After the teachers finished mobilizing their respective classes, they led the students toward the edge of the forest.

“All of you, remember: the teachers are short-staffed. Whether you can be rescued in time depends entirely on luck, so... if anyone wants to quit, there’s still time.” The B-Class grade director looked around as he spoke.

No one moved. After so many years, none of the students who remained here were unstable in temperament.

“In that case, the 16th final exam of the 108th class of 3212 Academy officially begins!”

With the sound of the starting gun, all the students surged into the edge of the forest like a tide, each eager to complete their task as soon as possible.

The teachers had marked out a certain area; as long as students hunted successfully within this range, they could come out. However, there were always various unpredictable risks. First, the strength of the prey was uncertain—no one knew what they would encounter. Second, even if they succeeded in hunting, they still faced the possibility of running into other beasts on the way back.

Brian Walker quickly entered the edge of the forest. She had always cherished her life; in sixteen final exams, she had basically relied on dodging to avoid serious injury. She was poor and couldn’t afford to lie in a healing pod.

On the surface, the edge of the forest looked peaceful, and even the air was much fresher than in the city. However, ever since the students entered, the screams had not stopped.

Even though these people had already taken the exam here sixteen times.

Today, for the beasts of the edge forest, it was a good opportunity to feed.

Brian Walker gripped her dagger in one hand and quickly passed through a patch of thorns, the spikes on the plants constantly tearing her training uniform. She didn’t blink. Compared to other places, both people and beasts were less willing to pass through here. So by taking this thorny path, the danger was minimized, and she could also seize the chance to hunt.

Because she was poor, Brian Walker habitually tried to find the most energy-saving solution.

While weaving through the thorns, Brian Walker’s ears suddenly twitched. She stopped and turned her head to look out: a leopard was circling nearby.

Before she could make her next move, the leopard had already leapt near the thorns, roaring at Brian Walker.

Brian Walker closed her eyes for a moment—the leopard had smelled her blood. She tried to dash forward, but the leopard on the outskirts immediately followed.

So annoying. She thought she’d get lucky and run into some easy prey, but now she had become the prey.

Brian Walker took a deep breath and stopped. While the leopard hadn’t reacted yet, she jumped out from another spot, rolled on the ground to absorb the impact.

“Roar—”

The leopard let out an excited snarl from its throat and immediately pounced at Brian Walker.

Having seen insect beasts before, Brian Walker naturally wasn’t afraid of a mere leopard. She didn’t dodge, just avoided the leopard’s forelimbs, slid downward, her whole body beneath the leopard’s belly. Just as the leopard tried to step back and catch this prey, the prey was gone—and something heavy landed on its back.

After sliding under the leopard’s belly, Brian Walker rolled out to the side, flipped over, and mounted the leopard’s back. One hand grabbed its head, and the other, holding the dagger, slashed across its neck.

Blood spurted out like a fountain. The leopard’s dying wail was stuck in its throat, and before it could make a sound, it collapsed with a thud.

Brian Walker got up from the leopard’s body. Half of the final exam was done; now all that was left was to figure out how to get the prey out successfully.

The smell of blood would attract other beasts, and she still had to carry this heavy leopard back.

Brian Walker patted her pocket—she hadn’t brought any nutrient solution. She was hungry.

Her appetite had been spoiled by her shifu’s wife’s cooking lately, and with all the snacks she’d been given, she’d almost forgotten the taste of nutrient solution, let alone brought any.

Rubbing her stomach, Brian Walker resignedly hoisted the more than 200-pound leopard onto her shoulders and sprinted back.

“What are you guys doing?”

With her head spinning and vision blurry, Brian Walker gritted her teeth and ran all the way. As she passed through an open area, a familiar voice called out.

It was a classmate.

“Your prey looks pretty good—let me borrow it.”

“Get lost!”

Brian Walker rolled her eyes, changed direction, and strode toward the open area. She threw the leopard off her shoulder onto the ground. “How about I let you borrow my prey?”

Seven or eight people stood in the open area. One in the middle was a classmate of Brian Walker, the rest were from the neighboring class. The leader, however, was sitting under a tree in the distance, with a dead lion at his feet.

When these people saw Brian Walker, they all took a step back in unison.

Brian Walker’s classmate got up from the ground, dragged their own prey over to Brian Walker, and pointed at the students from the other class. “These guys can’t finish the task themselves, so they gang up to steal our prey.”

After working so hard to complete the task, exhausting their strength and getting injured, these people came to steal the prey. It wasn’t that no one resisted, but the leader from the other class was watching nearby. If anything went wrong, he’d step in. There had already been more than one or two victims.

No one from the other class dared to speak, their eyes constantly darting to the person under the tree in the distance.

Finally, the person under the tree stood up and walked over. “Brian Walker, I advise you not to meddle.”

Brian Walker clicked her tongue, looked him up and down, and greeted him warmly: “Edward Harris, is your back injury healed?”

He was the one from the other class who was supposedly A-rank but had been beaten by her.

Tai Edward Harris: “...” His whole body started to ache again.