Fog slowly began to blanket the island, swallowing the trees and narrow paths. A gentle breeze brushed against Aruma's face, making his strands of hair dance in the air.
Aruma walked slowly, leaving behind the fallen body of the orc, his steps calm and unhesitant. Behind him, three girls still followed—frightened, crying, yet unwilling to part from him.
The fog grew thicker, making visibility more limited. But Aruma kept moving forward, threading through the dense forest as if his steps knew exactly where to go, without the slightest doubt.
Feeling disturbed by being constantly followed, Aruma finally told the three girls to leave.
Even so, he realized that one of them was different. Since arriving on this island, that girl had not cried, had not panicked, only stayed silent... yet faithfully followed his steps.
The other two girls, though scared, were also reluctant to separate. They walked right behind Aruma, as if desperately wanting to be protected by him.
Increasingly annoyed, Aruma finally stopped in his tracks.
The two girls behind him, unaware of this, immediately bumped into Aruma's back and pushed each other.
One of them complained,
"Why did you stop? Come on, keep walking!"
Aruma turned with a sharp gaze.
With a swift motion, he grabbed the girl's arm and lifted her with one hand.
His voice was loud and sharp,
"Cross your arms. Your exam ends here," he barked without hesitation.
The other girl, refusing to accept it, threw a small stone toward Aruma.
In a high, arrogant tone, she said,
"Just protect us! My father will pay you a thousand gold coins. I swear!"
Aruma harshly threw away the boastful girl's hand, then turned to glare at the girl who threw the stone.
"Who do you think I am?" he said coldly.
"You have no right to command me."
"No matter how much money you have, it won't save you here."
The girl didn't back down. In a loud and confident voice, she snapped back,
"If you knew who I was, you'd kneel!"
"My father is one of the richest men here! So you have to obey me!"
Aruma brought his face closer to hers, his gaze sharp and intimidating.
"I don't care who your father is. You should leave now. You're just a burden to me."
The girl fell silent from the intimidation, still wanting to talk back, but—
Suddenly, Aruma's instincts sensed a threat.
His face turned tense.
Even though the girls were still shouting at him, Aruma turned his eyes toward the path they had come from—now shrouded in thick fog.
He kept staring in that direction, sensing that something was wrong.
And suddenly—
From within the fog, a horde of orcs appeared.
Five massive orcs ran toward them, their eyes filled with rage, giant axes in hand. Each stomp shook the ground, sending tremors echoing through the forest.
Birds began to chirp and scatter into the sky.
What had been a place filled with arguments and footsteps slowly turned into a tense silence.
The two girls who were yelling at Aruma now changed completely. Fear engulfed their faces.
They panicked, trembled, and began begging Aruma for protection—their tough demeanor crumbling into weak, pitiful figures.
————
Meanwhile, atop the Colosseum stands, Yong, who had been uneasy due to Jamir's words, began to calm down. He returned his gaze to the floating magic screens.
Yong then turned to Jamir and said,
"Forgive me. I… didn't mean to enjoy the deaths of others."
Jamir, now growing anxious, asked Yong,
"Who's actually in charge of this exam? When I read the guidebook, that island was supposed to be empty."
Yong looked confused, then answered,
"I don't know. What I know is, that island should've been uninhabited. The participants were only supposed to survive and cooperate."
Then Yong added,
"That was the plan. They'd learn to hunt, cook, even build shelter—like the survival games I often play."
Jamir, now panicking, stared intensely at the screen.
"I checked. That island belongs to Toru, and for the past twelve years, it's always been safe."
He clenched his fists.
"So why has it changed now?"
Yong let out a slow sigh, shifting his gaze to another screen above the Colosseum.
Jamir, seeing this, fell silent too—choosing not to continue the conversation.
They could only stare at the magical screens showing the participants on that island, hoping… there would be no more casualties.
Even if they wished for no more deaths, the number on the main screen told a different story. The screen kept updating:
[670 PARTICIPANTS — 07:35]
In that silence, Yong's attention shifted to a side screen—
A scene showed a participant carrying a samurai sword. He was walking slowly through a cave, along with four other male participants.
Yong stared at the screen seriously, then asked Jamir,
"Who is he? I feel like I've seen that samurai sheath before."
Jamir, still overwhelmed, answered hesitantly,
"I'm not sure. So I can't tell you."
Inside the cave, the participant carrying the samurai appeared to distance himself from the group.
The others began arguing with him, mocking and insulting him with foul words. But he didn't respond. His gaze was flat, his steps quick—as if he didn't want to waste time on them.
They continued cursing behind him, even shoving him aside. But he kept walking… until he was truly far from them.
Jamir, watching the screen, suddenly gasped.
Behind that group—
A pack of killer wolves emerged from the shadows of the cave. They ran swiftly, eyes glowing red, jaws open wide, ready to rip apart anyone inside.
The samurai wielder had already walked far ahead of the group.
Suddenly, from afar—
Screams and cries of pain echoed from within the cave.
He glanced back—only for a moment. Indifferently, he kept walking. There wasn't the slightest intention to turn back.
Behind him, the other participants were slaughtered one by one by the sudden wolf ambush.
But the wolves weren't done. They caught the scent of remaining prey… and quickly dashed toward the samurai-wielding figure ahead.
Realizing the wolves were heading toward him, he slowly stopped in his tracks.
Without panic, he grabbed the hilt of the samurai at his waist—
"Srek."
The sound of the blade being drawn echoed softly.
And just then—
A wolf leapt out of the shadows, attacking at terrifying speed…
He swiftly turned around and—
"SRINGGG—!"
"SRINGGG—!"
"SRINGGG—!"
Slash after slash was unleashed, slicing through the wolves' bodies.
In an instant…
All the wolves were cut down by strikes barely visible to the eye.
Their bodies dropped simultaneously, like leaves sliced by the wind. Not a single one survived.
He stabbed his samurai into one of the wolves, the blade buried deep, then slowly sat atop the pile of beast corpses.
Wordless, he reflected in silence.
His gaze turned empty, body motionless, as if the world around him no longer mattered.
No one knew what he was thinking…
But his expression held wounds deeper than any blade could inflict.
The audience in the Colosseum began to cheer.
The samurai participant's brutal action somehow entertained them—cheers and applause filled the air.
Yet, on the other hand, Jamir remained panicked. He turned to Yong with concern.
"Why hasn't Reddit returned yet? Call him, Yong. Call him now!"
Yong immediately grabbed his communicator and called Reddit. Once connected, he spoke in a serious tone:
"What's happening? Why haven't they been pulled off the island?"
Reddit's voice came through faintly—confused and panicked:
"The technician in charge of the transfer and evacuation system is gone! I've searched the entire control room—he's disappeared!"
Yong responded right away,
"Then find another technician. They should still be in the Kingdom! If they can't be reached, go to them directly!"
"Got it!" Reddit replied as he slowly ended the call.
Reddit hurriedly left. He rushed into his car, speeding from the Academy toward the Kingdom's center.
————
Meanwhile, the group of orcs charged furiously toward Aruma.
Aruma realized one thing—he wouldn't be able to fight while protecting all three girls in a place like this.
He turned to them, now crying and trembling in fear.
With a firm yet heavy voice, Aruma said,
"I can't fight while guarding all of you. We need to get away first."
"But… I can only take two of you with me from here."
The two girls in front of Aruma paused briefly to whisper to each other,
"You know what we have to do, right?" said one of them.
Together, they pointed at the girl who had been silent all along.
In a threatening tone, they blamed her,
"She's just a burden! Useless! Just take us instead!"
The girl being pointed at remained silent. She didn't resist… as if accepting her fate.
Aruma looked at the three of them for a moment, then said coldly but firmly,
"Anyone not coming with me… cross your arms. The system will evacuate you instantly without harm."
"If not, you'll die here," Aruma said seriously.
The two girls kept insulting the quiet girl. They yelled and mocked her harshly.
"We'll definitely pass this test, and you'll be kicked out of here!" one of them shouted arrogantly.
Meanwhile, the orcs kept getting closer. Realizing time was short, Aruma immediately picked up the silent girl and ran as fast as he could, fleeing from the area.
The two confident girls instantly panicked. They screamed hysterically at Aruma, who was running away.
"Hey! Where are you going?! Don't leave me!!" one of them cried, her voice breaking with fear and despair.
Soon after, the orc group was about 100 meters from the girls.
One of them screamed hysterically,
"HAAAAAA!!!"
Just as the girl was about to cross her arms, suddenly—
"SRAKKK!"
An orc grabbed her hand, quickly tearing through her arm and torso, ripping her apart until her organs spilled out, blood splattering onto the ground.
The other girl panicked and screamed at the brutal death. Shaking, she crossed her arms to save herself. But—
"SRAKKK!"
Her head was instantly severed by an orc's axe. Her body collapsed, leaving a pool of blood on the ground.
The arms of the previously quiet girl, now carried by Aruma, suddenly moved and crossed in front of her chest. Then—
The headless girl's corpse suddenly teleported into the middle of the Colosseum, causing the entire audience to erupt in shock and fear.
Even Jamir jumped in alarm and immediately shouted,
"Stop the exam right now!"
But before any action could be taken, Yong—who had just received a call from Reddit—immediately delivered the bad news to Jamir.
"The technician in the control room is missing, so we have to wait."
Jamir's eyes turned blank. He fell silent, unsure of what to do. He felt useless.
————
Aruma ran swiftly and leapt, carrying the girl as he landed gently. He set her down on the grass, letting her lean against a tree.
The girl who had been silent all this time finally spoke, her voice trembling.
"Wh… why did you save me? Aren't I just a burden, like you said earlier?"
Aruma replied in a flat yet firm tone,
"I don't know why… but I think you deserve to be saved."
Tears began to stream down the girl's cheeks. She cried in silence.
Aruma looked surprised, then asked in a softer tone, as if he had softened,
"Why are you crying?"
The girl replied gently, her voice broken from sobbing,
"I... I'm very weak. I'm only standing here for my fa… father. I don't want... my uncle to look down on him because I failed."
Aruma stayed silent for a moment, gazing at the girl still in tears. Then he spoke in a calm but firm voice,
"I might not know what you're going through… but at least, I can give you some encouragement."
Aruma took a slow breath, then continued,
"No one is born strong. They become strong by creating that strength themselves. So… fight to become strong, even if you're a woman."
The girl slowly stopped crying. With her fingers, she began to wipe away her tears, and for the first time—a small light appeared in her dim eyes.
She saw Aruma as a bright light before her.
Aruma then extended his hand and said,
"You have to keep trying. I'll help you become stronger."
The girl reached out to take Aruma's hand, then stood while giving a faint smile. Her white hair strands slowly fluttered in the wind…
To be continued…