Survive

As Lucas regained his consciousness and opened his eyes slowly, he found himself on a broken highway surrounded by rubble and old abandoned cars that resembled those of his previous world.

Standing up, he checked his surroundings only to feel melancholic.

He saw broken, abandoned buildings, their rubble being everywhere. As he felt the warm sunlight on his skin, he pinched his arm and could feel the pain. Everything felt so real that it brought back some old, painful memories...

Everything around him resembled chaos and destruction.

"Still, it really is incredible that everything feels so real..."

As he said that, he tried to summon the Blade of Chaos, and somehow even that was possible.

"How does that even work? Is it because it is connected with my soul?"

Lucas didn't ponder too much since he knew that he wouldn't get an answer to this question.

Placing the sword at his right waist, he began walking around. He found himself alone, as everyone else who was with him in the room must have been teleported somewhere else.

"Now what?"

As he said that, he suddenly heard the sound of something on his wrist. Glancing at it, he saw he was wearing a modern watch with a golden shield logo on it. Tapping on it, a holographic screen appeared in front of him:

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Name: Lucas Nightstar

Year: ???

Rank: ???

Status: Entrance Exam

Objective: Survive and kill the 3 Great Calamities

Time limit: 2 weeks

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"Interesting, so it already knows my name."

"So I need to survive and kill the 3 Great Calamities in order to pass this exam. I doubt that defeating those 3 monsters is meant to be done alone. So they want us to survive against the monsters lurking around the city and find each other so we can work together in defeating the 3 Great Calamities..."

'Just what are those three, and how strong could they really be?'

Lucas honestly doubted that this exam was really a problem for him. Sure, perhaps the three calamities might give him some trouble, but would he lose?

'Nah, I'd win.'

Lucas thought while shaking his head. This exam was too easy, so easy that it might be a little boring if he ended it all like that.

"I should put some restrictions on myself to prevent from finishing this exam too fast."

As he was thinking about how to take the exam, he suddenly heard the sound of a car getting toppled over behind him. Turning around, he saw something he wished he had never seen.

Looming over him were three monster spiders, their monstrous bodies pulsating with a sickening rhythm. Each spider was the size of a car, covered in matted, filthy hair that oozed with putrid, black ichor.

Their legs, twisted and knotted with bulbous joints, their fangs, long and jagged like rusted knives, dripped with a viscous, green venom that hissed as it hit the ground, sending up small plumes of acrid smoke. The air was thick with the overpowering stench of decay and rot.

"What... just what type of spiders are these?"

The sight before him was so grotesque and repulsive that he felt an urge to retch. He had never seen such harrowing beasts ever.

He had met countless types of different beasts while he adventured, but this... this was too much. It wasn't that they were strong or that he was afraid... they were just too disgusting.

Gritting his teeth and trying not to inhale their disgusting scent, he placed his left hand on his blade.

'Lightning... I will only use my lightning and blade for this exam. I need to improve both of them.'

Making up his mind, he steeled himself against the harrowing creatures before him. Red lightning started to crackle around him as he inhaled deeply. The red lightning danced along the edge of his sword, amplifying its lethality. The first spider lunged at him, its fangs bared and dripping venom. He ducked under its grotesque mandibles, slashing upward with his lightning-infused blade.

The strike cleaved through the creature's leg, sending a spray of black ichor into the air. The spider screeched in pain, its leg twitching and sparking where the lightning had seared through flesh and bone.

He didn't pause, his movements a blur of speed and precision as he plunged his blade straight into its brain. The second spider lunged from his left, but he was ready. Channeling his lightning, he thrust his palm forward, releasing a bolt of red lightning that struck the spider square in its grotesque maw.

The creature convulsed, its body spasming as the lightning fried its insides. Its many eyes exploded in a shower of viscous fluid, and it collapsed in a twitching heap.

The third spider, larger and more menacing than the others, advanced with terrifying speed. It reared back, preparing to strike, but he was already in motion. Using his lightning to propel himself, he dashed forward.

He feinted to the right, then spun left, avoiding the spider's snapping fangs. With a powerful upward slash, he carved a deep gash into the spider's abdomen. The creature screamed, a high-pitched wail that echoed through the abandoned city.

The spider, enraged and in agony, swung its massive legs at him in a desperate attempt to crush him. He weaved between the strikes and leaped high into the air, his blade raised above his head. He brought the sword down, slicing through the spider's head and splitting it in two.

The creature's body convulsed violently before collapsing, lifeless, to the ground. He landed lightly as the red lightning surrounding him died down.

Exhaling loudly the breath he had been holding, he looked at the scene of the three dead spiders.

If he had to guess, they were C-rank king predators... but to have three C-rank king predators together was strange...

Not wanting to stay any longer, he decided to head out of there as he didn't want to inhale their disgusting scent any longer. For a half-dragon, his sense of smell was far better than most, after all...

'I should go and search for others, perhaps even Sylv, since it would be no fun to finish this exam on my own... I wonder what the people watching outside thought of my little show.'

Lucas chuckled at what he imagined the reactions outside must be to how he had conquered such an unfair situation where most would run or give up.

Little did he know what a big commotion he had started by defeating three C-rank predators by himself...

*******

Inside a colosseum-like building, in the middle, three huge screens were hovering in the air, viewing the participants of the exam.

The modern colosseum was filled with parents, family, and others seeking entertainment.

Many high-ranking people were present, such as heroes, guild masters, government officials, and high nobles.

They were all in separate boxes above the public, scouting out future talents and those who were said to be the second golden generation.

Lucas' family was also in one of the luxurious separate boxes, watching with pride as the screen was focused on Lucas, who was the first to encounter a monster, or at least monsters that would be an extremely unfortunate situation for most...

"W-what..." That was all the commentator could say as she watched how Lucas dealt with the grotesque spiders.

The stadium was filled with dead silence as they all watched, dumbfounded, at the gigantic screens.

"Young master certainly has become strong, hasn't he, madame?"

Lucielle said with pride from behind Lucas' mother as Lena was currently being distracted by Dylan and Luna.

They didn't want her to watch such a scene, though Luna and Dylan were, at the same time, making sure to follow everything that was happening.

"Yes, indeed... I am proud of him,"

his mother responded with a small smile as she gently gazed at Lucas, who was being broadcast to everyone present.

She wasn't worried, as she knew Lucas was much stronger and could easily pass this exam, but she was a little annoyed... annoyed that he was restricting himself since she could tell he could have dealt with that situation in countless other ways but chose not to... it was reckless in her opinion.

A mother can only worry, no matter the situation.

"Ah..." The commentator exclaimed, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Lucas Nightstar... known as the White Devil, has just defeated three C-rank king predators... all by himself! Does this mean that all the rumors surrounding him are actually true? Does he actually rival the strongest champion, the Elven Princess? The way he danced with his blade between those spiders was beautiful yet so merciless!

A-and did he use both magic and the sword? Though he didn't use any aura, he certainly seems highly skilled in both magic and swordsmanship! Almost as if he were a dual wielder!" The commentator started narrating as her voice only got louder and louder, hyping the crowd up and snapping them out of their stupor.

As they all heard the commentator and looked at Lucas on the screens...

The stadium shook from loud cheers.