At that moment I realized that nothing is real peace

The next morning, Arthur woke up as usual, did her personal hygiene, and went down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Everything was the same as usual, but today, she was a little nervous about the upcoming exam.

Even though she had prepared carefully, she still couldn't help but feel nervous. This exam was not just a simple test, but also an important milestone that would determine her ranking and future development path.

She looked around and saw many other students talking about the exam, some were excited, some were worried like her. Arthur took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I've practiced a lot, I can't let anxiety affect me."

After finishing eating, she stood up, clenched her fists as if to strengthen her determination, and left the cafeteria, preparing to enter the challenging exam day.

Arthur walked to the center of the school, where the exam was taking place. The atmosphere was extremely lively, with students from all over the place gathered, all looking nervous and excited.

She looked around to find her group of friends in the crowded sea of ​​people. Shiina, Kazu, Azama, and Fuyuki were definitely there too. She felt more at ease knowing that she was not alone in this exam.

After a while of searching, Arthur finally saw Shiina standing near a gathering area, waving to her. She quickly walked over to meet up with the group before the exam officially began.

Shiina looked at Arthur and asked,

"Hey, are you nervous?"

Arthur paused for a moment, but then she let out a sigh and replied,

"A little… but I've practiced a lot. Now I can only do my best."

Shiina smiled, patting her on the shoulder,

"That's right! Just do your best. After all, we're not alone."

Arthur and his friends were chatting when suddenly, a tour guide stepped onto the stage, clapping his hands to attract everyone's attention.

"Ahem! Welcome to the competency assessment exam. This is an important exam, so we have invited three of the world's top examiners to evaluate you."

The students immediately exclaimed in surprise, chattering. No one expected that this exam would be so large-scale. The man continued:

"You will undergo a test that will last for a week. The first challenge is to survive in a dangerous land. Your mission is to hunt monsters and possibly defeat other students to get points. However, an important note: do not intentionally kill people. If you violate this, you will be immediately disqualified. Good luck!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a magical halo suddenly appeared under each candidate's feet. Before she could react, Arthur felt her body go light, her vision blurred, and in the next moment, she was teleported to a completely unfamiliar place…

Arthur stood up, still a little dazed from the teleportation. She quickly looked around to determine her location. It was a dense forest, the surrounding space was suspiciously quiet.

She froze, remembering that she hadn't brought any weapons before being teleported. But when she looked down, she realized that she was fully equipped: a light armor suitable for flexible movement, a submachine gun strapped to her belt, and a sword attached to her waist.

"It seems like the organizers have prepared the equipment for the contestants..." Arthur thought to herself, feeling somewhat relieved.

Right now, the most important task was to find her teammates. She didn't know if Shiina, Kazu, Azama, or Fuyuki had been teleported recently, but first, she had to move and determine the situation around her.

Arthur was startled to see a small drone hovering in front of him. It had a compact metal design, flew steadily, and had a screen in front that displayed the following message:

"This is the drone of the organizing committee. It will provide you with food every day. You can also use the points you earn to request items from the shop."

Immediately after, a small compartment on the drone opened, inside was a simple meal consisting of dry bread, water, and some dried fruit. Arthur took the food and looked back at the drone, wondering about the shop system it had just mentioned.

"Use points to exchange for items…?" She lightly touched the screen, and immediately an interface appeared with a list of items that could be purchased, from ammunition, weapons, recovery potions to special support items. However, she still had no points to buy anything.

Arthur closed the shop sign, put the food in her bag, and began to cautiously observe her surroundings.

Arthur began to move, carefully stepping through the dense foliage. The place was filled with trees, severely limiting visibility. "If there's anyone hiding in the forest, it'll be hard to spot them…" she thought to herself.

With each step, Arthur held her gun tightly at her waist, her other hand ready to draw her sword if necessary. The wind blew gently, carrying the rustling sound of leaves. Although the atmosphere seemed peaceful, she didn't dare to be careless—there might be monsters or other contestants lurking here.

"I need to find a higher place to observe..." She looked around for a tree that was large and sturdy enough, then quickly climbed up. When she reached a sturdy branch, she looked around.

"I don't see anyone..." Arthur muttered. However, in the distance, she could see a little movement among the trees. It could be a teammate, but it could also be another contestant or even a monster.

She carefully climbed down, drew her gun, and started moving in that direction. Whoever it was, she needed to be ready.

Arthur was walking cautiously in the dense forest when suddenly a monster jumped out from the bushes, charging straight at her with sharp claws.

"Damn it!" She reacted immediately, quickly retreating back, but still couldn't avoid being grazed by its left shoulder by its claws, tearing a part of her armor.

The monster in front of her had the appearance of a mutant wolf, with shaggy black fur and fiery red eyes. It growled, lowering its body, preparing to attack again.

Arthur didn't hesitate, immediately raising his gun BANG! BANG! Two shots rang out, aimed straight at the monster's chest. But it only flinched a little before continuing to charge forward!

"Normal bullets aren't enough to penetrate?" She gritted her teeth, dodged to the side to avoid the attack, and at the same time drew her sword from her waist.

The monster roared, pouncing hard again—Arthur swung his sword straight at its front leg! A streak of black blood splattered, the monster lost its momentum and fell down.

Not missing the opportunity, Arthur quickly switched to armor-piercing bullets, aimed the gun at the monster's head—BANG!

The bullet went straight through the skull, the monster twitched a few times before becoming still.

Arthur gasped, wiping the blood off his face. "This is already the beginning... damn exam."

System Notification: +1 Point

Arthur looked at the system notification with a bit of surprise. "Points from killing monsters, so there should be more opportunities to earn points."

She checked the situation again, the monster was completely defeated, and the surroundings were still quite quiet, only the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.

"Let's keep moving for now." She muttered, deciding not to stop for long and continued her journey to find more points.

She stopped when she saw a large river in front of her, clear water rushing over large rocks, making a soothing sound. The river divided the area, and she realized that this was another challenge.

"I have to find a way to cross this river." Arthur thought to himself, looking around for any sign of a path or bridge. However, the surrounding area was quite deserted and featureless.

She sat down on the riverbank, thinking for a moment. "Maybe it's a chance to rest and plan my next move."

She left her weapon beside her and pulled out some food from her backpack to eat. Thoughts about the mission and earning points still troubled her, but for now, she decided to stop and regain her strength.

The feeling of fatigue was slowly fading, but she still did not let her guard down, her eyes always alert to any movements around her.

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Shiina stood still in the middle of a snow-covered land, surrounded by tall forests, trees covered in thick layers of snow. She looked around, realizing that she had been transported to a completely different place than where she was before. Everything was strangely quiet, only the sound of the wind blowing through the snow, creating soft sounds.

"Where is this?" Shiina wondered, but she didn't have time to think for long. She checked her weapons, her gun, and she realized that she was fully equipped for this challenge.

She looked around and noticed some strange signs, footprints of monsters that had just passed by, which could be a sign that there might be monsters lurking somewhere in the snow.

"Like me, there must be someone else here too." Shiina thought, then decided to start moving, taking every step carefully so as not to be discovered. She knew that in this snowy area, visibility would be limited, and she needed to be well prepared for any situation.

She continued walking, observing the traces around her, and preparing for the next challenge.

Shiina felt the cold wind blowing and the thick layer of snow was falling down, reducing her visibility considerably. She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and decided to head north, thinking that it might be a safer place or at least a place where she could find traces of the monster.

Walking through the snowstorm, Shiina was careful, making sure to take every step to avoid tripping in the soft snow. She listened to every sound around her, careful not to let herself be surprised. The snow was falling heavily, making everything around her blurry, but she still resolutely continued moving.

Suddenly, she noticed something moving in the snow, a vague figure flashing before her eyes. "Monster?" Shiina thought to herself and immediately stopped, pulling out her gun, ready to face any danger.

She didn't act hastily, just stood still, observing closely. The wave of snow continued to fall, and the figure gradually became clearer.

Shiina stood still, her eyes fixed on the half-human, half-dragon creature that was gradually emerging from the blizzard. She sensed danger from it, but she couldn't ignore the creature's strange actions. It looked at her coldly, then suddenly turned around and started moving as if it wanted her to follow.

"Is it a luring strategy? Or does it really want me to follow?" Shiina thought to herself, wary but also curious. She didn't rush to act, but kept her distance, watching the creature's every move.

In her heart, she considered whether or not she should continue following it. She knew that her own safety was important, but sometimes, in situations like this, acting on her hunch could also bring new opportunities. Shiina decided, still keeping her distance, slowly following the half-dragon creature, her eyes never leaving it, and her hand still ready to hold her gun if there was any sign of danger.

Every step she took was carefully calculated. She couldn't let herself be at a disadvantage.

Shiina followed the half-human, half-dragon creature to the village, still keeping her guard up. As they entered, she saw a group of contestants sitting around a large fire, chatting with another half-human, half-fire creature named Draft. The contestants in the village looked at Shiina and the strange creature, their eyes curious but also somewhat wary.

Draft, the half-fire creature, raised its head to look at Shiina, its eyes shining with suspicion. However, it did not show hostility, only slightly nodding to her. At the same time, the half-dragon creature stood still, as if waiting for Shiina to decide whether to continue entering the village or not.

"Should I trust them?" Shiina wondered, her eyes sweeping over the contestants in the village. They seemed calm, not showing any signs of panic, perhaps they were used to challenges like this.

Draft stood up, its body engulfed in flames, and spoke in a deep, yet somewhat heavy voice:

"If you are a contestant, you will not find safety here. But if you want information about the exam, I can help."

Shiina smiled, still keeping her calm, and replied:

"I am not looking for safety. I just want to know what is happening here."

She began to feel like she was stepping into a quagmire, where things could easily change at any moment. But this was also an opportunity to find out what was going on in this survival exam. She decided to learn more about Draft and the contestants around her.

Draft continued to explain to Shiina:

"This island is not a part of the real world. It is an immaterial space, a kind of mirror space, where we exist as energy instead of matter. This is the Lavada Grassland, one of the vast areas of the island. The snow here never stops falling, and the temperature is always low, only about 3°C. Every 30 hours, a fierce snowstorm will come, covering everything in darkness."

Shiina felt stunned after hearing this. She could not imagine the examinees facing such harsh conditions during the exam. Moreover, the fact that the half-human, half-dragon creature and Draft told her this information did not seem to be a coincidence. Draft continued:

"This entire island is a test, and you are here to prove your ability to survive. Each of you will have your own path. If you want to survive and win, you need to get used to the rules of this place."

Shiina felt the tension in the air, but also realized that this was an opportunity to better understand the exam and the challenges that awaited her. She decided to ask:

"So what should we do next? How can we survive these challenges?"

Draft looked at Shiina sharply, its fiery eyes flaring in the light of the fire. It did not answer right away, but looked around, as if to make sure no one was listening. After a moment, Draft replied:

"We cannot tell you everything. But one important thing is to remain calm and never act hastily. Only the wise and patient can overcome it."

He stepped closer, his voice a little softer than usual.

"Can you stay a little longer? This place isn't safe, especially in such snowy conditions. The monsters around aren't easy to deal with. Let's rest a little before continuing."

Shiina looked at Draft for a moment, feeling the sincere concern in his words. She hesitated a little, but she didn't want to waste too much time. She knew that every minute was a calculation in this world, and the aptitude test didn't wait for anyone.

"Thank you for your help, but I can't stay long. I have to continue." Shiina replied, her voice resolute, although she was a little hesitant in her heart.

Draft looked at her, then sighed. "If you're so determined then... don't let yourself get too tired. If you need anything, just call us. This village will always be open to you."

Draft nodded, not objecting, and then called out to Fang. The half-human, half-dragon creature, Fang, approached Shiina with a serious expression. It glanced at Shiina and then turned towards a nearby area. It led Shiina to a rather large creature, with a muscular body and thick scales. This creature had strong legs and wide wings, but could not fly because of this cold snowy environment.

"This is Motorus," Draft introduced, "It was born to move in harsh conditions like this. It can withstand the bitter cold and move across rugged lands quickly. You will need it."

Shiina looked at the Motorus, feeling somewhat relieved knowing that she had a means of transportation. This creature seemed like a valuable aid in such a dangerous and uncertain world. It shook its head and growled softly, as if waiting for Shiina to come up.

"Thank you, I will go now." Shiina said, walking closer to the Motorus, feeling the warmth from its body. She climbed on and got ready to continue the journey.

Fang added, "Be careful. The road ahead is not easy, and don't let yourself get caught in the snowstorm. Don't forget that every decision you make could mean life or death."

Shiina nodded in thanks and then continued her journey, passing through the thick snow fields, heading towards the next challenges.