Swords, both big and small, spears, bows, even slingshots. These and many more were the weapons placed on a weapon rack in the middle of a rainy forest.
Screams echoed all over the woods. So did the sound of monsters. Then a shiny yellow light glowed from the direction of the scream. Fire magic.
The girl who casted it ran from the scene as a cat like monster emerged from the flames, chasing after her.
She was exhausted from all the running to the point of almost passing out. But her adrenaline wouldn't let her. Then her foot landed in a big puddle of water, making her fall flat on the ground, face first.
Judging by her reaction, what made her fall was not at all the water itself, rather what was in it. The puddle itself turned red as her blood diffused in it.
She slowly lifted her leg out of the water only to be shocked by the large sharp ended tree root sticking through it.
To make things worse, the monster had caught up to her. Emerging from the trees, it lunged at her with its claws out.
"Ooh! There goes Layla Harbani! That leaves 119 more. And its only been 5 minutes!" Alinta was commentating on the event, and the crowd loves her.
Classes in the whole school were momentarily paused for the event to continue. A few students spent their time in the cafeteria, where they were allowed to eat whatever was on the menu at any given time.
"Why are so many people watching the entrance exam today? Is it really that entertaining?" One of them who just walked in the cafeteria asked his friend at one of the tables.
"Not sure. To be honest, I'm only watching it so I can see Alinta."
"...Pervert."
"Hey, come on. She never teaches this school."
"What about the others? Why are they watching?"
"Like I said. I'm not sure. I heard its cause there were two full fledged heroes today. But it's way too unrealistic for me to believe."
"Two?! That's a lot!"
"It's why I don't believe it. Still, it actually does look a little entertaining."
"Let's not forget everyone, the audience I mean. All these monsters are fake and have been produced through illusion magic. But the participants don't know that. We wouldn't want to wreck our peace with the monsters over this. So don't go doing it in real life! *Wink*"
A giant snake had surrounded a few others, prepping to eat them. One of them, a girl, was hiding behind her friend seeing as she was afraid of snakes. Her friend, however, was more concerned about the fact that neither of them had the power or will to fight the monster.
This wasn't the case for the third one, an older brother to her. His calm composure said it all. It was too easy for him.
With a wave of his small wand and a magic chant in a different language translated to mean, "Oh goddess above, I call upon thee to bring the world into your hands. Let my enemy see the light of day no more from henceforth. Transfigure the laws of nature, and bring forth, sky piercer, 12%".
Rock spikes pierced through the monster's entire body, rendering it immobile. Then they all blew up while still inside it, exploding its body into millions of pieces. His sister conjured up a barrier to prevent the blood from reaching them.
"Okay Lana. It's all over."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure."
"A little thank you would be nice." Her older brother said.
"How about you find a way to make that enchantment shorter first."
"At least I helped."
"You know big monsters aren't my forte."
Then they heard alarm sounds from the sky.
"Whoopsie. I forgot to mention the rules." Alinta's voice sounded like she was speaking through speakers.
"All you have to do is survive! The longer the better. You could either strategize with your friends, fight for yourself, use others as shields, or even just hide! That's it. You have a time limit of one hour and it's already been 7 minutes! Keep it up!"
Most who were listening to the news were unbothered. Others wondered why they have to do it for so long and how it's only been 7 minutes.
"Also, after every 10 minutes spent here, the difficulty of the domain will be increased. For those who get to the 55th minute, you'll be especially thrilled to know that the monsters you face will be as strong as hero class! Enjoy yourselves everyone!"
The environment they were in is the domain she spoke of. Endless forestry shrouded in monsters of all types. And by the tenth minute, 9 people had already been removed.
The rain stopped, the skies were clear. A new phase was about to begin. Before it sounded like there were a few dozen monsters. Now it sounds like there's a few hundred.
All the water from the rain, puddles underground water, rivers and lakes. Their all began to move in a pace that was very noticeable. At the center of the domain, all that water rose into the sky, gathering as if brought together by a magnet. The dirt diffused to a point of no visibility as a massive drop of water continued to grow in the sky, casting a shadow below it.
"For those who wish for it, there's a more, efficient way of gaining points. However, I wouldn't recommend for most of you."
"After every ten minutes, a monster will appear. Not your regular one though. We call them, Phase Bosses! One for each element. The first, is water!"
The drop burst, releasing ocean amounts of water. Then it took a form of some kind of huge blob with arms and a head made of water.
"Who will be the first to beat it?!"
Most of the participants surprisingly looked ready to beat it. Only a few were disheartened.
"Ready! Set! Go!"
Majority didn't waste any time. They sprinted to it. Others just straight up flew there. What they didn't know was that it's attack patterns had such a wide range.
It dropped both of its elongated arms on the ground. Due to their sizes, they were up to three times higher than an average tree, making it difficult for most to jump across.
Then they came together, trapping those in between who weren't able to escape. All they could do was hold their breaths while others tried to dig down to no avail. They were all submerged in rushing waters as deep as the ocean.
Meanwhile, those who were in the sky tried using elemental attacks on the boss, but most of them could only use weak wind magic or water magic that was completely useless on it.
Then Haizea joined the stage and proved to everyone that she really was an S class.
She used her wind magic to stay still in the sky in front of the boss. Her staff was pointed at it with a magic circle on its end.
"Wind will probably not be the best type of magic to use in this situation. If I use enough force however..."
Her magic was gathering around her in the form of wind. So much of it had gathered to the point that it even caught the attention of the boss.
A whirlpool appeared on the torso of the monster. Then a concentrated beam of water shot out from it to her. It pierced through the sky with such force that even those close to her got flung away from it. But she was able to dodge it.
"Five minutes left till the new boss appears! Looks like our rookies have learnt about the stakes that have been placed on the table!"
"That's right ladies and gentlemen! Anyone who beats the boss first will be able to get a... special reward. Not only that, but they'll also be allowed to leave the domain with full marks on the test! Can you believe it!"
"If you miss your chance, don't worry about it. There's still five more bosses to beat or even the other monsters. The more you beat, the more points you score! But don't forget, they'll keep getting stronger and stronger every ten minutes! Good luck."
More and more people got hyped. Lightning magic ravaged the skies. The idea was that lightning magic would have some kind of effect on a monster made of water, and it came from a few mage types on the ground. It's a great idea, if they were able to use it with a little more power.
Closer to the monster itself, some blasted the boss with fire magic, a more realistic approach. And even though it didn't seem like enough, the water from the boss was evaporating at an incredible pace.
A party of nerd-like fellows took note of this and decided to take advantage of it at it's fullest extent. They formed a giant magic circle of fire underneath the monster, though it was taking a while for it to fully activate.
While all of this was happening, a few others focused more on defeating the other monsters. For some, they were easy. But since it was the second phase, a lot more were already having difficulties.
"Hah! Did you see that! I one shotted it!" A guy showed of to his friend while standing on top of a higher goblin race. A goblin knight. Known for their giant like physique and knightly bravery to fight for their hordes. Not much is known about them except for the fact that they're at least C class.
"Calm down. I saw it. But that doesn't mean anything in our situation. As long as we survive, we're good."
"Yeah. It just felt good."
They heard thumping in the nearby woods. Definitely not from a human. Then the trees began shaking. Footsteps approached as another giant like monster emerged.
"I...I...Its a high orc!"
"That's at least A class! This is a little too much!"
"Just run!"
Without hesitation, they fled the area. But the orc didn't chase them at all. In fact, something about it seemed off. It's behavior was different from the other monsters in the domain.
From normal goblins to giant basilisks. Many monsters were still in the area, outnumbering those who were fighting them. But those that were fighting the boss had no idea.
It didn't matter though. Time was almost up. The only known thing of significance left was the boss. All focus was on it.
"2 more people have been removed! That's a lot less than anticipated. Especially since there's only 1 minute left till the next phase! Incredible! But what about the boss? Will they be able to beat it? Let's keep watching to find out!"
The flaming magic circle was almost ready. Only a few more seconds left until it could be used.
The boss wasn't gonna let that happen though. Its entire body shape changed to canopy like, covering the majority of those attacking.
Lightning began sparking all over its body with increasing intensity. Those below it got concerned by what it was doing.
Like a tree, it shook from left to right, dropping water like rain, soaking everyone. Then the lighting came down on every single one of them, striking them as if it were real lighting. This rendered most of them immobile. The magic circle got terminated without ever activating.
"Uh oh! This is not looking good for any of them! Is this it? Will this event come to a disappointing end?!"
Something was bothering Alinta. The girl with the red hair, she hasn't seen her anyway so far throughout the event. Where could she have been?
The lightning suddenly stopped. Then, seemingly for no reason, the monster just blew up in such a way that only a small amount of water came back down, as if it was blown away.
Everyone was confused by what just happened. Not only the participants, even the viewers. But Alinta saw it.
"Wow! Did y'all see that?! Incredible! Just as the event was about to come to its climax, a savior appeared. Congratulations, lady Haizea. You were the first to beat the phase one boss. Let's get some noise, for Haizea!"
All her copies in the arena went wild. But the older students who were watching got caught in a state of shock. Not only them. Even the new ones.
She just one shot an S class monster like it was nothing. Not the kind of thing you see everyday in this world.
Now, she was just floating behind where the monster was, feeling proud about her achievement, though not showing it through her expressions, only maintaining a humble smile.
"Alinta. Let me ask you a question." She started.
"Oh? For me? Ask away."
"Now that I've beaten the boss, does that mean that I'll get full marks even if I leave now?"
"In deed. Do you want to leave, oh so powerful hero?"
She paused for a little while those below her looked at her with interest. Those who knew about her strength from earlier even praised her.
"Yes."
"Do you wish to confirm?"
"...I confirm."
"Very well. Just as you appeared in the domain from the real world, so you shall disappear from the domain to the real world."
Then she vanished from the domain and appeared in the crowd at the arena together with all the rest who had been removed. Alinta's copies showered her with praise while there.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I would like to announce that the second phase has officially come to an end. Such a beautiful phase in deed. Now, only 101 participants are left. Not a bad number."
"Now that Haizea has come out of the event, there are no more as powerful as her, right? That means that this'll no longer be as entertaining right? Think again!"
"Did you see that girl? She one shotted an Alinta boss!" Older students who were watching the event discussed.
"Haizea, was it. She seems to specialize in wind magic. That's incredible. Could she already be a hero?"
"Probably not. Speaking of which, didn't they say that there were two heroes?"
"Yeah they did."
"Shh... I think Alinta's just about to start talking about it."
"She wasn't the only S class." Alinta continued. "In fact, there could be others who are more powerful than her. How come we haven't seen them though? Will they show up in the coming phases?!"
Dark clouds were returning over the domain rapidly, gathering in the center.
"Let's find out, as the second phase is about to begin!"
Elemental bosses. She said the bosses will be based on elements. The first was water.
Now, a giant tornado formed in the domain, sucking air from all its corners. It was the second boss. A tornado, and the second elemental boss.
Nothing, but air.