Surprise attack

"Did that bitch sister of mine suspect anything?" Wain muttered to himself as he threw dead cows to feed his monsters.

Normally, the final part of the first test would involve combat against one of the monsters he had created and tamed. However, that year, Amelia had personally taken control of the entire first phase of the exam and refused to use his monsters.

Because of this, Wain hadn't yet had the chance to shine and eliminate Davi. But he was certain that his latest creation would put an end to that boy who shouldn't even be there.

Even so, his hands trembled as he moved to the next pen and drew another magic circle on the ground.

What if they had discovered his plans?

He was someone with a strong aversion to risk and a bit of a coward. That's why his stomach churned with palpable anxiety.

But he knew the principal was unpopular. No matter how powerful she was, things would inevitably go wrong for her. It was precisely because she was unpopular with the council that she had been sent alone to that hell.

"There's no way she'll come out of the Enki Rift alive this time. No one could defeat that monster alone," he murmured to himself.

Taking a deep breath, he focused and activated the magic circle. It glowed brightly, and a similar light appeared inside one of the monster pens. He then tossed the cow carcasses into the circle, and they soon appeared within the pen.

The man carried on with his work meticulously. It brought him a sense of calm, also tending to his little harbingers of destruction was likely his only hobby.

"Yes, she'll finally die, and I'll finally get the position I deserve," he said to himself with a creepy smile.

During the second phase of the exam, the students would be inside the rift, where cameras and electronic equipment didn't work. 

There were the examiners, but they rarely did anything. Even more if it was about Davi, who wasn't liked.

It would be the perfect moment to act. And finally, Wain would get his chance to shine.

𓊖𓊖𓊖

Far away from all of this, Aden woke up with a pounding headache. 

Looking around, he was at bad he had never seen before, at a place that looked like a room at an old castle.

Slowly, images of past events start to come back to his mind… He was fighting with one of the subordinates of the asshole he hated so much, then…

Where are those two? The question erupted in his mind, then he stepped out of the bed and started wandering around, but not for long. Soon he came across familiar faces.

"Where am I?" he asked immediately.

Davi stepped forward to answer, quickly summarizing what had happened after they defeated Vesta and made it to the castle.

"I see," Aden said with a confident smile, recalling how he had dealt with that jerk. "Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you." He grinned self-assuredly and extended his hand to the two of them. "As you probably already know, I'm the prodigy Aden."

Davi glanced sideways at Lara, silently asking if he should know who this man was. Lara quickly whispered that she had no idea who he was.

Hearing their exchange, Aden felt indignant. Striking an exaggerated pose, he declared, "I'm the human shield, the firstborn of the Oslos, the great Aden! Seriously, you've never seen any of my videos?"

"Videos?" Davi asked, confused.

"Oh! You're an exploration YouTuber!" Lara's eyes lit up as she made the correct guess.

"Exploration YouTuber?" Davi, who only studied rift exploration through books and specialized magazines, was completely lost.

Naturally, as people from all professions posted content on the internet, explorers were no exception. Many even became celebrities.

"And what's the name of your channel?" Lara asked, giving Aden the perfect opening.

"I'm Aden, the shi3ld," he said proudly. "I already have 315 subscribers," he proudly declared his number of subscribers. What was… definitely a number, but nothing more than that.

Davi and Lara exchanged glances, silently questioning the mental stability of the guy they had stumbled upon.

Regardless, they didn't have time for jokes. 

Apologizing deeply for involving him in all this, Lara explained what was happening and that they would inevitably be attacked soon.

It wouldn't take long before Luís received word that the henchman he'd sent to capture her had been defeated. With all the resources at his disposal, he would quickly track them down. To Lara, their options boiled down to two choices: stay in the castle, where defending themselves would be easier, or flee and try not to be found.

In other words, either they stayed in the castle, where they would eventually be discovered and defeated, or they faced the countless monsters in the rift by some miracle of God.

"It doesn't matter," Aden shrugged off her explanation. "From the start, my plan was to face that guy." For the first time, the big smile disappeared from his face.

He then explained that Luís was his target. While he didn't go into details about his motivations, he at least had a solid understanding of Luís' allies. After all, he had pretended to be one himself.

He even knew that Luís had an unusually large number of allies in this phase, thanks to his aunt pulling strings behind the scenes to support him. Her motive was to help him defeat Sophia, who she saw as a rival.

Considering all of this, Aden suggested they form an alliance with Sophia. However, Lara, who had studied with the girl, immediately rejected the idea.

"In this type of situation, he will definitely prefer to stay away and watch the chaos unfold." She explained, knowing how selfish and chaotic that blonde could be. 

Sophia wasn't necessarily a bad person, and there was no chance she would actively sabotage them. However, she also wasn't the type to expend energy on acts of kindness or altruism.

With that option off the table, it was Davi's turn to propose a suggestion. Perhaps if they stayed in the castle and held out long enough, Luís would give up. Eventually, the cost of defeating them would prove so high that he would have no choice but to relent.

"No way," Lara and Aden said in unison.

Believing that Luís would make a rational decision was like believing in Santa Claus. He was spoiled, arrogant, and stubborn. His few redeeming qualities were his bravery and determination. Prudence and restraint were nowhere near his personality traits.

"The sun is more likely to burn out than that guy is to give up on anything," Aden concluded with an exhausted tone, recalling the frustration of cooperating with Luís for even a short time.

Once again, they seemed out of options. There was still the possibility of leaving the area and collecting ten coins each, but that was practically impossible.

"In that case, our only option is to go on the offensive, don't you think?" Davi finally suggested.

The two stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief, as if he'd just said something completely insane. However, his plan wasn't entirely without merit.

Based on Aden's information, Luís' power was primarily concentrated in the ten talented young fighters he had recruited. Of those, two had already been defeated, and one was now on their side. That left seven strong opponents.

While their group technically had three combatants of comparable strength, the key would be creating a scenario where Luís was forced to fight without half of his core strength. In such a situation, they might just have a chance to win.

At least, Davi assumed they had three capable fighters. But Aden quickly corrected him, proudly pointing out that he was utterly useless in combat.

More specifically, Aden explained that he couldn't hurt anyone and could only defend himself.

The plan had barely begun, and things already seemed to be falling apart. Davi took a deep breath, realizing he would have to rethink his strategy.

Even so, considering Luís' personality, he would likely send multiple people to attack the castle, confident that Lara would be there.

With that in mind, maybe it was possible...

"I have an idea," Davi said with a confident smile as he began explaining his insane plan.

However, none of the three could have known that, as they had this conversation, something was watching them from the shadows. That presence smiled faintly, convinced that the events unfolding before it would be very interesting indeed.

𓊖𓊖𓊖

Meanwhile, a girl named Alexia Valtherion watched with a hint of sorrow as those who had returned from the hunt dragged themselves back exhausted.

In the second phase, there were numerous rewards to be gained by defeating monsters. That was why she had quickly gathered as many people as possible and formed a small army.

Everyone in her group had undoubtedly given their all, proving themselves determined and hardworking. Yet, unfortunately, most of what they had collected would ultimately end up in Luís' hands.

Such was the price of protection. Luís and his cronies would safeguard the group from the most dangerous beasts, allowing them to reach the third and final stage of the test safely. In exchange, they had to work tirelessly and obey without question.

"Well done, everyone. Now rest well. Don't worry, I'll keep watch tonight," Alexia said in a soft, reassuring tone as she gripped the hilt of her sword, a family heirloom passed down through generations.

After ensuring that everyone was settled and had a place to rest in the castle, she began organizing the night watch rotations.

No one could accuse Alexia of lacking dedication or a sense of duty.

Even though she had personally participated in and led the hunts, she would also take on the responsibility of standing guard throughout the night.

She felt deeply responsible for everyone she had recruited. Because of this, she worked tirelessly to ensure that as many as possible, or perhaps all of them, would reach the next stage.

Her long pink hair, a hallmark of the proud Valtherion family, signaled to the world her unwavering commitment to keeping her promises.

It was also because of this that Alexia had been trained from an early age to serve Luís properly. Her ancestors had built a strong relationship with the Belfort family over the years.

Coincidentally, during her watch, news arrived. An ally who had been sent to investigate the situation of their target (Lara) had returned. Not only had the girl escaped, but she had also defeated Vesta and taken the castle he was supposed to control.

Alexia sighed deeply as she read the report. For a moment, she even considered not delivering the report to her master. His obsession with that woman would bring the entire group to ruin.

The truth was that, even if the boy failed the exam, he was already an A-rank and, without a doubt, would be promoted within a week of classes. But what about the others? What about all the people he had made protection deals with?

Additionally, she couldn't help but feel sympathy for Lara. Though she had never met the girl personally, she could only lament the circumstances.

Still, she did her job with the professionalism and perfection that she always applied to everything she did.

Entering her master's room, she found him conversing amicably with Zack, someone who could only be described as a born sycophant.

She then handed over the report, but her sense of duty wouldn't allow her to withhold her opinion. When the boy suggested sending almost all of his forces to attack the castle where Lara was, she vehemently opposed it.

It was hard to say whether her words were actually heard. The situation was made worse by the fact that Zack always had a way of twisting words to make things sound worse in front of his master.

Still, if there was one person in the world whom Luís listened to, it was Alexia. And so, he reluctantly agreed that he shouldn't act so recklessly.

Moreover, it was Zack's turn to intervene and convince the blond that he should always keep at least his three best warriors close by. There was no way of knowing when his sister or another enemy might plan an attack.

Finally, the sycophant remarked that if Alexia was as powerful as she claimed to be, she should be able to handle any enemy attack on her own. She should also be able to defeat Sophia despite the disadvantages.

And so, that night ended, as preparations for the approaching battle were already underway.

Even though things hadn't gone as she had hoped, the girl maintained her resolve. She promised herself that she would do everything in her power to bring victory to those who depended on her.

That was her responsibility.

𓊖𓊖𓊖

And at a safe distance from all that, a beautiful blonde stretched as she prepared to take a pleasant bath on that cold night.

Looking up at the same moon that illuminated Davi and his group, she thought about the report she had received.

"It seems things are about to get interesting," she murmured to herself.

The defeat of the trio seemed inevitable, yet her instincts told her that something surprising might happen.

Either way, ultimately, she decided that the best course of action was to observe the situation.

𓊖𓊖𓊖

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Aden asked, a little frightened.

Before the trio stood a large cave, its entrance marked by numerous signs placed by the examiners. Each sign had warnings about the danger of entering the place, where a powerful beast resided.

"Don't worry, you're the great prodigy Aden, the shield. I'm sure you'll manage," Davi said with an ironic smile, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"Please, don't take too many risks. If it's impossible, just give up, okay?" Lara was even worse at motivating him.

Still, the sun would soon rise on the horizon, and it was time for them to start. Not wanting to drag it out any longer, Davi kicked his companion into the cave, giving him the push needed to finally do his part.

The other two quickly moved away, heading off toward their own tasks.

For a while, the entrance to the cave remained silent, but as the first rays of light appeared on the horizon, the peace was abruptly disturbed.

"Damn it, I hate this plan!" Aden shouted as he came running out of the cave, a massive, furious beast chasing him.

And so, the war of three against an army had begun.

The die is cast, may the best one win.