The Survival Test
The day the professor announced the exam arrived, just as it always did.
Every single first-year student in their respective classrooms was suddenly dragged away to the grand lecture hall.
“Why the hell are we all being pulled together like this out of nowhere?”
“It’s the combat and training exam, dumbass.”
“We’re not supposed to be paired by class?”
“I don’t know either.”
Students who had assumed it would be a light test began to sense something off and grew tense.
In the grand lecture hall, Professor Meibao was already waiting.
“As I mentioned earlier, we will be taking the exam.”
Standing on the stage, she explained the format.
“First, every student in each class will draw lots. The slips will have numbers on them. Once you draw, go find someone in your own class with the exact same number and pair up.”
So it’s random matchmaking through the lots? But if that were the case, why bring every first-year here at the same time?
Unless it’s a tournament format, in which case maybe it makes sense.
‘If it really is a tournament… I’m screwed.’
Imp like me would probably get eliminated in the preliminaries.
When my turn came to draw the lot, my palms were sweating.
In the ruthless environment of the Cradle, bad grades could lead to serious penalties.
‘Please, please let it be Karib, please let it be Karib…!’
I drew the lot with all my might.
The number was 7.
I wandered around until I found someone with the same number.
The student I paired with turned out to be a girl named Nadia, wrapped from head to toe in thick bandages.
Last time in the Reinforcement and Imbuement class, she had managed to move mana right after me, then even hardened objects, earning Professor Zegerof’s praise as a genius and stealing his affections.
‘But fighting a girl… that’s a little…’
I thought that for a split second, then quickly corrected myself.
I didn’t know what race she was, but any race weaker than Imp in physical ability was almost impossible to find.
Plus, most demons, male or female, had strong bodies by default, right?
That much was clear just by looking at the first-year professors—everyone was female except Zegerof.
‘I’ll go all out no matter who she is.’
“We’re partners for the first time, huh? Good luck.”
I approached Nadia with a smile to analyze her.
“Yeah… good luck to you too.”
When I asked why she always wore bandages, she told me she was a Mummy race.
“The bandages make me feel more comfortable.”
“I see.”
Whether the bandages actually had that effect or not, she clearly felt that way.
Anyway, Nadia looked shy, small, and overall very fragile.
‘Her calves are especially thin. If I start by pretending to touch gloves and land a quick cap kick, I can lead her around.’
While my mind was already plotting a ruthless, calculated victory strategy, Professor Meibao spoke again.
“Everyone found their partner, right? Then I’ll explain the test format.”
The students, assuming it was just a spar, listened with dull expressions.
“In a moment you will all be dropped into the Dragon Bone Mountains. For the next five days, you and your partner will hunt the demonic beasts released there while living and eating together. That is the content of this exam.”
-…….
Everyone stared at Professor Meibao in shock.
They all had that dazed look on their faces at the completely different test format.
So…
Not only did you have to survive five days in the mountains by yourself, but you had to catch demonic beasts?
‘What kind of insane…’
Suddenly they were giving a survival hunting test to freshmen who hadn’t even adapted to university yet. It was basically handing out graduation theses to write.
“You’re serious about this?”
“No way… we’ve only been here a month and now you want us to catch monsters?”
Students were buzzing at the outrageous test content.
But Professor Meibao was not joking.
“Catching just one demonic beast counts as a pass. It’s not difficult. They’re prepared at your exact level, so don’t worry.”
Just surviving five days in the mountains by yourself was hard enough, let alone catching monsters.
“That should be enough explanation. ─Morgan! You may begin!”
Professor Morgan was here too?
I desperately wanted to tell her to stop this crazy colleague, but there wasn’t time.
Light began to shine from the ground beneath us.
‘What is this!’
A magic circle like thing glowed beneath every student, including me.
“It’s just a simple transport circle. No need to panic. In ten seconds you will all be transported to the mountains.”
Transporting the entire first-year class to the mountains.
Normally I would have been amazed at the technology, but the situation didn’t allow for it now.
“Straight to the mountains?”
“Just a moment, Professor! You have to give us some time to prepare…”
“It’s just a short hike in the mountains for a few days. No need to prepare. Also, you may feel a little dizzy right after teleportation, so be careful… if you fail the exam you’ll have to take remedial classes, so do your best.”
“No!”
“Professor Morgan! If you’re watching, please help us!”
“The person who installed that transport circle was Morgan.”
“…These crazy professors!”
Students realized Professor Morgan was on the same side and trembled with rage.
Some even openly cursed the professors, but Professor Meibao simply smiled happily.
“Then everyone, let’s get going!”
***
When the light faded, the landscape in front of me had completely changed.
I stood in the middle of the forest.
‘Is this the Dragon Bone Mountains?’
“Ugh…”
I turned at the groan beside me.
Nadia was staggering, clutching her head from the transport’s aftershock.
Everyone who drew the same number ended up in the same place, so the lots must have been magically altered.
“Are you okay?”
I rushed over and supported her shoulder.
“Thank you…”
“Rest for a bit.”
I waited until she felt better and looked around.
‘It’s a forest.’
That was the only thought I could muster.
I couldn’t see any other students.
There was only the occasional unknown bird chirping.
‘This is hopeless.’
No map, and I knew nothing about the terrain of the Dragon Bone Mountains.
“For now, let’s take out what we have.”
Nadia, once the dizziness passed, checked our belongings.
Besides the clothes we were wearing, the only things were a few pieces of dried meat I had packed in my pocket and Nadia’s bandages wrapped around her body.
‘This is basically nothing.’
“I’m sorry…”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
I waved away Nadia’s head-lowering gesture.
The professors were the problem.
Even if I caught monsters, how was I supposed to survive five days with just this?
‘This is going to be rough.’
Everything I had heard about advanced Cradle students was a lie.
In a hurry, I recalled information about survival from books I had read long ago.
The basics were water, fire, and shelter, right?
“Let’s start with finding water.”
“Yeah.”
Because of her passive personality, Nadia naturally let me take the lead.
We headed downhill toward water.
I set aside worry about getting lost and wandering until I died.
‘It’s not like I can do anything about it anyway.’
Even at the Cradle, they wouldn’t drop us here and expect us to find our way back.
If we survived five days, the professors would come to pick us up.
My immediate goal was to last until then, and ideally try to catch a monster along the way.
Step, step.
Since the crazy professors had released the demonic beasts, I moved carefully, keeping watch.
After walking for nearly an hour, a faint, musty water smell reached me.
“Where does that sound come from…?”
“Ah, there!”
Nadia spotted a small valley.
We had walked deep into the mountains and our throats were dry, but we couldn’t drink yet.
Even if it looked clean, we couldn’t risk it.
“Hold on a little longer even if you’re thirsty.”
I asked permission and looked around the valley.
“This should work.”
It was a flat, appropriately sized rock with a central depression.
“Here!”
The rock was heavier than I expected and my legs wobbled.
“I’ll help.”
“…No, I’m fine.”
Men have pride. How would a girl help a guy lifting heavy things?
In the end, I used body strengthening to move the rock to the valley, cleaned it in the flowing water, and placed it in the hollowed section.
Transparent water gathered in the depression, making it a perfect temporary bowl.
“Dorn, what are we going to use this for…?”
“Watch.”
I placed a large rock outside the valley and gathered a few fist-sized pebbles from the stream.
“I’ll show you something amazing.”
While Nadia watched, I extended my index finger.
Fwoosh!
A small flame bloomed from the tip of my finger.
“Wow!”
Nadia’s eyes widened at the flame slightly larger than a lighter.
“Is it magic?”
“No… it’s an ability I have as an Imp.”
Creating small flames with fingers was the only long-term use allowed for Imps.
“Honestly, it’s not that great. The power is weak and the duration is short.”
In daily life it was only useful for lighting cigarettes, but it was a big help now.
I gathered dry branches and leaves with Nadia.
To avoid fire, I built a small campfire near the valley.
“Put these stones in here.”
I placed fist-sized pebbles in the fire.
As time passed and the stones glowed red, I picked them up one by one with branches and dropped them into the water in the hollowed rock.
Chiiik!
After repeating the process a few times, I had boiling water that steamed up nicely.
It wasn’t perfect, but it would do for urgent drinking water.
“You waited long, right? You can drink now.”
We dipped our hands in the slightly cooled water and took small sips.
The lukewarm water slid down my throat and quenched my thirst.
After a moment to catch my breath, I thought about what to do next.
‘We have water and fire. Now we need to prepare a shelter.’
Was there a good spot?
If we were unlucky, we might have to build one ourselves.
Our bodies were much tougher than humans’, but still, surviving five days outside worried me.
“Should we move?”
“Yeah.”
Just as we started to stand, we heard footsteps.
……!
I quickly stood up.
“Ah…”
When I stepped in front to protect Nadia, she looked at me with a slight start.
I signaled her to stay quiet by putting my finger to my lips.
‘Please don’t let it be a demonic beast…’
Swallowing hard, I stared between the dense trees.
What emerged was a massive green…
“…Scott?”
“Dorn?!”
Scott, popping out of nowhere, waved his arms with a bright smile.
“Heeek!”
Nadia yelped at the huge troll approaching, but when she heard I knew him, she relaxed.
“Dorn, I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Next to Scott was Karib.
He explained the situation.
“Scott and I drew the same number in the lots, so we’re partners. After being dropped here, we wandered around because we didn’t know the terrain.”
“How did you find this place?”
“I saw smoke and thought there was someone else. In this situation, it’s better to team up. But I didn’t expect you to be the one lighting the fire.”
“Fate worked out since we know each other’s faces.”
“I agree.”
Since we didn’t know what would happen, Karib suggested we four work together.
There was no rule against cooperating with other groups, so it should be fine.
“You’re thirsty? We have boiled water, so drink some.”
I gave the remaining water in the hollow rock to Scott and Karib.
When they saw how much I was thirsty, I asked, “Do you have any plans of your own? Nadia and I were heading to find shelter.”
“That’s good. I actually found a decent spot on the way here.”
A happy sound in the middle of the crisis.
“Where is it?”
“I’ll guide you.”