Chapter 9: The Academy's Trial

  A few days later, the annual trial of the Bellmare Royal Magic Academy finally began.

  The location of the trial is set up near Gran's Forest, a newly built and fully equipped camp. Eligible trainees will depart from here and undergo a one-week trial without any supplies or support.

  "Everyone, the annual trial is about to begin! The content of the assessment is to clear out the mutated monsters in the forest. The scores will be recorded based on the number and variety of monster drops collected, with more being better. Drops from powerful monsters will score even higher!" Dean Lind stood on the high platform, making a final rallying cry, "After the trial ends, the first-place team will receive the reward of undergoing a class change using the Grand Duchy's Great Magic Array! The academy will provide all necessary materials!"

  Dean Lin's words came out, and all the trialists were suddenly excited.

  Although it's a tradition that has been passed down for years, thinking about having the opportunity to change jobs in the most perfect state, these young people who are full of dreams and ambitions find it hard to remain calm.

  However, there were also people who felt uneasy.

  "Every assessment has different content, I didn't expect our generation's trial to be so difficult. Damn mutations, making all the monsters stronger."

  "But this is also an opportunity to change jobs! Being able to use the national magic array is traditional, but I didn't expect that this time the academy would even provide the materials. This is a genuine reward, if we had to prepare it ourselves, even if we had the chance to change jobs, it would take at least several months!"

  The students' expressions were different, some were happy and some were worried, some were accumulating momentum, and some were calling friends to join. Even Midy was slightly moved.

  In the previous life, rewards did not include transfer materials. It seems that with my own rebirth and different attitudes towards those around me, this world has also undergone changes. This is probably what they call the butterfly effect?

  A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a storm on the other side of the ocean. A small variable can go through layers of influence and eventually brew into a huge change.

  Is it because of the change in camp? Mide thought, glancing at a nearby place.

  Just then, Fenrir Seuss turned around with a gaze as cold as the dead and looked at Middy.

  Then he grinned and stretched out his hand, scratching his neck.

  Fenrir's team lineup is also very strong.

  Unlike the proud Fina, the Sess family had already spent a great deal of effort by the time Fenrir enrolled, sending three generations of high-quality housekeepers from their own family to the academy as well. In other words, he came in with a team that was strong enough to win the trial from the very beginning.

  Now, these servants have all become 18th-level disciples and are surrounding Fenrir like a crescent moon. Midgard has no doubt that if needed during the trial, they can lower their own levels or even sacrifice their lives to help their master achieve good results.

  But in Meddy's view, this doesn't even count as a team, it's just a boy with eyes higher than the top leading three hunting dogs. Maybe they are indeed very powerful in head-on confrontations, but they can't cope with the ever-changing environment outdoors.

  What he was more worried about was whether there would be any changes in the assassin from his previous life's memories.

  After all, the reward of trial has changed.

  What if it's because you've changed camps and brought more powerful assassins to the Sess family?

  A sense of helplessness and urgency enveloped his mind at the same time, but he quickly adjusted and recovered.

  "No matter what, since things have already happened, I shouldn't regret it. I'm already by Fianna's side, and next is to actively gain power, make up for the regrets, even if everything becomes unrecognizable in the end, I will never regret!" Middy subconsciously glanced at his left arm in the glove.

  He hadn't told anyone about his transformation into a ghost swordsman; this was the biggest trump card, and the later it was exposed, the more initiative he could gain.

  "In the name of the Headmaster of Magic Academy, I declare that the trial is now beginning!" Principal Linde loudly said.

  With the sound of the bugle, countless students rushed towards the Gran Forest, as if they were not in a battle trial but a competitive race.

  However, this is also a very normal judgment. After all, in these three years, there have been many tasks that need to be completed in the forest, so there are not a few areas that are more familiar to the students, relatively safe and easy to hunt, including the types of monsters, numbers, attack methods, terrain, etc., everyone is very familiar with.

  By occupying these areas in advance, you can efficiently clean up monsters and gain the upper hand in the trial.

  But Feena's group didn't move at all.

  Fenrir's team and several other elite teams with 18 members did not move either.

  This is not because of the nobility's reserve or the gentleman's modesty, but because there was simply no need for it.

  "It's a rare sight, Granbelt is also crowded with all sorts of people. I wonder what it'll be like later?" Lilian said mockingly, then looked at the red-haired girl, "Fina-san, which way are we headed?"

  "East," Fiona said briefly.

  That is the road leading into the depths of Gran's forest, the poisonous ruins area.

  Even when faced with trials, the future Bullet Queen remained unflappable and stuck to her style, choosing the most difficult route from the start. This was based on her confidence in herself and her trust in her teammates.

  "Medi." The red-haired girl glanced at the black-haired boy and added, "You'd better not drag your feet, if there's a problem, be sure to speak up."

  "I understand." Midei replied with a smile.

  With this sentence, Sigurd, who is relatively calm and quiet, will not mention it for the time being. Lillian, who has always been suspicious, will also not refuse Midy's request for help. Although he had estimated that his combat power should have surpassed theirs after obtaining the Ghost Hand, the Storm Queen's subtle care still made him feel a warmth.

  This is a team, although it's still in the running-in period, but what it has is a purely innocent bond.

  Other elite teams, after seeing Feina choose the eastern route, did not hesitate to choose the western route into Gran Forest - kidding, they didn't want to compete head-on with the Storm Queen, even if they were level 19 or renowned as elites, in front of the red-haired girl, they were nothing.

  Fenrir's eyes gleamed with venomous light. He was not afraid of the ferocious monsters in the ruins, and he also had a desire to confront the Storm Queen head-on, but thinking of Fina's means and the orders from the master, reason ultimately suppressed his impulse.

  "We'll take the middle route!" Fenrir growled, "And wipe out any other teams we see along the way!"

  As the last team also entered the forest, the week-long trial officially kicked off.

  "Hurry, hurry! A group of goblins has been attracted by me!" a student shouted anxiously while running wildly.

  This 16-year-old martial artist was slender and extremely fast, with years of training allowing him to possess speed that surpassed ordinary people at a young age. However, the group of goblins behind him were not slow either after their transformation, and although they couldn't catch up, they continued to follow from afar. Moreover, the monsters' endurance was apparently much stronger than that of the academy students who had been well taken care of, and in the long-distance pursuit, the goblins gradually gained the upper hand.

  The fierce sunlight filtering through the trees shone on the goblins' bodies, making their blood-stained weapons look even more terrifying.

  "The monster has entered the encirclement, let's go up!" The other three students who were hiding in the trees finally appeared after the goblin group passed by.

  The young man responsible for luring the monsters also stopped in his tracks, turned around, and threw a lit fuse bomb at the goblins.

  The landmine that was thrown out, along with the ones that had been buried in the grass beforehand, triggered a fierce explosion, blowing the goblin's originally tidy formation to smithereens.

  "Up, kill them all!" Disregarding the swirling smoke, the students surrounded and went up, displaying their respective skills.

  This is a team with relatively good luck, familiar with the terrain and monster skills, so they successfully ambushed.

  Some teams were also trapped in unfamiliar environments, struggling to move forward. Even worse, some teams that had already beaten the monster to a pulp were suddenly stabbed in the back by other teams, leading to disputes and even internal brawls between the two teams, resulting in injuries and forced withdrawals.

  In the large camp outside of Gran's Forest, Lind College Head sat in the central large tent. Beside him were several other main persons in charge of the colleges and many job changers above level 25 who kept coming and going within the camp.

  This is the second day of the trial.

  "How's the situation?" Dean Lin De of the Academy looked at the extremely detailed map of Gran Tesoro on the table and asked a returning transfer student.

  "Reporting to the Dean, so far, a total of four teams have withdrawn, two disputes have occurred, with three injured and no serious injuries. The withdrawn teams have all been retrieved, please don't worry, sir."

  Principal Lin nodded slightly and said: "So, up to now, which teams have made faster progress?"

  "The job changer immediately replied: 'Reporting to the Dean, so far, Feena and Fenrir's teams have gone deeper. Among them, Fenrir's team has entered the depths of the Gran Forest, while Feena's team has cleared several Thunder Ruins.'"

  "It's indeed that 'Storm Queen' taking the lead."

  "Fenrir's results are also good, it seems that the Sais family's planning over the years has also been effective."

  "Perhaps Fenrir will come out on top, isn't there a 16-year-old noble in Miss Feina's team? As time goes on, he'll definitely be unable to keep up and become a burden."

  "You don't know that, but that's the prodigy. A week ago, during Miss Filina's assessment, a student named Middy passed the Flame Challenge!"

  The people in charge of the college were discussing with each other.

  "Alright, you may go." Dean Lin nodded at the transfer student, "Remind the others to do a good job with their defenses. The outcome depends on the students' own abilities, but under no circumstances can there be any safety issues, especially for Fenrir and Feena's teams - this concerns the honor of our Magic Academy."

  "Yes, sir." The job applicant withdrew.

  Outdoor combat, the Magic Academy has arranged many times, but like this without providing supplies, a week-long outdoor survival trial, for the students it is the first time, with considerable risk. Among these students, although there are no civilians, more are noble sons, once something happens, the pressure faced by the academy will be unbearable. Therefore, the academy secretly arranged a large number of 25-level or higher transfer students to monitor the entire assessment situation.

  And around 30 levels of main force strong players are stationed in the big camp, ready to respond to sudden situations at any time.

  Lind was very satisfied with such an arrangement, at least, in the past decade, there has never been a hitch. Although this year's Queen's Party and Members' Party are tense, weren't they always like that before?

  I suppose you'll be able to get through the trial safely? thought Principal Lin De.