They had wandered aimlessly through the forest, killing every Mana Beast in sight.
And that was when some of them realized one crucial detail.
"These mana beasts are way too weak..." Ajax muttered. "But maybe they grade us based on how many we can kill? Yeah... that must be it..."
"Quack." Alice scoffed. "But at least you do the dirty work for us, while we just walk along. It's not so bad."
She turned her gaze over to Clea, who was not even paying attention to where she was going.
"You're just as strange as him," Alice said plainly. "You don't have a weapon, you're full of openings, and the only thing you've done since we all met each other is introduce yourself and eat rabbit... just what is your deal, anyway?"
Although Raelis didn't like being pestered, it was fun seeing someone do it to others.
He eagerly awaited Clea's answer, but it never came, as she didn't even react to the provocation.
But the same couldn't be said for Ajax, whose face twisted in anger.
Yet, as he opened his mouth to complain, Raelis's eyes widened.
He dashed up to Ajax and kicked him in the side of the abdomen, knocking him out and sending him flying off into the distance.
At the same time, a massive bird monster appeared, its majestic black wings mirroring the night sky.
It had three red eyes, and each one was locked onto Raelis after the stunt he had just pulled.
"Hey... isn't that?" Mathieu mumbled, his hands trembling. "D-Demonic Raven... Grade 7... we're doomed!"
He turned his body and prepared to run away. However, Raelis hit him over the head with the hilt of his dagger knocking Mathieu unconscious.
If he ran away, it would negatively impact their score.
But if Raelis just so happened to accidentally hit him over the head during a team-building exercise, the examiners wouldn't bat an eye.
He glanced at the Demonic Raven and immediately began commanding his teammates.
"Alice, shoot its eyes. They're its weak spot," he instructed. "It's going to block its eyes with its wings, so I'll deal with that..."
He turned to the nonchalant Clea. "Take care of Mathieu."
Clea met his gaze, and after a few short moments, she nodded.
With that, Raelis began to move forward and up the tree.
Alice shot her bow from the side, making the Demonic Raven raise its single wing to block.
It seemed effortless, and rightfully so. After all, this Mana Beast was one of the most durable in the Grade 7 category.
It even rivaled the durability of Grade 6 mana beasts. Yet its fatal weak spot, the eyes, were the only reason the monster wasn't a Grade 6.
So, aside from her arrow reaching its mark and bouncing off, nothing else happened.
But at the perfect moment, Raelis appeared and began violently slashing at its body.
However, its sturdiness was no joke, as his daggers didn't leave even a scratch.
So he decided to turn to another technique.
Raelis heaved a deep breath and then concentrated on the two spinning mana rings around his heart.
And in the very next moment, he pushed them inside his heart, causing his entire body to burst into orange flames.
He had activated the Flame Body technique after getting the gist of it during the last exam.
Raelis dug his daggers into the tree bark to avoid melting them by accident.
Of course, the Demonic Raven moved too, as it flapped its wings and flew into the sky, glancing down at Raelis with wariness.
But that was when a stray arrow flew from nowhere, piercing straight through two of its eyes at once.
—SCREEEECH
Raelis took the opportunity to kick off the ground, and like a ball of flame, arrived right in front of the raven.
While it was clutching at its pierced eyes, he didn't hesitate to go behind the raven and wrap his arms around its neck in a chokehold.
It began flapping its wings rapidly as its body glowed with a shimmering black light.
Raelis knew what was coming: a self-destruct attack. It was basically a signature move of this mana beast species.
But before it could self-destruct, Raelis exploded all of his flames outward, making his Flame Body technique end abruptly.
Despite that, he had done what he had intended to do.
He melded the raven's wings together, making sure it had no way to block the arrows.
A faint smirk appeared on Raelis's face as he fell with the raven, landing on a jagged piece of rock.
The jagged rock pierced straight through the raven's heart, but it didn't die just yet.
Raelis stood on the raven's wide back and raised its head, pointing it at Alice.
She immediately got the signal, nocked her arrow, and shot it straight through the remaining eye.
And once all three eyes were destroyed, the Demonic Raven's body stopped shimmering, and all resistance ceased.
It had died just like that.
Raelis was about to praise her competence when, out of nowhere, a fist came flying right at him.
He tilted his head just in time, causing the fist to miss completely.
And when he met eyes with the attacker, Raelis let out a sigh.
"What are you doing, Ajax?" he asked.
"Hah? What am I doing?" Ajax pointed at himself, then at Raelis. "What do you think you're doing!? I put aside your arrogance and bore through your whims, but this is the final straw... I'm going to kill yo—"
"Oh? Another team?" a voice rang out from the side.
The bushes rustled, revealing five people who seemed completely unscathed.
So unscathed, in fact, that Raelis got suspicious.
The forest is muddy... and some areas are wet too. Yet their clothes are completely dry.
He couldn't discount the possibility of them having some Fire or Wind bloodline, but not even having a smudge on them was simply too convenient.
Therefore, Raelis put on a soft smile as he approached the group leader.
Raelis extended his hand for a handshake as he intended to inspect the boy's hands.
He had a sword on his waist, so naturally, a few calluses should be present.
The boy stared at Raelis for a few moments, then returned the handshake.
It was incredibly brief, and Raelis tried his best to compose himself.
After all, not only did this person in front of him lack calluses, but he also had no pulse.
Raelis knew that since whatever these people were had caught onto him and his group, they wouldn't leave easily.
So there was only one clear choice left.
"Would you be interested in having dinner with us?"