CH 13.2

Stella's voice echoed through the examination hall.

"From now on, the examinee Ulan Bator will begin the Monster Hunting Test."

As soon as the bureaucratic voice ceased, a massive magic circle materialized before Ulan, etched intricately into the floor. Curiosity danced within his eyes as he fixed his gaze upon the circle.

If it were an ordinary hunter, they would start looking for a hiding place. He would try to identify the type of beast and find the most efficient way to attack it - but Ulan was different.

‘Monsters usually have similar weaknesses,’ he thought to himself.

The head, or the heart. Destroy either one and they're usually dead.

It's much easier to defeat them than the beasts where you have to carve flesh until the core appears.

Therefore, there was no need for Ulan to conceal himself. Instead, he continued to stare intently at the shimmering white magic circle. In that very moment, a colossal shadow cast over the testing grounds.

Thud! Rumble!

The heavy sound of footsteps shaking the ground and soon, a giant monster revealed itself - a large reptile with scales all over its body; the peculiar thing was that it had two heads.

‘A two-headed dragon.’

Literally, a two-headed dragon. Of course, it was a dragon in name only. Real dragons were much bigger and stronger than that.

For Ulan, who had actually fought against a real dragon, it was nothing more than a malformed lizard.

But then, suddenly, there was a commotion at the podium.

"Uh, why is there a two-headed dragon------!"

"There seems to be a problem with the magic circle!"

"Send it back quickly!"

"We're trying now!"

It seemed as if they were startled by the appearance of the two-headed dragon.

On the other hand, Ulan remained composed. There was only one thing he had to do here.

Thunk!

In the blink of an eye, he slammed the ground with his ax and the spirit infused into the ax ignited. Soon, the ax blazed a bright red. At that moment, the two-headed dragon seemed to notice Ulan's approach and let out a roar.

"Khaaaaah!"

"Grrrrr!"

The two-headed dragon bared its fierce teeth; it was ready to tear down Ulan at any moment.

However, this was its mistake.

It should have just attacked Ulan right away. Then, it could have delayed Ulan's approach and bought a little more time to survive.

He realized too late.

Swoosh! Thud!

In a blur of motion, Ulan executed a swift and decisive strike.

The second head of the two-headed dragon was forcefully severed from its body, soaring through the air in a gruesome arc. The remaining head, seized by panic, attempted to retreat, but it was already too late. Ulan's axe proved swifter than its feeble escape attempts.

Crack! Thud!

The other head, too, crashed to the ground, joining its counterpart in lifeless defeat.

The creature spewed crimson blood and died. Now, it was just a lifeless lump of meat, no longer a two-headed dragon. Turning away from it, Ulan faced the other way - to check the results of the test.

*************

Meanwhile, Stella struggled to regain her composure, for two distinct reasons.

The first reason was that the monster summoning circle had suddenly gone awry and summoned a 5-star monster, a two-headed dragon, instead of a 3-star monster.

A 5-star monster was not something an ordinary examinee could handle, so while Stella canceled the summoning, she tried to buy time by intruding into the testing grounds.

To protect Ulan.

‘That's what I was thinking….....’

But in the blink of an eye, the two-headed dragon fell.

And it was none other than Ulan, the examinee she thought she needed to protect.

Rumble!

A rumble reverberated through the ground as the headless two-headed dragon collapsed. The assistant supervisors, having regained their senses, wore expressions of disbelief and bewilderment.

"U-Ulan Bator."

"How long did it take for the exam to end…….."

They couldn't utter a word.

It was only natural. The result was so unbelievable. However, having witnessed it firsthand, they didn't think there was any deception involved.

And soon, the grades were announced.

"Ulan Bator, 13 seconds! Grade-S!"

The test time was automatically measured from the moment the monster was summoned. In other words, the two-headed dragon was summoned and defeated within 13 seconds.

Ever since the Monster Hunt was added to the entrance exam at Arsene Academy, no examinee had achieved such a result.

Meanwhile, Ulan, after checking the results, turned away without a hint of regret. It was to move on to the next testing ground.

But at that moment, someone suddenly stood in his way.

"You, you, you!"

It was Stella.

She pointed an outstretched finger at Ulan and shouted in disbelief.

"What are you? No, really, who are you?!"

"I'm Ulan."

"Not your name, what are you?"

"I am a warrior from the northern grasslands."

The conversation came to a halt. However, it mattered little. Regardless of Ulan's response, Stella had already made up her mind about what she wanted to say.

"Have you ever thought of becoming a hunter?"

"No."

"You have the talent of a monster hunter! I will train you well. What do you think?!"

Stella pushed her head forward abruptly; her eyes sparkled like stars, filled with a determined look to get her hands on Ulan, no matter what. Ulan shook his head, not breaking eye contact.

"I am not suited to be a hunter."

A hunter should be skilled at concealing their presence, knowledgeable about the forest, and diligent in studying prey. Ulan could certainly fulfill those requirements.

But it didn't suit his temperament.

He found it much easier to swing his ax and crush the enemy's skull than to bother concealing his presence and searching for weaknesses.

He tried to refuse, but Stella was insistent.

"Supervisor, the next examinee is…..."

"Shut up! Is that important right now?!"

Even the supervisor, whose job it was to handle such matters, was disregarded, and for good reason. As far as Stella was concerned, Ulan was someone she wanted to have.

‘Effortless movements, unwavering judgment, and strength and skill that can be honed!’

Ulan effortlessly performed actions that could only be accomplished with years of experience. If that wasn't talent, then what was?

If his skills as a hunter were added to that, the greatest monster hunter would be born!

Stella was sure of that.

"I won't tell you to decide right now. Instead, after you enroll, come and attend one of my classes. Then you'll want to do it!"

She exuded immense confidence.

Ulan smiled wryly and replied, "If you insist so much, I'll drop by."

"Really? It's a promise, right?!"

"Yes. Now please step aside."

"Okay! Even if the slots are full, I'll make sure to keep a spot for you. You must come, okay?!"

After agreeing to attend one of Stella's classes, Ulan finally continued his journey as Stella waved her hand, bidding him farewell.

Stepping out of the Hall of South Falcon, Ulan set his sights on his next destination.

‘The final exam is at…..’

Count Dermore had recommended a specialty test in the field of magic, called 《Magic Detection 》test. But to be honest, Ulan was no expert in magic. He didn't even understand the principles behind its activation.

‘The Count said it was no different than hunting beasts.’

The possibilities were endless.

For Ulan, hunting beasts was only a little more troublesome than monsters.

‘The exam starts at 2pm.’

There were about two hours left.

While contemplating what to do during that time, he heard the sound of bells from afar. It was the bell signaling lunchtime. Upon hearing it, a forgotten memory resurfaced in his mind.

"Meet me at the fountain after the test!"

Before he parted ways with Noah, he remembered making that promise.

Since he was starting to feel hungry, he decided to eat first and then finish the exam.

Having made his decision, Ulan turned his body around.