The core was exposed.
Han Dong knew very well that with a body like his, a prolonged battle was impossible.
He seized the opportunity.
He gripped the Plague Doctor's Short Blade in his left hand.
The moment he saw a core-like object clinging to the stomach sac, Han Dong thrust his blade forward.
The short sword not only carried poisonous properties, but was also extremely sharp.
The unprotected core cracked under the strike... visible plague energy seeped from the blade's tip, entering the core through the crack!
Crack.
It shattered completely.
This Stitched Creature, which relied on its core to sustain itself, was like a puppet that had lost its strings. Its body collapsed onto the ground like rotten mud, no longer carrying any sense of danger.
Dark Moon Forest belonged to the Mysticism Department.
Han Dong suspected that even the crows perched on the branches could monitor his every move. Therefore, he did not take out his special metal syringe or risk extracting Cellular Essence from the Stitched Creature.
"Hmm... what's going on with this forest?"
Han Dong was not given any chance to thoroughly inspect the dead Stitched Creature.
The seemingly ordinary ground turned into a swamp and swallowed the Stitched Creature.
"Could it come back to life?!"
Han Dong could not be certain whether the Stitched Creature dragged underground would revive and attack them again.
Not wasting any time, Han Dong helped Pasha up and left the forest as quickly as possible.
One Hour.
Thanks to Han Dong's superior sense of direction, they successfully left the bizarre Dark Moon Forest without taking any detours.
As for his suspicion that it might revive, that did not happen... the ground had likely taken the Stitched Creature away for "recycling."
The sound of babbling water.
A clear stream, five meters wide, served as the boundary of Dark Moon Forest, separating the forest from the central building district within.
They only needed to cross an arched wooden bridge to reach the Mysticism Department's core building area.
Before crossing the wooden bridge, the buildings were completely obscured by thick fog, making it impossible to discern their full scale.
"We... finally made it out! Thank you, Nicholas."
The Middle Eastern girl's eyes were full of gratitude. She even looked close to tears... without Han Dong, she would have died long ago.
"Mm, we got lucky."
"Nicholas, let's hurry across the bridge and submit the test item in the main building... according to the test rules, it doesn't count as completed until we hand over the item. There may still be some danger before then."
Pasha was right. They had to make haste.
However, Han Dong stopped in the middle of the wooden bridge and stared at the clear stream flowing beneath it...
"You should hand it over to me."
Pasha looked utterly confused by Han Dong's question. "Hand over what?"
"The real iron box... you switched it, didn't you? I'm not sure when exactly you did it, but if I go submit the task to the Mysticism Department building like this, I'll probably be judged 'unqualified,' right?"
The atmosphere changed at once.
"You won't be unqualified. You'll just lose points."
Pasha, whose ankle had been cut open by scissors, no longer needed to hold onto the bridge railing... she stood alone in the middle of the bridge, expressionless.
Han Dong immediately turned around and held his short sword before him... the Ghoul Arm also activated its corresponding traits.
However, Pasha's next action was not to harm Han Dong.
Instead, she produced the real iron box containing the eyelids from somewhere unknown and presented it to Han Dong with both hands.
To a certain extent, this meant Pasha's true identity was not that of some scheming villain who had deliberately swapped the box to enjoy the test results alone.
Rather, she was an "interference factor" in Han Dong's test.
Pasha widened her eyes and asked curiously, "When did you figure it out?"
Han Dong accepted the real iron box and put away his short sword after confirming that Pasha was not a "scheming villain."
"I was suspicious from the very beginning. It wasn't a problem with your acting, but because you made a fundamental mistake... you relied on me too much.
Ever since entering Destiny Space.
With my physical condition, teammates usually disdain me at first glance and may not even believe that I'm a Knight-Errant.
But when you appeared, you never doubted me and tried to form a team with me.
By your own account, you could have kept waiting in the cabin for the next Knight-Errant to arrive. There was no need to take the test with someone like me, who had terrible physical fitness and had chosen a dangerous item.
Maybe you had divined something in advance, but you were still far too proactive, which made me suspicious... after all, my appearance doesn't make women feel safe in the slightest."
Pasha could not help laughing at Han Dong's explanation.
"Hahaha!! How interesting. So that was where the mistake was... a body like yours really can't inspire trust in teammates. Severely malnourished, skin and bones—what a terrible body.
Sigh, what a mistake."
Han Dong continued, "Of course, your behavior was also far too ordinary. You didn't seem like a Knight-Errant who had experienced Destiny Space at all... so I was basically certain that either you were deliberately pretending to be a novice, intending to secretly swap the key item and reap the rewards, or you were also part of the test."
Clap clap clap!
Hearing this, Pasha began applauding.
"Impressive... I have another question.
When I lost my mobility, why did you choose to stay?
Was it because of a sense of justice, or because you had guessed my identity in advance and considered that 'I' was also part of the test and might steal the important item?
That was why you chose to stay and fight around me."
Han Dong answered without hesitation:
"It was simply a choice made for my own benefit... in this day and age, very few people would risk their lives for a stranger they had only just met, wouldn't they?
I only considered that saving you might earn me a higher evaluation in the test.
Besides, your divination really could attract Stitched Creatures... that gave us the chance to seize the initiative."
Pasha nodded. "Mm, you may report to the main building now."
With that said.
The girl Pasha Buhart vanished before Han Dong's eyes.
At the same time, in the Stargazing Room, a certain special figure revealed a satisfied smile.
"Whew... I thought there would be another hard fight. I didn't expect that all I needed to do was expose her identity.
This test really assessed a lot of things. One wrong move, and it could become very troublesome."
As he crossed the wooden bridge, the thick fog dispersed on its own.
Or rather, Han Dong had entered the fog barrier, so he was no longer affected by the mist.
It was completely different from the knight training building Han Dong had imagined.
Before him stood an enormous ancient castle tower that soared into the clouds.
It had a medieval architectural style. Its surface appeared to be built from dim gray stone bricks, but it might actually have used some special material, giving ordinary people an intensely oppressive feeling.
Han Dong also realized something.
"Strange. A building this tall should be obvious... why couldn't I see it from outside the academy? Could some magical method have been used to conceal it?"
To approach the ancient castle tower, he first had to pass through a cemetery permeated with dense Yin Energy.
The cemetery covered such a vast area that there was no way to go around it... it seemed to be the castle's "front yard."
Just as Han Dong carefully walked along the stone path laid through the center of the cemetery.
A sinister, hairy arm suddenly stretched out from one side of the graveyard... the unexpected jump scare made Han Dong jolt, and he immediately turned to prepare for battle.
What crawled out was one of the cemetery's Residents.
As he crawled out, he put on a fairly neat formal suit and stuffed two spare eyeballs into his empty eye sockets.
After fitting his tongue and False Teeth into his mouth, he made a "relatively friendly" sound:
"New Knight-Errant, I am your temporary butler, Aggy. Next, I will lead you into Dark Moon Tower."
Before you continue