Link had a faint feeling—
this Entry Test was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Especially considering the massive size of the arena and the incredible variety of moonfolk species roaming inside.
If this was merely for an Entry Test, wasn't it a bit too extravagant?
Of course, this was only his speculation.
But even so, it was enough to motivate him to seize the number one spot on the leaderboard.
Link reined in his thoughts, and his expression grew serious.
At almost the exact same moment, a flat map of the surroundings appeared in his mind,
complete with the detailed information of nearby moonfolk:
[Species: Lightning Wolf]
[Power Values: 182]
[Species Talent: A-rank, Lightning Speed]
[Species Trait: Pack Behavior]
[Weakness: Limbs][Species: Devouring Toad]
[Power Values: 298]
[Species Talent: A-rank, Powerful DevourGo]
[Species Trait: Devouring]
[Weakness: Fire][Species: Flame Leopard]
[Power Values: 312]
[Species Talent: Unknown]
[Species Trait: Fierce Predator]
[Weakness: Eyes]
It was clear that the camp had gone to great lengths for this test.
Capturing so many different types of moonfolk was by no means an easy feat.
And judging by their strength, it was obvious the camp intended for the students to form teams.
But to Link, none of that mattered.
With his current strength, he could fight them head-on without much pressure.
Even so, he had to stay alert against sneak attacks.
"The hunt begins," Link muttered.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he transformed into a streak of lightning, disappearing into the jungle.
Meanwhile, up above in the sky, the leaderboard projection was quickly changing:
First Place: Seraphine, 30 pointsSecond Place: Annora, 26 points
...
"Friendly reminder: Minimum points required to appear on the leaderboard: 20."
Seeing the updated rankings projected above them, many students couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
"Are these two monsters or something? How can they be this strong?"
"I worked so hard to hunt moonfolk, and I only earned 7 points. How the hell did they rack up 30 already?"
"Did you guys notice? Moonfolk without an assigned level barely award any points. I killed one and only got 0.2 points..."
"How did they do it then?"
Even among these so-called geniuses, an intense sense of helplessness and even despair was spreading.
They were supposed to be prodigies themselves—so why did the gap feel so hopelessly vast?
They were struggling tooth and nail to take down a single mindless moonfolk,
yet even when they succeeded, the reward was pitiful: 0.2 points.
Wasting time without taking real risks!
If they wanted serious points, they'd have to hunt level 1 or even level 2 moonfolk—
which meant much greater danger.
How had Seraphine and Annora managed it?
The test had barely begun, and yet they already had 30 points!
"Only someone who's already a level 1 or level 2 esper could possibly pull this off," someone muttered.
"It's not surprising that Seraphine is on the board, but who's this Annora? The name sounds ordinary, but it looks like her strength isn't."
At that moment, someone noticed a sudden change on the leaderboard projection.
"Hey, look! Annora just dropped to third place!"
"Wait—what the heck? House Roland's little princess Seraphine is now second??"
"Who the hell is in first place now?!"
Instantly, all the students participating in the test turned their gazes upward.
And there, next to the first-place position, they saw an unfamiliar name:
First Place: Link, 452 points!
???
Everyone inside the jungle was stunned.
Their eyes widened in disbelief, their mouths hung open in shock.
Who was this Link guy?
How had he done it?
The test had barely begun, and he already had over 400 points?!
Was he the real T2 esper everyone had been speculating about?
Some had thought that House Roland's little princess was invincible—
but clearly, there was always a bigger fish.
Even Seraphine, who had completely crushed them, was now being crushed herself by this unknown Link.
But who was he?
Which middle school did he come from?
Why had no one ever heard of him before?
"Could it be that there's a bug in the point system?"
"Or maybe... Link is cheating somehow?"
The students began speculating wildly, momentarily even forgetting about the moonfolk around them.
After all, Link's sudden dominance on the leaderboard was just too dazzling.
In just half an hour, even the brilliant Seraphine only had 30 points—
and this mysterious Link already had 452 points.
The difference was... ridiculous.
Meanwhile, somewhere deeper in the forest,
a short-haired youth wore a stunned expression.
"That Link... isn't he that guy from earlier?"
The ones who had mocked Link earlier now looked even more bewildered.
"Impossible. How could someone from a regular middle school be so strong?"
"He must be cheating, or maybe the leaderboard glitched," one student stubbornly insisted.
Hearing this, the short-haired youth gave a bitter smile.
"What nonsense are you talking about?
The camp staff are monitoring everything.
There's no way such a low-level error would happen."
"We... might have missed the chance to team up with a powerhouse."
These words left the surrounding students momentarily speechless.
Elsewhere, Annora and her companions were also staring up at the leaderboard.
Annora's expression turned a little strained.
At that moment, a youth standing beside her gave a cold snort.
"That guy just got lucky, that's all.
He must have found some trick to farm points quickly.
Don't be discouraged, Annora. You're still the strongest!"
"Really?"
Annora's face showed a trace of hesitation and self-doubt.
The youth continued to encourage her,
"I just detected a level 1 Shadow Leopard nearby.
Let's hunt it together.
With your strength, you can definitely surpass him!"
"O-okay!"
Annora unconsciously tightened her grip on the longsword in her hand.
...
Meanwhile, in another corner of the forest,
Seraphine sheathed her bloodstained sword.
She raised her slender, pale wrist and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Her cold gaze swept over the corpses of the moonfolk around her.
"As expected, these moonfolk from the frontlines are far deadlier than the ones from the Wilderness Battlefield," she murmured.
"Especially their intelligence.
They've developed a frightening degree of cunning."
At that moment, her point total quietly ticked up to 201.