--- [Alex’s perspective] Day of the exam

After all this hard training, it’s finally time.

The D-rank hunter exam is finally here!

It’s not being held outside Dolor, but the terrain is similar.

There’s a vast forest that goes as far as the eye can see.

The ground is bumpy; it’s covered in small hills.

Up and down, and up and down.

It almost looks like waves.

Is this natural, or has the terrain been altered somehow?

The place we were supposed to meet up was right on the outskirts of the sea of trees.

There’s a large open area with no trees, and no hills.

The more I look at it, the more I’m convinced this place didn’t originally look like this.

It was probably shaped like this by somebody’s ability; specifically made for exams.

There are considerably less people here than in any of the other exams so far.

It’s few enough that I can easily count them.

38.

That’s it.

It’s a handful for sure, but nothing compared to the hundreds and hundreds of participants in the previous exams.

I don’t recognize most of them, but there are a few familiar faces…

Lucas and Rin.

Lucas is strong, I’m not surprised he’s giving a shot at the D-rank exam, but Rin…?

I got to admit, I did not expect to see her here.

Back during the F-rank exam, she wasn’t particularly strong.

She must have come a long way since then.

Good on her.

The exams so far have all been very different, but…

The one constant between them all is the host.

Yet again, it’s Leanne…

Stolen novel; please report.

Is she the host for all exams, or is it just a coincidence that we’ve had her every time?

It’s strange, but who cares.

She does a good enough job, I guess.

“Alright, I think that’s everyone. The exam was actually supposed to start two minutes ago; I just wanted to make sure everyone was here. Let’s not waste any more time.” – Leanne

Everyone gathers around her.

We’ve all done this before; we know how it works.

“For this year’s D-rank exam, I have prepared three rounds.” – Leanne

Three rounds…

That’s more than the previous exams.

“As you probably already know, I will only inform you of the rules of the first round now. The other ones will be explained when we get there.” – Leanne

As expected; she did the exact same thing every other time too.

“The first round of the D-rank exam will be a team-based capture-the-flag game. There will be five people on each team. The winning team will all proceed to the next round.” – Leanne

A team-based game?

I suppose that’s sort of like the tournament back then, but there were still individual matches where the outcomes directly affected our results.

“Bases have already been set up in the forest for you. Only one game of capture-the-flag will be played at a time. So, you’ll have to wait for your turn.” – Leanne

I hope we go first, that’ll give us more time to recover our stamina…

“How it works is that you will go to the enemy base and try to steal their flag. If you’re able to take it and carry it all the way back to your own base, you win. However, your own flag must already be there. If you return with their flag, while they have yours, you don’t win. Essentially, you need both flags.” – Leanne

I see.

So we can’t just focus on offense; a good defense is just as important.

Some of us will have to stay behind and defend, while others will have to try to steal their flag.

I’m sure Shin will be able to come up with a good strategy.

If we’re on the same team that is…

If they’re are randomly chosen, that’ll be a massive problem.

“And of course, you’re not allowed to run away with your own flag, or hide it. I will be watching at all times. If anyone is caught cheating, your entire team will be disqualified.” – Leanne

Don’t cheat.

Got it…

“Lastly, the way teams are chosen will be quite different from what you’re all used to. Teams are generally chosen at random, but this time, that’s not the case.” – Leanne

Does that mean…!

“You can choose your teammates yourself. As long as you’re five people, you’re good.” – Leanne

Yes!

That means all four of us can team up!

We just have to find one last person, and we’re good.

Perfect.

“But watch out! There are only 38 of you, meaning there are two people less than what’s needed for a fourth game. The games will not be compromised in any way; there won’t be a match with only four people on each team. What does that mean? Eight of you will automatically fail. You better be quick.” – Leanne

As she says that, the crowd starts panicking.

People are voicing their opinions, but she’s having none of it.

They think it’s unfair that eight of them will fail before the exam even starts, but she doesn’t care…

And so, they scurry around trying to find teammates.

“We’re already four, guess we only need to find one more then.” – Shin

“Yeah.” – Illian

“Who should we take with us? Everyone here should be strong, right? Should we just take the first person we can get?” – Lett

A guy runs up to us and begs us to let them join our team, but Shin hesitantly declines.

“I want that guy…” – Shin

He points to Lucas.

“Who’s that?” – Illian

“Someone we met during our first attempt at the E-rank exam. He’s very strong.” – Alex

We walk up to him, and before we even get to greet him, Shin just gets right to the point.

“Join our team.” – Shin

“Hmm…” – Lucas

What is he thinking for?

He knows were strong.

“Nah.” – Lucas

“What? Why?” – Shin

“I don’t know about that guy, but I know the three of you are strong.” – Lucas

“Then why won’t you join?” – Shin

“Well, that’s precisely why.” – Lucas

“???” – Shin

I’ve never seen Shin look this confused before…

“I want to win with my own strength. If I just rely on others, can I really say I earned it?” – Lucas

“…” – Shin