I already took an exam months ago. What’s he talking about? Another one? Neraxis glanced around with furrowed brows. Nonetheless, he followed the other students heading inside the massive indoor field.

Today was supposed to be an introduction to how everything worked, led by none other than William.

But instead, he was met with an unexpected situation. Again.

He made his way past the multiple smaller round-shaped arenas until, finally, he ended up in front of one large round arena—many times larger than anything he had seen before.

Did I really enter the right academy? He began to think he was somewhere else entirely. Most things looked the same, but the small differences kept adding up, making everything feel unfamiliar.

"Alright, everyone, is there someone who doesn't know what's going on?" The headmaster, William, walked onto the massive arena and asked. His tone indicated he did not want to hear any questions.

But alas, there were always people with questions. "Yes, sorry, I forgot to read the memo."

Neraxis turned to his left. Surprisingly, the person who asked that stood right beside him. From the looks of it, his strength was very little compared to his naivety.

Neraxis raised an eyebrow at the kid beside him—smirking like an idiot. Class clown, huh?

But instead of answering, William headed back down and walked right up to the kid who asked the question. "What's your name?"

"Ron... sir."

"I see, Ron. Do you think the academy is a joke?"

Oh god, his academy monologues are starting again... Some things don't change. Neraxis stared straight at the arena, avoiding William completely. He was a troublesome person and, at the same time, incredibly strong.

Or he was, anyway. Back in the past, William used to be a top-tier A-rank mage. His main skill dealt with pure elements, so his spells were many times more powerful than those of other mages.

However, as Neraxis kept his attention on the arena, he noticed something off. Silence.

There was no annoying monologue about the academy. William merely stared at Ron with a judging gaze.

"I... am sorry..." Ron looked down and apologized.

"Good. Now then..." William patted Ron on the shoulder and headed back to the arena.

After a few seconds, he continued:

"I don't doubt there are some of you who don't know what is going on. Thus, I will explain it one last time." He looked over everyone present.

"Each of you made it through the screenings, which means... well, not much yet. We've tailored exams to test you individually. Think of it as the academy’s way of making sure we didn’t make a mistake."

For all one thousand...?

"That is why I will call you up here in groups, judged based on your scores in the screening. Simple enough, right?" William explained and signaled for one of the nearby teachers to bring him a tablet. Immediately, he began calling out names—20 in total.

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Neraxis did not recognize any of them, but the exam had piqued his interest. What kind of test would these students be given?

"Now then, all of you, attack me at once," William announced and stood in the very middle of the massive arena, awaiting the confused students' attack.

"Hey, I think we sho—" One of the students began trying to devise a plan. However, a hot-headed student dashed in, sparks of lightning coursing around him as he moved.

The speed was impressive. Neraxis was barely able to follow it. But that was not the case for William. The moment the student approached, he stretched out his palm, striking him straight in the ribs. A loud crack resounded, followed by the student slumping down while holding his chest.

Ouch...

A few other students saw this, and a shiver went down their spines. A headmaster would do something like that to a student during the entrance exam? It was unheard of.

The situation was especially dire for the other students up there. Out of the 20, there were 19 left, all of whom held a degree of fear in their gazes.

However, that only lasted for a moment, as in the next, panic ensued. "G-Get him!" a few shouted and began mindlessly running straight at William. They were much slower and clearly weaker than the student from before. It was a bit hard to watch.

William did not even bother dodging some of those attacks. There were some magical projectiles being thrown at him, but due to the fear they were feeling, half of those attacks missed. The other half hit their own teammates.

The numbers quickly dwindled down until only six people remained. One of them was the person who first tried devising a strategy. It seemed like he managed to gather the remaining people and form a team.

It's a good decision. If only they had teamed up with the others from the start. Now... Neraxis sighed, clearly seeing the intention behind this test.

It seemed like all of the tests would be pretty straightforward. He would not have to worry that much—well, unless he had to fight someone.

Neraxis was not even used to his own body completely, as just a few hours prior, he had a muscular build and near-infinite stamina. It was a pity the monsters had ways of inflicting fatigue on him. Otherwise, he might have lived or even fought back in the very end.

Anyway... He continued watching the exchange. The six remaining students slowly made their way toward the headmaster. They had a makeshift formation—one that was pretty bad. However, it showed their determination, which, in a sense, was all that mattered.

"You pass," William said to the six before him, then turned to the remaining students lying on the ground. "As for you, try again next year."

They are all unconscious. Doubt they heard it. Neraxis chuckled inwardly as he thought about the first participants of the exam.

Most were average, their strength nothing too extraordinary. However, there was the student who wielded lightning. Even by his standards, that is a very versatile ability. It would also be very useful in the future when the monsters begin swarming the world again.

"You six, go toward that teacher." William pointed to a burly, bald man with a mustache, and the kids hesitantly went over to him.

"Now that the first batch is done, the process will be a little bit faster. I will be overlooking the exam, so don't worry." As his words fell, several other teachers began stepping up onto the arena and scattering to seemingly random positions.

However, just as Neraxis thought it was a little anticlimactic, they pulled out some kind of metal rod, which they quickly stabbed into the ground. Immediately, pillars began sprouting, all of them of different colors.

Ten in total. This won't take so long after all. He thought and readied himself. Who knew what kind of exam he would need to complete?

"I will assign your groups shortly." The moment William said that, a bunch of little marbles began appearing right above them, just barely not reaching the very top of the roof.

They were of all kinds of colors: red, yellow, blue, and many more.

Neraxis waited patiently until, finally, William finished his preparations and began floating the marbles downwards. Each one landed in a student's hand.

The same went for him as well. After a few moments of waiting, he caught a marble that was pure black. There was something written on it—a number carved into the surface: the number 4.

Most of the students already went to their respective colors. However, Neraxis stood still. The reason? There was no black pillar in sight.

But there was one thing that had caught his attention: some sort of cane that had not been there before. And it belonged to the headmaster, William.

The two made eye contact, and Neraxis received a faint smile in response, causing a shiver to go down his spine.

Well... this just got a lot more difficult...