---
During those four hours,
I genuinely considered eliminating my entire team from the Practical Test.
Not because I hated them.
Quite the opposite, actually.
But because I didn't want to see the tragedy repeat.
Not again.
I thought—if I just removed them from the test,
If I isolated Princess Elena...
She'd survive.
And with her, maybe Aren and Elin would survive too.
But as we walked—through quiet moments, long silences—I watched them.
Their resolve.
The way they spoke about the Academy like it was something sacred.
Like it meant a lot to them.
And in that silence,
I made my decision:
I'll do this alone.
But not by discarding them.
By protecting them.
All I needed was a short window.
A brief separation.
Just enough time to find the monster… and kill it.
This time,
I had a perfect plan.
After four hours of running simulations in my head—
After earning my first 40Story Points—
I found a way.
This time, I'll win.
"Hey, Aren… did you chop all this firewood?"
There was a ridiculous amount.
Enough to build a cabin.
I glanced at Elena.
Would she mind? Elves aren't exactly cheerleaders for deforestation.
"I don't mind," she said softly—like she'd heard my thoughts before I had.
Still peeling that black onion with smooth, practiced ease.
Huh.
For a royal princess, she's weirdly good at cooking.
Graceful hands. No wasted motion. That kind of focus you don't fake.
"It's enough firewood," Aren muttered, flicking his fingers to form a frost dagger.
"Horned rabbit meat takes time. Needs even heat."
Seeing him actually doing something useful for once, I nodded and got to work.
Maybe I should learn from him.
Even with my sky-high Perseverance stat...
I still procrastinate like a pro.
---
I unsheathed my dagger.
Carved four deep holes in a circle.
Set green wood across them—too damp to burn, but perfect for holding the meat.
Then stacked the real firewood in the center.
I may have never seen a forest in my old world—
But I followed that emo bastard for decades.
Cale's survival tricks?
They work.
I almost asked Elena to summon a small fire spirit—
Just sit it in the middle like a magical oven.
But I didn't.
Because knowing her?
She'd probably make me skip dinner for being lazy.
Everything was ready.
The horned rabbit meat, skewered and sizzling.
The fire, crackling with a warmth that—for once—didn't feel like a battlefield.
And for one stupid, selfish heartbeat—
My heart skipped.
Not from fear.
From peace.
Damn it.
I'd never had this before.
Not in my old world, where I was rich and drowning in plastic smiles.
Not in this one, where every breath feels borrowed.
I never had friends.
Only followers.
Only leeches.
But this?
This moment—
With smoke curling above us, silence that wasn't awkward, food that wasn't poisoned—
It felt real.
And I wanted it to last.
Even though I knew it wouldn't.
Twenty-five minutes.
That's when the Obsidian Howler enters this zone.
According to the timeline I survived—
And died in.
Fifteen minutes.
That's all I had to get out of here and find it first.
"Yummm, it's really tasty.
Do horned rabbits always taste this good?" I asked, glancing at Elin.
Her fluffy wolf ears twitched.
That... threw me off.
"Yammm yammmm," she nodded aggressively, cheeks stuffed like a cartoon.
And I almost laughed.
We talked.
Ate.
More time passed.
The closer I got to the moment I'd leave…
The harder it was to breathe.
I had to go.
And I couldn't let them follow.
"Aren," I said, brushing dust off my pants as I stood,
"The firewood's not enough to last through the night."
I locked eyes with him, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You guys relax. I'll go gather more.
Rest a bit."
Aren grunted. "I'm not coming to save you if you get lost."
Princess Elena didn't say anything. She just nodded.
Elin narrowed her eyes. Her ears twitched.
"It's too dangerous," she said, studying me.
"Come back before sunset."
She's suspicious.
What was she thinking?
I turned to leave—then:
[[ Your Personal Attribute: Eye of Tsukuyomi has activated. ]]
[[ Your understanding of the character 'Elin Frost' meets Condition 1 for Stage 2: Thought Reflection. ]]
[[ Condition 2 fulfilled: Target is of lower rank. ]]
[[ Stage 2: Thought Reflection – Activated. ]]
Her thoughts bled into mine like whispers through fog:
{{ Where's he going?
There's definitely something fishy here.
Should I ask him?
…Or follow him later?
Forget it. He'll be okay.
But if he doesn't come back soon—
I'm going after him.
I trust my nose. }}
She touched her nose unconsciously.
I stared a second too long.
She's an airhead...
But damn, she's sharp.
I turned before they could press further.
Kept my steps steady.
Calm.
But inside?
Screaming.
Something deep in me wanted to kill that monster.
No matter how much I pretend to want peace,
I can't breathe until I tear it into pieces.
Fifteen minutes.
That's all I had.
To track the monster.
To set the trap.
It didn't take long to reach the place where we fought last time.
Right now?
It looked normal.
No. Not normal.
It was never normal.
After surveying the surroundings:
Thick clusters of trees.
Knee-length grass that swayed like it was breathing.
Weird plants, twisted like someone sketched nature from memory and got tired halfway.
At the center stood a boulder—or what looked like one.
Looking closer?
It was a broken statue.
Weathered. Cracked.
A ruined shrine, maybe.
Back when the Garden of Eden was still… something.
Before the experiments.
Before it turned into this haunted graveyard of a place.
Fifty meters from the boulder, I found an open patch of land.
No trees. Long grass. Perfect.
I crouched in the clearing, brushing away dirt and blades of grass.
"This is it."
I wasn't proud of this.
Didn't want to win like this.
But when you're fighting a monster filled with trauma?
Kindness gets you killed.
Honesty gets you buried.
And who the hell plays fair in a fight that was never fair to begin with?
I looked at my forearm.
The Mark of Ruin—a dagger with outstretched angelic wings, bound in a glowing magical circuit—started to pulse.
Red. Then black. Then red again.
Like a heartbeat made of divine hatred.
"Three advanced bear traps."
[[ 10 Story Points required to manifest 3 Advanced Bear Traps via Mark of Ruin. ]]
I approved.
The wings on the mark twitched.
The blade lit up, searing hot.
A magic circle spread beneath me—
CRRRAAAKK!
The ground cracked.
With a hiss of metal, three bear traps emerged—
Barbed plates. Hollow fang-like edges meant to inject.
I placed them at 20 meters, 30, and 50.
Triangle pattern.
I knew they wouldn't kill the Howler.
Magic bullets couldn't pierce its armor.
But they weren't meant to.
They'd delay it. Hurt it.
Just enough.
Then came the toxin.
"Neurobane," I whispered.
A name I made up. Sounded cool enough.
[[ 20 Story Points required to construct 'Neurobane' – a synthetic nerve-destroying vapor. ]]
Not liquid. Not powder.
A vapor.
Designed to seep into wounds.
Inspired by Thallium and Polonium—good old-world poisons that could kill in micrograms.
Never thought that periodic table would be that helpful.
Here?
It wouldn't kill the Howler.
But it would slow it down.
Confuse it.
Make it weaker.
Now for the final touch.
A magic circuit.
Based on a Wind spell Elena taught me, back before everything went to hell.
I rewired it—turned it into fire using the same structure.
Short burst.
Unstable combustion.
Dangerous. Sure.
But if timed right?
It would flash-heat the trap jaws.
Hot enough to melt Umbra—the strongest steel humanity have.
[[ 10 Story Points required to create 3 Disposable Magic Circuits (Unstable, Fire-Type) ]]
I accepted.
Three glowing scrolls dropped front of me.
I bound them to the traps.
Embedded the circuits.
Now, when the Obsidian Howler steps on one—
Snap.
Flash-fire.
Vapor flood.
It wasn't elegant.
Wasn't noble.
But honestly?
Why the hell should I care about that?
---
[ Author's Note:
Next chapter… chaos. ]