Chapter 319: A Rival

There were so many coincidences happening in the entrance exam. This was not predetermined; it was just bound to happen at times since a thousand examinees had been thrown into the dimension.Serena had been faring several times better than the rest, and all this was because of her Archer class, which gave her the advantage of attacking her opponents from a relative distance. After striking them down, she would come out from her hiding and take their Tokens.

This was very effective as she didn't have to clash in a frontal brawl and sustain injuries. After all, she wasn't that proficient in one-on-one combat. This method had allowed her to enter the top 10 effortlessly.

After dealing with another batch of examinees, Serena had stumbled upon Zara, the mysterious girl that Nox seemed to be very interested in. However, the blue-haired girl seemed to have encountered a powerful rock golem-type beast, and they were currently locked in deadly combat.

Serena's eyes gleamed with a cold light when she saw this God-presented opportunity. This girl was the first person Nox had showed genuine interest in. Serena had never seen him so lost in thought, ogling at another person or even to the point of becoming a stalker.

'Though he sent Solora and Thirteen, it's still the same thing. This is my chance to get rid of her.' A smirk appeared on her beautiful face as she mumbled in a sweet voice, which sharply contrasted her thoughts. This was the first time she was about to try something such as this, and she felt a pang in her heart.

However, this hesitation was quickly dismissed as she said in a not-so-convincing voice, "I'll just take her out. Yes, that's what we're meant to do anyway." She thought, quickly climbing a tree to get a better vantage point.

In the middle of the dense forest, a massive King Tier rocky golem magical beast roared, its golden eyes locked onto Zara. The massive creature easily towered over the trees, and its body was covered by spiky rocks, which gleamed dangerously under the glare of the sun as if eager to impale the person before it. Searᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

In contrast to the petite, framed blue-haired girl who seemed more like an ant waiting to be crushed, the beast was literally a giant and exuded a crushing presence.

A few meters away from the giant, the ant stood, her blue dress fluttering wildly in the wind. Not even a hint of fear could be detected on her pretty face; the only thing that could be seen was wildness and excitement in her eyes.

Zara was surrounded by countless snowflakes swirling around her small lithe body, which made her appear very stunning and terrifying at the same time. She was the kind that her enemies would willingly throw themselves onto her sword just to catch a whiff of her scent and a glimpse of her face.

From her vantage point, Serena couldn't help but click her tongue in disdain as she tightened her grasp on her bow and nocked her arrow. The determination to get rid of her grew even stronger. Little did Serena know, this was the effect of Zara's [Charm Heart], which clouded the thoughts of her opponents with lust.

Though the skill was primarily focused on the King-tier beast, the residual effect affected her slightly as well.

At that moment, with a flick of her wrist, the swirling snowflakes turned into shards of crystalline ice like a fan of daggers. She launched them at the beast, each shard gleaming brilliantly under the faint sunlight.

FWISh! FWISh!

The shards of ice swooshed through the air, heading towards the King Tier golem. An ugly expression crossed the rock golem's unsightly features at the sight of the ice shards that were keeping it away from claiming the delicate woman before it.

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There was no hatred; instead, it was pure lust! The golem wanted her to become his wife. The beast swatted the ice away with a swipe of its massive claws. The forest floor trembled under its steps as it lunged forward with a gleeful expression, swinging its arms out.

Since the woman was hotheaded, he decided to discipline her!

BOOM!

Zara's beautiful features scrunched up in disgust; sometimes she hated the nature of this skill. At the nick of time, her feet glided along the ground, barely making a sound as she danced around the beast, evading its attacks. With every movement, bursts of frost trailed behind her, painting the battlefield in icy white.

From above, on the thick tree branch, Serena watched intently. Her bow was already drawn, the arrow glowing faintly as it absorbed mana from the air. Tiny insects crawled up at her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable, but she held on, not wanting to miss her opportunity.

"Dammit…" Serena whispered nervously, sweat glistening on her forehead.

Zara dashed left and right, her body spinning as a massive spike of ice erupted from the ground, impaling the beast's leg. The creature let out a roar of pain.

CRACK!

The spike shattered as the beast tore itself free, but Zara wasn't surprised. She had already foreseen this, as the beast was powerful.

The beast roared again and lunged forward, and at the same time, Zara's hands came together.

[Ice Wall.]

A towering wall of frozen energy split the air and shot up between her and the monster. As a result, the ground beneath Zara frosted over.

"Break already!" she shouted, thrusting both palms forward at the wall, with a light but powerful tap.

However—

Boom!

The ice wall exploded into shards, flying toward the beast in a violent storm that smashed into the golem with tremendous force.

From the branch above, Serena's aim trembled. Her fingers were unsteady, unable to release the arrow. She had been in this posture for minutes now, and it was beginning to get exhausting.

"She's too fast…" Serena muttered, eyes flickering with frustration. Her arms shook under the strain.

"Stay still, dammit!" Serena shouted, and as if hearing her, the blue-haired girl also came to an abrupt stop at that moment.

Zara raised her hand, her mana flaring again.

A massive spike of ice—ten times her size—began forming above her, spinning and crackling with power.

"Holding back my strength and fighting has already eaten into my energy reserves a lot."

Just like humans used Mana Points, the fuel for an elemental beast's skill was energy. Though the other examinees didn't pose that much of a threat, her energy points had depleted a little.

"I need to conserve more energy."

Though she loved fighting, winning this tournament was more important. And so, with a flick of her wrist, the spike plummeted.

BOOM!

The impact shook the forest. The beast let out one final roar before collapsing. Its body lay still, frost spreading across its wounds.

After dealing with the beast, out of habit, Zara proceeded to retrieve the monster cores.

But just before she could get close—

Fwoosh! Swoosh!

An arrow shot through the air.

Zara's instincts flared.

Her head snapped upward. "…!"

But it was...