"Now then, it looks like everyone is here... so let me explain how this evaluation works," Professor Kael began.

While Kael started speaking, Lucian briefly scanned the crowd, keeping tabs on the strongest candidates. Iris stood quietly just behind him. At the front, Elira and Sera had their arms crossed, paying close attention. Toward the back, he could easily spot Marcus, Cassian, and Zeri listening intently.

Marcus seems awfully quiet... something’s off.

"Most of you already know, I would personally prefer to beat the evaluation into each and every one of you in direct, hand-to-hand combat... However, since this is a forced evaluation, we need to save time. so All of you will be scattered across this dense forest. Once inside, you are allowed to fight each other without any restrictions whatsoever."

A wave of quiet, relieved murmuring rippled through the students.

"T-Thank goodness Professor Kael isn’t testing us personally...."

"Yeah, no kidding... I was actually terrified for a second there."

No restrictions.

Kael pointed at the students.

"As you can all see, there is a yellow flag attached to your uniforms. That is your lifeline. The moment someone snatches your flag, you will be instantly teleported out and disqualified. Whoever holds the most flags by the end of the trial will be the winner. As for the rewards... I’ll explain those later."

He gestured toward a nearby stand holding dozens of metallic bands.

"So, there is no need to worry about actually dying either. as I have prepared some items to ensure your safety. These bracelets are enchanted with a spell that will instantly teleport you back to the Astraveil academy square."

Kael paused, a manic bloodthirsty grin slowly stretched across his face.

"Even if you were to get critically injured, we have a team of top-tier healers on standby who can treat almost any wound with a simple wave of their hand.

In other words... don’t hold back. You are all completely free to fight your hardest. This is your chance to be as violent as you want."

Hearing that, color practically drained from some of the students’ faces.

"H-hey... Professor Kael sure looks way too excited for this," someone muttered, gulping hard.

Kael picked up the first bracelet from the stand.

"Now, step forward when I call your name. You will be teleported to your randomly assigned coordinates the moment you put this on.

First... Iris Lighthollow."

"Yes, sir!"

A short while later, the bracelets were distributed. One by one, with a sharp swoosh of teleportation magic, the students vanished, scattered across the vast island. The mid-term evaluation had officially begun.

Deep within the dense, humid jungle, Lucian stood completely alone.

Well... at least he looked like he was alone.

He hadn’t even taken a single step before he noticed them. Three of his classmates had already taken up ambush positions. One was perched high on a thick tree branch to his right, while the other two were hiding behind the massive trunks of the trees dead ahead.

"Hmm... interesting," He muttered while keeping his tone deadpan at the same time he casually stuffed his hands into his pockets, not even bothering to look around.

"Why don’t you all just come out and try me at once? Otherwise... you might not get another chance."

Realizing their cover was completely blown, the three students clenched their jaws and stepped out from the shadows, quickly forming a tight circle around him. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Hey guys, stay focused. We can take him," one of them encouraged, drawing his blade with a sharp shing.

"Don’t forget, we have weapons... and he is completely unarmed."

One of them was already losing his nerve from the way Lucian just casually stood there. Not even bothering to draw a weapon, he simply let a tiny fraction of his mana leak into the air.

"I-I don’t feel good about this..." the boy stammered, taking a half-step back. "Maybe we should go after someone else."

Lucian chuckled softly.

"Look, I won’t even move from this spot. How about all three of you come at me at the exact same time? It might make this slightly entertaining for me."

"Bastard! How dare you mock us!"

The leader lunged forward with his blade raised. Seeing him move, the panicked guy and the third student gritted their teeth and charged in right behind him from all sides.

"Die, you arrogant Prick!"

As the three of them converged on him, weapons slashing through the air, Lucian stayed completely true to his word. He didn’t take a single step. He didn’t even raise his hands. Instead, he simply let his body fall backward, like a toppling statue.

Right before his back hit the dirt, a pitch-black spatial portal snapped open beneath him, swallowing him whole. A split second later, a second portal tore open a few meters away, and Lucian smoothly stepped out of it, dusting off his sleeves.

Without their target in the center, the three charging students couldn’t stop their momentum. They violently crashed into each other in a brutal tangle of limbs and weapons, instantly knocking themselves out cold in a pathetic heap on the ground.

Would’ve been a waste... burning that much mana just to show off on screen.

Ding!

[You have gained 40 FP.]

He slightly raised an eyebrow.

"Oohhh, I can gain from being outsmarted also?"

[Yeah, as long as you keep making moves and stirring up shit, you’ll keep getting something, dumbass]

Meanwhile, hovering discreetly above the trees, a small, winged camera-familiar was broadcasting the entire sequence live. Back at the massive academy viewing hall, King Oberon, Headmaster, professors, and the remaining other batch of first years watched the massive projection screens. Of course, none of them could see Lucian’s floating system interface.

Whispers immediately broke out across the viewing area.

"Is that Valemont? I heard rumors he was just pretending to be weak."

"Did you see that? What a cunning bastard..."

"Wait, did you see how casually he just used spatial magic?"

"Yeah, I have to admit... that was actually totally badass."

High up in the royal viewing box, King Oberon and the Headmaster watched the live broadcast side by side. The Headmaster, an elderly man whose long white beard flowed down to his chest, observed the screen with centuries of cunning and experience gleaming in his sharp eyes.

"Who is that boy?" the King asked while gazing intently at Lucian.

The Headmaster offered a subtle, knowing smile.

"That is Lucian. The son of Duke Valemont."

"Huh... Valemont..." Oberon murmured, slowly stroking his thick beard.

Behind them, several theory professors were staring at the screen in absolute disbelief.

"How can he use spatial magic without casting a magic circle?" one of them gasped.

Standing off to the side, Professor Myra watched the screen with a proud, amused smirk.

"My my, he has grown quite a bit in such a short time."

Down on the island, Lucian had already collected the three yellow flags from those students. They instantly teleported to the academy grounds.

"Alright, let’s find Iris before someone completely derails the plan."

Now I just need to use my mana sense to figure out which direction she went...

The very moment he extended his senses, his mind spiked with a sharp warning. Not too far away, a massive, violent eruption of black and white mana exploded into the atmosphere.

"Shit... Seraphina,"

A split second later, he emerged into a clearing, and the exact nightmare he had feared was unfolding right in front of him. Sera and Elira had completely cornered Iris.

Sera’s sword was already drawn. From the razor-sharp tip of her blade, dense, chaotic black and white mana was furiously bleeding into the air at high speed. She glared at Iris, her eyes narrowed into deadly, unforgiving slits.

Yet, despite being trapped between two absolute monsters, Iris didn’t show a single ounce of fear. Her face remained blank and relaxed as if she were just taking a casual stroll through the woods.