The coming days passed in a blur of sweat, mana, and exhaustion.
Training. More training. And when they thought they’d had enough—more training.
Representatives from the various magic towers took turns visiting the academy, each bringing their own flair and expertise.
First ca the Tower of Water Magic. Lady Miren Harper—Amara’s aunt—walked through the halls like a living glacier. No expression. No warmth. Just a silent presence that made everyone straighten their backs when she passed. She didn’t say much, but you could feel her eyes on you during every drill.
Especially mine.
Next was the Tower of Wind. They sent so eccentric elf who wore flowing robes and floated everywhere instead of walking. He applauded after every student cast a spell and handed out praise like candy. Most students liked him. I didn’t. He was too loud, too flashy, and too damn nosy.
Then ca the Tower of Earth. They didn’t even send a mage—they sent a dwarf with a beard longer than Kaela’s sword. Master Granek. A man of few words and heavy fists. He wasn’t here to observe. He was here to break bones and see who got back up.
Even the Holy Order of Light got involved. Eveline had an entire knight escort shadowing her now, with the high clerics occasionally observing the training from the distance. Althea was constantly on edge.
By the third day, the training drills doubled. Sleep dropped. Injuries rose.
~~~
Everyone was busy training.
Even the so-called elites weren’t exempt.
Alex—the sword-wielding, cocky bastard—had been personally taken under the wing of Luke Bane, the academy’s most feared instructor and a Grand Master Martial Artist.
Every day, Alex would limp into class, bruised and battered, barely able to sit without wincing.
Arthur looked over once during a lecture and muttered, "You training or getting mugged daily?"
Alex grunted, one eye swollen shut. "Both."
"Damn," Arthur muttered one morning as he watched Alex sink into his seat, wincing with every movent. "Bane’s really treating you like an iron ingot, huh?"
Alex chuckled, or tried to. It ca out more like a wheeze. "Apparently, I have potential. Lucky ."
Althea, the saintess’s knight, wasn’t doing any better.
Assigned under a paladin from the Holy Order, her training was almost brutal. From sunrise drills to moonlit chants, her body was pushed to its absolute limit. If anyone ever tried to flirt with her before, they sure as hell weren’t going to now—unless blood, dirt, and chainmail were your thing.
On the other hand, Akira and Nadia—both deadly and cold in their own right—used their spare ti engaging in spars that sotis forced instructors to step in before they froze or corrupted the arena completely.
Ice and death mana clashed like polar opposites. Beautiful. Dangerous. Deadly.
Alicia, on the other hand, had taken the more graceful path.
Training under Professor Elena, the academy’s expert in spirit magic, she spent her days bonding with elental spirits and learning higher-tier incantations. Her aura was slowly becoming serene, almost ethereal—except when Arthur teased her, which still got him kicked in the shin.
And amidst it all was Arthur.
While others trained in groups or pairs, Arthur trained alone. Because he had sothing no one else had—a system space with ti dilation, a 10:1 ratio.
Ten hours of training in there was just one hour in the real world.
Most nights, he was drenched in sweat, veins burning with mana exhaustion, and still, he continued. Pushing his limits. Mastering swordplay, refining his fire magic, improving his shadow manipulation.
He wasn’t just preparing for the test.
He was preparing for the worst.
Arthur wasn’t afraid of his peers.
He was afraid of the things only he knows—the monsters, the sches, the betrayals that were written into the very core of this ga-like world.
He knew what was coming.
And if he had to burn himself out every night to be ready... so be it.
~~~~
The day before Test.
The Academy training grounds were silent that morning.
The tension was thick in the air, like a storm ready to break. Everyone could feel it—the weight of sothing coming. Sothing different.
It was a day before the Second Test.
Inside the main hall, the S-Class students were gathered, all seated and waiting, unsure of what to expect.
Samantha stood at the front, arms crossed, her usual cold expression firm as always.
"Today," she began, "we’re doing sothing different."
She paused, scanning the classroom.
"It’s a battle royale."
That caught the room off guard.
Several students exchanged confused glances. Murmurs rose almost imdiately.
"Battle... what?"
"What does that an?"
However, those from noble or military families remained quiet. They already knew what was coming. So even smirked, having experienced simulations like this before.
Samantha raised a hand.
"Silence."
The murmurs died down quickly.
"I’m aware so of you may be unfamiliar with this format," she said, her voice calm but sharp. "So let explain."
The class listened.
"Battle Royale is a simulation of real battle—only this ti, no safety nets, no wooden swords, and no instructors stepping in to save you. Your consciousness will be sent into a large-scale illusion world. It’s ant to replicate a live battlefield."
A few faces grew serious.
Samantha continued.
"You won’t be using training weapons or dulled spells. You’ll have access to your actual skills, magic, and equipnt. The goal is simple—survive. Kill monsters, earn points. Eliminate other cadets, and their points transfer to you. The more points you have, the higher your final score."
So of the more aggressive students perked up at that.
"Once you die in the illusion," she added, "you’ll be forcefully ejected, and your consciousness will return to your body. There’s no physical harm... but don’t think that makes it harmless."
She gave a pointed look across the room.
"Dying—even in an illusion—is still a ntal shock. You will feel pain. You will feel fear. So of you may even freeze up."
A hand went up in the third row. A boy with dark hair and a cautious tone spoke, "But Instructor, isn’t it risky? Large-scale magic involving our consciousness... it could damage our minds, right?"
Samantha nodded approvingly.
"A fair concern. If this was being done by amateurs, yes—it would be dangerous. But the mages performing this simulation are elite. Archmages from all five major towers are personally overseeing the process. You’re in capable hands."
That seed to calm the mood a bit.
Then another hand rose. A girl this ti.
"What exactly are we supposed to do inside? What’s the objective?"
"Survival," Samantha said. "The simulation is a wide-open, monster-infested environnt. Your first priority is to stay alive. You earn points by slaying monsters. Stronger monsters yield more points. But you’ll also be competing against each other. If another student eliminates you—they take your points."
That hit hard.
So students glanced around, suddenly evaluating their peers as potential threats.
"Make allies if you want," Samantha shrugged. "But don’t expect them to last."
She clapped her hands once.
"No more questions. We don’t have the whole day."
She turned on her heel.
"Everyone, get moving. We’re heading to the East Wing. The archmages are already waiting. Try not to embarrass yourselves."
The students stood, a mix of anticipation, dread, and excitent swirling between them.
Arthur adjusted his uniform and followed after the rest, his expression calm but focused.
The students from Class S followed Samantha down the stone corridors of the Academy, eventually arriving at the—a wide, enclosed chamber used exclusively for large-scale ntal magic.
The mont the doors opened, they were t with a quiet, eerie atmosphere.
Rows of white beds stretched out across the room, lined neatly like soldiers. Faint runes glowed under each one. Around the edges of the chamber stood dozens of mages—n and won in ornate robes, their expressions solemn, focused.
A few students from Class A and B were already present, seated or lying down on beds near the far end. They turned to glance at the incoming Class S group. So gave short nods. Others looked away quickly, pretending not to be intimidated.
Arthur walked in near the center, hands in his pockets. Beside him, Alicia observed the magical setup calmly, while Akira remained expressionless, her arms folded across her chest. Nadia’s eyes flicked to the various archmages with faint curiosity.
One of the mages stepped forward as Class S filled the remaining space.
"Since everyone has arrived, let’s not delay."
He gestured smoothly, and the students were directed to take a bed each.
Arthur settled onto one toward the center of the room. The mattress was cool, softer than expected. He glanced to his left and caught a glimpse of Alicia doing the sa. On his right, Akira was already lying still, arms resting beside her like she was entering a coffin.
The lights in the room dimd, replaced by a gentle blue glow from the walls.
Another mage stepped forward—older than the rest. His beard was long and silver, and his eyes glowed faintly with magic.
"Greetings, students," he said, voice low but resonant. "Relax yourselves. Breathe. Let your minds ease."
A quiet stillness filled the room.
"In a mont, we will begin the ritual. Please do not resist the magic. For your safety and the stability of the illusion, you must allow your consciousness to be guided."
He lifted his hands. The runes on the floor began to pulse.
"You will feel your mind drift. Do not fight it. It is only the beginning."
A soft hum filled the air, vibrating faintly in their chests. Then, one by one, the students’ eyelids began to flutter.
The mage spoke once more.
"Soon... you will open your eyes in a new world."
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