Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: First Place Is Mine (1)
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The final leg of the entrance exam.
The 'Trial of Power'.
A test where you defeat enemies using your own strength and skills.
The format of this trial changes based on the number of examinees.
The academy admits a total of three hundred students.
If the number of examinees is close to that figure, it's held as a tournament with one-on-one matches.
The principal and instructors score the performances, determining admission and rankings based on those points.
But if there are far more examinees than spots—like right now—it's conducted as a Battle Royale.
"Ah, I want some fried chicken."
Part of me genuinely craves real chicken.
But part of me also wants to claim first place in this Battle Royale.
I looked up at the sky.
⚙ HOLOGRAM DISPLAY ⚙ Remaining: 477 A massive holographic screen floated there, displaying the remaining count in real time.
And below it, the examinees' scores were listed.
📊 Scoreboard 📊 1st - Arthur Pendragon: 1900 pts 2nd - Lee Seo-yeon: 1800 pts 3rd - Lee Yoo-jin: 1200 pts 4th - Shuhei Asuka: 500 pts 5th - Noah: 400 pts This showed which examinee had knocked out how many of the twenty-three others.
Oh, and for reference, the reason I'm in third.
【Camouflage Robe (C)】 A robe that blends into the surrounding environment. *Usable only on the Uninhabited Island, Arena Academy's Battle Royale zone. [Hidden Item: 700 pts] - Camouflage (C) activates permanently while worn. - Deactivates upon attacking an enemy. - Cooldown: 1 minute. 【Noise-Canceling Ankle Bracelet (C)】 An ankle bracelet that blocks noise from your body for a set duration. *Usable only on the Uninhabited Island, Arena Academy's Battle Royale zone. [Hidden Item: 500 pts] - Noise Block (C) skill available while worn. - Deactivates upon attacking an enemy. - Duration: 10 seconds. - Cooldown: 1 minute. It's because I found these two hidden items.
The exam hadn't been going on for long.
Yet here I was, teleported into a dense forest, easily snagging items the instructors had hidden away.
How? Simple.
On this Uninhabited Island where the Battle Royale takes place...
I memorized the entire map.
'Thirty thousand hours of playtime isn't nothing.'
Even though it was just a game, how many times had I been to this island in those thirty thousand hours?
I never counted exactly, but it had to be over ten thousand.
And the Korean vet trait:
Hard-earned strats get posted to game communities.
Thanks to that, I gathered all sorts of info, compiled it, and made a detailed map of the island.
And of course, I uploaded that map to the community strategy board after all the effort.
'That's what being a vet is all about.'
I nodded to myself.
Anyway, no matter if I spawned in a random forest, open plain, or near the beach—it didn't matter to me.
With the whole layout memorized, I knew where every item and monster was.
Still, spawning in the forest was ideal.
Most hidden items in forests are stealth-oriented, like what I'm wearing now.
Plenty of trees for cover, and stealth gear gives the edge in ambushes.
Plus, it boosts survival odds.
Of course... if you can find the items!
Murmurs drifted up from below the tree.
Hiding on a thick branch overhead, I peered down at the source of the commotion.
"...Man, where the hell are these hidden items?"
"Right? Can anyone even find them?"
"Forget items—no monsters in sight either."
Three examinees who seemed to know each other stood right under my tree, chatting away.
Sweat-soaked faces and damp clothes suggested they'd been hustling to find items or monsters.
But from their griping, they'd found zilch.
"Should we just hide?"
"...Yeah? Win or lose points, as long as we don't get knocked out, we're in, right?"
"...Yeah, let's hide. Those top ranks on the hologram will thin the herd for us."
Hide, huh.
'They've given up on hunting.'
Items are well-hidden, sure.
'Keep looking a bit more.'
Even if not items, the monsters they're whining about are just a short walk from here. Shame to miss out.
But these guys chose hiding over searching.
'Well, camping for survival's a strategy too.'
Just move one meter every ten minutes to avoid auto-elimination.
But here's the thing.
Are you the only ones thinking that?
And do you think the principal hosting this exam didn't anticipate it?
Beep. Beep.
"...What's that sound?"
"Uh... sounds like an alarm?"
"...Where's it coming from?"
The trio spun around at the sudden noise.
I glanced away from them to my Smart Watch.
[Timer expired.] [Set time: 30 minutes] Time was up.
I silenced the alarm on my Smart Watch, stretched out on the branch to loosen my stiff body.
I'd be moving hard soon.
"Where are you! Come out!"
"Show yourself! Stop hiding!"
"Come out now and I won't eliminate you—just surrender nicely!"
Ignoring the trio's frantic searching and yelling, I pulled a small leather pouch and a gas mask from my inventory.
Why set a timer right at the start?
And why exactly thirty minutes?
⚙ SMART WATCH ALERT ⚙ [30 minutes elapsed in exam.] [Remaining: 452] [Too many examinees still alive.] [Activating 'mechanism' for faster progression.] The message on my Smart Watch explained it.
And as the 'mechanism activated' notice vanished...
A massive dome of electric fields matching the island's size materialized.
Moments later.
Zzzzzt!
The blue-tinged dome crackled menacingly as it began to contract.
"W-what the hell is that?!"
"...The exam guide didn't mention anything like this!"
"Guys! Less yapping, more running inside!"
The trio gave up hunting me—the source of the alarm—and bolted from the encroaching dome.
Too bad. They wouldn't escape.
Not after what I was about to do.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"...!"
They whipped their heads up at my voice, eyes widening upon spotting me on the branch.
I hurled the leather pouch downward with all my might.
Boom!
Green powder burst everywhere as the pouch ruptured.
The trio, caught flat-footed, got doused head to toe.
"W-what is...!"
"B-body won't... move..."
"Y-you... coward..."
They stiffened and toppled over.
Green dust, paralyzed bodies.
Yep.
Poison.
Local paralysis toxin.
Made by yours truly.
Besides hidden items, this Battle Royale island has special goodies.
Tons of them, but limiting to my current forest spot:
Ingredients like plants and mushrooms for potions litter the area.
A quick look around reveals...
【Bomb Mushroom】 A mushroom that explodes spores like a bomb on impact. Classified as a 'poison mushroom' due to paralytic spores. ...stuff like this Bomb Mushroom that paralyzes a trio in seconds.
Some spores drifted my way from the pouch, but no issue.
Hisss... hisss...
Gas mask on.
One engraved with purification magic, no less.
Tch.
"Coward? Please."
Talking fair play in a Battle Royale?
What a clown.
I sneered down at him.
"P-please... spare us."
Misreading my smirk, the trio begged for their lives in terror.
"..."
What the hell are they on about?
"Heh, ridiculous."
Shaking my head in disbelief, I dropped from the branch.
They looked even more horrified.
I approached and squatted in front of one.
"Why ask to be spared? I wasn't planning to kill you."
If they were Fallen, maybe.
But why kill random extras?
They relaxed a bit at my reassurance, though fear lingered.
And then I saw why.
"...H-hey, that electric field's closing in."
"Y-yeah. Paralyzed like this, we can't dodge it."
They thought the dome would kill them.
"..."
What?
Are these guys serious?
"You think touching the electric field kills you?"
"...N-no?"
"Look at that thing. One touch and we're fried..."
...They were dead serious.
'What were these idiots thinking applying to the academy?'
Exams change every year, sure, but showing up blind?
"Sigh."
Pitying their cluelessness, I stood and explained kindly.
"That dome's field only drains the HP on your bracelet's protection spell. No real harm to you, so just chill."
I turned to leave, but they shouted.
"Still, un-paralyze us!"
"Yeah! Let us go!"
"Whatever."
I ignored them and sprinted forward.
Opening my inventory, I grabbed more leather pouches filled with Bomb Mushrooms.
Two per hand—four total.
Gripping them, I chucked one at every person I spotted while running.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
"Argh! What is this?!"
"F-fuck! My body!"
"Who the hell—!!"
Screams and curses erupted everywhere.
Green clouds filled the forest.
I plowed through, hurling pouches nonstop.
Throw. Reload.
Throw. Reload.
Until my inventory's pouches ran dry.
'Plenty of Bomb Mushroom pouches prepped.'
And other stuff too.
But these alone should clear the way to the center,
where the main cast flocks.