Chae Nayun opened her eyes after Kim Hajin had left. However, she only got up after confirming he was gone. She had woken up a long time ago, but his words had stunned her.

— Why are you so cute?

“…”

Chae Nayun’s cheeks flushed red. Everyone praised her looks since she was young, but she never expected Kim Hajin to say such a thing.

“Auuu…”

She shook her head to remove those thoughts.

“Whatever, I didn’t hear it. He was talking to himself. There must have been a cat or a dog nearby. Definitely.”

Chae Nayun murmured and crawled out of the sleeping bag. It felt as warm and cozy as a bed.

Should I leave it or take it? Chae Nayun thought. Since Kim Hajin left it here after saying… saying how I was cute… he must want me to take it.

She folded up the sleeping bag into a fist-sized ball.

“Was it this small?”

The tiny sleeping bag amazed her. She checked her smartwatch after storing it away. It was 7:20 in the morning, but still dark outside.

“It must be a polar night.”

Chae Nayun stretched and prepared for the day.

***

I looked around in every direction from the top of the world tree. My thousand-mile eyes could see everything. Cadets had discovered their preferred methods of survival after a day. Some sold food to obtain points, some hunted monsters, and others concealed themselves while waiting for unsuspecting targets.

“Mmm?”

A rather mischievous idea popped up in my head when I spotted someone. A method to blow my nose without my hand. In other words, I could eliminate the stronger cadets without fighting them.

I snapped off a decently sized branch and sharpened one end. Then I inscribed a coordinate and some words on it. Next, I used stigma’s magic power to throw it at him in the distance. The branch flew like an arrow and struck the ground after brushing past his face.

The imposing cadet stopped and looked at the branch on the ground. I could only see his back, but I could tell how he felt.

He grabbed it and read the words on the side. Then he turned in my direction. I dodged his gaze even though he couldn’t possibly see me. Now, I just had to wait.

An hour went by as I watched the drone footage and suddenly noticed a change.

“What? Already?”

Rachel headed somewhere with Joo Yeohoon in the dark. I expanded my sight and followed them as they arrived at a wooded cliff where two people waited. One stood out in the open while the other hid in a tree. I didn’t know them, but assumed they were djinns. First, I moved a drone over, but its signal suddenly died. Then an alert popped up on my laptop.

[Joo Yeohoon – He has made contact with djinns from the Lancaster family.]

“…”

Rachel also accompanied Joo Yeohoon in the original story, but Lancaster never interfered. His goal had to be Rachel. Surprisingly, they planned on fighting in an open area because cadets had occupied the secluded areas for shelter. Furthermore, no one would interfere because the location belonged to that exam overseer.

Still, they had poorly planned.

“They must be the bottom rung.”

These brainless fools represented the lowest djinns blinded by their desires for Lancaster. They didn’t look all that strong. However, three of them together still posed a threat.

I took out my Desert Eagle and transformed it into a sniper rifle. I could see Rachel walking with Joo Yeohoon in the distance. She probably joined their team temporarily for food. In the original story, Kim Suho had rescued her. I shared my location with her to prevent this, but she stubbornly refused.

“Ah, maybe…”

Suddenly, I expanded my vision and checked for Kim Suho nearby.

“Pft.”

I couldn’t help but laugh despite the serious situation. Did the original story influence them? Kim Suho slowly headed towards Rachel’s location with Chae Nayun, who must’ve ran into him. Now it would be three on three. Kim Suho and Chae Nayun should be more than enough.

“Tsk.”

However, Kim Suho was Kim Suho, and I had my methods. I attached my rifle’s gunstock and aimed at the targets. My eyes could see further than any scope.

***

Joo Yeohoon’s team offered Rachel their food for free, but she still paid them some points. However, she felt uneasy because she cared about the combat exam grades as much as written exams. She wanted to collect as many points as possible since she didn’t know how much would put her on top.

In the middle of her worries, Joo Yeohoon had asked her to join him for a hunt. They had found a grizzly bear monster worth 10 points.

“I’m a sharpshooter, so I’ll support you from the back. I only need 3 points, and you can have the rest.”

“No, we should split it evenly.”

She didn’t ask why it was only the two of them. She believed she wouldn’t lose in a one-on-one battle even if Joo Yeohoon betrayed her, and would gain more points with fewer people.

“It was here…”

However, a man stood at the cliff instead of a bear. His long hair covered half of his face, and two gauntlets glowed in his hands. Clawlike daggers protruded from the gauntlets’ fingertips.

“Who are you!”

Joo Yeohoon put on his best act. He had prepared an escape route in case things went awry. The long-haired man played along and charged at Joo Yeohoon. The man cut Joo Yeohoon’s shoulder in the blink of an eye as he screamed and ran away. The man didn’t chase after him.

“Haa…”

Joo Yeohoon ran off and disappeared. What was that? Rachel sighed as she held up her rapier.

“Who are you?”

The man coldly smiled.

“———”

He said something, but Rachel couldn’t understand the language. Then he murmured and suddenly charged.

“Uup!”

Rachel imbued her rapier with magic power. She clashed with the gauntlets as sparks scattered. Although the man had more magic power, Rachel held on thanks to his rough control. The man struck a few more times as Rachel blocked with ease. Gauntlets vs. rapier. The former had greater destructive power, but Rachel overwhelmed him with technique. She would be victorious as long as she maintained a safe distance.

“Haat!”

Rachel spotted an opening and rushed in. She scratched the man’s ribs and tried to retreat. However, she couldn’t move her feet. Another enemy jumped from a tree and stabbed at her back.

“Kuaaak!”

A scream rang out. Rachel froze, but didn’t close her eyes. She was still alive and examined the situation. The assassin from the tree writhed in pain on the ground.

“Eh?”

She wondered if she had subconsciously attacked, but immediately discarded that thought as five streaks of light pierced the assassin’s stomach, limbs, lung, and heart. The assassin scattered into dust.

What’s happening?

Rachel didn’t have time to think as the man with gauntlets charged. He knew it would become virtually impossible to snipe when the target was close to an ally.

Furthermore, Rachel couldn’t distance herself from the man. Her feet stuck to his shadow because of a magic called shadow tag.

Although she couldn’t move, Rachel still defended and counterattacked. Her movements appeared like a dance in close quarters. The man became frustrated and tried to stomp when an unidentifiable attack flew in again. It dug through the small gap between them and blasted his shoulder. Rachel stabbed at his flank.

A sword flew in before her rapier could reach and struck the man’s shoulder.

“Kuak!”

The man retreated and jumped down the cliff.

“Who was that!”

Kim Suho and Chae Nayun ran up to Rachel.

“Rachel? Who was he?” Chae Nayun asked.

Kim Suho ran to the edge of the cliff and checked. “Did he disappear?”

Rachel spoke even though she didn’t understand the situation either. “Yes, he’s gone.”

Kim Suho couldn’t see anyone in the dark.

It must have been Chae Nayun who helped me. That attack must have been her secret technique, something like invisible arrows. Rachel tried to comprehend what had happened.

“Thank you. You saved…”

The moonlight reflected off of something in the ground that caught her eye. Rachel picked it up.

A bullet?

“Let’s move first. We don’t know if that person will come back,” Kim Suho seriously muttered.

***

Tzzz— Tzzz— Rachel examined the bullet at the campfire and thought about Kim Hajin. He saved her before with a shotgun, and today's mysterious person used a sniper. However, Kim Hajin was the only one who used a gun.

“Hmm.”

She couldn’t understand why. Of course, he was next door during the midterm exam, but he was far away this time.

She had three questions. First, how did he know she was in danger? Second, why didn’t he show himself? Third, why did he help her?

“So you decided to change to a sword?”

Kim Suho spoke to Chae Nayun. Rachel stared at the sword on her waist. Chae Nayun awkwardly scratched her head.

“No, I just didn’t want to rely on only a bow during such a big exam. So, um, it’s a secondary weapon.”

Chae Nayun brought two main weapons. However, since cadets could only borrow one main weapon, she directly purchased a training sword from Cube.

“Oh, rather than that.”

Chae Nayun clapped. She tried to change the subject.

“Rachel, we have a plan. Do you want to come with us?”

Rachel tilted her head.

“It’s like a part-time team. You know, we can do fine even without forming teams. So we’ll each take turns finding food, a place to sleep, and standing guard. Then we’ll go off on our own to hunt and meet back later.”

Rachel thought it was a good idea, but paused and turned on her smartwatch.

[Location Sharing List] — Kim Hajin — Joo Yeohoon

Kim Hajin’s location was still there.

“It sounds like a good idea, but I’ll have to decline.”

Rachel stood up as Kim Suho asked, “Where are you going? Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

“It’s fine. I’m going to meet up with someone.”

“Then we’ll take you there.”

“No, I can go alone.”

She firmly rejected him. Kim Suho scratched his head and nodded.

“Don’t be so cocky. Do you think every girl in the world loves you?”

Chae Nayun dealt a piercing blow.