My Cell Prison

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 – Scissors

At the same time when the team that consisted of Pasha and Han Dong left the forest together, if someone were to get a god’s eye view of the place and overlook the entire Darkmoon Forest, Han Dong and Pasha would just be two small dots in the vast forest, moving about in just a small area of the forest.

Taking an overview of the entire Darkmoon Forest, there were approximately 40 log cabins just like the one that the pair had visited, with all sorts of strange baubles and trinkets that were placed inside, each with a corresponding monster that was used for the freshman’s test.

Indeed, there were a total of 32,000 people that were participating in this year’s Holy City parade, and the Parade Square that Han Dong had been in was just the gathering place for all the participants from the southern part of the Holy City.

Meanwhile, there were only around 400 youths who made it back from the Space of Destiny and were subsequently endowed with the title of Trainee Knight…

‘Crusader’ and ‘Library’ were two of the more popular specialization classes, with more than 200 of the youths that ended up picking them.

‘Machinery’ was the next most popular, with around 80 that chose it as their main specialization.

‘Control’ was the second to last, coming up to about 70 who made the choice.

‘Mysticism’ was at the bottom, same as every year, though there were actually 8 more who made this choice this year compared to last year, coming to a total of around 40 youths.

Trainee Knights set forth to register themselves with their departments at different times, so a majority of them would carry out the relevant tests either in their faculty buildings or the surrounding areas.

The test for ‘Crusader’ was simple, requiring the trainees to pit themselves against the various measuring instruments, completing tests that sought to evaluate their strength, speed and reaction time, etc.

From there onward, trainees would simply have to obtain the permission of an instructor with regards to their usage of either swords, fists, shields, axes, or other weaponry to complete their enrollment.

Trainee Knights who picked ‘Library’ as their main specialization had two steps to their testing procedure: First, they had to interact with a sort of magic detector device in order to determine the person’s magic affinity as well as their spell inclination.

Subsequently, they would take the next three days to learn the most fundamental main spells and cast them successfully.

The Department for ‘Machinery’ spared trainees from doing the entrance test if they had already crafted something worthy prior, while others would be required to analyze a piece of complex machinery and draw up a set of blueprints on the spot, or they could choose to qualify by demonstrating expert marksmanship with a musket.

Trainees who picked the specialization of ‘Control’ were required to take control of normal beasts (non-magical creatures) that were domesticated within the Academy’s farm. As long as they were able to remain in control of the beast for 30 minutes, they would qualify. There was not a bit of inherent danger at all.

The ‘Mysticism’ specialization was the only odd one out.

Only a small handful of trainees would be required to take the standardized exam in the faculty building that was not in the least bit dangerous.

But any of the trainees that were even a little ‘special’ would all be sent to the Darkmoon Forest and be made to partake in a hair-raising test that had a certain level of danger to it.

That was also the reason why the youths from the middle or upper class who had insider knowledge of the Academy avoided the ‘Mysticism’ specialization.

There was no need to risk their lives at the start of their ‘Trainee Knight’ journey.

It would be too much of a waste if prospective Knights ended up dying right as they were on the verge of entering the Academy and starting out their systematic standardized education… As such, Mysticism studies became an even more unpopular department to join.

Furthermore, it was the Head chancellor of the Academy that requested for there to be such an entrance test for the Department of Mysticism.

The reason for setting up such a dangerous and suspense-filled test was to let the newcomers understand that the ‘Mysticism’ path that they would be embarking on would be fraught with danger and the unknown, inculcating in them the need to be mentally prepared for what was to come in advance.

—————————————–

* Snip~ Snip~ Snip~*

Han Dong’s heart tightened when he heard the strange sound of scissors.

Similar to what happened during the Destiny event, the sensation that he felt when an evil spirit had its eye on him gave him goosebumps.

Han Dong immediately turned his head around and stared at a withered tree behind him.

Unexpectedly, the sound of the scissors abruptly changed to another direction.

Because Han Dong was unable to lock onto where the sound came from, a creeping sense of uneasiness filled his heart… He would be in quite a bit of trouble if he were to be taken by a sneak attack.

“Han Dong, how about I come out and help you… The monster that has its eyes on you is a little strange.” Chenli’s voice echoed in his consciousness.

“You can’t come out yet. This is the Academy’s test, so I have to resolve it on my own. Besides, I have yet to come up with a proper reason to explain your existence for the time being…”

“But what if your life is in danger?” Chenli’s words beheld a small amount of concern.

“I’ll leave it up to your discretion then.”

—————————–

After this conversation ended, Han Dong immediately turned to look at Pasha Bhatt, the girl who possessed the Divination ability.

Although hearing the strange snipping sounds scared the girl, she was still able to maintain her composure as she looked all around her surroundings.

“Did you not say you know Divination? Are you able to locate its position?”

“Ye-Yes. By using a ‘medium’ to carry out my Divination, I would be able to get an accurate reading of its position.”

“Why haven’t you said this sooner?”

“Because… The moment I begin, it would instantly target me…”

“We might end up dying here if we can’t determine the position of the target… Would the items inside the iron box work to act as a medium?”

“It would.”

Han Dong immediately opened the iron box, reaching his hand in to pick up a piece of dried eyelid which had a matte feel to it and handed it to Pasha. “Get a lock on its position. I’ll come up with a solution for it.”

“O-Okay.”

Pasha pulled out an ancient metal compass. She muttered an incantation as she placed the medium near the compass needle. A wisp of greyish-white energy came flowing out from her palm that caused the medium and the needle to attach together.

With the simple ritual completed, the needle was now able to point toward where the ‘scissors monster’ was hiding.

However, the problem was that the needle did not point in any one direction, but it was spinning rapidly in place!

It was as if the target was moving super rapidly circling around them.

“That’s impossible… The level of strength in this test should not be so high. If this monster truly had such a quick movement speed, there would be no way for us to be a match for it! But if the needle is only limited to pointing solely in the horizontal direction, that leaves the strong likelihood that the target is sharing the same vertical coordinate as us. BE CAREFUL!”

Han Dong promptly lifted his head up, but he saw nothing up on the tree branches.

Which means there was just one possibility left – underground.

* Snip~ Snip~ Snip~*

The monster seemed to have realized that its position had been exposed and was no longer hiding!

A pair of shiny scissors extended out from the ground… and it was exactly what Pasha Bhatt had specifically mentioned.

Due to her orienteering with her Divination ability, the monster had locked onto her as the target instead.

*Shing* The sound of the scissors opening up could be heard as grey oil spilled from the ground.

The sharp scissors had instantly cut Pasha’s ankle tendons… The girl screamed as she fell backward.

Danger!

The moment the monster’s scissors snipped at her tendons, it shifted backward… If Pasha were to fall in such a fashion, the back of her head would end up falling right onto the sharp scissors.

A streak of green glow shot right out, directed onto the spot of soil that corresponded with the scissors.

The plague shot ignored the dirt and penetrated right though, dealing a direct hit to the monster that was hiding underground.

Strange and dreary wails could be heard from below as the scissors retracted.

Pasha Bhatt had managed to remain alive this time.

That green glow was indeed the Plague Shot that came from Han Dong’s Fate Weapon…

“Is the entrance test arranged by the Department of Mysticism for real?! Had I not acted in time… Would that girl have already died? Were they just going to abandon the talent that they had selected from those that stepped out of the Space of Destiny!?”

At that very moment, Han Dong focused all his attention and entered the concentration state of someone that was facing death.