Sunlight bathed Ikerite Academy as a gentle breeze drifted across the grounds.
Many areas of the campus were fitted with magic screens reminiscent of a commercial street.
Not only did these screens provide students and faculty with real-time news, notices, and academic activities, but they also broadcast entertaining short clips and live coverage of major campus events.
As a result, they often became natural gathering spots where people rested, watched, and chatted.
Such was the case at this very moment.
The annual entrance examination broadcast—a spectacle many senior students found thoroughly amusing—was underway.
Plenty of onlookers simply wanted to watch the freshmen suffer or make fools of themselves, while upperclassmen hoped to scout promising newcomers early and recruit them into their teams.
Up on the screens, a blizzard howled across an unbroken expanse of white.
Yet while the other examinees were still struggling through the freezing snow, Lanqi had already fulfilled his clearing conditions.
He sat in a warm cottage, toasting snacks beside the hearth.
His relaxed, practiced ease bore none of the tension typical of someone challenging a Shadow World. He looked more like he was shooting a new commercial for Holy Kingdom desserts.
All that remained was to wait for the artificial Shadow World's time limit to expire and let the terminal calculate his final score.
Although only a few students had noticed Lanqi’s actions at first, gasps of astonishment soon rippled through the crowd, and word spread like wildfire.
"Do you know what this guy just did?!"
"What?"
"What a scoundrel! He went straight ahead and had the entire family arrested!"
"And that counts as letting them spend a warm winter?!"
"Well, did he meet the requirement or not? He actually did!"
"Hahahaha! What kind of logic genius is this?!"
On the terrace of the Learning and Education Building, people sat or stood as a lively crowd formed around the hanging screen.
Many began speculating about where this rising star named Lanqi Wilfort had come from.
Yet no one present had ever heard the name before.
Only a student wearing the insignia of the School of Alchemy spoke up, mentioning that he had heard of a company called the Wilfort Chamber of Commerce, whose chairman supposedly had a good-for-nothing son.
Still, he had never heard of any promising young talent named Lanqi.
"..."
Talia listened as the conversation shifted more and more toward Lanqi.
Sitting on an outdoor wooden bench at the edge of the terrace, she quietly lowered her head, looking away from the magic screen.
She had been watching Lanqi's movements in the corner split-screen all along.
Yet once she truly understood what he had done and heard the surrounding gasps, she wanted nothing more than to flee as far away as possible.
She had already started hearing people whisper: "The way this Lanqi guy acts isn't quite human... Could he be a demon spy?"
A chill ran down her spine.
The last thing Talia wanted was to be singled out as a dangerous target under surveillance just because she stayed too close to Lanqi.
She really hadn't taught him any of that...
In truth, over the past three months with Lanqi, she had gradually noticed that the boy's mindset and temperament were rather unusual.
Only now was she completely certain.
There was definitely something deeply wrong with him!
Staying around him made it impossible to avoid drawing attention.
Yet according to their agreement, she had to protect him and continue serving as his teacher.
The thought of leaving the academy with him shortly—and spending at least the near future beside him in this royal capital—made her feel as if she were being roasted over an open fire.
If the grand restoration she had painstakingly endured so much for were to collapse because this human caused her identity to be exposed, she would want nothing more than to drag him down with her.
Now she found herself torn between wishing Lanqi would hurry out of the exam hall so they could leave immediately, and wishing he would never come out at all so no one would see them together.
"Lan... qi..." Talia muttered through gritted teeth.
Clenching her fists, she felt as if every passing second was spent sitting on pins and needles.
In all the decades she had wandered alone since the fall of the demon nation, this was the very first time a human had caused her such misery.
...
The seventh-floor atrium of the Learning and Education Building seamlessly blended modern design with natural elements, exuding a serene and elegant ambiance.
Sunlight poured through the skylight, illuminating the space in an interplay of brightness and gentle shade. Lush indoor greenery encircled the atrium, complemented by artistic installations and sculptures that lent a refined touch of culture to the surroundings.
Standing in the center of this atrium was Chief Examiner Loren, the dean of the School of Sages, his fists tightly clenched.
He had chosen this exam's topic himself.
According to historical analysis, this Tier 1 Shadow World, "Winter's Hidden Flame," was originally based on an ordeal faced in his youth by the last Holy Emperor, a legendary figure from an ancient civilization ten thousand years ago renowned for his benevolence and righteousness.
The benevolent Holy Emperor had always been the legendary figure Loren revered above all others.
Every single deed of the Holy Emperor filled Loren with profound admiration.
In setting this examination, Loren had not only wished to test the freshmen's wisdom and temperament, but also hoped they would empathize with the circumstances and mindset under which the Holy Emperor had aided the villagers back then. He wanted them to feel the helplessness and sorrow the Holy Emperor experienced upon uncovering the truth, as well as the unshakeable faith with which he continued to uphold benevolence and righteousness thereafter.
"Damn it..."
Yet what this kid, Lanqi Wilfort, had done seemed to make the Holy Emperor look foolish.
Was it really permissible to simply sacrifice benevolence and righteousness in exchange for demonic cunning?
As he waited for the exam time to run out, Loren looked up at the atrium's massive magic screen, glaring at Lanqi leisurely toasting treats.
He felt a fire burning in his chest.
If only he could enter that Shadow World, he would have kicked that damn stove flying with his own foot!
"His mana is so weak... Why did he apply to our school?" Loren muttered in bewilderment, finally regaining some composure.
The moment he arrived at the exam hall, he had sensed the mana of every candidate.
He remembered that Lanqi's mana capacity was undoubtedly among the lowest present, lagging behind even many physical-type candidates from the School of Knights.
Had he not noticed Lanqi on the magic screen, Loren would have nearly mistaken him for a candidate of the School of Knights from the start.
"If he managed to pass the first round of attribute testing during registration, it can only mean his spirit attribute is exceptionally high, which offset his overall score after weighting..."
"But how is he supposed to pass the combat exam...?"
The third round of assessment differed from the first two; short of relying on raw ability, there was no way to take shortcuts.
Loren was certain Lanqi was not a member of the clergy.
He could not detect the slightest aura of divine blessing on him.
Naturally, that meant Lanqi could not use cleric-type magic cards, whose healing output scaled with spirit strength.
...
The sunlight filtering through the glass dome shifted across the atrium like the hands of a clock, marking the passage of each moment.
The examination finally drew to a close.
In the order they had entered, candidates were transported out one after another from the massive, swirling Void Gate.
Only after every examinee had departed the artificial Shadow World did Loren lightly touch the key on the terminal to close the Void Gate.
The artificial Shadow World terminal then began its final tally of the examination results.
Standing on the raised platform, Loren surveyed the passing candidates scattered throughout the atrium who had yet to leave. Some could barely conceal their joy, while others remained impassive.
Although it was impossible to know how others had fared during the exam, quite a few confident examinees were clearly convinced their Shadow World scores would rank near the very top.
Chapter 18