As Siv turned, Cassien had already vanished.

"Cassien... where a-are you?" He looked around, then back at the spot where Aiysha had originally been standing. "Where is she...? Where has Aiysha gone?"

Siv then stared into the distance. Now, it was only himself and the dark, dense forest stretching endlessly around him.

He looked at the women he had just murdered. Their bodies still lay on the ground. Blood leaked in every direction without stopping. The bullets had pierced through each of their vital organs, causing instantaneous death.

Siv looked at them, then looked behind him.

"W-where... am I?" he questioned. "C-Cassien, A-Aiysha, where are you guys?"

His heart continued to pound within his chest. Siv was afraid, not just because he had become a murderer.

But now, he was alone.

Flickers of flames began spreading throughout the bodies suddenly.

"W-what... have I done?"

...

[1 Day Prior To The Exam, During Cassien’s Lunch].

Discussing this ’plan’ wasn’t over with simple locations... not at all.

Aiysha possessed a special artifact that allowed its user to create a clone of themselves. It was a family-owned treasure, and Cassien knew she had it.

The drawbacks weren’t the worst.

To activate the device, one had to pour every ounce of mana their core could maintain at maximum output... and then it would immediately replicate that individual. The clone could also vanish quite easily with a simple snap.

Aiysha agreed on one condition.

That he would do anything she asked of him.

Any one thing.

"As soon as they murder the three of them..." Cassien whispered, "We vanish. Leaving no trace behind. I’ll also replicate my gun, so when they’re found... there’s no evidence."

"How could you be so sure that person will want to murder those three women?" Aiysha asked, clearly unamused.

"I have a strong suspicion." Cassien grinned. "You thought this only applied to the traitor?"

He laughed.

"I will set something up, so Audrey herself can gather enough conviction to kill those three. If that traitor just so happens to be someone who wants those musketeers gone..."

His grin widened.

"Then I guess [Luck] is on our side."

"How about the bullets? They’ll suspect it was you since you use a gun."

Cassien grinned.

"I’ve already infused them with a heat-spreading conjugate. The bullets will slowly burn throughout their bodies, making sure to leave no evidence of what they originally were. Other than some fire damage."

"How did you get your hands on something like that?!" she exclaimed. "Aren’t those fifty gold coins each?!"

Cassien grinned.

"Before going to the royal banquet, I surprisingly met a vendor I was quite fond of. He sells many things, including plenty of illegal items. During my visit, I sold a beast core and made quite a profit."

He shrugged.

"On top of that, I demanded a specific type of bullet. It just so happened my promise was good enough to obtain them for free."

"What was your promise?" she asked.

"To keep his criminal activities a secret from everyone else."

[Luck].

Of course, everything was finally piecing itself together.

Why did Cassien always prioritize [Luck] above everything else?

It was because of today.

Tonight would finally allow that particular [Attribute] to shine.

...

[Present].

"C-Cassien..." Siv couldn’t handle it anymore. "A-Audrey... Where are you guys?!"

Flash!

Light suddenly illuminated from behind him.

"Our system detected three individuals’ vitals stopping simultaneously... and it happened right here."

An instructor stepped out of the darkness, empowering the flashlight with mana.

"Siv Kento," he said, already knowing his name. "You’re coming with me."

Siv looked down, shaking as tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.

"B-but..."

The gun had disappeared.

Along with the two clones.

"It wasn’t my fault!"

Chiiip.

A single strike landed against his neck, and Siv immediately lost consciousness.

"Boss! I found the prime suspect!"

"End the exam early. This case needs to be solved immediately."

The instructors nodded and instantly sent a message through the [Game-System].

Meanwhile, Cassien—or rather, his real body, not the clone—was lying beneath his sleeping bag exactly where he had always been.

Inside the cozy tent.

Where no one would ever suspect a thing.

Then the [Interface] appeared across the entire island, visible to every [Class] and assigned [Guardian].

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

[Emergency!]

[The Exam Will Now Be Ending!]

[Everyone Meet Up At StartPoint ASAP!]

[Coordinates: X:230, Y:22, Z:220]

Everyone shot awake, most of them rubbing their eyes as the loud notification assaulted their minds.

"Is that real?"

Some were confused.

Others immediately rushed out.

"Let’s go! It’s an order!"

Olivia woke up instantly while Cassien pretended to be asleep.

"We have to leave. It was assigned by the system itself."

"But why?!"

"We don’t know," Olivia answered. "But it doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, it’s an emergency, so everyone... move! Now!"

Cassien climbed out of bed, questioning the situation while following what the rest of the class was doing.

It was still dark.

Too dark.

Barely visible unless you were near the shoreline, where the moonlight illuminated the largest portion of the island.

The class had already begun running toward the starting point, each of them guided by the coordinates provided by the [Game-System].

As they continued moving forward, Olivia yelled at Cassien to hurry up since he was the last person to follow.

"Coming!" he yelled back, making sure not to leave anything behind at the campsite.

After all, this would be his final night here before departure.

Cassien grinned as he paced through the sand.

’Finally, I’ve won.’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Step.

A sudden sound made him pause.

"Who’s there?" Cassien asked aloud, smiling while maintaining his stance. "Oh, it’s you again, isn’t it...?"

He felt that distant, incomprehensible aura.

"[The Nameless Extra]."

The individual sighed, keeping his black cloak tightly wrapped around his body before finally speaking.

"What you’ve done is truly evil."

Clear mockery lingered within his voice.

"But what will you do when there’s no escape other than accepting your fate?"

A laugh escaped him.

"Tell me, the man destined to be banished from the academy... what will happen to you?"

His tone remained as calm and soothing as ever.

A tone Cassien absolutely despised.

"You seem to be having fun." Cassien grinned, pulling both daggers from his pockets. "Want to have a duel?"

His smile widened.

"Just the two of us?"