The days passed quickly, and soon, school had resumed.
Kaito sat in his classroom, the familiar hum of student chatter filling the air as they waited for the professor to lead them to the area where the exam would be held.
The break had been long enough for classmates to catch up, sharing stories of their vacation, what they'd prepared, how excited they were, or simply the mundane details of their time off.
Kaito, however, didn't bother listening to them.
He was focused on his own thoughts, mentally reviewing the preparations he'd made for the upcoming exam.
A small knot of worry tightened in his stomach, he hadn't received the mission notification from the system for the exam yet, and its absence unnerved him.
Suddenly, a group of students nearby started talking, their voices catching his attention.
"Hey, have you heard?" one whispered excitedly.
"A huge number of slaves were rescued by the city's knights in the slums the other night!"
"What, really?" another replied, surprised.
"Yeah," the first continued.
"The reports said that someone attacked the illegal slave traders and hunters and left them half-dead, tied to a tree."
A third student chimed in, "Ahh, now I know what you're talking about! I heard that from my father yesterday."
"He said that a guy in a hood beat the criminals up and took half of the money the criminals were holding."
"He also left the other half on the slaves, but some of them decided to stay and wait for the knights' help instead of running away with a little money."
"He definitely just wanted the money," another student speculated.
"The traders or hunters probably owed him a lot of money, and he just took whatever they had and left without checking all their pockets."
"So?" one of them asked, leaning closer.
"Did they identify who attacked the criminals and released the slaves?"
"My father said all of the slaves claimed they didn't see who it was under the hood, or didn't remember anything," the third student replied, lowering his voice slightly.
"But my father was sure all of them are lying. They probably got threatened to keep their mouths shut."
"Anyway," one student asked, turning their attention from the mysterious attacker, "why would the kingdom, government, or even the Church let these things happen? People getting sold to other people?"
"Well," another replied, "I also asked that to my father, because most of our maids and butlers are slaves too."
"He said a lot of people couldn't afford to feed or provide for themselves."
"Some are people who couldn't pay their debts, some are orphans, and others are hostages or survivors of some attack who lost everything."
"All of those people become slaves so they aren't left on the streets to wander without purpose or food."
"And it's a good way for nobles to save money while getting a workforce."
"But some people just illegally do this stuff by kidnapping or selling people who aren't even supposed to be slaves.
"And a lot of people buy those too instead of reporting them because they are cheaper than the actual legal slave prices that has rights and all."
The students listening sighed at the explanation, clearly wanting to forget the grim reality.
Then another one of them quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, also, I heard from my older brother, who's a knight, that some eyewitnesses said the man was using two swords!"
As their chatter continued, Kaito let out a quiet yawn and leaned back in his chair, trying to appear uninterested.
Just then, Catherina, who was sitting next to him, suddenly struck up a conversation.
"Hey," she whispered, "did you hear what those students just said? That news is kind of popular around here these days."
Kaito glanced at Catherina for a second, then looked back straight ahead.
"Is it now?" he said, feigning disinterest.
Catherina nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, after the news blew up, some people in the streets and shop owners also started to say some stuff."
"They said that they saw the same man holding a little girl wearing a hood too.
"But that girl looked to be a slave, as they said she was wearing dirty, tattered clothes while the man in the hood was very clean-looking."
Just then, Eric, Gwen, and Darius walked up, easily jumping into their conversation.
Gwen piped up, "Oh, I heard that too! My butler was buying things at the capital, and he said some people saw the man with the kid walk up to a salon, and when they walked out, the girl was clean and wearing beautiful, normal clothes!"
Eric scoffed, looking frustrated.
"Tsk! If I saw that, I would have attacked that man on sight and saved that girl from him!"
"Who knows what he could have done to that little girl now."
Kaito's smile tightened, a silent thought running through his mind.
"What the hell do you think I was doing to Anya, you stupid protagonist?"
Catherina frowned slightly at Eric.
"Sir Eric, it's not good to jump to conclusions," she said calmly.
"What if it was her father, and she was only playing a lot and managed to dirty her clothes?"
"What would you do if you attacked or killed the father of an innocent child without asking or confirming if your assumptions are true?"
Gwen nodded vigorously, adding, "Yeah, Eric! What if it's a different person in a hood?"
"This is why you are very oblivious, head-on first without asking questions."
Gwen hugged Catherina's arm, a pleased look on her face.
"You are right, Catherina, jumping to conclusions is wrong."
Darius chuckled. "You are indeed smart, Catherina."
Eric cut in, his face reddening.
"What? How many times do I have to tell you I am not oblivious! It's not even the word you should use in that scenario!"
Gwen put her hands on her hips, a challenging glint in her eyes.
"Then what would you do if you killed a man in front of his child accidentally because you didn't bother to ask questions?"
Eric's mouth opened, then closed.
He looked genuinely shocked, completely speechless.
Kaito watched the whole scene, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips.
Before Eric could say an answer, the classroom door opened and Professor Aurora swept in.
Her presence immediately hushed the lingering chatter.
She walked to the front, her gaze sweeping over the students, then began to set the ground rules for the upcoming exam.
"Alright, listen up, everyone," Professor Aurora's voice was clear and firm.
"The exam will test your practical skills within specific limits."
"You'll encounter various monster ranks out there, and each will be worth a certain amount of points upon defeat."
She gestured to a floating magical display that shimmered to life, showing images of different creatures and numbers beside them.
"Your goal is to accumulate as many points as possible."
A nervous murmur rippled through the class.
"Monster ranks?" one student whispered, looking pale.
Professor Aurora's expression softened slightly, sensing their apprehension.
"Now, I know some of you are worried about your safety, but let me assure you, your lives are not in danger."
This statement caused a wave of relief to wash over many faces.
"If you get hit by a monster with an attack that is higher than the allowed threshold, s shield spell will come out of your watches to protect you and a special magic alarm will ring."
"This alarm will not only hurt and scare off the monsters, but it will also send an immediate signal to the professors near your area, who will then come to your aid."
Some students exchanged relieved glances, while others still looked a bit skeptical.
"So, we just fail if we get hit too hard?" a student called out.
"Exactly," Professor Aurora confirmed.
"If it indeed happens to you, it means you have failed the exam."
A few groans could be heard.
"But don't worry," she quickly added, raising a hand to quiet them.
"If your partner manages to survive until the end, then your total points together will only decrease by half, and you still have a chance to pass the exam with a decent score."
This last point brought more murmurs of discussion, some students looking at their partners with newfound determination, others with slight apprehension.
Kaito listened to Professor Aurora, a grim realization settling in.
"So, it's the same as the game's," he thought, the familiar rules of the "magic alarm" confirming his fears.
"That also means what I think will happen will indeed happen." A cold dread began to creep in.
"Am I strong enough now?"
As Kaito's thoughts wandered, the system notification popped out right in front of his eyes.
Main Quest:
Change the Faith of One of the Main Characters
Rewards:
Stat Point +5
Exp +100
Coins +1000
Kaito's eyes widened in surprise, quickly reading through the quest.
But before he could even react to the generous rewards, his gaze snagged on something new, something that had never appeared in his quests before.
At the very bottom, stark and chilling, it read:
Failure: Death of one of the main characters.