Chapter 2: Afternoon Combat Test

“Exam’s over. All candidates, stop writing.”

The Magic Theory Knowledge Exam had just ended, and now it was time for lunch and dismissal.

The Instructor on stage addressed the students below, and everyone put down their pens, waiting for the Instructor to collect the papers.

“Ha~ Thanks for saving me, little Luna.”

Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Luna. If it weren’t for her help, she probably would have failed.

“Hey, keep it down. The Instructor hasn’t collected the papers yet.”

Seeing Qingyan like that, I couldn’t help but sigh. I finished the entire exam in the first ten minutes and even purposely left a few questions blank to control my score.

Just as I was bored out of my mind, I glanced at Qingyan beside me. She was looking at me with pleading eyes, and I swear I saw words in her gaze!

[ Help me! Little Luna! ]

Helpless, I had no choice but to help her answer a few fill-in-the-blanks and multiple-choice questions, which made her feel much better.

Not long after, the Instructor collected all the papers. Before dismissal, she gave a special reminder to the whole class.

“This afternoon is the Combat Assessment. Everyone, rest well at noon and make sure to bring your best state to face the exam.”

With that, the Instructor left the classroom, and the students followed suit, leaving the room.

That’s how the morning passed. On the way, everyone was chatting about the exam, except Qingyan, who looked completely lost and didn’t understand what they were talking about.

It couldn’t be helped. Qingyan was the weakest in theory knowledge among the four of us.

But she didn’t seem to mind. She only cared about passing.

First, everyone headed to the cafeteria to get their meals, then took their food back to the dormitory.

Speaking of which, the dormitory provided by the school was truly luxurious!

Each dorm room in the Academy had a layout of two living rooms and four bedrooms, with two people per bedroom. But since there were only four of us, we each had our own room.

The living room had soft sofas and a TV, and even a kitchen. If you didn’t want to eat outside, you could cook in the dorm.

Besides that, there were dry and wet separated bathrooms and showers, and even a bathtub — all fully equipped!

So why would anyone complain? Look at this setup — if possible, I wouldn’t want to go home on weekends!

I even brought a game console from home to play with my roommates, so it felt just like being at home.

After lunch, everyone went back to their rooms to rest, including me.

After all, I needed to prepare for the afternoon’s Combat Assessment.

***

Afternoon.

What was inevitable had finally arrived…

We were on our way to the testing site, which was the usual training field.

We weren’t carrying any weapons or gear on us, but that was only because all our equipment was stored inside our Space Rings.

These Space Rings were issued to us when we enrolled, considered a perk, so we didn’t have to lug around our equipment to and from the Academy.

We arrived at the training ground formed by two teaching buildings. Each classroom here had the special ability of [Space Amplification], which could enlarge the room for practice.

When we got there, the elevators were already packed with early-arriving students. Luckily, our testing classrooms were on the third floor, so we just took the stairs.

Each classroom would hold four people for the test, and all of us from the dormitory were assigned together.

By the time we entered, the teacher was already waiting inside.

“Hello, Teacher. We’re here for the Combat Test,” Xiao Xi politely greeted the teacher and stated our purpose.

“Alright, please show me your Admission Tickets.”

After handing over our Admission Tickets and registering, we were ready to start.

But before stepping in, we had to draw lots to decide the order.

In the end, Luna was chosen to go last, and the first to take the test was her own older sister.

“Alright, other candidates please wait outside the classroom.”

“Good luck, sister!”

“Go, Xiao Xi!”

With cheers and encouragement, everyone left, leaving only Xiao Xi and the teacher inside.

“Please wear the Protective Pendant.”

After confirming our names, the teacher handed Lusina a pendant to wear.

This Protective Pendant was to prevent any emergencies during the test. If the crystal inside the pendant shattered during the exam, it meant death and failure.

“You must not take off the necklace during the test. If anything unexpected happens, crush the crystal in the pendant…”

The teacher briefly explained the precautions to Lusina. While listening, Lusina pulled out her gear from the Space Ring.

Once ready, Lusina’s test officially began!

***

And then?

That’s it.

I’m not inside, so how could I possibly know what happened?

We’re all out here in the hallway with the other students, so there’s no way for me to know what’s going on in there.

It’s not that I don’t want to say; I just genuinely don’t know.

I swear!

But I believe my sister will pass the test smoothly.

Why?

Because she’s an S-Rank, so I’m not worried at all.

By the way, Qingyan, Su Luoluo, and I are all A-Ranks. Not great, not terrible — just pretty average.

Right now, those two are playing on their phones in the hallway, and I’m idly gazing off into the distance.

Uh…

Though there’s really nothing to see on the third floor.

Helplessly, I glance around the corridor to see what others are up to.

Most students are chatting or playing on their phones, none seemingly preparing, looking quite relaxed.

Ah, wait.

There actually is one!

My gaze shifts to the adjacent classroom. A girl with short black hair is quietly sitting against the wall in the hallway, cleaning her weapon.

Looking at her weapon, it’s a strangely designed lever-action rifle with a soft tube connected to a gas tank-like device.

That girl quietly cleans her rifle, and no one comes over to chat with her.

Could it be… she has no friends?

At that moment, the door to the next classroom opens — looks like the first person has finished the test.

“Next candidate, Dai Lina, please enter for the test.”

Hearing her name, the girl stood up and walked into the classroom.

Before leaving, she suddenly glanced at me.

Hmm…

Probably just my imagination.

Soon after, my sister came out of the classroom, followed by Qingyan, then Su Luoluo going in to take their tests.

By the time it was my turn, it was already 4:30 PM. Finishing the test would be close to dismissal.

During this time, I kept an eye on the girl named Dai Lina.

After her test, she left immediately without waiting for anyone.

Sure enough, she really had no friends.

After Su Luoluo’s test was done, it was my turn. I walked in with a nervous heart.

“You’re Luna, right?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Alright, please get ready.”

After verification, the teacher went over the precautions as usual and handed me the Protective Pendant.

It was my first time wearing this thing, and I didn’t know exactly how effective it was.

After putting it on, I took out my bow, dagger, and protective gear from my Space Ring.

The bow was made of specially magic-infused yew wood, etched with all kinds of runes. The dagger was similarly engraved. These were weapons my parents had arranged to be custom-made for me.

Besides my gear, my sister’s equipment was just as personalized. But her weapon was a Tang Sword, also etched with runes.

Sorry for the tangent.

After putting on the protective gear, I headed to the designated testing area.

The teacher stood behind me, having already set up the Protective Barrier. If anything happened, she would immediately assist.

Opposite me, a magic circle was summoned, and a massive Treefolk appeared.

These monsters were said to be captured from the Demon Realm. While retaining their wild nature, mind control magic was cast on them so they could be controlled.

“Start!”

With the teacher’s command, the test officially began. I stared at the Treefolk, watching its every move without the slightest relaxation.

“Kid! Go for it!”

***

Where did you come from again!?

Following the voice, I saw Eliza sitting somewhere on the Treefolk’s branch, watching me. She seemed completely unfazed by the Treefolk.

“Go, kid! This monster’s only S-Rank. You can definitely take it down!”

Wait…

She said this monster was S-Rank?

I didn’t quite believe it, so I used Appraisal and got the result: A-Rank.

… That startled me.

I thought I’d be fighting an S-Rank monster, and I couldn’t guarantee winning against one.

Since the Treefolk hadn’t attacked yet, I struck first and advanced swiftly!

“Cat Step!”

I cut one of the Treefolk’s vines just before it could react.

When it tried to whip me with the vine, I quickly dodged.

Heh.

Turns out this guy’s slow to react!

Not such a tough opponent after all.

Just as I was smugly thinking this, the Treefolk started thrashing about wildly. It restored the vine I had cut and launched another attack.

Damn—!

Seeing the vine rushing toward me, I quickly dodged. Getting hit by that wouldn’t be a joke!

Keeping my distance, I studied the Treefolk again.

This is trouble.

I thought it’d be easy to deal with, but it actually has a [Revival] ability. Without finding its weak point, this will be difficult.

The good news: it can’t move—only stand there as a sitting duck.

Then I have no choice…

I pulled out my bow and took aim.

“Then let’s see my arrows!”

I shot magical arrows at the Treefolk. My bow didn’t need physical arrows—just magical energy, and it could continuously fire arrows!

The Treefolk swung its vines to block the arrows, but they didn’t harm it in the slightest.

Tch…

Just shooting like this won’t work. If I run out of mana without finding its weakness…

I haven’t learned this monster’s weakness, but if I knew…

“Explosive Arrow: Arrow Barrage!”

I unleashed my Arrow Barrage skill — one arrow split into two, two split into four, and so on, flooding the Treefolk with arrows.

The moment the arrows hit the Treefolk, they exploded! But the effect was minimal.

When the smoke cleared, the Treefolk looked perfectly fine and let out a roar!

“Great, it’s angry now.”

At that moment, Eliza suddenly appeared beside me, seemingly having read the situation.

“This is trouble, kid.”

“What do you mean?”

Suddenly, the Treefolk’s size doubled, and its once-thin vines thickened immensely!

This time it attacked proactively with those thick vines!

“Dodge! Kid! You’re in its attack range!”

Thanks to Eliza’s warning, I quickly moved out of the way. A massive vine slammed down where I had been standing!

That was close!

Good thing Eliza told me; I dodged just in time.

While retreating, I re-Appraised the monster’s rank. It had changed from A-Rank to S-Rank!

Looks like Eliza was right—it really was an S-Rank monster!

“What now, Eliza? Does it have a weak spot?”

I anxiously looked at her. Since she knew about this monster, she had to know where its weakness was.

“Oh, now you remember me?”

“Cut the crap. You definitely know its weak spot, right!?”

“I do. Its weak spot is in the center. If you break through its bark, you’ll expose it.”

“I got it!”

With Eliza’s guidance, I attacked again. In a gap in its assault, I drew my bow.

“Explosive Arrow!”

I aimed for the Treefolk’s chest and fired. The arrow pierced the vines and struck its core, exposing its weak point.

Success!

Seeing the core, I was thrilled. Now all I had to do was land a fatal blow!

“Don’t get distracted, kid! Keep dodging!”

Vines surged at me, but thanks to Eliza’s warnings, I dodged their attacks and searched for an opening.

Tch… does this thing ever stop?

Vines kept coming, leaving me no chance to strike a decisive blow.

If that’s the case…

I put away my bow and drew my dagger. As a vine hit the ground, I jumped onto it!

Perfect position!

Using my skill [Agile Footwork], I ran along the vine toward the Treefolk, cutting or switching position when encountering attacking vines.

Before long, I reached the Treefolk’s chest.

“Die!”

With a leap, I plunged the dagger into its core. The Treefolk writhed in pain, wildly thrashing its vines.

I quickly retreated and watched.

Gradually, the Treefolk faded away, leaving only me standing in the testing arena.

“Test complete!”

Afterward, the teacher hurried over and asked if I was okay.

“Are you alright? I’m very sorry. Due to a technical error, you faced an S-Rank monster. My sincerest apologies!”

Actually, the teacher outside the Protective Barrier had already noticed the monster’s level shifting from A-Rank to S-Rank.

She was about to interrupt the test but saw me handling it effortlessly, so she held back.

Only after the battle ended did she approach me.

“Apologies once again, candidate. As compensation, you’ve been awarded full marks on this test!”

Hearing this, I was pleasantly surprised. I hadn’t expected to get a perfect score.

Though Eliza did help—if not for her revealing the monster’s weakness, I wouldn’t have won.

“Thank you.”

“If there’s nothing else, you may leave the test room.”

Packing up my gear, I left the classroom and was immediately surrounded by my sister and Qingyan.

“How was it, little Luna? What score did you get?”

“Yeah, sis, why so slow?”

Seeing their eager questions, I didn’t want to keep them in suspense.

“Here’s what happened…”

I recounted everything that happened inside, though I left out the part about Eliza.

No point telling them—they wouldn’t believe it anyway.

“That’s the story. I got full marks.”

Everyone was shocked when they heard I defeated an S-Rank!

“You’re way too strong, little Luna! You actually beat an S-Rank!”

“Right? That puts you on par with your sister!”

“Hehe, just lucky, that’s all.”

Honestly, I was really lucky this time. Without Eliza, it might have been a different outcome.

“Alright, let’s stop here. Let’s head back.”

“Okay…”