Back within the Dark Knight Academy, inside the Eastern Grand Hall where the authoritative figures remained gathered before dozens of floating magical screens, the atmosphere had slowly shifted over the course of the day.

When the assessment had first begun, the hall had been filled with calm observation and occasional discussion. Instructors monitored students evenly, making remarks here and there regarding decision-making, adaptability, and combat efficiency.

Now, several hours into the first day of the assessment, the mood had become noticeably more engaged.

Because the second years were performing far better than expected.

Floating projections illuminated the dimmed hall from every direction, each screen displaying different parts of Nalim.

Some students were shown building temporary shelters before nightfall. Others were hunting smaller creatures for food, navigating difficult terrain, or avoiding demonic territories altogether.

A few screens showed combat.

One student was currently fighting off a pair of Horror-class demons near a ruined stone structure.

Another group of accidental encounters between students had already occurred throughout the realm, some cooperative and others tense enough to nearly turn violent before the parties separated.

Yet despite the chaos of Nalim...

Not a single student had triggered a Forced Extraction.

And that alone had become a topic worth discussing.

"That’s honestly impressive," one instructor admitted while studying several floating status sigils hovering beside the screens. "At this point last year, we had already pulled out three second years."

"Four," another corrected. "One nearly bled out after panicking upon arrival."

"Hm."

A faint nod followed from one of the older professors.

"This batch is adapting better than expected."

At the center rows near the front, Assistant Lucia quietly adjusted her glasses as she reviewed the monitoring information linked to the realm.

"No critical-state triggers," she said calmly. "Not even close."

That statement drew a few approving looks throughout the hall.

Because Forced Extraction wasn’t a minor matter. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Once a student reached that point, it meant they had completely lost the ability to continue surviving on their own—either through severe injury, complete Myst depletion, mental collapse, or imminent death.

The fact that none of the second years had reached that stage yet, despite several already being thrown into hostile environments, genuinely spoke volumes about their growth.

"They’ve improved," Sir Kaelen stated simply from where he stood near the side of the hall.

As always, his posture remained upright and disciplined, his sharp eyes calmly moving between multiple screens at once.

"Especially compared to their first year."

A few instructors nodded in agreement.

"They’re thinking more before acting," another professor added. "Less panic. Better resource management too."

"And better instincts," Lucia said while continuing to monitor the projections. "Several students avoided direct engagements they clearly knew they couldn’t win."

"That alone already puts them ahead of most previous years," one of the combat instructors muttered.

Not far from them, Mystica sat comfortably in her chair with one leg crossed over the other, her violet eyes lazily observing the screens before her.

A faint smile rested on her lips.

"My little darlings are growing up so nicely," she hummed softly.

Nearby, Seraphina leaned slightly forward in her seat, resting her chin against the back of her hand while staring at one particular screen with open interest.

"Now that one..." she muttered almost appreciatively. "That boy really is trying to burn the entire realm down."

The screen she referred to displayed Asher.

Unlike Liam’s heavily forested swamp zone, Asher had been dropped into a volcanic region filled with black stone ridges, unstable terrain, and underground heat vents that periodically erupted with bursts of steam and flame.

And somehow—

The environment suited him perfectly.

At that very moment, the projection showed Asher standing atop a fractured rock formation while several demon corpses burned around him.

Blue flames flickered violently around his body as another Horror-class demon charged toward him from below.

The creature barely made it halfway up the cliff before Asher moved.

One step.

That was all it took.

His body vanished in a burst of blue fire before reappearing directly in front of the demon mid-motion. His blade cut downward in one smooth arc, blue flames exploding outward upon impact.

The Horror-class demon split apart instantly.

The surrounding instructors watched carefully.

"His control improved again," one of the flame instructors muttered.

"And his output."

"Not just that," another added. "He’s adapting his movement better now. Less wasted Myst."

On the screen, Asher exhaled slowly after the kill before glancing toward the distant volcanic horizon with narrowed eyes.

Even through the projection, his expression looked irritated rather than strained.

Seraphina smiled faintly.

"Now that," she purred softly, "is the look of someone enjoying himself."

"Or someone trying too hard to prove something," Kaelen replied flatly from nearby.

Seraphina glanced toward him briefly.

"Same difference."

Meanwhile, closer toward the center rows, Headmaster Thion quietly observed the various screens without speaking much.

His attention shifted from student to student calmly.

One moment on Asher.

Another on Sheila, who was currently navigating a heavily misted woodland while carefully avoiding a Sync-class territory she had detected from afar.

Then elsewhere; different students, different struggles, different approaches.

And eventually...

His gaze returned toward Liam’s screen once more.

Unlike the others, Liam’s projection currently showed very little movement.

The dark mage sat within the hidden rocky chamber he had discovered earlier, his eyes closed while remaining in deep concentration.

Restoring Myst.

Yet strangely enough, the stillness around him somehow felt heavier than most of the active combat happening elsewhere.

Lucia noticed the Headmaster’s attention lingering there again.

"He found shelter faster than most," she observed calmly.

"Mm."

"And despite the circumstances of his deployment, he stabilized himself rather quickly."

At those words, a faint smile appeared on Thion’s face.

"Hunter understands priorities."

His fingers tapped lightly once against the armrest of his chair.

"Strength means little if you destroy yourself before the assessment truly begins."

Lucia’s eyes shifted briefly toward Liam’s projection again.

The replay sigils near his screen quietly cycled through earlier moments from the day; the swamp massacre, the evolved Gravecoil, the river crossing, and finally the cliff ascent while the aquatic demon waited below.

Even now, portions of the hall occasionally glanced toward those replays.

Because despite the impressive performances from other students...

Liam’s remained the most difficult to ignore.

Not because of pure destruction alone.

But because of the way he approached everything.

With coldness and practicality.

As though surviving inside Nalim was less about fear and more about efficiency.

"He’s very calm for someone his age," Lucia muttered quietly without realizing it.

Mystica heard her immediately.

"That’s because panic wastes energy," she said casually while smiling faintly. "And my little darling hates wasting things."

A few instructors nearby quietly chuckled at that.

Though not everyone looked entirely amused.

One older professor folded his arms.

"Still," he muttered, "dropping a student into a swamp infested with Gravecoils from the very start was excessive."

"Yet he survived," Kaelen replied immediately.

"And not only survived," another instructor added, "he adapted."

Silence lingered briefly after that.

Because no one could actually deny it.

If anything, several of the authoritative figures were beginning to realize something uncomfortable.

This assessment, which had originally been designed to pressure the second years individually...

Might instead become the thing that revealed just how abnormal some of them truly were.