Forest Rumble

Following the team formation announcement, Krudo found himself standing alone, scanning the crowd for potential teammates. Just as he was about to make his move, two individuals approached him, breaking his solitude.

One was a village boy with tousled brown hair, and the other stood out with his striking silver hair that seemed to shimmer in the light. It was Rito, alongside the mysterious figure who had assisted him during the race.

"You there, team up with me" Rito called out to him from behind

"Huh, who the hell are you now, you give off the same countryside vibe as that stinky Peiji I have no interest in you" 

"Why do you think that I have any interest in you either. It's just that an enemy of my enemy is friend" rito gave a sinister smile

"What do you mean?" krudo asked

"My name is Rito and this guy here is called Slipher. You too want to get rid of that bastard Peiji right. I also have an old grudge against him." he introduced himself and that silver haired guy

"That's not gonna convince me, I don't wanna lose because of other's weakne-"

Rito interrupted him

"You cannot defeat Peiji, I saw him breaking out of your chains quite easily in the race"

"You?" Krudo got angry and frustrated

rito continued

"I have fought Peiji on street before, that guy is helpless in front of me since I am UNBREAKABLE-"

The atmosphere was frantic, a whirlwind of voices and movement. People scrambled, desperately pleading for a spot on someone's team, but power only gravitated toward power. Those with impressive skills naturally banded together, leaving the less capable to stand on the sidelines, excluded and unnoticed in the chaos.

"Attention please, the time for team formation ends now. The ones who couldn't form a team would be teamed up randomly by the system"

They didn't tell us beforehand that there was a time limit. I was lucky to get intel from the princess and act early.

"Now that the teams are formed, everyone please follow the coordinator's lead"

We were guided toward a dense, forested area. It was my first time stepping into a place like this—a vast expanse of towering trees and tangled vines. My parents had always kept me away from the village forest, warning me of the wild animals that roamed there. But this forest, sprawling beyond the academy's boundaries, was clearly outside of Ult's jurisdiction. It must have been sanctioned by the government for use during the exams.

The coordinators were giving instructions to the students, guiding them through the process. Soon after, Peiji and his team found themselves deep within the forest, at a location so disorienting that they had no clear sense of direction. It was intentional, designed to scatter the teams across different parts of the woods, ensuring no one knew about the other team's location. 

"Hey mister, what are we even supposed to do to pass this exam." Kurt asked the coordinator who lead them here

The one who led them into the forest was a man with brown hair, looking a few years older than the students. His build was solid and sturdy, giving off an air of quiet strength. He wore a simple dark-blue shirt and pants, with the Ult symbol emblazoned on his chest. All the other coordinators were dressed in the same manner—plain, functional attire that wasn't part of the usual Ult school uniform. It seemed more like a uniform designed specifically for their roles as coordinators. 

"My name is Takahashi Kazuya, you may address me as kazuya-senpai"

"What" everyone shocked, they weren't expecting the them to be their seniors.

"Oh, so you are an upperclassmen, nice to meet yo-" as kurt was saying, he was interrupted by the kazuya

"Yeah yeah, we will continue that talk after you pass. Here take this."

Kazuya handed over a small golden ball like thing to Sariana.

"I will be leaving now, wait here until you hear the announcement"

Just as he was about to leave, he paused for a moment, glancing back at us.

"A word of advice, never underestimate your opponent"

Then he left.

"Peiji-sama, what is this" sariana asked Peiji while showing him that golden ball

"Let me see" 

There was a number 978 written on it. Peiji scanned the ball with his eyes using fabrication skill.

[This is not an ordinary ball. It has a magical property "patent" applied on it, if an exact copy of this ball is made, the copied version will self destruct.] Peiji understood

"This is not an ordinary ball. Keep it safe."

"You can analyze things, quite a useful skill you got there." Kurt said

"This is just a small display of his abilities, Peiji-kun can even absorb and reconstruct anything he wants. He is like a god." Natalia being a truly obsessed servant.

"That's right, Peiji-sama is the greatest of all" sariana added to the comment of Natalia

Peiji felt a glare filled with hostility and murder intent. He turned back, Tenka Shido with a really frustrated face was looking at him.

"You, why do these heavenly beauties are always swirling around you and not even paying any attention to me. You are even uglier than me."

I didn't wanted to start a conflict between the teammates.

"Why don't you flex your powers to impress them, Shido-kun"

His expression shifted from fiery rage to a dumbfounded one.

"Uh, why didn't I think of that"

"Ladies, let me show you my unmatched power through which I ranked 1 in the race" he called out while standing in a dancer's pose and giving off a weird smile.

Then Shido started warping here and there randomly, sometimes even above them or at back of them.

[I told him to flex not to make a clown of himself] Peiji muttered

"Attention"

A voice echoed through the forest. Peiji and his friends looked around to find who was speaking but there were no signs of a person.

"My name is Usagi Shimazaki, I will be your examiner for the second round-Forest Rumble."

[Where the hell is he speaking from] Peiji was confused as he could just hear the voice but couldn't even point out the direction from it was coming.

"Now, let me explain the rules. As you already know that this is a team round, all the teams have been scattered throughout the forest. Your goal is to get out of the forest with 5 golden balls. Every team has been already provided with one ball with their team number written on it. I hope you understand what I am trying to say. Please try not to kill your opponent, upon doing so you and your whole team would be declared failed immediately. You can also surrender by voluntarily throwing your ball on the ground if you want, if even one teammate surrenders, whole team would fail the exam. Whenever a team fails because of any above reasons, their wrist bands will provide them with a shield covering their whole body, after that they won't be able to interact with the others and would have to wait on the spot until a coordinator comes to guide them back. That's all, all the best."

"Woah, that was a lot to take in." Peiji said after the announcement stopped

"The exam has already begun, other teams must have sprung into action we should also make a strategy of ourselves" Kurt acted like a good leader, although sariana was the official leader

To the above statement of kurt, shido replied with confidence

"Don't worry, this is gonna be easy-peasy, I would just teleport and snatch the balls from the others in a blink."

"We don't know how big the forest is but we do know that their are a total of 5000 people, that means a 1000 teams. There could be a situation where more than one teams gang up on us, we have to keep the ball somewhere safe." Kurt said

Peiji came forward.

"Leave that to me. Sariana give me the ball"

"Yes, here you go"

Shido didn't agree to this

"Huh, why would we you be keeping it, I am the best on our team so I would be keeping it" he confronted Peiji

Sariana didn't like how he was talking to me

"Who said you are the best, you donkey-face"

"Do-do-donkey-face" shido shocked by the insult

"Princess-sama, I-"

"Shut up, I am the leader and I say that Peiji-sama will be keeping it. You just make sure not to get your ass kicked and surrender, UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yes, your highness"

she shouted at him, it was the first time I saw sariana talking like that.

[As Kurt said, we won't be able to pass it if we act carelessly. I have to make them work as a team] Peiji concluded

"Alright guys, here is the plan, we will move in a cross formation. I will be the vanguard since I am good at defense. Kurt will be the rear, you will build a constant telepathic connection between all of us, we will be talking only with telepathy from now on and inform each other if any kind of anomaly appears around us. Natalia and Sariana would be at the sides and the main attacking force. Lastly, Shido will be at the very middle, you will be in close contact to each of us, that way if someone suddenly attacks, you can teleport all of us with you. We are betting our lives on you, so don't break our trust."

[I would be in the middle of princess-sama and natalia-san in a close contact] shido's heart filled with happiness he jumped with joy

"Yess, Peiji-kun, you are actually a great man. Hahahaha"

As soon as Peiji ended his speech and shido went in his own world, 

[Peiji-kun, from above] kurt talked to Peiji through telepathy

He followed his command and immediately looked above, his eyes widened to find a boulder coming towards them from above at a very high speed.

Shido screamed

"Uhhh, guys stick to me hurry up" he was planning to teleport them to a safer place

[We won't make it in time] kurt warned everyone through telepathy

In sudden chaos, Peiji calmly said

"Don't panic, leave this to me"

He raised his right hand high into the air as the boulder plummeted like a meteor. But before it could reach anyone else, it met his palm—and in the blink of an eye, it vanished, absorbed seamlessly by Peiji.

[I actually pulled that off, I am getting better at this] Peiji relieved

"Awesome, Peiji-sama you are so cool and strong, please marry me." Sariana hugged me

"Yeah Peiji-kun, that was amazi-" kurt stopped talking when he realized what sariana just said

Everyone went into a shocked state

"Wha-wha-wha-what are you saying, princess-sama" shido's eyes were practically popping out

Sariana snuggled on Peiji's chest

"Haa, Peiji-sama I couldn't control anymore but this is true, I am in love with you" she said with a shy face while still snuggling

[Shiit! This damn girl has done it now.] Peiji didn't even know how to react when sariana proposed him out of nowhere, his whole body was shaking when she was hugging him.

Natalia kicked her away from him.

"You have a death wish, you bitch" her black wings came out and her teeth elongated as she got really angry

"I don't care if you are his girlfriend or whatever, but Peiji-sama is my prince"

"What did you say"

Shido was giving off some serious murder intent towards Peiji now.

"Guys, shouldn't we worry about who attacked us just now."

[Kurt, I knew you are the only person who feels for me. Thank you for changing the topic] Peiji thought with teary and grateful eyes.

"A puny human stopped my meteor strike, seems like luck is not on my side today." someone called out to them

Peiji turned around to see who had spoken. Perched on the thick branch of a towering tree was a demon. His defining features were the two silver-colored horns protruding from either side of his head. He had a dull, almost indifferent expression, his jet-black hair falling messily over his shoulders. He wore a long, flowing black robe made of the finest silk, adorned with golden stripes along the sleeves and waist. But the most unsettling detail was his eyes—completely white, as if devoid of sight, yet exuding an eerie presence.

[So they are attacking the species they deem weaker, huh. And where are his other teammates, everyone be on your guard.] kurt commanded through telepathy

[Demons are the strongest, this fight is not gonna be easy]