The Scissors

Chapter 46: Scissors

At the same time.

Just as Han Dong and Pasha teamed up and left the forest…

If one were to look from high above, overlooking the entire Dark Moon Forest… Han Dong and the other person were merely two small dots in the vast forest, moving within a small area of the Dark Moon Forest.

A general overview of the Dark Moon Forest.

There were as many as forty "small wooden houses" like this, each containing various strange ornaments or props corresponding to different demons and monsters, used for the freshman test.

That's right.

This year's Holy City festival event had a total of over 32,000 participants.

The [Festival Plaza] where Han Dong was located was merely the participant concentration area in the southern part of the Holy City.

And the number of freshmen who emerged alive from the Destiny Space and were granted the title of "Knight-Errant" was only around four hundred… The [Crusader] and [Library] were the most popular professions.

More than two hundred people chose these two major professions.

[Machinery] was second, with about eighty people choosing it.

[Control] ranked second to last, with about seventy people choosing it.

[Occultism] was at the bottom, as usual every year. This year, the number of people who chose it even increased by eight compared to last year, with about forty people choosing it.

Students who went to enroll in departments at different times would mostly undergo preliminary tests in the department buildings or affiliated structures.

[Crusader] was simple. First, they would complete basic tests of strength, speed, and reaction in front of various instruments.

Then, they only needed to obtain permission from an instructor regarding the use of weapons such as 'swordsmanship,' 'boxing,' 'shields,' or 'great axes' to complete the test.

Knight-Errants majoring in [Library] required two procedures. First, they had to pass a 'magic detection instrument' to measure their personal magic affinity and inclination.

Then, they needed to learn the most basic main magic within three days and successfully cast it.

[Machinery] department.

Students who already had manufacturing skills and had achieved certain accomplishments were given a waiver from the test.

Other students could pass by analyzing the structure of precision machinery and drawing it on the spot, or by choosing to perform precise shooting with a firearm to meet the standard.

Students majoring in [Control] were required to tame ordinary creatures (non-magical creatures) raised on the academy's internal farm. As long as they could control one ordinary creature within thirty minutes, they would pass. There was no danger involved.

Only [Occultism] was different.

Only a few students underwent standardized and safe tests in the Occultism building.

Any student who was slightly 'special' would be arranged to undergo a thrilling test with a certain degree of danger in the Dark Moon Forest.

This was also why some middle and upper-class young people who knew the inside story did not choose [Occultism].

There was no need to risk the title of "Knight-Errant."

With enrollment imminent, and the opportunity to undergo systematic and standardized learning to develop their potential, dying on the way to school would be too much of a loss… Thus, Occultism became the least popular department.

The establishment of such enrollment tests was a requirement set by the highest administrator of the Occultism department.

The reason for setting up these crisis-filled thrilling tests was to make the new Knight-Errants understand that once they embarked on the path of [Occultism], their future would be filled with endless unknowns and fear.

They had to be mentally prepared in advance.

Crackle, crackle~

The eerie scissor sound made Han Dong's heart tighten.

It was the same feeling as being targeted by an evil spirit in the movie "The Curse," sending shivers down his spine.

Han Dong suddenly turned his head and looked at the withered tree behind him.

Unexpectedly, the sound of scissors quickly shifted and came from another direction.

As Han Dong followed the sound to investigate, the scissor sound would instantly change.

Since he couldn't lock onto the target, Han Dong felt uneasy… If he were to be ambushed, it would be truly troublesome.

"Han Dong, do you want me to come out and help… The thing targeting you is a bit strange," Chen Li's voice echoed in his brain.

"You can't come out yet. This is a test within the academy, and I must resolve it myself. Right now, I don't have a proper reason to explain your existence…"

"What if your life is in danger?" Chen Li's words contained a very small amount of concern.

"You decide."

When the communication ended.

Han Dong immediately looked at Pasha Buhat, who possessed the ability of 'Divination.'

Upon hearing the eerie scissor sound, although she was scared, she tried her best to remain calm and looked around.

"Didn't you say you understand divination? Can you find its location?"

"I… I can. As long as I perform divination through a 'medium,' I can continuously determine its direction."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Because… once I perform divination, the target will lock onto me…"

"If we can't pinpoint the target's location, we might both die here… Is the medium the thing in the iron box?"

"Yes."

Han Dong immediately opened the iron box, picked up a piece of frosted-feeling dry eyeball, and handed it to Pasha, "Pinpoint the target's location, I'll figure out a way."

"Okay… alright."

Pasha took out an old-fashioned metal compass.

She brought the 'medium' close to the compass and muttered something. A greyish-white energy flowed from Pasha's palm, connecting the medium and the compass.

The simple ritual was complete.

Now, the needle would point directly at the 'Scissor Monster' hidden in the shadows.

However, the current needle wasn't pointing in any particular direction; it was spinning rapidly!

It was as if the target was moving around them at super high speed.

"Impossible… the test intensity shouldn't be this high. If the movement speed is really this fast, we're no match for it! The needle can only indicate the target's position on a horizontal plane.

The only possibility is… the target is at the same vertical coordinate as us.

Be careful!!"

Han Dong looked up suddenly, but there was nothing among the branches above.

There was only one possibility – [Underground].

Snip, snip!

The monster seemed to realize its position was exposed and stopped hiding!

A pair of gleaming silver scissors extended from the soil…

It was indeed as Pasha Buhat had said.

Due to her directional divination, the monster's target was locked onto her.

Snip! (The scissors opened and closed)

Gray oil splashed onto the ground.

The sharp scissors instantly severed the tendons in Pasha's ankle… Pasha cried out in pain and fell backward.

Danger!

As the scissors cut her tendons, they immediately retracted… If Pasha fell like this, her back of the head would land on the sharp blades.

A green beam of light shot out, targeting the soil where the scissors had been.

The Plague ignored the obstruction of the soil and directly affected the monstrous form hidden beneath.

A series of strange, muffled growls erupted, and the scissors retracted.

Pasha Buhat managed to save her life because of this.

The green beam was the plague energy Han Dong fired using his Destiny Weapon…

"Are the tests arranged by the Mysticism Department for real?! If I hadn't acted in time just now… this girl would have died, right? All the talent carefully selected through the Destiny Space, and they just throw it away like this!?"

For a moment, Han Dong focused all his attention, entering a state of concentration that comes when facing death.