Shockwaves spread through the skies in the pit as absurd amounts of mana gathered above the head of the mantis. All of it coalesced into an orb of air, spinning around wildly. Bits and pieces fell off of the attack, forming murderous blades of wind that shattered the ground and anything that came in its path. An attack leaving behind all reason and sophistication in the pursuit of pure, raw, destructive, power.

That was what Luke, Blaine, and Seraphina faced.

Injured just as much, if not worse than the mantis, the three of them could find no opening to close in on the monster. They knew their lives weren't in danger, but they still couldn't calm the intense throbbing of their hearts.

A chance.

A single chance.

That was all they needed.

“SKILL HACKING!“

A scream came out from the sides. The three shifted their heads around to see their out-of-commission friend screaming with his hand outstretched at the monster and face twisted into the most hideous frown they had ever been unable to imagine.

Luke narrowed his eyes and focused on the hand.

He could see it.

A small strand of nearly invisible mana extending out of Ralph's hand and coursing through to the orb floating above the mantis.

The strand of mana attached itself to the orb.

The mantis squealed, reaching the end of its preparations.

“Fuck!“ Seraphina cursed and grabbed Blaine and Luke's collars. “We have… to get out of the pit!“

“I-It's pointless! The range of an attack like that—”

“—Then we'll close in! It's do or die!“ Seraphina cut off Blaine's words and dragged the two closer to the mantis before leaving them on their own. It was a reckless charge, but she saw no other option.

She jumped to the sides with sluggish movements, barely avoiding the wild blades of wind amid her blood-soaked vision. Diving to the side, and then rolling to the front before getting back on her feet. She planted her spear on the ground and used it to catapult even further ahead.

“GRAAA!“

The mantis' scream ripped through the air.

It moved its blades.

The orb of wind shot off from its hands.

'This was it.' That was the only thing Seraphina could think of. She knew it was all up to chance now. She would either survive this or lose the exam.

The orb of wind zapped through the air like a raging storm.

Seraphina closed her eyes and gathered her mana at her core. Her hair fluttered as the air around her expanded, almost as if forming a distorted veil around her.

She was ready to use her trump card. The privilege of a person known as a half fairy.

The orb of wind came closer, right in front of her eyes…

… And stopped.

“Hm?“

Seraphina blurted out instinctively.

As if on cue, the orb of mana spun again and the concentrated air within turned into a beam as it shot backward. The tiny beam like a laser gun swerved through the air and landed on the head of the monster.

“Gwak!“ The monster squealed again and toppled to the ground, its head pierced completely.

The beam, on the other hand, did not stop and drove further into the pit and the ground, completely melting through the sand.

“FUCK YEAH!“ Ralph screamed again. “Take that you son of a bitch! You dare flick me out of this fight like a mob!?“

Ralph ran over to the mantis' corpse and started kicking its head while the other three froze in their spot. “Take! Fucking! This! Why did you mess with me, huh!? I am Ralph fucking Rubinstein!“

{Host, you crazy bastard! What the fuck are you doing!}

The system's window suddenly appearing in front of Ralph's eyes angered him further.

“Shut up! This is your fault in the first place!“ Ralph screamed out again and started kicking the mantis' head even harder.

“Did I call this guy cute…?“ Seraphina muttered as she stared at the scene with widened eyes.

“No way, wasn't Ralph… really nice? It must be a mental attack, yes! Side effect!“ Luke denied reality.

“The bastard has shown his true colors. This is much more comfortable.” and Blaine accepted the change with open arms.

After kicking it a bit more, Ralph took in a deep breath. He lifted his hands and left them down as he exhaled, again and again. Blood of the mantis had splattered on his face, dying him a sick shade exclusive to murderous psychopaths. He smiled and turned toward the three with a bright smile.

“Haah, refreshing, right?“ he said. “Hahaha, it feels like drinking a glass of water after running around the town fighting scum all night long.“

'What kind of comparison is that?' the three wanted to ask, but kept it in.

“You guys can have a turn too, you know?“

Saying that, Ralph stretched his arms over his head and walked up to the end of the pit. He suppressed a yawn and left the three behind as he climbed up the walls of the pit.

Reaching the top, he picked up his massive bag and slid back down.

“Collecting the core?“ Blaine asked, still a little stumped.

“How did it even die…” Seraphina muttered.

“Killed it, duh,” Ralph answered back. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't in the mood to explain. “That said, Seraphina Exise.“

“What is it?“

“It's a bit messed up, but I do have the head for you.“ Ralph turned to her with a smirk. “Would you like to treat me instead?“

The mood to tease never went away for Ralph, though.

Seraphina's eyes widened for a second before she broke into a grin. “How about I do that regardless of the head?“

Ralph placed the bag down and laughed. “Fine. I'll hold you up on that offer.“ Their positions were completely reversed from a while back.

He hummed a song as he loosened the string of the bag, and peeking out came ReRa. ReRa's head spun around in circles and it slowly started walking toward the dead mantis before charging ahead.

Luke stepped back. ReRa launched off the ground and into the mantis' body.

“Hey, let's just rock paper scissors and choose, alright?“ Ralph said.

“Rock paper scissors?“ Seraphina asked, “What are you choosing?“

“Sera…” Blaine turned to her friend. “We decided to choose who keeps the core through a game. Just join in too.“

All four of them gathered behind the corpse of the mantis and placed their hands behind their backs. The nonchalance with Ralph's skill hacking and of the fact that the boss was already dead was a bit too amazing, but the three of them were heavily injured and tired.

It was the best time for Ralph to pull whatever strings he wanted to.

Before they could start their match, a burst of air exploded from their sides.

With the core of the mantis in its hands, ReRa had blasted away.