As Lance’s surroundings brightened once more, his vision gradually focused.
He found himself sitting in the back row of a theater-like classroom.
The dimly lit space had only a few oil lamps mounted on the walls, casting a flickering golden glow, faint and almost tangible.
Their light pulsed like a heartbeat, just bright enough to provide visibility, yet adding an eerie theatrical mystery to the atmosphere.
Under the dim yellow light, the shadows of desks and chairs twisted and stretched, merging with the occasional wavering black silhouettes, rustling softly in the silence.
At first glance, it really looked like a classroom—
Long tables neatly covered with red tablecloths, a brand-new black-and-gold chalkboard standing tall on the distant stage-like front, and window frames adorned with intricate carvings that carried an air of classical elegance.
But despite its spacious 300-square-meter layout, the room felt oppressively stifling.
A thick metallic scent of blood clung to the air, accompanied by an indescribable unease.
For a moment, Lance wondered if he had walked straight into the underworld.Lowering his gaze, he saw a rough-textured, ancient parchment laid out on the red tablecloth.
Beside it sat an ink bottle and a quill pen.
Strange non-human script was burned into the parchment’s surface.
But thanks to the Shadow Realm’s built-in translation magic, Lance could roughly understand it—
It was a demonic-language magic exam paper.
Why is it still a school?!
Lance was shocked beyond words.
He had fought so hard to escape from one school, only to land himself in another!
And worse—
At Ikrit Academy, he was just attending classes.
Here, in this demonic school, he was thrown straight into an exam!
Feeling like he had stumbled into his own funeral, Lance subtly lifted his head and glanced around—
Immediately, a jarring sense of alienation flooded his mind.
The students in this classroom were all kinds of bizarre.
Each one bore indescribable characteristics—
Many had sharp horns, unnatural skin markings, external exoskeletons, and even long, thin black tails swaying behind them.
Meanwhile, two examiner-like figures roamed the classroom aisle with calculated precision.
They wore well-fitted, old-fashioned suits, their attire neat yet ominously grim.
But surrounded by the thick scent of blood and overwhelming malevolence, their presence exuded a chilling horror.
This looked really bad.
Compared to the Artificial Shadow Realms Lance had previously encountered—
Such as [Winter’s Hidden Flame] and [Infinite Phantom Canyon], which had relatively gentler themes—
This real Shadow Realm was clearly on another level entirely.
Soon, a system message appeared before his eyes—
A prompt visible only to Shadow Realm challengers.
—
[Shadow Realm: Purgatory Corridor Academy]
[Tier: 4]
[Number of Challengers: 6]
[Historical Background:]
This was once the darkest era for humankind.
Humans could only exist in daylight—
At night, they were nothing more than slaves to the Blood Clan.
Yet some individuals, in pursuit of human dignity, willingly sacrificed their own.
To reclaim the southern lands, forever trapped beneath the Blood Moon’s reign,
The only chance of achieving a miracle—was to obtain demonic power.
Thus, a mad experiment was born—
A group of humans underwent forbidden surgical modifications in the Imperial Experimental Grounds, disguising themselves as demons.
They crossed the northern frozen wastelands, infiltrated the Demon Realm, and attempted to blend into demonic society—
To study demon magic.
—
[Mission Overview:]
You are undercover in an absurdly grotesque Demon Academy, gathering intelligence.
But tonight will be the most dangerous night of all.
Survival is your primary goal.
—
[Time Remaining: 11 hours 59 minutes]
[Mission Objective 1: Achieve 60% Academy Exploration] (Current Progress: 3%)
[Mission Objective 2: Investigate the Source of Tonight’s Danger]
[Mission Objective 3: At Least 1 Challenger Must Survive Until Time Limit Ends] (Current Survivors: 6/6)
—
[Challengers Lance & Huberian Starting Location: Exam Hall]
[Exam Duration: 2 Hours]
[Subject: Demonic Magic Script]
—
[Rules:]
🔹 Any form of cheating detected by the proctors will result in immediate execution.
🔹 Scores below 50 will be deemed failing, and the proctors will execute the examinee.
🔹 Early submission is allowed. If you require assistance, raise your hand to summon a proctor.
[Remaining Exam Time: 1 hour 59 minutes]
—
With a thought, Lance hid the message window, but he could recall it anytime.
After processing the nightmare-like scenario of his first real Shadow Realm challenge, his brows furrowed.
Tier 4?! What the hell?!
Never mind the exam—this whole situation was ridiculous.
He was Tier 2, and Huberian was Tier 3.
How the hell did this Shadow Realm think it was reasonable to match them into a Tier 4 instance?!
Was the Shadow Realm bad at math?!
But what concerned Lance even more was—
According to the system prompt, the Shadow Realm’s mechanics must have temporarily disguised him as a demon.
Would this damage his image?!
Looking down at himself, Lance noted that aside from the deep-black academy uniform, his joints now had an ivory-crystal-like exoskeleton, faintly glowing.
Feeling his head, he confirmed the presence of two small horns.
Glancing at his reflection in the ink bottle’s surface, he saw that his black hair and green eyes remained unchanged—
Only the horns and facial markings had appeared, and they were pure white.
—
Meanwhile, at Ikrit Academy…
At 5 PM, the academy was bathed in deep tranquility.
The sunset had begun its slow descent beyond the western horizon,
Casting its final golden-red light over every corner of the campus.
At Jera Memorial Plaza, not far from the academy entrance, students had begun enjoying their post-class free time.
Some were chatting about dinner plans,
Others sat on the plaza steps,
Watching the open-air projection screen at the plaza’s center—
Which displayed live Shadow Realm challenge broadcasts.
Since the Shadow Realm was a historical projection,
These broadcasts often felt like epic, one-of-a-kind films.
Many students regularly gathered here for both entertainment and learning.
Of course, some simply relaxed, discussing their recent classes or quietly reading.
—
“Huh? A new Tier 4 Shadow Realm just opened?”
“…And it’s a rare Demon Clan history-themed Shadow Realm?”
One student muttered to himself, catching the attention of several others.
Since very few students attempted a Shadow Realm challenge on the first day of school,
Any newly activated Shadow Realm stood out immediately.
Moreover—
The screen’s deep, ominous color palette gave this particular Shadow Realm a distinctly dark aesthetic.
—
“Wait… aren’t those two freshmen?!”
Soon, someone noticed the Challenger Information section at the bottom of the screen—
And a wave of shocked exclamations erupted across the plaza.