“Anyway, that’s how it is. The magic beasts in the forest can’t just vanish into thin air, and the magic puppets that the academy deliberately deployed haven’t sent back data for a long time.”
“Moreover, the examinees seem to be intentionally or unintentionally heading toward the western side of the exam area…”
Shirley frowned. This was a new issue she had discovered after the principal and Shasta left.
The examinees’ scores had now begun to rise, and on the other hand, the magic puppets were sporadically transmitting some combat data, which proved that the exam seemed to have no problems.
But logically speaking, the examinees’ movements within the exam area shouldn’t have been so concentrated. Now, most of them were converging toward the western side of the exam area, as if… they were being drawn by something there.
However, the surveillance footage remained calm and peaceful. Shirley switched through several screens and found that the students were merely chasing magic beasts.
“Got it, Shirley Teacher. I’ll head over to check the situation right away. If there’s anything off, I’ll let you know immediately.”
“Thanks for the trouble, Melrose.”
After ending the call with Melrose, Shirley let out a long breath and frowned at the small red dots on the terminal map that were converging toward the western side of the exam area.
There were no problems yet, and logically, there was no need to halt the exam, but…
Shirley didn’t want any accidents to happen, not like four years ago…
—
“What happened?”
“There seems to be some unexpected situation on the western side of the exam area. I need to go check it out. Looks like this lets Ximo get a temporary reprieve.”
Melrose sheathed her rapier. Although it was a pity that her probing of Ximo had to end here for now, the academy’s task was still more important.
Unexpected? Ximo’s heart stirred as she recalled what Xiliya had told her before they set off. Could the accident that led to several examinees losing their lives be the one Melrose was referring to?
“Wait, let me go with you, Senior Melrose.”
Ximo quickly made up her mind. Originally, after reuniting with Xiliya, she planned to investigate the anomalies in the forest. Now that the anomaly was right in front of her, going to meet Xiliya first might cause her to miss the opportunity.
“No need. It wouldn’t be good if it delayed your exam, Ximo. It’s not a big deal; I’ll just check the situation.”
Ximo grew anxious inside. She knew this matter was no small thing, but she couldn’t openly tell Melrose about the accident that would claim students’ lives, and Melrose didn’t seem to take it seriously.
Melrose indeed didn’t see it as too serious. After all, from Shirley’s description, nothing had gone wrong yet, and if there really was an issue, the academy would surely activate the teleportation magic devices to evacuate the students.
“But…” Ximo racked her brains for an excuse. “I don’t want Senior to get hurt. I have some confidence in my own abilities; maybe I can help you out, and besides…”
Ximo tried to make her tone sound as sincere as possible, but to Melrose’s ears, it took on a different meaning.
It clearly wasn’t a big deal, and this little maid had been indifferent to her bait just moments ago. Now that she was leaving, she was proactively taking the hook?
It was the first time Melrose had seen a toy turn the tables and seduce her instead. What was this called? The enemy advances, I retreat; the enemy tires, I pursue?
Melrose observed Ximo with great interest, trying to discern any clues from her… but Melrose saw nothing. The little maid’s attitude was very sincere, and for some reason, Melrose felt that Ximo seemed a bit anxious.
“Even if you come with me, the academy won’t give you extra exam points for it,” Melrose relented. “Alright then, get ready to head out. Hop on.”
“Eh?”
Ximo stared blankly as Melrose unfastened her rapier. Only then did she notice that Melrose’s rapier actually had a scabbard, and it was quite large and long.
“This sword is actually also a magic staff. I’ll take you there with flight magic—Ximo, you can’t use flight magic yet, right?”
Melrose had previously sneaked a peek at Ximo’s application form using her position. She knew Ximo had no magic rank.
Forget flight magic; Ximo couldn’t use any magic right now, so she had no choice but to obediently climb onto Melrose’s magic staff.
“Get a little closer. This staff might be a bit strained carrying two people. If you’re afraid of falling, you can hold onto my waist.”
A faint, ambiguous smile played at the corners of Melrose’s mouth. Her decision to let Ximo come along was also partly to tease her a bit.
…
At that moment, at the other end of the Mist Forest, Xiliya and Mira were also heading toward the western side of the forest.
Through the dense woods, a small figure darted nimbly, fleeing at extreme speed, with Xiliya and Mira in hot pursuit.
Xiliya locked her gaze dead on the fleeing figure ahead. Magic gathered at the tip of her staff, and moments later, a magic beam shot out, accurately predicting the magic beast’s next move and piercing straight through its body.
It was the simplest form of magic attack—something Jackson and his group had used earlier while chasing Ximo—but Xiliya’s magic beam was superior in both power and precision compared to those three.
“Huff, huff… This is exhausting…”
Mira stopped, panting heavily as she clutched her waist. She hadn’t expected chasing magic beasts in the Mist Forest to be so troublesome. Without Xiliya, she wouldn’t have caught up so quickly.
And so, the Imperial Capital Magic Academy’s exam difficulty was this high? Mira thought to herself.
From earlier until now, they had only encountered this one magic beast, and it had fled desperately the moment it saw them. If hunting magic beasts was this difficult, probably not many people could score points.
As she walked over, Mira realized it was a fox-shaped magic beast, but now it lay motionless on the ground. She couldn’t bear to look at the large hole pierced through its body and turned her face away.
What a pampered young lady… Xiliya turned her gaze to the magic beast on the ground. Unlike Mira, she was completely unaffected as she squatted down to examine its body.
“This is a forest fox,” Xiliya quickly identified the type of magic beast. “A fairly common one in the Mist Forest.”
“Hey, we took down the magic beast, so let’s hurry and find the next one. What’s there to observe about the corpse…”
