Kade led the group deeper through the forest, his steps measured, his attention divided between the terrain and the boundary's slow approach behind them. The shrinking ward would close in again soon. Not yet, but soon enough that hesitation would cost more than aggression.

He kept their pace controlled. Not too fast – because the others needed enough awareness to react when orders changed. Not too slow – because spacing tightened the longer they waited.

One handled pressure from the front.

One circled to cut off escape routes.

One watched for interference from the flanks.

Kade coordinated from the center, where his instructions reached every role without delay.

At first, everything felt normal.

Then his skill, Relative Scanning, caught something behind them.

Kade did not immediately stop.

He kept walking, let the skill flare more carefully, and narrowed the scan's range.

Relative Scanning gave him layered information, mana signatures, physical presences, movement pressure, and the small disturbances bodies left as they moved through space. As an Assassin Path follower, Kade specialized in information gathering. Being followed without noticing was nearly impossible as long as he kept the skill active.

The rest of his group did not react.

That meant the follower was good.

Very good.

Kade refined the scan again, focusing on the exact shape of the disturbance.

Then he realized what made him uneasy.

The person behind them, they appeared out of nowhere.

They were walking just fine before suddenly, out of nowhere, the mana signature just appeared, along with their physical presence. It was as if this person had teleported into his radius randomly.

That unsettled him. More than anything else in the event so far.

There were stealth skills, concealment artifacts, and mana-suppression techniques, but they usually left some kind of trace. Residue. Distortion. Something. This was too clean. Too deliberate. Too refined for anyone at their level.

Which meant it had to be something dangerous, something he didn't understand, or sheer luck. Either way, Kade couldn't allow this person to continue following them.

Kade signaled the group to slow.

They did, confused but obedient. These were students his family had hired. In truth, for this type of exam, grouping up was actually not good at all. There weren't enough resources to go around. It was as simple as that. But these people didn't care about the qualifications. All they cared for is the money his family would provide them after. Many noble students took this same strategy. That didn't mean it was a guaranteed win however, he still needed to be intelligent.

He walked a few more steps, then turned suddenly, sword pointed toward the bush where the presence was hiding.

"Come out."

The forest went silent.

His group tensed, weapons raising, eyes scanning the trees. Kade ignored them and kept his sword steady.

A few seconds passed.

Then Ronan Ashbourne stepped out.

Dark hair. Void-like eyes. A small smile on his face.

He did not look cornered. He looked like someone who had decided being seen was acceptable.

A ruse, Kade realized. Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

Ronan's gaze moved across Kade's group one by one, slow and assessing. It was not the look of someone panicking over being outnumbered.

For a moment, , despite knowing this was a ruse, Kade felt strangely small under Ronan's gaze. He disliked that feeling immediately and forced it down. Ronan was only Rank 2 initial stage. Brutas may have lost to him, but Kade was not Brutas. Kade was one rank below Brutas, and he was not the type to charge forward and let pride make decisions for him.

More importantly, Ronan was alone.

Kade had a group.

Numbers mattered

"How long have you been following us?"

Ronan answered without hesitation.

"A few minutes."

Kade believed him.

One member of Kade's group got nervous and stepped forward, voice rising.

"Why are we even talking? We should attack him now while he's alone."

Ronan did not react to the threat.

Kade turned and shut the idea down.

"No."

The group member hesitated, confused, but Kade's tone left no room for argument.

There was not enough to gain from attacking immediately. Ronan alone could not do much if they kept formation. If he ran, they could retrieve him. If he attacked, they could punish him. But for now, he had been moving alone and may have information they did not.

Kade turned back toward Ronan.

"We can extract value before deciding anything."

Ronan said nothing for a moment, then smiled.

"Smart. You're less foolish than you look."

Kade felt irritation rise.

The Ashbourne failure speaking to him like that? For a second, he wanted to punish the arrogance.

But he pushed the feeling down.

That reaction was probably what Ronan wanted.

Kade kept his tone steady.

"I'm not interested in arguments. I only want to know what you've seen."

Ronan did not answer immediately.

He looked over the group again, the same calculating look in his eyes.

That made Kade more cautious.

Because this person was not just a lone target or a lucky noble with a reputation.

Kade did not rush. He kept his tone even, his posture relaxed. He did not make the questions sound important.

"What have you seen since the event started?"

"Not much," Ronan replied calmly. His face was a placid mask. "A few eliminated students. The usual chaos near the center."

"Which direction did you come from?"

Ronan gestured vaguely southwest. "Mostly along the boundary."

"Cross any groups?"

"Only yours."

"Anyone from the top fifteen?"

"Not up close."

Kade watched. Not the words. He watched the slight shift of weight from one foot to the other. The rhythm of Ronan's breathing. The stillness in his hands. An amateur's body was more honest than their mouth. Words could be arranged into a fortress, but the body left windows open.

Ronan's windows were closed. His answers were not especially valuable, but Kade was not really searching for information in the words. He was searching for a crack in the performance.

He moved to specific names. "Luca Underwood."

"I saw him from a distance once. He seemed busy."

"Iris Lockhart."

"No."

"Irene Ashbourne."

"No."

"Grace. Aura. Jason. Iris…"

He continued listing names.

Still nothing. Ronan gave measured answers without revealing much, and none of the names provoked a meaningful shift. Kade found that mildly irritating, but his own expression remained a mirror of Ronan's. Unchanging. If Ronan was watching him in return, he would find nothing useful.

Then Kade changed tactics.

"Have you seen any capture points?"

There.

For the briefest moment, Ronan's shoulders tightened. Only slightly.

Barely enough to notice if you were not looking for it.

His expression smoothed out almost a second later, and he adopted a mask of confusion, as if the question made no sense.

"No. Why would I be out here if I had?"

Kade saw it anyway.

Foolish.