Inside the atrium examination hall, the sunlight filtering through the glass dome grew increasingly brilliant.
Teresa shook her head, unable to shake the feeling that something was off.
How could this boy propose such a scheme with such a bright, cheerful look on his face?
Of course, going by his performance in the previous round, he had already proven he was no ordinary fish in a pond.
"So don't worry. A law-abiding vanguard like me would never throw the match on you,"
Lanqi said, smiling at Hyperion.
He felt teammates ought to trust each other a little more.
"Fair enough."
Hyperion hesitated briefly before conceding the point.
If this guy truly were a saboteur, she likely wouldn't have any way out left in the royal capital by now.
He might not be much of a white mage, but as a legal trailblazer...
She honestly couldn't say.
There was no time for further idle chatter.
Following the examination procedure, Teresa soon led Lanqi and Hyperion before a Void Gate.
"You two should be a little careful with Examiner Ferrat Chavinson,"
Teresa whispered from the side.
"Maybe I shouldn't be saying this... but he's quite a harsh man."
From Teresa's personal perspective, she considered Hyperion and Lanqi two exceptional students, so she did not want to see them treated unfairly.
Even if she couldn't offer any substantive help.
"Thank you."
Hyperion nodded, offering her gratitude to Teresa.
Merely knowing who their examiner was counted as help in itself.
"All right, it's time to begin the exam."
Accompanied by Teresa's gentle voice, the Void Gate before the artificial Shadow World activation terminal opened in front of them.
Only this time, a countdown timer was displayed above the Void Gate.
Evidently, examinees were required to enter on time.
Without asking questions, Lanqi followed Hyperion and stepped through the Void Gate.
Though he had no idea who Ferrat was, Hyperion seemed to know. He could just ask her later.
Inside the Void Gate.
Just like last time, it was a pitch-black expanse where nothing could be seen.
Their surroundings grew far quieter than the seventh-floor atrium, as though all sound had been completely shut out.
A second later, dazzling light flared to life, making him feel as though he stood in a strange extradimensional realm resembling a tunnel through time and space.
Prompts materialized before his eyes in unison:
[Shadow World: Infinite Phantom Gorge]
[Tier: Tier 2]
[Number of Challengers: 2]
[Welcome to the Phantom Gorge. This map was developed by the School of Magic Engineering as a dedicated combat-training Shadow World.]
[Current exam scenario: The Shadow World's main storyline has ended in failure, leaving the challengers in a desperate plight.]
[In a randomized map, you will face a Tier 4 hunter portrayed by an examiner. The examiner is prohibited from using magic cards, but will employ tier-appropriate spells they have mastered.]
[Artificial Shadow Worlds pose no mortal danger.]
[Upon failing the Shadow World or dying, examinees will be automatically ejected from the Shadow World.]
[Examinees may also voluntarily choose to forfeit and exit the Shadow World, which will be deemed a failure.]
[Note: Based on the evaluations of Examinee 001, Lanqi Wilfort, and Examinee 002, Hyperion Aransal, in the previous round, this examination's difficulty has been adaptively adjusted.]
[Note: Initial distance from the hunter has been reduced to one-third.]
[Note: The hunter's tier restriction has been adjusted to Tier 5.]
[Objective: Examinees must cooperate and survive until the time limit expires.]
[Time Remaining: 29 minutes 59 seconds.]
[Map for this exam: Eleven Great Plains.]
When the light fully flared, the two of them found themselves standing across an expansive grassland. Sunlight bathed every inch of the earth, warm and bright.
In the distance, the sky was washed clean and azure, with a few white clouds drifting leisurely on the gentle breeze. The green grass across the plains swayed in the wind, brimming with life, resembling a sea of emerald.
"Just how high was your score?"
The moment Hyperion saw "initial distance reduced to one-third" and "Tier 5 hunter," she couldn't help but ask Lanqi.
And when she finally saw that the randomized terrain was "plains," she nearly snapped.
She was so angry she almost laughed.
"How should I know? Didn't they say it was changed to manual grading this time? They never published the scores. And isn't rolling 'plains' as the map purely for comedic effect?"
Even Lanqi was momentarily stunned.
For a moment, he couldn't quite tell whether someone had rigged the randomness against them, whether their luck was simply abysmal, or whether the person in the School of Magic Engineering who designed this Infinite Phantom Gorge was profoundly sick in the head.
He had long heard that no one in the School of Magic Engineering was normal.
Now he had witnessed the first taste of it.
Generally speaking, any of these three negative modifiers taken separately would still be manageable.
But when all three were stacked together, the nature of the challenge completely changed.
Most applicants taking the entrance exam were only Tier 2.
Like Lanqi, who had reached Tier 2 not long ago.
Tier 3 examinees like Hyperion were a rare minority.
Yet whether they were Tier 2 or Tier 3, they were utterly fragile before a Tier 5 adversary!
Getting caught meant the end of the exam.
In this boundless, flat terrain, and with the starting distance slashed, there was no room to kite or stall.
"Heh..."
Hyperion opened her mouth to speak, but felt that saying anything was pointless.
These high-and-mighty nobles who cared so deeply about saving face while acting utterly shameless—every sanctimonious move they made was grotesque.
Ever since Duke Aransal went missing, she had been plunged into mortal danger, framed with fabricated crimes, unable to tell who wanted to help her and who wanted her dead.
At long last, she had uncovered a few clues regarding her father's disappearance, finding a sliver of hope.
Yet in doing so, she had touched upon something far deeper.
Even she could feel that, before long, she would meet an inexplicable end in the royal capital.
Her only chance of survival was to follow the final arrangement her father had made before vanishing and successfully enroll.
With the protection of Loren, High Priest of the Goddess of Fate, no one would dare commit murder openly within the School of Sages.
Yet those sore losers would never let her join Ikerite Academy as she wished.
"You're not running?"
Hyperion turned her head, looking up slightly as she asked.
She noticed that Lanqi beside her showed no intention of panicking or fleeing either.
"If you forfeit now, you can spare yourself some suffering."
"I can't,"
Lanqi replied helplessly.
"Why not?"
Hyperion offered a faint, mocking smile.
Unlike her, whose heart had been twisted by rage and bloodlust as she approached the end of her rope, this youth had no compelling reason to pass at all costs.
Lanqi spread his hands and replied, "If I don't pass, the old man will chew me out when I get home."
"..."
Hyperion thought Lanqi was joking.
Yet looking closely, she realized Lanqi had been like this from the very beginning.
Though he occasionally showed surprise or confusion, the depths of his heart remained completely unruffled.
It was as if this boy's pulse were permanently set to the pace of someone sipping afternoon tea.
Chapter 22