CHAPTER 52: ENTERING FOREST OF UNMASKED

"Now that everyone is here, the entrance exam of Noxvalen shall commence immediately."

I looked at the source of the voice as I could see Azriel floating in the air.

His gaze passed through the crowd of students before pausing on me just for a moment.

I swear I could see a smug smile on his face for some reason, as if he knew exactly what he’d done.

Fuck. That asshole did it on purpose.

First he dropped me directly into the lap of Principal Morvana. Then dropped me just behind her daughter Arza.

What did I even do to deserve this?

Now that I think about it, Azriel did have a reputation for pulling insane pranks with a cold face.

Screw you, Azriel.

I screamed in my mind.

Okay, I’ll admit, dropping in Morvana’s lap was not the worst experience, and it’s not like she would have killed me.

But this psychopath Arza, she would have definitely chopped me to pieces if I didn’t have the chocolate bars with me.

I glared at Azriel.

Mark my words, you bastard, I will have my revenge one day.

But, naturally, he didn’t give a damn about the vengeance I swore at this moment.

He continued.

"The test will be simple, you just have to survive the first layer of the Forest of Unmasked for merely seven days."

"You can hide, form groups, or fight alone. Those who survive till the end will qualify for the academy."

"The monsters within the first layer are mostly within F-rank, with some rare ones being in early E-rank. So, it should be easy."

"Within the forest you will be responsible for your own life. So, try not to die."

As soon as his words faded, panic gripped the hearts of students. Whispers followed.

I found it laughable.

Each one of them knew this was supposed to be the test. But it’s funny how courage tends to evaporate once someone actually mentions the details about danger.

Still, Azriel wasn’t done.

He snapped his fingers as the sound silenced the crowd once more. An obsidian bracelet appeared in front of each candidate.

"These bracelets will be your only way out," Azriel said. "Teleportation magic is embedded inside. It activates either after seven days... or when you’re about to die."

He paused.

"But beware, the forest distorts external mana. So if you’re dying, it may not activate in time, as it is too difficult to know the exact status of the candidate."

"So, the chance of it activating when you are close to dying is very slim."

Azriel let his words sink in. But the candidates were already sweating buckets.

When I say candidates, it’s mostly humans. Because demons were used to such rules, and dragons were too arrogant to think they could fail such a test.

So, poor human candidates, grown up in sheltered areas, could only cry about it now.

And in some ways, it was actually valid.

Azriel said the chances are slim... but the chances were less than slim. Unless you were blessed by Lady Luck, it would be impossible for the bracelet to activate even if you died.

I remember arguing with Noah about this point. I called this part a blatant plot hole and poor writing on his part.

I mean, why can the bracelet activate after seven days but fail to activate when they are dying?

But that bastard had answers to all questions.

He just smiled and said,

"You see, Rael, the forest has dense mana fog covering it due to a divine clash in bygone days."

"That fog interferes with external mana, making it difficult to exactly pinpoint the conditions of each candidate. But once seven days are up, the staff don’t need to know conditions, so they directly activate teleportation, pulling all remaining students out."

At that time, I just shrugged it off as some bullshit authors make to hide their plot holes. But now, I am living in this world. I understood how far that bastard’s plotting went.

Or maybe...

... the story was never something he wrote but something he lived through once.

I mean, that could definitely be possible. I had read my fair share of brainrot web novels to know how that goes most of the time.

What if the Noah I knew was the reincarnation of Noah Ashen Noctharion from some other timeline?

But I knew Noah from childhood, and he didn’t seem mature for being a reincarnation of someone. He was just a weak crybaby.

Still, maybe he awakened his memories later, when he started writing his story.

There were a thousand theories I could cook up... timelines, memory echoes, multiversal loops, and divine dreams.

But none of them changed the very real fact staring me in the face:

We were about to walk into a forest where the bracelet that’s supposed to save us might just... not.

Azriel continued his briefing without caring for the hearts of students, like the bastard he was.

"Once you enter the barrier around the forest, the entrance will vanish for you, and you will be teleported randomly in the first layer. The terrain constantly shifts inside, so travel wisely."

Another rule that sounded like utter garbage... until you remembered the context.

I mean, literal gods once fought here. So illusion traps, warped space, and reality-altering fog were definitely normal.

And from how my goal, the [Card of Arcana], was within this cursed forest, I could deduce one thing.

That bastard—The Forgotten Trickster—was definitely one of the gods who fought here.

It was just a hunch. The shadow of the trickster did mention he had died long ago.

What if he died in this forest? And the card was what he left for his successor?

He did call me a potential successor, meaning he knew I was walking down his path.

Azriel’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"And one final thing..."

His tone shifted slightly.

"Do not try to enter the second layer. Not even by mistake. Not even if something whispers your name from the shadows."

"The bracelet will not activate there."

"Even after seven days."

A silence swept through the clearing.

"Now, if you are all ready, enter the forest."

I looked at students, nobody was entering.

Probably waiting for someone else to do the honors.

Just then, I saw a white-haired girl walk towards the barrier—Arza. Then, without any hesitation, she entered.

One by one, others started entering. But I didn’t rush. I had something else to do before going in.

I scanned the crowd to find Bearlo. It didn’t take long before I saw him. I mean, a crimson-furred bear wasn’t that hard to find.

He stood tall with a group of four.

Viola wasn’t there.

Hmmm, she must’ve been sent back because of her rank being at D-Rank.

Those at D-rank and above weren’t allowed to take the test because they didn’t need to prove themselves.

And more importantly because of restrictions around the forest.

No one above D-rank could even step through the barrier for some reason.

So Noxvalen Academy just decided to pass those at and above D-rank directly.

There were, by the way, less than five people, including Viola, who passed by default.

As for why they couldn’t just cancel the whole exam and take a new one somewhere else where everyone could take part, well, that was because this was a tradition followed within the demon academy for ages.

And they didn’t want to get over it like the stuck-up bastards they were.

I walked towards Bearlo and a group of four—who else but Dickrick, ahem, I mean Cedric, and his party, including Seraphina.

—

[Arza’s POV]

A few moments ago, at the edge of clearing, Arza stood quietly munching on one of the chocolate bars given to her by that boy—the one who dropped her chocolate.

She hadn’t meant to eat it so fast. But before she knew it, it was gone.

The taste was different from what she usually had. It was slightly more bitter... but as it melted, the sweetness spread slowly. It was unexpected but pleasant.

Her crimson eyes lowered to the empty wrapper. She folded it slowly and tucked it away inside her cloak, deciding to buy her more of this later.

She didn’t care about Azriel explaining things. She wore the obsidian bracelet in front of her, wrapped it around her pale wrist, and walked towards the forest.

Nobody was entering yet, waiting for someone else to go before them.

But she didn’t care.

She passed through the barrier without hesitation as completely different surroundings greeted her.

—

[Cedric’s POV]

Somewhere else near the forest of unmasked, a group of four stood with a crimson-furred bear.

Cedric looked at the crimson bear with shock.

How did Rael—that spoiled noble—tame a beast of such caliber?

He just couldn’t understand.

The bear was nearly as strong as Cedric himself... And yet it showed blind loyalty to that devilish bastard Rael.

He felt Rael was dangerous... too dangerous. Not just because of that damn smirk he always had...

But because he was slowly infecting the people around him, charming them and pulling them in.

Even young Miss Viola.

Cedric’s fingers curled into fists at the thought.

He remembered the look on her face as she pushed him to follow Rael into danger just a few hours ago.

Just then, a voice echoed.

"Let’s go, Bearlo."

Cedric raised his head to see Rael walking towards them with the same smug smirk he had.

He didn’t even acknowledge Cedric, let alone greet him. And that bear, that ungrateful piece of shit left with them by Young Miss Viola just walked away with him without even saying goodbye.

A nerve popped on Cedric’s forehead. But a small chilling smile appeared on his face.

I won’t, in any case, let them get out alive.