The day of the entrance examination.
Ichrite Magic Academy, Learning and Education Building.
Natural light sprinkled into the room through a large area of glass curtain walls.
Early in the morning, Lanci arrived at the exam venue on the seventh floor and sat quietly in the waiting area, waiting for the exam to begin.
Talia, who accompanied him, was not allowed to enter the examination site on the seventh floor, so she waited on the outdoor terrace downstairs.
There was a spacious terrace area at one corner of the exterior of the building equipped with wooden floors and benches for students and faculty to rest, where they could also enjoy the scenic campus views and the outdoor sunshine and fresh air.
Also, opposite the terrace was a giant Magic Fluorescent Screen displaying information about the school.
According to many people waiting there, one could view the live broadcast of the entrance exam for the Knight College and Sage Academy on any screen in the school soon.
...
The hall on the Seventh floor, with a gigantic atrium.
The open and transparent space.
Several giant magic apparatuses stood upright resembling a group of silent giants.
The lights reflected on the magic apparatuses, refracting mesmerising and gorgeous rays of light.
These giant magic apparatus components stretched for tens of meters, crated from Mithril and Demon Crystal, emanated a cold touch yet appeared remarkably magnificent.
Many first-time examiners in the waiting area couldn't help but marvel at the extraordinary achievements of Magical Engineering.
For this examination, Ichrite Academy was going to activate this breathtaking "Artificial Shadow World Start Terminal", providing the candidates with an immersive Shadow World combat simulation.
Compared to some candidates who looked excited or anxious, some looked extraordinarily calm as if they are thoroughly familiar with the strategy to tackle the Shadow World.
Because the Shadow World practical simulation is a joint test for the Knight College and Sage Academy, not only were there many candidates waiting with an elegant temperament for Sage Academy, but there were also many candidates who were clearly from the combat faction.
Of course... it doesn't exclude that they are from the Sage Academy.
Only those who pass this test will have the final assessment conducted by the faculty of the two colleges.
Lanci, who had been sitting on the rest chair for a long time, nervously rubbed his palms.
The live broadcast of the upcoming exam would be shown on screens, and the professors of the academy and people in the campus can see it.
It was so that over the years, "public executions" occurred frequently.
Many seniors, out of amusement, crowded around the campus to watch the freshman's entrance exam.
But consider the good side.
The magic fluorescent screen was designed to scroll requests in split-screen mode.
Among so many candidates, the probability of being noticed is not high.
Besides, he is always considered careful and low-key, so he should not be the center of attention.
Lanci thought.
Unknown to when, soft footsteps echoed in the venue, but it was able to overpower all other sounds entering the examinee's ears.
This strong presence sense that emanated from a strong person, naturally brought an instant silence to the wide examination field which was previously slightly noisy.
Lanci's thoughts were interrupted, and he looked towards the direction where all eyes were converged.
A figure could be seen walking out from the inside of the venue, and at this moment, it seemed as if the entire seventh floor only had the sound of his footsteps.
As the footsteps got closer, people finally saw the figure clearly. He was wearing a black classic suit, paired with a white shirt and gold tie. The dress buttons and collar had diamond and Cross Holy Radiance patterns.
He was a brown-haired young man who looked no older than thirty.
But no one dared to underestimate him because of his age. Wearing such adornment not only indicated that he was a professor at the Ichrite Academy but also a highly ranked priest in the Church of the Goddess of Destiny.
His pace was neither fast nor slow.
He walked to the front of the waiting area.
Gazed at the crowd of candidates.
"I am Loren Clarel, today's chief examiner and the dean of the Sage Academy."
The young man's eyes were gentle, and there wasn't any threatening aura about him.
Many candidates, who were initially anxious, felt a few notches relaxed.
Compared to what they imagined a moment ago, possibly a stern and severe examiner, the Dean of the Sage Academy appeared to be approachable.
"The theme of this examination is 'wisdom, disposition'."
Loren continued to speak systematically,
"In most cases, during the challenge in the Shadow World, you will not be required to defeat an enemy whose rank is far beyond your own by decrypting and advancing following the correct path."
"However, if there is an accident or error along the way, the Shadow World can become extremely dangerous. Not only will you encounter a powerful enemy who could kill you instantly, you could be pursued...even tortured."
"Therefore, it's hugely important to successfully decrypt and get the key clues in the Shadow World."
At this point, Loren's voice suddenly paused, his eyes becoming somewhat complicated,
"Ichrite Academy, in fact, witnessed a tragic incident once. It was a failed Fourth-Order Shadow World where seven students, who participated in the challenge, did not survive."
His voice was not low, but this sentence echoed like a muffled thunder in the entire atrium.
For these teens, "death" might be a concept far away.
However, perhaps many people came to this academy without making the necessary resolves.
The exam venue was deadly still, with many candidates looking as if they were shaken.
Just like anticipating the reaction of the students, Loren was silent for a few moments before proceeding to say:
"The root cause was the overconfidence of the students in the team, leading to the task taking an abnormal route, and not having enough ability to cope with the downward spiralling crazy situation."
"This is the imbalance of disposition and wisdom."
"Therefore, this year, whether it's the Knight College or Sage Academy, both will emphasise the comprehensive ability of the candidates to be mentally resilient and handle situations appropriately."
"Soon, the test you will face is an Authentic Shadow World retake."
"Each one of you will independently face the same Single Shadow World. A successful breakthrough constitutes a pass."
After a simple introduction to the examination procedures,
Loren inserted a Secret Key glowing with black crystal light into the console of the "Artificial Shadow World Start Terminal".
Subsequently.
The space directly in front of the magic apparatus seemed to gradually distort, the colour becoming darker, until it gradually took shape and turned into a seemingly illusionary gate. The enormous mirror seemed to have a myriad of twisting souls swirling around.
This was almost identical to the Void Gate that allows people to enter the Shadow World.
Loren stood quietly in the middle of the hall.
The other staff in the academy then started guiding the candidates.
They directed them through the Void Gate to enter the Artificial Shadow World.
At the same time.
The giant screen hanging on the atrium wall no longer displayed usual pictures.
Rather, it switched to showing scenes from the Shadow World of the entrance examinations!