‘Which batch am I in?’
When the teleportation ended and her consciousness returned, Merlin found herself standing in the middle of a massive mountain.
The air was thick with the scent of earth and lush greenery baked by the fierce sun. Having lived in the North since childhood, Merlin found the stifling heat of this forest almost unbearable just by breathing.
She had heard this was a Southern No-man’s Land. She really had to hand it to the academy for thinking of holding an exam in such a place.
Merlin looked at the ring that had been tightly fitted onto her finger since she entered. As she began her ascent toward the summit, she checked the items stored inside the ring.
There wasn’t much.
There was enough food and water to last for one day, and a thin, hardbound Rule Handbook.
If she sustained a fatal injury, the ring would shatter, or she could choose to crush it herself to be instantly teleported out of the forest.
The exam would last for three days and two nights.
‘This time, the placement of students was staggered by time and location.’
‘Adjustments were made based on subject grades.’
She recalled the key information from the handbook; it matched the intel she had gathered before the exam started.
Judging by the terrain, Merlin, who ranked first in the Alchemy Department, was currently positioned halfway up the mountain.
‘They probably want to prevent the representatives of each department from bumping into each other right at the start, right? This mountain is so big; it would be a headache if I ran into Mahina right away.’
However, as long as everyone kept moving toward the summit, they were bound to meet eventually.
The level of the magical beasts on The First Mountain wasn’t high, so with Mahina’s strength, there was no need for her to stay here and hunt.
Merlin ran upward while keeping a close eye on the terrain and her surroundings. The forest was actually quite beautiful.
She pulled a delicate crystal spray bottle from the small leather pouch at her waist and spritzed herself with a Scent-masking Potion. Then, without hesitation, she downed a small bottle of shimmering Swiftness Potion.
‘Anyway, I should get over The First Mountain first. There’s no rush to hunt Magical Beasts; I need to confirm the current situation.’
Merlin focused entirely on running toward the peak.
Along the way, a violent explosion echoed across the entire mountain. The ground shook, and countless birds took flight in alarm.
“Whoa…”
The shockwave made Merlin stumble, nearly falling over. She quickly pressed herself against a tree trunk and covered her ears, her eyes wide with shock.
‘What happened? Did the grade representatives really run into each other this early? Or is a mage clearing the field?’
‘Well, keep running, running, running.’
Since Merlin wasn’t suited for direct combat anyway, she curled her lip and decided to conserve her strength.
She continued her monotonous trek for several hours. When the potion’s effects wore off and her legs began to feel as heavy as lead, she would find a secluded corner to rest for a moment, taking small sips of water to recover her strength.
Then, she would down another potion.
She had to admit that the humidity and heat of the South made her feel even more exhausted during the long run. She felt sticky all over.
She avoided any Magical Beasts she saw in the distance and was lucky enough not to run into any other people. Perhaps they had been drawn toward the sound of the explosion.
Nightfall descended like ink dripping onto a wet canvas, quickly staining the sky. Merlin had spent the entire day simply traversing the map, neither fighting nor hunting.
Just as she was considering finding a place to settle for the night, a rustling sound came from the bushes not far ahead.
Merlin’s body tensed instantly, and she held her breath.
“Princess!”
“Princess! Princess!”
Several hushed, excited shouts reached her. Merlin parted the leaves in front of her and saw over a dozen Alchemy students standing on a large rock. Among them was the third-year Alchemy representative.
Jessie Kurt.
She was waving frantically at Merlin, her face beaming with the joy of a reunion. This was the first time Merlin had seen anyone all day.
Merlin stopped in front of them and tilted her head slightly, her long, blue-gradient hair fluttering with the movement. Her breathing was still a bit ragged, and her eyes were filled with pure confusion.
“How are you all ahead of me?”
“Special methods, of course. Special methods,” a boy added. “It was actually that explosion.”
‘That?’ Merlin had assumed it was some kind of high-level magic.
“Oh, the boys were just being too rowdy. We regrouped shortly after starting at the foot of the mountain.”
“How come I didn’t run into anyone?”
“Because you’re the first-year representative, Princess. You were likely placed around the mountainside, right?”
Merlin nodded.
“All the department representatives are near the mountainside. To prevent early encounters, the academy scatters the representatives across a wide area — up, down, left, and right. This results in the middle zone being almost entirely reserved for representatives, so the rest of us are squeezed together at the foot of the mountain.”
“Even if the students at the base try to stagger their entry times and locations, they’ll inevitably run into each other.”
“As it turns out, the trap the boys set caught a Magic Department student. They were knocked out of the exam right at the start.”
“Then, for some reason, everyone started gathering. Logically, that kind of chaotic situation should happen at the summit, but who would’ve thought it would start at the base?”
“Come on, Princess, rest for now. We found a place to stay. We’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Just call me Merlin. What’s with this ‘Princess’ thing?” Even though Merlin understood what the Alchemy Department meant by “Princess,” it still felt embarrassing to hear.
“Thank you, Merlin!”
The girls from the Alchemy Department took Merlin’s hand and led her to a small cave.
“Let’s spend the night here. We’ll leave at daybreak. Our progress should currently be among the top, and that explosion earlier eliminated quite a few students.”
“Since people have already failed, our grades might actually be pretty good.”
Everyone sat around the campfire in the cave, eating their dry rations.
“How did you find me?”
A student wearing glasses answered with a contemplative expression. “Process of elimination, mostly. We can actually guess the approximate locations of the department representatives based on the distribution of students at the base. The academy would never want a department representative to regroup with students of the same department and year too early.”
Merlin understood what the student meant. “So, everyone took a long detour and waited for me up here?”
“Exactly. Students of the same department can group up, but it comes at the cost of time. Plus, it’s in the rules, right? The points earned from students hunting together decrease with each subsequent kill.”
Jessie, who wore twin tails, leaned against Merlin’s shoulder. Merlin didn’t resist.
“Hehe, Merlin is all mine.”
Having finished her biscuits, Jessie moved closer to Merlin and gently leaned her head on Merlin’s shoulder.
Merlin’s body stiffened for a moment, but she didn’t push her away. Instead, she silently took another bite of her rations.
‘She is a girl, after all, and the third-year representative.’
‘Since she’s willing to sacrifice her own time to help me, a little leaning shouldn’t matter, right?’
It definitely wasn’t because Merlin was afraid to resist!
“So, Merlin, we’ll escort you to the summit tomorrow morning and then temporarily part ways. Just the points from being among the first to reach the top won’t be enough to beat Mahina.”
In reality, Merlin was still feeling uncertain. “I’ll do my best.”
“Don’t worry, Merlin. Once we reach the summit, we’ll take you to the foot of The Second Mountain. You should focus on preparing there.”
Preparing.
Yes, what Alchemy students needed most was preparation.
Since they couldn’t use magic and weren’t skilled in swordsmanship, Alchemy students had to rely on setting traps and magic circles. As long as they could prepare in advance, they could use magic crystals to power the circles even without having their own mana.
Although every student had a limit on the total capacity of their magic pockets — forcing Alchemy students to make difficult choices — one thing remained constant.
Everyone’s plan was to get Merlin to The Second Mountain first so she could prepare for victory.