The next day, the entire class gathered at the training grounds. Everyone had come expecting a standard practical combat session, but the reality was completely different.

Anxious whispers quickly spread through the crowd of students.

"Hey, aren’t mid-term evaluations supposed to happen after the first tournament exam? Why the hell are they doing this now?"

"You didn’t hear? Apparently, when King Oberon found out there were more than four prodigies in our batch, the Royal Family couldn’t wait any longer. They decided to move up the evaluation themselves."

"That’s bullshit! It’s not fair to the rest of us. We’re not all prodigies, you know."

"Fair or not, what can we do about it now? The King’s already made his decision."

Mid-term evaluations? He hadn’t heard anything about this. No one had bothered to inform him directly so he stayed near the back of the crowd, quietly eavesdropping on the other students.

His gaze swept across the training ground, searching for familiar faces.

Sera and Elira... where did they go? They would probably know what this evaluation is about.

Three light, deliberate taps on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts as he turned around.

Iris stood there, looking as flawless as she had in the chapel.

"Greetings," she said softly, offering a slight, elegant bow.

"You don’t need to do that every time we meet," Lucian muttered, his tone flat but not unkind.

Iris looked up at him. Her emerald eyes remained perfectly unreadable, though beneath her calm facade, a faint flicker of displeasure sparked in her mind. She didn’t like seeing that subtle tension in Lucian’s posture. He was anxious about the evaluation, and she hated seeing him look troubled over something so trivial.

"You don’t know what the evaluation is, do you?" she asked softly.

Lucian kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, refusing to reply.

Iris smirked. "I suppose I should enlighten you, then."

"Hmm," he grunted.

"See that empty throne from up there." She pointed gracefully toward a grand, empty throne on the overlooking balcony, where four heavily armored royal knights stood like statues, waiting for their ruler.

Lucian finally turned to look at her, a genuine flicker of confusion crossing his face.

Iris paused, her eyes widening slightly.

"Wait, you didn’t even know that? Didn’t anyone tell you?"

She placed a delicate finger against her lips, an incredibly smug look taking over her features.

"Ah... I get it. You don’t have any friends to tell you these things, now do you."

Lucian quickly snapped his head back to the front, his jaw tightening as a faint, embarrassing flush threatened to creep onto his face.

Iris chuckled softly, thoroughly enjoying the rare chance to tease him. Then, her tone shifted back to a serious whisper.

"So, as I was saying — the arrogant king forced this evaluation on our entire class for his own benefit. They’re going to drop us onto his private island. Once we’re there, it’s a Battle Royale between students. That is all.."

"Shit,"

If that happens, our entire plan will be ruined.

Perhaps, from that perspective. but consider this — we might not even need the memory crystal anymore. This entire battle royale will be live-streamed to the rest of the academy."

She stepped a little closer.

"And when you confront him in the middle of the fight where everyone can see, and deliberately take a few hits from the Hero — it will look incredibly natural."

Although... her tone dropped a fraction.

"...I would absolutely hate seeing you get hurt."

Lucian turned as his lips curled into a calculating smile and he let out a low, dry laugh.

"You’re forgetting one crucial detail, Iris. We need Aria to see it. Whatever gossip spreads after the evaluation ends won’t be strong enough evidence to break her trust. We still need that memory crystal."

He shifted his stance, looking forward again.

"You keep it on you. I’ll stick close to you during the evaluation to make sure no one harms you"

Behind his back, Iris’s elegance subtly changed.

She brought her hand up to her flushed cheek, while a fiercely possessive grin stretching across her face.

He said he would stay by my side. He said he would protect me. Ahhh... my love.

Lucian glanced back at her. In a fraction of a millisecond, her expression quickly vanished before leaving a flawless, gentle mask.

"Do you understand the plan?"

"Yes, I completely understand what you mean," However, before we—"

"Lucian!"

"Darling..."

Two distinct voices suddenly cut through the murmurs of the crowd.

Instantly, the eyes of the entire class snapped toward their direction. Some anxious whispers about the exam immediately morphed into aggressive gossip.

"Are you seeing this? First Seraphina, then Elira... and now even Iris, the top of our class?"

"Yeah, what the hell is actually going on with that guy?"

As Elira and Seraphina approached, their expressions darkened the second their eyes landed on the short-haired blonde standing far too close to him.

"Lucian! What is going on here?!" Sera pointed as her eyes narrowed.

"Why are you standing with another girl?!"

Elira didn’t say a word. She simply glared at Iris, though small wisps of snow smoke started to form in the palm of her hand.

Sweat rolled down Lucian’s face.

"Um.. girls settled down let me explain..."

Before the situation could get any more heated, Professor Kael’s loud voice rang out across the entire training ground.

"Enough!"

He pointed toward a massive, glowing portal shimmering behind him and shouted,

"You all already know, today is the combat evaluation. This is your path! Head through that portal right now!"

Sera and Elira didn’t break their death glares with Iris. Completely ignoring Lucian’s existence, they marched right past him toward the portal, pure hostility radiating from their backs.

Lucian swallowed hard, instantly realizing what was coming next.

Damn it... I didn’t see that coming. Those two are definitely going to be the ones trying to dig my grave on the other side.

A short while later, almost all thirty students from Batch B found themselves standing on a massive island.

The portal had deposited them on a wide, sandy shore. Behind them, dense jungle stretched endlessly toward jagged mountain peaks shrouded in mist. The air was thick, humid, and heavy with the scent of salt and vegetation.

Lucian’s boots sank slightly into the sand as he took in his surroundings.