Parallel Memory

First was the written exam which will be conducted in the course of one week.

The students had dark circles under their eyes, probably due to pulling an all-nighter to study before the test.

I was no exception, to make sure that I can score as high as possible, I also stay up all night.

After the written test, people who didn't do well were screaming and making noises.

[ "What is with mana theory questions? How to withstand a lack of mana? What is the best way to bring a mana core to stabilize" ]

[ "I can't. I can't do it anymore. I am dying from information overload." ]

[ "I think I have failed a big time. I left the answer sheet empty." ]

[ "Please, no more. NO MORE STUDYING! " ]

The student who didn't study or didn't do well in their exam can be seen complaining and screaming outside the exam hall.

In any case, the written exams ended without much trouble. I, personally think that I did well in the written exam. There were some questions that I couldn't understand at all but overall I think that the exam went well.

After all the written exams, including maths there were three more subjects, we had a few days off to rest before the practical exam started.

No prior information was given before the practical exam, and the only instruction we got was to gather at 8 am in front of the training ground on Monday.

However, I know that the practical exam is a survival test. We are asked to gather on the training ground to take us to the dungeon created by the staff of illusion.

It was going to be 5-day survival inside the dungeon. The objective of the exam is for students to be able to cope with any unexpected situation.

The exam will start the moment Professor completes his instruction. No time will be given to take extra equipment or any other things that you might need.

However, I had prepared food, water, tents, and other items beforehand.

I bought the items from the store by searching for items and buying them which was cumbersome. I miss the convenience of online shopping which was not here in Edolas.

I stored the items in the spatial ring. I spend the rest of the time doing some light exercises. I refrain from training intensively in case I get injured before the exam even began.

*****

[ "Now, concentrate!" ]

Monday finally arrived. It was the day the practical exam would begin. I went to the gathering place which was filled with students.

[ "I'm a bit nervous." ]

[ "I don't think I have done well in the written exam. This last exam is the only hope for me to pass." ]

[ "Will it be a duel like last year?" ]

[ "I hope I will rank in Top-100!" ]

The students were murmuring amongst themselves. Most appeared to be nervous and anxious. While some were showing excitement for the upcoming exam.

Now that the exam is right under my nose, I also began to feel a little worried. Not that I will do bad or fail, just that seeing surroundings people nervous also makes me feel a little nervous.

[ "Please be quiet. I will explain what you need to do in the exam." ]

A Professor stood on the podium and started to explain the rules for the exam.

[ "In a few minutes, you will all be sent into a dungeon. You will have to stay there for five days. Whether you team up with someone or be alone is up to you. You will have to hunt for your own food and find water. " ]

At the Professor's unanticipated words, the students began to get noisy.

[ "A survival test? That's new." ]

[ "Will we get time to prepare?" ]

[ "Stay in a dungeon for five days. Isn't it too dangerous?" ]

The students can't help but be nervous at the word of the professor.

[ "The objective of the exam is for you to survive and hunt monsters which will be counted as your points. The number of points you get will be your score for your practical exam. If you are thrown out from the dungeon which will happen when you encounter a life-threatening situation, no matter the point, you will automatically fail." ]

The Professor's explanation continued for a while.

The Professor explained that students can rob each other's things, get points for defeating other students, and also can work together to take out monsters. Basically, anything goes and the only rule is you have to survive for five days.

[ "The Rank of monsters are F, E, and D. In addition to that, there is Five Rank-D Boss monster which is 100 points each." ]

Once the professor's explanation ended, heavy tension emerged between students. The student was not talking to each other. It will be likely that students will fight each other once they are teleported into the dungeon.

However, not everyone was that paranoid about the situation. Some students found that it will be much easier to pass the test if they form a group.

But most of the Top students decided on being alone. Being in a team means sharing points after killing the monster.

Though it was easier to kill monsters in a team, however, it will be a waste of time to hunt a monster together. It will more efficient to find the monster separately rather than going after one monster in groups.

[ "Students would now be teleported inside the dungeon one by one. Students, come according to your rank." ]

[ "Hiro Ernest, Zion Maxwell, Lisa Kyelpas, Slyvia Mavis, Tom…" ]

The place that we will spawn will be randomly in the dungeon. The Professor continued to call out names. And finally, my turn came.

[ "Zero Elea, Alia Sharp, Morris Schofield, Shayaan Acosta, Lilian Hill, Frankie Henson..." ]

I got in front of the portal and step into it. My body was sucked in by the force of the portal.

-WHOOSH! -THUD!

I opened my eyes to see different scenery from seconds ago.

The environment inside the dungeon is the same as described in the novel. It has a forest, similar to the BloodyWolf forest. The only difference was that it was colder here than there.

However, the cold was not uncomfortable for me since I practice Ice Art. My body resistance toward cold is a lot higher than other people's.

The scenery inside the dungeon was absolutely lovely with snowy mountains and green trees. The job I had to do after finishing the survey of the place was to find a hunting spot.

[ "I should find a hunting spot." ]

It will be most efficient if you know where the most monster is found in the area. Unlike others, I didn't have to waste my time in search of food and drinking water. As for the shelter, I have a tent and all my sleeping equipment in my spatial ring.

Currently, I was in the middle of a jungle. There were trees surrounding all four sides. For now, the place didn't have any monsters.

The priority right now was to get out of this forest and find higher ground to get a better view of the area.

I decided to head north where it was mountainous. I needed to find a place with a source of water, the monsters are likely to appear near rivers and places with food.

Before long, I encounter Basilisk, a Rank-E monster. They were swift and their attacks were poisonous. Its length was 5 meters and looked as the body was covered in stone.

The monster would not die even if its body was chopped off. The sure way to kill Basilisk was to destroy its head.

-HISS!

Basilisk sprang into action. It opened its mouth wide and leap into the air and tried to bite me.

I dodge its attack by dashing to the side and counterattacked.

[ "Shadow Style: Shadow Slash" ]

The attack was precisely hit, severing the head with its body. However, even after beheading the Basilisk, the monster was not dead.

-HISS!

But it was no problem since all I had to do was cut his head apart.

-SLASH!

[ "That went well!" ]

I continued to walk in the north direction before the place started to go from forest to rocky areas. I explored the area and was searching for a river or any kind of water source where the probability of encountering the monster was high.

It was no sooner that I managed to find a lake where a Lone Wolf was drinking water.

I took advantage of the situation by attacking him first.

[ "Shadow Style: Shadow Slash" ]

The Lone Wolf died. The Lone Wolf's specialty is speed, as long as you can restrict his speed or find a way to sneak attack, Lone Wolf was not that tough.

I hid in the place near the lake and waited for the monsters to come.

After a few hours, the scorching sun had set, and darkness descended on the dungeon.

In the last few hours, I managed to kill one group of goblins consisting of 5 goblins and two more Basilisk.

[ "Haa…"]

After defeating the Last monster which was Basilisk, I decided to rest.

I set up an alarm system around the place where I want to sleep. The alarm would ring when a monster or any movement is detected within 10 meters of its radius.

I took out my tent from my spatial ring, which was rectangular shaped. The item was a Rank-F item that could be turned into a tent when imbued with mana.

-SWISH!

The artifact started to expand and formed into a big tent. I entered the tent. It was spacious inside the tent and could easily fit ten people.

I went outside to cook the food. I took out the portable grill and packaged meat from the spatial ring and started cooking it.

[ "Ummm" ]

Chowing down the tasty meat, I almost felt sorry for other students that must be starving right now. Finding food and water is one of the biggest difficulties of this test. However, here I am eating meat bought from the store.

After eating, I decided to get some sleep. I jumped on the bed and started to sleep peacefully.