Chapter 37: The Weight of the Past and the Taste of Survival

Lilia coldly scoffed at the sight of the group’s retreating, disheveled figures. Yet, the moment she turned to face Gern, the coldness vanished from her face, replaced by a remarkably gentle expression as she spoke.

“My apologies, Mr. Gern. They are my followers, and they seem to have caused you trouble.”

Gern waved his hand, yet instinctively maintained a slight distance from Lilia, responding, “It’s fine. This has nothing to do with you, and besides, those people couldn’t have harmed me anyway.”

“That’s good then.”

“Oh, time is running short. Mr. Gern, I hope to see you on the arena floor.”

“Yes, see you there.”

****

Watching the young woman’s retreating back, Gern slowly let out a breath. Even though the Lilia before him now exuded a gentle aura, memories of his past life relentlessly reminded him of the inherent madness lurking deep within that woman. It was a primal terror, etched profoundly into the very core of Gern’s being. To truly dispel this fear, a long-term strategy would be necessary.

‘Wait, why do I need to dispel this fear?’

Gern patted his cheek. This Lilia, in this life, had indeed shown him kindness. But repaying that kindness didn’t necessarily mean he had to become her friend. A wry chuckle escaped him at the thought. He truly had let Lilia completely sidetrack him; she had always wanted him to be her friend.

He suddenly recalled the scene of Lilia forcibly kissing him when he was in his dragon girl form. The sensation had been incredibly exhilarating; even now, merely recalling it sent a strange thrill through his body. Perhaps it was because, at this stage of her life, she hadn’t yet met her fated person, which was why she acted so out of character towards an odd fellow who had inexplicably stumbled into her world. Once Lilia met the one truly meant for her, she would forget about him and embrace the person who truly belonged to her.

It was almost laughable, he mused, that he would even entertain the idea of becoming friends with an enemy from his previous life.

Gern smiled bitterly, settling back into his seat and gazing up at the virtual screen in the sky. All participants in the assessment had now entered the depths of the dense forest, signaling the official commencement of the assessment.

He had little interest in the assessment itself. Seeing that Lilia and Sina had already delved deep into the forest, he decided to return to his room to rest. Before resting, he intended to relieve himself and sought out a secluded corner.

“How are things on your end, buddy?”

“Pretty good, quite smoothly, actually. You?”

“Don’t even ask. That guy is too strong; I couldn’t even make a move.”

“Ha, well, good luck, brother.”

The voices of two men conversing drifted from the depths of the nearby forest, causing Gern to frown.

‘Strange? Why aren’t these two going deeper into the forest to hunt magical beasts? What are they discussing out here?’

Driven by curiosity, Gern listened for a while longer.

“Be careful, these magical beasts here aren’t like the weaklings outside. They’re quite ferocious.”

“Relax, I know. Don’t you trust my strength? No matter what kind of magical beast it is, I can definitely handle it.”

‘Hah, so they were just discussing magical beasts,’ Gern muttered, pursing his lips. He had thought he’d stumbled upon another secret, but it was nothing of the sort.

After Gern departed, the two figures hidden within the forest slowly revealed themselves.

“Is he gone?”

“Yes, he’s gone. Good thing he didn’t hear anything.”

“Should we eliminate the root cause, to prevent future troubles?”

“Are you mad?! This is a secret operation. If we’re discovered, we’re both finished!”

“Alright, let’s get moving. No more wasting time. The assessment is only ten days; we need to hurry.”

“Understood.”

****

Deep within the forest, Lilia held her longsword with one hand, moving back-to-back with Sina. They had now entered the territory of a troop of monkeys—small creatures with sharp claws. They could also use wind magic, moving with exceptional agility through the trees, and the two young women had already suffered several setbacks just moments ago. These monkeys, known as Wind Spirit Monkeys, were adept at wind-elemental magic. Their long, soft fur was highly prized for making bedding.

“Your Highness, watch out!”

At that moment, a wind blade suddenly assailed them from the side. Sina reacted swiftly, stepping forward and severing the wind blade with a single sword stroke. Lilia followed up, unleashing fire magic that directly struck the small monkey hiding in the treetop. With a dull thud, the monkey plummeted to the ground, utterly lifeless.

The two exchanged glances.

“You spotted it first; this one’s yours.”

“You killed it; it should be yours.”

Both spoke almost simultaneously, and the air fell silent for a moment.

“I don’t really care about the class assignments,” Lilia began, “You take it for now. If you feel uncomfortable, then how about we divide them equally when the time is almost up?”

Sina nodded at her words, then collected the monkey’s carcass.

Meanwhile, in the plaza, the mentors observing this scene nodded in approval. Teamwork was crucial, and they had no desire to cultivate students who only considered their own self-interest. Lilia and Sina’s actions were commendable in this regard, earning the recognition of several present. Yet, the slender figure seated in the main position showed no change in expression. No one could discern her thoughts or feelings; she simply sat there silently, watching the events unfold on the light screen without uttering a single word.

Lilia and Sina quickly dealt with most of the monkeys in the forest, then found a flat area near a river to rest for a while. It was now late afternoon, and both felt a pang of hunger. For the sake of fairness in this assessment, everyone’s storage artifacts were newly issued by the academy, containing only the most basic survival tools. Their previous storage artifacts were temporarily held by the academy and would be returned after the assessment concluded. Therefore, they now had to forage for food in the forest, and the Wind Spirit Monkeys they had just hunted would make for the best ingredients.

Magical beasts contained a magic crystal within their bodies. The quality of a magic crystal within a beast was entirely dependent on the creature’s level and age. During the assessment, they only needed to retain the magic crystals from the beasts and bring them back to the plaza for counting. At that time, the staff in the plaza would determine the integral points awarded to the participants based on the grade of the magic crystal. The higher the points, the better the class assigned.

The process of roasting meat was simple. Both could use magic, so they simply ignited a pile of wood with their spells. However, their roasting technique was somewhat simple and crude. They simply removed the magic crystal and then threw the entire monkey, skin and all, onto the fire to cook. Unsurprisingly, neither had any experience cooking; after all, they were both cherished daughters in their families, never having had to cook or do household chores themselves.

After an unknown amount of time, the two roasted monkeys were completely charred black on the outside. Yet, when sliced open with a sword, blood still persistently oozed outwards. The two exchanged glances, and eventually, Lilia broke the awkward silence.

“I’ll cut them open. I remember the chef at home doing it this way when cooking.”

“Mm…”

Ultimately, the two managed to obtain a few monkey steaks, charred black on the outside, yet barely cooked on the inside. Well… at least it was edible, right?