The spacious classroom of Demon Academy, shrouded in dim light, cast an eerie sense of desolation over the oak floor’s wood grain and the carpet’s intricate patterns. The only clear sound was the proctor’s steady footsteps, prowling the exam hall like a moving executioner’s blade.
Back row of the exam hall.
Huberian lowered her head, her gaze trembling slightly, her mind completely blank.
Never in her life had she imagined she would end up in a Shadow Realm where she had to play the role of a demon.
For her, this was the ultimate form of torture.
Because unlike the other challengers, who had only been temporarily disguised as demons to match the Shadow Realm’s setting, her own illusion magic had been stripped away, exposing her true Demon Clan form.
This was the last thing she ever wanted—to be seen by the people of the Royal Capital in her real demon form, under the scrutiny of countless eyes.
She had no idea how to face Lance like this.
But at this moment, the only thing she was painfully aware of was—
Their Shadow Realm exam was currently being broadcasted on the school’s magic screens.This was both a performance and an execution.
She had no choice but to force herself to remain calm and try to focus on the test in front of her.
As a half-demon, Huberian had a high affinity for Demonic Magic Script and was naturally able to use some demon spells.
But growing up as the Duke’s daughter in a human nation, she had never learned how to write any of this ridiculous demon magic.
If even she couldn’t answer these questions, it was clear—these exams weren’t designed for the challengers to complete on their own.
To pass and leave this exam hall, the correct strategy was obvious—
Find someone who knows the answers, copy from them, and avoid the proctors’ gaze.
And she and Lance would have to coordinate carefully—otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to gather enough correct answers within two hours.
Because the demon students were also on guard—
For example, the students in the front row were extremely cautious, shielding their test papers from prying eyes. Some might even deliberately write wrong answers to mislead other students.
"Hah…"
Huberian struggled to steady her breathing.
The only reassuring thing was that she could still feel Lance’s calm presence not far from her.
That meant he must have already figured out the exam’s passing conditions too.
But—
Huberian wasn’t sure if Lance’s strategy aligned with her own, so she remained still.
Their agreement had always been—
Lance watches the enemies, and she only needs to watch Lance.
—
A short distance to Huberian’s right.
Lance leaned back in his chair, eyes slightly raised, observing the two proctors, deep in thought.
Their attire was impeccable, outwardly polite, but radiating an undeniable aura of terror.
One was an owl-headed demon with sleek black feathers and piercing crimson eyes, cold and cunning. His tailored vintage suit, adorned with intricate golden embroidery, carried the air of an ancient and mysterious cult.
The other was a dragon-horned, scale-covered demon, exuding power and dominance. His fiery pupils burned like an inferno, his humanoid form draped in a lavish, antique suit, embroidered with complex insignias, symbolizing some kind of authority.
They were clearly high-ranking faculty members of this school.
Although the two proctors noticed Lance’s gaze, they didn’t say anything.
His stare was direct and unwavering, as if his mind was clear and free of guilt, showing no intention of cheating—only the natural fatigue of a student taking a difficult test, momentarily resting his eyes.
Most importantly—making eye contact with a proctor wasn’t considered whispering or cheating.
Though, doing so did invite more scrutiny, making cheating significantly harder.
Still, this wasn’t a wasted effort.
After several minutes of careful observation, Lance had already learned a lot.
For example—
The two proctors followed a fixed patrol route and moved at a predictable pace.
And—
Cheating was definitely happening in this classroom.
Many students in the front rows had already noticed that when the two proctors’ fields of vision overlapped, a blind spot would appear for a brief moment.
Taking advantage of this small window, they had begun making subtle movements.
Some used basic but effective methods, while others employed magic, each demonstrating their own unique way of "academic dishonesty."
For instance—
Just a moment ago, some unknown demon in the front row had used a mental spell to forcibly black out Lance’s vision for a split second.
Afterward, Lance noticed something even more frustrating—
He had been marked as a "failure".
A cheating clique had already figured out that Lance didn’t know how to answer the test, and as a result, the nearby demon students had completely shut him out—
They weren’t giving him a single chance to peek at their answers, treating him like an outsider who wasn’t welcome in their circle of academic fraud.
"Good thing my mental resistance and magic defense are high. Otherwise, getting my vision hijacked like that would’ve been incredibly annoying."
Lance mused to himself.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt like he had finally grasped the full picture.
Now—it was time for him to start making moves.
—
At Lance’s seat, every minute or so, there was a one-second window where both proctors simultaneously fell into a blind spot.
This fleeting moment was the best opportunity to cheat.
And soon—that window was coming up again.
In the front row, two demon students were already on edge, their shoulders tense, hands gripping their test papers.
Their plan was to complete the questions they knew, then swap test papers during this brief window.
Lance had seen everything.
It was a simple but effective method—after all, neither of them had written their names on their papers.
Meanwhile, Huberian had been quietly observing Lance.
Following his hunter-like gaze, she also noticed the two demon students preparing to exchange papers.
She had to admit—
Lance’s bold strategy of "openly surveying the entire exam hall" had indeed increased proctor scrutiny, but it also allowed him to gather far more intel than anyone else.
Like this exact moment—
The front row students were just about to swap test papers.
And if Lance reacted quickly enough—
He could use his utility magic card, 【Shadow Realm Recording Program】, to capture the contents of both test papers at the moment of exchange, preserving the information in his own field of vision for later review.
This was a special advantage that only challengers possessed—a disparity in information accessibility!
The blind spot appeared—
The two demon students in the front row moved.
Huberian waited in anticipation, hoping Lance would successfully snatch the answers.
If they could use these two as stepping stones to copy even more answers, they might not even need to stay for the full two hours.
They could hand in their papers early and leave the exam hall.
Just as Huberian was thinking this—
Lance raised his right hand.
"Teacher, they’re cheating!"
His righteous voice echoed through the entire classroom.
Instantly, both proctors snapped their heads around, locking their gazes onto the two demon students—caught red-handed in the middle of exchanging test papers!
Meanwhile, the two reported students instinctively turned to look at Lance, their eyes widening in utter disbelief—
They looked at him like he was a traitorous dog!
"I saw both of you."
The dragon-horned proctor, who was closer to them, strode toward the front row, while the owl-headed proctor merely clicked his tongue and resumed his patrol.
A brutal slaughter was about to unfold.
The air compressed with the weight of impending violence, and every demon student in the room felt asphyxiated by the tension.
A piercing scream barely had time to escape—
The next second, only the sounds of bones shattering, flesh tearing, and blood splattering remained in the classroom.
In just moments—the two cheating demon students were reduced to mangled corpses.