The first thing the arriving candidates noticed was the quiet figure standing at the edge of the clearing.
She wore a simple, unassuming cloak. Her eyes were closed, her arms were crossed over her chest, and she stood as perfectly still as a stone statue.
The mages exchanged wary whispers. None of them recognized her. In all the rumors regarding the First-Class Mage Exams, this person had never been mentioned. Yet, no one dared to underestimate her. In the world of magic, looking "ordinary" was often the most dangerous disguise of all.
Only a few in the crowd knew the truth.
"Lady Frieren," Fern whispered, leaning close to the silver-haired elf. "Is that... Lady Stell?"
Fern had not forgotten the grueling weeks of "special training" her companion, Stark, had endured. The sight of that petite, violet-haired girl still sent a shiver of sympathy down her spine.
"Mmhmm," Frieren replied, staring at the motionless figure with a deadpan expression.
Because Frieren knew Stell's true nature, the situation was painfully obvious to her. Stell wasn't meditating or preparing a grand spell. She was just standing by on standby mode, waiting for the clock to tick down.
While her eyes were closed, Stell was not blind.
Her internal sensors were sweeping the clearing, cataloging every heartbeat, every breath, and every flicker of mana. She noted several unfamiliar faces in the crowd. It seemed Zenze's second phase had been far more forgiving than the original history's labyrinth. More candidates had survived to reach this point.
However, compared to Serie's traditionally safe and peaceful final interviews, Stell's exam was going to be an absolute nightmare.
If my test is too difficult and everyone fails, so be it, Stell calculated coldly. I agreed to administer a trial, and I will do so with strict efficiency. If anyone has complaints, they can take them up with Serie.
She accessed the roster Serie had provided. The final candidate crossed the perimeter line.
Everyone was here.
Stell opened her eyes.
The sudden flash of golden, inorganic light instantly silenced the murmuring crowd. A heavy, suffocating pressure settled over the clearing.
"Announcement: I am the examiner for this final phase," Stell's synthesized voice rang out, crisp and clear. "This trial will evaluate your capacity for large-scale, cooperative combat."
She didn't waste time on greetings or pleasantries. She went straight to the point.
"The objective is simple. You will jointly face a single, calamity-level threat. To pass, you must neutralize the target. If the target is slain, and at least one candidate remains standing, every member of this group will be granted a passing grade."
The mages exchanged confused glances. A calamity-level threat? A group raid?
"Addendum: You will be granted three 'attempts.' A total party wipe, the incapacitation of all candidates, will consume one attempt."
Before the mages could even begin to process the bizarre concept of "attempts" or a "party wipe," two black, cable-like tails slipped out from beneath Stell's cloak and plunged into the dirt.
Instantly, a massive, complex magic circle flared to life beneath their feet, expanding rapidly to swallow the entire gathering.
"Do not fear death," Stell stated, ignoring their panicked gasps as the magic activated. "Within this bounded field, your experiences will be absolutely real. However, any physical damage or fatal injuries sustained will be completely nullified upon your exit. Your lives are not in danger."
With a blinding flash of golden light, Stell and the entire group of candidates vanished from the quiet forest.
….
The Sacred Land:-
The world shifted.
The cool, crisp air of the forest was violently replaced by a suffocating, blistering heat. The smell of pine and damp earth was gone, overwritten by the choking stench of sulfur and ash.
The candidates coughed, sweat instantly beading on their foreheads.
They looked around, their eyes widening in horror.
They were standing on a wide, circular platform of dark, scorched stone, roughly a hundred meters in diameter. Surrounding the platform was a churning sea of molten magma. Towering, sheer walls of jagged volcanic rock boxed them in on all sides, stretching so high that only a tiny, circular patch of blue sky was visible at the very top.
It was a completely sealed arena. A death trap.
And in the center of this blistering hellscape, a monster was resting.
It was massive, easily thirty meters from snout to tail. Its body was covered in dark, purple-black scales that grew in reverse, forming a jagged, impenetrable armor designed to tear apart anything that touched it. A pair of colossal, sky-piercing horns, twisted and layered like a demonic crown, rested on its heavy brow.
This was the Blazing Black Dragon. Alatreon.
It was the very same monster Stell had created from her memories months ago. After subduing it, she had sealed it within the golden sphere, the "insurance policy" she had loaned to Frieren. Having retrieved the sphere, Stell had repurposed the dragon to serve as the ultimate exam proctor in her upgraded Virtual Combat Arena.
A pulse of blue light flared on the platform as the teleportation sequence concluded.
The sudden spike in mana caught the resting monster's attention.
Alatreon stirred. Its massive head lifted, and a pair of glowing, crimson reptilian eyes snapped open.
It looked down at the tiny, fragile creatures that had dared to invade its domain. Its primitive, magically-engineered intelligence felt a flicker of arrogant curiosity. Ants. To a creature that commanded the elements themselves, these human mages were less than dust.
It didn't even consider them a threat. It simply watched them, deciding which one to burn first.
Then, its crimson gaze swept across the crowd and landed on a specific figure standing at the back.
A petite girl with violet-blue hair.
Alatreon froze.
Its curiosity evaporated, instantly replaced by a tidal wave of primal terror and explosive, unadulterated rage. It recognized its creator. It remembered the entity that had effortlessly crushed its will and sealed it away in a dark, empty void.
The dragon threw its head back to the heavens.
SKREEEEEEEEONGK!!!
An ear-piercing, metallic roar, unlike any sound found in nature, ripped through the volcanic crater. The sheer acoustic force of the scream shattered the surrounding rocks, shaking the candidates to their very core.
….
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