đźź Chapter 25 :
The test had finally ended. We gathered our belongings and headed out of the forest. There was a fifteen-minute grace period, as Haizen had told me, after the whistle was blown—if participants didn't make it out within that time, they'd be disqualified no matter how many hearts they'd collected.
As we began nearing the forest's edge, the other participants started appearing. Some were injured and hadn't hunted much. Some even came out empty-handed, while others were fine and had caught some spoils. The supervisors, Largo and Kurto, were waiting for us. Flora and Liliana appeared too, carrying a large haul.
The time limit had ended, and Dintro still hadn't shown up. Everything he'd stolen turned out to be useless in the end-he'd have to wait for the next session. A group of new supervisors had already been dispatched to check on the participants who hadn't made it back yet. Dintro wasn't the only one who was late, after all.
The sorting of monster hearts began, overseen by the two supervisors. This process would determine each participant's rank. Largo and Kurto examined each heart carefully, placing them into circles-ordinary monster hearts went into the "E" circle, and the more dangerous the monster, the higher the circle it belonged to. The two seemed to be specialists at this, so the task went smoothly.
The sorting process took over an hour. During that time, the supervisors who had gone into the forest came back, having retrieved the remaining participants. They were true professionals-they managed to bring every single one of them out. Dintro was still unconscious. And despite all the talk about the risk of death in this test, thanks to them, everyone made it out alive. All sixty participants had returned.
Once the sorting was done, the two supervisors stepped forward to announce the end of the test and that the results would be posted at the guild tomorrow morning. We then headed back to the carriages we'd arrived in, reuniting with the companions who had traveled with us earlier that morning.
Flora, Liliana, the girl in armor, the big man from yesterday, and finally Haizen. Who would have thought I'd meet three of the five of them again in the forest? The knight's armor was a bit damaged but she was fine. The big man had some injuries too, but they were minor. In the end, I was the only one in this carriage who had nearly died during the test.
On the way back, the big man laughed:
"Who would've thought we'd all survive this test? You guys are strong."
The two sorceresses and Haizen looked at me because of what happened with Savra, but none of them said a word. Then the armored girl spoke:
"I wonder how many monsters each of you caught. I only managed ten, unfortunately."
The big man smiled.
"Not bad. I caught twelve. What about the rest?"
Haizen spoke:
"I caught twenty-six."
Then Liliana:
"I caught fifty-four."
Fifty-four! An incredible number. Honestly, I'd have doubted it if I hadn't seen their level with my own eyes. Even the others besides Flora were shocked. Then Flora spoke:
"I caught one hundred and eight."
One hundred and eight. This little girl had managed to catch all that? Even seeing her level, it was hard to believe. Everyone except Liliana was stunned. The big man said:
"Wait, little one. There must be some mistake. Are you sure you can count properly?"
The armored girl added with an awkward smile:
"Come on, she's still a child. No need for such a reaction."
But Liliana confirmed her younger sister's words:
"She's not lying. She really did catch that many."
Haizen was surprised but didn't dispute it, while the other two still seemed stunned. The number was huge, yes, but I didn't sense any reason to lie.
"Well then, you, young man—how many did you catch?"
The moment I'd been dreading. Should I tell them I only caught two? How embarrassing.
[Just be honest with yourself. They'll appreciate it… or maybe they'll just laugh. Who knows?]
Shut up. This isn't your time to talk. You're just eager to laugh at me. Haizen patted my shoulder and said:
"Don't be shy. Tell them how many you caught."
That sneaky bald guy—he was looking at me with a mocking smile.
"In fact, I caught twenty, but eighteen were lost because a monster ate most of the hearts I'd collected, so I only have two left."
Then came an awkward silence. That story didn't sound convincing at all. The big man looked at me with pity.
"That's unfortunate. It must've been rough."
He seemed to believe it, but the others clearly didn't. Haizen looked shocked by my lie—hopefully he wouldn't spill the truth. But he decided to speak for me:
"That's not how it went. He caught twenty, lost nineteen, and found one by chance on the way, so he ended up with two."
Wow. He told an even worse lie than mine. Still, the big man believed it.
"That's still sad," he said.
The armored girl spoke to Haizen and me:
"You two seem to get along. You weren't like this in the morning."
I told her about meeting Haizen during the test
"We met during the test. Certain things happened, and we ended up as companions."
"Really! Well, that explains why you're like this now."
Flora smiled after that.
"Isn't making companions a good thing, Takeru?"
The big man and the armored girl were shocked.
"Takeru? So that's your name. Then you met her?"
The big man laughed:
"This is really surprising. You've met more than one person in the carriage. Well, maybe you'll meet me again too. By the way, my name's Terastius."
He didn't know he'd been behind me at the hotel restaurant last night. After he said that, everyone started introducing themselves:
"I'm Oriana."
"I'm Liliana."
"I'm Flora."
"Haizen."
After the introductions, Flora smiled at Oriana, hinting at the morning challenge she'd won.
"So, Oriana, that means I…"
Oriana smiled back at Flora, acknowledging her defeat and agreeing to Flora's terms.
"Yes, Flora. We're truly friends now."
Flora beamed with joy.
"Not just Oriana—all of you are my friends now!"
Everyone laughed with her. She had unexpectedly changed the mood in the carriage. We kept talking all the way to Osmara. The townsfolk were waiting for the participants to welcome them back. They had prepared banners that read, "Welcome, Heroes!" I don't know what it is with their love for hunters... even though most of them are cowards who would never become one themselves.
Things turned chaotic as we got off. Little kids, old folks, even young people were everywhere. We tried to get away from the chaos, but it was no use. We had no choice but to share in their joy, even if I didn't feel the same way. After some time of celebration and madness, the crowd began to thin, and we finally managed to slip away.
Everyone said their goodbyes, waiting for tomorrow to receive their hunter cards. Haizen and I continued walking together.
It had been a truly insane journey—one where I'd genuinely faced death. I'd fought different battles and managed to hunt at least one monster. Ridiculous compared to the other hunters, but still. I'd made companions, even if it was for a shared interest. Honestly, I wouldn't have believed I'd do any of this if I'd thought about it that morning. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have an adventure in this world after all. In the end, you never know what the future might hold.