Time passed like a blur and before Wilhelm could realise, it was time for the Grade Examinations.
All the students were lined up in one of the on spot constructed spaces with Hot Pot in his white attire gazing at them.
[Now, listen well. In the next few seconds every single one of you will be sent to the same End Space. The instructions will be given to you by Siegfried. For your own survival, don't disobey them]
Listening to Hot Pot's words and viewing them in Siegfried as well, Wilhelm clenched his fists in determination.
"Imagine training for 'three' straight years and only being able to advance a single minor stage." Mortis's mocking tone rang out within Wilhelm's mind.
Hearing the taunt, Wilhelm didn't get angry, why would he? After all it was himself who was doing the mocking.
The last three years had been without doubt the fastest three years where in terms of rank he had seen incredibly little improvement with only him ascending to the 3rd Stage of The True Wizard Stage with a utility type spell as the base.
But on the other hand in terms of improvement in combat prowess, without doubt he had improved.
"But still." Wilhelm frowned.
SNAP!
All the students were instantly teleported to the dungeon, leaving Hot Pot alone with Karsus appearing beside him.
"I can see you have improved." Karsus spoke with a grin that was so large it twisted his eyes.
"And you have as well." Hot Pot remarked with his gaze somewhere else.
"You know this scene reminds me of a very similar scene that occurred a while back, doesn't it?" Karsus commented as he looked at the empty space.
"To me it doesn't, remember what I am again?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot."
Karsus then paused and looked at Hot Pot.
"Damn, you really have improved. Amaidine would've been proud if she were here." As these words were spoken, a terrible pressure bore down on the space causing rifts to appear.
He, seeing this, chuckled and waved his hand.
The rifts immediately closed as the space became calm again.
"Not strong enough." Karsus's voice echoed in Hot Pot's ears before he vanished from the spot, leaving Hot Pot alone.
"That fucker." Hot Pot cursed.
Due to the recent events that had occurred within The Council which led to Karsus's trial, the latter had some enmity towards those who were out to prosecute him and this included Hot Pot who was a member of The Lunario Mendes.
"But he's right, I am not strong enough." Hot Pot gazed at the serene space.
"You can come out now."
A hole opened up as another figure took a seat beside him.
It was an entity whose entire body was covered in armor of unknown origin with inscriptions woven into the being.
"So about my offer, do you accept?" The being questioned as it opened its visor to reveal a set of crimson eyes.
"Give me more time."
"The others don't agree." The being replied swiftly.
A reluctant expression appeared on Hot Pot's face.
At last, he nodded.
"Good." The being said and disappeared from the space.
There Hot Pot remained sighing and turning his attention back to the students.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This looks familiar." Wilhelm thought as he inspected the space around him. He was standing in the middle of a desolate road which was surrounded by worn-down houses.
Tumbleweed rolled to and fro around him as the hot wind gently caressed his face.
Looking up he saw a greenish wall surrounding the town in all directions.
As he looked around, information quickly entered Wilhelm's mind, directing him on what to do.
"This." Wilhelm's eyes narrowed as he heard footsteps nearing him.
Without turning back he quickly rolled to the side.
WHOOSH!
A projectile flew past him, embedding itself into the sand.
Looking back, Wilhelm saw another student of The Academy, they were trembling in fear but gritting their teeth, they prepared to launch another attack.
But Wilhelm was not going to let that happen.
"Frost Lance!" A lance that was one-third the height of Wilhelm was conjured as he threw it towards the opponent.
Seeing the approaching weapon, the latter immediately forgoed any notion of attacking and jumped to the side, barely missing it.
Before he could recover, Wilhelm's fist appeared before him.
BAM!
The fist struck the boy, breaking his nose and sending him falling to the ground.
Grabbing the boy by his hair, Wilhelm inspected him closely.
Rummaging within his memory, he found the boy whose name was Wilkes. The boy was completely ordinary, reaching only the 2nd Stage.
And yet this ordinary boy had almost killed him if not for his negligence and making sounds.
"This is to be expected." Wilhelm grabbed the throat of the boy and exerted pressure on it.
CRACK!
Wilhelm let go of Wilkes's hair as his breathing stopped and his head fell back.
"The Academy sure knows how to weed out the weak."
[Mission Objective : Terminate 15 Students
Mission Conditions : 15 Students of The Western Academy are to be terminated.
Access to Siegfried is denied
There are to be no alliances made nor any mercy to be granted.
Failure in Compliance will result in Death
Time Limit : 1 hour
Total Students Terminated : 20 ➡️ 21
May the odds be only with ye]
As the seconds ticked, the number indicating how many students died only rose in response.
"15 eh? That's doable."
Wilhelm wished only to complete the mission and return to his dorm to continue training.
Dusting the sand off, he quietly approached one of the worn down houses.
The house had a door which was torn apart, allowing him to smoothly enter.
Breathing in the damp air, he cautiously inspected the house, kicking some clutter away from the floor, he sat on it and closed his eyes. Waiting for someone to approach him.
Venturing out into the town was nothing short of suicidal
Wilhelm was strong, that was without doubt, however he wasn't that strong yet to be able to endure the attacks of one spell after another. The students weren't dumb, if they saw a tired individual who was occupied by another student. They would without doubt strike while the iron was hot. Even if some didn't in fear of getting exposed. Those that possessed stronger spells would see this as a great opportunity.
When he was fighting Wilkes, he was only able to avoid suffering this fate as they had just been transported to the town and everyone was still regaining their bearings.
Thus hiding inside one of the houses was one of the better options with contact with another being limited to those who themselves were venturing out.
Time trickled by slowly as he waited.
Half an hour later, Wilhelm frowned.
No one had even stepped near the worn-down house for half an hour.
"Could it be that the majority of them have died?"
It was a probable assumption that made Wilhelm worry.
If that was indeed the case, then Wilhelm was a goner.
"No, there has to be something else." Wilhelm vehemently rejected the idea and stood up.
Cautiously Wilhelm was about to leave the house when he noticed a peculiar feature.
"Hmm?"