"Jack, this is personal revenge!"

After landing, Sally, with his thick eyebrows, glanced at Jack and complained, then raised an eyebrow and said, "But pink really suits you."

Jack, who was just worried about whether Sally was okay, clicked his tongue the next second and charged towards him.

Seeing Jack coming again, Sally activated his elbow and ankle thrusters, speeding up his run.

Sally realized that his balance in the air wasn’t as good as Jack's, so he decided not to fly anymore.

Instead, he used his elbow and ankle thrusters to enhance his direction of movement.

It’s worth mentioning that the thrusters in the K5 suit allow for adjustable force and direction.

For example, the back thrusters can shoot backward or downward.

While running, Sally activated the back thrusters, though the airflow went backward.

As Sally dashed away, Jack missed grabbing his headband.

He then planted his right foot on the ground, changed direction, and leaped into the air to chase Sally.

While they were still chasing, others started competing for the headbands as well.

Mia, holding a spell rifle, aimed at a member of another team in the distance and pulled the trigger.

Unlike the previous magical muskets, the spell rifle didn’t shoot bullets, but activated a magic array to release a spell.

The rifle resembled an ordinary gun to Karien’s eyes but had three barrels.

Each barrel contained an irregular magic array.

The three barrels corresponded to three magic arrays.

The barrels could be detached, allowing the user to switch to a different magic array.

However, each pull of the trigger only released one magic spell, and to change spells, you needed to twist the barrel’s dial.

The stock of the rifle connected to the barrel and controlled the power of the magic array inside, adjusting the settings.

Additionally, there was a magazine that stored elemental coins.

Unlike small-scale magic like refrigeration or lightbulbs, a spell rifle consumed much more magic energy.

Thus, after a spell was cast, the rifle drew magic elements from the magazine’s elemental coins.

Of course, one elemental coin contained enough magic for hundreds of low-tier spells.

To ensure the safety of the training, Karien had equipped the students with spell rifles that could only cast weak first-tier magic, like "Wind Blade," "Water Arrow," "Lightning Ball," "Flash," and "Berserk," all adjusted to the lowest power to avoid significant harm.

When Mia pulled the trigger, a "Lightning Ball" was released.

Guided by the rifle’s barrel, the lightning ball sped towards its target.

Another student, hit by the ball, felt a sudden paralysis and couldn’t move temporarily.

At that moment, Mia dashed forward, aiming to snatch the headband.

But just then, a "Wind Rejection" spell pushed her back.

The spell was cast by another member of the opposing team, using spell gloves.

Like the spell rifle, the spell gloves only released pre-recorded magic, with magic chips inside the gloves doing the work.

These chips could also be swapped, but the gloves could only hold one chip at a time.

Unable to grab the headband, Mia quickly retreated, switching targets.

On the edge of the training field, Karien observed the chaotic battle, taking notes on the issues he found.

Though he’d done many tests on the K2-K5 suits during their design, there were limits to his solo testing.

With multiple testers, he could identify more problems.

He analyzed each student’s performance.

Jack adapted best to the suit, able to switch seamlessly between land and air states.

Sally was less adaptable, but could use the thrusters to enhance his movement and reaction abilities.

That was exactly the result Karien wanted.

After all, most of the students taking the graduation exam were magic masters, and if they could all fly, it would be too obvious.

So, Karien focused more on enhancing the suit’s effect on physical movement, helping students be faster and more agile during the exam.

Mia, on the other hand, used the K5 suit quite reasonably.

But she had a solid strategy, always keeping a safe distance from others while seizing opportunities to snatch headbands.

After twenty minutes, the training ended.

Mia had collected the most headbands, securing first place.

Meanwhile, Jack and Sally were still chasing each other.

"My God, I’m dead tired!"

Sally, with his thick eyebrows, stumbled a few steps and collapsed on the ground, cursing, "Why are you always chasing me?"

Jack, also exhausted, rubbed his waist and kicked Sally, grumbling, "I just don’t like the blue suit you're wearing!"

Ignoring the two of them, Karien addressed the whole group, "You all performed well, but the suits need to be taken off for improvements."

He paused, then added, "Of course, Mia and Sally's team collected the most headbands and can continue using the suits for three more days."

"Yay, free win!"

Sally gave Mia a thumbs-up and laughed, "Mia, you're awesome!"

Mia rolled her eyes and threw all the headbands at his face, "Enjoy lying down."

Jack scratched his hair and regretted, "Shouldn’t have chased that guy."

As Karien packed up his notes, he instructed everyone to take off their suits.

Jack, though reluctant, prepared to remove his.

Just then, Sally suddenly said, "Teacher, can I swap suits?"

Karien looked at him and asked, "Sure, which one do you want?"

Sally pointed at Jack and grinned, "The one Jack is wearing."

Karien asked, "You like pink?"

"Of course not," Sally’s grin widened, "Leave the pink one for Jack."

Karien paused for a moment, then realized Sally was offering Jack the three extra days of use.

Jack blinked, looking between Sally and the pink suit.

Sally said, "Since you won because of me, you can have it. Pink really suits you."

"Hey, it's all fun!"

Parlos Magic Academy, Nocturnal Academy.

With a tall posture and short golden hair, Vils closed his textbook and looked at the students in the classroom.

“There are only 45 days left until the graduation assessment,” he said, picking up a list and continuing, “This year, 125 students from Nocturnal Academy will participate in the assessment, with 12 from our class. Last year, our graduation rate was 60%, and we ranked second in the overall academy evaluation. Six students were accepted into top-tier universities.”

“This year, our students’ overall strength has improved a lot, and there are many outstanding students,” Vils went on. “So, this year, we need to strive for first place in the overall academy evaluation, to secure a better magical university for ourselves and gain more resources for our academy…”

Stolen novel; please report.

Just as Vils was encouraging his students to aim higher, there was a knock on the door from outside the classroom.

Vils turned to look and saw a middle-aged man standing in the doorway, with deep bags under his eyes and a thin frame.

After a brief moment of surprise, Vils immediately turned and placed his hand on his chest, respectfully saying, "You're back, Director Lydon!"

The middle-aged man, named Lydon, gave a slight nod, his voice deep and hoarse. "Vils, step outside for a moment."

"Yes!"

Vils gestured for the students to continue with their self-study, then quickly left the classroom and followed Director Lydon down the hallway.

As they walked, Lydon spoke: “Vils, how long have you been at Nocturnal Academy?”

This question puzzled Vils for a moment, but he quickly responded, “I’ve been working at Nocturnal Academy for three years.”

“Hmm… that’s not a short time,” Lydon said, then continued, “The class you’re teaching has made great progress. For this year’s assessment, you’ll be the team leader for Nocturnal Academy.”

“Me?”

Vils was surprised and said, “Director, I’m just a mid-level teacher. Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

For any academy, the graduation assessment was a major event, and usually, senior teachers took on the role of leading the team.

“The most important thing in the graduation assessment is coordinating the students' performance, and in this area, you’re the most suitable,” Lydon replied.

“But…” Vils started to speak again, but Lydon interrupted him, saying, “This is settled. Be prepared for the next month and a half.”

After a brief silence, Vils nodded. “Understood, Director.”

As they continued walking, Lydon asked, “By the way, how’s the situation with the division of Red Leaf Academy? How many of them did we get?”

Lydon had been away from Parlos Academy for the past two months and wasn’t aware that Red Leaf Academy was still operational.

“Director, Red Leaf Academy has not been dismantled yet,” Vils responded. “The School Council paused the closure plan and decided to wait until after the graduation assessment to determine whether to split it or not, based on the evaluation results.”

Hearing this, Lydon stopped walking, turned slightly, and frowned. “It hasn’t been closed yet? Before I left, didn’t the Council already make a final decision? The teachers from Red Leaf Academy had already been transferred to our academy. How did this sudden change happen?”

Vils thought for a moment and replied, “It seems that Elder Ellison requested the Council delay the closure. There’s one teacher in Red Leaf Academy who refuses to transfer and has been staying there.”

“Also, the director of Red Leaf Academy, Dean Fens, was one of the founding members of the school. Elder Ellison believed that if we wanted to shut down Red Leaf Academy, we’d need to follow the proper procedure. The Council Elders also felt it was disrespectful to handle Dean Fens’ academy so hastily. So in the end, they agreed with Elder Ellison’s suggestion to wait until after the graduation assessment to make a decision.”

Lydon clicked his tongue. “Haphazard delays. Fine, I understand. Go back to class. I’ll head to the main campus for a bit.”

Vils placed his hand on his chest once more. “Yes, Director.”

Parlos Magic Academy, Main Campus Elder Council, Office of the Academic Affairs.

Elder Ellison, in his early sixties with neatly combed hair, sat behind his desk, reading through some newspapers.

Hearing the door open, Ellison didn’t look up. He wet his finger with his tongue and turned the page.

“What's a newly-minted Archmage like you want with this old man?”

Lydon, with his thick eye bags and thin frame, walked up to the desk, glancing at the newspapers and books on it.

"‘Gallon's Research Institute, Issue 48 Report,’ ‘On the Application of Magic Theory,’ ‘Flower City Emerald Research Institute Recruitment Notice’… When did you, an Academic Elder, become so interested in research institutes?”

Ellison closed the newspaper, took off his gold-framed glasses, and turned his head to look at Lydon, saying in a deep voice, “That’s none of your business. Now, tell me, what is it?”

Lydon didn’t immediately reveal his purpose but instead curiously flipped through the pages of the newspaper on the desk, saying, “Are you preparing a way out for that kid who only understands theory but can't cast magic?”

Pulling the newspaper away from Lydon’s hands, Ellison frowned. “Don’t touch other people’s things. It’s not befitting of an Archmage.”

“Ha.” Lydon straightened up, looked down at Ellison who was sitting at the desk, and said in a questioning tone, “Two months ago, the Council had already passed the plan to close Red Leaf Academy. Why are you suddenly going back on that decision?”

Ellison gripped the staff beside the desk, using it for support as he stood up and said, “I remember now. You were the one who suggested to the Council to close Red Leaf Academy, weren’t you?”

With his hands behind his back, Lydon replied, “Yes, that’s right. Over the years, Red Leaf Academy has been nothing but a place to house orphaned students with no magical talent. I don’t know how many resources the school has wasted because of it. Even if Dean Fens is still there, I would still have suggested closing Red Leaf Academy to the Council.”

“Right, you’re not wrong.”

Ellison leaned on his staff and walked to the window, looking in the direction of Red Leaf Academy. He continued, “Dean Fens’ actions have indeed wasted a lot of resources for Parlos Academy. For the past few years, the Council has stopped providing them with any resources.

“Besides, Red Leaf Academy has ranked at the bottom for four consecutive years. According to the school’s rules, if they end up at the bottom again, they will be closed or split up.”

At this point, Ellison turned and looked at Lydon, asking, “Do you think, in their current state, Red Leaf Academy can still achieve good results?”

Lydon laughed. “Of course not!”

“Well, since that’s the case, with only a month and a half left, why are you in such a hurry?”

Lydon was momentarily speechless, then after a brief pause, sneered and said, “Closing Red Leaf Academy is one thing, but the Council’s prestige is another. As the highest level of management at this school, you can’t keep flip-flopping on decisions. Doesn’t that reflect poorly on you?”

Ellison tightened his grip on his staff and coldly replied, “Whether or not to close a subsidiary academy is a major decision, so it must be handled with utmost caution.”

“Fine, I’m just a small director and can’t influence anything. Since the Elder says so…” Lydon smiled, lightly tapping the Archmage badge on his chest as he said, “Then let’s wait for another month and a half.”

With that, Lydon waved his hand and left the office.