When Qiu Meng and Alisia stepped onto the teleportation array on the third floor of the dormitory, the magical patterns beneath their feet flickered gently.
A pale blue light rose from the floor, spreading like water ripples over their ankles. In the next moment, their vision blurred momentarily, and the dormitory corridor vanished, replaced by a tall classroom door.
After steadying herself, Qiu Meng couldn’t help but glance back at the teleportation array.
‘The convenience of city academies is really something…’
“If this were in the past, being late for school would save me at least ten minutes of running…”
Alisia didn’t quite understand what she was sighing about. She just adjusted the greatsword on her back slightly, then reached out and pushed open the classroom door.
Beyond the door was a lecture hall far more spacious than Qiu Meng had imagined. Tall arched windows sliced the afternoon sunlight into several golden beams, spilling over the stone floor and rows of long tables.
At the front of the room stood a black Magic Conductor Board, its edges inlaid with a silver magic circle for recording lesson content. Several weapon racks lined the walls, neatly arranged with short swords, long spears, training shields, and wooden dummies.
Qiu Meng looked around curiously.
Then her expression gradually froze.
There weren’t many people in the classroom, but those present were all in remarkable condition.
The student in the second row, third seat had an arm in a cast, his shoulder wrapped in bandages, his face frighteningly pale. The guy sitting to his left was leaning on a crutch, his clothes still bearing scorch marks. The people in the third row were even harder to look at—some appeared poisoned, others looked like they had been electrocuted.
A bead of cold sweat slid down Qiu Meng’s temple.
“Shh…”
Alisia was silent for a moment, then commented quietly, “This is really… a gruesome sight.”
She swept her gaze around, then looked at Qiu Meng beside her.
Compared to these listless, dust-covered, injured freshmen, Qiu Meng had just gone through the trial too, but at least her clothes were still relatively clean and she wasn’t hanging her head.
Alisia seemed thoughtful.
“Speaking of which, Qiu Meng, you seem okay for now?”
“Compared to them.”
“Hmm…”
Qiu Meng looked at herself, then at the sea of wounded around her, and felt complicated. She suddenly realized that being targeted by the Weird Scholar after passing the exam wasn’t the worst luck after all. At least she wasn’t one of those unfortunate souls in the third row.
Alisia turned her attention to the classroom itself.
She came from the Western Ship City, and the school she had attended before clearly emphasized decoration and ritual. In comparison, this room, though much larger than a flagship, wasn’t particularly luxurious.
Qiu Meng had already found her target.
Second-to-last row, by the window. Concealed, good view, not too close to the teacher, and not as conspicuous as the last row.
Her eyes lit up slightly.
“Heh heh, as they say… the home of the king of the back row by the window!”
Alisia didn’t understand, but seeing Qiu Meng’s serious expression, she didn’t ask. She just followed her over and sat down.
Once seated, Qiu Meng noticed that the classroom seemed to have no fixed seats or schedule. The desks were clean, with none of the graffiti she remembered from her previous life.
“Schools in this world are pretty free, huh,” she murmured.
Alisia had already laid her greatsword horizontally on the table, taken out a cloth and maintenance oil from her bag, and began leisurely caring for the blade.
Qiu Meng looked at that sword, then recalled being chased by a two-handed sword during the trial, and silently looked away.
“Hope things don’t get too bad from here…”
As she thought that, the front door of the classroom suddenly pushed open.
Everyone instinctively fell silent.
An elderly man in glasses walked in.
He wore a gray-black teacher’s robe, his white hair combed immaculately. In his hands was a special thick book with a dark brown metal cover, wrapped in several thin chains etched with sealing runes.
Alisia’s gaze landed on that book, and her expression turned slightly serious.
“Interesting,” she said quietly.
Other students started whispering. Some clearly recognized the teacher; others were just intimidated by the chained book.
The old man walked to the podium, raised his hand, and tapped the table lightly.
Thump.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it silenced the room.
“Everyone, today is just registration, no formal lesson,” he said. His voice was aged but strong. “However, before we begin the course, all students need to know one thing.”
He adjusted his glasses, sweeping his gaze across the room.
“There are restricted zones within the academy. You’d best not set foot in them. Some areas will cost you your life.”
The classroom fell silent for a moment.
Qiu Meng immediately recalled the red-marked zones on the back of her admission letter.
‘Looks like I need to be careful from now on…’
The old man gave them little time to process and continued directly: “And as physics department students, the first thing you need to do is test your strength.”
As he spoke, he raised his hand and released magic.
Earth-element patterns glowed on the floor, and a detection device rose from the front of the podium. Its frame was made of solidified stone, with a magenta defense shield embedded in the middle. Fine light patterns flowed across the shield’s surface, clearly a mix of defensive magic and measurement spells.
Once the device was formed, the old man asked calmly, “First, who dares to test?”
After a brief silence, a black-haired student suddenly stood up.
“I will!”
He walked quickly to the front, a pair of black iron knuckle dusters on his hands. After positioning himself, he lowered his stance, pushed off the floor, and shot forward like an arrow from the string.
The moment his fist hit the shield, a shockwave spread across the magenta light surface.
Vwoom—!
A line of text appeared on the detection device: B+.
A low murmur rippled through the classroom.
B+ wasn’t top-tier, but it was clearly above average. As the first to go, that score put enough pressure on the later participants.
The old man nodded. “Good. Next.”
No one moved.
After the black-haired student returned to his seat, an awkward silence settled in. Nobody wanted to be the second to step up—if they couldn’t match the score, it would be embarrassing.
Qiu Meng also lowered her head.
She knew her own strength level very well. If she relied only on her fists, she’d probably get a score in the range of… a D or something.
Alisia glanced at her and lowered her voice. “Are you okay?”
“I… I’m fine,” Qiu Meng answered without confidence.
Alisia looked around. Seeing that no one else was stepping forward, she slowly raised her hand.
“Next, I’ll go.”
She stood up, lifting her greatsword with one hand. That weapon, which for an average freshman would almost break their back, was as light as a one-handed sword in her grip. She even twirled it three times casually, the blade cutting heavy yet elegant arcs in the air.
The classroom went dead silent.
Even the black-haired student who scored B+ stopped talking.
Qiu Meng watched Alisia’s back and felt her confidence melting away.
“That’s way too strong…”
Alisia walked up to the detection device, assumed her stance, and took a deep breath.
The next moment, she lunged forward.
“Ha!”
The greatsword came down.
A flash of light exploded.
The magenta shield let out a harsh cracking sound as the blade sliced straight through it. The stone frame of the device fractured from the center, and the sword aura continued onward, carving a two-meter-wide, several-inch-deep scar into the wall at the front of the room.
Pebbles pattered down.
Alisia withdrew her sword, gave it a couple of light twirls, and slung it back over her shoulder.
The detection device flickered for a moment, then displayed the result: S+.
The room was dead silent.
Then, applause broke out. Not the kind of enthusiastic, cheering applause, but applause tinged with fear and respect, as if witnessing a genius.
Alisia returned to her seat with a calm expression, hands in her pockets.
Qiu Meng stared at her, feeling that her new roommate had suddenly become very distant.
The old man waved his hand to repair the detection device, then looked toward the back of the room.
“Next.”
His gaze landed on Qiu Meng.
“The little one with orange hair over there.”
Qiu Meng froze.
The entire classroom’s attention turned to her.
She recalled scenes from her previous life when the teacher called her to the front, and she couldn’t solve the problem, getting laughed at.
Alisia noticed she had no main weapon and casually handed over her greatsword.
Qiu Meng saw that blade and waved her hands frantically.
“N-no, thanks… I appreciate it, but I can’t lift it…”
She was genuinely afraid that if she took it, the sword would drag her to the ground on the spot.
She braced herself and walked to the detection device.
To the old man’s eyes, she didn’t even have a proper weapon. How would she do the test? He frowned slightly, about to say something, but Qiu Meng had already assumed a stance.
She took a deep breath.
‘If I can use a weapon… a sleeve crossbow counts as a weapon, right?’
She raised her fist and charged toward the shield.
Her movements weren’t fast or graceful. From an onlooker’s perspective, her attack posture was a bit flashy, like someone unfamiliar with close combat forcing a stance.
But just as her fist was about to hit the shield, a very faint mechanical click came from deep inside her left sleeve.
Click.
A wind-attribute crossbow bolt shot out, barely grazing her fist. At the same time, she used her toe to press against the shield’s edge, pushing back with the recoil to conceal the bolt’s impact.
Bang!
The wind pressure and the punch hit the shield almost simultaneously.
The magenta surface vibrated violently.
The old man was stunned.
The other students were stunned too.
The detection device flashed a few times and displayed the result: A+.
Cold sweat drenched Qiu Meng’s back.
That move had almost exposed the wind-attribute crossbow bolt.
She scurried back to her seat, sat down, and pretended nothing had happened.
Alisia stared at her. Her expression was very subtle.
After a few seconds, Alisia reached out and accurately pinched Qiu Meng’s left thigh.
“Wah—!”
Qiu Meng nearly yelped, quickly lowering her voice. “What are you doing?”
Alisia didn’t answer, just kept that subtle smile on her face.
She had noticed Qiu Meng’s trick—the punch hadn’t actually touched the shield.
But Qiu Meng immediately turned away, refusing to look at her. As long as she didn’t admit it, nothing would happen.
Alisia let out a soft sigh.
‘Fine, outing her isn’t my style.’
She looked forward again, as if she hadn’t noticed anything.
The rest of the tests proceeded one by one.
Some scored B, some C, and a few promising freshmen got A-. But until everyone finished, no one surpassed Alisia’s S+.
And Qiu Meng’s A+ firmly placed her second.
This made quite a few people sneak glances at her.
Qiu Meng sat in the back, expression calm, but her mind was already racing with countermeasures.
Alisia glanced at her.
‘She has no mana, so how did she do that? And that throwing-style trick… it looks a bit like Ice Shadow’s methods.’
At the podium, the old man coughed twice.
“Everyone, quiet down.”
The chatter in the room gradually subsided.
He closed the chained book in his hands and spoke slowly. “After your next class, there will be an examination test.”
All the freshmen were stunned.
“The United Kingdom is currently in a special situation, with recruitment gaps everywhere. The academy must pre-screen students capable of handling field situations.”
He paused.
“Therefore, your next lesson will be wilderness survival training.”
The classroom erupted.
“Wilderness survival?”
“Right from the first lesson?”
“We’ve just enrolled… why is it so harsh?!”
A well-dressed noble student raised his hand, his tone hesitant. “Teacher, my family are merchants. Can I hire some people to assist?”
The old man looked at him. “You can.”
The whole class blinked.
He continued, “Wilderness survival relies entirely on your own resources, judgment, and connections. You just can’t carry more than the allowed supplies, and you can’t have outsiders complete the assessment for you.”
Both Qiu Meng and Alisia broke into cold sweats.
Alisia felt helpless. She had been temporarily called out by her family to study, bringing no attendants. Finding people now would be too late.
Qiu Meng suddenly raised her hand. “Can several of us form a team?”
Alisia followed up. “I’m curious too.”
The old man nodded. “No problem. Survival isn’t just a contest of individual strength. Teamwork, division of labor, trust, and judgment—all are part of the assessment.”
Alisia visibly relaxed.
She turned to Qiu Meng.
Qiu Meng looked back at her and whispered a warning, “You’d better watch out for being targeted.”
The S+ in the strength test was enough to make Alisia the most conspicuous person in the class. In field training, someone like that would either be clung to or ganged up on.
Alisia replied quietly, “…That’s why I need a teammate.”
She paused, then looked at Qiu Meng’s sleeve. “Also, you’d better find a proper main weapon soon.”
Qiu Meng nodded. “Got it.”
After confirming there no more questions, the old man announced that registration was over. “That’s all for today. It’s getting late; rest on your own. The specific training time and meeting point will be announced by the academy.”
He glanced out the window. “It’s 5:00 PM now.”
With that, he picked up the chain-locked book and left the classroom.
As soon as the teacher left, the room immediately buzzed with activity.
Some started looking for teammates, others gathered around the B+ black-haired student, and a few covertly eyed Alisia. Clearly, the S+ result had made her the center of attention among physics freshmen.
Alisia stood up. “Let’s go back to the dorm first.”
She reached out to pull Qiu Meng.
But Qiu Meng shook her head. “No, I have something else to do.”
She needed to go back to the Dream Travel Inn to retrieve her luggage and also explain her enrollment and boarding situation to her parents.
Alisia didn’t insist. She just nodded. “Alright. But think about the teammate thing first.”
“Mm.”
Before Alisia turned and left the classroom, she glanced back once.
Most of the class had already formed small groups.
In the corner, a green-haired girl wearing glasses and an apothecary’s robe sat quietly reading a book; she looked very confident. By the window, a student holding a long flute gazed into the distance, apparently deep in thought.
Alisia narrowed her eyes.
‘Looks like I’m not the only interesting person in this room.’
She shouldered her greatsword and walked toward the rooftop alone.
Meanwhile, Qiu Meng packed her small bag and left the academy, heading toward the Dream Travel Inn.
Evening Vilindros was dyed gold and red by the sunset.
The canals reflected the academy’s spires, and the streets gradually filled with pedestrians. A distant bell rang out, signaling the end of the first day of the new students’ enrollment.
She looked down at her left sleeve and sighed softly.
“Academy life… really isn’t easy at all.”