Today was a special day. Today, there would be no lessons since all the first year students, no matter who they were, would have to take part in a test given by the headmaster of the Academy himself.
And anyone who failed this test…would be expelled.
It was indeed absurd, but this was his Academy, thus, he had every right to do so.
To be honest, the headmaster of the Academy was only second in power and authority to the Royal Family.
Currently, all the students were gathered in front of a giant magical gate, exactly like the one Ash passed through to get here but much bigger.
Preparing to take the test that would decide their fate and future in this Academy.
Ash looked around and noticed that everyone was carrying some amazing Relics and wearing sturdy armor. To be honest, they all looked really powerful carrying those things.
Since most of the students here belonged to powerful and wealthy Families, it was only natural that they would prepare the best weapons for this important day.
However, among those students, there were also a few ones who were only wearing simple armor and carrying useless weapons that couldn't be compared to the others.
That was obvious since most of them were poor students who were admitted to the Academy thanks to scholarships.
And among them was Lucian. He was just carrying a normal sword, nothing special.
But only Ash knew that for Lucian, any weapon could become extremely useful and wonderful when used by him.
Suddenly, their eyes met, making the atmosphere much more awkward and strange.
Ash tried to force a friendly smile, but Lucian completely ignored him, clicking his tongue and turning away.
Yes, after the last battle, Ash and Lucian's relationship had become much worse.
He had thought that if he had won that battle, Lucian would have to look at him with different eyes, admitting that Ash was stronger than him. But no.
On the contrary, Lucian only felt more uncomfortable when he realized that he had lost just because Ash had a Relic with extremely terrifying destructive power.
And for someone whose goal was to avenge the Family, losing to someone who was useless like the Third Prince was something that was hard to accept.
"Sigh... Why did things turn out like this? The distance between me and him has become even greater than before..."
***
After all the students had gathered, the lecturer Albedo suddenly appeared in the air, causing everyone to pay attention.
He didn't say much, and he didn't need to because Albedo's presence alone was enough to attract the gazes of all the students gathered here.
"Listen up students, as the Academy announced earlier, today, you guys will be taking a test."
It was a completely lifeless voice, frankly speaking, boring, but somehow, it was still loud enough for all the students to hear.
"And if you have forgotten, anyone who fails this test will be expelled."
The gloomy and boring atmosphere suddenly flared up.
"Then shall I explain the rules of this test to you now?"
"First, when you pass through this gate, you will be transported to an unfamiliar area filled with tons of Abyssal Creatures. And the goal of this test is very simple - each person just needs to kill one Abyssal Creature."
"If anyone wants to get a higher score, you can kill more Abyssal Creatures, or you can defeat the strongest one in that place - an Unholy Demon."
"Unholy Demon?"
"That's fucking impossible!"
"No way we could kill that thing!"
"We should only fight weak Abyssal Creatures. That's more than enough."
The students' reaction was understandable, after all, Abyssal Creatures weren't creatures that could be defeated easily.
For most of the students here, defeating a Supreme Beast was already quite a challenge, so who would be stupid enough to fight an Unholy Demon?
Ash's speechless gaze stopped on Lucian's body.
'Yeah…he's definitely going to kill that Abyssal Creature…'
Ignoring the students' murmurs and gossip, Albedo continued without bothering to quiet them down:
"If you feel like you've killed enough Abyssal Creatures, you can fire your flares into the sky and the instructors will come to take you back to the Academy."
Ash checked the black flare at his waist, making sure it was still working before putting it away.
"And most importantly, since our Academy is a place to train geniuses to serve the Empire, it's only natural that the pain you'll experience in there will be real."
A shiver suddenly ran down his spine.
Ash didn't know how to explain the current situation, but he was feeling quite nervous.
It was as if something bad was about to happen.
But even if he was worried and anxious, what could Ash do?
The giant gate ahead had already been opened, and all the students were walking through it one by one.
***
After walking through the gate, the first color that appeared before Ash's eyes was only white. Yes, just white, nothing else.
Looking around, he realized that he was standing in an area that was completely covered in snow. And worse, there was so much snow that all the trees were covered in it.
Aside from the shapes of the trees, Ash could no longer see their familiar green color.
But he didn't really care about that because this couldn't harm him.
"Let's start moving…"
Ash was alone, and all the other students were the same as him. Each student would be randomly teleported to an unfamiliar place, and they were forced to struggle on their own during this first period of time.
If he was lucky, Ash would be teleported to a location close to the other students.
And If he was unlucky, he would have to travel a long way to meet the others.
But honestly speaking, Ash felt that he would be more fortunate if he didn't run into anyone, especially those who often intentionally caused trouble for him.
However, suddenly, an extremely clear sound of stepping on snow rang out from behind him.
Causing Ash to raise his guard.
With the speed of light, he immediately turned around.
And when he saw that person, Ash couldn't help but smile happily.
Of course Ash would be happy, after all, the person who had just appeared was Canis - Dragon Slayer.
There, a young man with white hair tied in a ponytail, a friendly and kind face, was walking towards him with a lucky smile on his lips.
He was definitely feeling lucky to have met another student.
However, in the current situation, Ash was the one who felt the luckiest. Who would have thought that he would meet a 5-star character right here, right now?