Boom!

A dome covered Azar and the rest as he groaned in pain.

"Heal him, Veya," Azar spoke as he dismissed the dome. At his back was one of his injured teammates with a cut that went from his shoulder to his knee.

"Ari tat jiki veni shino…" Azar chanted as lightning struck the monster before them.

Buzz..

The insect-like monster was incredibly fast, dodging the attacks one after another as it rapidly closed the distance between itself and Azar.

Azar quickly cast a wind spell to disrupt the creature's movement.

Standing at over 1.5 meters tall, the insect resembled a ladybug with a tiny upper body and a large, rounded lower body. Each of its wings stretched over a meter long, flapping with such intensity that small gales formed around it as it moved.

For a moment, the wind spell worked, and the monster's speed appeared to decrease.

Alas, it did not last long.

The insect suddenly accelerated once more.

Just as it got close enough to Azar, a smile appeared on his face.

"Bivit… bijo… gino…" Azar cast as he instantly teleported away.

Behind the creature stood his teammates, who had already prepared their strongest spells beforehand.

Instantly, the insect sensed danger as it frantically flapped its wings in an attempt to escape.

But it realized too late that the earth beneath it had wrapped tightly around its legs. Unless it instantly detached its limbs, escape was impossible.

Bang!

A massive fireball, a violent storm wind, and an icy glacier spell merged together while a subtle red aura covered them—a buff cast by Veya that amplified the attacks several times over.

Boom!

The combined strike landed cleanly, blowing the upper torso of the creature into oblivion.

Thud…

One of the twenty leaders carrying a 1,000-point bounty—

The Peak Tier 2 creature, the Wind Galari Fly, was dead.

Its body crashed onto the ground as everyone collapsed from exhaustion, breathing heavily.

Even Veya, the support mage, looked drained.

There were five people on their team, meaning that even after killing one of the top twenty leaders, each of them would only receive around 200 points assuming their contributions were equal.

At the very least, they would need to kill five top leaders or continue grinding Tier 1 and Tier 2 creatures for days.

Unless they targeted the number one creature in the forest..

The very monster responsible for increasing the trial's difficulty by an entire level.

A Tier 3 creature worth 6,000 points.

If they killed it, they could immediately leave this place.

Alas, the danger and risk involved made them hesitate.

"Everyone should rest and recover your mana," Azar said calmly.

"And Veya, take your time. We're not rushing. Even if we aren't at the top right now, we're still sitting comfortably in the middle ranks."

Everyone nodded before sitting down to meditate as they slowly recovered their mana reserves.

This was one of the greatest dangers of fighting mana-devouring beasts.

Even victory left a Magi drained.

Regardless, Azar was still thankful for this opportunity.

Engaging in life-and-death battles was training them and preparing them for the future.

Under the pressure of this intense environment, the childishness on their faces was rapidly disappearing.

It had already been two days since the start of the trial.

So far, even the lowest among them had close to 300 points.

Before encountering one of the twenty leaders, they had already killed several Tier 1 and Tier 2 beasts.

But after fighting the Wind Galari Fly, they finally understood the terrifying gap between ordinary Tier 2 creatures and the elite leaders.

That realization only deepened their fear of the Tier 3 creature lurking in the depths of the forest.

While meditating, Azar silently examined how close he was to breaking through to Tier 3.

For him, the more dangerous and deadly the battle was, the faster he could evolve.

But unknown to Azar and the others…

Beneath the surface of the island, the roots of the very creature they feared most were quietly spreading across the entire forest.

---

Tofan and the remaining four teachers sat on an island a few kilometers away, watching the live broadcast while discussing which students would emerge victorious first.

Of course, Tofan was the proudest among them.

After all, Azar was undoubtedly the most talented of the younger generation, and the trial only made that fact even clearer.

Azar alone already possessed 509 points—half of the required amount in just two days.

Even his teammates had between 200 and 400 points, not falling far behind.

They were over a hundred points ahead of the other students.

Tofan smiled proudly as he teased the other teachers.

"Open your eyes and see clearly. My students will be the first to finish," Tofan laughed as he drank the tea before him.

"Heh, not necessarily," another teacher with a goatee replied angrily as he took a sip of his tea.

Even his proudest student barely had 150 points.

Compared to Azar, they were not even within the top five.

"Hahaha, Vash, just give up. Your students can never catch up to mine," Tofan said smugly as Vash grumbled while the other teachers burst into laughter.

Among them were two female teachers. Their beauty was not ethereal, but they were still very pleasing to look at. The last teacher was an old man from the same generation as the Dean.

The atmosphere remained joyful as they continued bantering and boasting about their students.

Soon, night fell, and the third day which would mark nearly half of the trial was only a few hours away.

By the edge of the island, Vash stood silently as the night wind brushed against his face. Combined with the ocean breeze, it created a cool, comfortable, and almost addictive atmosphere.

"What are you thinking about?" Tofan asked as he walked over and stood beside Vash.

Vash took a deep breath.

"The Frontline isn't looking very good," Vash said quietly as he stared into the sky.

"I fear that soon we might be called back by our families and sent to the Frontline once again."

Tofan chuckled softly.

"Just that? We are powerful Magi. If anything happens, of course we would be among the first to be called. Besides, the burden our families carry is something no one else can truly understand," Tofan said with a smile.

"Are you afraid of the Frontline?" Tofan teased.

Vash rolled his eyes.

"Idiot. Who would be afraid of the Frontline? I'm just restless. I have a feeling this war might become more intense than ever before," Vash admitted.

Tofan patted his chest confidently.

"Your family may be the Seers, but no matter how bad things become, I'll still stand beside you during the war," Tofan reassured him.

Vash smiled faintly.

"Good."

Tofan laughed.

"Alright, you should rest early. I have a feeling something interesting will happen tomorrow," Tofan said, raising an eyebrow as his expression hinted that Azar might finally claim first place tomorrow.

"You wish," Vash replied dismissively.

The two chatted for a little longer before Tofan eventually left.

Neither of them actually came from Continent C.

They were both members of powerful Magi families from Continent A who had traveled here either to gain knowledge or simply escape home for a while.

After all, back within their families, they were constantly dragged into conflicts against rival families and political struggles.

Senseless wars driven by greed.

The two of them—best friends since birth—had always been called monstrous talents by their generation.

Yet here in this academy, they chose to lay low and pretend to be ordinary teachers.

And somewhere along the way, they had truly fallen in love with the profession.

At the very least, teaching these children was far more enjoyable than dealing with the so-called Sons of Heaven from Continent A.

Thinking about the past caused Vash to chuckle softly.

"Oh, Tofan…" Vash muttered.

A swirling mass of darkness slowly surrounded him.

"Tomorrow will definitely be fun for Azar," Vash said as his eyes gleamed with a dark and unsettling aura.