Since they planned to work together, Alfin and Diana came to pick up Rai at her house. As usual, Diana didn't come empty-handed—she brought the long pink wig Rai had worn the other day.
When Rai's mother saw her daughter wearing the wig, she beamed with joy.
> "My daughter looks so beautiful!" she said, clapping her hands in delight.
As a form of "punishment," Diana insisted Rai wear the pink wig to the exam.
Resigned, Rai followed them to the examination site, which was the same as before. But this time, the stares from the boys were far more intense. Even the teachers, who were once slightly suspicious of her, no longer had any doubts.
As they neared the examination seats, Rai couldn't take it anymore. Blushing, she suddenly ripped off the wig and slapped it onto Alfin's head, stunning him. Then she bolted toward her seat.
> "Hey! Rai, don't run!!" Diana shouted after her.
But it was too late—Rai had already sat down, smiling in relief. Oddly enough, even without the wig, the boys' gazes didn't fade. In fact, some of them seemed even more drawn to her.
Dukun Rosso, who was previously confused by Rai's appearance, now realized the truth.
> "So… all this time, people thought she was a guy just because her hair is short…"
---
Once everyone was seated, the students were told to split their consciousness with their khodam. Their real bodies would remain seated, while their khodam entered the spirit realm.
Spiritual watches were placed on each student's wrist—these would track the number of tuyul they defeated.
A professional dukun stepped forward and began explaining the rules:
> "Only tuyul spirits will count toward your score. Killing any other jin won't increase your points. In fact, it'll cause you to lose points."
The tension grew. Then, a portal to the spirit realm opened, and one by one, the students' khodams entered the other world, leaving their physical bodies sitting calmly in their chairs.
---
Rai, Alfin, and Diana's khodams regrouped in the middle of the eerie Tuyul Forest. After greeting each other, they quickly began planning their strategy. Many students were jealous of Alfin, who had the company of two gorgeous female khodams.
The exam would last seven full days, so teamwork was essential.
> "Remember, if your khodam dies, you're automatically sent back to your real body," Diana warned while checking her spiritual energy.
"We'll be graded based on how long we survive and how many tuyul we eliminate."
Khodams also needed food and water to maintain their spiritual strength. If their energy ran out, they would automatically return to the physical world. Since dukuns were trained to control two bodies at once, this test was also meant to assess their multi-tasking abilities.
Their first mission: find a safe and hidden place to camp. Alfin suggested a tall tree with wide branches on a small hill. From there, they would have a clear view of the area and could set up a temporary base to survive the coming days.
After wandering for quite some time, Rai, Alfin, and Diana finally found the perfect spot to set up camp—a thick branch of a massive tree, high above the ground and well-hidden. It was a strategic location: safe from ground creatures and hard to reach for tuyuls that couldn't climb.
With their shelter secured, the trio began their hunt.
Alfin used his spear-like tail to pierce through tuyuls with swift, lethal strikes. Diana, despite her soft-looking pink tail, crushed the creatures with terrifying force, breaking their bones effortlessly. Meanwhile, Rai summoned glowing fireflies that spun rapidly like magical bullets, piercing through multiple tuyuls in a single shot.
They quickly realized why this place was called the Tuyul Forest. Within just one day, they had encountered over a hundred tuyuls.
To preserve their khodam's energy, they also gathered food—wild fruits, mushrooms, forest chickens, rabbits, and even fish. As night fell, they returned to their tent and roasted their catch over a small fire. But nighttime in the spirit world was far more dangerous than the day.
"Keep quiet," Diana whispered, eyes scanning the dark forest below. "The jinn are coming out."
These were no ordinary spirits. Some jinn were feral and monstrous, but others looked human—those were the most dangerous. They didn't just hunt khodams… if they found a shaman's physical body, they'd devour it without hesitation.
That night alone, several participants had already failed. Some lost their khodams in battle. Others ran out of energy after exhausting fights. They were forced to return to the real world, heads lowered in disappointment, hoping their written exam scores would be enough to save them when the results came out in seven days.
Up on the tree, only one tent had been set up.
Alfin looked a bit uneasy. Diana was his half-sister, so sharing a tent was no issue. But Rai? She wasn't family. Would they really all sleep in the same space?
"Rai, didn't you bring your own tent?" Diana asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope. Why? Is that a problem?" Rai replied innocently.
Alfin rubbed his temple, already sensing where this was going.
"Hey, I'm Alfin's sister, so it's normal for us to share a tent. But you're… not family," Diana said, giving Rai a strange look. "Don't tell me you have a thing for my brother?"
"Huh? I've slept over at Alfin's house before—twice even! When we were kids," Rai answered casually.
"Yeah, kids. Back then, he thought you were a boy. Now you've awakened your khodam, you're considered an adult in the eyes of shaman law. If Alfin had known you were a girl back then…" Diana narrowed her eyes at her brother, "...you might've already been—"
"Hey! I'm not that kind of guy!" Alfin protested, flustered.
"See? He says he's not like that," Rai added, nodding sincerely.
Diana just sighed, stuck between disbelief and amusement.
"Don't tell me you like my brother, Rai?" she teased.
"As if,i will like your brother" Rai scoffed, rolling her eyes.