Ascension: Online

The next morning, I got up quite early. The girls were all staying in one room together, which gave me some alone time to think about things, such as the upcoming exam that was about to happen in a mere hour or so.

After showering and brushing my teeth, I changed into new underclothes and slipped on the Deceiver armor set. Just before I prepared to head out the door, however, a loud announcement echoed across the entire inn.

"All disciples, gather at the front gates of your respective inns!"

I recognized the voice to be Elder Zhang. It seems he would be overseeing this excursion, rather than the patriarch himself. The patriarch definitely had more important things to do… after all, his goal of setting up this test was merely to get rid of me.

He didn't even consider the fact that I would make it back — why? Because he told Elder Zhang alter certain things in the test for me, of course. I was being targeted — but to me, more danger meant more opportunities, according to Aisa's philosophy.

Soon after, I headed downstairs. Hina-nee and the others were already there, and waved when they saw me. I walked over, glancing around at the other disciples who were eyeing me in jealousy. It didn't need to be said why they were envious.

"Everyone, follow me," Elder Ning, the one responsible for our inn, announced as she walked out of the door after meeting my eyes for a brief moment. All the disciples who stayed here last night followed her.

She led us to the Temple of Flowers, where we had gathered the day before. All the other disciples from the other inns were there already, with Elder Zhang hovering in the air above all of them.

"It seems everyone has gathered," he said coolly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "A portal has been set up directly at the bottom of these stairs before you. When you are ready, just head down and step through. There, further rules will be explained."

"Further rules? So the rulebook yesterday didn't contain everything?" Hina-nee murmured in thought.

"Last-minute changes, perhaps…?" I narrowed my eyes.

Then, Elder Zhang stared directly at me. "This is your final chance to give up and drop out. You have ten minutes to make your decision. When those ten minutes are over, you will be forced to enter the portal. Once on the other side… there is no coming back."

I snorted, unamused, to which Elder Zhang gritted his teeth slightly. The other disciples, however, were too busy considering what they would do to even notice.

In the end, no disciples left. Either because they were too nervous to be the only one, or they simply wanted a challenge. Perhaps a little bit of both.

"Ten minutes have passed. Everyone, I hope you have made up your mind," Elder Zhang said coldly, before glancing down the stairs. "The portal is active. Prepare for transmat."

The disciples began heading down the stairs, entering the portal one by one. The girls and I also began to move, but my arm was pulled to one side by Elder Ning who had been watching from the sidelines.

"… Be careful," she said while biting her lip, worry in her crystal-clear green eyes.

"We're your direct disciples, Master," Hina-nee winked and made a peace sign with her hand. "We'll be fine."

"I know… if this was a fair competition, then I would have no concerns," Elder Ning sighed. "But… my father… and Elder Zhang… they will target you specifically."

"Just take care of Aisa for us," I said, patting her shoulder. "We'll be back unharmed, stronger than ever. To us… this is just a bit of training."

At this, she smiled faintly. "Yes… worry not. Your little sister will be in perfect care while you are gone. I will see to that personally."

I nodded in response. "Thank you, Master."

She shook her head. "No need to thank me. This is part of our agreement, after all."

After that short exchange, the four of us headed down the stairs as well, Elder Zhang following us with his gaze filled with hatred.

Taking a deep breath, we stepped through the pulsating blue portal.

*****

Once on the other side, we found ourselves facing a dense rainforest. The temperature was warm and humid, just as one would expect of a tropical rainforest. Still, compared to the desert we would be going to next month, this was nothing.

Elder Zhang stepped through the portal soon after all the disciples did, as the main examiner for this test. Elder Han and a different Elder who I didn't recognize appeared soon after. Elder Ning was kept out of this test for obvious reasons, at the order of the patriarch.

"I trust that everyone has read the rulebook already — find the golden maple leaf and survive. But there is, in fact, a lot more to the exam," Elder Han said. "The reason we only told you the surface of things in the rulebook was to test your adaptive abilities. One must be able to adapt to unexpected turn of events if they want to survive out here in the wild."

At this, the disciples stirred in nervousness, afraid to hear what the true contents of the exam will be.

"Now, the Blessing Nature Sect has always been a very competitive environment. Disciples constantly clash with one another to create a burning passion to surpass the other, thus causing them to both improve. This exam will be no different," the old lady Elder I didn't recognize croaked, voice old and raspy.

"However, due to the nature of the exam, individual competition will be difficult," Elder Zhang concluded. "Therefore, you will all be splitting into teams of four — and competing against other groups from there. In total, there should be 25 groups, as there are exactly 100 of you here."

"How will we compete against one another?" a disciple asked, raising their hand.

"In points, by the end of this month," Elder Zhang replied calmly. "There are various ways to get points — I will list them below. Listen carefully, for I will not repeat this twice."

Clearing his throat, he continued. "One, you will be given maps shortly, which will have designated locations on it known as Zone A, Zone B, Zone C, and Zone D. Each zone can only hold two groups, and will have good resources such as clean water, food, lodging, and defense mechanisms against the Magic Beasts and Monsters roaming about deeper in this rainforest."

"Teams will have to fight against one another directly for control over these zones," Elder Han chimed in.

"Indeed," Elder Zhang confirmed. "Staying in these zones will not only grant you a good place to spend the month, but also give points to the teams who stay in them for every day that passes. One day within a zone is equivalent to 5 points."

"Another strategy to gain points is through killing… Magic Beasts and Monsters… within the forest…" the old lady croaked. "Depending on rank… a Tier I Magic Beast will give 1 point… a Tier II Magic Beast will give 2 points, and so on… all the way until Tier V, the strongest lifeforms in this place."

"You will all be given special wristwatches that can tell you the time and track whenever you slay a beast, so don't worry," Elder Zhang added. "Now… thirdly, there will be something called a flashpoint event."

At this, the disciples all frowned in confusion, myself included.

"The location of the event changes every week, and what happens is we will spawn a Tier VII Magic Beast or Monster for you to slay," Elder Zhang explained. "Obviously, such a creature cannot be taken down by one team alone, so you will need to form alliances with other groups. The ability to find good allies is also an important one that will be tested in this exam. After the beast is taken down, all groups who helped slay it will receive 25 points, as long as they still have someone standing."

"In other words, if a group is wiped out helping take down the beast, that group will not receive any rewards, even if they are still alive," Elder Han said. "By the time the beast is dead, one member of the group must be standing up for it to count."

"Heh. With Kaze… we can take it down alone, don't you think?" Nadeshiko whispered from beside me, trying to lick my throat. I quickly backed away and threw her off my arm, eyeing her in disdain.

"It's possible, but… you try something like that again, and I'll kill you."

"Oh my… that would mean less time to spend with you~" she giggled, winking and sticking out her tongue playfully. "Sorry, sorry, I won't do it again, teehee~!"

"Lastly, there is one final method to gain points," Elder Zhang said, bringing the audience to a standstill. "And that is…"

After a dramatic, eerie pause, he continued.

"… To kill other teams."