While Amanda's battle raged on one side of the jungle, Rudra found himself surrounded by three opponents—Rinky, Pinku, and Tinku—each wielding wind-based abilities. They spun small gusts of air in their palms, clearly attempting to intimidate him. Rudra, however, reacted with complete indifference, which only provoked them further. Agitated, the trio launched a disorganized attack.
Their lack of coordination proved disastrous. Rudra effortlessly dodged their clumsy strikes, closed the distance to Rinky, and delivered a powerful blow to his face. Rinky collapsed instantly, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Rudra didn't pause. He immediately lunged at Pinku, who was already weakened. A relentless barrage of kicks and punches hammered Pinku's face and stomach, ending with a devastating punch to the liver. Pinku crumpled, knocked out cold.
Only Tinku remained. Frozen in shock, he stared at Rudra—unable to comprehend how his teammates had been defeated in under twenty minutes. As Rudra approached, Tinku's fear overwhelmed him, and he lost control, wetting himself.
"…"
"…"
"Dude… you should really wear a diaper," Rudra said, barely suppressing a laugh.
"Just shut up and finish me, man," Tinku muttered, on the verge of tears.
"As you wish."
Rudra stepped forward and knocked him out with a single punch to the gut.
He sat down on a nearby rock to catch his breath when an announcement echoed through the forest:
[Attention, everyone. Only five minutes remain before the exam ends. Try to score as many points as possible.]
"I need to hurry and help Amanda deal with that idiot friend of mine," Rudra sighed, pushing himself up.
He sprinted toward the battlefield where Amanda and Sammy were fighting. The sheer scale of destruction left him stunned.
This… this is the level I need to reach someday, he thought, both impressed and overwhelmed.
A calm voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"So you defeated them… very good," Amanda said, her expression composed.
"Y-Yeah… thanks," Rudra replied, flustered.
"Come here. Let's finish him together," she said, gesturing for him to hurry.
"Okay, but why didn't you defeat him yourself?"
"I made a promise to you. Remember?" Amanda replied, as if reminding a toddler of something obvious.
"…Right."
"Let's hit him at the same time."
"After you."
As planned, they struck Sammy simultaneously. He vanished in a flash of light, teleported out of the jungle—eliminated.
Rudra turned to Amanda.
"So… what now? Do we fight each other?"
"Yes."
"Can I say no? Please."
"No."
"…Alright. On the count of three."
1
2
3
Both launched toward each other at full speed—but before they could clash, a barrier materialized between them. A voice followed:
[The test has concluded. Remaining students will be teleported back shortly.]
Rudra immediately collapsed, rolling on the ground in pain from the sudden stop. Amanda could only sigh, wondering how someone could injure themselves simply by trying to lie down.
"Thanks, Amanda… really. You helped me a lot," Rudra said.
"You're welcome. It was the least I could do as a classmate," she replied, sitting beside him.
"Come on, after everything we went through, I'm not even your friend?" Rudra laughed.
"Shut up and lie down."
"Okay."
Rudra finally quieted down, staring up at the sky. Then another announcement echoed:
[You will be teleported in five seconds.]
He stood up, walked toward Amanda, and extended his hand.
"Come on, let's go."
Amanda could only wonder how someone could be this annoying.
…
…
"Ouch… my back!" Rudra yelped as he landed flat on the academy floor after teleportation.
Students and professors burst into laughter. Rudra silently vowed that none of the things he said in the jungle should ever reach these people.
But little did he know—the entire exam had been streamed live across the world, and the internet was already exploding with reactions.