The early morning sun poured through the crystal windows and into the dormitory.
“Ouch, my time in the Phantom Sea Prison…”
Lomio opened his eyes and rotated his wrists. He had been taught a lesson by Tai Lan for one whole night in the Phantom Sea Secret Room. Although he had died over 100 times, his Counter-Strike technique had finally reached the Proficient level.
The core of this skill lay in timing. The moment the opponent’s weapon slashed down, instead of dodging or retreating, one would proactively strike back, triggering a flash strike at the precise moment the blades crossed. If the timing was perfect, it could directly shatter the opponent’s weapon or even sever an entire arm.
“Tsk, the old dog plays for keeps.”
Lomio rubbed his neck, where the phantom pain of being decapitated still lingered. However, the results were significant. He was now able to find opportunities to counter-attack during Tai Lan’s onslaught. Although the success rate was only 30%, it was already a qualitative leap.
He pushed open his door. In the living room, Karenina was holding a teacup and calmly flipping through some documents. Seeing Lomio come out, she looked up.
“It’s performance announcement day.”
“I know.”
Lomio stretched and walked toward the washroom.
“The entire Academy is waiting for the results, especially the achievements of our squad,” Karenina continued. “News came from Annie that over 1,000 people have already gathered at the Academy square.”
“That’s normal.”
Lomio finished washing up and responded casually. The level of chaos in this exam was unprecedented. Black Mage raids, monster ambushes, and alchemy cannons blocking the gates — any one of these events alone would have been major news for the Academy. Yet, the Chief Squad not only survived intact but also harvested over half of the exam grounds along the way. It would be strange if such a record didn’t attract attention.
“Let’s go see the expressions on those people’s faces.”
Lomio changed into his Academy uniform and stepped out. Karenina followed behind him, her eyes flickering slightly. This man was never nervous about the attention he was about to receive. Or rather, he had calculated everything from the start.
—
The Academy central square.
A massive light screen floated in mid-air, densely listing the results of all the squads that participated in the exam. The area was packed with people.
“Look! The results are out!”
“My God, the Black Queen Squad only received a B-rank evaluation?”
“Well, they went down right at the start. It’s impressive they even managed to make up enough points to get a grade at all.”
“The White Queen Squad is also a B-rank. Tsk, tsk. The two Queen squads really took a hit this time.”
Discussions broke out everywhere. On the light screen, the results were listed from bottom to top. Most squads were rated between D and B, with very few reaching A-rank. But when everyone’s eyes reached the very top — the voices stopped.
**[Chief Squad]**
**Overall Evaluation: S**
**Artifacts Obtained: 137**
**Credit Reward: 450**
The entire square fell into an eerie silence. 3 seconds later, the crowd exploded.
“137 artifacts?!”
“This is a damn robbery!”
“All the other squads combined don’t even have that many!”
“A 450 credit reward? Our squad only got 150 credits. The gap is…”
Some were shocked, some were jealous, and some were in disbelief. But most felt fear because they suddenly realized exactly what the Chief Squad had done during the exam.
“Wait, we didn’t even enter the high-level monster zone!”
“Five of our items were stolen by those capital nobles. Did the Chief Squad steal them back?”
“We were robbed by those guys too, seven items in total.”
“So, from a certain perspective, the Chief Squad harvested almost every artifact in the entire exam grounds?”
“More than that! Someone also blocked the entrance to the checkpoints and charged a toll.”
“Right! That alchemy cannon! It was disgusting!”
The more they spoke, the uglier the surrounding faces became. This wasn’t an exam; this was clearly a premeditated harvest. However, it seemed that the people who had blocked the roads and gated the entrances hadn’t won.
At this point, everyone’s gaze converged on the Chief Squad. Especially on ‘Cafnir’! The girls’ gazes looked as if they wanted to devour him alive.
“450 credits per person,” Lomio said, his tone flat. “It’s fine. It’s enough for next time.”
‘It’s fine?’
The people around him nearly coughed up blood. 450 credits were enough for a normal student to use for one whole year.
“You certainly have grand ambitions, sir.” Ibuki Rei had also arrived at the scene and walked up to Lomio. “Don’t forget our agreement regarding sword technique guidance.”
“It’s not free, and it might be very expensive,” Lomio reminded her. “10 credits per session. Have you thought it through?”
“Naturally.”
Ibuki Rei would not yield an inch when it came to the martial way. But seeing Lomio’s expression, where he wanted to laugh but held it back, she felt a sudden pang of apprehension. ‘He likes to smile, and he looks handsome when he does. But nothing good ever happened when he smiled!’
In the Alchemy Department’s laboratory building, the red-haired girl Ankat sat at her workbench, holding a performance report. Her eyes were shining, and she was so excited she was nearly jumping for joy.
“137 artifacts! My funding is skyrocketing!”
—
Meanwhile, in the Academy Head’s office.
Altemis stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the entire Academy. Behind her stood several high-ranking Academy officials.
“The Chief Squad’s performance is indeed unexpected,” a white-haired old professor said.
“Not only that, the combat power Lomio demonstrated during the exam has already far surpassed the level of a Tier 3 professional,” another professor added. “His class awakening is likely not simple.”
Altemis did not speak. She simply watched the view outside silently, her beautiful face showing no emotion. After a long time, she finally spoke slowly.
“Continue observing. Do not interfere.”
“Yes.”
The professors bowed and withdrew. The office returned to silence. Altemis turned around, walked to her desk, and picked up a document. The document recorded all of Lomio’s information: background, family, class, and combat record. Every detail was noted.
‘What is he after?’
Those Black Mages had not escaped her notice. Someone within the Academy was playing tricks. She had intentionally refrained from eliminating those Black Mages immediately, but that was under the premise that the students’ lives were guaranteed. Yet they were wiped out, along with a Tier 5 monster.
Altemis had seen many geniuses, but a man like this was a first.
‘Should I say it’s a case of “like father, like son,” or is he a hero from the younger generation? Or maybe that Cafnir fellow simply arranged everything too well?’
Many possibilities flashed through her mind. Altemis simply flicked her finger, moving Lomio’s file into another drawer.
‘Hmm… Seal it! Someone will eventually be desperate to know how their chess piece was eliminated.’
Students come to school to follow the Academy’s arrangements. If you don’t like it, don’t attend. What? Dropping out would result in the family’s noble title being downgraded by one rank? What did that have to do with the Academy?