-Frey Starlight's POV-
-Final Day of the Island Trial-
Ding!
Ranking Update:
1 - Daemon Valerion: 6450 points
2 - Snow Lionheart: 6430 points
3 - Frey Starlight: 4500 points
4 - Seris Moonlight: 4400 points
5 - Danzo Smasher: 3900 points
6 - Ghost Umbra: 3880 points
7 - Dawn Polaris: 3700 points
8 - Ragna Cloud: 3650 points
9 - Magnus Grell: 3400 points
10 - Clana Starlight: 3000 points
The final destination will be announced soon. Please reach it within 3 hours to ensure qualification.
I stared at the final rankings…
You could say everything had already been decided.
Daemon Valerion, in spectacular fashion, had crowned himself king of this trial after a fierce contest against Snow Lionheart.
A battle that thrilled viewers across the world.
The month-long trial that imprisoned the students had finally come to an end.
Now, only one thing remained—reaching the final location announced by the smartwatch.
Even though the test technically wasn't over—failing to reach that zone in time meant elimination from the Victoriad.
A rather unreasonable rule… and no one truly understood why it existed.
But there was no room for complaints now.
Ding!
Final Zone: I6.
Please proceed immediately.
It was finally here…
The Moonlight extremists hadn't shown up until the very end.
And yet, something felt... off.
As I moved between the trees, unease crept through me.
Could it really end like this?
Could they truly stay quiet all the way to the end?
I didn't know…
With mixed thoughts, I made my way toward the final zone.
Obstacles had always stood in my way. Since the moment I arrived in this world, I'd been trapped in a spiral of chaos—forced to face enemies far beyond my level. That pressure crushed me like an insect.
But I fought back… and fought back…
And now I had made it this far.
The finish line was in sight. I could see it in the distance.
Just a little more...
A little more, and I'd be there.
...
...
...
Step by step, Frey Starlight moved toward the end.
Elsewhere on the island, Ghost was also running—searching for him.
He was the only one who noticed…
Frey Starlight hadn't shown up on the player tracking list since the final day.
Which meant finding him now was nearly impossible.
Frey hadn't left the trial—he was still ranked.
But none of that would matter if he didn't reach the final destination in time.
Ghost knew what he was doing was hopeless…
But he still tried to find him.
"Damn it!"
The assassin shouted.
...
...
...
Somewhere Else Entirely…
Aegon strolled alone across the golden shore.
The prince had never intended to qualify in this trial—there was no point in doing so if his sister wasn't going to either.
And he had no interest in participating in a losing match against monsters like Snow and Daemon.
From the start, Aegon had never planned to be one of the final eight.
He glanced at his watch with a smile as the final notification arrived.
"So, it's time, huh?"
A light chuckle escaped him as he thought of the grand finale he had prepared.
After the recent infiltration incident of the Ultras, the Imperial Family had gained almost full control over the Temple.
And amidst that shift, Aegon had obtained new authority.
Authority that allowed him to meddle as he pleased.
"Oh, dear Frey... I hope you enjoy my final gift to you."
Sending the third-year students and orchestrating all that pressure from the very start hadn't been the real play.
Aegon knew Frey would survive it all—anything less would've disappointed him.
He understood all the pieces on the board.
Just as he knew who they held dear...
He also knew their enemies.
"This is it, Frey... if you survive this, I'll acknowledge you as a player equal to me."
Aegon smiled as he stared at his watch.
"Otherwise, you'll die here."
Written clearly on his screen:
— Please proceed to the final area: D9 —
...
...
...
Everyone was now on the move, each heading to complete their destined trial.
Elsewhere, Phoenix Sunlight stood watching the Lady of Eight Legs
As he continued to observe the grotesque creature, a message from the Headmaster finally arrived.
"It's done... Phoenix, that nightmare abomination has fulfilled its purpose."
The Lady of Eight Legs had only been a test subject—meant to give the players a taste of what it meant to face enemies like her. Her role was now over.
"..."
Phoenix remained silent, waiting for the next command.
"You may kill it now."
At last, Phoenix nodded.
"Understood."
He leapt into the air, spreading both arms wide.
"Flames of Eternity."
From his hands, a ferocious blaze erupted, circling around the Lady of Eight Legs in a massive inferno.
The ignition was nearly instant.
The beast didn't even understand how she had ended up trapped in flames.
She screamed and lunged to break through the fire encasing her, but it was no use—those flames were terrifying in both intensity and spread.
Phoenix hovered high above her, his eyes locked on the creature below.
"From the start... I've always despised nightmare spawn like you."
His fist burned with blinding heat.
From a distance, he looked like a radiant star.
Sensing danger from above, the Lady launched all ten of her limbs skyward to crush the threat.
Her venomous limbs were massive and terrifyingly strong.
But Phoenix didn't bother dodging—he simply struck.
With eyes glowing with violent light, he called out:
"Burn."
In that moment—
BOOOOOOM!
The entire island trembled.
All the players saw it from afar—a cascade of fire pouring down from the heavens.
An endless flame devoured the Lady's limbs without pause, then carved its path straight toward her head.
She attempted to regenerate over and over within the relentless blaze, but it was futile.
"To kill rapidly regenerating creatures like you... I need to strike faster than you can heal."
The flames refused to die down.
The Lady of Eight Legs was being charred into a lump of coal right before their eyes, screaming all the while...
"It would've been a different story had the real Lady of Eight Legs been here. But sadly... you're not on my level."
It took no more than three minutes.
After that, nothing remained but ash.
With a snap of his fingers, the flames vanished completely, leaving behind a massive black crater.
Phoenix stared at it briefly before disappearing.
His job was done.
...
...
...
Phoenix's final act stunned the players watching from across the island.
But their awe didn't last long. Soon enough, each of them returned to what they were doing.
One by one, they began heading toward the final rendezvous point.
The first to arrive was Daemon Valerion.
Then the others followed.
The three-hour window hadn't closed yet, so they continued to arrive steadily.
First-years, Seris, Danzo, Ragna...
Each of them showed up.
Snow was already there.
Eventually, the last to arrive was Ghost.
He looked around the clearing...
But he didn't find him.
Frey Starlight was missing.
Some had already noticed his absence.
Danzo. Sansa.
Even Snow.
Two hours remained before the deadline.
Most wondered where Frey was... but none of them knew the truth.
Ghost was the only one who did.
He remembered the words of that girl:
"With the prince's help, the extremist faction managed to tamper with the rules of the exam…"
The final rule had been added—the one that forced players to gather at a specific zone, or be disqualified.
That rule had a purpose:
To lure Frey Starlight.
The plan was simple.
On the final day...
Frey would be given a false coordinate on his watch. At the same time, the search function for him would be disabled for other players.
The "final zone" he received was completely fake.
Frey would be isolated—far from every other participant.
A place where no one could see him, and no one could hear him.
And there...
That's where the curtain would fall.
The trap had been set from the beginning—so meticulously, so precisely—that Frey would fall right into it, no matter what.