It’s been a few hours since the race had begun.

Noah had eliminated many beasts along the way, but most of them had been low-ranked monsters. He glanced around the endless forest before muttering to himself,

"Should I take a break?"

His legs were beginning to feel heavy after constantly running and fighting. After a moment of thought, he shook his head.

"No... let’s continue for another half hour. Then I’ll rest for a while."

Without wasting another second, he resumed his march through the dense forest.

The towering trees stretched endlessly into the sky, their enormous trunks casting long shadows over the ground. Dry leaves crunched beneath his boots while vines hung from branches like silent serpents.

As he moved, his thoughts wandered elsewhere.

’It’s the semester exam... There should be some kind of major incident... so why hasn’t anything happened yet?’

The thought refused to leave his mind.

Although Noah appeared calm on the outside, he was genuinely nervous.

He had already faced two life-threatening situations since arriving in this world. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe his luck would always hold.

After taking a slow breath, he shook those thoughts away.

’For now... I should focus on the exam.’

Rustle~

A sudden sound emerged from a nearby bush.

Noah instantly raised his left hand toward it. Mana surged through his body.

An ice sword materialized in front of his palm within a fraction of a second, its razor-sharp edge glistening beneath the scattered sunlight.

He didn’t ask who was there. He simply waited. A few seconds later, the bushes parted. A familiar figure stepped out.

"Mary?"

The young woman blinked in surprise.

"Noah?"

It was Mary.

Her short black hair swayed gently as she emerged from the bushes. She held a long wooden wand topped with an orange crystal, while traces of exhaustion were visible on her face.

With an awkward smile, she gave a small wave.

"W-Well... hello?"

Noah smiled back.

"Hello."

The very next instant.

Whoosh!

The ice sword shot toward her at incredible speed.

Mary’s eyes widened in terror.

"W-What?!"

She instinctively raised her wand to cast a spell. But she was too slow.

The sword had already reached her. Her face turned pale as she tightly shut her eyes. She waited for the impact...

...

Nothing happened. After several seconds, she slowly opened one eye. The sword was hovering barely an inch away from her forehead.

Crack.

It shattered into countless sparkling ice particles before disappearing into the air.

Mary released a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. "N-Noah... I thought you were going to eliminate me."

Noah chuckled.

"Oh? Why would I?"

He smiled warmly. "You’re my friend, aren’t you?"

Mary blinked before nodding.

"Yes... but during the VR battle... you eliminated everyone just to reach first place."

"Haha! That’s true."

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, laughing after remembering that battle.

’No wonder she thought I’d attack without hesitation.’

He slowly walked toward her. "Still, I have no intention of eliminating you..."

A mischievous smile appeared on his face. "...unless you’ve already accumulated a huge number of points."

Mary immediately puffed her cheeks. "Hey! I haven’t defeated that many monsters!"

She crossed her arms with a helpless expression. "I’ve mostly been running this entire time."

Noah raised an eyebrow.

"Running?"

His gaze shifted toward the direction from which she had arrived.

"And you were running east."

He looked back at her. "Why?"

Mary lowered her head slightly, looking embarrassed. "I... I saw Damien from afar."

Her voice became quieter. "So I immediately changed direction and ran away."

She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "I just wanted to get as far away from him as possible."

She looked at Noah. "And... I accidentally ran into you."

Noah’s eyes widened. "Wait..."

His expression immediately became serious. "Really?"

Mary nodded. "Where is he now?"

She pointed toward the dense forest behind her. "If you keep going in the direction I came from..."

She thought for a moment. "...after a few kilometers, you should find him." Curiosity filled her eyes. "Do you want to fight him?"

"Fight?" Noah immediately shook his head. "No! There is absolutely no way I want to fight Damien."

Without another word, Noah gently grabbed Mary’s wrist. "Come."

He immediately began walking in the opposite direction. "We’ll continue this way for a while..."

He pushed aside hanging vines and thick bushes as they moved through the forest. "...then we’ll turn north again."

Mary quietly followed behind him. Her eyes slowly drifted toward the hand holding her wrist. A faint blush gradually spread across her cheeks.

She lowered her gaze. Then she looked up again. Her eyes rested on Noah’s broad back as he walked ahead, carefully clearing the path for both of them.

For some reason... Her heartbeat became slightly faster. A few moments later, Noah seemed to realize something.

He immediately released her wrist. Turning his head slightly, he smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. I grabbed your wrist without thinking."

He gestured beside him. "Walk next to me."

Mary glanced at her now-empty hand. For just a brief moment, a tiny feeling of disappointment flashed across her face. So small that even she failed to notice it.

She quietly moved beside him. After walking in silence for a while, Noah spoke again.

"So..."

He glanced sideways at her.

"Are you aiming for the Top 100? Or maybe something higher?"

Mary smiled sheepishly. "No."

She shook her head. "Top 100 is already good enough for me."

"That’s a realistic goal." Noah nodded. "But you should aim higher."

A confident smile spread across his face. "I want to finish in the Top 10."

Mary looked at him before smiling warmly.

"Haha... I know you can do it, Noah."

She spoke with complete sincerity. "You scored so many points during the first unit exam. And if you also reach the finish line within the Top 10..."

She smiled brightly. "...I’m sure your overall first-year ranking will rise by a lot."

"I’m hoping for that too."

The two of them continued walking together through the vast forest.

The only sounds accompanying them were the rustling leaves beneath their feet and the distant cries of monsters echoing from somewhere deep within the wilderness.

---

Several kilometers away from Noah and Mary...

The forest became even denser.

The towering trees blocked almost all sunlight, leaving the surroundings dim despite it still being daytime.

The ground was covered in thick grass, tangled roots, and countless creeping vines that spread like an endless green carpet.

At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.

However...

Hidden beneath the overgrown vegetation was a narrow passage.

The entrance was so perfectly concealed by vines and moss that even someone standing only a few meters away would never notice it.

The small passage descended deep beneath the earth.

Into the darkness below.

Deep within the hidden passage stretched a massive underground corridor.

At the end of it stood an enormous iron door.

It was pitch black, ancient, and weathered by countless years. Strange symbols were engraved across its surface, while rust covered parts of the thick metal. Despite its age, the door radiated an eerie sense of majesty.

More importantly... It was slightly open. Someone had already entered.

"Man... this is terrible." A dark-haired man with a short beard let out a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah... I know." His companion, a man with dark burgundy hair, replied with an equally troubled expression.

Both men appeared to be in their late twenties, perhaps around thirty years old.

"How can our timing be this bad?" the bearded man complained. "We finally decided to come to this forest, and just a few days later Novaris Academy came to inspect this forest then today brought hundreds of students here for their examination."

The burgundy-haired man could only shake his head. "Our luck is really terrible."

He glanced toward the enormous iron door before continuing, "But after searching for so many days, we finally managed to find this place."

The bearded man nodded. "Now we can only hope that none of those academy students discovers these ruins."

"They shouldn’t." The burgundy-haired man touched the necklace hidden beneath his clothes.

"Also we’ve been able to hide our presence this whole time because of the Null Amulet."

A faint smile appeared on the bearded man’s face.

"Yeah. We originally bought it to avoid attracting monsters."

He chuckled.

"But I never imagined it would be this effective. It definitely saved us from a lot of unnecessary trouble."

The burgundy-haired man looked back toward the ancient doorway. "Well..."

His eyes shone with anticipation. "Let’s go inside. I’m excited to see what these ruins actually hold."

A grin spread across his face. "The boss will definitely be pleased once he learns that we found this place."

"True."

The two men exchanged a nod before walking through the massive iron doorway.

Beyond it lay a structure unlike anything they had expected.

The floor beneath their feet was paved with perfectly cut stone slabs that had somehow remained intact despite the passage of countless centuries.

The walls were crafted from polished stone and adorned with intricate carvings depicting forgotten civilizations, mysterious symbols, and majestic creatures whose identities had long been lost to history.

"It’s... beautiful, honestly."

The bearded man couldn’t help but admire the architecture. Neither of them had expected such a magnificent structure to remain hidden beneath the forest.

As they continued deeper, another passage came into view. This one sloped downward. A long flight of ancient stone stairs disappeared into the darkness below.

The two men exchanged another glance. Without hesitation... They began descending the staircase. Completely unaware of what awaited them beneath the ancient ruins.