[Viktor's Forest Realm] — This was the name of this assessment.

According to the rules explanation, each examinee would engage in four encounter battles within the Forest Realm.

Each battle would involve different monsters, with varying strengths and numbers.

The four battles would feature one, three, five, and ten monsters respectively.

If one could successfully challenge the third encounter battle, then they would pass.

Henie waved her magic on the scroll, and the rules of the exam appeared in the center.

The students present looked at the rules on the scroll with some hesitation.

They couldn't believe it.

Professor Viktor's assessment actually required them to personally challenge monsters!?

This was actually a practical combat exam!?

Isn't this risking their lives?

"As mentioned before, there's no limit to the number of attempts in this exam. Failed examinees can retake the assessment."

"You don't need to worry, if you encounter life-threatening danger, the realm will automatically teleport you out and heal you."

Hearing this, the students looked at each other.

Although such protective measures did provide some reassurance, hearing about actual combat still made them feel...

Timid.

The students of the Royal Magic Academy had no practical combat experience.

At most, they had only tried releasing magic in the Arcane Hall, hitting wooden dummies.

Even though Assistant Professor Henie said there would be no life-threatening danger, instinct still made the students somewhat resistant.

The students were having second thoughts, and some at the back even took a few steps towards the exit.

But perhaps because the chance to gain two passing qualifications at once was too tempting for the students.

After hesitating for a long time, they still returned to the crowd.

At least they would observe for a while before deciding.

Of course, their retreat was all seen by Henie.

"Well then, the assessment begins. Please queue up and enter the exam venue when you're ready."

Those dozens of green teleportation arrays were the so-called 'exam venue'.

Henie waved her hand, and those green arrays were activated, bursting forth with waves of green energy.

The many examinees knew that once they stepped in, they would face an unprecedented practical combat assessment.

Erica was the first person to take action.

She didn't care about the timidity and shock of the surrounding students, and walked towards the teleportation gate in front of her on her own.

The teleportation array under her feet gradually emitted light, and soon, Erica's body dispersed like streams of magical energy, merging into the scroll.

"She went in!?"

"This... nothing bad will happen, right?"

"Should we wait for Erica to come out and ask about the situation inside?"

The students left behind discussed among themselves.

However, the moment Erica fully entered the scroll, more than a dozen students squeezed out from the crowd and walked towards their respective teleportation gates.

And these people were gradually recognized by the examinees.

"These people...."

"They're all top students near the top of the rankings..."

It wasn't just Erica who was looking forward to Viktor's assessment.

They followed closely behind Erica, entering the realm one by one.

Although they didn't participate in Viktor's test at the Arcane Hall that day, that was just a flashy but impractical education.

True geniuses look forward to any challenge.

Moreover.

This was just an assessment, and one with unlimited attempts.

If they didn't even have the courage to enter, they might as well give up the exam from the start.

After they all entered the array, most of the students fell silent.

They looked at the glowing array, feeling a fire in their hearts urging them on, but this flame was quickly extinguished by a bucket of water named rationality.

Finally.

A small portion of the examinees automatically gave up this exam. They showed troubled expressions on their faces, shaking their heads and turning towards the teleportation exit of the mage tower.

At the moment of leaving, their expressions seemed very complex.

It was unclear whether it was frustration at their own cowardice or regret at their lack of ability.

Henie saw them but didn't stop them, nor did she urge the students to come forward for the assessment immediately.

After all, it was just as these students thought.

Professor Viktor's exam.

It was probably the most difficult exam the academy had seen in recent years.

......

Several strands of green light slowly fell in the dense forest, the glowing body making Erica feel somewhat light.

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But the thick leaves around told her this was not an illusion, but a real dense forest.

This place was a series of challenge spaces repeatedly constructed using Cocotte's spatial magic and the Wood Calamity's terrain creation.

Each space was independent, with examinees not interfering with each other.

At present, Erica couldn't yet see how marvelous this space was.

She looked ahead, where there seemed to be a vague darkness behind a mess of branches and leaves.

Walking forward, Erica saw a winding small path.

The path was covered with weeds, making it difficult to distinguish.

Erica walked carefully on the small path, not daring to take big or quick steps.

In this dense forest, even without monsters suddenly appearing, the insects and mosquitoes between the dense bushes could be quite bothersome.

She continued forward step by step, her feet stepping over weeds, leaving uneven footprints in the muddy ground.

There was no sign of anyone around, and Erica tried to find some other paths nearby.

She walked towards a side path, but it was like hitting a wall.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch."

Erica rubbed her shoulder that had just hit the 'air wall', looking with some surprise at the other side of the air.

It was all dense jungle, but completely isolated.

"No other paths, just this one?"

This unique exam made her feel a sense of novelty.

It was as if she was in a mysterious space.

Continuing forward, a beam of sunset light shone through the bushes into Erica's eyes.

It was the exit.

She quickly took two steps forward, rushing out of the dense forest.

"This is....."

She looked at the endless plains around, the yellow foxtail grass swaying like waves in the gentle breeze.

Just then, a mound of earth near Erica's feet squirmed a bit.

An earth-yellow monster suddenly burst out of the ground, leaping towards Erica's face.

The monster's body was like a prairie dog, but its tail had a flower-like parasite growing on it.

On its long neck grew several mouse heads with lush fur, making a strange cry that was a mix of squeaking and quacking from the neck.

But what surprised Erica the most was.

Its topmost head had a duck's beak.

"Is this... a mouse or a duck....."

Seemingly hearing Erica's questioning whether it was a duck, the monster got a bit angry, swaying its body and pouncing towards Erica.

Erica twisted her body, retreating a few steps. The monster pounced at empty air, eating a lot of foxtail grass.

Not to be outdone, it waved the flower on its back and attacked Erica again.

[Second-tier Magic: Fireworks]

A red array quickly formed in her hand, and two pillars of flame suddenly appeared in Erica's hands, rushing towards the front.

The pouncing monster was burned to a crisp in an instant.

"Hmph, weak."

Erica clapped her hands, and the charred monster was immediately swallowed back by the earth.

"Is it over just like this?"

Unlike other students, Erica had practical combat experience.

Earlier, she had killed many local fire-element monsters on Mount Vesuvius.

And these monsters were quite weak compared to the monsters on the volcano.

Erica knew this was to accommodate all examinees by deliberately controlling the monsters' strength, but it also made things much easier for her.

Although she didn't know exactly how Professor Viktor was controlling these monsters, this kind of assessment was interesting.

Erica continued forward, and the second wave of monsters appeared before her.

Two mouse-like ducks burst out of the ground, attacking Erica again.

But this time there was another type of monster.

From the distance, a tiny black dot flew towards Erica, rapidly approaching.

A bat-like creature flapped four tattered, screen-like wings. It rode the breeze, continuously spitting three blobs of black liquid at Erica from the air.

Erica did a somersault, leaping over the two mouse monsters.

In the moment of being airborne, she twisted her body, avoiding the black liquid, stepping on the bat's back, and leaping backward.

Two spells were constructed simultaneously between her hands.

[Second-tier Magic: Water Vortex]

[Second-tier Magic: Fire Smoke Flight]

One red and one blue, two magics appeared in her hands at the same time.

As soon as the words were spoken, Erica stretched out her arms as her body fell towards the ground, and the two magics intertwined and flew towards the three monsters.

Boom!

The intense heat and bursting water droplets cut through the surrounding grass waves.

A smell of burning slowly rose.

Erica landed steadily on the ground, exhaling.

Fortunately, she had trained for a while in her father's 'Magus Corps', allowing her to make a series of relatively flexible movements.

If she hadn't controlled the flying bat in advance, she might have stumbled here.

The combination of two types of monsters, alternating between near and far, was still quite dangerous.

Erica rested for a moment before continuing forward.

Her intuition told her the third wave was coming.

Sure enough, three duck-billed mice suddenly burst out from the ground. This was the name she had just given to this type of monster.

This time, their actions were different from the previous two waves, becoming extremely swift.

A bat flying rapidly from the distance made Erica concentrate.

"No, there should be five monsters!"

Erica's sixth sense told her something was completely wrong, and the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood up.

She looked back and saw a huge flying mosquito diving towards her.

The flying mosquito was entangled with something like wooden vines, its entire body seemingly hidden in the greenery.

If not observed carefully, one wouldn't notice this clever predator at all.

"As expected!"

This time, Erica took a big step to the side, avoiding the duck-billed mouse's attack. She then conjured a flame in her hand and struck it towards the approaching flying mosquito.

The moment the flame touched the monster in front, it burst into flames.

She rolled to avoid the danger from behind.

But the burning flying mosquito suddenly flapped its wings, and the flames on its body were immediately extinguished.

"Tch."

This time, the monsters were stronger than before.

Erica realized this, so she no longer held back.

A bright green light shone from her chest, immediately enveloping the surrounding monsters.

The power of inheritance.

Erica, who had obtained this power, was no longer the same as before. The powerful natural energy had made her strength no longer limited to those simple second-tier magics.

As the bright light gradually faded, it was as if a seed had been planted in those monsters' bodies, suddenly sprouting and blooming. Sharp branches burst out from the monsters' bodies.

Those monsters immediately lay in the incomplete sunset, completely silent.

The corpses slowly dissipated along with the wooden vines, and a green teleportation gate gradually lit up behind Erica.

A cluster of text ignited in the air, lighting up in front of Erica.

[Pass achieved. Continue the challenge?]

This meant Erica had completed the exam, and she could leave now to take other professors' exams.

But...

She didn't want to be satisfied just like this.

"Continue the challenge."

After Erica confirmed, the teleportation gate disappeared.

She turned back, and somehow a emerald green path had appeared before her eyes, looking very peaceful and harmonious in the sunlight.

The flowers around the path swayed in the breeze, as if they were also happy for Erica's courage.

She took a deep breath, stepped over the grass waves, and continued walking towards the depths of the path.