"Young miss, is there something you want me to do? You have been glaring at that pair for quite some time. Do you want me to take care of them for you?"

Mary asked as she kept smiling.

Looking at her friendly smile, one won't be able to imagine what she was thinking about. But Mary's smile hides her killer instincts.

"Don't kill anyone, but keep an eye on that kid and his mother. They are likely the speakers from the morning…now that I think about it, that kid looks familiar. Have we seen him before?"

Layla asked with a questioning look on her face.

She was good with names and faces but not at putting them together. She possibly had seen this kid before and had just forgotten his name…

"He's likely the kid of the kidnapper we captured. He did say that he had a wife and kid when I interrogated them. Also, the kid's blood smells the same as that kidnapper's."

Mary dropped this bomb as easily as if she was speaking about the sky.

Layla was not sure if she felt disturbed at the fact that a slave trader had someone who loved him enough to marry him and have a kid or the fact that Mary was not even bothering to hide her demonic qualities.

The look on her maid's face begged Layla to ask her questions.

But Layla ignored it all and decided to act like an oblivious child.

"Is that so? Your ability is amazing. Then, can you smell my blood and find my family as well?"

Layla asked, and Mary had a stiff smile for the first time.

"Young miss's blood is…scentless. It's almost as if you have no family or your blood's scent has been forcefully sealed. I can feel its presence but cannot get to it unless I hurt you. Anyway, it's unimportant to me or my loyalty to you."

That was surprising to know…. but not at the same time.

From the way the Duke and Professor Ragnarock had acted weird when they saw her natural silver locks.

It meant something to them, but they were unwilling to share.

'I'm sure I will know about it once it's time. For now, I should focus on the present.'

The lights went out, and it was time to sleep. Layla could only fall asleep once she had ten safety spells around her separation.

And even then, her sleep was light enough to wake anyone up at once.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. Layla felt sleep-deprived when she opened her eyes the next morning, and Mary all but forced her to wake up.

As Mary's hands touched Layla's, she felt her eyes snapping open and quickly woke up.

"Young miss, it seems as if you are finally awake! I was just about to wake you up. I watched the kid you asked me about, but he just slept the night away."

Mary assured Layla as she helped her up.

Layla was the first one up, but she did not mind. It helped her clear her mind and plan for the day.

"I will likely be busy with the preparations of what is happening the whole day, so I will count on you to keep an eye on things. However, if anything were to happen to me, I would decide based on your judgment. Somehow, I have a bad feeling about today."

There was nothing special about today, and even the sky outside her window looked clear. It was going to be a bright day with a lot of sun…

But even so, Layla felt like something was about to happen. The shiver that went down her spine chilled her to the bones.

"Looks like you sense something that I cannot, young miss. I hope you remain safe during times to come."

Mary whispered, and that was the only worried tone Layla had ever heard from her. When she turned to look at her maid, Mary's expression was as joyous as ever.

...

"Welcome to the second part of this competition. It makes me happy to know that 150 of you made it here, but I am afraid that the easy times will end now. Only 10 of you will make it to the final round."

Layla looked around, only to see some noble kids were looking confident.

"Ahh, I knew it! We are so doomed. Do you see the faces of those nobles? They already have a ticket in the finals. Did we work so hard for no reason?"

One of the kids standing beside Layla spoke. He seemed confident about his words, and other kids who heard him looked disheartened.

The host saw what was happening, but he did nothing to stop these people from causing this panic.

He seemed to enjoy this packing and even leveraged it in front of the people.

"Yesterday was about endurance; today is about survival. You all will be dropped in the forest, and your only objective is survival for as long as possible. Now, without further hesitation, we shall begin this round."

The host did not explain anything before the countdown began.

Neither Layla nor the kids on her side knew what was happening. But that did not seem to be the case for the kids on the noble's side.

They all seemed to know already what this test would be.

And Layla also noticed how they were all warping their bodies with their magic even before the round started.

Layla sensed that something was wrong, and she decided to follow suit.

After the first two times, Layla had gotten used to the sensation of traveling through space, so she was not surprised when her feet touched the ground this time.

Instead, she was ready with her magic warped around her body.

She instantly looked up to see the number change in the sky.

From 150, the number had reduced to merely 80. That was almost a half-cut instantly on transport and likely had something to do with the ground.

"So, this competition is rigged after all. Rather, what is this shitty competition, and how is it so famous? None of it makes any sense."