During her days as a dark mage, Anella had wielded supernatural strength while still retaining a human form.
It was a unique talent—a form of physical enhancent without any visible mutations.
Even now, after fully transforming back into a human, remnants of that ability remained.
Despite barely exercising, her stamina remained far beyond that of an ordinary person.
'Stay sharp...'
Anella moved swiftly through the trees, leaping silently from branch to branch.
She had layered herself with spells... a sound-suppressing enchantnt to mask her movents, a weight-reducing charm to lighten her steps, and an elasticity spell to heighten her agility.
With these enhancents, stealthy movent was no problem.
'The target is just ahead.'
The cliff marked on Young Lady Mirinae's map was now within sight.
Not a single monster had noticed her presence.
In fact, not a single monster seed to be paying attention to the treetops.
It was highly likely that Stella Academy had designed the exam difficulty this way, deliberately limiting the monsters' awareness to ensure balance.
Of course, the monsters being risk level 3 already made this entrance exam exceptionally challenging for seventeen-year-old students.
— Grrrrr...
"Hup!"
Anella froze as a beast-like creature, resembling a bear fused with a dog, passed nearby.
She imdiately hid herself within a thicket of branches.
'Is it gone...?'
The monster failed to detect her.
'At this rate, I'll reach the cliff in no ti!'
However, Anella couldn't help but feel a slight worry about Mirinae.
Would she truly be able to lure the summoner here without issue?
Mirinae hadn't revealed the specifics of her plan, leaving Anella uneasy with unanswered questions.
'No, I trust her. She'll make it work.'
She checked the map again, confirming she was nearing the edge of the cliff.
With sheer rock walls blocking the east, west, and south, the only access point was from the north.
If they successfully lured the summoner here, defeating it would be easy.
'... But was all of this really necessary?'
Young Lady Mirinae's holand was at war.
Having devoted her life to becoming a warrior for her nation, Mirinae undoubtedly possessed far more combat knowledge than Anella, whose understanding ca only from books.
For Anella, the art of strategy felt alien.
In her forr life as a dark mage, creating strategic plans had often been viewed as dishonorable—a ntality deeply ingrained in her.
'Mirinae must have a plan so brilliant that I can't even fathom it.'
Even now, as she struggled to adapt to her new identity, Anella couldn't shake the feeling that she still wasn't entirely human.
She shook off the thought and focused.
Rustle!
Suddenly, the sound of movent ca from the bushes below.
It didn't sound like a small animal.
Anella imdiately prepared to hide, but—
Flap! Flap!
— Caw! Cawwww!
A massive, crow-like creature with shimring purple wings swooped down from the sky.
"Damn it...!"
The crow was also a monster.
Anella quickly fired a bolt of lightning in an attempt to shoot it down, but—
The crow let out an ear-splitting cry which echoed throughout the area.
Its screeches imdiately drew the attention of all the surrounding monsters.
"This is bad..."
Anella's face turned pale.
With the cliff already at her back, there was no way to retreat.
— ROARRR!
— SCREEEECH!
As if provoked by the crow's cries, the monsters erupted in a frenzy and began charging toward her.
Anella's mind went blank for a mont—but she quickly snapped out of it.
'I have to run!'
She didn't need to win. She just needed to survive.
Without looking back, Anella burst through the bushes and sprinted toward the cliff's edge.
— ROARRR!!
The monsters pursuing her were quadrupeds, agile and terrifyingly fast.
An ordinary mage would have already been caught, but Anella was different.
Clasping her hands together, she summoned a blue magic circle that radiated energy.
Symbols appeared on her body and feet.
Channeling magic into her legs, Anella launched herself forward at full speed.
'Reduce air resistance... lighten my body... increase elasticity in my soles... and eliminate friction.'
While knight-class mages relied on power jumps for mobility, Anella didn't have access to such advanced techniques.
Instead, she drew upon her vast magical expertise, weaving layers of spells into a singular enhancent.
The result—
Anella moved with such breathtaking speed that it seed impossible for a human.
Wind roared past her ears as she raced up the slope.
But just then, her instincts scread in warning.
'More monsters?!'
It didn't add up.
A remote cliffside like this should have very few monsters.
'Where did they co from?'
The situation felt wrong.
Without a summoner's direct control, monsters shouldn't be able to move so strategically.
Anella couldn't have been detected by the summoner.
Besides, this was supposed to be a controlled exam area ant to test students' abilities... not descend into chaos.
'What's going on...?'
Sensing sothing deeply wrong, Anella shut her eyes and focused.
What passed as 10 seconds in the real world felt like only 0.1 seconds in her ntal space.
She pushed her thoughts to their limit, searching for the best solution.
[Azaran's Eye]
Flash!
Anella's eyes snapped open. They now glowed with a brilliant green light.
Rather than a simple mana detection spell, she used a more scientific form of magic that emitted ultrasonic waves to locate targets... an unusual approach in the world of magic.
Instantly, Anella scanned a 1-kiloter radius, cloaking herself in a mana veil to stay hidden.
And then—she saw it.
Soone was watching her.
Her heart sank.
"...Young Lady Mirinae."
Though Mirinae stood an entire kiloter away, the mont Anella's gaze pierced through the distance, a chill raced down Mirinae's spine.
'No way... Did she sense from here?'
There was no detection magic in existence capable of scanning this far—at least not at a Class 3 level.
Detection spells relied heavily on the caster's skill, and Mirinae had assud Anella's abilities were average at best.
Mirinae's face twisted into a grimace as she opened her mouth.
"So... you found ."
Under normal circumstances, hearing words spoken from a kiloter away would be unthinkable.
But Anella was far from ordinary.
She was able to read Mirinae's lips and even decode subtle sound waves, thanks to the magic she had just activated.
Even while simultaneously maintaining multiple wide-range spells, Anella's ntal focus didn't falter for a second.
"Why are you doing this?"
Her voice, carried effortlessly through the lingering traces of mana, reached Mirinae as if spoken directly into her ear.
Yet, Mirinae's unease only deepened.
'The tracking scent... isn't my magic.'
The enigmatic force that had granted her this ability was the true source of the spell, and now, Mirinae couldn't shake the growing discomfort over the power she had borrowed.
For soone like her, seeing or speaking across such a vast distance should have been impossible.
A surge of frustration welled up inside her, but she quickly suppressed it and forced a smile as if nothing was wrong.
"It's to test your abilities."
"My... abilities?"
"You're not even using your powers properly. You're wasting the gift that Baek Yu-Seol gave you. If I had that kind of talent..."
Mirinae caught herself.
She had said too much.
Cutting off the conversation abruptly, she continued in a firm tone.
"So show . Show everything you've got—your true power."
Mirinae already knew the truth.
Anella was a hybrid—a human who had inherited the powers of a dark mage.
Wasn't that, in its own way, a kind of evolution?
If humans could preserve the physical prowess of dark mages without losing their humanity, it could mark the next step in human evolution.
And it was Baek Yu-Seol who had discovered this possibility and used Anella as his test subject.
'It has to be true. That woman said so.'
That woman—the one dressed entirely in yellow—had told her so.
And her words had never once been wrong.
Even as a minor, Mirinae had achieved military success during warti.
All thanks to the strategies and tactics she had learned from that woman.
It was because of her teachings that Mirinae had earned the title of Lady Mirinae in the first place.
"What are you thinking...?"
Anella's voice trembled as she tried to confront Mirinae, struggling to understand her motives.
"Oh? Is this really the ti for small talk?"
But before Anella could reply, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
Seven monsters had already closed in on her position.
Rustle...
"Ah...!"
And now—there was nowhere left to run.
With her back to the cliff, Anella turned to face the advancing monsters, her expression grim.
Each one was stronger than a risk level 3 monster, making it impossible for her to fight them all.
'Am I... supposed to jump off this cliff?'
Anella had chosen to enroll in Stella Academy to protect herself from the dark mages.
Having fled their sinister society to live as a human, she had beco a marked target for execution.
If she were left alone in society, it would an certain death.
Until now, Jeliel's assistance had kept her safe.
But depending on Jeliel - and by extension, Baek Yu-Seol - only made her feel like a burden.
If she wanted to stand on her own, she had to secure her place at Stella Academy.
'I can't fail here... not now.'
Gritting her teeth, Anella pressed her fingers together in the shape of a triangle.
"Sharp winds, heed my call."
A guillotine-like blade of wind descended from the sky and sliced the cliff cleanly in half.
Swish!
It was Lady Mirinae who looked the most shocked by Anella's action.
"What are you doing—?!"
By splitting the cliff vertically, Anella had shattered the ground beneath her feet, sending it plunging into the depths below.
It looked like she was about to fall to her death, but—
In less than a second, Anella cast another spell.
"Rise."
Wooooong!
The fractured rock that had broken away from the cliff froze in midair, defying gravity as it hovered.
Anella had transford the falling debris into a floating island, buying herself a brief reprieve from the advancing monsters.
Even though she had temporarily distanced herself, the situation was still dire.
'There's nowhere to escape behind .'
The floating rock was massive, but Anella couldn't move it.
She hadn't yet learned flight magic, and even if she took to the skies, the flying monster circling above would pose a serious threat.
— Grrrr...!
— Kraaaah!
The ground-bound monsters howled furiously, unable to reach her elevated position.
— Cawww!
The crow-like monster, however, was an exception.
Sharpening its talons like blades, it dove straight toward Anella.
Anella quickly summoned a shield, deflecting the attack, and raised her index finger.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning struck from the sky.
Though the spell had been cast hastily, weakening its power, its accuracy was flawless.
Seizing the mont, Anella unleashed magical chains that lashed out, binding the stunned crow's wings and tangling it midair.
The monster spiraled out of control and plumted into the gorge below.
Having easily eliminated a risk level 3 monster, Anella collapsed to her knees, drenched in cold sweat.
'As I thought... casting multiple Class 3 spells back-to-back is too much...'
Even the genius mage Hae Seon-Woo wouldn't have been able to pull that off.
Typically, a Class 3 mage could simultaneously cast two spells of the sa level at most.
But Anella had broken that limit, casting four or more spells at once.
'I have to hold on.'
Thanks to her exceptional ntal strength, Anella managed to push through the strain.
"... Huh?"
Suddenly—
She felt the weight of dozens of eyes watching her.
Her instincts flared, and she quickly looked up toward the sky.
But there was nothing there.
'Was it... just my imagination?'
***
anwhile...
Baek Yu-Seol sat calmly, organizing his thoughts.
"Her instincts really are sharp..."
The presence that Anella had sensed earlier was likely the watchful gazes of the many mages observing the exam alongside Baek Yu-Seol.
Once news spread about the gathering monsters, many mages had turned their attention to Anella.
Her astonishing skills had eclipsed even Hae Seon-Woo's, leaving the onlookers speechless.
"Where did another genius like that co from?"
"Unbelievable. Her records show she's just a commoner with no known background."
"Another commoner genius? That's the second one in two years."
"Haha, isn't this a good sign? Maybe the corrupt roots of our noble-dominated magical society are finally being torn out."
"That's not the issue here!"
More and more eyes were being drawn to Anella.
Her abilities were so impressive that it was impossible to ignore.
'This is... unexpected.'
Even Baek Yu-Seol hadn't anticipated Anella's potential, leaving him genuinely impressed.
But admiration aside, the reality remained—
Anella was in serious danger.
Casting multiple Class 3 spells was impressive, yet it wasn't enough to guarantee survival against the odds she faced.
Baek Yu-Seol felt helpless.
If only he could advise her—but as a guardian, he was forbidden from interfering.
He chewed his thumb anxiously.
'There's no way out.'
No matter how he analyzed the situation, Class 3 magic wasn't going to cut it.
Just then—
"Oh?"
"Wait... Is that...?"
Gasps of awe erupted around the room.
"What's happening?"
Baek Yu-Seol's eyes widened as he watched the screen.
Anella stood atop her floating rock and had clasped her hands together and begun to chant a spell.
"Wait, is this even possible?"
Casting multiple spells simultaneously—two at most—was only feasible for simple, chant-free magic.
But to use complex spells that required long preparations, a mage would typically have to cancel any ongoing levitation magic.
... That is, for an ordinary Class 3 mage.
"Unbelievable."
"She reminds of the heir to the Morph family from last year."
Yet Anella defied expectations, maintaining her levitation magic while casting not two, but three complex spells at once.
As Anella raised her arms and chanted, a blue magic circle ford in the air.
Suddenly, torrents of water poured down from the sky, followed by a barrage of lightning bolts that rained down on the monsters.
And before the stunned monsters could recover, Anella froze the water, trapping them in solid ice.
Without pausing, she cast another spell.
Whoosh!
A colossal fireball ignited above her, burning as brightly as a miniature sun.
The paralyzed monsters were unable to move due to the ice and electric shocks and could only stare helplessly as the fireball descended.
Boom!!!
The fireball struck the ground, erupting in a massive explosion and obliterating the monsters in an instant
As the battle ended, the tension finally broke, and Anella released her levitation spell.
She plumted toward the ground—but even then, she executed a perfect roll mid-fall and landed gracefully.
"... Wait, is she actually a magic knight disguised as a student?"
One mage's serious remark drew nods of agreent from several others.
Anella's performance was so beyond expectations that it seed impossible to believe she was just a student.
"Her admission is guaranteed."
As the danger subsided, Baek Yu-Seol finally allowed himself to relax.
The summoner?
Even without defeating it, Anella had already proven her overwhelming abilities.
'I shouldn't have been worrying about Sister Scarlet.'
It had only been minutes ago that he had clicked his tongue at Scarlet for failing to hold back her power.
But after watching Anella, even Scarlet's performance seed restrained by comparison.
'It doesn't matter if she stands out—as long as she passes.'
Now, the only question left was—
Why did Lady Mirinae set this up?
Baek Yu-Seol had his suspicions.
During the mont Young Lady Mirinae lured the monsters, his Sentient Spec had detected sothing unusual.
'Pale Yellow Autumn Moon...'
Finally, the real threat had revealed itself.
Baek Yu-Seol rose from his seat and his expression turned serious.
There was no need for him to watch the exam any longer.
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