A monster with eight legs and translucent wings was rushing straight at me, its claws ready to rip my throat out.
I barely dodged it. Its claws pierced a tree trunk behind me and got stuck. Taking advantage of the opening, I conjured a blade of ice. It was crude and unstable, but good enough.
I sliced off both its wings cleanly. The creature let out a high-pitched screech before opening its jaws wide to swallow me whole.
I didn't give it the chance. Before it could move any further, my blade sliced through the air and cut off its head.
[You have eliminated a monster.]
[+10 points]
[You have completed a secondary objective.]
[You have received a reward: Odachi]
I sat down, panting. Forcing my mana core to use my ice affinity was absolute torture. Every spell drained my energy completely.
"Haah... Haah... With this, I should be able to claim the reward…"
The monster I had just slain was ranked Novice+, just like me. A secondary objective required its defeat. The reward wasn't points, but a weapon — an odachi.
I desperately needed a weapon if I wanted to avoid getting taken out like a rookie.
[Time: 07:47]
[Name: Noah Arryn]
[Class: Orion]
[Class Points: 46]
[Individual Points: 15]
[Class Objectives]
1. Eliminate 150 students: [9/150]
2. Eliminate 5 advanced-rank monsters: [0/5]
3. Reach 5000 class points: [46/5000]
[Available Data: Rules – Point System – Rewards – Map]
It had barely been thirty minutes since we were teleported onto the island. I had already gathered fifteen points, which wasn't bad but still far from what I aimed for.
On the way back to base, I'd come across a student who had set several traps in the bushes. Unfortunately for him, with my absurdly high perception, there was no way I'd fall for them.
I had eliminated him after a slightly clumsy fight. Barehanded, I wasn't particularly skilled. And long-range spells cost me way too much mana.
"But with this odachi, things should go more smoothly."
I opened the Rewards tab and selected the weapon. It materialized instantly, perfectly formed.
Artifacts, resources, and weapons obtained during the exam could be kept even after it ended. A valuable feature.
I tested a few swings in the air. It was heavy, but well-balanced. I nodded in satisfaction and stored the odachi in my dimensional ring.
As I got closer, I finally spotted our class base: a few simple tents, with a tall circular structure in the center. But something was off.
Right in front of the entrance, several students were lying on the ground, coughing up blood.
We were in the same class, so theoretically there shouldn't be any hostility… except the person who had done this was still standing there, blocking the entrance.
Thanks to my enhanced vision, I immediately recognized her.
Kaera.
'She really won't leave me alone… running into her this early, seriously…'
I didn't know much about her abilities —unlike some other characters — but one look was enough to understand she was elite.
With an Ethereal-ranked potential and her ties to House Silvaris, she could only be described as a monster. After all, that family bred war machines.
When I got close enough, she noticed me and flashed a smile.
"Well, well. We've been bumping into each other a lot lately, Noah."
"You said it… mind explaining what's going on here?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, you know. Just eliminating students like everyone else."
Then, grinning:
"I got unlucky. I was teleported right next to your base. I was gonna head to mine, but then I realized… I had absolutely no reason to!"
"No reason?" I asked.
"Yup! I'm pretty strong, so why rush? Here, I can take out students in waves. Right in front of a base — it's like a point fountain!"
She crossed her arms, looking pleased.
"Though I'll admit… they didn't give me as many points as I hoped."
The students on the ground were still alive, bleeding heavily. I had clearly arrived just before the execution.
I studied her.
Even Liam wouldn't use such a reckless strategy. If Maelys or Rowan showed up right now, she'd be forced to retreat. Honestly, Maelys alone might be enough.
Either she was really confident, convinced she was the strongest… or she had a guaranteed fallback plan.
I leaned toward the second option.
I stared at her calmly. Her expression changed. Gone was the cheerful, naive girl. Her deep crimson eyes were those of a predator.
They met my amethyst ones.
She gave a faint smile.
"Oh."
Frost began to form on my face. My breath, now visible, exhaled icy mist.
"That look… Noah Arryn, you're giving me a seriously cold stare," she said, mildly surprised.
The tension spiked.
"Don't tell me… you're planning to take me out?"
My gaze sharpened. A wave of killing intent radiated from me.
'If I want to destroy Ilyana and all of House Silvaris, I'll have to get through Kaera. Might as well get used to it now.'
"You do realize you don't stand a chance, right? No offense, but there's a whole world between us."
She wasn't wrong. Kaera was a prodigy — a purebred monster — in line to inherit one of the world's most powerful Houses. She'd clawed her way through hell alone.
Me? I was a half-broken mess with a cracked mana core, barely surviving and trying to understand where I even fit in this world. In technique, speed, strength, and skills — she outclassed me.
But even she… wouldn't stand a chance against that.
"Sorry, Noah. Eliminating you this early isn't what I wanted, but hey — blame your bad luck, not me."
'Hah… how many times have I heard that.'
Students from class Orion began to show up. Soon, there were over ten of us surrounding her. Yet she didn't look worried in the slightest.
"Miss Kaera, we ask that you leave the area!"
"You should go. We want to avoid a fight!"
"There are more than ten of us. Even you can't take us all on!"
I sighed in annoyance. Seriously, guys? Our classmates are lying in pools of blood, and you're still treating her with kid gloves?
Even with ten people, we won't last.
Kaera smiled. Seeing that no one was moving, she simply raised her left hand. Red crystals erupted from the ground and impaled the students already on the ground.
Their bodies disintegrated — eliminated.
She checked her bracelet and smiled as the points appeared.
Then she looked at us. Some began trembling.
Without a word, she brought her hand down. Giant crimson crystal spikes burst from the ground at blinding speed.
"Shit!"
I stepped back hastily — and from there, it all went downhill.
An all-out battle broke out between class Orion's students and Kaera alone. And honestly, it wasn't an exaggeration to say she was overwhelming us.
Projectiles flew — some aflame, others sharp and made of compressed earth. One of them, a clean stone blade, shot toward her flank.
But at the last moment, her skin glowed faintly, and a translucent, angular layer appeared where the attack would've struck.
The blade shattered like glass.
"Well, well…" I murmured, frowning.
I had just figured it out. She wielded two elements. The first was obvious now: crystal.
The crystal element wasn't a mere evolution of ice or a stylish variant of hardened water. It was a distinct element — more precise, and far more demanding.
It didn't rely on cold, but on the manipulation of pure mana stored within the body.
Kaera didn't crystallize moisture in the air or ambient water — she instantly solidified mana from her own core, shaping it into perfect, razor-sharp or defensive forms at will.
Where ice was fluid and adaptive, Kaera forged rigid, flawless structures — like the work of a master smith.
But such power had a price: she could only use the mana stored in her core, nothing external. A heavy constraint, but it explained why her every movement was so measured.
But that wasn't all.
Another student attempted a diversion. He launched a slicing gust of wind that grazed Kaera's shoulder — and this time, I saw a droplet of blood drift into the air.
Kaera reached out.
The drop froze mid-air, drawn in as if by an invisible thread… then transformed. A scarlet spike took shape in her palm, dense and needle-sharp, before launching at the attacker.
He dove to the ground — just in time.
Her second element… blood.
A terrifying combination.
The blood element allowed her to manipulate her own blood — or others', if it was outside the body.
Kaera couldn't kill someone with a glance by making their veins explode — thankfully. That would've been insanely broken. But once the blood was out…
She became a nightmare.
Not only did she use her own to enhance her strength, harden her limbs, accelerate her reflexes, or form deadly weapons, but she could also manipulate spilled blood to cast curses, mark a target, or even track it from a distance.
She didn't just kill. She hunted, weakened, and exhausted.
And the worst part? Blood element users possessed a unique kind of blood. Denser, richer in mana. More toxic to others.
Mixed with crystal, it created a unique alchemy.
Though exhausting, it was a clever and dangerous combination.