Chapter 292: Test Start

Asher looked at Noah and then said in a completely casual tone, "Well, you wanted to have an exact real-life experience in the game. It’s not my fault that you couldn’t handle it. Blame yourself, not me. The exam will also provide an almost real-life experience, so are you going to complain there too when the beasts in that test devour your virtual body?"

Noah wanted to argue, but there was nothing he could really argue against because, unfortunately, Asher was right. He clenched his fists for a moment before finally sighing and then said, "But why did you have to make it so difficult in Hell? We didn’t even fight anything! We just spent the whole time getting eaten!"

Asher replied in a serious tone, "I was just training you for the exam so that you could learn how to handle pain during the test. Nothing more than that."

Noah stared at him for a few seconds, clearly wanting to come up with another argument, but he knew it would be completely futile. Asher always had some ridiculous explanation ready for everything.

Eventually, Noah gave up and sat back down on the sofa. He leaned against it and started cursing himself under his breath for ever agreeing to train with Asher in the first place.

Adam, who had been listening to their entire conversation, then looked at Asher and asked, "What about changing Noah’s and my names to Mr. Useless and Mr. Fool?"

"Oh, that was for fun," Asher replied casually, before adding without even the slightest hesitation, "But it was also true."

Adam’s expression immediately went blank.

Aria then looked at Asher and asked in her usual indifferent tone, "What about throwing Noah into the dragon’s nest and using him as bait while we stole the dragon eggs? And what about using him as bait to scout houses in that battleground game so we could find the campers? Or pushing Noah out of the car when enemies were chasing us? And let’s not forget the time you literally threw Noah into the arms of that ghost so that you could escape."

The room suddenly became completely silent.

Noah slowly turned his head towards Asher, his expression becoming increasingly suspicious as he remembered all those incidents.

Adam also looked at Asher, seemingly waiting for an explanation.

Even Aria continued staring at him with the same indifferent expression, as if she already knew exactly what his answer was going to be.

Asher remained silent for a few seconds.

.

.

.

"That was for the greater good," Asher replied in a completely serious tone.

Everyone just stared at Asher for a moment.

Then Noah stood up and looked at Adam and the others before saying, "Good night. I am going to sleep now. We will talk about this training tomorrow."

He then looked directly at Asher and added, "But there is no way in hell this guy is going to be the one selecting which games we will be playing for training."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Then, one by one, everyone except Asher stood up and left the room, leaving him completely alone.

After everyone had left, Asher simply looked at the door for a moment before muttering under his breath,

"Noobs."

....

Next Monday.

It was the day of the exam.

All thirty students of Class S, along with Professor Elisa and several other non-teaching staff members, were gathered inside the training area specifically designed for Class S students.

There were multiple pods available throughout the training area, each one designed to allow the students to enter the virtual world where their exam would take place.

There was no one else present behind them.

Professor Elisa looked around the room, carefully checking each student to make sure that everyone was present. After confirming that all thirty students had arrived, she finally stepped forward.

"I hope you are all ready for the test," Professor Elisa said. "This test will also affect your final score once the semester ends, so take it seriously and give it your best."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Everyone will have equal strength in this test, and you don’t need to worry about dying since you won’t actually be dying in the real world. So give it your all without worrying about anything else."

Professor Elisa then paused again and looked directly at Asher before continuing.

"Don’t be afraid of anyone in the test, since everyone will have equal abilities."

Everyone immediately noticed the meaning behind Elisa’s words.

It was obvious that those words were directed specifically at Asher.

Asher looked at Elisa for a moment before thinking,

’Why is she after me? What did I even do? Is she seriously going as far as making a special test just so she can see me defeated? What kind of fetish is this?’

Asher could already feel several students staring at him.

He sighed internally.

’Sigh... these kids are so stupid.’

Elisa then continued, "Since all of you already know the information and rules regarding the test, let’s not waste any more time. We will begin the test now."

As soon as Elisa finished speaking, all the students moved towards their assigned pods and entered the virtual world where the test would take place.

One after another, the students entered their pods.

Once everyone was inside, the pods automatically closed.

Professor Elisa then looked towards the staff members responsible for controlling the pods and gave them a signal.

The staff immediately began the test.

....

Asher found himself standing in the middle of a dense forest.

The surroundings were completely silent, with tall trees covering almost every direction he looked.

In front of him was a timer displaying five minutes, while a map was also visible beside it.

Asher’s body had been set to the strength of a Rank 1 Gold Cultivator.

The only spell he could use inside the test was Magic Bullet. Nothing else was available to him.

He also had a sword in his inventory.

Every student had been allowed to choose one weapon before the beginning of the exam, and Asher had naturally chosen a sword.

Asher instantly summoned the sword into his hand.

He glanced at it for a moment before simply standing there and waiting for the timer to reach zero.

There was no reason to do anything else for now.

The test had not officially started yet.

And this was a solo survival test.

Once the timer reached zero, monsters would begin spawning throughout the entire testing area.

At the same time, several special areas would appear across the map.

If a student wanted to continue advancing through the exam, they would have to reach one of those areas before the time limit expired.

However, only one student would be allowed to continue from each area.

That meant that if two or more students reached the same area, they would have to fight each other.

Only the student who defeated the others would be allowed to advance.

And the number of these special areas would continue decreasing as the test progressed, forcing the students closer and closer together until only one remained.

The rules were simple.

Survive.

Kill the beasts.

Defeat the other students.

The points would be awarded based on three main factors: how long a student survived, how many beasts they killed, and how many other students they defeated.