One week had passed since Albedo had completed the Mission. He had received his reward, 4000 Merit and had managed to breakthrough to the High Silver Rank, since he was already very close to ranking up after the mission.

Now, things had once again returned to relative normalcy, except now it was time for Mid-Term Exams.

In the Novel, Mid-Terms were one of the most important plot-lines. Not only was it where Lucian truly established himself as a dominant force among the freshmen with his performance in the practical.

It was also the moment where the Abyss Worshippers would make their second genuine appearance in the Novel, leading a large scale attack on the academy, targeting all the freshmen who were taking part of the practical exam.

Dozens of students died, many more were injured, including everyone in the Myth Class. It was a horrific event that had drawn attention from all over the world, and a crucial moment in the Novel.

Even Lucian almost died that day, and the trauma of what happened would’v changed all the main characters forever, making them train harder than ever to get revenge.

However, all of that was for one week from now, as currently, it was time for the Written Examinations.

The Written Exams would take place all over the course of one week and would comprise multiple facets of information.

Mana theory and equations, World History & Geography, Beast & Monster Analysis, Survival Theory and much more. All of these exams were multiple hours long, and had every student losing their mind.

Currently, it was only day 2 of Mid-Term Exams.

The massive bronze doors of Lecture Hall 5 groaned open as dozens of exhausted students shuffled out like the walking dead. Eyes glazed, postures slouched, and some even muttering calculations under their breath as if haunted by mana formulae.

Albedo stepped out of the hall with a sigh, stretching his arms over his head. The test had taken nearly four hours, the kind of trial that felt longer than most dungeon dives.

He was just about to head toward the Central Fountain when he heard a familiar voice call out.

“Albedo! Wait up, you damned overachiever!”

He turned to see Dorian, the playboy heir of Marquis Lewis, practically dragging his feet out the doorway. His usually immaculate blond hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Beside him was Lucian, his black hair slicked back with sweat, the corners of his eyes twitching as he rubbed his temple with a grimace.

“By the gods,” Lucian muttered, “Did the professors secretly hire court mages to write that exam? Because that was not something a freshman should survive.”

“Seriously,” Dorian said, waving his hands in frustration,”Was that even a test or psychological torture? “Why would I ever need to calculate the mana transference threshold of a five-node crystal conduit while inside a mana-deprived subspace?! I’m not an artificer!”

Albedo chuckled as he heard that, remembering what he put for that question and continuing to talk, “I take it you both didn’t enjoy the section on mana conductors?”

Dorian groaned dramatically, clutching his chest like he was mortally wounded, “Don’t even say the words. I saw one equation that took up four pages. FOUR! I swear I could hear the paper weeping.”

“You were weeping,” Lucian corrected, smirking, “You begged for the heavens to strike you down with lightning halfway through.”

“An act of mercy,” Dorian replied without shame, turning and looking at some of the girls exiting the exam room, waving and winking at them, a-lot of whom winked back.

Albedo laughed, just as more footsteps approached from behind, spotting Miranda emerging.

“I thought I was prepared,” Miranda admitted, her voice calm but tired, “But the way they framed the mana compression scenarios threw me off. That final question… I wasn’t expecting it to rely on that kind of formulations.”

“Neither was I,” said Lira, stepping up beside her. The red-eyed beast tamer wore a frustrated expression as she crossed her arms. “And don’t even get me started on that comparison between Mana Splices and Chaos Storms. The distinctions were intentionally vague.”

“You all complain too much.”

The flat voice came from behind them, as Veronica walked up, her hair tucked behind one air as she adjusted her glasses and gave the group a mild glance, “The test was reasonable. Difficult, but not unfair. Every question was traceable to at least one of the lectures or assigned readings.”

“Spoken like someone who lives in a library,” Dorian groaned, “Assigned readings. Why don’t these bum professors just actually read it during class.”

“Spoken like someone who actually paid attention,” Veronica shot back without missing a beat, “And it’s so they know we’re doing our work as well,”

“More like so they can sit on their fat asses,” Dorian said.

Lucian gave Albedo a look, “What about you? I swear, if you say it was ‘fine’ I’m going to punch a wall.”

Albedo shrugged, his blue eyes calm “It was fine. Most of the questions were designed to trick people into second-guessing themselves. Once you understood the trap, it wasn’t that bad.”

Lucian narrowed his eyes, “You’re evil. No wonder you’re #1,”

Albedo just laughed as the group walked off towards the cafeteria, grabbing a meal and sitting to chat while eating.

“Either way,” Lucian said, chowing down on a burger he ordered, “That was only the second test. We have Beast & Monster Analysis tomorrow, and Survival Theory after that.”

“Which is going to kill me,” Dorian added.

“I’d be happy to bury your body,” Veronica said with a roll of her eyes, continuing her meal.

Albedo didn’t order anything, just eating one of the Nutrient Chocolates to top himself up before asking, “So,” he began, glancing at the others, “Are you all ready for the Practical Exam next week?”

The table quieted for a brief moment as everyone thought about their answer, and then Veronica spoke, “I am. I’ve already reviewed every section of the Monster Scape’s known layout and elemental zones. I’ve also studied the spawn tendencies of different beast species across the years. The Academy rotates the terrain clusters and monster seedings, but the mana rhythms always follow a pattern. I’ll adapt.”

Dorian let out a groan, “Of course you have.”

“Monster Scape, huh…” Lira murmured. “I heard the terrain resets itself every two weeks. Constant monster respawning, fluctuating mana density, even unpredictable weather patterns. Sounds less like a training ground and more like a cursed forest.”

“It is cursed,” Lucian chimed in between bites of his burger. “Cursed to make sure we don’t slack off.”

Miranda nodded slowly. “Seven days of survival, with limited food and water access, plus the pressure of constantly being hunted, by both monsters and other students.”

“Exactly,” said Albedo, his fingers now steepled beneath his chin, “Survival. Combat. Adaptability. Resourcefulness. The Monster Scape was designed to emulate real-world nightmare scenarios. It’s not just about killing monsters, it’s about who can keep a level head when the whole world’s trying to tear you apart.”

“And don’t forget the point system,” Veronica added, “Every kill gets you points depending on the monster’s threat level. But the biggest factor is player-versus-player combat. If someone defeats you, they gain all your points, and your current total gets locked in as your final score.”

“It’s the kind of setup that encourages betrayal,” Lira muttered, brows furrowed. “All the freshmen in one place, and a lot of them have grudges. There’s going to be ambushes. Temporary alliances. Bloodshed.”

Dorian paled slightly, “I didn’t sign up for a Battle Royale. Is this still a school or a warzone?”

“It’s both,” Miranda replied softly.

Lucian turned toward Albedo then, a glint of excitement flickering in his green eyes. “You’re at the top now, but I’ll be challenging you in there. You and me. No rules. No resets. Just strength.”

Albedo smirked, blue eyes steady, “Make sure you rack up enough points before that. Would be a shame if I beat you and you fall all the way out of Myth Class.”

Lucian laughed, leaning back, “Cocky bastard.”

“No,” Veronica said without looking up from her notes, “Just honest.”

The table chuckled. Even Dorian cracked a grin.

“But seriously,” Lira added, her tone growing somber again, “Have any of you considered how many of the students from the lower-ranked classes are going to team up? The Myth Class is like a glowing target for them.”

“She’s right,” Miranda nodded. “Our class has most of the top combatants. Some of the Bronze and Standard Classes might see this as an opportunity, to take down someone above them and skyrocket their rankings in one go.”

“It’ll happen,” Albedo confirmed, “Multiple students ganging up. Packs roaming through the forest. Some will try to form alliances. Some will just ambush whoever they can find.”

“Sounds like my dating life, all those women chasing after me,” Dorian quipped, earning another eye-roll from Veronica.

“But there’s an upside,” Albedo continued, ignoring the joke. “Everyone’s a threat to everyone else. That means while they’re targeting us, they’ll also be distracted by each other. There’s opportunity in the chaos.”

Miranda looked at him, “You sound like you’ve planned for this.”

“I always plan,”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep