Two hundred first-year cadets departed with the break of the day, their badges pinned to their chests. A similar number of dropouts waited for them in the depths of the wooded hills that extended between the camp and the mountain peaks. The great distances between stations were a blessing and a curse. Even with all our preparations, there was a chance our cadets would never meet, but there was also a chance for the dropouts to miss them. Or so I hoped.

This was my first time seeing so many System users in an actual combat situation.

The aides had departed earlier that day to occupy the stations.

Before Evelisse could force me into a family activity with her daughters, I grabbed my communication backpack and walked into the valley. My plan for the day was simple: camp near the sixth station, which was vaguely in the center of the area, and serve as a central receiver for the communications.

Before exiting my shelter, I cast [Mirage] around me.

If Astur had tagged a narc on me, I wanted to have a head start.

I walked past Ghila's shelter. She was standing at the entrance, still in pajamas. She rubbed her eyes and pushed the multicolored sleeping cap out of her face. Her nightgown was as colorful as her daily clothing, but most importantly, she didn't seem to notice me.

It took me half an hour to cross the northern entrance of the valley. The road became thinner until it disappeared. Before me, there was wilderness.

"What is Astur thinking?" I muttered to myself, but I already knew the answer.

A part of me even agreed with his methods—real-life experience was worth a hundred hours of lessons. Still, I wasn't on board with the part that involved unsupervised combat against dropouts.

After the maze exam, those who failed looked dejected, like someone had just killed their childhood pet. I could only guess the eagerness dropouts felt in the face of the chance of returning to the Academy. That was a dangerous feeling, and Astur knew it.

The plain turned into a forest, and within the greenery appeared hidden cliffs and ravines. Astur's map was deceptively simple, only showing distances but not the elevation. [Foresight] had given me the right hunch the day before. The terrain would greatly slow down even the cadets with good mobility skills. Seventy-two hours was going to be a tight time limit for the exam.

Using [Minor Aerokinesis], I climbed a four-meter cliff of naked stone just to find a similar one in front of me. Cadets with good mobility skills needed to be careful with their mana reserves. Not me, though. I was a cheat character with an unreasonably deep manapool. I pushed off the ground with a gust of wind and propelled myself up.

"There's plenty of space to hide," I said to myself. "...and plenty of space for an ambush."

As soon as I reached the top of the hill, the earring clipped to my ear pulsated. Dit-dah-dit-dit, dah,dit,dah,dah. [Foresight] instantly translated the sounds into letters.

LyQTH-A. LyQTH-A.

I'm at Station 1. Ilya. I'm at Station 1. Ilya.

Due to time constraints, we had a list of template messages. I had written a cue card for each of the kids with their two-letter identifier, a few basic Q-codes, and a couple of scripted help request messages depending on the emergency.

The earring rang again. Noticing the slower tapping frequency, I knew who it was before even decoding the message.

FrQTH-E. 88OM. FrQTH-E. 88OM.

I'm at Station 5. Firana. Love and kisses, Old Man.

I couldn't help but smile. I had foreseen that Firana would ignore my pleas to keep the frequency as clear as possible, so I gave her the tools to make her yapping efficient. Right after came Zaon and Wolf's confirmation. I couldn't help but notice how weak Wolf's signal already was. The more I approached the sixth station, the weaker the signal would become.

My initial approximation was way off. Astur had pulled one on me without even knowing it. The communication array's ten-kilometer range was going to fall short. Out of the ten stations, three were completely outside range, and two were right on the limits.

It took me four hours walking almost in a straight line to reach the sixth station.

The cadets were going to sweat blood.

The station was built at the top of a steep hill. The trees had been uprooted, and a monolith painted with lime had been erected in the center. A Fortifier's barrier was active around the monolith, creating a twenty-meter half-sphere of protection. The Fortifier in question was sitting on a carpet with a bored expression while two aides sorted the contents of a supply box.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Supplies for the cadets, Instructor Clarke. Food and water, mostly, but we also have potions and medical supplies. This is a safe zone," one of the aides said, checking the integrity of a water casket.

"Lord Astur didn't mention anything about safe zones," I pointed out.

The aide gave me a knowing look.

"We didn't know until this morning either, but it's logical, isn't it? Someone has to be out here to check the cadet's progress."

That much made sense. Someone had to be at each station to check that the cadets delivered the totems. I assumed the Fortifiers arrived with the first group.

The aide offered me water, and I gladly accepted. This was good news. Not having to hunt for food and water would greatly alleviate the time constraints of the exam. The aides seemed a lot more relaxed with me around, but they didn't let their guard down fully, as there were still monsters around.

I stood on top of the monolith and fed mana into [Foresight].

The forest and the hills hid any cadets or dropouts that were prowling the surroundings. I caught glimpses of heads and the shimmer of metal against the summer sun, but never a clear image. The wait was going to drive me crazy.

Eight hours later, the first cadets arrived at Station Six. Despite it being their first stop, they looked exhausted. A Wind Fencer from Gaiarok Squad and a Silvan Druid from Basilisk Squad arrived almost simultaneously. They were in our 'fast' group.

The aides moved to greet them as soon as they crossed the barrier.

"Did you encounter any dropouts?" I asked.

They both nodded.

"There are a few roaming around the station, but they didn't dare to attack us when they saw we were together," the Silvan Druid said.

I clicked my tongue.

The first station was going to be the easiest. After that, the groups were bound to split up. The Wind Fencer had to go to Station Two, and the Silvan Druid had to travel to Station Seven.

The cadets rested for half an hour, refilled their water skins, and departed.

Much like during the maze exam, their luggage included a map and a high-grade potion, plus the essentials to survive a night in the open air. The high-grade potion was a get-out-of-jail-free card as long as the wound wasn't fatal, but it was only one and required the user to be conscious. As a safety net, it had too many holes for my taste.

More cadets continued dripping into the safe zone as I continued waiting, while my earring rang from time to time, bringing news from the other stations.

Twelve cadets had visited Station Six when I caught something strange out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and focused on the woods. Just beyond the treeline, two men and a woman discussed something, their bodies barely visible from my position. Although young, they weren't cadets. Dropouts. They had their backs to me, so I couldn't read their lips.

I had a bad feeling about the reunion.

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Suddenly, a cadet broke through the clearing at the top of the hill. The dropouts jumped out of their hideout. Suddenly, the ground beneath the cadet's boots gave way, turning into fine sand. The cadet fought to climb, but the terrain prevented him from gaining any speed.

The dropouts closed the distance in a second.

A solid block of stone flew to the cadet's face, but the cadet blocked the attack with his mace. A mana shield appeared on his offhand. Still, his footing was precarious. Surrounded on three sides, the cadet couldn't defend himself.

The female dropout raised her fists and fortified her body. She was almost certainly a Brawler. With a swift combination, she parried the cadet's mace and shattered his mana shield. A block of granite flew past her shoulder and impacted the cadet's arm. The boy gritted his teeth, and his weapon flew from his hand.

I jumped down the monolith.

"He is still in the exam," the Fortifier reminded me of Astur's threat in a bored voice.

I stopped.

The cadet fell to the ground, his mace out of reach, and his arm broken. One of the dropouts stepped down on his chest while the other tore apart the badge on his chest. 6140. The cadet tried to recover it, but a good kick on the chin knocked his lights out.

I noticed something interesting. The dropouts also had their badges on display, but none of them had 6140. Suddenly, I felt unease.

* * *

"Listen, kid. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice," a tall dropout with short dark hair and shoulders wide as a bull grunted.

Kili studied the situation. She had been traveling unnoticed since the start of the exam, but she had grown careless. Still, the dropout hadn't found her. They had stumbled upon each other while crossing a small creek. The sound of the water masked their footsteps, and they had jumped into the riverbed at the same time.

It had been an awkward encounter.

"T-the easy way. I want the easy way," Kili said, pushing her Lv.2 [Acting] to the limit.

The dropout grinned.

"Hand your badge."

"B-but we don't have matching numbers."

"We will exchange later, idiot. Do you understand how hard it is to find your exact matching badge in this forest?"

Kili bit back the harsh words on her tongue. A lifetime in the streets had taught her how to handle all kinds of situations. Pretending to be weak kept you safe from the hard hand of the guards. Sharp words could prevent a fight against a meek opponent. Quick feet were just as effective against anyone.

Kili concluded that the dropout was an idiot. Despite her constitution, she was an Imperial Cadet. Anyone smarter than a toddler would guess she had a modicum of talent for combat.

"Ah, that's a smart strategy. I couldn't have thought about something like that," Kili said, hoping the dropout was the kind who liked being complimented.

As usual, she was right.

Kili might not be the strongest urchin in the Eastern District, but she had a good eye, and she only fought the fights she knew she could win.

Most of the time.

Instructor Clarke had to bail her out once.

"Of course you wouldn't have thought about it, kid. I tell you, they made a mistake by expelling me," the dropout grinned, full of himself. "Now give me the badge."

Kili didn't have to ask his name to know he came from a low noble family with an inflated sense of self-importance. This was a fight she could totally win. The dropout wore a gambeson with a metal plaque stitched to the chest. His padded coif hung from his belt, his hair was soaked in sweat, and his neck was exposed.

Kili silently thanked the weather as she took off her badge.

When the dropout extended his hand, she shot a stream of black smoke at his face and used [Fade]. The combination of both skills would make her nearly undetectable. As a response, the dropout grunted and blindly swung his sword.

In two steps, Kili was behind him.

Even after half a year of training with the longsword and the rapier, her best weapon was still the dagger.

Kili jumped. The neck of the dropout was open. Trickster's [Deadeye Strike] powered her arm, but she hesitated.

'Instructor Clarke will be mad if I kill someone,' she thought, landing with feline grace and retreating before the dropout could slash her.

For someone who had almost been beaten to death, stabbing a neck wasn't problematic. Still, for some reason, Kili couldn't get herself to do something that would annoy Instructor Clarke. Kili didn't like him. He was a softie. She could tell Connecticut was full of softies. And yet…

"Show yourself!" the dropout shouted as a barrier covered his front.

Begrudgingly, Kili pushed more power into [Smokescreen], regretting wasting so much mana. She picked a rock the size of his fist and slammed it against the dropout's temple. The man's eyes rolled upwards, and he fell like a sack of potatoes.

Kili cringed as his head hit the ground.

"Not my fault," she muttered, rolling him to his side and grabbing his badge.

The instructions had been clear; dropouts needed the matching badges to win. She channeled a few strands of mana and used [Longshot] to send the badge far from the path between stations. A gale hit Kili's face as the badge turned into a tiny bronze dot against the sky.

* * *

Station three was crowded, but nobody dared to set foot outside the barrier.

"There's someone wounded out there!" A cadet yelled, pointing towards the forest.

"Not my problem," the Fortifier replied. "I'm here to keep the aides and the supplies safe."

"Where are the potions? I need a refill!" Another cadet said.

"I'm sorry, there were no potions in the supplies," an aide apologetically said.

"There were potions in Station One," the cadet grunted, pushing the aide aside and ransacking through the supply crates.

Seeing the bags of food flying around, the other cadets joined the scuffle.

"We have to get out of here," Cedrinor said, recognizing the signs of a mutiny.

"Absolutely," Genivra replied.

Cedrinor and Genivra were in the group of 'strong' cadets. As such, they were tasked to wait in Station One until a group of 'weak' cadets from squads Basilisk and Gaiarok traveling to Station Six arrived. However, the situation worsened by the second. Someone shot a fireball, and mana barriers rose by the dozens.

Dropouts were prohibited from approaching the stations, but Cedrinor and Genivra quickly realized that Astur had also devised that rule as a trap. Nightfall was near, and the allure of safety brought many people to the station. A crowd of cadets was unpredictable.

Cedrinor and Genivra grabbed their backpacks and left the white monolith behind.

The second problem with Stations was the dropout squads swarming in the vicinity.

"I feel bad for the ones we left behind," Cedrinor said.

"Wait for them outside the barrier if you want, but don't come crying when the dropouts beat you to a pulp," Genivra replied.

Instructor Holst was clear with his orders. Accomplishing the requirements to pass the exam was more important than helping others. If things got out of control, every cadet was on their own.

Instructor Clarke had shown his displeasure but held his tongue. For someone who had survived a Monster Surge and an attempted murder from one of his allies, Cedrinor and Genivra believed that Instructor Clarke was remarkably naive. They even came to believe that his meteoric ascent was greatly influenced by luck. Back in Ascombe, they had seen countless unyielding idealists get killed, cheated, and betrayed.

They knew how such stories usually ended.

"Stop there!" A woman with a scar crossing her face from temple to jaw appeared in their way.

"Oi, sweety! We are two and you are one, get out of the way!" Genivra replied with her best guard voice.

"Check again, sweety."

Behind Cedrinor and Genivra, a man wielding a huge axe and a second woman with twin daggers closed their path. The bronze badges on the dropouts' chests didn't match theirs.

"Do you know what's the best about selection exams?" the woman with the scar asked. Seeing that her prey wasn't going to answer, she continued. "The rules are absolute, so even if we kill you, we will not get in trouble, so… hand over the badges and walk away with your faces intact."

Genivra grabbed Cedrinor's hand.

"Look how cute they are." The axeman laughed.

Little did the dropouts know that Genivra and Cedrinor had known each other since they were toddlers. They had even devised a secret language based on touch so they could talk at night and not alert the undead that sometimes snuck into the hamlets around Ascombe. Under their noses, the two cadets were making battle plans.

"Leave or we are going to kill you," Cedrinor calmly said.

"Kill? Those are big words for someone who got his Class last year," the woman with the scar said, making a flourish with her sword.

Cedrinor and Genivra were older than the other cadets. Their level was just relatively low because they spent most of their time patrolling the wrong side of Ascombe rather than hunting monsters.

"Well—?"

There was a good reason Cedrinor and Genivra were invited to the Imperial Academy.

Before the scarred woman could finish the sentence, Genivra used [Stun Gaze], turning her into a statue. Genivra didn't know the exact level of her opponent, but she had a good eye. She knew the skill wasn't going to bounce. Phase one was complete.

Mana surged around Cedrinor's body, and he used [Blood Bind]. The skill allowed a Berserker to intercept part of the damage dealt to allies. Paired with a fortifying skill like [Iron Skin] or [Bark Skin], it was surprisingly useful. However, Cedrinor's skill had a quirk other Berserkers lacked.

"Are you identifying me, you piece of shit?" the axeman growled, raising his weapon.

Genivra shot towards the frozen woman and, with a flourish, slashed her throat.

The axeman coughed blood as a matching wound appeared on his neck despite no blade touching him.

Cedrinor shot forward, fortifying his body, and engaged the dagger dropout. The power of twin axes surpassed the daggers, and although the woman was faster, Instructor Clarke's training had borne fruit. The woman used [Puncture], but Cedrinor's footwork kept him always a few inches from the tip of the dagger. A moment later, Genivra joined the fray, blocking any escape route for the agile warrior.

Cedrinor feinted to the right. The dropout fell for the trick, opening her left side to an attack. Genivra seemingly appeared out of nowhere and used [Puncture] to cut through the woman's gambeson like it was a wet napkin.

"I thought I was going to level up twice," Cedrinor pointed out.

After a deep breath, his heartbeat returned to normal.

"Their level must have been rather low," Genivra replied, cleaning her rapier on the body of the dropout. "Let's go, before this place becomes even more dangerous."

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