Chapter 30
If you overcome countless brushes with death, your brain gets damaged.
Ordinary stimuli can no longer move your emotions, and you won’t find much enjoyment in simple pleasures.
This is why many renowned warriors who made a name for themselves on the battlefield often end up taking their own lives after retirement.
‘A Gray World.’
Losing sensation is horrifying.
It’s like having your limbs severed and being trapped in a bed for the rest of your life, unable to move.
‘It was boring.’
During the war, I struggled to stay alive.
But ironically, once the war was over, I started searching for thrills that could match the pleasure of facing death.
A dizzying sensation that could melt my brain.
That was the only thing that kept Karen alive.
But no matter what she tried, nothing could satisfy her.
Getting drunk was empty, and sleeping with men held no interest.
The people she needed to protect were all lost on the battlefield.
It’s a life where she can’t even pretend to be making a blind effort for someone else.
Such a boring, dull, and bitter life—
“Aah…!”
—was changing.
“Ah… Hahaha! Kyaaahahahaha!”
The flames that lingered in her eyes exploded.
Uncontrollable laughter bubbled up from deep inside her body.
“Pro… Professor?”
“Ahahaha! Did you see that, Arin? That kid cut the Minotaur down with a single strike!”
It’s delightful.
It’s so exhilarating that she couldn’t help herself.
Even more than the excitement when a bullet narrowly missed her heart, the thrill now made her head tingle.
She didn’t expect him to win.
She thought that, at best, he’d barely be able to hold his ground, unable to land any meaningful hits.
‘I’ll admit it.’
She tried to look without prejudice, but it couldn’t be helped.
He is a man.
In most cases, it’s only natural for men to get scared, collapse to the ground, or wet their pants in this situation.
But his performance—
-‘Is it supposed to go down in one hit?’
—exceeded Karen’s expectations by a mile.
“Haa, haa!”
Her breathing grew ragged.
Drool gathered in her mouth uncontrollably.
Her lower abdomen tingled, and the sensation crept all over her body.
It was a pleasure she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Ran…”
She tried saying his name.
Her tongue flicked, and the sound hung lightly at the tip of her lips.
Somehow, she felt her body heating up.
Heaven Beyond Heaven.
Who wouldn’t be thrilled when a new mountain to look up to appears?
Staring intently at the screen, Karen bit her lip lightly.
“I’ll make you… the greatest under the heavens…!”
A sultry heat mixed into her voice.
***
“…What the?”
Nothing unusual seems to be happening, so there doesn’t seem to be any issue with the exam itself.
‘It’s this powerful?’
Although I’ve gotten stronger since then, with Qi Force imbued, and its defenses were weakened by the chains—
I didn’t expect a 4th-floor-level monster to die in one hit.
“I shouldn’t use this recklessly.”
Feeling a mix of chill and slight satisfaction, I approached the Minotaur’s corpse.
Luckily, the treasure chest wasn’t damaged by the slash and lay on the floor without any harm.
“Wow.”
Unlike the bronze, silver, and gold chests above, this one shone brilliantly like it was sculpted from diamonds.
Licking my lips, I unlocked the seal on the chest.
Clunk!
“This is it!”
The thing I’ve been searching for was there.
[Polaris Head Admission Ticket]
A radiant and beautiful ticket.
Given what it means to be the top of Polaris,
‘It’s more precious than any ordinary treasure.’
Unlike the regular admission tickets I’d carelessly shoved into my pockets, I carefully stored this one in my chest.
Even though I just picked up a single piece of paper, I felt as full as if I’d eaten three bowls of soup.
“Now all that’s left… is this.”
The regular admission tickets I’d gathered, which I couldn’t just throw away.
From what I remember, the exam won’t end until all admission tickets have found their owners.
“So that means I have to hand these out to other people….”
Whether I scatter them around randomly or selectively distribute them—
Somehow, all the admission tickets need to be shared.
“Hmm.”
But I really don’t want to just give away something I put in so much effort to get.
What am I, some kind of proxy test agent?
‘At least proxies get compensated.’
This is just volunteer work.
It’s not like I’m running a ‘First 10 to sign up pass the test~’ deal.
“…Compensation?”
A wicked thought flashed through my mind.
***
“Damn it! What a humiliation!”
A large contestant.
Dwena gritted her teeth and glared furiously around.
Her face, already menacing, looked even more fearsome due to the large lump swelling on her forehead.
Seeing her furious expression, even a 1st-floor-level monster was scared and ran away.
She vented her boiling anger outward.
“Why the hell isn’t there a golden chest!”
For reference, Dwena only regained her consciousness 30 minutes ago.
She only realized the conditions of the exam 10 minutes ago after threatening another contestant.
The reason she started the exam much later than everyone else was simple.
She was knocked out by an unknown attack in the waiting room.
“I’ll never forgive that damn man!”
The plan was to intimidate a weak-looking contestant and assert dominance over the others.
-‘Once you scare one of them, the others will fall in line! Krahaha!’
That’s what the leader said.
Coincidentally, there was a fragile-looking boy, so she did just that.
-Thwaaang!
They used some trick to knock her out.
Because of that, her face ended up looking like this.
‘I’ll never forgive them!’
How dare they lay a hand on the heir of the Red Forest, one who opened their Middle Danjun early and is hailed as a legendary warrior.
The next time she sees them, she will beat them to a pulp.
Even if they beg for mercy with tears in their eyes, there will be no leniency.
“I’ll make sure you regret this!”
“What will I regret?”
“W-whaat?!”
A voice echoed from above.
Looking up, there was a black-haired figure sitting on a high ledge, gazing down at her.
“You…! Youuu!”
“Hello? We meet again.”
It was the man who humiliated her in the waiting room.
He lightly moved his steps downwards and reached where she was standing.
“You dare not know fear and seek me out? Hahaha, I’ll kill you!”
Her head turned red with rage.
Just as she was about to draw her sword—
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“What did you say?!”
“You’re almost done, aren’t you? With the admission ticket, I mean.”
“Ugh!”
His words made her body stiffen.
“Th-that doesn’t matter. Punishing you for shaming me takes priority!”
“Really? Then I guess you don’t need this.”
He pulled out a shimmering ticket from his pocket.
[Polaris Admission Ticket]
“That’s…!”
“Hm. Since you don’t need it, I’ll just give it to someone else. Take care?”
The boy gave a playful grin and turned his back to leave.
“W-wait!”
“Hm? What?”
“You… Give me that!”
She tried to sound as threatening as possible, but she couldn’t help the slight tremor in her voice.
No wonder—by now, even silver chests had completely disappeared, let alone gold ones.
If she lost this chance, she would fail the exam.
“That? Why would I?”
“Grr…! You have it, which means you already have your own admission ticket!”
“Keekeek. That’s right. I’ve already got mine.”
Ran spun the ticket around his finger and swung it lightly.
It was infuriating, yet the sight somehow seemed strangely alluring.
“So, I want to make a deal with you.”
“A deal…?”
“Yes, a deal.”
He slowly approached her.
His presence faintly lingering around her, like a Succubus that feeds off life essence.
“If I give you this admission ticket. You just have to give me what I want.”
“What you want…?”
“It’s nothing much. I just need a little elixir.”
As soon as she heard the word elixir, she had an idea of what he meant.
“Don’t tell me you mean Thousand Wood Elixir?”
Thousand Wood Elixir.
One of the signature elixirs of the Red Forest, which, upon consumption, spreads the energy of the forest throughout the body.
It’s more valuable than Earth Herb Elixir, though not as much as Heaven Mountain Elixir.
Even as the heir of the Red Forest, she had barely been granted a single pill of it as a congratulatory gift.
And yet, he’s asking her to just hand it over!
It’s practically daylight robbery!
‘But still….’
If she failed to pass the exam, she wouldn’t get into Polaris, nor would she have the Thousand Wood Elixir.
But if she handed over the elixir, she could at least secure one of them.
‘Should I just beat him down and take the admission ticket instead?’
Such thoughts crossed her mind naturally.
But now that she faced him again, she understood.
“…Ugh!”
That man is strong.
The commotion in the waiting room was no mere fluke.
He might look relaxed, holding his sword loosely, but—
‘There’s no opening…!’
She knew instinctively.
If she made a move, he would charge in and cut her down.
“Damn it….”
There was no other way.
Submitting quickly to a stronger opponent was one of the virtues that brought the Red Forest to its current status.
“Fine, I’ll hand over the Thousand Wood Elixir.”
“……”
“Now give me that admission ticket….”
“What are you talking about? Just the Thousand Wood Elixir isn’t enough.”
“What…?! Don’t tell me you want the Heaven Mountain Elixir too…!”
“No, no. I’m not interested in the cheap elixirs your Red Forest makes.”
Ran let out a deep sigh.
“If I’m not mistaken, something recently came into the possession of the Red Forest, right? Sky Clear Stone Milk.”
“…Wait, you…!”
“Yep! That’s what I want.”
“You crazy bastard! There’s no way I can get that!”
“Really? Well, that’s a shame then.”
Some things are just absurd to ask for.
Sky Clear Stone Milk!
It’s not just a valuable asset within the Red Forest, but also a treasure that’s rare across the entire continent.
If she was caught stealing it, she’d be executed, heir or not.
“Screw you! I’m not making any deal!”
“Hm… Got it.”
The boy turned away without any regret.
***
“I’m crazy… I’m really crazy….”
Dwena banged her head against the wall, on the verge of tears.
In her hand was a familiar ticket.
[Polaris Admission Ticket]
In the end, she accepted the deal.
-‘So, you’re agreeing to let me help you steal the Sky Clear Stone Milk in exchange, right?’
-‘…Yes.’
-‘Great! Now, engrave your promise with blood.’
As if that wasn’t enough, she even signed a Scale of the Balance Oath to ensure she’d keep the deal.
Now, there was no turning back.
“Exchanging the Sky Clear Stone Milk for an admission ticket…!”
It wasn’t just a loss—this was a bankruptcy-level transaction.
Ssss!
As tears welled up, heat surged under her skin.
The swelling started to subside, and her body began to return to its original state.
“Tsk.”
She pulled out a round pill from her pocket and bit into it hard.
Immediately, her face swelled back up, making her look brutish like a gorilla once again.
“I will… I will definitely get my revenge…!”
Her anger piled up layer upon layer.
[All admission tickets have been distributed.]
[The exam is now over.]
[All participants will be teleported back to the waiting room. Please do not leave the magic circle.]
Thus, the exam ended.
Comment