lit up.
It showed the first person's name right at the top of the digital list.
[Kira Nevren]
[Points: 0]
[Heart Rate: Stable]
The line moved quickly.
Soon enough, my turn came.
I walked up to the pedestal and kept my bare hand flat on the cold, smooth surface of the orb.
The blue energy instantly started crawling up my arm, preparing to make me teleport into the trial.
I gave one final look over my shoulder to check the room.
I saw Melissa standing a few feet away.
She was looking carefree, totally bored by the process. Then, my eyes shifted and I locked stares with Zephyr.
I needed to make sure we were on the exact same page for our survival plan. I raised my free hand quickly, held up exactly four fingers, making sure he saw it clearly.
Zephyr narrowed his eyes for a split second, and then he gave a very slight nod.
He understood the signal. We were going to meet at narrow path number four once we have enough scores.
Then, the blue light blinded me, and I disappeared from the hall.
[Shane Newman]
[Points: 0]
[Heart Rate: Stable]
My mind felt like it was being pulled down into an endless depth.
It was a terrible sensation. I could completely feel my own body floating in the void, but I was not able to move my arms or control my limbs in any way.
I was just paralyzed in the system's loading screen, entirely at the mercy of the magic.
This awful feeling lasted for a few long minutes.
Then, suddenly, cold air started hitting my face hard.
I snapped my eyes open to know I was freefalling rapidly from the digital sky.
Looking down, I saw a dense forest spreading out with no end in sight.
The trees down there were significantly taller than normal trees in the real world. Their trunks were as wide as houses, and their branches looked like bridges.
In some random places across the green canopy, bright glows of blue and red mana erupted in the darkness.
Some of the students who dropped in the earlier batches had clearly already started engaging in combat below.
The trial was officially live.
But it's also that falling did not feel like a normal drop.
Since this is an space created by magic, the gravity acts entirely different like real cave.
You feel like you are just floating weightlessly for a moment, but you are also moving fast enough to reach the hard ground in seconds.
It messes with your head, forcing you to adapt to this new world.
I flipped my body around in the air, spotting a sturdy branch directly below me. I bent my knees and prepared for the impact, then landed on the wood, my boots skidding slightly.
I quickly grabbed the bark of the giant tree to regain my posture and stop my downward momentum.
The first three hours of this test are essential. I need to move fast, conserve my mana, and play smart.
Although the system completely randomized the drop locations, and I landed in a very different space than I did last time, the layout of this simulation is quite simple once you understand the basic map.
I need to get to narrow path four to regroup with Zephyr. We need to be standing together before the three-hour timer runs out and the real boss wakes up to hunt us.
Within a few short minutes of standing on my branch, loud noises broke the quiet silence of the forest.
I could clearly hear the terrified screams of many freshman students echoing from the sky right above my position.
They were all falling through the air right now, screaming their heads off, completely convinced they were going to hit the ground and die from the fall.
'You idiots,' I thought to myself, slowly drawing my sword from its sheath. 'You are just ringing the dinner bell for every predator in this zone.'
Their loud panic actually works perfectly in my way. I already saw a few dangerous creatures moving rapidly through the brush down below, heading directly towards the sound of the screaming kids.
Monsters are naturally drawn to loud noises and the smell of fear.
I crouched down low on my branch and looked opposite me in the neighbouring tree.
Five large monkeys sat perfectly still in the shadows.
But these were not normal animals.
They were the size of grown human men, covered in matted grey fur, and their eyes glowed with a light in the dark.
The human-sized monkeys chattered aggressively at each other, bearing their long fangs.
Then, they started jumping gracefully across the high branches.
They swung through the trees with terrifying speed, heading straight towards the place where the screaming students were about to land.
I pushed off the thick branch and followed right behind them into the canopy.