The day of the Entrance Examination.
Iketerite Magic Academy, Learning and Education Building.
Natural light streamed indoors through the expansive glass curtain walls.
Lanchi had arrived at the examination venue on the Seventh Floor early and sat quietly in the waiting area, waiting for the examination to begin.
Although Talia, who had come with him, could not enter the examination venue on the Seventh Floor, she was waiting on the outdoor terrace downstairs.
A spacious terrace occupied one corner of the building's exterior. It had wooden flooring and benches for students and faculty to rest on. There, they could admire the beautiful campus while enjoying the sunshine and fresh outdoor air.
More importantly, it faced a giant Magic Screen that continuously displayed information from around the school.
According to quite a few people waiting there as well, the live examinations for the Knight Institute and Sage Institute could soon be watched on any Magic Screen throughout the school.
The Seventh-Floor venue, a massive atrium.
The space was spacious and open.
Several enormous magical devices stood there like a group of silent giants.
The lights shone upon the magical devices, refracting dazzling and dreamlike rays.
The components of these enormous magical devices meandered and connected across dozens of meters. They were made entirely of Mithril and magic crystals, giving off a cold aura while appearing extraordinarily magnificent.
Many of the examinees in the waiting area were seeing them for the first time, and they could not help marveling at the extraordinary achievements of Magical Engineering.
For this examination, Iketerite Academy would activate the breathtaking "Artificial Shadow World Activation Terminal" and bring the examinees an immersive Shadow World combat exercise.
Compared with some examinees who looked excited or uneasy, others appeared exceptionally calm, as though they were already thoroughly familiar with how to conquer a Shadow World.
Because the Shadow World combat simulation was a joint examination for the Knight Institute and Sage Institute, those waiting here were not only the more refined-looking examinees of the Sage Institute, but also many examinees who clearly belonged to the Martial Faction.
Of course... it could not be ruled out that they were Sage Institute examinees after all.
Only those who passed this test would proceed to the Final Assessment conducted separately by professors from the two institutes.
After sitting in a lounge chair and waiting for a long time, Lanchi nervously rubbed his palms.
The live examination would be broadcast later, and the academy's professors as well as passersby around the campus would see it.
For precisely that reason, there had often been cases of "public execution" over the years.
Quite a few senior students would watch new students' Entrance Examinations around campus with the attitude of looking for some entertainment.
Still, look on the bright side.
The Magic Screens used a split-screen format with rotating broadcasts.
Among so many examinees, the odds of anyone noticing him were not high.
Besides, he had always acted steadily and kept a low profile. He should not attract attention.
Lanchi thought.
At some point, light footsteps began to echo through the venue, yet they seemed to reach the waiting examinees' ears louder than every other sound.
This overwhelming presence, naturally emanating from some powerful individual, instantly quieted the spacious examination venue, which had still been somewhat noisy.
Lanchi's thoughts were interrupted as well. He raised his head toward the direction where everyone's gazes had converged.
A figure emerged from the inner side of the venue. At that moment, the entire Seventh Floor seemed to contain nothing but his footsteps.
As the footsteps drew closer, everyone finally saw that the newcomer was dressed in a black classical-style suit, paired with a white shirt and a golden tie. The buttons and collar of his formal attire bore diamond-shaped and Cross Holy Radiance-shaped patterns.
He was a brown-haired young man, considerably younger than they had imagined, appearing to be under thirty.
Yet no one dared underestimate him because of his age. Being able to wear such decorations meant that he was not merely a teacher at Iketerite Academy, but also a high-ranking cleric of the Goddess of Fate Church.
His pace was neither hurried nor slow.
He walked to the front of the waiting area.
He gazed at the assembled examinees.
"I am today's chief examiner, Loren Krantel, and also the Dean of the Sage Institute."
The young man's eyes were gentle, and his entire bearing was utterly devoid of any sense of threat.
Many examinees' originally tense hearts relaxed.
Compared with the stern and imposing examiner they had imagined in that instant, the Dean of the Sage Institute actually looked very approachable.
"The theme of this examination is 'wisdom and temperament.'"
Loren continued speaking in an orderly manner,
"In most circumstances, while challenging a Shadow World, if you decipher the clues and advance the main objective along the correct route, you will not be required to defeat enemies far above your Tier."
"However, if an accident or mistake occurs midway, it can cause the Shadow World to develop into an extremely dangerous situation. Not only might you encounter enemies powerful enough to kill you instantly, you may even be hunted down by them in turn... or even be tortured to death."
"Therefore, being able to successfully decipher the clues and obtain the key information within the Shadow World is extremely important."
At this point, Loren suddenly paused. His gaze became somewhat complicated.
"There was once a deeply regrettable accident at Iketerite Academy. It involved a failed Tier 4 Shadow World. None of the seven students who participated in the challenge survived."
His voice was not low, but those words resounded through the entire atrium like muffled thunder.
For teenagers in their teens, "death" might have been a concept far removed from them.
However, quite a few of them might not have been mentally prepared for it before coming to this academy.
The examination venue became frighteningly quiet. Many examinees' eyes seemed to waver.
As though he had anticipated the students' reaction, Loren remained silent for several breaths before continuing:
"The fundamental reason was that the students on the team had been too arrogant. As a result, the main objective of the mission not only deviated from its normal course, but they also lacked the ability to deal with the crazed situation that took a sudden turn for the worse."
"That was an imbalance between temperament and wisdom."
"So this year, whether for the Knight Institute or the Sage Institute, we will place particular emphasis on the examinees' overall ability to remain mentally steadfast and handle situations appropriately."
"The examination question you will face shortly is a recreation of a real Shadow World."
"Each of you will independently face the same single-player Shadow World. Successfully clearing it will constitute a passing grade."
After briefly introducing the examination process,
Loren embedded a Secret Key that glimmered with black crystalline light throughout into the console of the "Artificial Shadow World Activation Terminal."
Then,
the space directly in front of the magical device seemed to gradually distort. Its colors grew increasingly dark until it slowly took shape, becoming a seemingly illusory gate. Within its enormous mirror surface, countless twisted souls appeared to be circling.
It was almost identical to the Void Gate that could allow people to enter a Shadow World.
Loren stood quietly in the middle of the venue's hall.
Meanwhile, the other school staff began guiding the examinees.
They directed them through the Void Gate and into the Artificial Shadow World.
At the same time,
the giant screen hanging on the atrium wall stopped playing its usual content.
Instead, it switched to the Shadow World scenes from the Entrance Examination!
Generally speaking, Xi Gouzi usually updated during the Netherworld hours of 6 to 8 in the morning, but sometimes it might be released early at midnight during the Netherworld hours. In the next chapter, Lanchi will have his defining battle!
Before you continue