Divinity

--- [Vaman’s perspective] In another part of the forest

“The fifth contestant has returned. Only five flags remain.”

We’re halfway done already??

I feel like we’ve just barely started…

If we continue at this pace, I might not find one…

No…

I can’t allow that to happen.

Not after the embarrassment I faced earlier…

I can’t believe I let that guy get away from me when he had a flag…

He wasn’t even that fast, I just…

Ugh!!

That was NOT the time to trip over and fall…

After failing the exam last year, I can’t afford to fail again.

That would be way too embarrassing…

My buddies would never let me hear the end of it….

No way.

Not happening!

I’ve gotten stronger since last time, I’ll be fine.

I’ll be honest, I was not ready last year.

The exam last year only had one round, but it was…

Brutal…

We were divided into two groups and sent into a large room.

The contestants would fight until only one person was left standing.

Only the last person standing would pass the exam; meaning only two people passed.

There were three ways to lose.

You got knocked out.

You gave up.

Or…

You died.

In the room I was in, there was monster…

I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve even been in an E-rank dungeon once…

No boss I’ve ever fought was on the level of that guy.

I don’t know how a guy like that could be an F-rank hunter; even E-rank seems too low for him…

Did he just train for years and years without even trying to rank up?

Why would you do that though?

Anyways, for the first few minutes he just stood there; like he was observing everyone.

Eventually when he decided that it was time to make a move, everyone close to him, weak and strong, all died…

That was no natural death either…

He was too fast for me to track with my eyes, but the people he attacked were all turned into red mist…

No body to bury, just blood.

I knew that he was way out of my league and no matter how hard I tried, I would meet the same end if I stayed.

I ran out of the room as fast as I could.

I’m not sure if there were any other survivors left, I didn’t look back.

I was a bit nervous when I signed up for the exam this year…

What if there was a monster like that here?

Some unstoppable beast that I couldn’t even dream of fighting back against?

I kept thinking about that stuff, but after training for a whole year, I couldn’t just back out…

As I was running around searching for someone with a flag, lost in my own thoughts, I bumped into someone.

“Geh!” – Fei

“Ah!” – Vaman

Ugh, I bumped into some girl because I wasn’t paying attention…

“You wanna fight, huh?!” – Fei

She doesn’t even have a flag, this is a waste of time.

“Not really…” – Vaman

“Well too bad, dumbass. I don’t care if you have a flag on you or not, you’ve pissed me off.” – Fei

…

I just bumped into her…

We’re in the middle of an exam where we can be killed, and this is what gets her mad?

“Hey, this is a waste of time for both of us. Let’s just move on, okay?” – Vaman

“I don’t give a shit if it’s a waste of time or not. I need to let off some steam anyways. There are too many small fries here, it’s so frustrating. What’s even the point of this shit if there is no challenge?? You’ll probably just end up being like everyone else though…” – Fei

As she finishes her sentence, she lunges towards me.

I manage to step out of the way, and I take the opportunity to slam my fist down on her back.

“GUH!” – Fei

Did she pass out?

Oh…

She stands back up with a big smile on her face.

“Hehehe!” – Fei

While still laughing she goes for another attack.

She tries to punch me in the face multiple times, but I dodge them all; after more than a dozen attacks, I see an opportunity to counterattack.

I grab her arm and attempt to throw her over my shoulder.

In the middle of the throw, she manages to grab the back off my head, smashing my head into the ground.

However, I did not let go off her, so she gets slammed into the ground too.

“GUAHH!” – Vaman

“UGHGH!” – Fei

We were both hurt by that.

She gets up yet again and continues to attack.

She managed to get a good kick in on my side which made me stumble a bit.

While almost falling over, she takes the opportunity she’s given and knees me in the jaw.

From that attack, I fall to the ground.

“HAHAHAHA! That was a lot more fun than the other fights so far!! Obviously, you were no match for me, bu-” – Fei

I stand back up and spit some blood out.

“Ooooo!!! I thought for sure that would have knocked you out!” – Fei

Looks like she’s happy that I’m still able to fight.

This chick is strong.

This time, I’m the one that goes on the offensive.

I run up to her and try to uppercut her, but she grabs my arm and twists it.

Instead of trying, and probably failing, to get out of the twist, I use my other hand to grab her throat.

My arm is getting twisted, she’s getting choked.

Whoever gives up first is the loser.

“AHH!” – Vaman

“Ggghhhh…” – Fei

If I can just endure this pain, she’ll pass out.

As I thought that, she suddenly puts even more power into the twist.

“GHHHHHHHHAA!!!” – Vaman

If I let this continue any longer, my arm will break!

I put everything I have into my grip; it feels like I’m crushing her throat, yet she’s still standing.

“If this doesn’t end, we’ll both end up too hurt for the second round!” – Vaman

She looks into my eyes.

“Stop twisting my arm and I will let go!” – Vaman

She keeps staring for a moment, but even she knows that she’s at a disadvantage here…

My arm may break, but that can be fixed.

If she doesn’t get any air soon, she will die.

She hesitates for a few moments before letting go.

I promptly do the same.

She falls to her knees and starts gasping for air.

That was close…

My arm was just about to break…

“Let’s…” – Fei

She struggles to get the words out.

“… Finish… this in the… next round…” – Fei

“Sure.” – Vaman

She may not be a monster like that guy from last year, but she’s certainly strong…