--- A few days later, the day of the exam

After the final battle in the colosseum, we went back to where we had previously hidden to talk about what happened.

Apparently, there are people out there, or at least one guy, who is strong enough to be a hunter with muscles alone.

None of us had ever heard of something like that before.

Is it really as it seems, or is there some other explanation behind it…?

After discussing it for a while, we couldn’t come up with a satisfying answer, so we went our own ways.

She had a couple things she wanted to do in preparation of the exam anyways.

She returned us back to normal, and that’s the last we’ve seen of her.

People might be looking for Shin now, so we tried to lay low until the day of the exam.

He couldn’t be seen by anyone, but above else, we needed to stay out of trouble.

If they found him…

Who knows what would happen…

Anyways, it’s the day of the exam now.

We’re at the spot that we’re supposed to be, but the host doesn’t seem to be here yet.

Everyone is here, except for the host…

It was supposed to start an hour ago!

How can they be late to something this important???

People are getting annoyed and it’s very understandable.

There seems to be around 200 – 300 people here.

Not quite as many as in the F-rank exam, but still a lot.

We tried looking for Lett, but the crowd was a bit too large.

I hope she showed up…

No…

I shouldn’t think like that.

I KNOW she is here.

We promised each other to meet here.

She’s not the type of person to break a promise.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to be late; I had some urgent business to take care of!” - Host

It’s…!

“I’m Leanne Aqua and I’m the one who will be the host the E-rank exam this year!” – Leanne

Why does she have blood on her hands…?

What kind of ‘business’ did she ‘take care of’?

“Again, sorry I’m late. Let’s not waste any more time, I’ll explain the rules right away. The E-rank exam this year will be made up of two major parts.” – Leanne

Two parts…

The rules of the F-rank exam are different each time, so I’m guessing it’s the same for the E-rank exam too.

The F-rank exam had just one part; the survival game.

Now it’s two parts…

“Round one and two of the exam will have different rules. I’ll explain the rules of the second round when we get to it, so for now I’ll only be explaining the rules of the first round.” – Leanne

So, we won’t know what the rules of the second round of the exam is until we actually get there…

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Maybe it’s to prevent strategizing?

Hmm…

I’m not sure.

“Essentially, the first round will be a capture-the-flag-esque game. Hidden inside that massive forest are ten flags. The goal of this game is to find one of them and return here. But like I said, there are only ten flags in total, meaning only ten people can pass the first round.” – Leanne

Only ten people?!

We’re weeding out the numbers very quickly with this first game apparently…

“Obviously you don’t have to be the one that actually finds the flag. Stealing it from someone else is just as valid. All that matters is who returns with a flag. Also, you’re not allowed to return with multiple flags. If you do, you’ll be disqualified. There is no time limit in this game. We will wait here until ten people have returned, no matter how long that may take. There are lots of talented young hunters here though, so I’m sure it won’t take long.” – Leanne

She’s right.

I can’t get too comfortable thinking that I have all the time in the world.

If there are other people on the same level as Kuro here, then I’ll fail without a doubt if I get too complacent.

I won’t let that happen…

“Before we start, I also need to let you know one other thing. All injuries will be healed after you either pass or fail the exam. Not before, not even between round one and two. If you’re injured to the point where you’ll die if you don’t get healed, then just drop out of the exam and try again next year. It’s not worth it to die for this.” – Leanne

So, if I want any shot at passing the second round, I need to come out of the first round with as few injuries as possible.

“Anyways, that’s enough talking from me. The exam starts now!” – Leanne

Everyone rushes into the forest as quickly as they can.

“Come on, Alex! Let’s go!” – Shin

“Right!” – Alex

We follow after, and rush into the forest.

A few people start fighting immediately, but most people just scatter.

We run for a short while, then…

“This is as far as you guys will get.” - ???

A group of four people jump us, kicking us before we have time to react.

They coordinate their kicks in such a way that me and Shin are knocked away from each other.

Two of them go towards me, two of them towards Shin.

“So, you want a two on one, eh? Come on, you need more than that!” – Shin

“Don’t get cocky now, bitch! We’ll smack the shit out of you!”

“I’d love to see you try.” – Shin

They run at Shin, both attacking at once.

They’ve clearly worked together as a team for a while, their movements are all synced up.

He blocked their punches with his hands, then they both kick him in the side.

“Gah!” – Shin

“Not so tough now, are ‘ya?”

“Don’t forget about us!” – One of the two that ran towards me

They try the same move that they used against Shin, but learning from his mistake, I react to it differently.

Instead of blocking each punch with a hand of my own, I duck down and counterattack.

I throw a right punch and one of them goes flying.

The other one takes the opportunity to kick me while I’m ducked down.

I lose my balance and fall over.

He immediately tries to stomp me on the chest while I’m down, but I block it.

I grab his leg and I throw him towards Shin.

“Uaaahh!” – The guy being thrown

Shin quickly steps back, and the guy crashes into his allies.

They all fall to the ground, then Shin stomps on their backs.

As I stand back up, I get hit in the back of my head and almost fall over again.

I thought he was gone for good…

I guess that guy was stronger than the rest.

The punch hurt, but I’m fine.

He goes for another punch in the back of the head while still behind me, but I duck down, grab his arm, then throw him over me, down to the ground.

“Stay down.” – Alex

“AS IF!”

He tries to get back up, but before he’s able to I kick him in the face, knocking him out cold.

I think Shin broke those guys backs after stomping them.

They’re all unable to move, we can finally continue our search.

“These guys were clearly on an entirely different level from the guys back in the F-rank exam.” – Shin

“Yeah. Although they clearly weren’t a match for us, their attacks could still hurt us. The only one who could do that in the F-rank exam was Leon…” – Alex

“These guys were probably on the weaker side too… They obviously knew about their lack of strength and tried to make up for it with teamwork.” – Shin

“We need to be careful from now on. I got hit a few times because I got distracted looking over at you.” – Alex

“Yeah, I can handle myself, if a group attacks us like that again, make sure you focus on yourself.” – Shin

“I can’t afford to make a mistake like that against a stronger opponent…” – Alex

“I obviously didn’t deal with their coordinated attacks very well either. We clearly both have a lot to learn when it comes to different combat situations than what we’re used to.” – Shin

Suddenly, we hear a loud voice.

“The first contestant has returned. Only nine flags remain.”

“WHAT?!” – Alex

“Already?” – Shin

It literally just started…

Only a minute or so has passed since the exam began…

Who could possibly find a flag, and get all the way back that fast?

They must have gotten lucky…

Right?

“Alex… I think we should split up.” – Shin

“Huh?” – Alex

“If people keep returning at this pace, we won’t be able to find two flags in time.” – Shin

“Right… If we split up, we could cover twice as much ground.” – Alex

“Yeah. We won’t be able to find each other again though, so when either of us finds a flag, that person should just return immediately. Don’t go looking for the other.” – Shin

“I guess we just have to believe in each other then… Trust that the other person is able to find a flag in time.” – Alex

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me. I got this, ok?” – Shin

“Same! I’ll even be back before you!” – Alex

“Oooh, getting competitive now, are we? How about this… The person who returns last, must pay for all the food the other person eats for an entire week.” – Shin

“Deal. Can’t wait for all the free food.” – Alex

“Same.” – Shin