"It's very easy..."

Merlin spun both of his daggers before returning them to the system storage.

Of course, the reason the bear was easy to defeat was that its strength had been reduced by about twenty percent.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to defeat it so effortlessly. Even so, he didn't complain or feel that it was lacking in challenge.

Wasn't that a good thing? At least he didn't have to waste time defeating it.

At that moment, a panel—slightly similar to the system interface—appeared in front of him.

[Congratulations on defeating the Red Armor Bear! You have earned 500 points in this test! As the first participant to defeat a level-six monster, you will receive an additional 1,000 points!]

Seeing this, Merlin was clearly surprised. He quickly opened his tablet and checked the leaderboard.

As expected, his name sat at the very top with 1,500 points, while the people below him had only reached 10 or 50 points.

The gap was like the difference between the sky and the abyss, making Merlin chuckle.

"This test is really fun," he whispered softly as he put the tablet away.

The rules of the test were simple: every time he or another student defeated a monster of any level, they would earn points.

Naturally, the monster's level had a huge impact on the number of points awarded.

For example, killing a level-one monster granted 10 points, while defeating a level-two monster earned 30 points, and so on.

The highest level was six, which rewarded 500 points. Naturally, the higher the level, the stronger the monster.

Not all students could easily defeat a level-six monster like he had just done.

Because of that, most of them avoided level-six monsters and chose to hunt weaker ones instead.

"Ugh..." Merlin yawned lazily as he stretched. "I just wanted to sleep. I didn't expect to kill a level-six monster and end up as the temporary number one. Fate really is funny."

As he was about to enter the cave, he remembered the giant bear's body.

A playful idea popped into his head, and a smile formed on his lips.

"I've heard bear meat is delicious. How about I cook it?"

...

Scrk!

In the middle of the dark forest, Luna killed a three-meter-long, worm-shaped monster with her Blazion Spear.

"That's the fifth one!" she exclaimed happily.

The monster she had just defeated was level three. She had killed five monsters of the same type, so her total points should have reached 350.

"Since I was the first to kill those monsters, I must be at the top of the leaderboard," Luna muttered proudly.

She wanted to claim first place so that Merlin would grant her any wish.

And of course, she had already decided what that wish would be... hehehe...

If Merlin were here, he would definitely be shocked—perhaps even frightened.

Luna's smile resembled that of a succubus, ready to devour her prey until nothing remained.

After finishing off the lifeless bodies of the monsters around her, she walked toward the stream to clean her spear and herself.

Then, she opened her tablet and checked the leaderboard. Instantly, she was stunned.

"Third place? How is that possible?"

Her mouth fell open, wide enough to fit a whole orange.

At first, she thought she would reach first place, but in reality, she was only ranked third.

She looked at the second rank and found the name Luvis occupying it.

Curious, she tapped on the name, and his basic information appeared immediately.

There was even a photo of him displayed on the left side of the panel.

"Luvis... a genius from the Knight Kingdom of Batrum?" Luna's eyes narrowed sharply.

She hadn't expected second place to be taken by a boy named Luvis. Judging from his strength statistics, he was incredibly strong—on par with her.

After that, Luna shifted her gaze to the top of the rankings. In an instant, she was shocked once again.

"Merlin!? So he's in first place?" Luna covered her mouth with her palm.

She froze for a moment before finally regaining her composure.

Her eyes moved to Merlin's point total, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

"One thousand five hundred? What the hell is that? I killed five level-three monsters and only got 350 points, while Luvis only has 400," she muttered in disbelief.

She wanted to go to Merlin right away and ask how he had done it, but she held herself back.

The test had only just begun. There was still plenty of time to earn points.

There was no need to rush.

Besides, Merlin was her fiancé.

How could she possibly feel angry seeing the person she loved standing at the top of the rankings?

"Alright, I won't give up! I have to beat Merlin! And if I can't, then I definitely won't let that boy named Luvis stay above me!"

She was a proud girl who would never admit defeat to anyone.

Because of that, she was determined to give this test everything she had.

After making up her mind, she stepped into the darkness of the forest in search of another monster.

...

The next morning, Merlin woke up feeling refreshed. He had slept soundly the night before.

Perhaps because it was his first time sleeping in nature, he felt unusually comfortable.

Merlin didn't rush to hunt monsters right away. Instead, he went out to look for the nearest spring.

Coincidentally, about fifty meters from his position, there was a small stream with crystal-clear water.

Merlin washed his face and took three gulps, his throat feeling completely refreshed.

After that, he searched for firewood around the stream and carried it back to the cave.

He had never done anything like this before. However, he remembered watching a survival television program in Japan, which he followed until the middle of the season.

Unexpectedly, the knowledge he gained back then proved useful in this world.

Once everything was ready, he lit the firewood and began grilling the bear meat he had marinated earlier.

"System, you're sure the meat is safe, right? If I die, you die too, you know?"

His voice carried a hint of threat.

"[Master, you're overthinking it. How could I let you get poisoned and die? Don't worry—the meat is safe and healthy to eat. Even if you somehow get poisoned, you have potions in your inventory, right? So relax,]" the system replied casually.

Merlin: "..."

His doubts grew, but he said nothing and chose to trust the system.

After all, if something happened to him, the system would suffer as well.

He opened his tablet and checked the announcements. Fortunately, there was nothing new.

After that, he switched to the leaderboard and found that he was still in first place.

However, the rankings below him were slowly catching up.

Second place was occupied by a boy named Luvis with 700 points, while third place was Luna with 650 points.

"Luna is already in third place, huh? That's impressive..."

Merlin was not surprised by Luna's ability to reach third place in the rankings.

Aside from her status as a heroine, the girl was indeed very strong and talented.

Only a few could defeat her—even Merlin himself was not one hundred percent sure he could defeat her easily and decisively.

Merlin then looked at the names lower in the rankings. In fourth place was a girl named Crystal from the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia.

She possessed Five-Star Mage power. To be honest, this was the first time Merlin had seen someone this strong from the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia.

He felt a desire to meet her.

It should be noted that those who pursued magic outside the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia were often considered weak and inferior by most people within the kingdom.

Even her master, Linda, was regarded as a fake witch by the powerful figures of the magic kingdom.

Although Linda was extraordinarily powerful, it was still not enough for them to accept her.

Well, that was understandable, considering the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia was the birthplace of humanity's magic.

Because of that, their pride and arrogance had been passed down from generation to generation.

After that, he read the other names, most of which he didn't recognize.

It was clear they were merely NPCs who played no important role in his novel.

But suddenly, one name in fifteenth place caught his attention.

"Jared Lowson?" His eyebrows rose slightly. "Don't tell me he's the Jared from the novel?"

Merlin rubbed his chin. Jared Lowson was a supporting character in his novel.

His role was not very significant, but as far as Merlin could remember, he was one of the main character's close friends.

His father was a legendary blacksmith from the Knight Kingdom of Batrum, so logically, Jared should have lived a prosperous life.

Unfortunately, reality was not on his side. It was said that his father had been burned while forging a mythical weapon for the royal family.

Half of his body was destroyed, leaving him paralyzed and forced to spend the rest of his life in bed.

Jared himself possessed the same outstanding forging talent as his father.

However, because of what happened to his father, he was unable to develop that talent.

Unexpectedly, Merlin saw Jared's name appear on the ranking board.

"I have to get him," Merlin muttered, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Jared had extraordinary potential. It was just that in the novel, he never had the chance to develop it.

Later, Merlin would help him rise and also heal his father.

With the abundance of potions in the system shop, Jared's father would surely recover with ease.

"Alright..."

Merlin slowly stood up, stretching his stiff body.

"Let's begin the hunt. I must not disappoint my master. But before that…"

He gave a faint smile and turned around.

"How long are you going to keep hiding?"

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