Gabby glanced at him, unimpressed. "I don't want to be associated with a lunatic," he thought.
With a calm voice, he replied, "I refuse."
The criminal grinned, clearly expecting the answer.
"The old way, then. I guess I'll have to beat some sense into you."
The examinee glanced at Professor Odel, but he simply shrugged as he didn't care whether someone is bloodied.
The criminal raised his fist and swung a wide punch toward Gabby's face.
Gabby flinched, covered his face and stumble to the ground.
But before it could land—a hand caught it mid-air.
The hand belonged to a short, muscular man, barely five feet tall. He wore simple brown linen clothes, his sleeves rolled up to reveal thick, veined arms. His messy black hair framed a round face with large, curious eyes.
He uttered, "That's enough. I'll partner with you."
The criminal willfully let go of his fist and stepped back, smiling with a wild glint in his eyes.
"Now we're talking," he muttered, clearly enjoying the tension.
They looked at Cero with pity. Some of the examinees murmured:
"He's too weak."
"He's too soft."
"He's too useless to be a partner…"
Across the room, only two examinees remained unpaired—Gabby and the red-haired girl from earlier.
Their eyes met.
They hadn't spoken. They hadn't even considered each other. But now, with time running out and no other options left, they were the only ones without a partner.
The outcasts.
They didn't choose each other—but they don't have option.
Without a word, they slowly walked toward the center of the room, stopping side by side. No handshake. No introduction. Just a silent agreement.
And just like that, the most unlikely team was formed.
Professor Odel, satisfied that everyone had found a partner, clapped his hands once and exclaimed, "Good luck, younglings."
With a flick of his finger, a massive magic circle appeared beneath their feet, glowing with ancient runes. It expanded quickly, enveloping the entire room in light.
In an instant, Gabby and the red-haired girl were teleported to the edge of a high cliff. Before them stretched a vast, beautiful forest, its trees swaying gently in the wind.
Gabby glanced at the girl beside him. She had naturally red lips, long lashes, and a huge cup of breast. Her figure was graceful, yet strong.
Breaking the silence, Gabby said, "My name is Gabby. How about you?"
She looked surprised—perhaps she had expected him to be a girl based on his name—but quickly regained her composure. With a soft, graceful voice, she replied,
"My name is Clara Sertu."
Gabby's eyes narrowed slightly. "Sertu… She's a descendant of Raven the Champion? That explains her massive mana reserve."
Clara tilted her head and asked, "You're not carrying any weapon?"
Gabby sighed inwardly. "So that's why no one picked me."
He gave a small shrug and replied, "I have a carving knife, an ink and paper."
Clara sighed, then after a short pause, asked again, "What can you even do with that knife? Are you planning of doing administrative work in this vast forest? People like you has no survival sense at all."
Gabby shrugged and bow as he said, "Please forgive me for being so useless."
Sarah thought to herself, "He doesn't have a pride?"
She uttered, "Forget it. I'll just kill you myself. You're a burden."
Gabby retorted, "Killing four-hundred goblins is better than six hundred."
She blinked, then scoffed "You're right. Gosh, just don't get in my way."
Gabby nodded in agreement.
Gabby looked intently at the magic circle as he grabbed his ink and paper.
Clara muttered, "You can teleport back to the academy if you want."
He replied, "Sorry, I'm just curious. I'm fascinated by how intricate it is."
What a weirdo, Clara thought to herself.
Then she declared, "I'll try to slay as many goblins as I can today."
Gabby nodded. "I'll set up a safe campsite for us."
Gabby scanned the forest clearing through his far-seer—a tube fitted with a concave glass lens that allowed him to see great distances.
Goblins aren't the only monsters that inhabit this vast forest, he thought.
He glanced at his compass and said, "We're standing in the Southern Forest."
At the base of a towering tree, its thick branches stretching high above the forest floor, Gabby stood alert. He glanced around warily—land monsters were known to roam these woods at night.
"Up there," he muttered. "That's where we'll be safe."
He began gathering materials from the surrounding area. Using strong vines, he lashed together a platform of interwoven branches, reinforcing it with bark panels and bamboo-like stalks he found nearby.
To make the platform comfortable, Gabby layered it with soft moss, dry leaves, and fern fronds, creating a natural sleeping mat nestled high above the forest floor.
For shelter, he constructed a simple canopy overhead using broad banana leaves and woven bark mats, tied tightly to the upper branches. It would shield them from rain and falling debris.
He is an efficient worker, so it only lasted for an hour.
He continued writing in the in paper.
Meanwhile, Gabby gripped the rough bark of a tall tree, his fingers finding hold in the deep grooves. He climbed higher and higher until the forest stretched out beneath him like a sea of green. At the very top, where the branches thinned and swayed in the wind, he settled into a natural perch.
He raised his Far-Seer, the long tube with its concave glass lens, and began his watch.
Through the lens, he observed the goblins with intense focus.
Gabby thought to himself, "Only a handful of goblins are moving—sluggish and irritable in the daylight. Clara has no trouble cutting them down with her sword. But why isn't she using her mana?"
He sketched their movements on his paper, drawing lines and arrows to map their routines.
Later, Gabby decided to sleep in their treetop campsite.
When he woke, he quietly gathered food for their dinner.
Gabby moved carefully, scanning the forest floor for ingredients.
He found wild mushrooms growing in the shade of a fallen log. Kneeling, he gently brushed off the dirt and selected only the edible ones. Nearby, he picked a handful of forest herbs—perfect for seasoning.
Further along the path, he crouched beside a patch of loose, leafy soil. Brushing aside the foliage, he smiled. Wild root vegetables. Small and knobby, with rough, uneven skins—clear signs they were uncultivated and naturally grown.
Using a flat stone, he dug carefully, unearthing tiny forest potatoes and sweet tubers, each no larger than his thumb.
Just as Gabby returned to their treetop camp, Clara appeared, carrying a dead boar over her shoulder.
She said, "Not bad, Gabby. You built a camp and gathered food too."
Gabby asked, "How many goblins did you slain?"
Clara smiled proudly. "Twenty of them."
Gabby thought to himself, "Why is she proud? Is she dumb? She hunted for eight hours and looks exhausted. At this rate, we'll fail this exam. I can't use my swordsmanship either—not in this trial."
With a chuckle and a thumbs-up, Gabby said, "You're indeed talented."