Lanchi's Clear Logic

Sage Institute main building, top floor conference room.

As the third round of assessments proceeded today, the Sage Institute teachers once again began their meeting as before.

Aside from the magic screens connected in the center, the surrounding walls featured a simple white main theme that perfectly integrated with the smooth marble floor.

Here, they were watching the first assessment in real-time, with Lanchi and Hughberlian as the candidates and Ferrat as the examiner.

"Their luck..."

"These two candidates, they wouldn't actually try to fight Ferrat, would they?"

The teachers in the conference room were either silent or occasionally exchanged a few words of discussion.

In the assessment of the [Infinite Phantom Canyon].

If they couldn't escape for a full 30 minutes, the only option was to confront the examiner head-on.

Sometimes there were indeed confident and powerful students who chose to directly intercept the examiner.

However.

A full team of Tier 3 candidates still had a chance to hold off a Tier 4 restricted examiner for a while.

But all the teachers sitting in the conference room understood.

The examiner for this assessment—Ferrat Shawenson—was very strong himself.

He was a cautious and ruthless positional mage.

Even without using Magic Cards, Ferrat possessed many highly destructive spells and could easily defeat regular kingdom army officers of the same tier.

Taking a step back, even without considering tiers, Ferrat's extensive combat experience over the years alone was enough to overwhelm two freshmen.

What's more, he could now unleash the full power of Tier 5.

The two sides were not on the same level at all.

"..."

Vice Principal Ron covered his chin, silently watching the projection on the magic screen in the center of the conference room.

He knew that this entrance examination involved the interests of some high-ranking individuals in the kingdom.

There was also an invisible force influencing this examination, preventing Hughberlian from enrolling.

After those people had legitimately used Lanchi to increase the difficulty, the only unstable factor for them was the "unconventional strategy" also coming from Lanchi.

But any space for employing tricks was also blocked by the flat terrain.

Ron couldn't say whether this was accidental or inevitable.

He could only say that from the moment these two freshmen met each other, their luck had already been quite bad.

The Shadow World was the same.

For those not favored by luck, no matter what abilities they possessed, survival was difficult.

On the boundless prairie.

Dewdrops hung on the tips of the grass, crystal clear, like precious gems.

Accompanied by a gust of strong wind sweeping down from high altitude, the dewdrops trembled and scattered like shattered transparent gems.

A Tier 5 examiner could even fly using Tier 5 wind magic.

Lanchi and Hughberlian could already see a black dot-like shadow in the distant sky approaching them more and more.

"Do you have a strategy?"

Hughberlian asked.

Lanchi's stable state of mind puzzled her.

But she felt that in this situation, no matter how intelligent Lanchi was, he wouldn't be able to utilize it.

"No, what kind of strategy can you have on a flat plain?"

Lanchi shook his head. The examiner didn't even care about appearances, what else could he do?

Either have a big race across the plain, or bite the bullet and fight.

"Do you know the examiner's information?"

Lanchi looked at the Duchess beside him and asked again.

He had heard Theresa, who received them at the examination hall, mention the examiner "Ferrat Shawenson" by name, and Hughberlian seemed to know him.

After all, she was from the Royal Capital and was very familiar with the messy noble networks and important figures there.

Hughberlian nodded.

"Viscount Ferrat Shawenson, a despicable and cautious villain who bullies the weak and fears the strong. He's also a hawk of the faction hostile to the Aransal Family. Ever since my father disappeared, they've been relentless towards me..."

Hughberlian gritted her silver teeth and spoke about what she knew about Ferrat, seemingly having an unending feud with him.

"Although he himself has mastered many spells, he relies more on powerful magic intensity to fight by combining Magic Cards..."

"I can tell he's a bit of a sore loser."

Lanchi nodded, gazing at the examiner Ferrat flying rapidly towards them, and murmured.

During their brief conversation.

Ferrat had visibly approached their location significantly.

A mage flying with wind magic had a speed far incomparable to running.

"Do you have a way to contend with him for a short time and protect yourself?"

Lanchi asked, as if wanting to confirm one last thing.

Life-saving Magic Cards were rare, but as a Duchess, Hughberlian was very likely to have them.

"...Self-preservation is not a problem, I'm not sure how long I can stall."

Hughberlian hesitated slightly, but still admitted to Lanchi.

"Then trust me."

"We have very poor compatibility. Your healing magic isn't very useful for me."

"Don't worry, after today, you'll find that I'm the best support you've ever seen, regardless of compatibility."

It was like the final moments of preparation before the real exam began.

Their casual chat lasted only a few seconds.

Ferrat stopped high in the air, a distance away from them.

He transitioned from streaking across the sky like a meteor to abruptly hovering, not getting any closer.

Because this distance was already sufficient for him to unleash high-power spells to blast the two of them.

The examiner, Ferrat, in mid-air, looked down.

He was silent for a while.

Seemingly observing their state.

It was much more relaxed than he had imagined.

"You, you can withdraw from the exam now."

Ferrat slightly raised his hand, pointing at Lanchi behind Hughberlian, and said.

His tone was very low, like giving an unquestionable command.

However, the next second.

All he saw was.

Hughberlian's eyes were full of vigilance, and she stood even more resolutely in front of Lanchi, like a vanguard.

From this angle, it was even harder for him to instantly kill Lanchi.

"Why should I withdraw from the exam?"

Lanchi looked up and asked, not understanding.

"..."

Ferrat lightly tapped the air with his index finger, feeling that Lanchi, this irrelevant person, was very much in the way.

He had originally wanted to convey some messages from the higher-ups to Hughberlian alone.

But it seemed that before that, there was an annoying little black mouse in the way.

"Did she promise you money, status, or something else?"

Ferrat asked condescendingly, his words carrying a hint of mockery.

In his opinion, any reward this precarious Duchess could offer was nothing but an empty promise.

Unless.

This foolish boy was infatuated with the Duchess's beauty and temptation, which was why he was willing to help her.

But when he truly understood what kind of being this Duchess was, he would probably be scared out of his wits.

"Heh heh."

Lanchi chuckled at the words, as if he had heard an absurd question.

He took a deep breath, his gaze becoming a little sterner, and stared at Ferrat, asking:

"According to the exam rules, she is my teammate. Article 13 clearly states that I need to cooperate with my teammates in battle. As an examiner, did you not even read the rules before coming?"

This tone was like a visiting leader criticizing a subordinate.

It made Ferrat in the air completely stunned.