Chapter 11: The Hunter

Vilan wondered if Seleste, being reborn, had also resolved the bloodline issue of the ghost tribe sisters.

As he pondered this, a massive curtain suddenly appeared in the sky, enveloping them.

“Sister, the trial is about to begin.”

“Mm.”

Vilan looked up.

Countless silver lights swirled around them.

Because Mena wasn’t a new student, she didn’t have these lights on her—this was the manifestation of Space Magic.

Clever space spells reverberated all around.

Even among the crowd, the families were isolated.

Even though he wasn’t primarily a Mage, Vilan could feel it—this was definitely the spell of a mage at the Archmage level or higher.

“Sister, Miss Seleste, you both have to do your best!”

Mena’s voice echoed in his ears.

In the next moment, Vilan’s vision blurred.

When he opened his eyes and saw the world clearly again, he was already in the Subspace within the trial.

A clear birdcall resonated.

Vilan looked around.

There was no one else on the empty grassland, only trees and bushes.

A cool breeze blew by, bringing a chill.

“According to the rules, if I’m alone, then I’m a Hunter?”

Vilan hesitated for a moment before suddenly realizing.

Recently, he’d met so many female leads that he’d almost forgotten he was a genius too.

Given his level in Arcana, being a Hunter was only natural.

“No need to rush to find Collectors. After all, I also need to collect the Fragments they hold. I’ll just wander around for now.”

With that thought, Vilan leisurely began exploring the space.

***

At the same time, Seleste—

Having experienced this once before, Seleste quickly adapted to the shifting space.

She glanced at the two people who appeared beside her.

“Looks like it’s the same as the previous life.”

Her teammates were a man and a woman, obviously Collectors.

Because his time after rebirth was short, his magic power and level hadn’t improved much, but his combat experience was genuine.

“Hello, everyone. I’m a prince of the xx Kingdom. I’m now a Seven-Star Swordsman. I’ll protect you all.”

Seeing both teammates were beautiful girls, the only male in the team immediately straightened his back.

“Is that so? Then I’ll be counting on you.”

Seleste smiled.

Before meeting up with Gloria and heading to the God Ruins, she naturally didn’t want to waste her stamina.

She’d save effort wherever she could.

After all, this trial didn’t lack troublesome opponents for them…

Seleste’s serene and sweet smile made the boy’s face instantly turn red.

At that moment, he swore to protect this beautiful girl no matter what.

***

Vilan couldn’t determine the direction, so he picked a path at random and started walking.

As he walked calmly, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.

“What’s going on? An earthquake?”

Vilan looked around blankly.

Upon careful inspection, he saw a faint, massive shadow slowly emerging in the distance.

As the shadow drew nearer, each step brought a thunderous rumble.

“Just my luck. Why did I have to run into such a monstrous race right away?”

Vilan’s mouth twitched as he immediately understood what it was.

There were all sorts of new students in the entrance trial, and not a few of them came from the Giant Tribe.

This race had a generally high minimum power and was absolutely top-tier in the entrance trial.

Normal people would only choose to run if they saw them.

“At least it’s still far away. It probably hasn’t noticed me.”

Although he thought that it was unlikely for Hunters to clash at the very start, there’s always a chance—better to avoid trouble.

Vilan turned and ran in another direction.

He didn’t know if the Giant had seen him, but in any case, he managed to shake it off.

This time, Vilan’s sense of direction was quite good.

After walking for a while, he saw the outline of a ruined town.

On the way, he also encountered Collectors and other Hunters, but Vilan ignored them.

There was no need to engage—at this stage, Collectors couldn’t have gathered many Fragments anyway.

Rather than fighting people, it was better to search for resources first.

He was completely penniless now.

Hidden resources in the trial were still very useful.

At the very least, he could sell them for money after enrollment.

Since the original body made it into the academy, Vilan had never considered failing to get in.

Vilan entered the broken town ruins.

The environment was silent, with no noise at all.

Crumbling walls stood everywhere.

He stepped into a house and saw small Fragments covered in red stripes.

They were probably Certificate Fragments.

Vilan didn’t know what principle was at work.

When he touched one, he felt a jolt like an electric shock and his hand bounced back.

As expected, just as rumored, he couldn’t pick up Fragments as a non-Collector.

Vilan sighed and glanced around the empty room, finding nothing.

Suddenly, he heard noisy footsteps and conversation from the other side of the wall.

“Kelin, big brother, thanks to you, we escaped that lunatic’s pursuit, and even picked up this Map and these Fragments along with this mysterious treasure.”

“Just luck. We still need to be cautious.”

“Kelin, don’t be so modest. It really was all thanks to you!”

“……”

Vilan looked through the crack in the wall.

There were one man and two women—obviously a group of Collectors.

They held a Map and were talking excitedly.

“Oh?”

Vilan sized them up.

Their strength was unimpressive.

Judging by appearances, they owed their safety to the man in the middle, who had the level of a Four-Star Mage.

Of course, he also had a sword at his waist, so he could be a Four-Star Swordsman as well.

In this world, all professions had their own rank divisions.

But overall, the levels were similar.

For Mages, the progression went: Apprentice, Mage, High Mage, Great Mage, Archmage, Legendary Mage, Supreme Mage.

Each rank was subdivided into ten stars.

Even Vilan, based on his magic power, had the level of a High Mage One-Star, and that was at age sixteen.

Considering most entrants were seventeen or eighteen, the strength of these people was clear.

The other two were merely at the level of magic Apprentices.

Such weak new students made Vilan sigh in pity.

They definitely wouldn’t make it into the academy, so he might as well send them out early himself.

Vilan didn’t care how many Certificate Fragments they’d gathered.

But the Map in their hands was a valuable item.

With the Map, he could determine his exact position.

This would make searching and navigating much easier.

According to the story, the time when the ancient God Ruins would be opened was the second day.

What if he couldn’t find it?

As he thought this, the group drew closer to the room where Vilan was.

“Hey, Kelin, let’s check this room first. I have a feeling there’s a surprise inside.”

“Then let’s go with your hunch.”

Hearing their exchange, Vilan couldn’t help but smile.

There was indeed a surprise—but it was a free trip home.

He drew lightly with his fingertip.

In the blink of an eye, two Arcanic Magics were complete.

Chanting softly with a smile, he spoke:

“Curse of Withering.”

“Time.”

“Strike.”

The moment the three stepped through the door, a wave of weakness washed over them.

Next, they felt their bodies freeze, even speaking became agonizingly slow.

The combination of Withering and slowed Time completely prevented them from reacting.

“…Da…”

The man in the center’s expression changed slowly, the first syllable leaving his mouth.

Unfortunately, Vilan’s Star Strike arrived instantly.

Countless starlight streaked past like meteors, leaving silvery-blue trails.

The brilliant starlight even illuminated the shadows in the room.

The Star Strike struck the three of them.

They didn’t even have time to scream before turning to light and smoke, disappearing.

Students who suffered unbearable damage were directly teleported out.

The three were physically weak and had no time to prepare defenses.

Vilan’s overwhelming power resulted in an instant defeat.

“Hope the Map’s okay.”

As the smoke cleared, Vilan was delighted to see the Map was intact.

A complete Certificate and two Fragments floated into his body from the air.

This group was faster than he expected—they’d already collected five Fragments.

He picked up the Map from the ground and spotted a silver-glinting item nearby.

“This is…”