Zain rushed up the pulpit, observing the victory of his comrades below. The Viking screams from above boosted the morale of his fellow warriors, pumping their blood toward the glory of life or death on Ysgard. As the cadets caught their breath, they took a moment to survey the aftermath of the battle. The ground was littered with the remnants of the Skeleton Troops, scattered bones and skulls in disarray. The wight's tomb lay ominously before them, sealed shut once more, but the eerie feeling of the wight's presence still lingered in the air.

Gantala approached them, his staff glowing with a soft light. "You have done well," he said, his voice calm and reassuring. "But you must be careful. This tomb holds many secrets and dangers." He gestured toward the tomb. "I sense powerful magic emanating from within. It is likely that the wight was guarding something of great importance. You can investigate further, but don't touch any offerings."

The hermitage must-have offerings, and a few cadets, including Zain, thought that the offerings must be the reward that the Instructor mentioned for this test. They searched the podium and found a big ornate chest surrounded by a pentagram circle and candles. The chest was covered in intricate runes and symbols and seemed to pulse with otherworldly energy. The reckless cadets approached the chest with trepidation, ignoring Gantala's warning. The lid remained firmly shut, but they could feel the magic pulsing from within. They exchanged glances, their nerves on edge, unsure of who should open the chest first, as they were afraid of the monster called 'Mimic', as mentioned in the monster book. Zain stepped forward, his voice confident. "Here's to better loot than in your wildest, wettest dreams!"

The group gathered around the chest, ready to face whatever lay within. Zain approached the chest cautiously, his eyes scanning the runes. "Does anyone recognize these symbols?" he asked, but nobody answered. "Nevermind," Zain rolled his eyes. With a deep breath, he lifted the lid of the chest, but it wouldn't budge. He then kicked the chest in frustration and it creaked open, revealing a large amount of gold, gemstones, jewelry, and other accessories.

Without thinking, the cadets grabbed the treasures and pushed Zain out of the way. They knew that these artifacts could be the key to completing their mission, either now or in the future. Zain was the last to reach the chest, but he took his time and carefully lifted out a small, intricately crafted amulet. It glowed softly in his hand, and he could feel the magic coursing through it.

Suddenly, the amulet in Zain's hand slowly turned into dust, as did all the loot in the cadets' possession. The wight's voice rumbled through the hermitage, causing everyone to panic. She had awoken because she sensed much magical and spiritual energy from anything outside the tomb. And since the seal on the chest was broken because of Zain, the cadets could never return the loot back inside the chest. The tomb cracked and shattered, as the wight absorbed the magical energy of the artifacts from inside. She shot into the sky from her resting place, floating ominously in the air. The guardian of this hermitage was back!

Gantala thought to himself, (“Damn! As an Onmyoji, Sumiya could have done this better than me, but where is he now?”) He then ran upstairs, realizing that there was no point in lingering any longer.

Zain twirled his flail, intent on ending this battle as quickly as possible. Feeling threatened, the wight flew high to escape from Zain, then cast a spell that slowly reversed the effects of time on the crushed skeleton bodies on the ground, resurrecting the undead army once again. In addition to the resurrected skeletons, the wight summoned dozens of wraiths from the sky, throwing the cadets' calculations off. They realized that this was the most difficult part because the undead troops simply could not be killed.

"Attack the Wight!" Don Craig shouted, exasperated by the never-ending skeletons.

The archer cadets shot arrows in the direction the Wight was moving, but their efforts were always thwarted by the protective orbs surrounding the Wight, which repelled their arrows. Joel realized the futility of their efforts and exclaimed, "Our arrows can't penetrate it! We have to destroy the barrier first!"

The situation deteriorated as the wraith continued to possess the cadets one by one. While some were able to resist and escape, others were unable to control their bodies. Taking advantage of this, the Skeleton Army killed those who were possessed using the same methods as their enemies: slashing with swords, shooting arrows, and casting elemental magic. This was possible because these troops were literally the corpses of dead cadets. The surviving cadets panicked at the sight of their fallen comrades' blood and realized that they had become their enemies, as it was the Wight's duty to resurrect the dead and turn them into her army.

"Serve me, minions!" exclaimed the Wight, as more and more of her new army arose.

"Use your aura, or you'll be history!" suggested Karanzo, emitting a turquoise aura from his body.

Rin closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Her body gave off a golden aura, causing the wraiths to be frightened and turn away from her. The golden aura caught everyone's attention, obliterating her enemies and saving her comrades. It also served as a reminder that this lowest hermitage was not to be underestimated.

Amidst the chaos, Rin invited Karanzo and Joel to move on to the next hermitage, and they nodded in agreement. With Rin's aura protecting them, the trio ascended the stairs to the left of the hermitage, and the wraiths did not dare to approach them. However, some cadets without auras attempted to follow in Karanzo's footsteps, only to be preyed upon by the wraiths, falling down the stairs and being thrown off a cliff.

Kirana and Ischel helped the cadets with low auras, while many others ran up to the next hermitage. Meanwhile, Fenrius, Zain, Hjalmar, and other physically strong cadets chose to stay put, knowing that the test only required them to wait until dawn in one of the hermitages. They understood that surviving the ordeal was more important than any reward that Instructor Hyoh might offer.

In the fourth hermitage, Rin, Karanzo, and Joel bore witness to the chaos of their comrades' battle against the Lich and its army of Death Knights and Banshees. Drew the Soldier, Noct the Scout, Mark the Vigilante, and Lee the Bodyguard fought together as a party to aid Ray and the others in their battle against the Lich.

The Lich differs from the Wight in that it has a more corporeal appearance, resembling a zombie rather than a skeleton. It wears a Mitre and intricately embellished robes adorned with golden embroidery, symbolizing the vast knowledge and power it possesses. It carries a Spellstaff with a statue resembling Serpentine Wisdom. The Lich is not much different from the Wight but is a stronger version of it. It is a type of undead that can float in the air and was once the rotting corpse of a witch. They usually sleep in coffins and inhabit places that are either long abandoned, untouched, or haunted, such as graves and hermitages.

"We should leave the Lich to them!" Rin exclaimed to her two best friends. "We need to focus on fighting those death knights and banshees."

Death knights are heavily armored warriors who wield dark magic and fearsome weapons. Based on the monster book, they are known for their incredible strength and resilience, as well as their unyielding loyalty to their dark masters. According to Karanzo himself, they are immune to many forms of conventional attacks, as well as poisons and diseases.

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Banshees, on the other hand, are ghostly female figures that wail and shriek, driving cadets to madness or death. They are known for their ability to fly and phase through solid objects, making them difficult to target with traditional weapons like the arrows shot by Joel.

The banshees' pale faces and ear-piercing screams were enough to distract the cadets and drain their life energy. While the banshees kept them occupied, the death knight squad attacked from behind with giant machetes, causing blood to spill everywhere. And just like before, the fallen cadets were resurrected as mere pawns for the Lich to use against their own comrades.

"Someone help me!" screamed Mark, who was caught in a banshee's magic.

"I was busy fighting the death knights!" replied Lee.

The death knight's thick and long blade cleaved Lee's body into three pieces, causing blood to pour out profusely. The image of its giant slash, capable of tearing iron apart like soft paper, haunted the cadets' minds. Those who witnessed the massacre were terrified and screamed, some even wetting their pants in fear. The situation in the hermitage became even bleaker than before as the banshees and death knights continued their assault.

Several banshees and death knights closed in on Karanzo, Rin, and Joel in the center of the field. The three of them kept their backs to each other, their auras radiating from their bodies to their weapons. Once their auras peaked, their eyes shone with a strong killing instinct.

The loud banging sound emanating from their direction created powerful waves that spread throughout the hermitage. However, their three hybrid attacks, which combined physical and spiritual elements, had no impact on the death knight's armor, similar to how iron cannot penetrate steel. Karanzo's sword bent, and he grumbled loudly, "Shit! That's granite armor right there!"

Banshees flocked around them, shrouding their gaze in darkness. Slowly, the air felt empty, and they began to suffocate from the lack of oxygen. The longer the gloomy energy swirled around them, the more their sanity waned. Rin crouched as if her life was about to end, "This is weird! These banshees are not afraid of my aura! Karanzo, please do something!" The girl hoped that Karanzo wouldn't hold back his powers any longer, and use any sort of grenade or flashbang to blind them.

The person's platinum aura boomed, sending powerful waves of light throughout the hermitage and blowing away the banshees. At first, Rin thought it was from Karanzo's flashbang, but she quickly realized that the light was different as it continued to glow. Karanzo, Joel, and the other cadets shielded their eyes from the dazzling light as the person approached them.

"Karanzo, do you still want to become the number one assassin in the academy?" the person asked in a cold tone, causing Karanzo to look overwhelmed, even in just the fourth hermitage.

"Y-you," Karanzo stuttered, unable to believe that Thanistor's aura had frightened the banshees and frozen the death knights, who were now in defensive mode.

The cadets cheered for Thanistor's arrival as the light source reminded them of something they had heard before. It turned out that the rumors were true; he was able to emit a bright white aura like a twinkling star in the night sky. Rin, like Karanzo, was speechless in shock. She whispered to herself, ("That is the White Knight! His aura far exceeds mine! Thanistor, you don't belong in this fourth hermitage!")

Thanistor shouted loudly to all the cadets, “You guys need to know that I'm not here to help you! I just wanted to show you the aura of my dedication to becoming number one in this academy! See you at the top of Mount Tartaros!”

With his platinum aura, Thanistor walked up the stairs, leaving behind those who were still struggling to their feet with their destiny and hope. Karanzo became annoyed at Thanistor's arrogance and ran after him, but dozens of banshees came his way. Thanistor had managed to belittle and humiliate him in public, and this test had really pissed him off. Karanzo promised to avenge the knight in the next test!

Ray Astra emanated a radiant alabaster aura and assumed command, along with two other cadets, in the intense battle against the Lich. One of them was a burly man with a cocoa aura wielding a massive hammer, blocking magic attacks from the front. The other was an elven girl with a canary aura, shooting arrows from behind. She dipped her arrowheads in holy oil and ignited them with fire, ready to aim at the Lich.

Ray slashed through the air, creating a blinding streak of light that shattered Lich's shield. "Sarah, now it's your turn!" he ordered.

"Roger that!" Sarah replied, readying her bow.

Before the Lich could cast another spell, Sarah fired her holy fire arrow, striking the Lich's body and causing it to ignite, rendering it immobile for a moment.

"Valder now's your chance!" Ray commanded the burly man.

Valder, who was already in a position to swing his massive hammer, waited for the Lich to hit the ground before exclaiming, "You don't have to tell me twice, Ray...!"

With an ear-splitting, fiery hammer strike, the ground trembled and the Lich's body shattered into countless pieces. The death knight army fell powerless, and the banshees disintegrated into dust. Karanzo, Rin, Joel, and the other cadets were left in awe as they looked up at the sky, where there was no sign of the Lich.

Sarah wiped her sweat with a cloth and muttered softly, "Finally...!"

The cadets cheered and hugged each other, rejoicing in their hard-won victory. They had faced seemingly insurmountable odds, but through their courage, teamwork, and perseverance, they had prevailed. Amid the cheers of success, Karanzo and his companions approached Ray, Sarah, and Valder.

"Good job, you three," praised Karanzo.

"Hey, Ray! Do you still remember me from prison?" Joel asked, extending his fist which Ray greeted with a smile.

"Yeah! It's been a long time since we last met," Ray replied happily.

Ray Astra, cadet number 54, and Valder Dalas, cadet number 415, both from Class A, were from Nubia Town in the Akashia region (Plague Desert), in front of the Torun mountains between Drought Desert and Plague Desert. Now that region was nothing but a silent tundra all the way to the borders of Dawnstrike Fortress. It's no wonder that the combination of their attacks was in agreement because they had been friends since their teenage years.

"You are Erina The Flower, right? The female swordsman from Shinra Village with the One-Sword Flower Style flow. Nice to meet you," Sarah greeted Rin kindly.

"You too, Sarah the Hoodwink," Rin replied.

Sarah Alessia was cadet number 293 from Class A. Following the Chthonian Invasion, she became an orphaned girl who sought refuge in a certain forest on Lorboas Isle. There, she was raised by Mother Dryad and other Nymphs, who taught her the skills she needed to hunt and survive. Even at her young age, Mother Dryad recognized the dangers of the Isle from the remnants of the Chthonians and tried to find her a safe haven in an academy or institution, but kept the existence of the Netherworld Army a secret from Sarah.

Most academies and institutions rejected Mother Dryad's request because they required high fees. Eventually, the only option available was to sell Sarah as an elf slave, knowing the price of elves had soared at that time. She was sold to the Dawnstrike Fortress, where her long life and agility proved to be useful for the academy's assassin training program. Despite this turn of events, Sarah held no grudge against her adoptive mother, knowing it was partly her decision given the difficult circumstances at the time. However, one thing remained clear: Sarah despised the Chthonians with all her heart.

After finishing their celebration of victory, the cadets proceeded toward the next hermitage. However, as they were about to climb the stairs, a huge ice tower suddenly emerged from the ground, towering over the stairs and startling them. They couldn't believe what they were seeing - whose magic was responsible for this? Wasn't this hermitage already finished? As they looked up, a vortex of darkness formed in the air and exploded into the monster they had thought they had defeated - the Lich. The Lich then cast a spell to resurrect the death knights and banshees.

"Hey, don't get excited just yet. Everyone, get ready!" urged Karanzo. "If we can't get past this wave, then the hermitage above is not our place!"

The cadets readied their weapons to fight the undead for the second time. Although their faces showed desperation, they had lost their motivation to fight as they knew the Lich could not be killed. If the undead who cast spells couldn't be defeated with holy oil, then how could they defeat them? Hyoh had once said that the key was to wait until dawn when the enemy's strength was not at its peak.

("Okay, let's start this again... This is getting less and less funny,") thought Karanzo.