Oblivious to the changes within, Jash continued moving through the forest, taking breaks and resting once in a while.
He even took care of a few small birds, animals, and some weak participants that attacked him.
If he could skip them, he would do so to save his time, not stopping and fighting every person or monster he encountered.
Though he did fight each and every (F+)-Rank monster for polishing his skills as well as getting some points on the side.
His decisiveness and finesse were displayed only a few times as others were also doing quite well.
Amael and his group, in particular, were something the majority of the audience—commoners—liked as it resonated deep within them.
Since the nobles were obviously well aware of the harsh truth of their world, they just couldn't understand what Amael's goal was.
After all, he wasn't just any noble, but a duke's heir and must have gotten lessons in line with it yet he was leading a group.
"Let's see what the audience favorite is doing," Rui said, and the audience cheered eagerly, getting mesmerized by Amael's handsome display
His reddish-amethyst eyes hidden beneath his silver eyelashes with striking silver-white hair added to his charm.
It allured quite a few girls as they were one of major supporters in the loud cheers aside from the commoners.
As the cheers quietened, the audience focused on Amael and his group moving through a grassland with grass reaching till their waists.
But from the audience's perspective, they could see that Amael's group was at a junction of small mountains and the grassland.
And they seemed to be on their way to the mountains veiled by the long grass hindering their vision.
It needed no mention how much of an inconvenience it was to walk in it with weird monsters popping left and right.
Though one of them had a scythe-like bone and it was being used to cut off the grass and pave a path through it.
"Anyone else interested in finding out where they got it from? Because I sure as hell am!" Rui exclaimed and the audience played along.
—Snap!
Snapping his fingers to create an effect, Rui changed the screen of the replay while Amael and his group made their way through it.
Amael stood at the forefront with his sword unsheathed and two melee weapon users standing at either side with a small group in the back.
The group in the back was undoubtedly made up of mages, archers, crossbow users, and a hunter with two armored men taking a defensive stance around them.
There was no lie in calling the long-range attackers as nothing but a paper that has the potential to do the highest damage.
Unfortunately, the slightest ambush could shake them and take the six of them down in one go.
While the mages casted their spells, Amael was the first to engage in a direct clash.
—Clang!
The four at his side kept taking turns to damage the 7 foot tall monster which had 3 pairs of legs and 1 pair of scythe-like arms.
Surprisingly, its scythes could effortlessly cut the grass which they were having a hard time due to the risk of dulling the blade.
Amael's eyes flickered at the sight as he ducked down before cutting off one of its legs and rolling on the ground to dodge its arms aiming for his head. Sёarᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"SKRIEEE," the brown-skinned monster shrieked in pain but all it got was a rain of arrows, crossbows and two wind slices.
The mages had cast it in such a way that another pair of its legs would get cut as Amael had them target it.
"That's smart! If they had targeted its arms, they would only be wasting mana," Rui explained with a smile for the unaware audience.
Due to the fake sense of peace and security, most common folks didn't even know much about monsters, and needed someone to tell them.
As if feeling enlightened, they nodded and looked back at the scene where the monster had already lost all its legs.
Yet they shivered in their seats as the monster sprouted wings out of nowhere!
As if waiting for this moment, Amael shouted loudly, "NOW!"
In the next second, the arrows and spells alongside a bullet directly attacked its skin, not the wings.
"Wow! He's not the audience's favorite for nothing!" Rui exclaimed before explaining how the wings sprouting weakened its chitinous exoskeleton.
Though most of the audience was dumb to not understand the terms, they dumbed it down to the wings weakening its body somehow.
Just as Amael harvested the two scythes off the monster, Rui snapped his fingers once more and the screen switched to a dashing boy.
"Booooo!"
Despite the audience's less than likely reaction, Rui didn't care. "Now, now, let's focus on what is in the cave," he mentioned.
The audience gasped before shifting in their seats in excitement, waiting to see something amazing like Amael's group.
The difference being they expected the dashing boy to get hunted like the monster Amael's group did with immaculate teamwork.
Truthfully, even they knew they were expecting a bit too much since most examinees didn't know anyone next to them.
Even if someone did, they were sent to different locations, so the coordination was always a mess amongst any teams formed during the test.
Amael's group was too much of an exception, but they didn't know that they'd get an amazing spectacle nonetheless, just not what they expected.
In the arena, Jash ran towards what seemed like a cave, but he didn't encounter anyone else on his way after his last rest.
He easily arrived in front of the cave, not finding any traps or monsters nearby.
To his surprise, the cave was not deep at all, and he could see a sword lying around.
"A sword?" he muttered before a smile appeared on his lips.
Jash went in excitedly and crouched to pick up the sword, only for a shadow with a dagger emerged beside him.
A figure of a young boy who was blended in the shadows appeared and attacked Jash from his blind spot.
The boy smiled, thinking about how he had fooled yet another person in his trap.
While the dagger approached Jash's neck at a fast speed, he turned around and slapped the dagger out of the boy's hand.
He didn't even use mana, using the boy's momentum against him, almost breaking his bone.
Without pausing, he stepped out of the cave just as a sword slashed at his previous spot.
Jash smiled, feeling the exhilaration from the battle he sidestepped an ice shard spell aimed at him.
"Arghh, he's tougher than expected," the first attacker groaned before vanishing into the shadows.
Noticing it, Jash smirked as he threw a sword at the cave entrance, and the boy's heart rate went up.
Alas, that was all he could do as a barrier appeared, transforming him into motes of light.
In that split second that his companions were stunned, Jash took out the sword strapped on his waist and unarmed another guy.
"Urgh," he barely groaned before getting eliminated as well.
Yet Jash did not want to waste time and turned to the third guy trying to run away, throwing a spear at his head, activating the barrier.
"Now, the mage," Jash mumbled, moving inside the cave to find a shivering guy at the end, trying to cast a spell but messing up every second.
Ignoring the magic staff, Jash eliminated the guy and took the spear, the sword from the cave, and his own.
"Tsk, that idiot took that sword along with him," he clicked his tongue, lamenting the loss of a sword which took down the first guy.