“I’m sorry, Lady Eritz, but your exam ends here.”
All around Stella, under the command of their leader, each person summoned their own summon.
Stella observed them with a cold expression.
“And you, what’s your name?” she asked.
“Hey, are you planning to take revenge?”
“No, why would I do that? Isn’t this some kind of survival test where anything goes?”
Stella tilted her head slightly as she spoke. She wasn’t the villainous girl from a romance novel, and she had never used her status to crush others.
‘Prejudice is the real problem,’ she thought.
Stella had always heard that her bright red hair and piercing eyes were unsettling. Now it seemed that indeed had a bit of truth in them.
“I am Grumman of the Baeing Barony,” he replied.
“Oh, really? Now I know that hiring people from that barony might be a mistake in the future.”
“…so, you won’t retaliate?” Grumman muttered.
“Yes, I won’t retaliate,” she echoed.
Seeing Grumman’s confusion, Stella relaxed her stance and waved her hands. A ray of flame burst from the pattern engraved on the back of her hand, slicing through the summoned creatures surrounding her in an instant.
“What?!”
“Kruk!”
“Orgh!”
The group of 1-star Summoners was wiped out in seconds.
Stella, having completed the task, turned her expressionless gaze to Grumman.
“Displaying your strength without assessing your opponent’s power is foolish. You’re throwing away any chance at a strategic advantage. Even if this isn’t about retaliation, it’s clear there’s no place for that kind of fool in the South.”
Moments later, a stream of fire shot out again, shattering the summoners’ bracelets. In the same instant, several of them disappeared in a burst of light particles.
Stella surveyed her surroundings thoughtfully.
“What?”
“… It doesn’t matter.”
Unbeknownst to others, Stella had often felt quite uncomfortable in situations like this.
Yes, she was feeling lost now.
But she couldn’t tell anyone.
***
Not only Ian and Stella, but also numerous 3-star Summoners were attacked as soon as the trial began.
However, those who launched these attacks were mainly reckless first- and second-year cadets who had gone wild the previous year.
Armed only with 1-star and 2-star summons, they didn’t grasp the essence of the test and assumed that sheer numbers could overwhelm 3-star Summoners.
The rules seemed to encourage such thinking.
“Hah—chasing a lady isn’t exactly good manners,” Syrah laughed as she shattered the bracelet of a cadet who had targeted her.
***
“Well… I’m not confident I can control my strength—so watch out!”
The towering Colossus, standing several tens of meters tall and weighing hundreds of thousands of tons, came down heavily. As the massive iron figure, accelerated by gravity, crashed to the ground, the impact shattered the surrounding area as if struck by a bomb.
After confirming no one was left in the vicinity, Noah retracted her summon.
***
Meanwhile, Senior Dinua presented a nightmarish challenge to the cadets who dared follow her, and the 3-star Summoners, though their names remained unknown, put their all into handling the 1- and 2-star Summoners.
As the 3-star Summoners dominated the stage in a one-sided clash, Ian strolled leisurely through the forest, munching on a strange fruit he had just picked.
“It looks like an orange but tastes like an apple.”
Enjoying the fruit’s unusual flavor and texture, he easily subdued any cadet who tried to ambush him, usually within a second or, at most, three. By now, he had faced dozens of cadets but still found himself with plenty of free time.
Yet Ian sensed that the real challenge was approaching.
“So far, I’ve only encountered random attacks… the ones who’ve survived this long are bound to have their own strategies.”
He couldn’t shake the thought that a coordinated group might surround him, striking when he least expected it.
Even a 3-star Summoner could be caught off guard if attacked at a vulnerable moment.
Indeed, the Summoner who won the championship last year had done so by psychologically outmaneuvering the higher-ranking Summoners.
“If I don’t team up or find some allies soon… it could be risky,” he thought.
Ian’s score was sufficient, but he didn’t have enough defenses to secure it. He needed an ally for protection in case of unexpected situations.
“The ideal choice would be Senior Dinua or Noah… Next best would be Stella or Syrah.”
The first two were people who would concede their ranks to him without a word if asked, while the latter two would likely fight for first place if he requested it.
Ian didn’t have many connections, so beyond them, he couldn’t think of anyone else.
Just then, he heard a faint rustle beyond the bushes. He immediately hid and focused on the sounds from the other side.
“So, are you sure this is the right direction?”
“No, how could you possibly know that…”
“Be quiet! You fool…”
“Same goes for you…”
The two figures, oblivious to Ian’s presence, continued to chat as they moved in a particular direction.
Listening closely, Ian identified them as seniors who had participated in last year’s survival test.
Curious, he quietly began following them.
Get More Chapters on Patreon: From now on, FSM Level 2 will become the CN WN Bundle. The price will remain the same which is $10. Also, the price for the KR WN Bundle will also be decreased to $10 to match this bundle.
With this I have gotten rid of the level system. The reason I am doing this, is because I plan to add more chapters to the $5 Patron tiers. Currently the readers get 2 advance chapters when they become a $5 Patron, but I want to increase the chapters they get to at least 5 chapters and more. So the current updated tier system will work like this:
The Individual Tiers ($5) will give you access to 5 chapters or more.
The Bundle Tiers ($10) will give you access to all the chapters of CN or KR webnovels.
The Supreme Patron ($30) will give you access to all the webnovel chapters on Goblinslate.
Thanks for chapter