I walked through the hallway and finally reached my classroom. Sliding into my seat, a sudden thought struck me.
'Wait... don't I have a system? It had appeared randomly before, but I'd never actually tried to summon it on command.
I concentrated, picturing a holographic screen in my mind. System? Status? Menu? Nothing happened. I tried again, focusing harder until my head hurt, but the air in front of me remained empty. I sat there, confused. Was it broken, or was there some specific trigger I just didn't know yet?
While I was still trying to figure it out, someone sat down right beside me.
I looked to my right and froze. It was a girl with long, shiny hair that looked like a waterfall of deep blue, fading into a bright, icy cyan at the tips. It was beautiful, catching the light from the high windows. I quickly looked back to the front, my heart racing.
'Her name is Yuki Rainsworth. Yeah, Rainsworth... sounds kind of stupid, but that's her last name. She's one of the Heroines, in this game, every single heroine has their own dedicated route. It's a romance-heavy RPG where you have the choice of picking any of the girls.'
'One of them is Yuki, and I'm a really big fan of hers. I have a huge crush on Yuki, and every time I played the game, I usually chose her route.'
'She's also one of the strongest companions in the game, which makes it even better. With her ice magic, she could defeat most of the other heroines in a 1v1. She can use ice magic at both long and close range.'
'But wait, why is she sitting right next to me..?'
Before I could think of much, our professor came inside the class. When I saw who it was, I felt a jolt of recognition.
'That is Professor Garen, the final boss for Chapter 1. He is a demon who demonifies students, and he's also the one who'll be conducting our practical test.'
'Most of the main leads are already here, since every character shown in this scene is going to join the fight against him.'
'Daniel is here too, with his childhood friend. In the game, they are the couple who will eventually end up together. She is a side character specifically for Daniel's story, which is perfect because it leaves the routes for the actual heroines open for the player.'
'According to the story, Garen is supposed to try and demonify her, but he gets interrupted. That leads to the fight where Garen loses and tries to escape, only to be killed by Daniel.'
"Quiet down. We will be holding the practical test today. You are about to be teleported into a forest where you will have thirty minutes to hunt. If you die, your session ends and you will be returned here immediately. Kill monsters to earn points. That is all. Good luck."
As soon as he finished speaking, a glowing purple circle appeared beneath one student, then another, quickly moving across the room. One by one, the circles spiraled up around my classmates, and with a sharp flash, they vanished into thin air.
I watched as a circle finally ignited under Yuki right next to me. The purple light swirled around her for a split second before she was gone. Then, the glow erupted under my own feet. The purple light rose up like a pillar, boxing me in, and then everything turned into a blinding white glare.
When the light vanished, the classroom was gone.
I was now in a forest. Drawing my sword, I moved forward, scanning the dense trees for any sign of movement. It didn't take long before I spotted a boar. I took a steadying breath and lunged toward it from behind, swinging my blade in a wide arc.
WHOOSH!!
SHING!!
The blade bit into its flank, and the boar let out a piercing, high-pitched scream. Before it could even whip its head around to gore me, I stepped in and delivered a heavy kick to its side, knocking it flat onto the ground.
I didn't give it a chance to get back up. I lunged forward and began driving my sword into its chest.
STAB!
STAB!
STAB!
STAB!
STAB!
I kept going until the boar finally went limp. As the body began to dissolve into glowing blue particles, a small notification flickered in front of my eyes.
[+5 points]
[Pts. 5]
'5 points? guess I'll try to find a stronger monster'
As the boar finished vanishing I turned away and pushed deeper into the brush to find more prey. As I walked a sudden thought hit me and my heart began to race.
'Wait... isn't there a hidden monster in this zone worth 100 points? If I can take it down I will be in a perfect position for the top rankings.'
My grip on my sword tightened as the details of the game flashed through my mind.
'Most players didn't even know it existed because you have to do a specific task to summon it. You have to cull exactly twenty normal boars to spawn the Elite Boar.'
'The monster itself isn't actually that big of a deal if you know the gimmick. It is physically powerful but it has a great weakness. It has a gemstone in its chest and destroying it kills the monster.'
'So all I need to do is push it to the ground and stab the gemstone. It is very heavy and sturdy so killing it would be impossible in the early run without hitting that core.'
I left the clearing behind with my sword held low as I started my hunt. I needed nineteen more kills and I only had thirty minutes to get it done.
'Time to get to work,' I thought while picking up my pace.
I spotted two more boars grazing near a stream and I did not hesitate. I used the same tactic by bursting from the shadows and landing a heavy strike to daze them before finishing them off with a series of brutal stabs.
[+5 points]
[+5 points]
[Pts. 15]
I kept moving through the trees and hunting down every boar I could find. My movements were becoming a blur of repetitive strikes as I racked up the points.
[+5 points]
[+5 points]
[+5 points]
[+5 points]
[Pts. 35]
After a while I started to feel the fatigue in my lungs but I wasn't even sweating yet. I pushed through the exhaustion and went from hunt to hunt until the blue dust of the monsters seemed to coat the forest floor.
[+5 points]
[Pts. 95]
'Just one more.'
I was so focused on the hunt that I didn't even notice a new system window flicker at the edge of my vision.
[Basic Swordsmanship Level Increase 1>2]
I spotted the twentieth boar and rushed it. As I moved my body felt lighter and my grip on the hilt felt more natural. My style had changed without me even realizing it and it felt like my sword skills were actually getting better.
SWING!
With a single strike I managed to tear a deep wound across the creature. The hit was so powerful and fast that I didn't even need to kick the boar to the ground this time. The wound was massive and the boar died almost instantly.
[+5 points]
[Pts. 100]
I checked the countdown flickering in the air.
[Time Left: 4 minutes]
'that will be enough.'
I sprinted toward a nearby clearing where the Elite Boar usually spawned. I found it standing in an open area and it was even more massive than I remembered from the game. It noticed me immediately and let out a roar before charging with its obsidian tusks lowered.
[Time Left: 3 minutes]
I stopped and ran toward a nearby tree, staying right in front of it as I faced the incoming boar. I watched it pick up speed, the ground vibrating under its weight as it closed the distance. Just as it was about to hit me, I jumped to the right.
CRASH!!
The boar slammed into the tree with a dull thud, its head snapping back from the impact. It stumbled, clearly dazed. I didn't waste a second. I rushed forward and shoved its massive side with everything I had, forcing the heavy beast to lose its balance and roll onto the ground.
[Time Limit: 2 minutes]
The massive beast hit the dirt with a heavy thud, rolling onto its side. It was wide open. Without wasting a second or even needing to slow down, I stepped forward and drove my blade straight into the glowing gemstone on its belly.
SHATTER!!
The stone burst into fragments, and the boar's body immediately dissolved into a cloud of glowing blue particles. I stood back, watching the last of the monster vanish as the final seconds ticked away.
[Time Limit: 1 minute]
[Time Limit: 0 minute]
I was back in the classroom, still standing exactly where I had been in the forest. I looked around at my classmates; most of them were slumped over their desks, looking tired and drained from the half-hour of fighting.
I looked over at Yuki. She was sitting in her seat, looking perfectly fine and not tired at all. Her deep blue hair was still flawless. I realized then that I wasn't feeling the same exhaustion as the others. In fact, I felt surprisingly energetic.
My slashes felt sharper, more precise than they had been thirty minutes ago. It wasn't just a feeling, it was like my body had actually learned how to move properly.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a translucent window flickered into view.
[Basic Swordsmanship Level 2]
'I really did level it up'
I stared at the floating text for a second, a strange sense of relief washing over me. Seeing the proof right there made everything feel real. My body felt light, and the usual weight of being a background character seemed to vanish for a moment.
In that moment, a sudden urge to talk to Yuki hit me. It wasn't because I had a plan or because I was trying to be cool, the words just wanted to come out.
I turned slightly toward her.
"So hey, how was it? Was it fun?"