In the end, Kennisi arrived and dispersed the crowd.
When Sevitis caught a glimpse of the female knight following behind her, she understood what was going on.
If the other party’s action had been even half a step later, she might have had to resort to some necessary “extraordinary measures.”
‘If you don’t understand reason, I also know a bit of swordsmanship.’
However, getting into a conflict with that idiot before the exam officially started was a pure waste of time.
Not only would it drain precious stamina and mana, but if things escalated and she got disqualified, it would be a net loss.
She had always hated causing trouble, but that didn’t mean she feared it.
If trouble was blind enough to come knocking on her door, she wouldn’t hesitate to spend a little extra time to uproot it completely.
After the exam officially began, Sevitis ultimately chose to go solo.
With her current Third Rank strength, sweeping through the periphery of this forest was an absolute breeze.
To be honest, she wished the academy hadn’t arranged any examiner patrols or surveillance magic tools.
Without these so-called “safety guarantees,” she could have simply switched back to her Vampire form, spread her wings, and gone on a rampage in this forest without restraint.
Even if she didn’t secure first place, it would at least be enough to get her into the academy.
But in the end, she could only think about it.
Even without those arrangements, it would still be difficult to avoid alerting other examinees to the commotion she’d cause.
If she ended up rousing the examiners, they’d trap her like a bat in a jar.
Forget it. Her current human shell was still more than enough to pass the exam anyway.
She might as well just follow the rules and hunt magic beasts honestly.
However, after wandering the periphery of the Blood Burial Forest for about an hour, Sevitis gradually sensed something off.
Why were all the magic beasts here low-tier junk?
During her rapid sweep, she had barely seen any Second Rank beasts, let alone a single Third Rank one!
She knew that even the ordinary forest where she had been Embraced wasn’t this barren.
Yet this strange situation was happening in the infamous Blood Burial Forest.
This was definitely abnormal.
Sevitis stopped in her tracks, stroking her chin as she quickly calculated.
Could it be that something major had happened deep in the forest, scaring the high-tier beasts away?
No, impossible. Kantaier Academy was stationed right at the forest’s edge.
If there had been a real problem, the school wouldn’t have sat idly by, and they certainly wouldn’t have been careless enough to stuff examinees into the exam hall.
The only explanation was that the academy had everything under control.
Recalling Chief Examiner Kennisi’s harsh words before entering, Sevitis let out a cold laugh. What “the academy absolutely did not clear the exam hall beforehand”? That was a lie to fool ghosts!
The high-tier magic beasts in this peripheral area had definitely been artificially culled or driven away.
No wonder she had encountered that Fourth Rank Demon Tiger in that other forest before.
As for the purpose, it was obvious. This was a blatant move targeting the examinees who banded together in groups.
If someone braved the exam alone, they could farm low-tier beasts to steadily accumulate points while probing deeper.
As long as they found a single high-tier beast and killed it with their own strength, its Magic Core would fetch a high score in this exam.
But for groups of a dozen or so people, the situation was completely different.
The forest was full of low-tier beasts, which for examinees at least Third Rank, group hunting actually lowered efficiency.
Even if they lucked out and encountered a high-tier beast, that one core wouldn’t be enough to split among so many people.
Kennisi’s earlier danger warnings were simply psychological warfare.
She first scared off the especially timid ones into withdrawing.
Even if some forced themselves to participate, they’d only hunt low-tier beasts at the forest’s edge, and those points would never be enough to pass.
The groupers still had a chance, but only if they quickly realized something was wrong and changed their strategy immediately.
This exam was testing the examinees’ comprehensive abilities, and Kennisi had actually given hints before the exam began.
“Wisdom, courage, experience, adaptability, and even luck…” Sevitis murmured to herself.
Honestly, if she hadn’t spent a week fighting magic beasts in that other forest, gaining a practical understanding of magical beast ecology, she probably wouldn’t have seen through the academy’s scheme so quickly.
Since she had seen through the rules, what she needed to do next was obvious.
Sevitis slowly raised her head, her gaze passing through the sparse canopy and settling on the dark, deep zones of the Blood Burial Forest.
There, a thick crimson miasma roiled like a living creature, blotting out the sky.
But Sevitis showed no fear. Instead, she curled her lips slightly and tightened her grip on the longsword at her waist.
There was no need to waste more time on the periphery.
“Since the academy only picks geniuses with top-tier comprehensive abilities…”
Sevitis gave a light laugh and, without hesitation, strode directly into the perilous crimson mist.
“Let’s see just how lucky I really am.”
A cold wind blew, and that petite figure with black hair disappeared calmly into the oppressive red and darkness.
Only that arrogant whisper lingered in the empty forest, slowly fading away.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest.
Bauer, the Sixth Prince of the Connelly Principality, was preening over having successfully gained Eulalia’s favor.
At first, he had just wanted to get close to her.
After all, she was likely to become the future pillar of the Theocratic Nation, and building a relationship early wouldn’t hurt.
But the female knight beside her was absolutely terrifying.
He had thought there was no chance, but then, turning around, he had coincidentally run into that Sewei Adams he loathed so much.
By taking the opportunity to stomp hard on that waste, he had inadvertently earned the favor of the Saint Candidate.
Now, as long as he followed the original plan and scooped up a ton of Magic Cores to easily pass the exam and enter Kantaier Academy, his life would soar!
Then, he would no longer have to bow his head before those siblings of his. The era of Bauer had finally arrived!
Bauer fantasized about the future as he led his large team through the forest hunting magic beasts.
But slowly, he sensed something was off.
Unlike those blockheads around him chatting idly, he was a prince after all, and he had done his homework on this Blood Burial Forest before coming.
That was why he had used his princely status to recruit so many examinees in advance.
His plan had been solid.
First, use the numbers to take down high-tier beasts. When they encountered lone examinees, they would coerce or bribe them for their Magic Cores.
Finally, at the settlement, he would secretly pocket the high-point cores for himself.
But the actual situation had completely exceeded his expectations.
Why were there only low-tier beasts? Where had all the Third and Fourth Rank ones gone?
If all they encountered from now on was this kind of trash, with more than a dozen people splitting a few low-tier beasts, the point acquisition efficiency would be worse than if he acted alone.
Bauer gritted his teeth and started thinking.
No, he couldn’t keep wasting time like this. He had to change tactics.
So he put on a stern face, gathered all the examinees around him, and told them his discovery and his plan.
“So we have to split up from here. If we keep going like this, even if we reach the deepest part of the forest, there won’t be enough cores to split, and none of you will be able to get into the academy.”
“But, Your Highness, if we split up and encounter a high-tier beast on the way, what then? We only chose to team up with you because you said we could get high scores easily and safely. Now you’re going back on your word. Aren’t you going to give us an explanation?”
Someone in the crowd immediately raised an objection, and the others chimed in, their faces changing faster than flipping a book.
Bauer clicked his tongue in displeasure.
A bunch of useless wastes. He should never have counted on these blockheads from the start.
Since they were cowards afraid to venture deeper, he might as well discard them as pawns.
But thinking that, Bauer immediately put on a sincere, ingratiating smile:
“My sincere apologies, everyone. I didn’t expect the periphery to be in such a terrible state. Since things have come to this, I will naturally take responsibility. How about this: I’ll take a few trusted men and scout ahead. Once I confirm the path ahead is safe, you can all go in. What do you say?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t run away. All the low-tier cores we’ve collected so far can stay here with you.”
Faced with free points and a no-risk proposal, the vast majority agreed immediately.
A bunch of hopeless fools. Bauer sneered inwardly.
You don’t really think I’m coming back for you after scouting, do you?
Those pathetic low-tier cores are just charity. They won’t earn you many points anyway.
Ditching these deadweights as soon as possible and heading deep to hunt high-tier beasts was the real path.
So Bauer swaggered off with a few trusted men, leaving the main group.
After walking some distance into the depths, confirming that the others behind them absolutely couldn’t see them, Bauer stopped and turned around.
“Alright, time for Plan B. Do you have the scroll ready?”
“Rest assured, Your Highness Bauer. Everything has been arranged according to your orders.” One trusted man patted his waist and replied respectfully.
Hearing that, Bauer finally revealed a satisfied smile.
Good thing this prince was prepared. I am, after all, the confident man personally acknowledged by the future Saint!