"Ha!"
With his legs spread apart and both hands gripping the iron rings, Ryan took a deep breath, tensed the muscles in his arms, and pulled upward sharply.
Clang!
With a slight tremor, the 80-kilogram metal block suddenly moved under the watchful eyes of the students and teachers.
It left the ground and slowly rose upward. Although Ryan wasn't lifting it quickly, his movements were unusually steady. Finally, the block reached his chest.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Three seconds later, seeing that Ryan was still holding the 80-kilogram iron block at chest level without showing any signs of weakness, Teacher Chaucer nodded and announced,
"Pass!"
"He passed?"
Hearing Chaucer's announcement, the students who had been staring intently at Ryan still showed expressions of surprise, even though many of them had already anticipated the result.
The guy who had originally been at the bottom of the class and was on the verge of being kicked out of the academy had actually caught up in such a short period of time.
It all felt extremely unreal to them.
"How did this guy's strength increase so quickly?"
"Is this really Ryan, or is some guy who looks like him impersonating him?"
Boom!
Ryan released his grip, and the 80-kilogram metal block slammed into the ground with a loud bang.
A weight was finally lifted from his heart.
He had passed the assessment.
He wouldn't be expelled.
Although he had already expected this result, only now did he truly breathe a sigh of relief.
Aegis Martial Academy held a status comparable to that of a top-tier university in his previous life. The difference between graduating from this academy and failing to graduate was like night and day.
Without a doubt, remaining at the academy was the best choice if he wanted to live a better life in this world and learn more about it.
"How is this possible? How could this guy's strength have increased so much?"
Derek stared at Ryan with bloodshot eyes, his nails digging into his palms without him even realizing it.
He simply couldn't understand how Ryan, whose strength had clearly been far below the assessment standard not long ago, had managed to catch up so quickly.
"Very good."
In contrast, Elias's face was filled with smiles.
No one knew better than him how hard Ryan had worked. Now that Ryan had passed the assessment and wouldn't be expelled, Elias was overjoyed.
"Do you want to continue?"
After recording that Ryan had passed the strength test, Teacher Chaucer looked at him and asked.
"Mm."
Ryan nodded and walked toward the next metal block.
Like most of the other students, he wanted to see where his current limit was.
85 kilograms.
Ryan already felt some strain.
90 kilograms.
By this point, he was clearly struggling.
When the weight increased to 95 kilograms, Ryan used all his strength, but he could only make the metal block tremble slightly.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift it from the ground.
"90 kilograms. Is that my current limit?"
Looking at the result, Ryan thought to himself.
This level of strength would already have been extraordinary for an ordinary person in his previous world.
However, in this world, he was still only somewhat above the level required of a first-year Blood Warrior Apprentice.
Although he had made tremendous progress over the past few days, he had ultimately fallen too far behind before.
Half an hour later.
The students from all six classes once again stood in formation outside the testing area.
This time, the atmosphere was noticeably more somber than before the assessment, as though the air itself had become heavier.
Directly in front of them stood the six teachers responsible for their year, with one standing at the front and the other five behind him.
At the very front stood the year head, holding a roster in his hand.
After every assessment, the year immediately held a review in which the names of all students who had failed were announced, along with their corresponding punishments.
As for those who had failed the assessment three times, they would be forced to withdraw from the academy on the spot.
The year head coughed twice before looking over the assembled students.
"The following is the list of students who failed the assessment."
"Gunter Baker."
"Kemp Giles."
"Goss James."
...
As each name was called, countless gazes fell upon that student like sharp blades.
Those students instinctively lowered their heads, their faces flushing red as they wished they could disappear into the ground from embarrassment.
"The thirty-one students named above will each work in the quarry for seven days as punishment."
The year head announced the decision in front of everyone.
"Quarry duty!"
Hearing the punishment, many students showed expressions of schadenfreude.
Quarry work was arguably one of the dirtiest and most exhausting punishments assigned by the academy.
They would spend their days breaking and moving stone beneath the sun before returning covered in dust and completely exhausted.
For many students, especially those from wealthy families, it was an extremely unpleasant punishment.
"Next, I will announce the names of those who have been expelled from the academy."
"Carol Joyce."
"Field Green."
"Carly Daller."
The year head's gaze remained cold as he continued,
"The three individuals named above are hereby expelled and must vacate the academy within one day."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, many students looked puzzled, almost believing they had misheard.
Several students looked toward the year head in confusion.
They had expected Ryan's name to be among those called.
After all, Ryan was the student who had received one-on-one guidance from Aurelia despite already being on the verge of expulsion.
"These are the results of this assessment. Dismissed."
The year head naturally understood why so many students were confused, but he had no intention of explaining.
Because of Aurelia, he had also investigated Ryan, and what he discovered had placed him in a difficult position.
As someone who had received Aurelia's personal guidance, Ryan had naturally attracted his attention.
However, Ryan's previous performance had been extremely poor. He had already failed the assessment twice in a row, which made the situation troublesome.
When it came to the academy's assessments, even the year head couldn't show favoritism. The assessment system was one of the foundations of Aegis Martial Academy.
At the same time, considering Aurelia's apparent interest in Ryan, he had considered recommending Ryan to another nearby martial academy if he failed.
To his surprise, Ryan had passed the assessment entirely on his own.
That result had greatly surprised him.
Although the students couldn't get an answer from the year head, plenty of students had taken the assessment alongside Ryan.
Many people therefore gathered around the students of Class Six, and it didn't take long for them to learn what had happened.
Once they heard the explanation, many of them were filled with regret.
"How is this possible? That guy actually passed the assessment?"
"It must have been because of Lady Aurelia's guidance that he improved so quickly. Damn it! Why did I hesitate back then?"
However, some students viewed the matter more rationally and didn't attribute everything to Aurelia's guidance.
Aurelia might be powerful, but she wasn't omnipotent. It was clearly impossible for someone to improve so dramatically simply from receiving a single session of guidance.
"He probably took some kind of precious medicine that improved his physical condition."
This explanation quickly spread among the students.
It provided a convincing reason for Ryan's sudden increase in strength and soon became the most widely accepted theory among them.
Ryan paid no attention to their speculation.
In a good mood, he ate a large meal in the academy cafeteria before returning to his dormitory. He took out the Silver Blood and returned it to Elias.
The most important thing in friendship was sincerity.
If Ryan had urgently needed the Silver Blood, accepting it would have been one thing. But now that he no longer needed it, he naturally intended to return it.
Besides, although Silver Blood was precious, it was no longer something he desperately needed.
At his current cultivation speed, the improvement it could provide was something he could achieve through a relatively short period of cultivation.
There was no reason to waste such a valuable medicine.
A few days later, Ryan and Elias were leaving the training field after finishing their course when a brown-haired boy suddenly stepped into their path.