In a paved path leading to a new area, a snowy white haired student with shining golden eyes marched steadily. Behind the student, three other students followed.
"It's already the second day..." Arcuied muttered under his breath, staring at the deep end of the paved path. A blinding light shone through the exit, making him squint his eyes.
Behind him, Sophia tilted her head as she asked:
"Did you say something, leader?"
"No. It's nothing. I was just thinking about the massive difference of time between earth and this dimension." Arcuied replied, his head shaking. Unlike last time, he no longer bothered to correct her on the leader part — it still felt odd to hear, but from getting called like that for hours ... for better or for worse, he had gotten used to hearing it.
"Time...?" Sophia frowned. She shifted her eyes to her smartwatch, realization dawning on her as she proclaimed loudly. "Ah... It really doesn't feel like a day has passed at all."
Arcuied nodded in agreement. He shifted his eyes, staring at the smartwatch attached on his hand. The time on earth was displayed on the screen of the smartwatch.
[7:00 AM]
It was already the dawn of a morning on earth...while in here, only a few measly hours have passed. It was an astronomical difference. He felt like he was living in a slowed down reality.
'It seemed like in any demon dimension, most of the laws in the world were overturned and corrupted to a degree.'
Arcuied mused. He stared at the smartwatch, pressing a distinct app. The app opened, displaying a set of options. He pressed one of the options — showcasing his team's total points and achievements.
[Silent Shadow: 1395+ pts]
[Wicked Green Terrain: 250+ pts]
[Dark Garden of Beast: 360+ pts]
[Narrow Death: 50+ pts]
The first day(or first few hours) of the exam was more or less eventful. In the process of navigating the maze and exploring new areas, they killed plenty of demons and disarmed a lot of traps in succession, thereby accumulating a large amount of points.
In fact, at the end of the first day, they were able to get 2,055 points in total. It sounded high... Or not. Arcuied chuckled. He didn't exactly know what classified as high or low points. They never met another group again after entering the maze, having no comparison to base on.
But he figured it was a good score in all things considered. In their navigation through the maze, they barely struggled in any area as they swooped the demons with sheer force. He didn't know how many teams in the exam were capable of that feat other than them.
"It seems we're almost at the end,"
A voice resounded behind him, soft and feminine.
Arcuied suddenly turned to look at the back, his eyes staring at the iconic crimson red haired female student standing beside Thomas—Elise Ember.
"I wonder what kind of area we're going to enter next?" Elise asked thoughtlessly.
"Maybe the same as usual?" Arcuied answered, unsure.
"Uh... that would be boring.." Elise pursed her lips, her head shaking. "Oh well, the exam only last a week anyway."
Arcuied raised his brows. Elise Ember... among his teammates, he was curious of her the most. He had never heard of the Ember Family until now.
They had asked her a question about her mysterious origin after the Silent Shadow parade, and the answer she gave quickly cleared away their doubts.
It turned out the Ember Family was an old noble house that was recluse from society, focusing entirely on the matters of improving and raising their own members.
Hearing that answer, he was slightly surprised. He didn't expect there were still Miracle Invokers that focused on personal advancement and abilities. Most of the Miracle Invokers he had met in the kingdom were... in simple put, addicted to vanity.
It was humorous in a way that Miracle Invokers were portrayed as defenders of earth and heroes of humanity in the public media... But in truth; they were the opposite. Modern Miracle Invokers relentlessly chase fame and wealth while not caring for those beneath them.
He had nothing against people that wanted to be famous or wealthy — but people with such overflowing desire... tend to self-destruct and harm others.
Arcuied shook his head. In the end, he was just surprised to hear that there were still people sensible enough to realize the threat humanity is facing.
"Leader, stop." Sophia called out, her body stopping. "We're already in the new area... and it seems there are others that arrived before us...."
Arcuied blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He halted his body as he shifted his gaze to his front, staring at the new place they were in.
The walls and floor of the place were filled with smooth quartz tiles... displaying exquisite craftsmanship and elegant artistic beauty. It was an odd sight, especially from the previous dark areas they traversed in.
However...
Arcuied widened his eyes. The most odd and shocking sight was the few students inside the room. He glanced at the people, noticing that they were wearing the same uniform from the academy.
"Oh? You're already here, Arcuied?" A smug voice resounded from the room. A blonde-haired student stepped forward and continued. "It seems I won this time."
pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ "Eugene..?" Arcuied answered, surprised. From a distance, he spotted the blonde-haired student walking towards him. "What do you mean, win? No, nevermind that. Why are you here?"
"Isn't the situation obvious enough?" Eugene asked in return, his eyes darting around the room, glancing at the other students in the room. "I asked some of the people here... It turned out that all teams were redirected at this place."
'All teams..? Then it's intentional...'
"That means..." Arcuied realized almost instantly, his eyes darting all over the room — trying to find something noteworthy. In the sides and corner of the place, multiple paths lay. "All the teams will eventually gather here..? For what? The second phase of the exam?"
The last was more or less a guess from him. Coincidentally, it was the second day of the exam—it wouldn't be odd if the second phase of the exam started... That is, if there was a second phase of the exam. But he figured there should be one... after all, the navigation was a bit boring and too easy.
"Haha, it seems we arrived at the same conclusion." Eugene replied, his hand behind his back. "Truthfully, I don't know either. All of my thoughts are just guesses. It doesn't amount much... besides that, how many points did your team accumulate until now?"
"2,055 points. How about you?" Arcuied answered instantly, his brows raising in curiosity. Eugene flinched. "Ah... don't tell me..."
"Alright, you win..." Eugene sighed, his hand raising in mock surrender. "My team only got 1,988 points in total. How come you arrived so late, though?"
"I'm not that late." Arcuied shook his head, his eyes glancing at the other students in the room. "Look, there are only a few teams in the room."
"That's already late." Eugene smiled. "How long a team arrives at this place translates how long they struggled in the maze area."
"Are you the first one to arrive, then?" Arcuied asked.
"...In contrary, no." Eugene frowned, his eyes shifting to another team in the room. "The first one to arrive is the elite member from the Murasaki Family... Team Kojiro."
"What?" Arcuied widened his eyes, surprised. He stared at the team from a distance. A thin, frail student nonchalantly leaned on the wall. He continued, surprise in his tone. "Murasaki Family...? It seems Xiao is also part of the team."
Beside the thin, frail student — a green moss haired male student stood beside. Xiao seemed to notice the Arcuied's stare, suddenly waving his hands from a distance.
"What? You don't even know of the Murasaki Family?" Eugene raised his brows, surprised. "Really, what did you even do before coming to the academy...?"
"Is it that odd?" Arcuied frowned. Well, he didn't really bother learning about the top powerhouses and powerful people in the kingdom.
"Very odd...but nevermind that," Eugene sighed. He stared at the crimson red haired female student behind Arcuied, his lips curling into a smirk. "It seems you got a reliable teammate with you."
Hearing the praise, Elise averted her eyes, embarrassed.
"...You and Elise know each other?" Arcuied asked, his brows raising in curiosity.
"Did you just forget, leader?" Sophia suddenly intervened, sighing. "The Ember Family is a Dragonslayer family... and the Pendragon Family is also a Dragonslayer family."
"Ah, Sophia Skye, correct?" Eugene called out, his hand reaching out. "The second daughter of Neo Skye and sister of Maria Skye, right?"
"That's correct." Sophia smiled softly. Her hand reaching out to Eugene's hand. "Nice to meet you, Pendragon heir."
Eugene winced, his hand suddenly stopping.
"Oh, wait...you didn't tell me you were the daughter of Neo Skye, Sophia." Arcuied said, his eyes widening in surprise as he stared at the snow white haired beauty.
"Huh? You didn't catch that?" Sophia asked in disbelief. "I was sure it was pretty obvious already...just from the surname."
"Sorry, I forgot about that." Arcuied replied, his hand scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Forget about him. He probably lived as a caveman before he joined the academy," Eugene commented, chuckling. "Its already a surprise that he knows your father, Neo Skye."
"Hey, how could I not..?" Arcuied chuckled. "I worked with her father a few times before."
At that moment, a heavy silence descended. Sophia opened her mouth in disbelief. Eugene raised his brows, his smirk widening.
"You...uh...worked with father before?" Sophia asked incredulously.
"Yeah?" Arcuied shrugged, confused by the surprised reactions.
"Hahahahaha!" Eugene suddenly laughed loudly, attracting all attention to him. He shook his head, continuing. "I would like to hear more of that...but unfortunately... It seems the others are already entering."
At that moment, several teams came out of the multiple entrance in the room. All the students in the room stared at the new teams warily.
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