--- [Lily’s perspective]

The numbers keep dwindling.

People are getting knocked out, harmed to the point where they’re unable to continue fighting, or just straight up killed, at an insane rate.

People have stopped going for the flag itself too.

They know that the only way to win it is to eliminate everyone else there.

Picking up the flag and attempting to run just puts you in even more danger than before.

I guess it’s about time I get in there.

There are eight people left.

It looks like five of them are part of a group, while the other three are all alone.

Looks like they’re about equal in strength, so the group of five will obviously win.

It’s best to join the fight now while there are still three others to help me take them down.

I don’t doubt that I could take on the entire group myself, but why make it harder on me than it needs to be?

I reveal myself, and jump into the battlefield.

“Ugh! More people are coming to take the flag!” – Boss

“Don’t worry, Boss! I’ll take care of her!” – Guy One

So that guy is the boss then…

The guy who said he’d take care of me wiggles his way out of the fight, and goes to attack me instead.

He has a wooden club with a bunch of iron nails sticking out of it.

He swings his club at me, but he’s painfully slow.

After dodging a few of his swings, I grab the club with my right hand and it immediately withers away, making the nails all drop to the ground.

“W-what the hell?!!” – Guy One

He backs up a little, he’s obviously scared of me.

“BOSS! THIS ONE KNOWS SDM!!” – Guy One

“What?!” – Boss

He looks over at me, and it’s like he’s contemplating whether it’s worth it to fight me or not.

After thinking for a moment, he finally comes to a decision.

“Guys, you can take of her, and I’ll deal with these three guys myself!” – Boss

“Yes boss!” – Guy Two

“Roger that.” – Guy Three

“K.” – Guy Four

Just like the guy before them, they follow his command, and goes to attack me.

What a coward…

He’d rather fight those three randoms than me, an SDM user.

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Hopefully gets taken out by the other three…

The guy who used to have a club picks up one of the spears he found on the ground.

It’s made of metal, so my ability won’t work on it.

That’s okay.

That just means I’ll use it on him instead…

He runs forward, screaming, trying his best to stab me.

His teammates follow up and try their best too, but they’re all so slow.

I could dodge all their attacks while half asleep…

As expected, I effortlessly avoid their attacks.

There’s no need to prolong this.

Let’s just get it over with before anyone who’s actually strong comes along.

I dodge all their attacks while getting closer to them.

To absorb their moisture, I need to touch their skin.

If I touch their clothes, then it’ll just be their clothes that rot away.

Some of them are wearing armor, but they’re all wearing clothes.

The only places where they have exposed skin is their hands and faces.

The guy with the spear rushes forwards, and I grab his hand.

One down.

Another jumps at me from behind, but I grab his hand before he’s able to stab me.

Two down.

The two remaining ones attack me both at the same time, one from the left and one from the right.

I avoid their attacks, then grab the face of the one attacking me from the left.

Three down, only one left

Unfortunately, the last one is wearing gloves and a helmet.

Since he doesn’t have any exposed skin, I’ll have to finish him the good ol’ way.

I throw a massive punch right into his chest, breaking his armor and sending him flying.

He’s not getting up from that one any time soon…

While I did this, the boss managed to take down one of the three guys he was fighting, but he has taken quite a bit of damage himself.

“Walk away, and I won’t hurt you.” – Lily

They all listen, and flee immediately.

“Not you.” – Lily

I’m not letting the boss go that easily; cowards like him deserve a beating.

I quickly catch up to him and drain him of all his moisture, just like his underlings.

“Hey! You said you’d let me go!” – Boss

“Stop being so dramatic. I didn’t absorb enough to seriously hurt you.” – Lily

I look over at his underlings.

“If you guys promise to run away, I’ll heal you, okay?” – Lily

“Okay.” – Guy One, Two and Three

I then look over at the boss.

“And as for you… If you apologize for being such a coward to your buddies, I’ll heal you too. Deal?” – Lily

The boss stays silent for a little while, then finally responds.

“FINE! I’m sorry, okay?!” – Boss

“Sorry for what?” – Lily

His teammates all chuckle a little.

The boss struggles to get the words out, but eventually he does it.

“I’m sorry for being a coward!” – Boss

“Ahaha! That’s good enough.” – Lily

I restore them one by one, and they all run away, just like they promised.

The last person I help is the boss, I went in the order I took them down.

He stands up, but doesn’t run away.

“Go!” – Lily

He looks angry…

He ignores the promise and rushes towards me.

“How dare you humiliate you like that!” – Boss

…

“No second chances.” – Lily

I touch him, and I absorb everything.

It was an instant death, painless.

I pick up the flag, then head back to camp.

--- [Alex’s perspective]

“Oh look, it’s Lily!” – Alex

“Who?” – Lett

“Just a girl we met before the exam started. She helped us out quite a lot.” – Alex

We walk up to her, Leanne is already congratulating her.

“Hey! Nicely done, Lily!” – Alex

“Thanks.” – Lily

She gives a little smile.

“Looks like both of you made it back too.” – Lily

“Of course.” – Shin

The voice that calls out when people return comes back for the last time.

“The tenth contestant has returned. No more flags remain. Anyone who did not return with a flag has failed the exam, and you may now leave.”

The first round is finally over now.

I wonder what the second round will be about…

“Gather up, everyone!” – Leanne

The other contestants slowly walk over to her.

Oh…

That’s Leon…

I wasn’t paying that much attention to the other contestants; I was so focused on catching up with Lett that I didn’t even see him…

Looks like the guy from the colosseum fight also made it.

“First of all, I want to congratulate you all again for finishing the first round. That’s no easy feat. The one who managed to get back first was none other than Lett Lepus!” – Leanne

She was first?!

Why didn’t she say anything?

I guess she didn’t want to brag…

But like…

Wow.

How strong has she gotten?

Was it her specialty that allowed her to do it so fast?

The first person who returned, came back just mere moments after the exam had started!

She’s certainly not the same person she was back then…

“The second person to return was Leon Adamas. After him was Jack Cultro. The fourth person to return was Shin Magnum, and the fifth was Kuro Velox. The sixth was Fei Glacies, the seventh Vaman Album and the eighth Lucas Nix. The ninth person to return was Alexander Minima, and last, but not least, was Lily Sol. Congratulations to you all for passing the first round. I will now be explaining the rules for the second round…” – Leanne