She dismissed that thought—it was unlikely the entire class would conspire to deceive her.

‘It’s fortunate that those two at least brought me these Sunflare Serpent cores. With these, I'll be able to make some anti-venom concoctions for the time being,’ Zoe mused silently.

The class mission was, in truth, her own project, but she had entrusted it to her students to gather these materials. She didn’t have time to collect them herself, preoccupied as she was with sourcing other ingredients. Now, thanks to Theo and Lorian, she had enough cores to work with. Although she had initially criticized the low number of beast cores, she recognized that their effort would earn them the highest marks, given the scarcity of beasts.

Standing before the class, Zoe regarded her students, still unaware of the quiet success that Theo and Lorian had achieved. She began, “The class mission wasn’t entirely a failure. Despite the unexpected disappearance of the Sunflare Serpents, two students successfully collected cores, taking the top spot in the first class mission.”

The classroom buzzed with ripple of curiosity and confusion. Felix leaned toward Garrick, whispering, “Who do you think did it?”

Garrick shrugged, his brows knitting together as he glanced around the room.

Zoe continued, "Now, let’s discuss the curriculum structure for advancing through the Outer Court. As you all know, the Outer Court is divided into three academic years, but each year requires you to earn a certain number of silver points to advance. Typically, these points have been awarded based on students’ performance in mid-terms and final exams. However, this year we’ve made a significant change."

She paused for a moment, allowing the weight of her words to sink in. The room fell into a hushed anticipation, the students' faces filled with a hint of surprise as they awaited the full announcement.

Zoe resumed, her gaze sweeping across the room to ensure she held everyone's attention, "From now on, your performance throughout the entire year will determine the number of silver points you receive. To move on to the second year, you will need to accumulate fifty silver points, and for advancing to the third year, one hundred fifty points are required.”

The students began to whisper among themselves. Previously, they had assumed that they would be graded only on the midterm and final exams, but this change meant their entire year's performance mattered.

Especially since they had not excelled in their first class mission, this was a tough pill to swallow. If they had known the stakes were so high and the entire year’s performance would count, perhaps they would have tried harder at the Crimson Dunes instead of treating it as just a warm-up.

As Zoe let the students digest this information, a hand shot up from the middle row. "Teacher, what’s the eligibility to take the Inner Court examination?"

Zoe answered, “It’s too early to think about the Inner Court, but since you’re curious, I’ll explain. A student must be under twenty-two and have accrued two hundred silver points to be eligible for the Inner Court examination. The exam can only be attempted twice. Those who are not under twenty-two years of age while still in the Outer Court, or who exhaust their two attempts without passing, will graduate as Outer Court students.”

Garrick nudged Felix, who nodded and then asked, “Can we know what challenges we will face in the Inner Court examination, if we’re eligible?”

With a cold smile, Zoe responded, “The Inner Court examination requires the successful defeat of a King Rank beast as part of a three-person team, or an Overlord Rank beast if tackled alone in a supervised challenge. Candidates must also be under the age of twenty-two at the time of both their first and second exam trial, which are limited to two attempts in total.”

A murmur of disbelief rippled through the students at the astonishing revelation.

“That’s just too insane!”

“Setting such high requirement...how can they expect us to meet them?”

“We’ll just need to train much harder than we thought.”

“King Rank beasts as a team and Overlord Rank beasts alone? Do they think we’re legendary warriors already?”

Zoe watched them carefully. She’d planted the seeds of ambition, and now it was time to see which students would rise to meet the challenge. Although Zoe had a clear idea of which students might qualify for the Inner Court examination, she kept these thoughts to herself as she shifted the focus of the day.

“Since you all know what lies ahead, we're moving outdoors for today’s class. Meet me at the Valor Ground in twenty minutes,” she instructed with a firm tone, then exited the classroom.

The students, caught off guard by the unexpected venue change, obediently followed the command and gathered at the designated location. They stood in disorganized clusters across the field, engrossed in hushed conversations about the day’s earlier revelations. Upon Zoe’s arrival, the murmurs ceased, and all eyes turned to her expectantly.

"Next week, we’ll begin the group expedition," Zoe announced, capturing their full attention. "You will compete against other sections of the first year. The students of the winning section will be rewarded with ten silver points. To secure these points, your section needs a leader who can effectively guide you against the others."

The announcement sparked immediate chatter among the students, each group tossing around names for potential leaders.

Stepping forward confidently, Felix declared, "Teacher, I am ready to take on the challenging responsibility of leading our class." He stood with a resolved look, appearing as though he had resolved a significant issue for his peers. However, his moment of happiness was quickly extinguished by a sweet betrayal.

"No, we can’t let you be the leader," a small group objected decisively.

Feeling a sting to his pride, Felix turned to look at them. Garrick offered a comforting pat on his back, trying to lift his spirits.

Just then, a group of elven girls raised their voices from the crowd, declaring, "We would prefer Princess Elara to lead us!"

Zoe listened to the flurry of suggestions before raising her hand for silence. “Leadership isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. We need someone who can unify and guide everyone. Therefore, we’ll have two roles: one as the Leader and another as the Vice Leader. You’ll cast your votes to decide.”

Prompted by Zoe's instructions, the students began whispering amongst themselves, carefully weighing their options. After a few moments of heated discussion, two figures stepped forward: Elara and Felix as the nominated candidates.

In the end, it was Felix who alone showed the courage to present himself as a contender for the leadership role, setting himself bravely against Elara. Meanwhile, Lorian and Theo remained silent, showing no interest in the leadership role; Theo, after all, preferred to remain undisturbed.

Zoe surveyed the assembly before instructing, “Raise your right hand if you support Felix as your Leader, and your left hand for Princess Elara.”

As she called for the vote, fifteen left hands soared into the air in favor of Elara, while only one right hand—belonging to Felix himself—rose confidently. He glanced over at Violet, Theo, and Lorian, who remained conspicuously neutral, abstaining from the vote.

Observing the overwhelming show of votes for Elara, Zoe nodded approvingly. "It's encouraging to see such strong support for Elara as your leader. With no opposition, she will lead your section."

Felix, looking slightly deflated yet eager to secure a role himself, spoke up, "But we have the Vice Leader role vacant... could I not aid the princess in this task?"

Before Zoe could respond, Violet interjected with a fiery tone, "I refuse to follow someone's command who is not even stronger than me"

Her bold declaration drew the attention of both Elara and Felix, as well as the rest of the students. It was clear that Violet was not content with the decision, possibly eyeing the leadership role herself.

Zoe’s gaze shifted to the orchid-purple-haired girl who clearly was not pleased with the arrangement. "As Violet has pointed out, not everyone will be content to follow a leader based solely on a vote. There will be times when a leader must establish their authority with strength. What if a dispute arises within the group and the leader is not strong enough to manage it? We might need the strongest among you to take on the role of leader. If Elara can prove she is the strongest, she will remain the leader. Otherwise, she will assist whoever proves to be the most capable."

Spurred by Zoe's words, Violet stepped forward from the group, "Who wants to come first?" she called out, her voice ringing with barely concealed arrogance.