Assessment Begins

Ninth Tower, edge of the safe zone.

Reg, who had followed Colin all the way here, panted heavily, his heart pounding... They had just encountered a gigantic python over five meters thick.

After personally testing it, Colin gave it a Level 5 beast rating, then... kicked it so hard it was left dazed and unable to even let out a scream.

Previous wilderness survival training had always taken place near the outskirts of the safe zone... Whenever there were beasts the children could not resist, the instructors would drive them away.

Today, he had finally faced one directly... It would have been a lie to say he was not afraid.

Yet Reg once again firmed up his resolve... No one wanted to die. If he did not want to die, there was only one path: live through death.

"Haha... Colin, this batch is the real deal."

"Hart, you weren't much better back then."

Looking at the bloated fat man before him, Reg gave an awkward smile... He had not expected an instructor from another tower to be so fat.

For someone who trained in the Six Powers, such a figure was truly rare.

Then Reg's gaze was drawn to the white-haired child beside Hart... His face was covered in thick white foundation, and black face paint outlined patterns around his features, making him look exactly like a kabuki actor.

"Lion Wotori?!"

Reg's expression grew stranger. This guy was that idiot who shouted, "If you see my mother in the other world..." while using Iron Body to commit ritual suicide.

Sensing Reg's gaze, Wotori tilted his head and grinned. "Yo-yo-yi, brother yo, have we met before?"

"..."

Reg was speechless... That manner of speaking, that waving hand—there was no mistaking him.

"Yo-yo-yi, then what's your name?" Wotori sang again.

"Reg." Reg forced out a smile... This whole scene was simply "beautiful as a painting."

"Yo-yo-yi... smack!"

Hart directly smacked the idiot on the head. "His name is Lion Wotori."

Reg could see Colin's face twitching... Though he wanted to laugh too.

"Yo... You two got here pretty early."

This time, a gaunt man with a mohawk emerged from the woods, bringing another person Reg "knew" with him.

"Henry... long time no see." Colin warmly went up to greet him.

The child behind him had a fierce-looking face and wore a white tank top and trousers, with a slightly long topknot... There was a deep scar above his left eye.

"Jabra... that wolf grandma?!"

Reg simply lowered his head... Memories of the other party flashed through his mind: Zoan type, Dog-Dog Fruit, Wolf Model.

He had been dumped by Catherine, the big-faced, twin-tailed girl from Enies Lobby... More importantly, she had told him: Sorry, I like Lucci. Don't you think boys ultimately have to rely on their faces?

That alone would have been fine, but the key was that this guy... always liked to say something sentimental before a fight, pretend to be weak, and then launch a sneak attack. His wolfish nature was laid bare.

At the thought of spending years with those two idiots in the future, Reg's head started to ache... He also had no idea whether Jabra had eaten a Devil Fruit yet.

If he had... this forest could be heaven for him.

Rustle, rustle, rustle... As though they had come in a cluster, several more figures emerged from the forest.

Reg looked over them one by one... This time, no familiar figures appeared, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

There were eight instructors and nine children in total.

From one of the towers came a pair of twin brothers with heads shaved gleamingly clean.

There was not much conversation. The black-clad instructors merely shivered slightly before falling silent... The remaining children stared wide-eyed at one another, their gazes full of competitiveness.

"Yo-yo-yi... Is everyone here? Very good yi, no one is late~" The expressive voice appeared once more.

Reg's vision blurred, and a larger version of Wotori appeared before everyone.

"Isn't your mother dead?!"

Reg rubbed his nose. Aside from their chests being different... The two looked as though they had been cast from the same mold.

Even more unexpectedly... Wotori was actually the descendant of a P member, catching Reg completely off guard.

"Ahem... Lady Wotori Yamanba, it's getting late."

"Yes, yes... We should get started quickly."

Facing Wotori Yamanba, all the instructors saluted first before trying to persuade her... No one dared to smack her on the head.

"Yo-yo-yi... Fine! Wotori, come back alive for your mother."

"Yes, Mother!"

Wotori's expression instantly tightened, and he even forgot his verbal tic.

Admiration appeared in Reg's eyes... Those words were practically the same as letting them fend for themselves. Ruthless enough.

"Go on, Reg..."

Colin heavily patted Reg on the shoulder, his eyes filled with expectation.

"Yes."

After giving a serious salute, Reg left... As long as he made it through this trial, his world would become much "bigger."

This was not merely dark justice... The instructors would set out after them: to monitor them and collect the bodies.

Among the nine of them, no matter who it was... within ten days, anyone who came within a hundred meters of the safety zone's boundary would be killed without mercy.

They were also forbidden from killing their companions in the forest... Other than those two rules, there were no taboos. Everything was for the sake of survival.

As for the issue with his backpack... Colin calmly told Reg that socializing was also a required course.

Rustle, rustle... As the breeze swept through the woods, Reg held a dagger, his expression relaxed even as his body remained tense. He had heard quite a few unfriendly sounds.

No one normally entered the depths of the primeval forest, apart from the instructors who periodically cleared out powerful beasts.

The dawn that was supposed to arrive at daybreak had not come as promised... Reg understood why.

Today would be overcast, perhaps even stormy... But that would also suppress the activity of the various beasts in the forest to its lowest point. There were pros and cons.

Although he had brought a raincoat and his backpack would not get soaked... Reg could not stop the things around him from attacking.

What he needed to do now was reach the stream a kilometer away... Last night, he had crammed quite a bit about the island's terrain and environment.

Whoosh... At last, a slender venomous snake launched an attack from the bushes.

Prepared for it, Reg swung his dagger and easily cut it in two.

It seemed to realize that Reg was not someone to be trifled with, and some of the creatures around him retreated... Yet others still watched him greedily.

A primeval forest without sunlight... was far too gloomy for humans.

After wiping the blood away with fallen leaves, Reg quickened his pace... Once he confirmed the water source, he still needed to find a relatively safe place to build shelter.

A rocky area would be best... The sulfur powder he had brought would not be very useful in the rain.

Reg detoured all the way, avoiding traces of large beasts' activity... Finally, an hour later, he arrived at the water source he had been looking for: a mountain spring.

The stream formed by the gathered spring water was not particularly large. Fish of all kinds swam through it... Nearby, animals drank while keeping watch on their surroundings.

Anything that could survive here... without some wits, would have long since become another creature's meal.

"Looks like a large wild boar?"

Reg rubbed his chin... If the Level 5 beast in this area was the black mountain boar, avoiding it in advance would be easy enough. After all, they made quite a commotion when they ran.

The black boars chased him because Reg had a particular fondness for boar meat and was always catching their underlings to eat.

"This kind of trail..."

Before the rain came, Reg began wandering around the area and discovered another set of crawling tracks... Just over three meters long. A python.

Comparing it to the python over five meters long that he had encountered on the way here, Reg made his judgment: Level 3 or Level 4.

He crossed this entire area off as a potential temporary shelter site... With his current power level of 10, he could handle a Level 3 beast, but a Level 4 one was basically impossible.

If he really ran into one, his dagger probably would not even be able to pierce its hide... His fists were even less likely to work.

The sky gradually darkened, and dark clouds slowly drifted over. Reg quickened his pace... He could not worry about so much now.

With his keen five senses... It would be nearly impossible for a beast to ambush him.

What he needed now was to build a simple shelter on high ground nearby, then enjoy a good meal: eating raw food... He would never be stupid enough to risk his life like that.