The monkey disappeared from its previous position and reappeared about a meter in front of Cheondung, its hands extended, grabbing the bullet in the air as if it were picking flowers.
"Huh!?"
Although it was fast, they could still see it to some extent. Still, they were surprised by the monkey's speed. Other than Cheondung, who clearly saw everything from the beginning, the girls could barely see it make a move toward the bullet. It was just a fraction of a second after he pulled the trigger.
"What's going on!?"
The two exclaimed in unison. Instinctively, they wanted to draw their weapons, but Cheondung stopped them.
"Don't move for now. Listen to me first," he said, slowly pulling away the gun pointed at its head.
"This monkey reacts to fast movement like a motion detector. I'm not underestimating your skills, but neither of you can outpace it once it starts the chase. I'd say, if you suddenly move and exceed its limits, it will attack you. If you move faster, it will move much faster. So I suggest you remain in your position."
Hugo and Kiseia exchanged glances before giving each other a short nod.
"Okay..."
Although they had only just met Cheondung, they believed in his capabilities, and seeing his calm behavior, they felt relieved.
"So, what should we do next?" Hugo asked.
However, Cheondung remained silent, his thoughts wandering back to their conversation.
*At first, I thought it was a beast with a mind of its own, but it doesn't seem capable of basic communication and is just acting on simple commands.
According to what Hugo said, it was an anima. I don't know what exactly an anima is, but based on my previous encounter, it's probably a title given to someone who can subjugate and control beasts.
And this beast is already powerful, but the controller can only issue commands. There are several reasons for that; however, I can only think of these:
Likely, the beast's mentality isn't high—or the opposite. And the other reason is that the anima's control is currently divided; the person controlling this has a lot of animals. Perhaps there are more of them here, maybe hundreds or thousands.
Meaning the best way to eradicate them is to get rid of the controller. But that person is probably well hidden, and searching for and eliminating them would require more work, which isn't beneficial to us either.
I guess we should just proceed and ignore this. To pass this exam, we only need to find the real exit, not get rid of the anima. Assuming there are more, they might have different abilities. We might as well take safety precautions and not waste energy on a meaningless fight.*
Reaching a conclusion, he gave them a subtle glance.
"We will ignore this monkey. If you move matching my pace, you'll be fine. It won't attack you, since I've calculated its reaction speed and limitations."
As expected of Cheondung's short orders, he thinks in simple words, enough for them to understand. No need to go into specifics; humans can think for themselves.
Hugo and Kiseia nodded and slowly followed after him, leaving the monkey standing still and motionless.
"Sure enough, we have a Shinheuh here... To think we would encounter the final boss at the beginning—how lucky!"
Said a boy wearing an owl-shaped hat and a white mask engraved with an owl. He was staring at the person sitting cross-legged on the head of a monkey.
The man met his gaze and looked at him, feeling amused.
"Hmm... A frog in a well doesn't know how big the ocean is... Since when did they think regulars could beat a Ranker?"
He scoffed, but seeing the similarity between them, he set it aside. "Oh? You're from the Lo Po Bia family as well. No wonder you've got that attitude."
He said, then jumped off the head of the monkey, his mouth curling into a sly smile.
"Although we are from the same family... I cannot let you pass easily."
"Hmph, that's fair! But I think you are underestimating us..."
The guy held a ball of feathers, clutching it lightly as he shouted,
"Let's go, boys!—Come out, Eagle Owl!"
Everyone stared at him full of expectations, especially his teammates. They knew how strong he was... But after a few seconds, nothing happened.
"Hmm... Are we supposed to wait more?" the examiner asked him mockingly. Even his monkey stared at him as if looking at a pitiful child.
His toes curled, digging into the ground.
"S-shut up!"
He retorted, his face red with embarrassment.
"Hey, come out now!"
"I refuse!"
Everyone: ...
"Hey, you're embarrassing me! Come out now!"
"..."
"Fine... I'll introduce you to the pretty owls later and even purchase expensive food worth three months once we're done on the test floor."
"Humph! Very well then, just this once... But Pudidy, you'd better do your job, otherwise..."
The voice said threateningly.
"I know..." Pudidy replied, scoffing it off.
"Are we finally fighting now?" the administrator asked while yawning.
Suddenly, the battlefield was covered in white light, blinding their eyes. After a few seconds, a big, fat white owl emerged, and riding on top of it was Pudidy.
The owl waved its two wings, generating thousands of feathers aimed at the examiner.
"Let's begin!"
"Wait a minute, princess... You cannot just run around aimlessly."
Evan said while following after the running Yuri. Right beside him was a slender boy with short blonde hair and yellow eyes.
"I'm tired... Lero Ro, you go after her. I'll follow later," he said while trying to catch his breath. Lero Ro only gave him a subtle glance before nodding, then chased after Yuri.
Once he was gone, the tired expression on Evan's face disappeared, replaced by a serious and intense gaze.
"Pocket, visible mode."
Then a black spherical ball materialized in front of him. Dialing a certain number, the call immediately connected.
"Greetings, my lord—"
"Enough with the formalities. How is it going in there, Evan?" the receiver asked.
Evan sighed, taking his time for a moment before explaining things to that person.
"I see... Judging by the circumstances, it looks like someone is indeed interfering with the exam. This wasn't supposed to happen. I wonder what they are going to do?"
"My lord, what about Lady Yuri?"
"Oh? Evan, do you think the princesses of Zahard are so weak that they cannot deal with simple matters?"
Hearing this, although the person was far away from him, his body tensed. If he said one wrong word, regardless of his position, he might suffer an unbearable fate.
"I apologize, my lord. I did go too far..." He even performed a kowtow despite the person not being present.
"It's fine... But for now, I want you to check on a certain someone."
"Who is it?" Evan asked, tilting his head at the floating pocket.
"That person is..."
Upon hearing the name, Evan nodded in understanding.
"I understand, my lord... I'll keep an eye on that person."