"I dare you, Halfwit,"

The boy ground his teeth. The blade pressed harder, still far from killing her. His hands were hesitant.

He cannot.

But Amaryllis still held the frigid cold blade with her mana-enforced hand. She could not perform magic without a granted ability from the system. She could, however, manipulate mana, and it had been her way to release stress for as long as she could remember. Dare she say, she was proficient in controlling mana. And it had a few basic applications that every mana-blessed could use. Skin hardening was one of them. Would it survive a swing from a blade? Never. But it was enough to hold the sword without injuring herself.

"Are you sure?" Amaryllis continued. "Are you sure you can kill me?" Slowly, her anger vanished. The cogs in her brain spun, attempting to salvage her blunder. I am an idiot. She chided herself.

"Who will stop me?!" He looked at the black-haired girl sharply. She could have been asleep, and it wouldn't have mattered, for how much she paid heed to their childish display.

"You, of course," Amaryllis said, her voice completely hiding the turmoil she withheld, "The first thing they test is if you'll lose your mind to the demon and hurt your teammates. Are you sure you can pass the assessments with the stigma of killing your teammate because you couldn't hold on to your temper? That is even worse and lower than having a demon control your mind. Are you sure they didn't add me to this to see what you'll become once you have the power over the others?" Her right arm twitched to strike his manhood.

The doubt bubbled in Boy's eyes. Amaryllis mentally breathed out a sigh of relief. If he had a little less control, she could have died. Foolishly. Just after promising her sister. "Move."

“I’m the leader,” He held the blade tight.

Mire fidgeted nervously. She was stunned by the current predicament. Amaryllis could not fault her. If she had not attended the academy, she would have been appalled to see people brandishing blades so swiftly and menacingly like savage beasts. But she had, albeit for a brief year.

"If that is your notion of asserting yourself as the leader, then you ought to go back to the academy." The other one finally deigned to speak in a voice as detached as she was. "And you should not provoke someone if you lack the power to trounce him."

"What did you say?!" The raging bull spun to her and halted in his tracks, teeth-rattling, as he held the blood-red eyes of the predator.

"Unlike her, I can deal with you, quite effortlessly actually. Sit down." She gently tapped the floor with her index finger, and their weight multiplied.

He collapsed on his ass. He still had some snarling left. Amaryllis observed it all with a held breath. She and Mire exchanged a look. She was certain the leader had been selected, and Mire appeared to agree. Then, the boy opened his mouth again. "Then how do we determine the leader?"

Amaryllis shook her head in dismay. Their priority should have been evaluating their location, understanding the nature of their mission, planning the course of action, and discerning each other's strengths, not that she had much to contribute in that regard. As much as establishing a chain of command was necessary, it was rather futile in the group of four strangers, each vying to be the leader. The best they could do was mutual consent by voting on the issues. The urge to call him an idiot almost overwhelmed her. She might have a habit of calling people idiots, she realized. But he had a sword, and she did not. And only an idiot would say something like that in this situation.

The other girl exhaled a sigh. She, too, understood she had to take the reins. The boy would never heed Amaryllis or Mire. "How about we part ways? You can pursue whatever you desire, be the leader or the slayer. I see through my assessment. I would rather not drag a deadweight."

Amaryllis would have concurred. She still wished to, but without a soul-forged weapon, killing a soul demon was impossible. Meaning she would surely flunk, and failure meant death. Yet a part of her writhed in anguish as she grasped she would need to leech off these to survive and clear this test. All because I passed out. Her fist tightened. But I cannot die here.

"We should remain together. Unless we already know the nature of the task and how to execute it." And she prayed to all the deceased gods who had already lost their divine powers that they did not know what the task was.

"That's a sound point, Amaryllis," she nodded. "I'm Gisella. While I have my doubts, I will stick with you for now. It is illogical to have an unforged be here without a purpose. Unless…."

No. I am just a moron who fainted, there is no profound meaning behind my existence. Amaryllis nodded. She was safe. And she felt filthy. It was fine, she would get a soul-forged weapon once this was over. Yet those words failed to lessen her drowning mood.

Wait, does she think I intentionally didn’t forge the weapon for the highest score? But that can work in my favor. Mire also thinks that. Huan, I don’t think he even knows about the notion. Not that I knew in the first place. Thanks, Light. I might have an easier time… until they realize I’m just an idiot. Or I can bluff my way through this task. If we ever get to find out what the task is.

“I’m Huan.” The boy added. But he received no acknowledgment.

Amaryllis watched him squirm with reluctant gratification, knowing well those feelings were petty.

[Well, that certainly was an experience. You three are progressing ahead of all other teams by exactly negative five minutes.] A very, very, enlivened voice whispered in their ears, making her squirm.

"Negative five minutes?" Huan asked. Amaryllis’s brows shot up in surprise. Really? She questioned in exasperation.

"We are behind everyone or average time by five minutes," Amaryllis clarified.

"Because of you, torpid deadweight," he spat back. Amaryllis didn't feel anything this time except for amusement.

“If you only hadn’t drained all your time trading insults, we could’ve marched ahead of the others by five minutes.”

[Alright, alright. Stop fighting like a child. All the invigilators are observing you, in case any of you have not already guessed that.]

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

And as one would expect, Huan exclaimed. Amaryllis truly blamed herself for this mess.

[Anyways, I'm your host, Clownman, a soul hunter, of course.]

Clownman? That was telling enough for their theme.

[This is a carnival, 11 at night. You three are newbie soul hunters. Suddenly, a monster outbreak drops a bucket on your otherwise thrilling time. Now, you three have to perform the role of soul hunter since the fourth of you is useless. What are the tasks? Guess yourself.] Amaryllis felt his grin in her mind. [Idiots. Now. I'll drop a hint: Your priority is to survive and escape. As long as you do, you've passed the assessment, but if you die, you've failed. Then there are other objectives that will affect your overall score, but never enough to fail someone who survived. Think carefully. Worthless numbers, or life.]

Amaryllis's heart dropped. Injured. He is talking about me. And Useless. This clown is goading them into giving up on helping me. But there is still... Remember, Amaryllis, you were supposed to do this alone.

She felt the eyes of the three looking at her.

[AH. You must be curious why she does not have a forge brand. You can make her disclose the information yourself. This is a real-life situation. Real Monsters. Real Serans. The death is real if you have not realized it. I will put weight on it: The death is real. No second chances. Make your decisions wisely. Sympathies are not a virtue of a hunter. But ruthlessness is.]

Amaryllis tried to keep her expression impassive. It proved to be hard. Clownman was basically telling them to abandon her, or they would die. At the same time, he was prompting them to torture her for the reason why she did not have a brand. Is that how they make the situation hard, sowing conflict between us?

[Now, that you are aware of the situation, I have a question. Amaryllis, you are going first. The Soul Hunt is no different from an Adventurer's work of hunting monsters, so why we will have you dead in a simulated situation rather than the real one?]

Amaryllis calmed her mind. Will I get a bonus point for this? I hope so, unlike Sanguine's case. What can those points do other than, of course, the overall score?

“Unlike monster hunting, Soul Hunt is a more complex and critical task. I don’t know everything about it as I dropped out in the first year of the academy, but from what I’ve learned, Soul Hunt always involves a level of threat that can destroy many lives and even ecosystems, transforming them into something horrific. That’s why it’s a role of utmost importance. We, the Soul Hunters, do more than hunt monsters and sell their skins. Our decisions can have nationwide consequences. Not to mention, soul-forged weapons, as I understand them, are a divine blessing that enables even a normal human to compete with the most gifted beings in this world. They essentially make us supernatural predators, at the top of the food chain. Giving power and responsibility to anyone without qualification can be disastrous and harmful, so this assessment is designed to test us in real-life situations and stakes to judge how good a Soul Hunter we will be in the real world,” Amaryllis paused. Most importantly they pay well. Lavishly, might I say.

“Back to your question, because in a simulated situation, our death affects only us, but in real life, no one knows the severity. It could lead to deaths of tens of thousands,” Amaryllis finished, remembering her days at school.

And Amaryllis sighed. Most of it was what she deduced from the news articles of a soul hunter’s mistake that turned a town into a monument of flesh and blood and bones as the pillars. It was in the news for weeks. That hunter was executed rather quickly, especially for this slow governing system. And the Leader of Soul Hunt had apologized. And so did the Vice Secretary of Government.

[Rather sharp assessment, I must say, for someone who never held even a guidebook of Soul Hunt. Then again, the invitation is a testament to one’s superiority. It has many flaws and is quite detached from the one I memorized from the book, but that’s why I asked, frankly. To know how a sharp mind uncorrupted by the teachings of Soul Hunt saw it.] His voice dripped with mockery, [And I’m not very pleased. You’re making us a messiah and a government lapdog. We are neither. First and foremost, you’re a hunter. And your only job will be to hunt Soul Demons or Worshippers. Change your mindset—the examination is to see who stands atop the herd and filter out worthless maggots. Every worthy Soul Hunter will answer that, or maybe they have read it from the guidebook.] He chuckled.

Amaryllis nodded. The connection cut off. A sharp pain shot through her like a wire jerked out of her mind through her ears. Her jaw clenched as she tried not to scream. She breathed fiercely.

“Shit!” Huan screamed. Mire was no better. Amaryllis thought of matching their rhythm so the instructors wouldn’t know she was in the same state as him. Then she looked at Gisella, who looked back at her. Amaryllis knew, now, it was a staredown to see which one of them had less mettle. Amaryllis lacked many things, but competitiveness was not one of them. She looked into her eyes again. The pain only became thinner, sharper. Her face turned red. Her eyes filled with tears. Veins bulged. Gisella’s eyes were the first to spill, and Amaryllis basked in glory for a grand total of one second before losing her hold, too.

Somewhere during their staredown, Huan also understood what they were doing and clenched his jaws. His face was tomato-red, and his eyes were bloodshot. He punched the cemented floor to let out the built-up strain. Mire had to give in to the peer pressure, too. She didn’t last long, though.

Amaryllis had no mental strength left to worry about the reason for this pain. She chalked it up to that man cutting off the connection wrongly. She shrank and shrank, curling up on the floor. The pain showed no sign of wavering.

“Amaryllis…” Fia’s voice echoed in her mind. She even glimpsed at something. What she didn’t know. But she was scared. She never felt comfortable with unexplained things. It always led to misery.

After an eternity, her hazy, pained mind finally cleared. The others also seemed to have recovered. “What was that?” Huan asked in his hoarse voice.

“Twisted sense of pride. That man was showing how easy it is for him to kill us.” Gisella answered between her haggard breaths. “We are safe and alive. You can call him a prideful hag if you wish to.”

“That Mot–”

Amaryllis sharply kicked Huan before he could complete it. She knew he was going to call him something stupid to spite him. She would have, too, if not split raw by that man’s power casually. “Don’t. I don’t want to feel another round of mind tearing because of your temper.”

He turned to her. His eyes were bloodshot. “You don’t feel angry? How did that…” He didn’t finish under her glare, “How did he even do that?”

“This place is worse than you can imagine. You’ll encounter some that would leave you at death’s door, writhing in pain just for amusement. Regrettably, it might be your next instructor.”

Light’s words echoed in her ringing ears.

“If you fall over stumbling on a root of a tree, you curse and turn away, not kick the tree. Only you’ll feel pain. This is something like that. Just a stumble,” Amaryllis said, looking at Gisella. Now that the conversation was over, she knew it was time for a verdict. Would she be left behind, or given a chance at pity? She was dead weight with no value. She wouldn’t beg them either. I don’t need to kill serans. As long as that’s not the objective, I have a chance. It’ll be fine.

“Right,” Huan said. He shifted awkwardly, “I…”

At least they’re not keen on finding out why I don’t have a soul-forged weapon.

Now that he was not hot in his head, he couldn’t say outright that he was going to leave her to escape alone. She didn’t mind if he did. But she had no intention of making it easy for him. If awkwardness could make him stick with her, she could only believe that dead gods were helping her. But once Gisella intoned her intention of leaving, he would have the base to jump on.

The silence continued. Each blink tempted Amaryllis to say, you can leave. This is so damn awkward. But the blade of death on her head forced her not to. She couldn’t help but wonder if Light could have prevented this. Amaryllis hoped not. She wanted to believe that Light was kind and compassionate, as hard as it was in this world. But what if she had? And that thought coiled around her heart. We just met, this is not her fault. We are basically strangers, and I had signed a death warrant. It’s not her responsibility. I am an adult.

“Amaryllis…” Mire was the first to open her mouth. And Amaryllis closed her eyes, leaning against the wall. It’s fine, I can do this myself. For Cynthia