'How the hell do I even kill this practically supernatural being with this weak ass body?...'
Alex was in a little bit of a conundrum.
He walked around the forest, looking aimlessly around the forest, but he didn't know what he was even supposed to be looking for.
'This reminds me of those old survival videos I used to watch. Man, they actually had some useful stuff in them, I remember even putting them to use with my work in the mines one time...'
Alex started to reminisce, as he quite enjoyed these types of settings, just not when he was forced to kill something way above his league with a short time limit hanging over his head.
'Wait...'
But thinking about this stuff gave Alex an idea, but it was quite crazy...
'Surely the examiners would allow this, right?'
Alex considered whether the examiners would even allow for such a crazy idea, but there was only one way for Alex to find out.
'It's time to make a bomb!'
***
"These kids show some promise, recommend their files to the strategy department."
A gruff, old man spoke as he watched countless floating screens, each depicting a student's strategy assessment.
Some of the students had already failed, as they had either died to The Whisperer already, or had died to some natural causes etc.
Each of them were strong awakened in real life, so they had unconsciously forgotten that their fragile bodies were much more susceptible to the elements in this test.
Even some students who had shown good strategic thinking had fallen to this, as one often overlooked the simple things when thinking about the big picture.
"How's the strategy assessment going so far?" Nearby, Professor Will walked over with a smile on his face and spoke to the gruff old man.
Seeing Professor Will approach so amicably, the old man couldn't help but let out a small smile himself.
"It's about average this year. There aren't any strategic geniuses like that kid from last year, but there are some good seedlings. Like this kid for example."
But 40% of the overall result still came from whether they succeeded in the assassination or not.
So Professor Will was essentially implying that Mira would get at least 60%, which would put her in the top 10% of students for this assessment.
Since the old man, Marshal Velen didn't disagree with him, it was basically already a confirmed result.
Marshal Velen and Professor Will watched the screens, evaluating the students' performances. As they moved their attention from Mira to another student, their discussion shifted.
"What about this one?" Professor Will pointed to a screen showing another student, Harper, carefully laying out what appeared to be small traps around the temple's entrance.
Marshal Velen's eyes narrowed in interest. "Ah, Harper. She's demonstrating a keen sense of tactical defence. She's setting up an array of snares and pitfalls. It looks like she's trying to create a layered defence to funnel The Whisperer into a kill zone."
Professor Will nodded. "Smart. She's using the terrain to her advantage, making sure she has control over the battlefield. It's a methodical approach, ensuring she has multiple fallback positions. It's less direct but highly effective."
"Yes," Marshal Velen agreed, "Harper's approach shows a deep understanding of defensive strategy. It might not be as flashy as some of the others, but it's solid and reliable. She's not just thinking about the immediate kill; she's preparing for contingencies."
Moving on, Professor Will pointed to the last student he was interested in — Alex.
"What on earth is he up to?"
He thought Alex would be putting up quite a good performance so far, but when he looked at the screen and saw Alex excitedly ploughing through the forest floor with a giant smile on his face, he was utterly dumbfounded.
"I have no idea..."
Not even the old man, Marshal Velen, aka the Dean of the Strategy department, knew what Alex was up to.
***
"I need this and this and this, I can't forget that too!"
Alex smiled and talked madly to himself as he walked all over the nearby forest, picking up various random objects from the forest floor, the trees.
If it existed in the forest, Alex had already taken it.
What was he doing you might ask?
Well, he was making a bomb of course.