“Something's going to happen in five minutes?”

“Yes... The crystal's structure is changing. It looks like something is being prepared... but I can't tell exactly what...”

Calipha stammered as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Naturally, she knew exactly what was about to happen, but she had no intention of telling him everything.

“I-I get the feeling... something is going to be summoned into this space.”

“Summoned?”

“Yes... I think... th-they might be Beasts. I'm not certain, though...”

Yuto's eyes narrowed. Beasts were monsters that appeared only in dungeons, and those dungeons had been created by the constellations and scattered across the continent of Callisto.

Since the constellations had a hand in this virtual space, it could be considered a sort of enormous dungeon.

‘They're actually summoning Beasts here? Just what I'd expect from an exam the constellations are involved in.’

Was watching students slaughter one another not enough to satisfy them? That was understandable. The students here were nobles who had grown up wanting for nothing. They might have scorned and trampled the poor and commoners, but they would rarely have done the same to fellow nobles.

What they had to do here went far beyond scorn and mistreatment, to desecration and murder. The students still failed to understand that death here was not real death.

“...”

He even found himself thinking it would be better if they never understood.

Once they truly realized they would not have to answer for the murders they committed, these noble students would become more depraved than the rats in the slums.

Yuto recalled the nobles he had encountered in the dungeon on the first day after his return.

“Put up a barrier.”

Shaking off his thoughts, Yuto gave Calipha an order.

“We'll use this place as our base and see what happens. Can you set conditions for the barrier?”

“Th-that depends on the conditions. What would you like?”

“Concealment is the priority. Keep us out of sight of the Beasts and students. Can you stop them from approaching, too?”

“It won't be perfect... but I'll try.”

Calipha nodded and gripped her staff with both hands. Once again, she knitted her brows and pretended to concentrate, even breaking into a sweat. She spent a full three minutes concentrating on a barrier she could have created in the blink of an eye.

Soon, transparent light spread from her staff, enveloping the reeds and the area around the rocks. Yuto stood guard with the sword he had taken from the student earlier. Beside him, Flokiro sniffed the air and pricked up his ears, sharpening his senses.

BOOM.

A deep sound resonated from the crystal in the sky. Its light began to change. The transparent crystal turned red.

[An event will begin shortly.]

A voice came from the crystal. It was not the headmaster's. It sounded mechanical and cold, yet carried a hint of mischief.

[In thirty seconds, Beasts will descend from the sky.]

The voice rang throughout the virtual space. All 487 surviving students—or however many remained after another five minutes—would be hearing it.

[Those who slay Beasts will receive rewards.]

Calipha maintained her terrified expression, but inwardly she scoffed.

[Those killed by Beasts will be eliminated.]

Yuto's eyes flashed. Clutching her staff, Calipha pressed close to him.

“Wh-what should we do?”

“What do you think? Maintain the barrier.”

“I-I'm not sure I can. The Beasts might see through my barrier...”

Calipha stammered. Of course they would see through it. A barrier that was too perfect would arouse suspicion—and it wouldn't be any fun.

“That's fine, too. They said we'd get rewards for killing Beasts. Some food would be nice.”

Yuto sounded indifferent. He had noted edible things as they crossed the forest, but if hunting Beasts rewarded them with food, there would be no need to go out gathering it.

[Ten seconds.]

The crystal began its countdown. At the same time, rifts appeared in the sky and began to widen. Beyond them, the outlines of Beasts emerged. Wings, claws, teeth... The silhouettes numbered in the dozens. And there weren't just one or two rifts holding those shapes. They had appeared all across the sky.

[Five seconds.]

Yuto stared up at the sky with an indifferent gaze. Flokiro's expression was much the same. Only Calipha trembled.

[The event is now beginning.]

With the crystal's announcement, the rifts blazed with light.

Hundreds of Beasts began pouring down.

* * *

Five minutes into the event.

Battles had begun breaking out throughout the virtual space. Unlike Evomon, Beasts could not be reasoned with. They possessed nothing but an instinct to kill humans.

Standing inside the barrier, Yuto surveyed their surroundings. Three black-feathered birds of prey were flying directly overhead, while two wolf-type Beasts sniffed near the reeds.

They were grade-five Beasts. Even someone contracted to a constellation would struggle to hunt a pack of that grade without combat experience.

The avian Beasts circled with beating wings before flying elsewhere, but the wolf-type Beasts did not retreat. Instead, they slowly approached the reeds, sniffing the air.

That was precisely what Calipha intended. She had constructed the barrier to let scent seep out little by little. Beasts with a keen sense of smell were bound to approach prey they could not see.

“L-Lord Yuto. What should we do...?”

Her voice trembling, Calipha prodded Yuto's back. He watched the Beasts draw closer before speaking.

“Open the barrier on my signal.”

“What? ... Yes, all right.”

When the Beasts had come a little closer, he said,

“Now.”

The barrier opened at his signal. Yuto and Flokiro immediately lunged out. The Beasts spotted their prey and tried to howl, but Yuto's sword was faster.

SHUNK!

The blade pierced a Beast's jaw and lodged in its skull. Its body shuddered. The wolf beside it growled and tried to spring at Yuto, but Flokiro leaped off the ground and shattered its head with a kick.

That was all. Students unaccustomed to combat might struggle against grade-five Beasts, but Yuto and Flokiro were warriors for whom combat was a part of everyday life. The two Beasts died in mere seconds.

[Beast Slaying Reward: Dagger (Low Grade).]

[Beast Slaying Reward: Aether Restoration Potion (Low Grade).]

The same voice he had heard from the crystal echoed in Yuto's mind. Where the Beasts' bodies vanished, a small dagger and an aether potion remained.

‘They're even handing out weapons.’

They wanted the students to actively kill one another. True to its low-grade designation, the dagger was an ordinary weapon with no magic imbued in it. Yuto tucked it into his belt, then tossed the aether potion to Calipha.

“Looks like our scent is leaking out.”

“I-I'm sorry...”

“No need to apologize. You told me from the start it wouldn't be perfect.”

He hadn't meant it as criticism. He had confirmed what the barrier could do, and that was enough. Pointing to the potion Calipha had caught, he said,

“It's an aether potion. They called it low grade, but I don't know how much it'll restore. Drink it for now.”

“Yes...!”

After hearing her answer, Yuto listened closely. Screams, sounds of fighting, and the howls of Beasts carried from the distance. He noted the direction of the screams and thought,

‘Weapons aside, we'll need to stock up on potions.’

Since they were explicitly labeled “Low Grade,” intermediate- and high-grade ones probably existed as well. There was also a good chance that potions to restore stamina or heal injuries would drop as rewards.

“Calipha. Change of plans. Take down the barrier and cast your detection magic.”

“What...?”

“We're going to prioritize hunting Beasts during this event.”

Yuto spoke without emotion. It wasn't greed for the rewards that drove him to hunt Beasts. He had made his decision to keep those rewards out of the other students' hands.

“If the students get their hands on too many potions, this exam will drag on forever.”

Calipha's eyes wavered at his words. This was no act; her reaction was genuine.

“What if students are fighting Beasts? Should I report that, too?”

“Report it. I'll tell you now: in that situation, I'll kill both the Beasts and the students. Killing students earns points.”

Yuto answered coldly. He had not forgotten the “points” Calipha had mentioned earlier. His answer surprised her once again.

‘I thought he avoided unnecessary killing, but apparently that isn't always true. Well, this is more efficient.’

The exam would not end until only a hundred remained. And then there were the points. Calipha suppressed an inward laugh.

‘So you care about points. Thank you for acting on that assumption.’

As Yuto suspected, making it into the final hundred was not the only condition for passing this exam. A high score came with corresponding advantages.

Though they couldn't necessarily be called advantages. Composing her expression, Calipha cast her detection magic.

“Two hundred meters southeast... Five Beasts are fighting two students and two Evomon.”

“Can you run?”

“What?”

“If you can't, wait here. Flokiro and I will go kill them ourselves.”

“I-I'll come with you. I can use flight magic.”

She wanted to see how Yuto fought, how he killed people. Calipha answered as though she had mustered her courage. As her body floated into the air, Yuto and Flokiro immediately kicked off the ground and began running.

Southeast. Near the forest, the sounds of battle drew closer. Clashing metal, roaring Beasts, a girl's scream.

The battle came into view between the trees. Two girls and one Evomon were fighting two wolf-type Beasts, one snake-type Beast, and two armored humanoid Beasts.

Both girls were mages. They had fallen back, while a large Evomon standing on two legs blocked the Beasts in front of them.

They were clearly unaccustomed to combat. The girls looked as though they had led sheltered lives, and their terror prevented them from casting their spells properly. The only reason they had not yet been hunted down was that the Evomon was stronger than the Beasts.

Against five of them, however, even the Evomon had no choice but to give ground. Covered in wounds, it let out a roar laced with pain, but the Beasts did not retreat. Armor clattered as the humanoid Beasts swung their greatswords at the Evomon, while the two wolf-type Beasts raced past it toward the girls.

“Aaaah!”

A terrified scream. Concentration was vital to casting magic. At the scream beside her, the other girl's half-formed spell collapsed.

At that moment, Yuto and Flokiro charged in.

THWACK!

The Beasts lunging to tear into the girls were slashed by a sword and struck by a fist, sending them tumbling across the ground.

“Huh... What?”

The girls' screams stopped abruptly. The Evomon, its face twisted in pain as blood poured from its wounds, looked startled before its expression turned to joy. The girls' faces underwent the same change.

“You—you're that pauper from earlier!”

The girl who had screamed first pointed at Yuto and shouted.

“Well done! Hurry up and help us...”

SLASH!

Before she could finish speaking, Yuto's sword cut through her neck. The other girl's face went white at the sight.

“Wh-what are you doing?! Why are you attacking us...?”

“Even if you survive now, you won't make it to the end.”

Yuto strode toward her. She immediately raised her staff and aimed it at him, but no magic manifested. Watching the staff shake, he continued.

“Consider yourself lucky you're dying at my hands now.”

He meant it sincerely. Yuto closed the distance at once and swung his sword. Her neck was cut as well, and she vanished in a swirl of light.

“You—bastard!”

The Evomon that had fought to protect its master, becoming drenched in blood, roared at Yuto. That cry became its last. Now that its master had left this space, the Evomon could no longer remain here either.

Soon afterward, Yuto and Flokiro hunted down the three remaining Beasts as well.