Above the Academy, the ancient magical clockwork ticked with a heavy “ka-da” sound.
The clear chime of the clock echoed across the entire floating island, announcing the appointed time.
“The Freshman Division Assessment officially begins.”
A grand and emotionless voice, amplified by a magic broadcasting array, spread to every corner of the Academy.
At the Black Forest’s outer perimeter, the usually semi-transparent magical barrier—meant to prevent students from trespassing—dissolved noiselessly, like melting ice.
The scents of soil, humus, and the wilds drifted in with the breeze, invading Lomio’s nostrils and mind.
“Quite a spectacle.”
Savoring the wild air he hadn’t felt in a long time, countless memories flashed through Lomio’s mind as he laid out all possible scenarios.
In the main storyline of the game, this exam was a heavily emphasized episode.
Rampaging magical beasts, squad ambushes, dangers involving the Academy’s high-ups, and pits left unresolved—it was a star-studded affair.
To vie for the title of King, one needed not only courage and strength, but also tons of luck.
Fortunately, as a player whose eyes were only for rewards and gacha pulls, Lomio never missed a single hidden story that could yield rewards.
For example,
“Proceed as planned. Move out.”
Lomio tapped a spot on the map:
“In ten minutes, I’ll have the setup ready, return to my position, then set off again.”
“Mm…”
With little more said, Karlenina led Annie toward their designated direction.
As Lomio’s figure disappeared into the underbrush, Annie came to a sudden stop.
“Your Highness, I don’t trust him.”
The veins rising on the back of her hand showed she was at the edge of her patience:
“Let’s just leave. The two of us alone are more than enough to pass. There’s no need to rely on anyone else!”
Karlenina kept walking forward: “Annie, patience will be rewarded.”
“This is just too strange! Why do you let that man boss you around?” Annie’s expression was still on the verge of breaking.
Yes, a man!
That ugly face, the one she could kill a million times and never forgive, flashed before Annie’s eyes.
That noble, always so timid and docile in public, like a harmless sheep.
But in private, he had kept her—a mere child then—like a pet.
All the dignity he could never obtain from those powerful women outside, he forced onto her frail shoulders.
That dignity eventually twisted into an insatiable, filthy, reeking desire.
If it weren’t for that night, when she was forced into a wedding dress and Her Highness descended upon the manor, sweeping everything away…
That would be all the men she had ever known.
“Bossed around?” Karlenina shook her head: “Annie, it’s not that I like doing this, but that I must.”
“When someone speaks to me, I must know what they think. When someone works with me, I must see what they can do.”
“That is a quality required of royalty.”
“But…”
Karlenina turned to Annie, her smile just as it had been the year they first met in the basement, two girls meeting for the first time:
“You’ll stay with me, won’t you?”
“…” Annie said nothing.
Why, why can’t you understand?
Is it really me who’s wrong?
“This is a test.” In Karlenina’s icy blue eyes, a cold radiance flowed. “A test of our patience and trust, and more so, a test of my… abilities as the ‘Frost Mage’.”
She could feel it—magical energy in the air growing restless, many presences gathering toward this place, which should never have attracted such magical beasts.
“Pheromones?”
Karlenina anticipated the possibility.
Lomio’s departure was far from a simple, impulsive move.
Talent spotting, forming alliances, building trust, then proving ability.
Step by step, he was testing the qualities of a royal heir.
“…Yes, Your Highness.” Annie bowed her head, saying no more.
“Miss, look! That Lomio, he’s headed off alone in that direction!”
Deep in the forest, a girl in luxurious hunting attire lowered her voice, pointing at a quickly vanishing figure among the trees.
“Oh my, driven off so soon?”
Beatrice Cromwell halted, a contemptuous smile on her lips.
“As expected, just a clueless country bumpkin from the borderlands.”
“Thinks a bit of alchemy talent and a knack for hiding himself gives him the right to act alone during the exam.”
How laughably foolish.
“His teammates must be nearby. Let’s go.” Beatrice waved her hand, her tone full of confidence in her control over everything.
The companions behind her were all scions of noble families from the Imperial Capital, each wearing a relaxed expression.
“Miss Beatrice, why bother wasting time on a nobody? Let’s just find the pawns, then come back to toy with him.”
“Yeah, I just fused a ‘Sharpwind Blessing’ skill card. I was hoping to try it out on a few magical beasts.”
One girl twirled a small whirlwind between her fingers.
Beatrice snorted coldly.
“What do you all know?”
She pulled from her bosom a crystal vial bought from Sylvia, the pale yellow liquid inside casting an ominous glow in the shadowed woods.
“In a moment, I’ll use this to deliver a special gift to his little team.”
She could already picture what would happen next.
Kafnir and that maid, beset by a horde of magical beasts, panicking and fleeing in every direction.
And Lomio—a mere assassin, surrounded by magical beasts and forced to run for his life—how could he possibly rescue them?
At that point, she would descend like a queen.
And he would kneel on the ground, crying and begging for her to let him join her team, to avoid expulsion from the Academy.
Just imagining that man groveling at her feet made Beatrice’s heart inexplicably race.
That’s right—chained in the basement!
That’s a man’s rightful place!
“Let’s go. Follow me!”
Five minutes later.
Lomio activated a card, set up several traps, and cleverly disguised them with the surrounding terrain.
“Done.”
He clapped the dirt from his hands and let out a long breath.
With his memory confirmed again, Lomio now had total confidence in this area.
In the game’s story, this spot wasn’t just a hotspot for magical beast spawns; it was also a classic scene for squads to backstab each other.
Just one trap card wouldn’t be enough.
“Paralysis Trap—triggers and freezes the whole body for three seconds, a starter village god card.”
“Stack a Blast Card underneath—double trouble… Actually, add one more, just to be sure they get carried out of the exam.”
“And a ‘Silence’ perimeter, to stop teammates from helping…”
Lomio looked over his series of layered traps and nodded with satisfaction.
This combo pack was all about stability.
Barring a thick-skinned warrior, whoever stepped here was getting carried out.
Plan complete!
However, he’d barely walked twenty meters.
A faint magical glow suddenly lit up not far behind!
“Hm?”
Lomio halted and spun around sharply.
Immediately—
“Boom! Boom!”
Two successive explosions rang out, joined by a burst of blue smoke and startled birds taking flight!
So soon?
Lomio’s face showed surprise.
I haven’t even gone far and someone already stepped right on it?
Explosive winds rampaged.
Beatrice and her group stood rooted in place.
Just moments ago, the girl boasting of her ‘Sharpwind Blessing’ had volunteered to lead the way.
Then, a magical circle lit up under her feet, freezing her in place.
Before anyone could react, two bursts of fire erupted at her feet!
She was thrown through the air, landing several meters away, her hair smoldering and her clothes blown to tatters!
“Heal! Quickly!”
Beatrice tried to shout, but found her throat blocked, unable to utter a sound!
Silence?!
Who would set such a disgusting trap here?!
“Hel—”
The blasted girl got one syllable out before her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
The Academy badge on her chest glowed; as the light faded, her body vanished into thin air.
Less than ten minutes in, the first elimination!
Beatrice’s team—down by one!
“Traps?!”
As the silence effect faded, Beatrice’s face flushed crimson with rage!
All along, the only possible culprit was Lomio, who had led the way!
Alchemy!!
That man could craft such high-quality, instant-trigger trap cards?!
“Impossible! That level of precision… Where’d he get the money?!” The team’s mage was aghast.
“Kafnir!”
Beatrice immediately figured it out!
Lomio could only make the lowest-grade XP cards before. How could he suddenly know all these trap cards?
It had to be that so-called prince funding him—purchasing consumables from the Academy’s supply!
Fine!
She whipped out the potion bottle, gripped an alchemy card in her hand, and muttered under her breath.
“Transfer!”
The pheromone-laced glass vial vanished, reappearing hundreds of meters away in midair, falling straight to the ground.
The deadly, enticing scent drifted out in all directions.
“ROAR—!”
Almost instantly, countless frenzied howls from the forest answered this “special gift.”
At the same time, in another direction.
Hearing the explosions, Annie’s hand went straight to her dagger.
“An explosion?”
Karlenina raised her hand to stop her.
She gazed toward the source of the blasts, feeling the wild magic gathering from all sides, her expression graver than ever.
“Annie.”
“The trial has begun.”
“ROAR!!”
The beast tide’s roar was upon them.
“Five minutes left.”
Karlenina raised her hand, and a staff etched with intricate frost patterns materialized out of thin air.
“By blood I swear—I shall not disgrace the name of Frost.”