"What… what was that just now?"
A murmur of uncertainty rippled through the crowd of observing Mages.
"Was that a?"
A nearby Mage shook his head. He hadn't seen it clearly. The crystal orb was only a broadcast feed, and many details were inevitably lost compared to seeing the scene with one's own eyes.
Everyone turned their attention toward Joron, who was smugly stroking his beard and throwing a sidelong glance at Aelyx.
"Aelyx, why so quiet all of a sudden?"
The soul fire in Aelyx's eye sockets flared up, and a wave of intense mana energy burst from his skeletal frame.
But the gathered Mages were all high-level; a mere flare of power served no other purpose than to show that Aelyx was… deeply pissed off.
"What exactly was that thing, Joron?" one Mage asked.
No one had seen it clearly. Without modified eyes, they couldn't tell what had happened just from the crystal feed.
Joron gave a classic non-answer: "Ahem, that was a magical device my student developed. You all saw the effect, it speaks for itself. As for the specifics… I'll keep those confidential."
A chorus of boos followed Joron's deliberately vague reply.
Of course, everyone knew that real alchemists never publicize their personal gear. But some who remembered the incident with Joseph a few years ago were already forming suspicions.
Back in the examination field.
After killing Sylas, Edwyn became a walking beacon. Every few seconds, a wave of energy pulsed from him.
Thanks to that, he didn't encounter a single student on his way to the center of the arena. Even with Moony's high-altitude vision, all he saw were people fleeing.
"Well, that's one way to avoid being harassed."
Edwyn chuckled to himself and activated Levitation to speed up.
Along the way, his energy pulses didn't just scare people, they also attracted a few fools who thought they could make their name by taking him out.
But instead of teaming up against him, they usually ended up fighting each other first. Compared to the obvious threat Edwyn posed, these weaker contestants were easier targets.
Thanks to Levitation and the energy pulses that cleared his path, Edwyn crossed dozens of kilometers in under an hour and arrived at the arena's central landmark, a towering beam of light piercing the sky.
He began to wait. Clearly, his speed far outstripped someone like Elia, who still needed to "hunt" for apprentice curse marks.
As he waited, he spent time recovering mana and setting up a few useful gadgets.
As an alchemy apprentice, he had plenty of tricks.
"Ahhh!"
A student trying to ambush Edwyn under the cover of night let out a shriek. They'd stepped into a trap, tangled in thorny vines that wrapped around them like a net.
Their blood drained from the wounds and was absorbed by the plant, which grew thicker and more vicious by the second.
The student struggled but to no avail. A black sword ended their life in a single, clean stroke.
"Another idiot."
Edwyn yawned and watched dispassionately as the student's corpse was sucked dry.
The plant was called Bloodsucking Bramble, a minor trick from Herbalist Alchemy.
Joron had only dabbled in it, and Edwyn had barely learned the basics, but even a little knowledge was enough to outsmart a fool at the right time.
With the student's death, Edwyn's energy pulse flared again.
"At this rate, the whole arena's gonna know I'm here."
He scratched his head and rifled through the corpse.
To be honest, he wasn't enthusiastic about looting. The gear on these people was laughably poor. Even someone like Sylas only carried 200 Mana Stones and two usable Arcane Artifacts. One of them was even a specialty item, useful only to necromancy apprentices.
If not for the few high-quality bones Edwyn salvaged from the corpse giant, killing Sylas would've earned him less than selling a month's worth of potions.
And that was Sylas's entire net worth.
Just as Edwyn finished looting and was about to rest, he felt a new pulse in the distance, one just as strong as his own.
He narrowed his eyes and switched to Moony's view.
Moony's night vision was unmatched, perfect for scouting.
"Why does that silhouette look familiar…?"
Edwyn rubbed his chin. The figure looked vaguely recognizable, so he instinctively activated his bloodline transformation, growing into a two-meter-tall black-scaled beast.
"Edwyn, so this is why you never transformed in front of me," said a familiar voice. "You look like that?"
Edwyn's eyes widened.
"Elia?"
Elia strolled over, leaning on her staff and curiously touching his scales.
"Not exactly handsome," she said, "but definitely intimidating."
Edwyn canceled the transformation and circled her.
"Didn't expect you to be this strong. You killed twenty people?"
Elia rolled her eyes.
"Better than some barbarian meathead brute like you. You're a Mage apprentice now, how about actually using magic?"
She punched him lightly in mock frustration.
Her mentor, Susanna, had once appreciated Edwyn upon learning he was Joron's student, until she found out he pursued the bloodline alchemy path.
"Anyone who walks the bloodline path is just a savage!"
Lady Susanna, dual-specialized in evocation and curses.
After a round of teasing, they moved on to serious topics.
"Your teacher probably told you," Elia said, her expression turning serious. "This time, the rewards for the leaderboard are different. Most likely, the top scorers will get to explore the Chancellor's private dimension."
Edwyn nodded. As a close friend of Vice Dean Elric, Joron had already given him a heads-up.
"So, what's your plan now?" Elia asked.
Edwyn pulled out the exam rule scroll.
"What do you think about hunting those arcane beasts?"
Elia frowned.
"My mentor told me those creatures are slaves the Chancellor captured from other planets. They're not your average arcane beasts."
"But they're the best way to gain points." Edwyn pointed at the rulebook. "Fifty points each. That's worth at least two High Apprentices."
He knew those monsters would be tough, but if they didn't take the risk, they'd never get ahead of the pack.
He'd already seen how slippery apprentice mages were, once everyone had energy pulses giving away their kills, surprise attacks would be impossible.
After a moment of hesitation, Elia nodded. She didn't have a better plan.
With their strategy agreed upon, the two began resting in place.
The arcane beasts weren't released until Day 15 of the exam.