Blaine wrapped her hand around the shaft of one of her magic arrows and pulled it out of the limp monster's body. A last bit of blood spurted out from the wound, its flow weak as if the very blood of the monster had surrendered against fate. Blaine pulled back another arrow and aimed it at the heart of the pink worm's bloodied body.

Right at the core.

“What are you doing?“ I asked from behind, my eyebrow raised in amusement. I was glad she wasn't aiming the bow at me. I would have had to break her bones, otherwise, especially after seeing that.

“I'll deal with you later,” Blaine said. “Don't say anything stupid like this kill belongs to you.“

“No, you dimwit, why are you destroying the core?“

Blaine looked at me funny for a second. She tilted her head to the side, making her bluish hair tickle her cheeks. Then, as if realization dawned upon her, her eyes widened.

“This was an exam that emulates real-life…” she muttered.

We were taught to 'kill all monsters,' and 'only relax after destroying their core,' but the world was a cruel place that did not function like that. Our scores were based on our results, and in a small dungeon in the real world, results would naturally amount to profit. We couldn't carry their hide or their bones, so we had to get our hands on the mana core for any of the points that Don Brocious talked about.

Blaine lowered her bow and looked at me. It seemed like she was willing to talk a bit.

{Host, what do you mean overestimated yourself?}

“What do you think, I think it'll be good for you to explain stuff now,” Blaine said. “I saw you fight, you may have tricked others with your weak act, but dropping it hasn't made you strong enough to counter me.“

This, was what I meant, dear system.

At times, its not being able to read my thoughts seemed like a slight pain.

“If you have a good reason I may just let you go, otherwise you're a threat to the entire student body. I won't hold back.“ Blaine narrowed her eyes and glared at me. A cold air emanated from her gaze that would have sent chills down anyone's spine. “Now, speak.“

“No? Fuck off.“

“Wha—”

“What makes you think I have to explain shit to you?“

“Hah, so that's how you want to play—”

Before Blaine could finish speaking, I raised my right hand in front of me. A few sparks flowed out in the air as mana materialized in my hands.

A thin bow took form in my hands. Made entirely of mana, the bow resembled Blaine's in make but was much smaller and slimmer than hers.

My eyes hardened and my gaze settled on my target. Using my other hand, I pinched the air.

A single arrow, shining in gold.

Blaine stepped back in surprise.

I pulled my hand back.

{Wh-what!? This wasn't in the status!}

I scoffed at the system's words, and let go of the arrow.

A whistle spread through the air as the arrow tore it apart. The streak of gold zapped onward.

Blaine couldn't react as the arrow approached her with each passing moment. Its tip was just a few inches away from her eyes. Yet, my eyes didn't move from my target.

The arrow grazed the edges of Blaine's temple and shot past her. It swerved lightly in the wind and formed an arc. My eyes narrowed down as the arrow made its way toward the topmost horn of the approaching rhino.

“Now.“

A sharp glint reflected the sun. The ivory horn on the rhino's head cracked as its fragments, shining like shards of glass, spread out in all directions. A visceral scream reverberated through the air as the rhino stumbled on its feet. The biggest horn on its head had a golden arrow sticking into it.

This was the moment I was waiting for.

My heart pumped all the mana in my body to my feet as I lowered my stance. I could feel my hair rise on end as the mana compressed and enveloped all the muscles in my leg.

“[Rubinstein Style:—]”

{What in the world…}

“[—First Circle (Hell Step)]”

I blinked.

The sand below my feet disappeared. Mana surged out from my feet as I launched into the air. Before I could even blink, I was approaching the head of the rhino. I raised my foot and pointed it ahead.

My momentum and trajectory continued to push me ahead. I inched closer to the rhino. And then, my foot smashed into the arrow stuck inside its horn. The sudden impact and the thrust drove the arrow further into the horn.

Another scream rang out.

And the horn snapped in two.

I felt myself losing my balance. One of my feet was on top of the rhino, while the other had broken off the horn. Biting my teeth, I pushed it further ahead and kicked the broken horn. The sharp, spear-like tip of the horn turned downward, falling into the head of the monster.

“Hiip!“

I raised my leg up again and brought it down in a hammer kick. My heel hit against the bottom of the broken horn, driving it deep through the thick skin of the rhino and into its flesh.

“GWAAAAR!“

My knee trembled and my muscles ached, using an imperfect technique really took its toll. Unfortunately, the rhino hadn't died at all. I slammed my foot down on the horn again, and then again. With each of my kicks, the horn went in deeper and deeper, but the rhino didn't die until blood covered the top of its head.

It wobbled from side to side. My shoes and pants were almost drenched in blood. Finally, the rhino keeled over. Sand rose in a cloud as the rhino's heavy body slammed against the ground, I too, jumped off the head of the monster and dusted my hands.

{What the hell… You can use a bow? And what was that martial arts…? It wasn't in the status, host.}

I ignored the system's window and turned away from the body of the monster and looked at the light-blue haired onlooker. Any hint of animosity was gone from her face as she nervously gulped, her eyes fixed on mine.

“So?“ I asked. “Still think that way?“

Blaine stood in place and answered in a meek voice. “Y-you aren't strong… you're fucking insane.“

“Hm?“ I was slightly shocked at her words.

Not strong… but insane, huh?

“Pfft… Hahahah!” A chuckle escaped me, before turning into a peal of laughter. I took in a deep breath and forced my laugh to stop as I walked closer to Blaine.

She flinched as I reached into my pockets and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. I unfurled the sheet and held it in front of the girl. Intricate drawings were made on the sheet with the words 'Eremus Gate (D)' etched on its top.

“This here's a map of the dungeon,” I said. I had stolen it from one of the operators when Don Brocious talked about this being an exam emulating real life, they couldn't fault me if that was the case. Emulate the real life this did, the Eremus Gate was one of the dungeons protected by the World Awakener Association and wasn't in any of our books. A dungeon completely unknown to us.

“With this, we can get pretty much as many points as want.“

“You want me to keep the secret, right?“ Blaine asked, “In exchange for the map?“

“Nope, you're also going to do whatever I want in this dungeon.“

Blaine's eyes widened and a frown appeared on her face. “For just… the map?“

I smirked and walked closer to Blaine. I pulled up her chin and stared into her eyes, my nails grazing her neck.

“The map… and your life. It sounds like a fair deal to me.“

Once again, Blaine gulped. She nodded frantically, and I let go of her. Without another word, I turned away and started walking toward my bag hanging from a tree not that far away. When I didn't hear any other footsteps, I gestured at Blaine to follow along.

“Hey system, keep an eye on my back,” I whispered.

{SYSTEM DOWN: UPDATING 'STATUS' …. 40%}

“What the…