After Luna finished wrapping and dressing my wounds, I reopened the supply bag to see what we had. There were two large bottles of water, some fruit, and a few canned goods. All in all, these supplies looked like they were only meant for one person.
As I rummaged through the bag, I noticed something that looked out of place among the other items. I pulled it out to see exactly what it was, and to my surprise, it was a thick black book titled 'Dungeons and Beasts Encyclopedia.'
It contained pictures and information about creatures found inside the dungeons. I opened the book just to take a look inside, and there was a giant bird-like creature, apparently called a harpy. It provided various details about the dungeons these creatures inhabit and the skills they possess.
The book classified the creature as a C-ranked threat. I had no idea what that meant; the beasts were ranked from S to E, with S rank being the highest and E rank the lowest.
The problem was that I had no context, making it hard for me to make sense of the rankings. So, I skipped ahead to a beast I had fought before—goblins. According to the book, they were classified as an E-ranked threat, which was the same classification as the wolves and hyenas I had encountered.
Next, I moved to the section of the book that discussed the different types of dungeons. It wasn't long before I found the section on Purgatory. The book described Purgatory as a tropical island that primarily holds D and E-ranked beasts. The only treasures found here were elemental essence crystals, located inside beast nests—just like the fire essence I found in the wolf dens.
I spent the rest of the day trying to memorize some of the information in the book. When night fell and Luna was asleep, I made my move. I still wasn't in great shape after my fight with Yuan, but I had practically wasted the whole day, and there was something I needed to do.
I exited the cave and headed into the forest. It wasn't long before I found my targets—a group of applicants camping in a clearing. I counted three of them in total; they were seated around a campfire, talking. It would've been better if they were asleep. Maybe I should've waited until it was a little later, but I was here now. Better to get it over with.
I stepped out into view so they could see me.
"Umm, excuse me," I said, trying to channel my inner Luna to gain their sympathy.
When they saw me, they shot to their feet, all of them pulling out weapons.
"Who's there?" one of them asked, holding a short sword in his hand.
I walked toward them into the light of the campfire.
"Don't move," he said, approaching me cautiously. "What do you want?"
"I was attacked by some sort of beast; I think I might've sprained my leg."
"What group are you a part of?"
"I'm not part of any group."
As I said that, they looked back and forth between one another.
"Would you like to join our leader's faction?" he asked, stepping even closer.
Just like that? I was so surprised I nearly stuttered.
"Really? You would let me in that easily?" I asked.
"Yes, we were actually looking for new members to recruit. We lost a lot of members during today's supply drop."
That certainly made things easier.
"My name is Derrick; what about you?"
I took off my mask so he could see my face.
"I'm Liam; it's nice to meet you."
While Derrick looked at me enthusiastically while the others behind him regarded me with caution. There was a red haired boy and a girl.
"Would you like to join us by the campfire?" he asked.
I gave a brief nod and followed behind him as he led the way.
"I'm sure you must have questions about our group," he said as I took a seat beside them around the campfire, but something immediately caught my eye. They had food and water.
It wasn't the canned goods or fruit we got in the supply bags either; their meal looked homemade. But how would they even get home-cooked meals from the outside world?
Maybe someone carried them in their inventory. He must've caught my gaze because he immediately asked:
"You're wondering how we have so much food, aren't you?"
"Derrick!" The red haired boy interrupted before he could say anything. "Be careful of what you say; we barely know him."
"It's fine," Derrick said. "Cassian told us that we should recruit new members after all."
Cassian? I recognized that name; he was one of the faction leaders Luna warned me about. If I remembered correctly, she said his mother was the rank 3 hero and that he inherited her Thermal Energy system.
Derrick turned his attention back to me.
"If you join us, you wouldn't have to worry about food. One of our members has the Gourmet Genesis system. That's how we were able to obtain food…" He paused and picked up one of the meals. It was on a plate covered with clear plastic wrapping. "Here, take this."
He handed me one of the meals along with a bottle of water.
"Thank you," I said, giving them a polite smile. "What is Cassian like, as a leader, I mean?"
Derrick smiled. "He's a great leader. That's why he's trying to recruit more people; he wants to help as many people as possible."
"He makes sure that everyone in his faction is well-fed. He's the living embodiment of a hero," the girl chimed in, talking about him with sparkling eyes. She looked downright smitten, her cheeks flushed as she spoke with excitement.
"Do you think the rumors are true?" the red haired boy sulking beside Derrick spoke up, a horrified look on his face. "That he and Amelia are dating? If they are, I'm going to be left heartbroken. The only reason I wanted to come to this school was because I heard that she was."
Don't tell me this is the nonsense they're up to on the island.
"Pfff," the girl started laughing hysterically, clutching her stomach. "You don't really think you have a shot at dating her, do you? She's a celebrity! She has her own clothing brand and is also a top idol and the lead singer in her girl group. There's no way she would go out with a nobody like you."
"Shut up, Cassidy!! You don't know anything!" He angrily got to his feet, ready to march over to her. She didn't even seem bothered by it and continued laughing, while Derrick intercepted him before he could reach her.
"Calm down, Lukas," Derrick said, trying to nudge him back into his seat. "She's just messing with you—"
"This water," I interrupted, holding up the bottle they gave me. "Was it also created by the same system that provided you guys with the food?"
"Huh? No. It's from Amelia's faction; they have a settlement up north beside a river. Our faction and Amelia's have been working together. As for Rafael's faction…"
"Rafael is an asshole," Lukas shouted. "He keeps attacking us! His group actually collected most of the supplies today. He's the reason we have to watch our backs."
Things were worse than I thought. I had been wrong; I initially believed the factions would be competing against each other, but now I hear that two of them were working together.
"That's terrible," I said, needing to extract more information from them. "I didn't know Rafael's faction was that powerful."
"Don't misunderstand!" Lukas shot back. "Cassian's faction is the most powerful. We have roughly half the applicants on our side. Amelia probably has a little over a hundred people, most of them girls. The rest are either not in a faction or in Rafael's faction. I doubt he even has a hundred people; he probably has the smallest faction."
It was more uneven than I thought. Cassian held most of the power. This place was getting too civilized; they had already built a whole system where everyone could survive.
If this exam ends with more than 200 applicants, my chances of being accepted will drop. Who knows, maybe my spot is already secure, but I don't want to leave it up to chance.
If I destroy everything, things will go back to the way they should be—survival of the fittest. I had the perfect plan to accomplish this, with two targets in mind.
Derrick walked over to me with a polite smile on his face and extended his hand.
"So, what do you think? Will you join us? We'd be happy to have you."
Ever since I got here, there was this rock I'd been eyeing. It wasn't smooth by any means; the edges were jagged. Getting hit by it would really hurt—enough to crack a skull, at least.
Ignoring Derrick's outstretched hand, I got up and picked up the rock. It wasn't large, but it would do the job.
"What are you doing—"
SPLACK!
I aimed for the softest, most delicate part of his head. It was so quick that he didn't even have time to react. The jaggedness of the rock caused his head to burst open, engrossing my hand in blood.
It was a tricky situation; on one hand, I wanted to crack their skulls so they would be eliminated, and on the other hand, I didn't want to kill them or make them feel much pain since they had been kind to me.
"AIIIIIEEE!"
Cassidy let out a blood-curdling scream. Her voice carried through the night, making things a lot harder. I went after her next, but Lukas interfered with a flying kick.
I dodged, but he followed up with a roundhouse kick. His movements were smooth and precise, the grace of someone who had been practicing martial arts for years.
A martial arts system, maybe?
This time, I didn't dodge; instead, I grabbed his leg as it was about to connect. He had the skills, but I was faster. This didn't deter him at all; instead, he attacked with his other leg.
SPLACK!!
I planted the rock in his forehead, smashing him into the ground with it. I heard a yelp as it connected, then there was dead silence.
Cassidy was gone; I had spotted her running off while I was dealing with Lukas, but there was nothing I could do. Normally, I would've lost her, but since she was screaming at the top of her lungs as she tore through the forest, I caught up to her without any problem.
This was my purpose—the entire reason I came out here: to hunt the other applicants. Under the cover of darkness was the best time to do so. During the day I would hunt monsters and at night the applicants.
When I reached her, she was crawling on the ground; it looked like she sprained her ankle. If everyone was like her, my job would be easy—she had the survival instincts of a balloon.
"Please stop! You don't have to do this! Just let me go!" She was helpless, tears flowing down her face.
SPLACK!!