"Damn... what am I supposed to do now..." It is a complete surprise for Novus, who expected to just have a normal day in class.

It is indeed going normally at first; however, what he can only think of as the worst-case scenario pops out of nowhere as if to throw him off the painful, yet comfortable loop that he is growing to like despite only being in it for a couple of days.

"There won’t be any classes for today," the female professor who entered the room announced as soon as she settled her materials on the desk, a shocked look on each of the students’ faces as if they had just heard the most unbelievable thing in existence.

After all, the Galilea Magic Academy is a place where other than growing stronger, learning is placed a heavy emphasis on, as it is this learning that will be the foundation for the student to grow stronger, so for this academy that is so strictly following this kind of code, well known to students and faculty alike, to dismiss classes, is just that much of a surprise.

Of course, it is a pleasant surprise for Novus, who wants nothing more than to remain in his room to focus on absorbing all the harvest of his previous hunt on the Evolution Domain, the news already starting to make an excited grin creep on his face, a grin immediately shut down as the female professor continued with her words.

"Well, it’s not like you kids won’t have anything to do because of this, the academy decided to let all of you go for today since there will be a joint graded exam to be participated in by all year levels" the professor declared, finally sending the whole class into chaos as this is the first time they had ever heard of such a thing like this.

"Ah, there’s no need to worry about anything, dear students, this is a li~ttle secret tradition that the academy has going for several decades now, well, you won’t really hear anything about it even if you have close seniors since they have a non-disclosure pact signed for this~" the professor added, amused at the expression of wonder that each student shows in their faces.

"Now, some of you might, no, there’s definitely someone who’s going to ask why go so far for a little test, well, simple, as the headmaster often says, ’One cannot always know what is going to happen ahead of them’ that’s all there is to it~~."

The professor told with glee as if she takes pleasure in the collective confusion and frustration that the students are feeling right now, among those frustrated being Novus, who can’t help but feel like he’s going to be in for something he wouldn’t like to take any part of, even when the professor has yet to explain how this joint-year exam will go.

And as if to prove his speculation right when he needed it to be wrong the most, the professor continues, starting with a little teasing while still sporting a mischievous, foxy smile on her face.

"Alright alright, cheer up will you, kids, at least with this, you know how serious our beloved academy is when it comes to educating you students, right?" she said with the same gleeful tone to her voice before the air around her shifts closer towards a little bit more seriousness, her high tone, the chime-like voice dialing down a few steps as she starts taking things seriously.

"Now, I will explain what will happen in the exam, listen carefully, as this will only be explained once, and after this, you will do this exam for three more years... if you will pass this year, that is~~."

With those words from the professor, everyone in the room started listening, directing their entire focus on each word of the explanation of the rules that they must abide by during the exams, as to why they listened so barely? It is in the hopes of finding a loophole that can bring them even just the tiniest of advantage during these joint-grade exams.

Even Novus himself listens carefully as even if he thinks there’s no need to worry too much about there being a loophole in the rule made by an academy where some of the most brilliant of minds in the world works, he still needs to know what sort of behavior will bring him to a dangerous spot, especially when unlike other type of trials that they have information of, this little secret exam is something that each freshmen of the academy doesn’t have any information on.

"The exam is simple, given three days of time, the freshmen are allowed complete freedom roaming around inside and outside the academy grounds so long as they will not leave the Regia Floating Island, and within that amount of time, they must prepare as much as they can before they are sent down below, to an infested island hand-picked by the academy professors’ collective decision."

"The goal on that island is simple: grab as many points as you can by hunting powerful beasts and monsters as much as you can, all while using the knowledge given to all of you by our beloved academy to survive, heck, even thrive on that island."

"The point system will not be revealed until the exam is finished, this is so that you can decide without pressure whether to hunt a stronger or a weaker target or not. Who knows, maybe the points for an F--Tier and an F+-Tier might be all the same, right? It’s a gamble worth a shot, if you were to ask me."

The professor waits for any question as she decides to pause for a little while, the last of her words making some of the students’ eyes glow bright with excitement, the amused smile never leaving her face as she stares at them, opening her mouth once again as she realizes that they had yet to find a question to ask her.

"Of course, it will be unfair, even dangerous for students who just started walking the path of magic to hunt creatures without any knowledge regarding the place they are going to, hence why your big brothers and sisters, from sophomores to seniors, are participating in this as well~."

"However, bear in mind that they are not allies, but competitors, and they will only help by saving you kids out of debilitating or lethal dangers, nothing more."

"If you are going to be eliminated but will survive without any serious injuries, they won’t act for your benefit."

"And even if they were to save you from those extremely dangerous situations, it will still count as you being eliminated."

The professor said in a serious tone that made the freshmen gulp, as they were about to fight people way ahead of them in terms of being in the academy, where even just months of difference between people will make the gap between said people a chasm that the weaker one might never be able to cross.

And knowing this, all of them couldn’t help but feel terror as they wonder how it is that they are supposed to compete against older students who are ahead of them by at least a year and at most, three years in this academy.

All but one of them at least, as Novus also shakes a little bit because of the news, but not from worry about all these things, but rather from the anticipation of witnessing the talents of the older students first hand.

’There should be something I can learn from them, right?’