Ranking System

[Clyde POV]

My usual Friday has turned less usual than it is. A surprise school assessment had occurred, and everyone in our school was in another dimension.

I had gained a sizable amount of power in the past month. If I had to be honest, I felt like I could have done more. It wasn't to say that I didn't do well, but always wanting to improve is never a bad idea.

"Mira, Alya, Beatrice. How do you think we will be examined in?"

My sister Mira, the friend I made, Alya, and Beatrice, a new friend of ours who had transferred from the world of Winar.

"I hope it's monster hunting. We're in a forest, so that's gotta be it."

Beatrice answered with sheer excitement. She was a bit too excited about what she wanted. Coming from Winar, hunting monsters was something she had to do.

"We could only wait and see what we get."

"That's such a Mira answer..."

Luckily, the area we were in was an open field. Looking at everyone around us, I could see at least thousands of students in this field. If we went in separately, we wouldn't see each other soon.

"Everyone!"

A voice coming from the air spoke. Hearing a voice from above, we saw a teacher who spoke with power in his voice. His voice caught everyone's attention just like he wanted.

"Student! The test is about to begin! Before we start! Let me tell you the rules! In this dimension! Your goal will be to hunt monsters from this dimension! The more you kill! The higher your ranking will be. You can team up with however many people you want! But let this be known! The monsters you killed will not be shared, so keep in mind that teaming might be detrimental! All monsters will be at one point! Small or large!"

That was a lot of information to take in. Our hunting speed will determine our ranking. With how many people are here, will we have enough space to hunt?

"Before we teleport you to a different location to be teleported with your teams! You would only need to be in physical contact with them! The exams will start in ten minutes! So be prepared!"

"As for the rules! Killing is not allowed! Doing so will be punished by expulsion! But stealing! On the other hand! Is a different game!"

After saying what he had to say, the teacher left. Ten minutes of planning should help us in our time of need. Alya was antsy hearing those rules.

"Don't worry. We can get through it together."

As my friend, I couldn't let her go alone. Alya was more of the supportive type. If she were to drop out of this school, it would ruin my mood for months.

Alya's expression lightened, and her face turned red. I couldn't help but smile happily, seeing her cute expression.

"Clyde's right. We will get through it together!"

Everyone except for Mira was relishing this atmosphere. Sometimes, I wish my sister could enjoy herself. Since a young age, Mira has been unsociable. I hope she will change during our time at this school.

Ten minutes had passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time for us to leave. I can't help but be excited about this exam. Our academy, known for its talent gathering, would allow me to test my skills among our peers.

Since I entered this school, I haven't had much time to face any monsters. With how hard Mira and I have been training, I wanted to test how far I have come.

"Students! Do remember that all your actions will be monitored! Just don't break the rules, and do try your hardest! That's all I can say! The teleporting will be in ten seconds! Prepare immediately!"

With ten seconds left, I held the hands of my sister and Alya. Beatrice had done the same, and I had teleported like everyone else in the group.

Mira, Beatrice, and I observed our surroundings from nowhere. Alya also looked around but was unsure what to look at.

"Clyde, I sense a monster up ahead."

Beatrice, someone from the world of Winar, had a good sense for these things. Coming from a lineage of dogs, Beatrice's instincts are superior to ours and are on top.

"It's there."

Behind a bush, we awaited our attack. We could not see the monster clearly but could sense its size. The presence of this thing was tiny. As long as it was a monster, it was a point we could earn.

Without a word, Mira used her magic and shot toward the target. Fire magic was simple and destructive. In a forest like this, a monster would be affected by it.

The bush was burnt, and what we found was a burnt bird. The bird was classified as a monster, but I couldn't help but feel bad for this little fellow.

"I feel bad for this little bird..."

Alya, who had the same thought as me, voiced her concern. Both Mira nor Beatrice didn't say anything and continued to walk.

The forest was oddly quiet, which made the place a bit eerie. I felt Beatrice and Mira on guard even more than usual.

I felt something dangerous around this forest and saw Mira feeling the same. We glanced at each other and nodded, understanding that our feelings were the same.

We kept walking with this disturbing aura around us. What made it even harder to destress was the air around us.

"Clyde, Mira, is something wrong?"

Alya noticed something strange coming from our expression. Beatrice had also looked at us, wondering what was wrong.

"I don't know... I feel danger somewhere around us."

It was hard to tell what the danger was. Mira and I weren't sure where the danger came from, but we could feel it.

"Then we should leave the area as soon as possible."

Beatrice spoke with concern. Since Mira and I felt something was wrong, it was better to take precautions. As a beast-man, she trusted her instinct. Even if she couldn't feel the danger, she trusted us not to lie in this situation. The problem was, I couldn't tell where the danger was, and I was sure Mira felt the same.

"Mira, could you lead us?"

Out of everyone here, Mira was the most effective leader out of the four of us. She nodded and took command.

"We will be going to the right. I feel less mana there. It should be less dangerous there."

No one here thought the idea was terrible. With Mira telling us where to go, we went to the right. The direction we choose happens to be correct.

While we still felt the danger, it was less dense than before. On another note, the monsters here are plentiful.

"Mira, Beatrice, do you think you could take on each monster individually?"

With this many monsters, we could hunt them separately. We felt a pack of monsters creeping their way toward us. They nodded, understanding the situation.

"Alya, prepare your magic. Also use that tree to take cover from any possible attack coming our way."

She had almost dropped her staff and was flustered, but I felt my body becoming lighter once she got herself together. After casting her magic, she hid somewhere where there were covers around her.

"Dodge!"

What attacked us was a group of frogs. Using their tongues as their weapon, we stayed as far away from them as possible.

I had heard that brightly colored frogs were poisonous, but since I wasn't much of an expert in these creatures, we could only hope that none of us were hurt.

The croaking noise from these frogs was starting to get irritating. Mira used her magic to sweep as many of them as possible. And Beatrice threw her knives, hitting every target.

Watching them fight, I couldn't stay here and do nothing. I swung my sword at the nearest frog and sliced it in half. The blood from it splattered, and I dodged it just in case of an emergency.

One after another, I sliced everything that came my way. This was better than I expected. Our first fight was going well.

"Clyde!!! Watch out!!!"

Distracted by my thoughts, Alya called out in a panic. Sensing an attack from my blind side, I quickly jumped to the side and barely scraped by. We had already killed all the frogs, but I didn't expect a giant one to appear.

"Clyde, Beatrice, attack from two different corners, and I will lend my support."

Doing what Mira wanted, I went to the left while Beatrice went to the right. Fighting us on two different sides had limited most of its options.

With its tongue lashing toward me, I jumped up to dodge the first attack. For its size, I thought it would be more troublesome.

Focusing its attack on me, Beatrice attacked its back, with Mira sending a fire explosion. Mira and Beatrice had made quick work of it when distracted by me. After finishing our first battle, Alya and I couldn't help but want to celebrate.