"Let's go ahead for now; we shouldn't dwell here any longer."
" As much as it irritates me listening to you, I'll play the good boy and follow your lead."
[SOUTHERN REGION – GREAT FOREST OF DRWGIL]
The bushes rustled violently as the sounds of snapping branches echoed through the forest. Aero burst out of the dense undergrowth, only to come to an abrupt halt.
Before him lay a steep slope that plunged straight down into the valley below. The incline was so sharp that a single misstep would send anyone tumbling to the bottom.
He looked behind him. The Anathemati was still closing the distance. Its twisted limbs crawled unnaturally fast across the forest floor, tearing through everything in its path.
There was nowhere left to run. "...Ahh..."
Aero hesitated, scratching the back of his head as he stared down the slope... "Ahh, fuck it."
Without giving himself another second to think, he threw himself over the edge.
The moment his feet left the ground, gravity seized him.
His body rapidly gained momentum as he rolled uncontrollably down the steep hillside.
[Crash!]
He slammed into a large rock.
[Snap!]
Broken branches scraped across his arms and back, leaving fresh cuts with every roll.
His body bounced violently against stone formations before tumbling through thick bushes once again.
Bruises quickly spread across his body while blood trickled from countless small wounds.
Yet the fall refused to stop.
Just before reaching the bottom—
[THUD!!]
The back of his head smashed against a protruding rock. Everything around him became blurry. The sounds of the forest slowly faded away. His eyelids grew heavier. His breathing became slower.
Then... Everything went black.... Hours Later...
"...Ahh..." A painful groan escaped Aero's lips.
"...Hhh..." His fingers slowly reached the back of his head. "...Where am I...?"
"What happened to me...?" Still dazed, he slowly looked around, and he saw towering trees and dense bushes... Silence for a brief moment; his mind was completely blank as he stared into the distance mindlessly.
Then.... His memories came flooding back.
The chase. The cliff. The Anathemati.
His eyes widened. "The Anathemati!"
He suddenly jolted upright. "Where is it?!" Panic filled his mind, but the instant he forced himself up, an unbearable pain shot through his battered body.
"...GAH!!"
His weakened muscles immediately gave out beneath him, unable to support himself, he collapsed flat onto the ground once again. "...Ah..."
He clenched his teeth in frustration... the sudden movement had reopened several of his injuries.
Lying helplessly on his back, he stared blankly at the canopy above. Only his mind remained active.... "...Ahh, great..." A long sigh escaped his lips. "Now I'm stuck here... helplessly unable to move..."
"...GODAMNIT!!"
After a few moments, Aero slowly calmed himself and began thinking through the situation... " Since I'm still intact..."
"...Maybe the Anathemati gave up chasing me and wandered off somewhere else."
A weak chuckle escaped him.... "Ahh... ha..."
"I guess all I can do now... is wait for someone to rescue me."
He stared into the sky for a few more seconds. "I wonder if help will ever come..."
Taking a deep breath, Aero gathered what little strength he had left and shouted as loudly as he could.
"HEEELP!!"
"HELP MEEEE!!"
His voice echoed throughout the silent forest.
It sounded so helpless... and almost comically pitiful..... that even a few birds resting on nearby branches flew away in surprise.... Before the echoes of his cries could fade, a deep, controlled voice suddenly resounded across the entire Great Forest.
It wasn't coming from any direction.
It simply echoed everywhere at once.
[ANNOUNCEMENT]
THE FIRST SCROLL HAS BEEN FOUND!!!
FIFTEEN SCROLLS REMAINING.
The voice paused briefly before speaking again..
A NEW RULE HAS BEEN ADDED...
The rule is.... The first eight groups that obtain the Arcana Scrolls will no longer be transferred immediately to the next examination. Instead, they will remain inside the Great Forest of Drwgil until the final day, where they will then be moved together before the third test begins.
During this period, participants are free to do anything necessary to obtain the Arcana Scrolls from other groups.
Do not worry. Your bracelets have now been updated with a new function. If you are killed, you will not truly die. Instead, you will enter a five-minute timeout before being revived back in a fully recovered state.
Furthermore... The examination period has been extended. The duration has changed from three days... to ten days.
And for further information, you can access it through your bracelet by clicking it four times
A brief silence followed... then the voice spoke one final time.
GOOD LUCK... HAVE FUN....!
The announcement faded away, leaving the forest eerily silent once more.
Aero stared blankly at the sky.
"....."
"...What kind of academy says 'have fun' after announcing we're allowed to kill each other?" he muttered with a tired expression. I know we are not going to die, but still..."
Aero looks at his broken body and thinks of one thing: (If you are killed, you will not truly die. Instead, you will enter a five-minute timeout before being revived back in a fully recovered state.) he groans as he pulls out of the knife out of his pocket slowly with his broken hand, and he jams it in a tree roots sticking up front with the edge pointing towards the sky, he slowing turns his body facing the earth and he positioned his neck towards the knife and he let out a nervous chuckles" ahaha..." "Better first than last".
[Shhhhkk....]