Boost in Confidence?
Lillian stared at the blue screen hanging before her. It wasn't the system but, instead, something created by the virtual world.
"The leaderboard..." She then raised her head towards the sky. In the clouds, a massive rectangular screen stared down at them, displaying a list of names with numbers beside them.
Some of these names had more than one in each row, separated by a plus sign. These must be those who had decided to get into pairs.
Her eyes then drifted towards the top, her lips morphing into a grin as she saw who was in first place. (2)
["1. Marionette Von Roselle: 15 Monster kills, 10 Contestant Eliminations."]
"Watch a show off... the exam had barely started, and she had already killed and eliminated that many?" She couldn't help but giggle before glancing to the side.
Lillian caught the sight of a familiar blinking triangle off in the distance. It seems the indicator was still in effect even in the virtual world. How convenient.
In the distance, where Marionette possibly was, if the indicator wasn't playing any trick, was a thick, grand forest with trees at least a few dozen metres tall.
"The Great Forest of Critters... on an island named the Great Island of Critters... this naming scheme isn't very creative now that I look back on it."
She then began to make her way towards the forest, where she caught sight of something leaving the waters. The hard stone shell of a Beach Stone Crab popped out of the water, the light reflecting off its wet surface as it scurried onto the beach.
Lillian eyed the crab, her hand clenching the hilt of her sword, "Another one, aye~? I guess I can take another one down before going there." Deciding she'd kill it to increase her place in the rankings before heading straight to the forest, she began to make her way over to it.
That was then... she came to a stop... her eyes widening at what she was looking at.
Not only did that crab arrive ashore, but many more followed behind it, exiting the waters and their spear-like legs into the sand.
It wasn't as endless as she thought, for only around 10 of them had appeared.
Lillian's lips stretched into a thin line. If she were to engage in battle with these crabs, who knows what sort of injury she may rack up? (2)
'Wait... is there even a reason to fight them? Why fight a battle when I'm outnumbered?' After checking that her logic made sense, she turned around, intending to leave before unconsciously glancing back at the leaderboard.
["1. Marionette Von Roselle: 20 Monster kills, 15 Contestant Eliminations."]
Marionette's score continued to soar even higher and higher in such a short amount of time. And following her in a close second was...
["2. Reph Von Lionbright + Millis Vellen: 30 Monster Kills, 11 Contestant Eliminations"]
"She really did get him on her team... how'd she manage that?" Lillian scratched her head. Reph was displayed in the game to be quite the "Chillax" guy, even though he is quite stubborn sometimes. (3)
"At a minimum, for solo contestants, we need to kill 30 monsters and eliminate 10 other people to pass. To think they're so close already... this exam lasts for about an hour or so?"
Of course, in the real world, the exam only lasted about 30 minutes.
Lillian's hand unconsciously moved towards her necklace, and there was a complex expression on her face as she looked back towards the crabs that had spotted her and began to scurry their way over to her. (3)
'With my strength... I doubt I would last even one of the least dangerous arcs...' The option to rely on external tools to boost her abilities was indeed an option, and what she had remembered from her memories about her bank account was that she was rich enough to definitely afford some.
She was sure they would be able to support her enough so that she could engage in the major arcs and not have to sit out like some spectator.
But...
'Dying again wouldn't be ideal...'
She was now having some doubt if she truly did want to join the currently upbeat heroine and the others in this dreadful world that would soon erupt in flames.
Every great story needs a great major arc or something emotional enough that would cause the reader to burn the scene into their mind—constantly having them look back on it from time to time.
With what she remembers, she was definitely going to die if she even survived that long.
"Geez... why did I get so depressed all of a sudden...?"
Even if she doesn't pass, she will still be assigned a class to attend that would fit her area of expertise. Those who fail this exam will naturally end up in a class fit for their abilities—an E-rank class...
If she still managed to befriend Marionette and survive until graduation, she was sure she could live a good life with her family's status as nobles and leave all the dangerous, bloody, adrenaline-inducing... fun... battles everyone related to the story would face down the road...
Does she truly want to spend her days in peace? A boring... repetitive peace? She had already experienced that already. Although her living conditions weren't optimal, she still got through life.
Why should she experience that again? She's a transmigrator. A person with knowledge about this world's future and the best way to get stronger. How could someone like her end up in what could be considered the worst class ever? A class filled with people who were on the past Lillian's level.
Would that NOT be the biggest humiliation ever in history?
Lillian turned around and faced the legion, brandishing her blade at them, a smirk adorning her beautiful face, her eyes glistening with rising confidence. (3)
"I've been given the chance to experience a life with absolute assurance it would be exciting. I will pass this exam and go on to claim first place!" (10)
Even when outnumbered, the confidence that burned within her heart only seemed to grow. She hadn't felt so much confidence before. What could be the reason for her sudden boost in confidence?