Zhou Xin was shocked—he hadn’t even noticed it until now.

  Everyone was too focused on staying alive, attacking, or killing others without even knowing if that would help them advance in the test or not.

  "The officials aren’t fools… Something will be revealed soon. That’s why we should focus on staying alive and avoiding unnecessary conflicts."

  "You’re right about that."

  As Zhou Xin and I walked, we noticed a group of examinees gathering around a boy and three girls.

  "That must be his team."

  "Yeah… Are you going to help?"

  "Of course not."

  Zhou Xin smiled again.

  "Your heart is made of stone."

  "Maybe, but at least my mind isn’t as rigid as yours. If you try to act like a hero, all you’ll get is death… How did they make it this far? Power differences."

  I looked at Zhou Xin as he stared at the group that was surrounded.

  "Listen, it’s obvious—the strong prey on the weak here. Do you even realize why they threw us into a forest? Forget the scenery… They’re telling us that this test follows the laws of the wild."

  Zhou Xin covered his twisted grin and spoke again.

  "Oh dear! You might be right, but that still doesn’t mean I want to save them. I’m just enjoying the show…"

  "…"

  I started moving again, leaving him behind. Of course, he followed right after me, but he refused to stay quiet, rambling about his region and the origins of the Huang family—useless information as far as I was concerned.

  We stayed in a cave for two days, only leaving to gather food and roast small animals. We took turns sleeping, and for some reason, no one else ever found that cave.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Then, suddenly, in the middle of the sky, a blue portal tore through reality itself, swirling violently at its center. From it emerged… Smith.

  "Adventurers! I see that only a few of you remain! How unfortunate—I had hoped more of you would last. Out of 300 participants, only 10 remain… And only 5 will advance to the next trial."

  As we looked up at him, floating effortlessly in the sky, we were instantly transported to a new location—an empty clearing in the middle of the forest. A primitive-looking arena, nothing more than a treeless patch of land.

  "A space-time ability? Of course, that’s what he has… A Manipulator."

  [Manipulators use their abilities to alter the laws of time, space, matter, or physics.]

  It was one of the rarest types. But as I scanned the remaining participants, I spotted that samurai from the registration hall. It seemed he had made it this far.

  But the situation was clear—we were about to fight.

  "The arena is ready! Blood pumping, hearts racing! Step forward—this will be one-on-one battles! The five winners will advance to the next round!"

  Exactly what I expected him to say. That masked bastard was enjoying toying with us. What else would you expect from a corrupt adventurer system?

  I turned to the arena. Two people had already stepped in, and the moment they reached the center, a powerful energy surged from the ground, forming a dome around them.

  "So, it's either death or surrender… How typical."

  Words appeared in the sky, carved into existence by Manipulation energy. It was the rule of this match:

  [No ground every 3 seconds.]

  No one understood at first, but those who paid attention figured it out. Exactly three seconds later, the ground beneath them vanished—literally disappeared—and they both fell.

  We only heard their screams. They had hit the bottom and died instantly.

  Everyone realized where this was headed. A Manipulator had no limits—even the fundamental laws of reality didn’t restrict him. We had to expect anything in this fight.

  The next two stepped forward. Surprisingly, one of them was Zhou Xin. Was he in a rush to die? Or did he have a plan?

  His opponent was a girl who barely looked like she had a chance to survive. She wielded two short swords.

  The dome closed around them, and the next rule appeared:

  [Isn’t summer hot? Endure the heat for 10 minutes.]

  The girl wasted no time. She lunged at Zhou Xin, her blades flashing. Zhou Xin only retreated, moving backward until he hit the arena’s edge.

  She nearly took his head off, but at the last second, he ducked. Even as her relentless strikes rained down on him, that damn smirk never left his face.

  He wasn’t even taking it seriously. He hadn’t even taken his hands out of his sleeves. He was just dodging.

  "Are you mocking me?!" the girl snapped.

  "No, I just don’t see a reason to use my hands… You might cut them off, after all~"

  His tone was infuriatingly smug. The girl roared in frustration and attacked again.

  [Isn’t summer hot? Endure the heat for 7 minutes.]

  The countdown had everyone on edge. Her swordplay grew faster, slashing through Zhou Xin’s sleeves and occasionally leaving shallow cuts.

  "Oh dear! Careful, little one—you might actually hurt me~"

  "Then stay still and let me cut you!"

  "But I like myself whole~"

  [Isn’t summer hot? Endure the heat for 5 minutes.]

  The tension in the air was suffocating. The spectators were practically trembling as if they were the ones fighting in the arena.

  4 minutes… 3 minutes… The girl finally managed to grab Zhou Xin’s clothing.

  Her sword was about to pierce his heart—

  Then, Zhou Xin pulled his hand from his sleeve and redirected the blade into his own stomach.

  The sword stabbed straight through him, and blood spilled from his mouth.

  Her teammates’ faces lit up with hope. A faint smile crossed their lips.

  [Isn’t summer hot? Endure the heat for 0 minutes.]

  Zhou Xin leaped back.

  In that instant… The girl’s tears hit the ground—

  And evaporated before they could land.

  The entire arena erupted in flames. Even we couldn’t see what was happening inside.

  Moments later, the fire disappeared.

  The girl was gone. Not just burned—completely erased. Not even her ashes remained.

  Zhou Xin stood there, still smiling. Even his stomach wound had vanished.

  "Oh dear… Looks like I overcooked the meal~"