On the other side, John experienced a brief blur in his vision.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dense forest.
A notification popped up:
[You have entered the lv20-lv40 dungeon "Enchanted Forest"!]
John instinctively surveyed his surroundings.
The towering trees blocked out the sunlight, creating a damp environment likely due to the absence of sunlight for many years, filled with large, colorful fungi.
John even spotted a mushroom as tall as a person.
It was vivid and colorful, its cap rhythmically contracting and expanding as if breathing, continuously releasing fog-like red spores.
John witnessed a giant rat inhaling the spores, struggling briefly before ceasing to breathe, with fungal filaments quickly growing over its body.
[Name: Mushroom Spirit (Normal)]
[Level: lv30]
[HP: 120000]
[Spirit: 1179]
[Defense: 562]
[Speed: 0]
[Skills: Parasitic Spores, Spore Toxic Mist, Decomposition…]
...
After glancing at the monster's stats, John focused, and his staff lit up with silver light.
A crescent-shaped slash, several meters long, flew straight towards the Mushroom Spirit.
"Silver Moonblade!"
The Mushroom Spirit, unable to move, was an easy target, and John's skill hit its mark precisely.
A significant damage number rose above the Mushroom Spirit's head.
"-245912!"
The lv30 Mushroom Spirit was instantly killed by John's skill before it could react.
...
[You have killed a lv30 "Mushroom Spirit (Normal)" and gained 67,000 Exp!]
...
[Current Level: lv25]
[Exp: 67000 / 1500000]
...
The lv30 normal monster provided John with over 60000 Exp in total.
With his current level, it wouldn't take long for him to reach lv30.
At this moment, John felt somewhat relieved; thankfully, he had prepared a silver-tier Breakthrough Stone in advance.
Initially, he had lamented over the loss of more than thirty million from his wallet, but now he breathed a sigh of relief.
If he couldn't gain experience from killing monsters later on, John figured he would regret it immensely.
Pulling out his black assessment card, he noticed that the points had changed from 0 to 50.
Additionally, the card displayed the points ranking and the scoring rules.
John only glanced briefly at the scoring rules.
The level and class of the monsters determined the points awarded; the weakest lv20 normal monsters provided 10 points, while the strongest lv40 boss-level monsters offered 3000 points.
John's main focus was on the leaderboard.
Surprisingly, he found himself ranked 69th.
Unexpectedly, the person at the top was not Isabella but someone named Amelia—the shy girl with the sword.
Her points had already reached 331, with Isabella trailing behind her at 175 points.
The difference between their points was significant.
John had a deep impression of this girl named Amelia.
Despite her sharp swordsmanship and strength, she was unexpectedly polite.
The third place was occupied by someone named Jonathan, with 146 points.
John had no particular recollection of him.
As for the handsome young man enveloped in golden light, John did not see his name, possibly because he had not yet made a significant move.
Upon closer inspection, the strength of these individuals surprised John.
According to the scoring rules, they must have killed several lv30 monsters in a short period, or taken down an elite-tier monster, to have accumulated so many points.
And in just a short while, his rank had dropped by over a hundred to beyond 150th place, and it was still declining.
This meant that at least 150 candidates in this assessment possessed gold-tier strength, with countless more at the silver-tier level.
John was somewhat taken aback; it's no wonder that this renowned Federal institution attracted so many geniuses for just one assessment.
However, John was not worried; after all, the assessment had only just begun.
The Stellar Assessment would last an entire day, and an early lead didn't mean much.
Putting away his assessment card, John looked around the dense forest filled with giant trees, unsure of which direction to take.
The forest was vast, and since the dungeon's entry points were randomized, he had no idea where he was or what was around him.
After a moment of hesitation, a blue light sparked in his eyes.
John's mind power transformed into a vast net, instantly covering a kilometer radius around him.
At the same time, the sounds of blood flow and heartbeats began to echo in his mind.
"Life Perception!"
John felt a throbbing pain in his brain and a significantly reduced sensory range, causing him to frown involuntarily.
The Godslayer Blade had not only caused physical damage but had also weakened his mind power.
Although Headmistress Sophia and Yina had intervened, preventing foundational damage, it was unavoidable that John's strength would be diminished until he fully recovered.
Nevertheless, he felt it should be sufficient to handle the assessment.
Everything within a kilometer radius appeared in John's mind, revealing numerous monsters, most of which were around lv30.
John surmised he must be near the center of the Enchanted Forest.
He felt fortunate not to have been randomized to the forest's edge, which would have cost him a great deal of time just moving around searching for monsters.
As the throbbing in his mind intensified, just when John was about to deactivate Life Perception, a figure suddenly entered his sensory range.
Initially, John didn't pay much attention.
Given the vastness of the forest and over ten thousand participants in the assessment, it wasn't unusual for one or two individuals to end up in the same area.
However, upon closer inspection, John realized his mind power had marked this person.
This meant the individual was one of those who had spoken ill of him back in the sports field.
Mind power marking is a technique involving the use of mind power to tag objects or individuals, useful for tracking and locating.
John had learned this skill during his special training with Hidden Stars, following Victor and others.
It was indeed very practical.
A cold glint flashed in John's eyes.
Fate seemed to have brought them together, randomizing them into the same area.
Encountering him, John naturally wouldn't let go of this chance to confront the foul-mouthed individual.
He noted the person's location, withdrew his mental perception, activated a Stealth Spell, drew out the Bloodthirsty Blade, and quickly made his way towards the marked individual's position.
...
On the other side, the burly figure of Andrew, clad in armor and wielding a large sword, was enveloped in a blood-like aura.
With a powerful swing, he cleaved through a rainbow-colored spider lunging at him.
"-25781!"
The spider, its body covered in wounds, let out a wail before being bisected by Andrew's blade.
In the blink of an eye, the spider's corpse turned into light and dissipated into the air.
Andrew pulled out his assessment card, checking his points, which had reached 70, placing him 49th among the over ten thousand participants—a commendable position.
A mix of joy and dissatisfaction crossed Andrew's rugged face as he muttered, "I knew there was something off with Star Cluster Academy's preliminary test. How could I possibly be just a B-level talent?"
Andrew, a gold-tier Berserker with a decent level of talent, was at lv37.
His results from the preliminary test at Hidden Stars Academy placed him in the mid-to-upper range among this assessment's participants with a B-level evaluation.
However, this felt like an affront to him.
He believed he was at least A-level in terms of talent, especially after hearing that John had passed the preliminary test by merely damaging a few Crystal Balls.
It reinforced Andrew's suspicion about flaws in Star Cluster Academy's preliminary testing.
"To think that such rubbish could pass the preliminary test, and yet I only got a B-level?"
Andrew felt greatly insulted.
However, he dared not confront Star Cluster Academy directly.
So, when he saw John at the sports field, his words were filled with venom.
Andrew even thought, should he encounter that guy during the assessment, he would definitely teach him a lesson before seeking an upgrade in his evaluation from the academy's instructors.
The prospect of passing the assessment wasn't even a concern for him.
Andrew had always been brimming with confidence.
Andrew, holding his large sword with pride and determination, planned to rack up more points first, showcasing his strength to others before confronting that detestable individual.
However, he had barely taken a few steps when he sensed something was amiss.
Why was his neck itching?
Reaching to scratch his neck, he immediately felt something sticky and somewhat warm on his hand.
Confused, Andrew looked down to see blood on his fingers.
"Why is there blood on my neck? Could it be from when I was fighting that spider?"
As he pondered this, Andrew suddenly felt his head move slightly.
Then, his vision seemed to lower.
And then, Andrew saw a body clad in armor, carrying a sword, and strikingly familiar—except it was headless.
He paused for a moment, then his eyes widened in horror.
"Is that... my own body?!"
At the same time, Andrew also saw a figure standing behind the headless corpse, holding a blood-stained longsword, with a cold gaze.
It was John!