The exam time ended, and the professor collected the papers.
As he organized them and placed them into his bag, he spoke, "I’ll try to grade these as quickly as possible, so you can expect to see your scores in our next session." With those words, he left the hall.
Meanwhile, I prayed inwardly for flames to consume those cursed papers—and everyone who designed that exam.
The moment the professor left, the others looked at one another and began asking questions about how they’d done on the test.
From my seat, I saw Izel boasting in front of Valia and Leona, while Garon and Kyle remained indifferent as usual.
At the front, Elliot looked pleased with his performance as he chatted with Ivan and Jin.
Great. Everyone did well—except me...
In any case, it was too early for them to celebrate. We still had other exams today, and thankfully, I was confident I’d do well this time.
...
Next, we had the history and geography test. Unlike mathematics, I understood the questions and managed to form solid answers.
[If you continue heading north, beyond all known regions, what will you find?]
I didn’t think much before writing the answer on the paper: "The Abyss."
Time passed, my hand continuing to move as I wrote answers one after another until the allotted time ended and the professor collected the papers.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair, watching the professor leave the hall with the papers in hand. "I’ll get at least a B."
With that final test, the long day came to an end.
Before allowing us to leave, one of the professors briefed us on the practical exam that would take place in three days.
In short, we would take the test in teams of four. In addition, the entire first year would be participating at the same time, meaning we’d be facing students from other classes as well.
To maintain balance, the academy distributed the members of my class across different teams, so no two students from the same class would end up in the same group.
They said the teams were formed randomly, and that we’d receive a message with our team members and their contact information. We were free to meet up during these days to train together and improve our teamwork.
As for the test itself, it would involve clearing a maze filled with Rank 1 and Rank 2 monsters.
The winning team would be the one to reach the center first and kill the final monster there. In addition, you couldn’t skip or run away from the monsters in the maze—you needed to accumulate a certain number of points before reaching the center. Otherwise, the moment you stepped into that area, you’d be teleported back to the starting point.
Anyway, I lay on my bed staring at my phone—specifically, checking who my team members were.
"Mira... Kaya... Adam." I read their names one by one.
I even found myself already added to a group chat made specifically for our team. I scrolled through the messages the others had sent.
[Hello, everyone.]
[Oh, it’s you, Kaya. I’m glad you’re my teammate.] —Mira
[Hello, ladies. I’m really happy to have two lovely ladies on my team.]
[Emoji]
[Emoji]
[Anyway, who’s the fourth person?] —Mira
[I don’t know. I haven’t checked the data the academy sent yet.] —Adam
[Kaya, do you know who it is?]
[Yes...]
[Then say it. Why are you being quiet?]
[...It’s that person from the banquet—the one who got first place, Caius.] —Kaya
[.....] —Mira
[.....] —Adam
[It’s not that bad, guys. Whether we like it or not, he’s very strong... and he’ll have to work with us if he wants to keep his position.] —Kaya
[You’re right... we shouldn’t be pessimistic so quickly.]
[So, should we meet tomorrow morning?] —Adam
[Of course. Where do you want to meet, everyone?] —Mira
[Anywhere you want.] —Adam
[Then let’s meet at a certain café. I’ll send a message with the location and time so the other person can see it later.]
[We’ll meet at 7 a.m.
Location: ....
Caius Astroweild, if you read this, I hope you come and cooperate with us.]
So much pointless chatter.
I turned off my phone and placed it on the table, pushing the conversation I’d just read to the back of my mind.
There were more important things than a group of children like them.
For example, the Red Eye had found the item I wanted and already sent it in a package that would arrive in two days.
And of course, I’d sent him the money... my beautiful money.
In addition, I only had 30 medium Essence Stones left after consuming 420 to reach the Advanced sub-rank.
After some thought, I decided not to use them. I might need them later, and they wouldn’t give me any noticeable boost in power anyway.
Now, having reached the peak of Rank 2, I’d need at least 1,500 medium Essence Stones to break through to Rank 3.
After all, the higher the rank, the wider the gap.
...
I stood in my private training hall, which had been reduced to complete chaos.
The floor was shattered, fragments scattered everywhere, and deep scratches were visible even on the solid walls.
I held two swords as I moved at high speed, sweat soaking my entire body.
Elliot was busy training with his team, so I spent this time training alone... well, not entirely.
Eight training dummies surrounded me, each one programmed to the highest difficulty available.
Essence flowed through my body faster and more efficiently than ever before. At the same time, I tilted my body precisely, narrowly avoiding a punch from one of the dummies.
Without wasting time, my hand moved as I stabbed the essence-coated sword into the dummy’s shoulder joint. With a bit of force, the dummy’s arm fell to the ground.
At the same time, two dummies closed in on me from the sides. Essence moved and formed a layer around my legs as I delivered a kick to the chest of the dummy whose arm I’d severed.
The solid metal deformed, and the dummy was sent flying to the far end of the hall, crashing into the wall with a thunderous sound.
I didn’t stop.
With my perception covering the entire area, I felt the position of every dummy and their precise movements.
I danced among them, dodging their attacks while targeting the weakest points in their solid bodies. Time passed as I immersed myself in the battle.
Every hit I took made my bones tremble—sometimes even crack... but I didn’t stop.
In the end, all eight dummies were reduced to piles of metallic scrap.
I stood there, essence circulating through my body as it healed my worst injuries.
Three days passed like this, until the day of the exam finally arrived.