As the first rays of morning light gradually dispelled the night’s chill, they bathed the streets, buildings, and benches in a golden glow.
The shadows stretched long.
The city of Ikrit seemed to awaken under the gentle grace of the gods.
Before long—
Shops along the streets began opening one by one, with enthusiastic shopkeepers greeting their neighbors.
Under the outdoor canopies of cafés, the light aroma of coffee drifted through the air, blending with the lively rhythm of jazz music that filled the bustling streets.
More and more early risers hurried off to work, weaving through the crowds in the heart of Ikrit.
Amidst the lingering morning breeze, still carrying traces of fruit and floral scents—
Lance walked the streets of Ikrit with Talia, a faint smile on his face.
Bathed in the morning sun, his expression was calm, and his entire demeanor radiated warmth.He seemed to be in an excellent mood.
At the moment, he found both the academy exams and the Shadow Realm rather interesting.
Talia, on the other hand, looked like she was heading to a funeral.
She had absolutely no desire to accompany Lance to Ikrit Academy again.
The last time she followed him out of the academy, she had drawn far too much attention, leaving her feeling uneasy.
Thankfully, the third-round exam wouldn’t be publicly broadcast.
Only the academy’s instructors would be able to view it from behind the scenes.
Otherwise, Talia would have called in sick today just to avoid coming with Lance.
"Tata, are you in a bad mood?"
Lance had noticed that Talia had been much quieter over the past two days.
Today, she was especially resistant to being around him.
"……"
Talia ignored him.
She simply stared straight ahead—
And kept walking.
So, Lance quickened his pace slightly, jogging ahead before turning back to sneak a glance at Talia’s face.
Her expression was cold, and she still refused to acknowledge him.
But just for an instant—
Lance caught a glimpse of something in her eyes.
It almost felt like… Talia hated him.
He stopped in his tracks, bewildered, scratching his head in confusion.
Hadn’t their relationship improved, even if just a little?
Why did it suddenly feel like her attitude had taken a sharp turn for the worse?
Demons are so hard to understand.
Especially an old spinster who’s been single for a hundred years.
Lance mused.
"……"
By then, Talia had already walked past him.
She turned her head slightly and stared at Lance.
For some reason, an inexplicable urge to kill him surged within her.
Yet—
He hadn’t even said anything.
His expression looked perfectly normal…
"What’s wrong, Tata?"
Lance asked gently, as if he weren’t just thinking something completely inappropriate.
"Nothing."
With that, Talia dismissed him and continued forward.
"Chasing the cloud away~"
Lance hummed cheerfully as he followed along.
—
Thirty minutes later.
Ikrit Academy, Learning and Education Building, Seventh-Floor Courtyard.
Sunlight streamed through the massive glass dome, refracting into soft arcs of light that cast a sense of tranquility over the courtyard.
As the shifting light danced across the floor, Lance strolled through the space, observing the academy staff passing by in the corridors.
He arrived at the exam hall right on schedule and once again marveled at the architect’s craftsmanship.
From a distance—
It looked like the enormous magic apparatus, the Artificial Shadow Realm Terminal, had been repaired.
However, there was now a conspicuous new sign attached to it:
[STRICTLY FORBIDDEN TO FORCE RESTART]
Judging by the lettering, the person who put up this sign was very angry.
Unlike the second-round exam—
There weren’t many students or staff present today.
The third-round exam was managed directly by the Sage Institute’s instructors, and each session’s examiner would appear inside the Shadow Realm itself.
Dean Loren was also absent.
Rumor had it that his duties with the Church of the Goddess of Fate often took him away from the capital.
Stepping around the marble entrance, Lance entered the waiting area—
Where he immediately noticed two people looking in his direction.
One was Professor Theresa, holding a tablet-like magical device, overseeing the examinees.
Lance had met her before during the initial attribute assessment.
She greeted him with a warm smile, as gentle as ever.
The other person—
Also wearing an examinee wristband identical to Lance’s—
Was clearly his teammate for the third-round exam.
Lance had already seen the details in yesterday’s exam notice—
The theme of the third-round exam was “Combat and Survival.”
In this type of test, healers and support mages often struggled in solo combat.
So, the academy used a team-based assessment, pairing support mages with damage dealers.
Most teams were groups of three.
This also allowed the instructors to evaluate the students’ teamwork and coordination.
After all—
In real Shadow Realm expeditions, a team’s success was often all or nothing.
If something went wrong, the most likely outcome was total annihilation.
There were no second chances.
However—
When Lance finally got a clear look at his teammate—
The distinguished noblewoman standing before him—
Both of them seemed momentarily stunned.
Two days ago, at the end of the second-round exam—
She had asked him how long it had taken him to clear the trial.
And Lance had very conservatively answered:
"Less than fifty minutes."
"Less than fifty minutes?"
Huberian’s lips curled slightly in amusement as she looked at Lance.
Her tone carried a hint of incredulity—
Because after leaving the exam hall that day, she had heard the rumors.
Apparently, there was a black-haired, green-eyed candidate—
Who had cleared the trial in just ten minutes.
At the time, she had been skeptical. Surely, it couldn’t be that guy next to me who claimed he cleared it in "less than fifty minutes," right?
Now, she was certain.
It was this sneaky bastard.
Lance scratched the back of his head, looking a little awkward.
He hadn’t expected the third-round assessment to use this kind of team-based format.
"You two know each other?"
Professor Theresa, noticing their odd reactions, asked curiously.
Both shook their heads.
Then—
"I'm Lance Wilfort, a White Mage. But rather than just healing, I have more utility-based abilities."
Lance introduced himself calmly.
Transparency was key among teammates—there was no need to hide anything.
A brief silence followed.
"…Huberian Aransal."
The Duke’s daughter hesitated slightly before giving her name.
"Just think of me as an assassin-type."
Her introduction was curt and to the point.
Clearly, she didn’t trust Lance much.
Lance nodded, not pressing further.
He glanced toward the exam hall entrance, seemingly waiting for their third teammate to arrive.
"No need to wait. He’s probably not coming."
Huberian’s sudden remark drew puzzled looks from both Lance and Theresa.
"Why?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, once the exam starts, we’ll receive word that he ‘for some reason’ won’t be able to participate. The excuse? Well, it depends on whether they used threats or bribes."
Huberian spread her hands, her gaze icy.
Though her tone carried more resignation than frustration, the violent fury in her eyes was unmistakable.
She knew all too well how those scheming noble lords operated.
"Uh… Huberian, that’s just your assumption, right?"
The sheer intensity of Huberian’s presence sent a chill down Theresa’s spine.
If Lance was like the pure, untainted warmth of spring sunshine, then Huberian was the embodiment of something ominous and irredeemable, rising from a cold, bloodstained abyss.
Theresa glanced at Lance.
He, as usual, remained unfazed, his expression unchanged.
Since Lance wasn’t speaking up, Theresa decided it was best not to comment further either.
—
Not long after.
Just before the exam began—
Theresa’s magical device chimed with a notification.
As expected—
Their teammate had officially withdrawn from the exam, having decided to transfer to another institute instead.
"…"
Theresa looked troubled.
She had a feeling that this supposed "coincidence" wasn’t quite so coincidental.
After all, even Huberian had predicted it in advance.
"Should I report this to the Dean or Vice Dean?"
Theresa hesitated.
She knew that under Flat’s supervision, the practical assessment would be far from easy.
And more importantly, Flat was one of those who didn’t want Huberian to pass.
With just Huberian and the magically feeble White Mage Lance on the team, there was zero chance of them clearing the exam…
Huberian shook her head.
Her ice-cold gaze softened slightly when she looked at Theresa.
Though she had grown up surrounded by nothing but malice, never truly experiencing kindness—
She could still recognize the difference between good and bad people.
"Those noble lords love creating seamless ‘coincidences’—never leaving behind any evidence that could be used against them."
Huberian smirked.
"Even though today’s exam won’t be publicly broadcast, there are surely many eyes secretly watching this stage."
If they had been even more ruthless, they could have let their third teammate participate as normal—
Only to have him play the role of an "actor" or even betray Huberian mid-exam.
But such an obvious move risked exposing their manipulation.
If Dean Loren caught even the slightest trace of foul play, he might investigate the fairness of the exam.
So, the masterminds behind this preferred to stage an accident.
"Then why didn’t they come after me?"
Lance rested his chin on his hand, frowning as if deep in thought.
Huberian fell silent for a moment.
She wasn’t sure if Lance was truly clueless or just pretending to be.
"Those people still care about appearances. If they bribed two candidates at once, it would be too obviously staged."
She explained it simply.
Of course, she was certain that someone as intelligent as Lance could quickly grasp the real reason—
The powerful figures behind this didn’t believe Lance had any real combat ability.
On the contrary—
They saw him as someone who could keep the exam running as usual while dragging Huberian down.
If she had been the only one left, the academy wouldn’t have been cruel enough to force her into a solo battle against the chief examiner.
Instead, they would have likely placed her in another team while subtly increasing the overall exam difficulty.
"I see. What a pity…"
Lance sighed, nodding slightly.
His expression looked like he had just missed out on a huge financial opportunity.
"You wanted to be bribed?"
Huberian narrowed her eyes at Lance, finding his regretful tone absolutely ridiculous.
What had she done to make him show such blatant disrespect toward her?
Was he not even going to pretend otherwise?
No matter how unique his talents were, at the end of the day, he was no different from those despicable schemers.
"Of course."
Lance chuckled coldly and nodded in affirmation.
"Heh, if anyone dared to mess with my exam, I’d make sure to collect the evidence on the spot, then donate the bribe money to the Church of the Goddess of Fate while reporting these people for bribery and interfering with a national examination."
His voice was firm, self-righteous. If he had a legal code in hand, he probably would have flipped to the right page and started explaining it to Huberian right then and there.
"Additionally, I’d cite Page 675 of the Hetton Legal Code, requesting the clergy to invoke divine intervention. Through sacred magic, they’d trace the origins of this financial misconduct for a full investigation.
The priests of the Goddess of Fate would determine that I had no subjective intent of extortion—only a lawful obligation to gather evidence.
As a result, I’d be rewarded and protected by the church.
Who knows? I might even get promoted to Apprentice Cleric on the spot."
Huberian: "…"
Theresa: "…"
Theresa’s lips parted slightly, but she struggled to find words.
Huberian realized she had misjudged him.
She decided to take back what she had thought earlier.
Compared to those ruthless manipulators—
Lance was the real menace.