-Thud thud thud!

In the early dawn before the sun had risen.

A transport aircraft took off to the uninhabited island where the midterm ability assessment was being held.

The sky was filled with black transport aircraft.

From there, hatches opened, revealing hundreds of students.

[The midterm assessment will commence in 15 minutes.]

[Once the assessment begins, students will descend from the transport circling above the assessment area.]

[All cadets are advised to complete their descent preparations five minutes before the assessment starts.]

An announcement echoed through the cabin of the transport aircraft.

It was a broadcast explaining the rules of the midterm ability assessment.

[Additionally, combat between cadets is prohibited until all descents are complete, and all combat will be recorded on the provided 'Shock Absorption Device,' so please be cautious.]

[Furthermore, if the shock absorption capacity of the device exceeds a certain threshold, the cadet in question will be considered eliminated from the exam.]

[Eliminated cadets should proceed to the designated area.]

In summary, it was a Battle Royale.

Survival until the end of the 7-day exam period meant victory.

The others would be eliminated.

Eliminated candidates had a chance to retake the exam, and successful ones would be ranked based on points.

This included the number of cadets they eliminated and the number of monsters they dealt with.

[Once again, a gentle reminder...]

“So it finally begins…”

I steeled my resolve as I faced the cold morning breeze.

I must aim for at least the upper-middle rank.

Even in this situation, I'm a leader of the Disciplinary Committee for the first years.

Not making it to at least the middle ranks would not only tarnish the Committee’s reputation but might also mean relinquishing the leadership position I earned by chance.

Feeling the weight of the Disciplinary Committee armband, I steeled my resolve once more.

'But still... Freefall training... Is that something they do?'

I don't know how to use a parachute.

Do I just pull the string?

"Hmm..."

On Transport Aircraft No. 3, flying over the southern part of the uninhabited island.

The cadets from Rose Hall aboard were all watching a certain individual.

'Is that person the rumored... monster?'

Entered at the bottom rank in the entrance exam but was made an interim Action Leader.

Faced off against an Archbishop-level Cultist one-on-one.

Was scouted by the Punitive Squad but declined.

As the Second Action Leader of the Disciplinary Committee, tracked down and eliminated missed Cultists.

First-year, Second Action Leader of the Disciplinary Committee, Gardner.

He maintained a dignified silence, wrapped in a serious atmosphere.

'We must avoid that person at all costs.'

Within this aircraft, no, within Rose Hall, that person is the most dangerous.

The First Action Leader, who was selected as a committee member from the moment of entry, is undoubtedly dangerous too...

But Gardner barely attends classes, so his abilities are unknown.

There are even rumors that he possesses strength equal to or greater than Laurent.

Above all… He is truly a superhuman who has been through real battles twice.

'Just seeing that he led a ragtag group of freshmen to fend off the Cultist's special forces...'

Even now, that scene is vivid in their minds.

Fresh recruits who had never been on a mission before.

They didn't know where or how to go when ordered to deploy.

He led them from the front line.

He bravely charged into enemy territory, rallying and commanding the troops, and lifted everyone’s spirits even in a hopeless situation.

That’s the true form of a superhuman, one that everyone here should emulate.

'...Someone like that can't possibly be the same greenhorn as us.'

He might have been a mercenary who has experienced numerous battlefields, or perhaps even more than that.

'First, we need to stay as far away from him as possible.'

We must deploy our parachutes quickly and descend slowly.

Then, it would be wise to confirm his drop point and steer clear.

It would also be good to keep a distance from Laurent.

Judging by the way she’s been staring intently at Gardner for a while, she probably plans to attack him first.

All the cadets inside the transport aircraft who saw this thought,

'As long as we avoid Gardner, we'll be fine.'

[Five minutes until drop, please confirm once more that you've completed drop preparations.]

[One minute until drop.]

[3, 2, 1. ]

[ Begin descent! ]

The cadets lined up and jumped out one by one.

Then the parachutes opened in succession.

They deployed from a significantly high altitude.

It seemed everyone wanted to keep an eye on Gardner's drop point and follow suit.

One by one, they leaped from the transport aircraft.

Finally, it was the moment everyone had been waiting for—Gardner's turn.

Gardner jumped out of the transport aircraft.

And until he descended, he did not open his parachute even once.

‘...What is that?’

The ground rushed towards me at incredible speed.

Hmm... This should be about right.

After estimating the distance to the ground,

I used [Leap] at the appropriate position.

-Tap.

My body briefly paused in mid-air and then shot forward.

In contrast to the rapid fall, it was a surprisingly light jump.

I landed as lightly as if I had jumped off a staircase.

"Of course, it works."

I used the principle where the position is briefly fixed in mid-air during the use of [Leap].

Just as expected from a skill that came from a [Treasure Chest]. Its applicability is extremely wide.

‘Since it ignores knockback, it’ll be quite useful in combat as well.’

While I was considering various ways to use it in my head, a transmission came through the 'Shock Absorption Device' on my wrist.

[...Cadet Gardner? Are you okay? It looks like you crashed from the command center's view.]

Voices full of confusion and surprise murmured. Did landing without using a parachute really cause such a stir?

There must have been others capable of it. Like the Head of the Disciplinary Committee...

Well, it is strange not to use something they provided.

"No issues here."

I replied towards the Shock Absorption Device and quickly moved.

The target was the Eastern Vermilion Bird Hall Drop Zone.

Laurent, who had been staring from the transport aircraft with a determined face as if to catch me first, was my next concern. It was time to escape from her.

‘What is that guy?’

Laurent thought as she watched Gardner successfully free-fall from a high altitude without a parachute.

She had planned to catch Gardner first and then head to the Vermilion Bird Hall Drop Point to capture Trinia.

‘I have to give up on that.

If I forced myself to chase him, I might end up being the one hunted.’

Swoosh!

Laurent deployed her parachute at an appropriate location.

'First, I need to veer in the opposite direction of Gardner and gather points.'

She confirmed Gardner stirring up dust as he moved toward Vermilion Bird Hall.

'Even if I asked an eagle to catch him, it wouldn't be possible.'

Laurent put aside unnecessary thoughts and revised her plan.

As her goal to eliminate her chief competitors like Gardner and Trinia from the start had fallen through, she had to switch to Plan B.

'I'll overwhelm them with points as much as possible.'

To not miss out on being the top, she would have to stay busy.

Laurent's parachute was heading in the opposite direction.

'Did she give up on catching me?'

I stopped running using Leap.

If Laurent wasn't pursuing me, there was no need to exhaust myself.

I headed toward the Center of the Uninhabited Island.

There lay the hidden Final Boss of this exam.

The Mastermind of the island.

A fallen Calamity-level Monster.

The Parasite Queen.

I must defeat it.

'If I just catch that, I can remain in the top ranks for the rest of the time without doing anything.'

“Ah, I can't see well… It’s definitely in this cave…”

The Black-haired Man was stirring up the cave, blasting every monster he saw with his shotgun.

-Bang! Bang!

And there was a cadet hidden away, watching all of this unfold.

Her name was Antaterica.

She was shivering in the corner of the cave.

In both hands, she tightly held her Unique Armament, a whistle.

‘I’m going to die… I’m sure I will…’

The Second Action Leader of the Disciplinary Committee, Gardner.

He wouldn’t kill her, but…

Seeing him moving through the cave with a deadly look in his eyes made her doubt her certainty.

Doubt in her certainty that he wouldn’t kill her.

‘I heard he even chased down and killed the escaping cultists…’

When she heard the rumors, she thought, surely not… that it was just a counterattack executed with the Operations Department after being ambushed during a reconnaissance mission.

But seeing him tenaciously searching for ‘something,’ turning over each stone…

It didn’t seem like it was just a rumor.

Antaterica hugged her Unique Armament even tighter.

‘Please… go somewhere else… go somewhere else…

If I fail this time, I’ll have to take the retest, and I don’t want that…

Please just go somewhere else…’

-Bang!

"Hic-"

"Huh?"

The shotgun blasted the rock where Antaterica had been hiding.

She was so startled that she began to hiccup.

Though she tried to cover her mouth with both hands...

-Thud. Thud.

In her haste to cover her mouth, she dropped her Unique Armament.

The whistle slipped from her palms and rolled on the ground.

Even though she quickly disarmed it, the metallic noise had already resonated throughout the entire cave.

This was bad.

'He won't know that I'm here...'

Monsters did occasionally appear in this place.

Maybe he would think it's the presence of some stealthy monster...

Ah, but I'm still doomed.

Just as she was thinking that—

-Clack.

The Action Leader with the shotgun appeared right in front of Antaterica.

"AHHHHHHH!"

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