Three days later.
On the outskirts of Zone 079 No-Man's Zone.
At the border where the Dragon Kingdom met India.
Wind and snow ravaged this place year-round, and it was also known as another white realm.
Before the Great Calamity descended, this had been the site of the world's highest peak.
After the Blood Moon arrived, an unknown force had raised the mountain peaks here to several times their original height.
Tens of thousands of Converted Beasts occupied the mountain, and legend had it that Sword Crane had once cultivated here.
For both the Human Race and Converted Beasts, this place held extraordinary significance.
Inside an unnamed tavern.
Three young men wearing headscarves, half their faces tightly wrapped, held hot wine as they curiously studied the crowds filling the street.
"Isn't this the edge of the No-Man's Zone? Why are there so many people here? They all look like students, too."
The young man leading them sipped his wine and curiously asked the tavern's proprietor beside him.
The proprietor served steaming food, brushing the snow off them as he explained with a smile, "Didn't you come for the annual exams?"
"This place may be a No-Man's Zone, but we have the Divine Mountain. Legend says even the Demon Ancestors cultivated up there."
"So every year around this time, universities across the Dragon Kingdom hold their graduation exams here."
"They can hunt Converted Beasts for their graduation trials and uncover opportunities on the Divine Mountain."
"A few years back, a student found one of Sword Crane's feathers. It was sharper than a Wasteland Artifact, and some big shot bought it on the spot for ten million."
The proprietor spoke with absolute conviction, but all three wore disdainful expressions.
"If Sword Crane's so fucking amazing, how come Earthworm doesn't seem all that