Itachi cautiously approached the strange white corpse, crouched down, and examined it closely.
"This definitely wasn't a normal human."
Itachi's voice was calm and certain.
"Yeah, who looks like tree bark?" Chino looked at its bizarre appearance and nodded emphatically in agreement.
Itachi stood up, frowning, and voiced his suspicion. "I've been wondering something. Could some of these things have slipped in disguised as examinees before the exams even started?"
"Before the exams?" Chino's eyes widened in surprise. "Why do you say that, Itachi?"
Izumi glanced at Itachi and picked up the explanation. "Itachi probably means these white monsters are extremely good at mimicking people. So good that even when we came face-to-face with them, we only realized something was wrong after killing one. Just like earlier-before it attacked, none of us noticed it was a fake examinee, did we?"
As she spoke, Izumi looked at Chino for confirmation.
"Right!" Chino immediately recalled the earlier fight and understood. "We had no idea! We thought it was just an ordinary examinee. We only found out it was fake after the fight!"
She stamped her foot in frustration, feeling she had been tricked.
"This is getting a little serious." Izumi's expression grew grave. "It looks like there are more than just the one we encountered."
The three exchanged looks, and the mood grew somewhat heavy.
Impatient by nature, Chino broke the silence first. "This is too weird. We have to tell Teacher Yūto right away! Let's leave the Forest of Death and report directly to him!"
But Izumi shook her head and spoke practically. "We can't, Chino. The rules are very clear. Until we reach the destination at the central tower or get eliminated because an enemy steals our scroll, we can't leave the Forest of Death early. If we leave halfway