After some participants withdrew with some noise and chatter, Iliana waited for them to leave. Once everyone had calmed down, she continued speaking,

"As I was saying, we will send you the details and the names of your team members in messages to your rooms. The first test will begin tomorrow morning. That's all, thank you for listening."

At that moment, Michael noticed one of the participants from afar—a massive knight in shining white armor with a giant magical axe, wearing a mask with the symbol "V." This was the knight who had been chasing Michael since he left the Tōkui-dō cave and had also let him leave that village for some reason.

Michael thought to himself, "What does he want? Did he follow me here, or does he have other priorities now? No matter, I'll deal with him later."

The participants then began returning to their accommodations in preparation for the next day. A few hours after their return, they started receiving messages in their rooms containing a thank-you note, writings about the kingdom's rich history, information and rules about the competition, and the names of their team members.

Michael read the rules and instructions, then discarded the rest of the papers without concern, as long as he didn't find the strange knight on his team. He didn't care about the other participants. He had one thing to focus on now: winning the competition and advancing to a golden knight. Dealing with that knight was a secondary matter, and it wasn't the time for distractions.

The next morning, the participants gathered again to announce the start of the first challenge, "The Blue Forest Race."

Two participants approached Michael, and one of them said, "You must be Michael, our teammate. It's good to meet you. I'm Alfred, and this is Lala. Let's work hard together."

Michael responded indifferently, "Okay."

Lala whispered to Alfred, "What a strange person."

Alfred smiled and spoke with a light laugh, knowing that Michael could hear them because she didn't lower her voice, "Maybe he's just introverted or shy, haha."

The team then went to area A, where the challenge would begin. The three of them headed north into the forest, with Michael leading, followed by Alfred and Lala, who were trying to talk to him.

"Hey Michael, do you mind telling us why we're moving so quickly and where we're headed?"

Lala added,

"Yes, that's right. If we keep moving like this, we'll become easy targets for enemies."

Michael replied, "Just keep moving."

"What are you saying? At least explain what you're thinking," Alfred responded angrily.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

But to no avail, Michael continued moving without responding, which frustrated Alfred and Lala. They decided to stop at a hill and told Michael they would leave him and move on their own if he didn't discuss plans with them and that they needed to work as a team. Knights work as a team, not alone.

Lala told him that they were two members of the team, and he was one, meaning they had two stars while he had one. He needed them, not the other way around.

Michael replied,

"Do whatever you want, it doesn't matter," and then moved west of the hill.

Alfred told Lala that they wouldn't move west, as the path Michael took was continuous rocky chains with dangerous terrain and no places to hide. They would move east into the dense forest and trees that provided cover.

Lala responded, "This is really strange. Michael is an offensive fighter with a sword, but he overlooks such details."

Alfred said, "Well, some enthusiastic individuals get arrogant with their strength and think they can't be defeated, so they don't consider hiding or ambushing quietly."

They continued moving into the heart of the forest.

After a few hours of moving, Lala sensed someone following them. Alfred asked her to keep tracking the person through sensing while he prepared and charged his thunder fists.

"They're there, on the side."

A warrior appeared, wielding an assassination weapon in his arms. Alfred struck her hard, but she cast a shield spell to block the thunder attack, then moved again at lightning speed. Before Lala could warn Alfred, a smoke explosion occurred, blinding them and making it difficult to move. They could only focus on the glowing yellow eyes appearing from the smoke, resembling those of nocturnal predators. Then, the sound of arrows emerged from the smoke, paralyzing them. They had been sniped from a distance.

After they fell and the smoke cleared, the warrior reappeared and tied them with magical ropes. She then called out to the sniper and the smoke jammer, telling them she had captured them. The sniper said, "Good, we've caught two from this team. Get rid of them quickly, and another team will be out of the competition."

Alfred shouted angrily, "Damn you, cowards, with your cheap tricks. Fight me bravely if you dare!"

The warrior replied mockingly,

"Stop whining, you lost sheep. Don't you know why this competition is held in a forest? It's for assassination by any means. If they wanted a fair, direct duel, they would have used a regular arena. Do you understand, little one?"

"So, you were the ones following us. How many teams have you killed this way, you amateurs?" Everyone turned to see Michael on a tree, speaking.

The sniper was furious, "Amateurs? What do you mean, you bastard?"

Michael replied, "Your killing methods are primitive, that's what I mean."

The warrior said, "Amateurs, huh? Look at yourself and your team. You couldn't even create balance in your team and let these fools walk into the trap on their own."

"Team? I'm not talking about any team. I said you're amateur killers," Michael responded.

The sniper said, "What are you babbling about, you lunatic? Hey, you, get rid of these two rats quickly, then we—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Michael appeared in a flash and sliced him in half with his claymore.

When the second warrior noticed, he activated the smoke technique, but it stopped immediately as Michael rushed and stabbed his neck with a dagger, killing him instantly.

The remaining warrior was in shock and didn't comprehend what had happened until she found her arm severed by a fire slash that appeared out of nowhere.

Terrified and in a state of shock, she began to beg for her life.