As soon as his words dropped — a silence descended on the room. The students widened their eyes in disbelief. The silence stretched as no words drifted in the air. However, from the many students — It didn't take long before a shout of panic shattered the silence.
Everyone stared at where the shout came from — their eyes shifted to the student talking to Professor Guile earlier. Fulgier gritted his teeth, his body trembling as he muttered:
"What...what...are you saying?! They would expel me next year?!"
Guile raised his brows, chuckling.
"That's right, kid."
Fulgier's legs wobbled down, his body swaying — his eyes turning slightly bloodshot as he stared at Professor Guile. He shouted:
"That's can't be!!! I paid a lot for this chance....!! You can't just remove me like that...!! Tell me this is a joke!"
"Haa..." Guile sighed, his head shaking. He had seen this sight far too many times — but unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it. Not that he wanted to do anything. He snapped his fingers.
In that moment, the bodyguards or staff behind him acted — they moved swiftly, holding Fulgier as they threw him to the crowd of students.
Fulgier groaned, feeling his back ache from the fall.
"Alright, relax for a moment, kids..." Guile shook his head, his hand gesturing for the bodyguards to go back.
The students — contrary to his orders, proceeded to panic even more as countless shouts followed one after another, making an odd metal chorus rang out at the room.
Perhaps it came from disbelief in being in the line of the threat of expulsion — or simply, utterly, nervous of their future in the academy. Most of the students couldn't handle it and madly chuckled at themselves.
However, in opposite from the simply average and normal students — a handful spectrum of the extreme genius students at the room simply smiled and shook their head calmly. It was a mindset and temperament befitting them.
Arcuied was as silent as a sea.
Eugene simply chuckled, enjoying the scene of other students panicking.
Amber commanded her group to stay silent.
...Xiao Long, on the otherhand, stared at the figure beside him. The frail and thin figure chuckled, giving no sign of nervousness nor complaints at all.
"Tsk." Guile clicked his tongue, annoyed. He crossed his hands as he closed his eyes — in that moment, he emitted a heavy and suffocating pressure on the room. He commanded softly. "Be quiet."
The voice was soft and quiet — lacking any threat. Yet once the voice resounded, it was like an echo of a doom. All the students immediately shifted their attention to the middle of the room. In that moment, a spine chilling sensation took over their body.
Not even a second later — most of the students felt a heavy force push them down. Their bodies fell, crashing to the ground as they groaned. In one command, Guile knocked most of the students down.
...Save from the handful of extremely talented genius — Arcuied, Eugene, and some other students merely staggered. They held their breaths, feeling a suffocating pressure in the room. However, they managed to resist the pressure.
The oppressive pressure continued for seconds, yet for most of the students, it felt like an eternity. Guile sighed, retracting the pressure he emitted. He shifted his eyes to the room, staring at the fallen and staggering students. He said:
"I told you to just relax. I haven't even finished yet. The rankings are not fixed — you still have a chance to change it."
At that moment, most of the students' eyes revitalized in hope. Fulgier raised his head, widening his eyes as he stared at Guile expectantly. Hope was not all lost.
"You heard me right. There's still a chance, so calm your nervous wrecks." Guile said, his arms crossing over his chest. "The chance is connected to the exam you're going to have for the week."
Arcuied helped his teammates stand up.
.. Thinking of the suffocating pressure, he grimaced. That helpless state...disgusting weakness. He hated it. It made him remember a memory from the past.
However, in another matter...'for a week?' Arcuied frowned, deep in thought. An exam that was going to go on for a week?
Suddenly, a beep rang out in the room. Guile stared at the smartwatch on his wrist, nodding. He shifted his stare to the group of students.
"...It seems we delayed for far too long," Guile said, his hand spreading. "Alright, I'll make this short. The exam you're going to be having for this week is called... The Dreadnought Exam."
All the students — whether noble or common civilian tensed from the name. They stood up, focusing all their attention to Guile.
"The Dreadnought Exam will test your talent, experience, decision making, and leadership — throughout the entirety of it." Guile said, his hand pulling over the thick leather. "This exam would take place in a Rank E Demon Dimension."
In that moment, several holograms suddenly projected in the room. The holograms showed the sight of a large and vast maze — inside the maze, many areas were clustered with demons and beasts.
The students widened their eyes, staring at the malformed monstrosity of beings — demons. For many, it was a first time experience on seeing the monstrous, aberrant beings.
For Arcuied, it was like the usual ordinary sight.
"All of you would have to survive for a week inside the maze." Guile explained. "Inside the maze, there are countless demons and traps combined to object your way to the deepest ends."
"The winning conditions are simple as it gets," Guile raised his hand. "You only need to survive for a week. That's all. In the case of extreme injury and inability to continue, you would be disqualified and therefore unable to take the test any further. I advise you to take care of your health. This test is monumental for your rankings."
The students nodded.
"And then, let's move on the part you are all waiting for..." Guile paused. "...How exactly would this be your chance to change your rankings?"
Most of the students immediately shifted their attention to Guile, waiting for him to continue. Fulgier narrowed his eyes, standing up as he looked at Guile expectantly.
"It's quite simple. In the Volund Academy, along with the Volund Rankings, there exists what we call Point System," Guile continued. "The point system is the official, and long-lasting system that has been a way to determine the Volund Rankings. The amount of points the individual student has would determine their ranking within the whole academy."
Guile paused, staring at the reaction of the students. All of them were silent — waiting for his continuation. He continued:
"In the mock test, the academy decided all of your ranks. But from here on out — all of your rankings are decided by your skill and talent. You yourself would prove that you are a talent worth prioritizing. The Point System is how much contribution you have done to the academy. The higher your points are, the higher your rank. The lower your points are, the lower your rank."
Arcuied stared at his status profile — noticing the number zero beside his Volund Ranking. So he had zero points at the start. Even though he was evidently the best student in the First Year right now, he still had a chance to lose it all.
The students likewise stared at their own points, smiling as they realized everyone is starting from zero.
Seeing that, Eugene chuckled. He was going to use this exam to surpass Arcuied once and for all — even if he wouldn't be able to surpass Arcuied in terms of talent or skill, he would settle for the rankings.
"Now, how to get more points?" Guile narrowed his eyes. "In this exam, that is to fulfill the other objectives. The main objective is to survive for a week — and successfully doing that gives you an instant 30 pts in the end. And the other objectives..."
Guile paused. At that moment, the image in the hologram changed — showcasing several areas and positions.
"Exploring the maze and arriving at key locations would give your group a total of 5pts."
The hologram changed once again, this time showing the different beasts and demons wandering around the maze.
"Killing demons and beasts would give your group 20pts. Each demon and beasts varies on their points. A bounty list would be sent to your smartwatch as soon as the test start, so don't worry about it."
The hologram changed for the last, revealing ten different figures waiting in the deepest area of the maze.
"And finally...Rank D Students to test you. Managing to hold off one of them for five minutes is 50pts. Managing to hold off for 10 minutes is 100 pts. Managing to tie a draw is 500 pts....as for winning against them, the person with the most contribution would directly replace their rank in the Volund Rankings."
From the corner of the room, Eugene narrowed his eyes as his lips curled into a smirk. Perfect. This was the fastest way to ascend the ranks.
"Alright, that's all." Guiled concluded, his hand spreading. "Before the test officially starts — do any of you have any remaining questions?"
pαпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ A hand rose as a figure stepped forward to the middle. Xiao Long stared at Guile. He asked:
"Is there any benefits in getting more points other than being able to stay in the academy and rise your ranks?"
"Good question!" Guile nodded, his lips curling into a smile. "Xiao Long, was it? I like ambitious people like you. In the academy, there are countless sectors and areas where only people with sufficient points are allowed access to. Not only that, but the higher your points are, the far more likely it is for the academy to give you the resources you want and need."
"Then how about this test specifically?" Xiao asked again, his glasses covering his eyes. "Are there any benefits in being the top scorer, or perhaps, highest ranking group in the test?"
"Woohoo... aren't you too greedy? That's supposed to remain a surprise for the end," Guile sighed, his head shaking. "Indeed, the top group would get a reward. Similarly to the second top group. To the third top group... In total, the ten highest scoring group would get a reward issued by the academy."
"Thank you, Professor Guile. Much appreciated." Xiao nodded, smiling as he returned to his group.
Guile's smile twitched. He shifted his stare to the students — who were filled with ambition and impatience. His lips curled into a devilish smirk. He announced. "Alright! Line up! It's finally time to start the test! Group Arcuied, come over here!"
Arcuied shifted his gaze to his teammates, nodding — Thomas, Elise and Sophia nodded back. Arcuied stepped forward, approaching the portal in the room. Behind him, his teammates followed.
From the corner, Eugene narrowed his eyes, staring at Arcuied's group. So she's a teammate of Arcuied. How troublesome.
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