Chapter 84: New Exam

"Hm? What's this?" A black doll, the size of a palm, emanating a foul miasma, transferred into my hand.

"That's an Anathema lure, made by our enchanters. It's sold at Guardian Command for ten points. By the way, please buy them from Guardian Command and not the Gate. It helps humanity," Guardian Green Harvest said.

"Huh?"

"The points from it will be fully transferred to Guardian Command. If they sell it through the Gate, there will be transportation fees," Felicia answered.

"Am I in a commercial?" I rolled my eyes before making several clones to engage the Raptors before me. Seeing their numbers, I elected to use my Signature at once. A dozen Black Lilies appeared.

"All for one, one for all! Charge!"

Using my dark naginata, I engaged two Raptors in front of me. The Raptors lit themselves on fire as they leaped around to my flank.

"Lily, on the left."

"On it." I leaped to my left, passing a clone with a shotgun. Using my inflated strength, I swung with all my might at the Raptor chasing the shotgun clone. It felt like I had hit a sack full of sand. The Raptor I struck was thrown back by my strength, but it was far from dead. I couldn't inflict more than a single scratch on it.

I didn’t need to look to know my shotgun clones fared no better. They were tough.

"Spread out! Don’t let them surround us!" A harpoon gunner clone shot her harpoon at a Raptor. As she pulled the creature in, two other clones pummeled it with their war scythes. But before they could finish the job, another Raptor interfered.

The harpoon gunner let go of her harpoon and tried to wrestle the incoming Raptor. If these were normal clones and not my signature, these clones would have died instantly. The battlefield was chaotic, and we were losing. If only there were just one of them… no, if only we had equal numbers, we could win. But there were two dozen of them and only a dozen of us.

"Shot at the eye!" another harpoon gunner shouted. She fired at a Raptor and, once the line connected, reeled it in toward a shotgun clone. The shotgun clone unloaded her entire magazine into its eye, finally killing one.

I didn’t have time to admire the victory. Four Raptors now surrounded me. One of them shot its prized fireball at me. Using my dark naginata, I struck it like a baseball. The fireball flew toward another Raptor, detonating in a fiery explosion. But as expected of fire Raptors, they came out unscathed.

"Reloading—ahh!" a shotgun clone cried out before being devoured by two Raptors mid-reload. She was supposed to be protected by two war scythe clones, but they were already overwhelmed by four other Raptors.

Another Raptor leaped toward a harpoon gunner clone, knocking her down and pinning her. I immediately disengaged from the four in front of me and rushed to her aid. I swung my naginata with all my strength, sending the attacker flying.

The Raptors chased after me, but another shotgun clone intercepted, firing explosive rounds. They didn’t do much damage, but they did grab the Raptors’ attention.

Realizing how long it would take to defeat them, the harpoon gunners changed tactics. They entwined their harpoons around the legs of a Raptor to slow it down, then swapped their weapons and rushed to reinforce the front lines.

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass signifying a shield break echoed behind me as a Raptor lunged, tackling me to the ground. It mounted me, trying to bite into my head—but I stabbed it with my naginata, using it like a spear to lift the beast off me. I thought the other three Raptors wouldn’t risk hitting their ally, but I was wrong—they all fired their fireballs.

Without my aura, the flames seared my skin.

"Put your weapon inside your inventory," Felicia whispered.

I obeyed just before I lost consciousness.

The world spun in a kaleidoscope of color. My body was tossed like a ragdoll before slamming into the ground. The spinning stopped, but the vertigo lingered, making it nearly impossible to regain my balance.

“Where am I?” I was inside a building. Through the window, I could see my clones still fighting the fire Raptors—explosions and screams echoed across the battlefield.

“I’m a sniper clone, Lily. Well, I’ve already stored the rifle. They’re honestly too fast for me to hit with it. Besides, I don’t want to draw attention. Remember, the mission isn’t to kill them,” a voice rang in my head.

“Why am I here?” I asked, feeling stupid as the words left my mouth.

“Well, you died. Duh. So you replaced me. Now let’s go.”

“What about—” I stopped myself. They were all clones.

“If one survives, we all survive. Don’t worry about it. It was a hopeless battle anyway. Four more clones died after you. All we can do now is leave.”

“Oh yeah. This is supposed to be an escape mission,” I muttered, before heading the other way. Felicia spawned beside me.

“All clones are gone. In total, we incapacitated two Raptors and killed three. If only we had a way to manage their numbers, we could have won. With the anathema lure in place, they should be occupied for at least twenty minutes. Let’s head to the dock,” Felicia said as she hopped down and began running beside me.

“So, where should we go? Do you have a map?”

“No need. The exit is this way—it’s part of the exam layout.” Felicia sprinted toward a corner.

A military helicopter sat waiting. A faceless pilot and soldier waved me over, prompting me to board. I climbed in and glanced back. The field was empty.

The helicopter rose into the sky, and a system notification appeared before my eyes:

[First exam, completed.]

“Alright, good work, Magical Girl Black Lily. That was a superb performance. I honestly thought you wouldn’t make it. Your special skill is something else. Well, as expected from someone who survived an S-rank Anathema! Hahaha. We could learn a lot from you. Don’t feel bad about losing—this test was designed to be unwinnable anyway. You’d be B-rank already if you could beat that horde of C-rank Anathema.” Green Harvest applauded with a hearty laugh.

“So, the second exam is escort, right?” I asked, wondering how other Guardians were supposed to survive such an onslaught. I had clones to keep the enemies busy, but what about Shining, Redflame, or Sapphire? How would they handle this?

“Yes. Here’s the scenario: a group of people is trapped in the Darklands. You must escort them to the dock,” Green Harvest said. “Five hundred virtual points have been added.”

Twenty men in military uniforms spawned beside me. Just like before, they were all faceless. Five of them were injured, carried by their comrades in fireman’s carry. Behind them, over thirty hounds spawned twenty meters away.

“Well, you may start when you’re ready. Oh—hello, Slifer! How are you?” I couldn’t see him, but Green Harvest suddenly greeted someone else. Was that the other Dark Guardian who was supposed to take the test after me?

“How about you two work together? I’ll double the number of Anathema. This kind of exam is better done as a team.” Green Harvest said cheerfully.

“Hm? What? Don’t worry—the one taking the test is another Black. Want to meet her?” A window appeared before me, displaying a girl about my age standing next to Green Harvest. She wore a black dress, a witch’s hat, and a scarf over her mouth. Her shoulder-length black hair fluttered slightly.

A Guardian’s astral shift didn’t determine their power. Someone could wear a wedding dress while wielding a giant axe and still dodge like someone in a bodysuit. But her look was plain. Aside from the hat and scarf, she looked like any other girl you might pass by on the street.

“Felicia?” I whispered.

“She is not a public Guardian. Her powers are unknown.”

“She looks kinda plain,” I said telepathically to Felicia.

“Well, as someone who uses a school uniform as her astral shift, should you really be saying that?” Felicia replied. I turned my head, avoiding eye contact with her. It really was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

“Alright,” the girl nodded. A few moments later, she entered a virtual pod and teleported right beside me. Twenty more hounds and ten more soldiers were added to the simulation—people we now had to protect.

“Hello. I’m Slifer.”

“I’m Black Lily.” We bowed to each other politely.

“...”

“....”

We stood in silence, awkwardly staring at each other. Then, a crow appeared beside her. My cat meowed, and the crow cawed in return.

“Ahem. Are you two ready?” Green Harvest interrupted.

“Yes,” we both said in unison.

I was supposed to ask about her abilities, but it slipped my mind because of our silent staring contest. Well, I stared too, so we were equally at fault.

“You may direct the soldiers however you choose. Just order your familiar. Your goal is to lead them to Agneya,” Green Harvest explained.

“Got it.”

“Alright. Begin.”

The soldiers and hounds began moving. The girl in the witch hat immediately drew a sword from her inventory.

“She’s not a mage?” I asked Felicia while drawing my naginata to meet the incoming hounds. Since this was a different test instance, my mana and Signature cooldown had been reset. A clone with a sniper rifle spawned beside me.

“Dunno, nyaaa.”

“Alright, come this way! Hurry!” my clone called, leading the soldiers toward Agneya in the distance. The test required us to escort the group out of an abandoned city in the Darklands to the Agneya ship stationed beyond. Like before, it was an evacuation mission—but this time, we weren’t required to save everyone. We only needed to protect at least half of the civilians to pass.

The mission also emphasized our safety—the mission would fail automatically if one of us died.

Slifer cleaved another Fomorian hound in two, her western longsword crackling with dark miasma. I followed suit, sweeping my naginata horizontally at a hound coming from the left.

As we were halfway to the extraction point, fifteen civilians emerged from a nearby building and moved toward the soldiers. A system message popped up before me:

[These civilians will come with you. Do you agree? Y/N]

“Was that a question?” I asked Felicia. Slifer also turned to consult her crow. How could we leave civilians behind?

“Well, yes,” Felicia replied.

“We accept them, of course. Let’s get out of here alive,” Slifer said. I nodded.

Four Gloams appeared, though they were much smaller than the usual kind—only about two meters tall. I summoned another clone, this one armed with a harpoon. Felicia identified them as Lesser Gloams.

The four creatures collapsed unnaturally as dark vines materialized from their shadows and tripped them up. I took the opportunity to swing my naginata upward, cutting down two in one fluid motion. This time, my blade cut through them like a hot knife through butter.

Slifer dispatched hers just as easily.

We met little resistance on our way to Agneya, though a variety of Anathema appeared along the way. Flying bats were among them. My harpoon clone swapped her weapon for a sniper rifle and handled them from a distance. Slifer took them out with shadow bolts.

“Alright! That was boring as fuck—but boring is good. It means everyone’s safe! I guess sending two Blacks for a D-rank mission like this was overkill. Damn, GC said this test was supposed to be challenging for D rank. Excellent work, Slifer and Black Lily. Now, let’s move on to the final exam—the one you were expecting: the battle exam.” Green Harvest appeared inside a blue box hovering in the sky.

“Were there any failures on these kinds of missions?” I asked Felicia, wondering whether leaving those civilians would complete the test.

“This exam was just implemented last week. So, you two are the first testers,” Felicia answered.

“Why do I always have the worst luck…” Slifer muttered to her crow.

“And your final opponent is a Gloam,” Green Harvest announced. “A D-rank Anathema that boasts powerful strikes—enough to injure a C-rank Guardian if they’re not careful. It can even break a D-rank Guardian’s shield in a single hit. However, it’s slow, so speed is your friend. Good luck on your next test.”

He paused, tapping something on his tablet.

“You’ll be fighting two… no, let’s make that four. You both seem capable enough. Nah… they’re Blacks—two would be too easy for them. Let's make them face 8 gloams! I am not gonna let anyone belittle our exams!”

He continued muttering to himself while typing, clearly conversing with his familiar, even though it hadn’t manifested. Again, Slifer crouched and cursed her terrible luck.

I yawned.