Assault on the Testing Grounds
Two days after the 1st Exam, the examinees made their way to the relocated testing grounds, following the notice that had come through on their terminals.
"We're really supposed to take the exam in a place like this?"
It was a stretch of ash-gray buildings beyond the Abandoned Factory district of Area 3 — a gathering place for those the city had thrown away. Vagrants who had never made it to Area 7 the way Violet had, non-citizens, and assorted petty criminals all washed up here. This so-called high-crime zone would serve as the stage for the 2nd Exam.
"Oppa, who do you think the examiner is this time?"
"Probably one of the Academy teachers, right?"
The 0th Exam had been hosted by Baba Yaga, and the 1st Exam by Lionel. One was an S-Rank Hero and an auxiliary member of the Hero party that had slain Abaddon; Lionel, for his part, was a currently active A+-Rank Hunter whose reputation preceded him. Since both had already appeared as exam proctors, the examinees fully expected that one of the Academy's professors would oversee the 2nd Exam.
That prediction missed by a mile.
Click. Click.
"Huh?"
"That uniform…?"
A woman with long red hair drawn neatly up stepped onto the platform, and the examinees couldn't contain their shock. Anyone would have recognized that outfit. A black dress uniform, a black peaked cap, and a red armband painted with an eye — the emblem of the Watchers, the special forces unit under the direct command of the Management Bureau that oversaw the Areas of Neo Sion.
"Isn't that the woman from last time?"
"Yeah, that's Emily unnie."
Siu and Sia recognized the Watcher at once. She was Dorothy's acquaintance from two days ago — the same Emily who had claimed to know Tiss.
"A Watcher…"
"Tiss knows someone from the Bureau's eyes?"
"Why is a Watcher serving as exam proctor?"
Sia tilted her head, puzzled. Neither sibling had imagined for a second that she was a Watcher.
The murmuring that had risen at the appearance of this slit-eyed, faintly unsettling woman died in an instant, as if a pin had dropped.
"Hehehe. Perfect. This taut, strained atmosphere. The moment when hot and cold emotions collide is truly thrilling, isn't it?"
"Heeh♡ What a fun-looking lady."
Some grew wary or went pale at the way she covered her mouth with her hand and smiled. Others, though, felt their fighting spirit catch fire. And as if to prove those words were no lie, Emily was smiling.
"This precarious, lethal atmosphere — the kind that could snap at any second — suits all of you perfectly, standing as you are on the verge of passing. After all, passing this 2nd Exam is what's at stake."
As if to settle the questions hanging over the crowd, a surprise announcement followed: with the addition of the 0th Exam, this 2nd Exam would also serve as the final examination. She kept up a chatty, courteous facade, but she made no attempt whatsoever to hide the oppressive presence pouring off her. It was a silent pressure, telling every examinee to stay on edge.
"Then I shall now explain the 2nd Exam."
The theme of this 2nd Exam was villain hunting.
"Have you heard of the Penal Unit? Also known as a suicide squad, this group is one of the Management Bureau's strategies for putting villains to very, very practical use."
Not waiting for an answer, Emily pressed on.
"In other words, we thoroughly and economically exploit villains who have committed crimes, in every way imaginable. In this exam, you will be facing members of the Penal Unit."
The objective of the 2nd Exam was to encounter the villains hiding in the city's sealed-off zone — to fight them, and to win.
"For reference, whether the villains live or die is irrelevant. Your goal is to neutralize them by any means necessary."
Emily paused, scanning the examinees' eyes one by one before she added:
"And even if you lose a fight, don't even think about begging for mercy from Penal Unit members who are former violent criminals."
She finished, and a short laugh escaped her.
"The Penal Unit members are participating in this exam for sentence reductions. But that's not all. Some volunteered simply because they want to see blood — because they want to kill people. Don't expect them to show you any mercy."
Anxious whispers rippled through the examinees. Then one of them raised their voice.
"What is that supposed to mean? It sounds like the villains we're supposed to face can attack us examinees without any restrictions whatsoever."
"Yes! That's the correct answer. You heard perfectly."
Emily clapped her hands and spoke in the tone of a teacher praising a child, and the murmuring swelled on all sides.
"Someone said it during the last exam, didn't they? That hunters and heroes face different opponents, and that's where the difference lies?"
Lionel had agreed with that assessment.
"The truth is, that's incorrect. Superior Grade monsters and above are no different from villains. And the reverse is equally true."
But Emily, a Watcher, put forward the opposite view. Whether it was a monster with intelligence equal to or greater than a human's, or a villain wielding power beyond all specifications — both were equally, inexhaustibly dangerous.
"You won't even know who the violent criminals are."
The reason being that villains don't have the word villain written on their faces.
"But I'll give you one hint: among the villains you'll be facing, none will be weaker than an active hunter or hero."
Emily's words meant that everyone the Management Bureau had brought in as the Penal Unit was at least B-Rank or higher.
"An exam with no safety measures for the examinees… that doesn't make any sense!"
When one examinee spoke up, Emily's gaze cut toward her.
"If you're afraid, you're welcome to leave right now. We have never once forced anyone to take this exam."
She sneered, as if to say they had no need for cowards like that.
"What you ought to be doing isn't complaining and grousing — it's thinking about how you'll get through this exam by any means necessary. Forming a team, for instance."
Emily's words carried the full weight of her rank and her power.
"I'll have you know I'm more than enough on my own, Watcher."
"Of course, this is merely a recommendation. Anyone who has confidence in their own abilities and wants to run wild is free to do so."
Emily said it while looking straight at Jin Seoyul, whose expression crumpled most satisfyingly.
"For reference, I am an A-Rank Hunter, and I could massacre everyone here within five minutes. And there are monster-like humans even stronger than I am, further up the chain."
The confidence and the sincerity flowing from behind those slit eyes were enough to make most of the examinees feel themselves shrink.
"Then, from this moment…"
A brief sigh — and a glint flashed in the sky above. Then something fell.
KRA-BOOM!
The ground heaved. Dust erupted in a choking wave.
"Haa. You really do yammer on and on, don't you."
The shockwave slammed Emily — who had been radiating that overwhelming presence only a second before — into the floor. The shocking sight of a Watcher forced to her knees locked every examinee's gaze in place.
The figure that slowly rose had metallic tentacles writhing about it; twitching ears and a tail came into view. The amorphous shape visible through the tattered prison uniform was far too alien to be called human. It was a chimeric aberration — neither monster nor person, but something mixed.
The air went still.
"Wow. Look at all these little bugs gathered here, just begging to be crushed and popped."
A thin laugh and a bitter, metallic mockery hung on the voice, drifting through the air. A low rumble rolled underfoot. The examinees couldn't even breathe; their entire bodies locked rigid with tension.
"Watcher~ You said we were allowed to play, didn't you~ So let's drop the useless chatter already."
The way of speaking carried a child's innocence and a child's cruelty all at once, and it wrenched the terror of whatever identity hid behind that mask up to a fever pitch.
"What… is the meaning of this?"
Having taken in the situation in a heartbeat, the Watcher looked at the monster and asked in a voice that did not so much as tremble.
The tentacles tightened. The sound of them cinching down grew vivid, wet and close — but Emily didn't blink. She glared at the monster and asked, her voice firm:
"Is the Penal Unit raising a rebellion against the Management Bureau? Do you want the bombs in your necks to detonate?"
"If it means I can breathe the outside air… there's nothing I wouldn't do."
An ice-cold silence settled over the grounds. The Watcher's gaze crossed with the monster's. The exchange of murderous looks was like gunpowder on the verge of exploding, and it silenced everyone in an instant. Some of the examinees instinctively took a step back, as if to flee. The downfall of the "strong one" they had been watching was terror all by itself.
At the peak of that tension—
"Nihihihit."
The monster tilted its head to one side and laughed. The voice that burst out was a laugh of the worst taste, like a rough blade being dragged across a whetstone.
"Just kidding, Watcher unnie. What I mean is… let's pick up the pace a little. You get plenty of pointless theory lectures at the Academy, don't you?"
A deep, resonant hum filled the air. Snow-white hair. Swaying ears and a tail sheathed in metal. An amorphous bundle of tentacles writhing beneath the mask. The aura pouring off that figure was far too inhuman to be considered a person.
In that instant, a word rose unbidden in every examinee's mind.
The monster that had driven humanity to the brink of extinction.
"Sia."
Siu called her name on instinct, afraid she might recklessly charge forward.
"Oppa, I'm fine. This is an exam."
Sia gently pushed away the hand he had extended and whispered. Hatred for the monster flared in her eyes like fire, but she understood perfectly well that now was not the time to fight.
"Kyahaha♡ Now things are getting fun. This is more like it for an Academy."
"Wh… what is that? That's an actual monster, isn't it?"
Yi Rumi watched the situation with a thoroughly taut expression, while Jin Seoyul trembled with excitement, fidgeting with the hilt of her sword. The only one still watching with a composed, deadpan face even in this urgent moment was Prim. The fact that she wasn't pressing the shutter suggested she was holding herself back.
The other examinees, though most of them were terrified, gripped their weapons with trembling hands.
"Hi there, examinee unnies and oppas~ I got to thinking, and I couldn't figure out why we should wait around in the city when you're the ones who are prey. So I came looking."
The monster waved, speaking with bright, almost sunny cheer, and the primitive terror inside that laugh — a dissonant shriek, like nails scraping across a steel plate — spread through the surroundings like poisonous fog.
"Hey. Let's change the game genre. How about hide-and-seek? We're it, and you're the prey. Sound fun? Right?"
The monster slowly looked over the examinees.
"I can't wait to see how far you'll run, and what kind of screams you'll give me."
Every time that red gaze landed, it felt as if a blade had been laid against the nape of the neck.
"What are you standing around for?"
All traces of laughter had vanished from the monster's voice. The examinees who had been frozen in place began backing away, one by one. A chill crawled up every spine.
With those words, people in prison uniforms and masks began appearing one by one around the monster. Overwhelming mana rolled off the other villains as well.
"Everyone, run!"
At Siu's shout, the examinees broke and scattered into the abandoned city.