Faced with the Evil Unicorn that’s overwhelming in speed and strength, and bearing a horn that spat black lightning, the examinees were thrown into utter disarray.
“T-this thing’s way too strong!?”
“How are we supposed to take down a monster like that!?”
“Hiiiii—!”
Some lost their will to fight entirely, dropping their carrots and fleeing in panic.
Amid the chaos, Anje came face to face with the Evil Unicorn.
“…So, you’ve finally come.”
She muttered, tightening her grip.
Clutching the carrot in her hand, Anje watched as the massive beast charged straight at her, closing the distance at a terrifying speed.
“Pretty fast. Fana might be able to keep up, but with my speed alone, I can’t catch you. …Still, if you’re the one coming straight at me, that’s a different story!”
As the massive body bore down on her, Anje set her stance, drew back her fist—
“Haaaaaaaah!!”
—and punched the charging beast head-on.
“~~~~~~!?”
The Evil Unicorn’s massive body leaped into the air for a moment, then flipped over Anje’s body and slammed into the ground with great force.
“A-as expected of Anje. To stop a charge from a beast that big with a single punch… truly remarkable.”
“Yeah. But the Evil Unicorn isn’t the type to be intimidated by something like that.”
The Evil Unicorn reared back with an enraged neigh, its horn crackling as it filled with seething black lightning.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz—!!
In the next instant, a storm of black lightning unleashed indiscriminately erupted in every direction. Realizing there was no way to evade the web of black lightning spreading without gaps, Anje chose a different answer. She charged straight into it, uncaring of the damage to herself.
“Tch… nuoooooohhh!!”
“Hiihiiiin!?”
Forcing her way through the raging storm, Anje burst out the other side and drove a full-powered roundhouse kick into the Evil Unicorn’s neck as it reeled in shock.
“~~~~~~!?”
The thick, muscular neck shattered under the blow.
Whether it had merely lost consciousness or met its end, the Evil Unicorn collapsed limply to the ground, completely motionless. The black lightning faded away at last.
“Whew… so this is the horn I am after huh.”
Anje grabbed it without ceremony, wrenched it free from the base with brute force, and became the very first person to pass the initial exam.
“…Oh. There you are.”
Fana encountered the Evil Unicorn roughly an hour after Anje.
“HihiiiiiN!!”
As always, the Evil Unicorn charged at terrifying speed, aiming straight for the carrot Fana held in her hand. However, even with its boastful leg strength, it was unable to close the distance between itself and Fana, even as it got closer to her nose.
Fana was sprinting backwards. More than that, she was manipulating the raging wind she kicked up, turning it into a tailwind for herself and a headwind for her opponent, finely balancing their speeds until they were nearly equal.
“!?”
The poor beast must never have imagined that there could be someone it couldn’t catch even at full sprint. The Evil Unicorn’s confusion was plain to see.
Crackle—snap!
If speed wouldn’t do, then so be it. The Evil Unicorn lunged to attack Fana with its horn, now wreathed in black lightning.
Extending that horn proved to be its final mistake.
“…Mm.”
With a single, casual motion, Fana’s sword sliced clean through the Evil Unicorn’s horn.
Naturally, some of the black lightning must have traveled up the blade and into Fana’s hand. But her sword was imbued with magic and possessed an exceptionally high resistance, so any damage she took would have been negligible at best.
“Hihiiiiiin!?”
By contrast, the Evil Unicorn—its horn severed—howled in agony, thrashing and rolling across the ground in pain.
Slash.
Fana delivered the finishing blow.
And so, she became the second person to pass the first stage of the exam.
Following after Anje and Fana came Orion.
“Lightning.”
Skilled in lightning magic, Orion’s battle with the Evil Unicorn became a fierce exchange of thunderbolts, lightning clashing against lightning. Yet because both combatants possessed a high resistance to the element, neither side could land a decisive blow right away.
At first, Orion struggled with the Evil Unicorn’s incredible speed. Little by little, however, she began to read its movements, adapting to its rhythm. In the end, she slipped past its charges, striking whenever an opening appeared, steadily whittling it down.
Eventually, the Evil Unicorn could not endure anymore. With a tremendous crash, it collapsed.
Orion, too, passed the first trial with ease.
Although a time limit of twenty-four hours had been set, the first trial was over in less than five hours. Thanks to the carrots they had been issued, luring out the Evil Unicorns proved relatively easy.
After the first trial concluded, everyone gathered once more at the tower.
“Now then. Out of eleven participants, six withdrew along the way. However, an astonishing five of you managed to obtain a horn! This exam is known for having only a twenty-percent success rate. It may be the first time we’ve ever seen so many clear it at once. Usually, at best, only two make it through.”
Randia summarized the results, his surprise was plain to see.
“…You’re telling me someone actually took down that thing?”
“Hahaha… yeah, S-rank really is on another level altogether…”
“And there are still the second trial and the final trial after this. Honestly, that’s enough to kill any motivation to try again.”
Those who had failed were keenly aware of just how high the wall to S-rank truly was, and their spirits were clearly dampened.
“Do your best for our sake too.”
“Yeah. Just make sure you stay alive, all right?”
“Especially you younger ones. You’ll have plenty of chances ahead of you.”
Even so, many of the more experienced adventurers proved admirable in character as well, praising those who had passed and offering them words of encouragement.
“Now then, the second trial will begin tomorrow at ten o’clock. Please be sure to gather here in the lobby on time.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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