Fifty kilometers south of Deya City, at the entrance of a vast valley, a carriage came to a halt.
Inside the valley, lush greenery stretched as far as the eye could see, with occasional clear bird calls echoing through the air.
Yet, human figures were rare— after all, on the adventurers’ maps, this valley was always marked with a simple dragon icon.
For a long time, a mature female Fire Dragon with strength reaching Seventh Tier had been frequently spotted in this valley.
Almost every adventurer who dared to enter was met with its fierce attacks.
People speculated that the Fire Dragon had built its nest here, thus the valley was named Fire Dragon Valley.
As one of the apex species on the food chain, Dragons could easily overpower humans of the same tier, thanks to their massive size, strength, and stamina. Not to mention the Fire Dragon’s mastery of fire.
No one dared to enter Fire Dragon Valley lightly, but today, a young woman dressed as a Priest walked in alone.
“There has to be a Dragon Egg inside!”
Tia plunged deeper into Fire Dragon Valley without a trace of fear. The presence of the Fire Dragon meant there were hardly any other fierce monsters or beasts here. She soon reached the heart of the valley.
Before her stood a colossal ancient tree with a diameter of nearly ten meters. A pungent smell of rotting flesh lingered nearby— it was probably leftover food from the Dragon.
Perfect, the Dragon’s Nest had to be on this tree!
With her target clear, she began climbing up the vines to a huge platform on the tree, where the nest was located.
Hurriedly rummaging through the nest made of tangled weeds, Tia quickly found a milky-white Fire Dragon Egg.
“This is great! Now I can complete the Hermit’s task!”
“Whoosh—” Suddenly, a strong gust of wind pressed down behind Tia, and the sunlight above her was blocked. She spun around hurriedly.
A massive adult Fire Dragon flapped its wings and hovered midair, its dark yellow slit pupils fixed on Tia, reflecting the panic on her face.
It was over— she had just walked into the Dragon’s return.
Tia’s face instantly turned pale, but she did not panic.
The reason she dared to come here directly was that she was a Fourth Tier Priest!
In the air, the terrifying Dragon began gathering power for its fiery breath. If Tia made even the slightest dangerous move, she would be reduced to ashes.
Faced with the Dragon’s warning, Tia calmly and peacefully pressed her hands together and closed her eyes, slowly releasing the Life Energy inside her body.
Life Energy was the power of the Goddess of Life, the lifeblood of all Priests in the world. Only those who worshipped the Goddess could use Life Energy to cast Healing Spells.
The price for using Life Energy, however, was that no offensive skills could be used!
Over time, people believed that the Priestly Authority was wielded by the Goddess of Life, but Tia knew the truth— the real holder of Priestly Authority was the Hermit!
“Roar!”
Sensing Tia’s Life Energy, the Fire Dragon ceased its breath attack and let out a low, deep roar before ignoring her and turning to fly away.
Hmph, it’s just a Priest.
Tia guessed that was what the Fire Dragon was thinking.
Normally, if several adventurers armed with Great Swords or Magic Staffs intruded the Dragon’s nest, the Dragon would have immediately wiped them out.
But now, the intruder was a Priest— the least aggressive race among humans…
Imagine if a harmless little kitten accidentally wandered into your home; would you kill it outright?
Besides, a Priest’s strength wasn’t even enough to crack a Dragon Egg’s shell, and even if she tried to carry it away, she wouldn’t get far. Moreover, Priests were considered “beneficial” to humans, so the Fire Dragon didn’t bother with Tia.
Good. Today would be another day where the Priest’s reputation paid off.
Inside the Dragon’s nest, after confirming the Fire Dragon had flown away, Tia took out a red potion from her pocket and gulped it down.
It was a Strength Enhancement Potion.
“Better hurry and get this egg onto the carriage and send it into the Mist before the potion wears off.”
She had to thank the Goddess of Life. Thanks to Her influence over the centuries, all high-intelligence creatures knew that a lone Priest posed no threat.
That was why Tia had survived the Dragon’s jaws.
Relying on the Priests’ good reputation, Tia safely carried the Dragon Egg away……
Deya City, Deya Magic Academy.
The Combat Exam hadn’t started yet, but the training ground was already packed.
Many students wanted to see firsthand what the prestigious Royal Magic Academy’s Combat Exam looked like.
In the test takers’ rest area, Mailun approached Reg directly.
“Can’t believe you scored 98 on the written test. Did you cheat?”
This guy either followed Suna everywhere or hung out with Anderson. Mailun had never seen him enter the library once, yet now he scored an 88? What a joke!
Reg shrugged without answering, so Mailun took that as confirmation of cheating.
Fine, cheating against me, huh? Then it’s time to use my secret weapon that I always bring to exams!
Mailun slipped away to a quiet corner and pulled out a small red potion from his pocket, quickly downing it.
Within moments, his entire body felt invigorated and filled with strength.
This was a Strength Enhancement Potion, very popular in Deya City’s underground Black Market. Mailun had stocked a whole box at home for various tests.
After discovering the Royal Magic Academy’s exam checks were quite lax, he smuggled three of these potions into the exam.
Truth watched all this clearly from a distance through the crowd.
A Strength Enhancement Potion, how nostalgic. Back in the day during expeditions, she often used this.
It temporarily boosts strength by 10 points— very practical. Looks like Mailun was dead set on getting back at Reg.
Unfortunately, the Combat Exam still hadn’t started even after Mailun’s potion effect wore off……
“What’s the holdup? Why aren’t we starting yet?”
Mailun angrily demanded of the bald examiner, Krof. He had only three potions on him, each expensive!
But Krof calmly explained that without High Priestess Tia guaranteeing the safety of the test takers, the exam couldn’t begin.
“Oh right, the exam can’t start without a Priest. Truth, have you seen Principal Tia today?”
Still a little nervous, Suna looked to Truth. The latter shook her head and replied:
“No, but maybe I can substitute for Tia to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Truth had already heard that the Northern Empire’s Combat Exam was extremely brutal, and this made her excited. Let’s get started— I’m willing to do anything. She couldn’t wait to see rivers of blood!
“You? You can do that?”
Suna was shocked. How dare she say that? Most students taking the exam were around Second Tier. How could a First Tier Priest guarantee their safety?
More importantly, the Northern Empire’s Combat Exam rules had basically no restrictions. Everyone fought to kill!
Sometimes, in order to kill opponents, some test takers would even attack Priests to prevent them from healing their enemies.
“Maybe I can.”
At that moment, Krof seemed to hear Truth’s answer. He approached her and bent down, asking kindly:
“Little Priest, are you really willing to ensure everyone’s safety during the upcoming Combat Exam?”
“Yes, yes.” Truth nodded.
“That’s wonderful! There haven’t been many selfless Priests like you these years. But there’s one problem — the test takers are mostly around Second Tier. Without Second Tier Healing Techniques, it will be hard to guarantee their safety. So, what’s your tier?”
“Second Tier!” Truth answered seriously.
“Huh?”
Suna nervously tugged on Truth’s robe. The Royal Magic Academy’s examiners could tell your tier at a glance. How dare you lie in front of them?
But Krof laughed heartily:
“Haha, that’s great! Let’s get the exam started!”
As a seasoned examiner, Krof had long seen through that Truth was only First Tier and couldn’t guarantee the safety of test takers, but he still let her be the accompanying Priest.
Because in the upcoming exam, Truth was basically not needed. After all, Krof could ensure none of the students would be harmed!
So letting this First Tier little Priest be a mere figurehead on the side complied with the rules and allowed the exam to end quickly.
Truth was also very happy — finally, she would see rivers of blood!
Only Suna, who knew exactly what kind of person Truth was, was panic-stricken beside her.
What am I going to do? I don’t want to die in this exam!