Chapter 14

Southern Eagle Hall.

Upon arriving at the destination, Ulan looked around the exam area. He was searching for the supervisor who would explain the “Monster Hunting” exam.

Just then.

Someone suddenly spoke to him.

“Hey, you there.”

A woman in her mid-to-late twenties.

She had deep green hair and bright yellow eyes. She then asked, seemingly curious.

“Why are you shirtless?”

“I’m not used to it.”

Ulan answered straightforwardly.

It wasn’t something he needed to hide anyway.

“Not used to it? To wearing clothes?”

“That’s right.”

“No, you’re not some barbarian from the frontier, what do you mean you’re not used to wearing clothes…?”

“Correct.”

“…What?”

“I’m from a barbarian tribe.”

This was also a fact he didn’t need to hide.

So he replied calmly, but the woman looked quite flustered. It seemed she hadn’t expected such an answer.

At that moment, something caught Ulan’s eye.

The identification document hanging around the woman’s neck.

[Exam Supervisor]

[Stella Natalia]

No wonder she looked older than the average examinee—she was a supervisor. As Ulan nodded, Stella muttered softly.

“Every year, there are one or two strange ones during the entrance exam, but this is the first time I’ve seen a barbarian taking the exam.”

Her eyes held a faint curiosity.

Stella examined Ulan’s body as if he were some strange object.

“By the way, are you really here to take the exam?”

“If it’s Monster Hunting, then yes.”

“Good. Then I’ll explain.”

Stella smiled and turned around.

“Monster Hunting is exactly what it sounds like—a test to verify if you have the ability to fight monsters. It’s to see if you have the talent to be a monster hunter.”

Arsen Academy nurtures and produces talents in various fields, including combat, life skills, and the arts.

The most famous field is undoubtedly magic, but talents also consistently emerge in swordsmanship, martial arts, and archery.

Monster Hunting was one of them.

“The exam is simple. You just have to defeat the monster in any way possible. Also, the higher the risk level of the monster, the higher the grade you can get.”

The harder it is, the better the result.

That was the end of the explanation about the exam.

“If you understand, take this.”

A glowing blue orb.

It was the same orb he had received during the previous exam, the Great Duel.

“Be careful not to break the orb. If it shatters, no matter how effective your hits on the monster are, you’ll automatically get an F grade.”

Stella made a slashing motion across her neck.

She advised him to hide it in a safe place.

“If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.”

“How do I get an S-Rank?”

“Huh? You’re aiming for an S-Rank?”

Her yellow eyes widened slightly.

As if she hadn’t expected such a question.

But after a moment, Stella smiled with interest and said.

“It’s simple. Just defeat a 3-star monster within 3 minutes.”

A 3-star monster. While weaker than a demon beast of the same rank, it’s still not something an ordinary examinee can take down alone.

It’s a level where at least three formal knights are needed to barely defeat it.

“For every minute you go over, your grade drops. By the way, no one has ever gotten an S-Rank in my exam so far.”

So? Still want to challenge it?

Stella looked at Ulan as if to say that.

Ulan nodded.

“Simple enough.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll take the S-Rank exam.”

At his nonchalant reply, Stella was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing.

“You’re quite the bold one. Alright, then head inside. I’ll summon the monster.”

As Stella gave the signal, an assistant supervisor opened the door to the exam hall.

An empty interior.

Just as Ulan was about to step in.

“One piece of advice—never let your guard down. There are safety measures, but accidents can happen anytime, in any way.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Ah, and this is just personal curiosity.”

“…?”

“Why is your stomach glowing blue?”

Her finger pointed at Ulan’s stomach.

Ulan also looked down at his stomach.

A faint blue glow. Not as strong as before, but still visible upon closer inspection.

“Because I swallowed the orb.”

“…What?”

Stella asked again, dumbfounded.

Ulan briefly explained what had happened earlier. After a moment, Stella let out an incredulous voice.

“Why did you swallow it?”

“You said if the orb breaks, I fail. So I put it in a safe place.”

Of course, with Ulan’s strength and skill, he could fight while protecting the orb.

But it was bothersome. So he swallowed it.

That was the only reason.

“…I’ll give you one more piece of advice for your own good.”

Meanwhile, Stella’s face had turned as hard as stone. After a moment, she spoke with a serious expression.

“Arsen’s entrance exam is no joke. Sure, most are like greenhouse flowers, but there are also dangerous ones who risk their lives in the exam.”

Every year, there are casualties during the entrance exam.

Especially last year, there were five deaths and dozens of injuries. About half of them were due to bloody clashes between examinees.

“So, from now on, avoid such reckless actions. You came all the way from the frontier to the Empire, so if you don’t want to get hurt here…”

She gave him sincere advice.

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Ulan, who had been silently listening, suddenly put the orb back in his mouth. Like eating candy.

Oh, come on. Surely not?

Stella reached out her hand. To stop his actions. But Ulan was much faster.

Gulp!

The orb slid down his throat.

The blue light slowly moved down his esophagus, heading toward his stomach. Stella shouted in disbelief.

“You crazy bastard! What if you swallow it again?!”

“This is the safest place.”

“No, you could die from that! If you get stabbed by some lunatic while you’re out of it…!”

“It’s fine.”

His voice remained calm.

Ulan blinked and said.

“In all my life, my stomach has only been pierced once.”

One of the Lords of the Abyss.

When he fought Giant King Rargtan. Except for that time, his stomach has never been pierced.

Right after Ulan’s answer.

Stella clenched her mouth shut. Partly because the sudden answer was absurd, but more so because his gaze was unusual.

‘What kind of eyes are those…?’

These weren’t the eyes of an ordinary examinee. They were the eyes of a seasoned warrior who had been through countless battlefields. Calm and deep, like someone who had experienced everything.

So she unconsciously closed her mouth.

“Haah, I don’t know where you crawled out from, but you’re the most peculiar examinee I’ve ever seen.”

After speaking her mind.

Stella made a stern expression.

“If you feel like you’re going to die during the fight, shout for help immediately. I’ll consider it as you giving up and deactivate the summon.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

“Thanks my ass, just follow me if you understand!”

With an angry shout.

She headed straight for the exam hall. Soon after, Stella took her place on the prepared platform, and Ulan moved to the battlefield.

The hall was quite spacious.

And on one side, there were various equipment prepared: longswords, shields, axes, hammers, spears, bows, ropes, iron nets, and more.

Ulan chose a hand axe.

He could handle all the other weapons, but this one felt the most familiar. As he lightly swung the axe in each hand.

Stella’s voice echoed through the exam hall.

“Now, the Monster Hunting exam for examinee Ulan Bator will begin.”

As soon as her businesslike voice stopped, a large magic circle appeared on the floor ahead. Ulan stared at it blankly.

If it were an ordinary hunter, they would first look for a place to hide. They would need to identify the monster and find the most efficient strategy.

But Ulan was different.

‘Monsters usually have similar weak points.’

Either the head or the heart.

Destroy one, and most will die.

Much easier to kill than demon beasts, where you have to carve out the flesh until the core appears.

In other words, there was no need to hide.

So Ulan just stared at the glowing magic circle. And at that moment, a huge shadow loomed over the exam hall.

Thud! Thud!

The heavy footsteps shook the ground.

Soon, a massive monster appeared.

A large reptile covered in scales. The peculiar thing was that it had two heads.

‘Double-Headed Dragon.’

Literally, a dragon with two heads.

Of course, it’s only called a dragon.

Real dragons are much larger and more powerful.

To Ulan, who had fought real dragons before, this was just a deformed lizard.

But then.

Suddenly, the platform became noisy.

“W-why is the Double-Headed Dragon…?!”

“There seems to be a problem with the magic circle!”

“Send it back quickly!”

“We’re trying now!”

As if they were panicked by the appearance of the Double-Headed Dragon.

On the other hand, Ulan remained calm. There was only one thing he needed to do here.

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, he kicked off the ground.

The axe was imbued with spirit. Soon, the axe glowed red-hot. At that moment, the Double-Headed Dragon seemed to notice Ulan’s approach and roared.

“Kraaaah!”

“Grrrrr!”

The Double-Headed Dragon bared its ferocious teeth.

It looked ready to bite Ulan at any moment.

But this was its mistake.

It should have just bitten him right away. That would have delayed Ulan’s approach and allowed it to live a little longer.

It realized too late.

Wham! Crack!

A decisive strike.

The Double-Headed Dragon’s head flew through the air, severed by the swiftly crossing axes.

The remaining head tried to pull back in panic, but it was already too late.

Ulan’s axe was much faster.

Crunch! Snap!

The second head fell to the ground.

The creature gushed dark red blood and died. Leaving the now headless carcass behind, Ulan turned around.

To check the exam results.

6.

Meanwhile.

Stella couldn’t believe her eyes.

There were two reasons.

The first was that the monster summoning magic circle had suddenly malfunctioned, summoning a 5-star monster, the Double-Headed Dragon, instead of a 3-star one.

A 5-star monster is not something an ordinary examinee can handle. So Stella tried to cancel the summon while rushing into the exam hall to buy time.

To protect Ulan.

‘That was the plan…’

But in the blink of an eye, the Double-Headed Dragon was defeated.

By none other than the examinee she thought needed protection, Ulan.

Thud!

The headless Double-Headed Dragon collapsed, shaking the ground. The assistant supervisors, who had just regained their senses, muttered with blank expressions.

“U-Ulan Bator.”

“The time taken to complete the exam…”

They couldn’t continue.

Of course. The result was just that unbelievable. But since they had seen it with their own eyes, they couldn’t think it was a trick.

So the results were soon announced.

“Ulan Bator, 13 seconds! S-Rank!”

The exam time is automatically measured from the moment the monster is summoned. Meaning, the Double-Headed Dragon was hunted just 13 seconds after being summoned.

Since the Monster Hunting exam was added to Arsen Academy’s entrance exam, no examinee had ever achieved such a result.

Meanwhile, Ulan, having confirmed the results, turned around without hesitation. To head to the next exam hall.

But at that moment.

Someone suddenly blocked his path.

“You, you you you!”

It was Stella.

She pointed at Ulan with a straight finger, shouting with a bewildered expression.

“What are you? No, seriously, what’s your deal?!”

“Ulan.”

“Not your name! What do you do?!”

“A warrior from the northern plains.”

The conversation wasn’t going anywhere.

But that didn’t matter.

Regardless of what Ulan did, Stella’s next words were already decided.

“Hey, have you ever thought about becoming a hunter?”

“No.”

“You have the talent to be a monster hunter! I can train you well. Huh? What do you think?!”

Stella leaned in close.

Her eyes sparkled like stars. She was determined to recruit Ulan no matter what. Ulan shook his head without avoiding her gaze.

“I’m not suited to be a hunter.”

A hunter must be skilled at hiding their presence, know the forest well, and study their prey diligently.

Of course, Ulan could do that too.

But it didn’t suit his temperament.

Rather than bother with hiding his presence, observing his opponent, and finding weak points, it was much easier to just swing his axe and crush the enemy’s head.

So he tried to refuse, but Stella clung to him persistently.

“Supervisor, the next examinee…”

“Shut up! Is that important right now?!”

She even abandoned her original duty as a supervisor.

And for good reason. To Stella, Ulan was that much of a desired talent.

‘Flawless movements. Unshakable judgment. Incredible strength and skill!’

Actions that would take years of experience to master, Ulan performed them effortlessly. If this isn’t talent, then what is?

If he added hunting skills to that, the strongest monster hunter would be born!

Stella was convinced of that.

“I won’t ask you to decide right now. But after you enroll, just take one of my classes. You’ll want to do it then!”

She was full of confidence.

Ulan chuckled and replied.

“If you say so, I’ll give it a try.”

“Really? You promise?!”

“Alright. Now, please move aside.”

“Good! Even if the class is full, I’ll save a spot for you, so you better come, okay?!”

Once she got his agreement to try her class, Stella finally stepped aside. She waved her hand until the very end.

After leaving the Southern Eagle Hall.

Ulan checked his next destination.

‘The final exam is…’

The special skill exam in the magic field recommended by Count Dermore, “Magic Detection.” But honestly, Ulan was a complete novice in magic. He didn’t even know the basics of how magic worked.

‘The Count said it’s not much different from hunting demon beasts.’

Then the possibilities were endless.

To Ulan, hunting demon beasts was just a bit more troublesome than hunting monsters.

‘The exam starts at 2 PM.’

There were about two hours left.

While pondering what to do in the meantime.

A bell rang in the distance. It was the bell signaling lunchtime. Hearing it, a forgotten memory resurfaced.

“Let’s meet at the fountain after the exam!”

Before parting ways with Noa.

He remembered making that promise.

Since he was starting to feel hungry, he decided to eat first and then take the remaining exams.

Having made up his mind, Ulan turned around.

Chapter 5. Entrance Exam

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