Even though Silas had been prepared for the end of the admission test, he had never expected it to conclude like this.

A new day arrived, and the blue sun slowly climbed toward the centre of the sky. After dawn, four waves of Stone Frogs assaulted the area, forcing Silas and Darius to abandon any thought of rest and focus on surviving the final stretch of the trial.

Then a distant sound reached them.

At first, it was little more than a faint whisper carried by the wind. With every passing minute, however, it grew louder.

"They’re here!"

Relief flooded Darius’ voice as he pointed toward the sky.

"The cargo ship is coming... although it looks much smaller than I imagined."

He turned toward Silas and found the same puzzled expression on his friend’s face.

Both of them had expected something comparable to the massive aircraft that had brought them to this forsaken place. Instead, a much smaller vessel approached, not all that different from the transport that had once taken Silas away from the orphanage.

Before he could voice his thoughts, movement appeared at the edge of his vision. Silas immediately drew his daggers. Beside him, Darius gripped a mana crystal that contained less than a third of its energy, ready to fight if necessary.

Yet the moment they saw who was approaching, both froze.

A group of ten fierce-looking Enhancers emerged from the rune structure they had defended for days. Passing through the protective barrier with ease, they stopped several dozen meters away before one of them stepped forward.

"Easy there. We’re not your enemies."

The man reached into his pocket and produced a circular emblem, raising it for the two youngsters to see. Darius’ eyes widened, and Silas reacted no differently.

"You’re from Frontier Academy?" Silas asked immediately.

The Enhancer nodded.

"Congratulations on completing the admission test. You’ve earned this."

He tossed the emblem toward Silas, then threw another to Darius. Both caught them instinctively. Yet the emblem didn’t answer any question the two youngsters had in their minds.

The first thing Silas noticed was how cold the metal felt in his hand. Darius, meanwhile, was struck by its surprising weight.

"Your test is over..."

"Why were you inside that rune structure?" Silas interrupted before the man could continue.

His gaze sharpened.

"Were you watching us this entire time?"

Darius immediately joined in. For a brief moment, the group of Enhancers exchanged glances. Surprisingly, none seemed offended by the questioning. If anything, there was a trace of respect in their eyes.

After all, these men and women were academy teachers. And back in the academy, none would ever dare to question them like this. But the two youngsters had gone through a lot, and they had earned at least this much.

The Enhancer who had spoken first paused before answering.

"We were indeed inside the structure, but don’t misunderstand. We weren’t there to monitor your every action. We had a different mission."

"Bullshit."

Darius’ voice turned cold.

"You’re telling me you watched us struggle, watched people die, watched us get manipulated by the filthy Enhancer you placed in charge of the test?"

His words were harsh, but they were not entirely wrong. For several seconds, nobody spoke. The silence spoke louder than any words. The wind swept across the place, failing to lighten the atmosphere.

Darius stared at the teachers as if seeing monsters. They stood and watched while his teammates died. Silas sighed and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder before pointing out the obvious conclusion Darius had overlooked in his anger.

"You were there to expose Vaelous and his accomplices, weren’t you?"

The teacher smiled faintly.

"You’re a sharp one."

He nodded.

"We needed to uncover the people behind Vaelous."

His expression remained calm as he continued.

"Even if that meant standing aside while young recruits were manipulated by his schemes."

Darius stared at him in disbelief. The words struck harder than any blow he had ever received. Memories of his fallen friends resurfaced, turning the pain in his chest into something almost unbearable.

It was awful, it was suffocating, especially when he realised their deaths could have been prevented.

Only another tug from Silas prevented him from unleashing everything he had been holding back at the faces of the teachers. There was little point arguing about something that had already happened.

’In the end, it was the same as the orphanage; no one would come to save you. Even if adults are present, they won’t step up and help. No one ever did, no one will ever do.’

Silas cursed inwardly, but his expression remained calm. He kept his emotions under better control than his friend.

"Then the test is officially over?"

Silas raised the emblem slightly. And the teacher nodded.

"So the entire admission test was just bait to lure Vaelous out."

This time, however, the teacher shook his head.

"The test was genuine."

Silas frowned.

"The admission trial is conducted the same way for every Frontier recruit," the teacher explained. "If we had altered the process, Vaelous and his fellow Dark Hunters might have sensed something was wrong and never revealed themselves."

That answer was reasonable enough.

"Dark Hunters? Is that what you call people like Vaelous?"

This was the first time Silas had heard such a title, and the teacher nodded without delving deeper into the details. "You’ll learn more about them in the academy." This was the only answer he gave.

And then Silas studied the ten teachers standing before him.

"Still, ten teachers for six Enhancers seems excessive. You weren’t planning to kill them all."

Once again, the teacher shook his head.

"We didn’t know how many people would be sent. Had we been forced to intervene ourselves, we would have preferred to capture at least one or two alive for questioning."

Silas’ eyes narrowed slightly.

"Then our assessment should be higher for doing your work for you, right?"

A few teachers raised their brows, while one of the teachers studied Silas for a moment before nodding.

"You have courage. I’ll give you that."

The lead teacher gave his colleague a sharp glance before saying:

"Fair enough. We’ll make sure you receive the evaluation you deserve."

Yet the promise looked fake in Silas’ eyes.

"Thanks."

Silas answered politely, though his thoughts were elsewhere. What he focused more on was the hints he gained from their words; the academy was indeed an eccentric and very dangerous place.

Yet the test was over. Whatever its real purpose had been, it no longer mattered now. All he wanted was to reach the academy and discover what awaited him there.

Beside him, Darius was barely holding himself together. Without Silas repeatedly calming him down, he would have exploded several times already. Yet Silas understood something his friend did not.

Arguing with academy teachers would accomplish nothing. One fact remained impossible to ignore. These people had watched, understood what was happening, and chosen not to interfere.

That alone told Silas plenty about the academy they were about to join.

’Strength above all. What a twisted philosophy for a place meant to raise kids.’

Silas fell silent as the shuttle descended. Just as he had suspected, the vessel was far too small to transport supplies or mana crystals. It had come for a different purpose. It had come to take them back to the academy.

"Ready to join Frontier Academy?"

The lead teacher looked at the two youngsters. Silas and Darius exchanged a glance before nodding. Each carried different thoughts, but neither hesitated. They boarded the shuttle, and moments later it lifted into the sky.

Standing beside the open hatch, Silas took one final look at the battlefield that had dominated the last several days of his life.

Then he drew a slow breath and stepped fully inside.

’If no one is coming to save me, then I would simply become strong enough to save myself.’

’Frontier Academy... here I come.’