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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The world swam as I stepped through the portal. I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them to a completely different landscape.
A forest.
A vast, sprawling forest.
The academy professors and assistants, the bustling city—all gone.
Replaced by silence and a sea of green.
The chirping of insects, the rustling of leaves, the soft crunch of grass underfoot—these were the only sounds.
A sense of liberation washed over me as I took in the open space.
The tranquility was broken by a clear, melodic voice that seemed to echo through the entire forest.
“Greetings, academy students.”
A chorus of greetings responded, echoing through the trees. She was a prominent figure, the Headmaster of the academy, one of the empire’s most powerful mages.
“The midterm evaluation will now begin.”
“Your grade will be determined by your survival time. The longer you survive, the better your grade.”
“If you’re attacked, don’t worry. The bracelets you’re wearing will protect you from life-threatening injuries.”
“However, any attack that triggers the bracelet’s protective function will be reported to the academy, resulting in immediate disqualification for the attacker.”
“Therefore, keep your bracelets on at all times. Removing your bracelet will also result in disqualification.”
“Betraying your teammates will result in disqualification for the entire team. The number of surviving students will be displayed on your bracelets.”
“If you wish to withdraw from the evaluation, remove your bracelet, and the instructors will escort you off the island.”
“Defeating monsters or eliminating other students will earn you extra points.”
“Good luck, students.”
The announcement ended, and a timer appeared on our bracelets.
4 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes.
We had five days to survive.
Almost immediately, explosions echoed through the forest. Students were already fighting.
Lianna and I had already agreed to avoid combat.
“Um… should I gather some fruit?”
“Please. I’ll set up the tent.”
“Okay!”
We weren’t particularly strong, so our strategy was to survive by avoiding conflict and scavenging. We could earn extra points by hunting monsters.
With our combined abilities – creation and transformation – survival shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as we avoided other students.
That meant prioritizing security. I set up our tent near a river, then started setting traps a short distance away.
I’d managed to evade detection as an assassin by using traps disguised as accidents. Though I’d eventually been caught.
The bracelets would prevent fatalities, so I could use lethal traps without repercussions. I could create simple landmines, coat leaves with poison, dig pits filled with sharpened stakes—anything I wanted.
I set to work, the process surprisingly quick.
Landmines around the perimeter of our camp. Poisoned leaves. Hidden pits. Snares. Tripwires connected to crossbows. I used every trick I’d learned as an assassin.
Satisfied with my handiwork, I returned to the tent to find Lianna happily munching on a pile of fruit. She waved, gesturing for me to join her.
“Where did you go?”
“Just taking care of some things.”
“Oh… okay! Here, try this!”
She offered me a small, round, red fruit that resembled a miniature apple.
I hesitated, having never seen it before.
She explained that it was called a “belfee,” and that the ripe ones were red.
Her explanation continued, but I decided to try it. It was surprisingly sweet, my eyes widening in surprise.
She beamed, pleased that I liked it, and offered me more.
We ate in silence, the setting sun painting the sky in hues of orange and purple.
The evaluation had started in the afternoon, so it was almost nightfall. And nightfall meant nocturnal predators.
Our bags were filled with meat, a tempting treat for any carnivorous creature. We needed to establish a watch.
I offered to take the first shift. Anyone who’d ever stood watch knew the first shift was the most desirable. And with only two of us, the advantages were even greater.
But this was Lianna’s first time, and I was used to functioning on minimal sleep. Besides, sharing a tent with a girl felt… awkward. It would be more efficient if I took the later shift.
My reasoning was a bit flimsy, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t had much experience with women. My past lives had been too unstable for romance. My only encounters had been brief, stress-relieving visits to brothels. Sharing a tent with a girl and trying to sleep felt impossible.
I sent her inside the tent and sat down on a makeshift chair, listening to the crackling fire.
A sound reached my ears. A cross between a wolf’s howl and a cat’s purr. Followed by the rustling of grass, moving in a specific direction.
I stood up, conjuring a dagger, and threw it in the direction of the sound. I created another and threw that, too, just to be sure.
Thud!
Yelp—
I heard the impact and ran towards the sound, finding a dead wolf.
I retrieved my daggers. The rustling hadn’t come from this direction.
“Come out.”
“Heh heh heh… You have good ears.”
The moonlight illuminated a figure emerging from the shadows. A man, his face plain, his physique unimpressive.
“…You?”
“That’s no way to address your superior, commoner.”
It was Derek Ruben, the student who’d been harassing Lianna earlier.
My tension, which had been taut, instantly dissipated.
He frowned at my relaxed demeanor.
“Don’t get too comfortable. I’m here for one thing.”
“…?”
“Hand over the girl. She’s going to be my wife.”
He still hadn’t given up? How many rejections did he need? His smug expression suggested he hadn’t even registered her refusals.
“She said no.”
“Ha! Of course she’s playing hard to get. What commoner would refuse to be my wife?”
Even I would refuse. Even if I were a destitute woman, I wouldn’t marry him. I couldn’t imagine what a woman would think, hearing such arrogant nonsense.
“Why would I hand her over to you?”
“Isn’t she your lover?”
What?
Was he saying he’d take my “lover” as his wife?
His blond hair seemed to gleam unnaturally in the moonlight.
My expression darkened.
Idiot.
Scumbag.
Garbage.
If I couldn’t even deal with trash like him, I had no chance of getting a good grade on the midterm evaluation. And getting rid of him would be doing Lianna a favor.
Besides, I’d been meaning to practice my dagger skills. A slow, out-of-shape pig like him was the perfect target.
I threw a dagger at his smug face without hesitation.
“No.”
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Wait.. they obviously expect the students to fight, so why would the attacker be disqualified for triggering the shield?
I guess to try to prevent them from being killed outright? But that just makes it really hard to disable someone unless you have a way to give them pain without making it life threatening…
Also if a students ability is trap making or summoning or manipulating monsters how can they tell it was the student?
You being up some good points, honestly I was wondering that too. My best guess is that it’s closer to say, the head or heart being off limits, meaning the limbs or other parts of the body should be targeted instead. As for the traps… tracking magic maybe? A spell or skill to trace back to whoever used the mana? Maybe the bracelet lets instructors know when a skill or spell is used. Or it could simply be the entire island is monitored, though that doesn’t feel very efficient.
Despite my guesses, I do wish it was an elaborated on at least a bit. So far we’ve seen very little of what actually makes this world tick; we don’t even know how magic works or it’s limits despite Jenison having learnt it.