This clash between Michael and Brian wasn't overlooked.
Their confrontation had grown too fierce, too loud, too destructive- impossible to ignore when the teachers watched from above with a bird's-eye view of the island.
Nine out of ten supervising instructors reached the sa conclusion: for the stability of the exam, Michael needed to be removed.
Only one thought differently-the very teacher from the academy Michael had chosen to join.
To him, this was not a threat but an opportunity.
With his undead to anchor his defense and his sheer combat ability to push outward, Michael could turn this exam into his stage-fortifying his keep while sweeping across the island, crushing opponents and claiming points in a relentless rampage. At his current level, there were few, if any, who could stand against him.
As for the possibility of Michael clashing with other students bound for the sa academy? The teacher hardly cared. At a First-Rank Academy, quality outweighed quantity.
One extraordinary student was worth far more than a hundred
ordinary ones. It was precisely this ruthless standard that kept their academy at the top; unlike lesser institutions, they did not gamble on numbers.
What puzzled him, however, was the source of Michael's strength. For a necromancer, his combat power defied logic. He didn't seem to have crippled himself by abandoning his class's foundation. Yet nothing about this level of power should have been possible.
The teacher's thoughts drifted to the only explanations that fit.
Either Michael possessed a hidden class he didn't reveal...
Or he carried a body-strengthening talent of rare and terrifying caliber.
Either possibility placed Michael above most candidates. Either was enough to mark him as soone worth more than the rest combined.
What happens when examiners with such authority form thoughts like these?
Perhaps it seed like nothing. But under the will that governed the Land of Origin-their intentions carried weight. Enough to shape the trial itself.
At first, the quest given to Awakeners had been simple: defend their castles.
After all, surviving to the end was considered the true benchmark to passing. Even if one destroyed another's keep, it was holding their own afterward that marked a true pass. The system reflected that balance.
But when the teachers' will shifted, so too did the exam.
A ripple passed across the island. More than a thousand participants froze as their panels flickered, the text reshaping itself before their
eyes.
[Destroy Castle 37]
[Objective: Eliminate Castle 37 within one hour.]
[Reward: 60,000,000 experience points, 5 level-ups, and 40 attribute points to all stats.]
When the Awakeners saw their panels shift, they were stunned beyond asure.
They didn't even know of Castle 37, and now they were ordered to destroy it? But the real shock wasn't the objective-it was the reward.
Sixty million experience points. Five level-ups. Forty free attribute points across the board.
The island seed to hold its breath. Awakeners were greedy by nature, yes, but greed didn't make them fools. For a prize like this, the danger had to be equally staggering. The panel might as well have been screaming: beware.
What they didn't know was that this was already the system's restraint. The quest hadn't nad Michael directly. It hadn't told them to eliminate him. It had only marked his castle.
If it had been otherwise-if the target had been Michael himself-the reward would have been enough to tempt even Rank 3 Awakeners.
But the system knew what most of them didn't. It knew Michael's strength. And so the reward was balanced against him.
Commotion spread like wildfire among the students. So stared at their panels in silence, unwilling to even try. Others exchanged hungry, fever-bright looks, already planning how to converge on Castle 37.
It was then that so realized sothing crucial.
This mission wasn't limited to a single participant. Any number of Awakeners could accept it, and as long as Castle 37 fell within the hour, everyone who had accepted would receive the reward- whether they had fought tooth and nail or rely shown up at the right ti.
The realization spread like lightning. For a heartbeat, the island seed to fall into silence, a strange, heavy peace reigning where chaos had once buzzed.
Monts later, under the eyes of the ten teachers-who noticed the odd shift but could not yet discern its cause-the strangest sight unfolded. Large groups of students began to move in the sa direction. Not toward scattered keeps, not hunting each other, but converging in eerie unity.
Their destination was clear.
Castle 37.
Apparently, the system had even provided a map for convenience.
Awakeners were greedy. The panel had promised them what amounted to months-perhaps even years-of advancent in one stroke. Five levels, dozens of attributes, and more experience than
most could dream of earning in so short a ti.
That didn't an they were reckless, though. To avoid leaving
themselves vulnerable, many left defenders behind to guard their castles. But the bulk of their forces? They surged toward Michael's
keep like a tide.
As for Michael, he was back inside his castle.
A deep frown etched across his face as he reread the two panels hovering before him for what felt like the hundredth ti.
The first read:
[Quest: Defend Your Castle]
[Objective: Defend your castle for 1 hour]
[Reward: 30 to all attributes, 2 level-ups, 40 free attribute points]
The second:
[Quest: Defiance]
[Objective: Eliminate at least 30% of the castles on the island within 1
hour]
[Reward: 50 to all attributes, 4 level-ups, 50 free attribute points]
There were no experience points listed. Strangely, that absence ca as a small relief to Michael-though it didn't improve his mood. Two questions gnawed at him. One: why did he have to defend his keep? Who or what was attacking it? And two: did he have to end the trial with his own hands?
Malice. That was what it felt like, as though the world itself conspired
against him.
But Michael was an Awakener. And Awakeners were greedy for
strength. He was no exception.
Especially when it seed both quests could be accepted
simultaneously.
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