The light shining through the glass dome of the central courtyard examination hall grew increasingly brilliant.
Theresa shook her head, feeling that something was off.
How could this cheerful-looking young man come up with a plan like that?
Of course, judging from his performance in the previous round, he was clearly no ordinary person.
"So don't worry. As a law-abiding pioneer, I won't act against you."
Lanchi smiled at Hughberlian as he spoke.
He felt that teammates needed to have a little more trust in each other.
"Indeed."
Hughberlian hesitated slightly before agreeing.
If this guy really was an actor, she probably wouldn't have a place in the royal capital anymore.
He might not be strong as a White Mage, but as a legal pioneer...
She really couldn't say.
There was no time for much more conversation.
Following the examination procedure,
Lanchi and Hughberlian were soon led by Theresa to the Void Gate.
"You two should be a little careful around Examiner Ferrat Chavenson."
Theresa spoke softly from the side,
"Perhaps I shouldn't say this... but he's an extremely strict man."
From Theresa's personal perspective, she believed Hughberlian and Lanchi were both outstanding students, so she didn't want either of them to suffer unfair treatment.
Though there was not much she could do in any practical sense.
"Thank you."
Hughberlian nodded and thanked Theresa.
Just knowing who their examiner was was already a help to her.
"All right, it's time to begin the examination."
As Theresa's gentle voice rang out, the Void Gate opened before the two of them in front of the Artificial Shadow World Activation Terminal.
Only this time, a countdown was displayed on the Void Gate.
Clearly, the examinees had to enter on time.
Without asking any questions, Lanchi followed Hughberlian through the Void Gate.
He didn't know who Ferrat was, but Hughberlian seemed to know. He could ask her about it later.
Inside the Void Gate.
Just like last time, it was a pitch-black space where nothing could be seen clearly.
The surroundings were far quieter than the Seventh Floor Central Courtyard, as though all sound had been completely blocked out.
The next second, dazzling light burst forth, and he seemed to be in an extradimensional space resembling a tunnel through time and space.
At the same time, prompt characters appeared before their eyes.
Shadow World: Infinite Phantom Canyon Level: Tier 2 Number of Challengers: 2 Welcome to Phantom Canyon. This map is a Shadow World developed by the Magic Engineering Institute for combat training. The current examination has been configured so that failure of the Shadow World's main storyline will leave the challengers in a desperate situation. On a randomly selected map, you will face a Tier 4 pursuer played by the examiner. The examiner is forbidden from using Magic Cards, but will use spells appropriate to his rank that he has mastered. The Artificial Shadow World poses no danger to life. After failing in the Shadow World or being killed, an examinee will be automatically ejected from the Shadow World. Examinees may also choose to leave the Shadow World voluntarily, in which case they will be judged to have failed. Note: Based on the evaluations of Examinee 001 Lanchi Wilford and Examinee 002 Hughberlian Aransal in the previous assessment, the difficulty of this examination will be adjusted adaptively. Note: The starting distance from the pursuer has been reduced to one-third. Note: The pursuer's rank restriction has been adjusted to Tier 5. Objective: Work together to survive until the time limit ends. Time remaining: 29 minutes 59 seconds. The map for this assessment is: Ilyavin Great Plains.
When the light fully brightened, they found themselves standing on a vast grassland. Sunlight shone over every inch of land, warm and radiant.
The distant sky was a clear blue. A few white clouds drifted leisurely on the breeze, while the green grass of the plains danced in the wind, brimming with life like a sea of emerald.
"How high exactly was your rating?"
When Hughberlian saw "one-third starting distance" and "Tier 5 pursuer," she couldn't help asking Lanchi.
But when she finally saw that the randomly selected terrain was "Plain Terrain,"
she finally couldn't hold it together anymore.
She was even so angry that she felt like laughing.
"I don't know. Didn't they say this was changed to an examiner-assigned score? It wasn't announced either. And isn't a 'plain' map obviously just for entertainment value?"
Even Lanchi was stunned for a moment.
For a while, he couldn't tell whether someone had tampered with their odds, whether their luck was simply terrible, or whether the person who designed Infinite Phantom Canyon in the Magic Engineering Institute was just seriously unwell.
He had long heard that no one in this school's Magic Engineering Institute was normal.
Now he had seen a glimpse of the truth.
Generally speaking,
each of these three negative effects would have been bearable on its own.
But when all three were combined, the nature of the situation changed completely.
After all, most entrance examinees were only Tier 2.
For example, Lanchi had only reached Tier 2 recently.
Tier 3 examinees like Hughberlian were few and far between.
However,
whether they were Tier 2 or Tier 3, they were utterly helpless before a Tier 5 enemy!
Being caught meant the end of the examination.
On this boundless plain terrain, with the distance shortened, they had no chance to kite their pursuer.
"Heh..."
Hughberlian was about to say something, but then felt that nothing she said would matter anymore.
These noble lords who were both "concerned about appearances" and shameless at the same time made every one of their grandiose actions seem especially laughable.
Ever since Duke Aransal disappeared, she had been plunged into deadly peril and saddled with baseless accusations. She couldn't tell who truly wanted to help her and who wanted to harm her.
At last, she had found a few clues about her father's disappearance and discovered a faint glimmer of hope.
Yet because of that, she had touched upon something even deeper.
Even she could feel that before long, she would die inexplicably in the royal capital.
For now, her only chance of survival was to successfully enroll according to the final arrangements her father had made for her before he disappeared—
With High Priest Loren of the Goddess of Fate protecting her, no one would dare commit murder rashly inside the Sage Institute.
However,
those people who could not stand losing
would never let her join Iketerite Academy as she wished.
"You're not running?"
Hughberlian turned her head and raised her eyes slightly as she asked.
She realized that Lanchi beside her showed no sign of panicking or fleeing either.
"If you withdraw now, you can at least suffer a little less."
"I can't."
Lanchi spoke helplessly.
"Why not?"
A hint of mockery appeared in Hughberlian's smile.
Unlike her, whose heart had already been twisted by rage and murderous intent and who was nearing the end of the road,
this young man seemed to have no reason he absolutely had to pass the assessment.
Lanchi spread his hands and answered:
"If I fail the exam, my dad will scold me when I go home."
"..."
Hughberlian felt that Lanchi was joking.
But after observing him carefully,
she realized that he had been like this from beginning to end.
Though he occasionally revealed emotions of surprise or confusion,
his deeper heart had never shown the slightest ripple.
It was as though this person's heart rate remained forever in the state of someone enjoying afternoon tea.
Before you continue