A heavy weapon swung in the air, striking something in the mud, again and again. The sound of a teleportation spell activating echoed in the surprisingly quiet woods. A body, not dead, vanished, most likely getting removed from the domain, as an orc, shrouded in a dark aura stood over it with a giant axe in its hands, covered in blood which also slowly disappeared.
It was quiet. No grants, silent breathing, and still steps in the mud as it walked away. Standing at around 10 feet and insanely muscular, it was more like a human than a monster.
Then another orc showed up. Much bigger and wilder showing zero signs of intelligence unlike the previous one. Their reactions when they met was off.
After looking at each other for a few seconds, both prepared for battle. The bigger one used a club for a weapon and all it did with it was swing it up and down trying to defeat his enemy with blunt force.
None of its strikes landed on the opponent. It dodged everyone of them swiftly and easily. Then it got to the side of the bigger one, tightened its grip on the giant axe and sliced it in half by the torso, killing it instantly.
All of this happened in the domain. The same one where the new students were taking their exams. Not even a single one of them noticed it. They were too busy focusing on the phase two boss.
Even though it moved across the domain ever so slightly, the destruction it left in its wake was immense, destroying literal hills and slopes like they were houses, flattening them in an instant.
Its winds were strong enough to change the weather, blocking out the sun with dark clouds. They moved like blades, slicing through anything picked up by it. A tornado.
"I don't get it! How are we supposed to beat something that doesn't have a physical body?!"
"I'm more concerned by the fact its supposed to be an actual living monster. Its just air!"
To make things worse, the was a fire that wasn't completely put out by the previous boss. When it came into contact with it, it was consumed by the flame, turning it into a pillar of fire reaching the skies.
It's understandable that no one tried attacking it. How were they supposed to do that. All they could do before figuring something out was to outlast the phase. They didn't put much consideration into the fact that the monsters just got stronger.
Among one of the groups that sticked together to try and survive, one of those among them got dragged away by a white string around his foot. His screams were brief, but loud enough to be heard.
Something flew over them. It sounded like a large bug. Then one of them noticed something in the trees. While in the shadows, its shape didn't seem to make any sense. Then it emerged.
"Aah! It's an Lepthie!"
Spider like monsters able to grow and evolve limitlessly, or at least, for an unknown limit. The biggest one ever recorded is said to be as big as an earth dragon; a three story building.
This one, however, was about two thirds the size of an average human, with a pale white body filled with dark purple spots. A breed that none of them had ever seen or heard of. That means that its attack patterns were completely new to them.
A big cricket like bug landed on one of their faces, distracting the rest of them. Then the Lepthie shot a strand of web at them. But one of them grabbed it with his arm, not knowing that its poisoned.
His arm immediately began to painfully corrode, angering his friends. So they began to attack.
One unleashing fire magic, burning the web that was on his friend. Another trapped it in geo magic.
"Now!" He signaled to his friend who clenched his fist and shouted out loud, "Erupt!"
Lava rose from the ground, covering the spider monster. It was over. Not quite.
The Lepthie dodged the attack by leaping high into the air. Then it used its web to grapple onto a tree. Then the same attack that they unleashed onto it was released on them.
Geo magic was used to trap them all at once, including the one with the bug on his face. Then lava rose inside the trap. Only screams were heard from the outside.
Alinta, the host of the event, was watching this. Then an idea popped up in her head.
The new students in the domain grew more weary of the phase boss. With each passing second, it moved, it grew. Not to mention that it was literally just a pillar of fire.
"Fire? Wait... What if we just use water magic on it?" A blonde head asked someone who looked like a nerd with the glasses she was wearing.
"Most of the water we'd use will just vaporize. Even if the fire gets put out, the monster itself will just get bigger. Not to mention more vigorous from the increased amount of hot air." She replied. "We'll just have to wait it out."
Something bright flew above them to the boss at an incredible speed. Once it got consumed, there was a large explosion that was so bright it looked like a second sun. Even the students who were watching the event from their screens got blinded by it. Alinta seemed excited by it.
Once the light dissipated, the monster was no longer there, shocking everyone who witnessed it. They were left speechless except for Alinta.
"Wow! I'd bet no one expected that! What an attack! That was easily more powerful than the one from Haizea! Powercrept in less than 10 minutes from one of the new ones?! There he is! On top of that cliff!"
He was lying on the ground flat, peering through the scope of a sniper. A brightly colored one with a reflective coat of pinkish white.
He pulled back the bolt handle, grabbing hold of the spent cartridge. While doing so, Alinta noticed something remarkable.
"Its him. The rumors turned out to be true! There really are heroes!"
Everyone could see it clearly when he stood up. Aside from the long rifle he was holding with one hand, and the long wavy pony tail he tied at the back of his head, an identification dangled from his right ear.
At this point, almost the entire school was watching the exam because of all the rumors and because of what Haizea did earlier. You could imagine what kind of faces they were making.
"There's... There's no way..."
"You've gotta be kidding."
"For the first time in two years and the second time in seven, a full fledged hero has appeared as a first year. Everyone put your hands together for the strong, the brave, the young... Riku!!"
Her copies cheered so loudly even those in the domain could hear it. So did the older students.
"See. I told you it might be true."
"You said two. There's only one."
"Whatever you say."
Everyone in the domain was hyped and understandably so. Some were just excited to see a hero with their own two eyes. Others saw it as a game changing opportunity. If there was a hero amongst them, especially one who was able to take down an S class monster with such ease, surviving for as long as possible will be easy.
While everyone seemed excited, one person didn't seem to enjoy the news at all. Haizea.
From when she heard his name being announced by Alinta, her expression stayed the same. Shocked, scared, angry. That name was all too familiar to her for her to skip it.
Meanwhile, Riku was basking in all the glory being showered onto him, rubbing the back of his head and smiling shyly. Judging by his reaction, he was most likely planning to stick around, unlike Haizea, whom was now getting hate by some of those in the domain for her leaving them behind.
Some did defend her though, saying that there was no point for her to stay any longer if she already passed the exam with full marks.
"She wasn't just thinking about a way to maintain her reputation as one of the strong. She was thinking reasonably, considering what she wanted, not what others thought." One of her defenders said. Seems like she already had some fans.
It was a good point though, good enough to keep the rumors at bay for now.
For the rest of the phase, it was mostly just the weak trying to survive and the stronger ones waiting for the next boss. They saw no reason to focus on the other monsters. It wasn't like defeating them gave more points.
"Ding ding ding. Times up. Now only 80 remain. The phase is over, and so is the hype."
"Let's be honest, that was boring. Even for me. Although we just got the news of a new confirmed hero, everything else about that phase was boring. I think its about time we wrap things up. Agreed?"
"I didn't think it was that boring."
"Yeah. The boss just died too early."
"Since it was so boring, how about we raise the stakes some more."
After this statement, the test takers had even more questions that they needed answers to. Were they taking an entrance exam, or were they just being used for the entertainment of the older students?
"15 minutes. The next phase will be 15 minutes long. That sounds nice, right? Lets make it even better. It'll be, the final phase! Can I get some hype for that!"
Her copies went wild, rocking the entire arena so much even the school, which was right next to it, shook.
Test takers almost immediately forgot about their worries after the relieve they were feeling. Some still questioned why she was doing this now?
"Now about the bosses. Well... We'll fit all of them into this one phase at the same time!"
"Well that was short lived."
"This can't be real."
"Also, we'll get rid of one boss. That means, for ten minutes, there'll be two bosses, and, for the last five minutes, the final one. Doesn't that sound like a good deal?"
That was true. It did sound like something much achievable.
"And, each 5 minutes more you survive, you'll get the same rewards that you would've gotten if it was 10 minutes instead."
That made it even better. 5 minutes is not a lot. It was a great change. Even she sounded really excited by the proposal. Some other students weren't though. For a completely different reason.
"Aww. That means we'll only see Alinta for 15 more minutes. That's not fun."
"Stop being weird. You'll see her when Jezebel's Tournament begins."
"But that's close to half a year away."
"The more the time the better."
"Hmmm..."
"Ready!"
Alinta was about to start the next phase. This time, the hype was real. Some were still hoping for the hero. Most of the focus was on the new bosses. For Alinta, she had a different reason.
"All of this is unnecessary, Lina." A female voice echoed in her head from someone using telepathy. It's just an exam to determine which classes they'll be going to. Why make it such a grand event."
"It's more than that. I need to take some data from them. Also, isn't it just fun."
"..."
"At least now you can see the potential of the students who'll be in your class. Surely by now you've seen a few of them."
"But only two piqued my interest, one being on a different level than the other. They won't be enough."
"Don't worry. There's another. A girl. She seemed... interesting. Actually, she kinda reminds me of you. Not just her looks either."
"..."
"Trust me you'll love it... I gotta go."
"The time has come! The final phase, will now officially, begin!"
The whole school made noise from being excited. While test takers in the domain were silent and ready.
The ground shook. It got more violent as time passed. Then a massive sinkhole opened up, continuously growing in diameter and depth.
A golden light shone from it, and bursting bubble sounds came from it. It was lava, and it shot out like a geyser. the intense heat coming from it burned nearby trees and monsters. Even some of the test takers had their clothes burnt off.
The geyser reached as high as the clouds, making the sky look like it was on fire. Then a rain of fire came down. A few got burned to the point that they could no longer continue the test. For most, however, it was easy to avoid using shields or geo magic.
There were others who hid in a nearby cave, baffled by the current events. One of them was hurt by a stone that fell on her head from the cave ceiling. Then more and more stones were unnaturally displaced.
"Two bosses..."
They ran after realizing what it was. Behind them, the cave collapsed. Actually, the entire hill flattened, covering the domain with dust. Once it settled, the rain of fire did so too.
"I feel movement. It's underground."
Only those with heightened senses at first noticed it. Eventually, it was too much for anyone not to since the ground practically liquified, becoming wavy like the surface of the ocean.
While this happened, more and more boulders fell into the fire, fueling the heat. Cracks appeared on the ground randomly, allowing the lava to flow.
In the midst of the chaos, C to A class monsters appeared. The category of wyverns and dragons.
These ravaged the skies while the ground was infested with drakes. People were rapidly getting taken out. Fire and ice dragons were the common ones. There was also one red dragon and an earth dragon.
By the end of the first five minutes, a whapping 40 people were removed by the end of only 5 minutes.
"Ahh... I might have been a little to excited with this one. My bad. But don't worry. To those who are still here, this is around the time, when the strong start to show themselves. So how about the bosses start getting serious."
Fire and geo. They were the two elemental bosses that were currently on field. None of them had done anything worth mentioning at the time. It was more like they were just getting introduced.
A triangular spike was slicing through the land as it moved across like the dorsal fin of a fish in water. When it got closer to someone, it transformed into a giant rocky arm that then slowly fell on them.
Even though it was easy to dodge, thanks to how slowly it fell, the force that it fell with felt unnatural, as if it was instead made of thick metal and it just fell from the sky. Basically, the effect it had on land was too much.
This made it easy for someone to get an idea after seeing rocks falling into the lava and melting in almost an instant.
There were no more survivors who specialized in geo magic, or could use it in a big enough scale so that it could actually be used as a weapon. Fire magic did nothing of course, same as the other elements.
When water magic was used, it hardened the soil, which the monster used as a meteor, literally throwing it from the ground into the air and letting it fall down on its enemies.
So what was the big idea that they could've come up with for defeating the monster? Letting it burn in the lava of the other monster. How were they to achieve this?
By luring it close enough to the hole, then destroying the hole's walls so that it could fall in together with everything else.
At first, it sounded like a dumb idea, but it still somehow made sense. So they came to the conclusion of giving it a shot.
"Hey. Is it just me, or is nothing much happening?"
"They're probably tired or something. This has dragged on for too long. It's not usually this grand so maybe our expectations were just a little to high? Lets keep watching."
Before the plan could even be set in place, the monster seemed to already be enroute to the hole without the others even doing anything. It was hard to miss its odd behavior.
It wanted to around the hole to the other side, getting closer to the edge in the process. On the other side, there was a sword stabbed into the ground. Though others didn't notice it, that seemed to be its primary target.
Now was their opportunity. And they had just the perfect weapon for it. Explosion magic. A rather easy sub category of magic to master. Almost everyone could use it.
A coordinated attack, perfectly around the hole. Not too far, not too close. A line of explosion magic triggered, collapsing the walls. Even though it hard a no specific shape, it was easy to tell where the monster was, now that its cover had been blown.
It had a different brown tone from that of the soil. Brighter. To be honest. If it was going to go down that easily, then there was no pint for it to be there. Unless, of course, there was more to be expected.
Once the geo monster had fallen in, the lava activity grew more wild as its level rose rapidly. The rest of it could be described like adding water to boiling oil.
Then it solidified but kept rising, making it look like a dark lump on the ground that kept growing. It was changing shapes as well. And at the end, it just looked the same as the water boss.
It grew arms of lava and stone, and a body built like the water monster. They fused together, fire and geo, making the new monster currently before them.
The first thing it did was sweep the land before it with its hands, washing away everyone with the lava, catching them by surprise. They were all removed.
While on the seats in the arena, all they did was argue. How were they supposed to beat that? There was literally no point for all of that.
Alinta could hear them. Though she didn't respond, she was thinking about telling them to thank her for the favor she did for them which they'll find out about soon. Besides, those monsters were made easily beatable by her. If it wasn't for her going easy on them, none of them could have made it after the second phase.
"Still, someone figured out the geo boss' weakness. That was pretty impressive."
It was the sword that the monster was heading to before its demise. It was piercing the actual body of the monster, which was as small as a grain of sand and continuously moved around the field. Not only that, but it was pretty deep. That means that the sword was infused with magic to be able to do that. The monster was just going to free itself.
A lot of people weren't paying attention to the event, thinking it was over after what just happened. Most of them missed what caused the loud thundering noise they heard in the domain.
The body of lava collapsed into a pool of its own, signaling that it was taken down. Swiftly at that.
"Ooh! What do we have here?"
Someone stood behind the sword on the ground. Before him was the 'body' of the defeated monster.
"Could he be? Yes he is! What a sight to behold! Yet another hero has revealed himself. Remarkable! Truly remarkable! And what's this? What is he staring at?"
It was at the other side of the pool of lava. Someone else was revealing themselves from the darkness of the woods. Alinta was getting excited.
"Is that..." Haizea recognized her.
"Its Nyla!" Alinta shouted.
Something wasn't right about the way Alinta introduced her. She didn't even say the name of the new hero but immediately jumped to the other girl.
"And what is she holding?"
Aside from the spear in her left hand, she had an orc's head in her right one. Even Alinta was caught by surprise.
"Hahahaha! Well this was unexpected. Looks like we have a winner. Congratulations, Nyla. You are the first person, to beat the final boss!"
Silence. Everyone froze in shock.
"I was expecting to see a big battle. Looks like it was too easy for you. Come on everyone, lets celebrate the champion of the event!"
Her copies were the only ones chanting. "Nyla! Nyla! Nyla! Nyla!"
She herself didn't seem excited. Maybe it was the familiar face she was currently looking at.
"Didn't Alinta say that the final boss was of the hero class?"
"She beat a hero class monster all on her own?"
Alinta seemed satisfied with the results.
"With that out of the way, I officially confirm, that this event is over! Have a good year everyone, and may we meet again soon. See you all in the tournament!"
She bowed her head down and took off her top hat. Then flames consumed her for a split second and she disappeared together with the arena.
The field turned back to normal, everyone was back together again.
"See. I told you. There was someone else who was different from the rest."
"If that's the case, why did she hide her identity as a hero until now?"
"Who knows. But hey, she's in class-1. I'm sure you'll have all the time you need to answer your questions. See you later this year."
"...Class-1, huh."
...
"What were the results of the analysis?" A nobleman asked Alinta. It looked like she was being interrogated by everyone, standing in the middle of a court like room.
"They seem... promising. From what I've learnt, they could definitely bring changes to the results of the war."
"I hope you're right, Alinta." A lady, seated on a different kind of throne from the rest, signaling her higher status level.
"You'll get your answer soon. The tournament is just around the corner."
"And so is the war."
"...We're ready. This time, there isn't just one hero. Nerezza Vingar will be facing an entire army of heroes. We'll be unstoppable."