A moment later, an intermediate-level Detection Magic spread out from Xiliya at the center, radiating in all directions. Although casting magic beyond her level was a bit taxing for Xiliya, she still pushed hard to expand the detection range.
A few seconds later, Xiliya opened her eyes with an answer in mind, her expression grave.
As expected, the number of magic beasts lurking in this Swamp Land was several times greater than elsewhere. The Detection Magic had just sensed the auras of dozens of low-level magic beasts nearby—this density was excessively high!
Xiliya could already imagine what would happen. There were hardly any magic beasts in other parts of the Mist Forest, while the Swamp Land on the western side of the exam grounds had several times more.
Gradually, all the examinees would drift toward the western side of the exam grounds, intentionally or not. And with low-level magic beasts like Forest Foxes acting as bait to “guide” them, the process would accelerate.
Right now, not many examinees had gathered in this Swamp Land yet, since the exam had only been going for half a day. She had hurried here quickly after noticing something amiss. But if they waited until tomorrow or the day after, this Swamp Land would definitely draw even more examinees!
The question now was: Who was behind this plot to lure them in like fish into a barrel? What exactly was in this Swamp Land?
Before Xiliya could figure it out, a scream from nearby drew her attention. A bad premonition rose in her heart. Without thinking twice, she dropped Mira and rushed toward the sound.
“Hey? What happened… Ah, wait for me, Miss!”
This Swamp Land was actually not friendly to mages. Dense underbrush combined with unidentified vines hanging down to block the view, plus the occasional pits and swamps underfoot, made every step treacherous.
By the time Xiliya reached the source of the noise, she saw only two examinees who had been traveling together lying under a tree by the swamp. One of them had blood dripping from their leg—they were already injured.
“What happened?”
Xiliya didn’t approach rashly, but her staff was already primed with magic in readiness.
“Th-there’s a magic beast!” The uninjured examinee said in a terrified voice. “We were chasing a low-level magic beast, but this swamp had magic beasts hidden inside. It suddenly attacked my friend just now…”
Magic beasts in the swamp? Xiliya was stunned, then quickly realized something.
“Don’t stay there! Get away from the swamp!”
Xiliya shouted a low warning. The next second, the previously calm swamp suddenly grew more turbid. A snake burst out from the swamp and lunged at the two by the tree!
Fortunately, Xiliya was prepared. A Barrier Magic swiftly unfolded in front of them, blocking the attack. Xiliya stared intently at the ambushing magic beast, trying to identify its type.
There were indeed many snake-shaped magic beasts in the Swamp Land. Could the accident from her previous life’s exam have been caused by these…? No!
Xiliya noticed something off. The snake retreated after its failed strike, but the swamp grew even more turbid. With a massive “splash,” a colossal creature burst out from the swamp, letting out a terrifying roar at Xiliya.
“Wh-what is that monster?”
The two by the tree turned pale with fright. Mira, who had followed Xiliya, was also scared. Only Xiliya stared fixedly at the giant beast that had emerged from the swamp… No, this wasn’t some snake-shaped magic beast!
Muddy water dripped off it. Xiliya saw at a glance that the giant beast had a slender tail with a snake head, a lion’s body further forward, and… the heads of a goat and a lion.
The two-headed aberrant beast fixed Xiliya with a ferocious glare. She felt as if struck by lightning and immediately recognized the magic beast before her.
This was the advanced magic beast, Chimera! How could such a high-level magic beast appear in the Academy’s exam grounds?
Logically, the Academy should have scoured the exam area beforehand. Had this Chimera hidden in the swamp to evade the check?
Chimera was a rare advanced magic beast with extremely high magical talent. Unlike common low-level ones like Forest Foxes or Rift Sky Leopards, it possessed at least the strength of a Mid-Level Magician from birth!
The Chimera before her was enormous. Its tail bore a snake head, its body a fusion of goat and lion. The massive lion head opened wide toward Xiliya, and the next second, a blazing fireball flew straight at her.
Xiliya quickly calmed down. A blue Barrier Magic enveloped her body, blocking the attack. She could have dodged it entirely, but she wanted to probe the beast’s capabilities.
Logically, the Academy’s Barrier Magic shouldn’t have such a low-level oversight. Even if an advanced magic beast like Chimera was in the exam grounds, the barrier should suppress its power to low-level upper tier. But from the magical fluctuations of that fireball, this Chimera had at least intermediate strength!
Was it because its level was too high to be fully suppressed by the barrier?
“H-how could this be?”
At that moment, the injured student’s panicked voice came from the side. The two students were clutching the Teleportation Magic Devices issued by the Academy, but no matter how much magic power they poured in, the devices that should have taken them straight out of the exam grounds showed no reaction.
These freshmen had entered the exam grounds confidently because of the Academy’s backup plan. Now that even that had failed, everyone’s hearts sank.
“First, get him to safety over there! It’s dangerous here!”
Xiliya shouted a reminder to the two students. At that moment, an unexpected figure dashed out from behind her.
“Hurry! Help him over there—it’s easy to get caught in the crossfire here!”
It was Mira, which surprised Xiliya a bit. She had thought Mira’s personality would make her run away, but the haughty young lady, though pale-faced, stepped up to help support the injured student to safety.
Mira’s personality seemed different from the Mira she had known in her previous life. If this haughty young lady was so kind-hearted in a crisis, why had she always acted like a little demoness picking fights with her for no reason back then?
