After what felt like an endless hour of battle, they finally managed to escape the shrinking roots and arrive at a wide open space.

And they were not the only ones.

Some groups with only two or three members also appeared.

Rarely could one see a complete team.

Many of them were covered in blood, and every single survivor wore an exhausted and stressed expression.

Looking around, Azar realized there were only fifty people left.

All around them, the roots had completely closed off the surroundings, leaving only this open area untouched.

"Where are the rest…?" Azar muttered.

Although he desperately wanted to rest, his mind refused to calm down.

Clenching his teeth, he forced himself to stand and approach the survivors.

"S-sorry… I-I'm the only one alive from my path… The groups with us… were all killed…" one of the students stuttered, his eyes hollow.

The gruesome way they had died refused to leave his mind, pushing his mental state close to collapse.

And he was not the only one.

Several students were already mentally shattered by the horrifying scenes they had witnessed.

These were students who had barely experienced true life-and-death battles before.

How could they remain calm after witnessing limbs torn apart and organs devoured by beasts?

But Azar did not give up.

He moved from group to group, questioning every survivor while everyone gathered together and sat on the ground, completely disregarding their noble pride and status.

Yet with every answer he received, his expression grew more horrified.

By the time he finally sat down, his eyes had become lifeless.

"Senior brother…" Veya called softly from beside him.

Azar slowly turned toward her.

Veya felt deeply uncomfortable.

After all, she had never seen Azar this discouraged before.

"What did they say?" Veya asked quietly.

Azar forced out a weak smile.

"They're all dead…"

Boom.

It felt as though a massive weight had crashed into everyone's hearts.

Their bodies trembled.

This…

Was this not too much?

Out of the five hundred candidates…

Only fifty had survived.

Barely ten percent remained alive.

It was an alarming result, but it also revealed just how cruel and dangerous this new environment truly was.

Unfortunately, the brief peace did not last long.

Clap.

Clap.

A series of footsteps echoed through the open space as a man dressed in red robes stepped forward, his face hidden beneath his hood.

The exhausted students instantly became vigilant once more.

"Well done," the red-robed individual said with a faint laugh.

"You all performed far better than I expected. You passed the first few stages, and now for the final stage…"

"A question-and-answer session hosted by yours truly."

As he spoke, a terrifying aura leaked from his body.

Peak Tier 3 Magi.

The students instantly felt their hearts tighten in fear.

"So then… let us begin," the red-robed man said with a crooked laugh.

"How many roots are there on this island in total?" he suddenly asked as he waved his hand.

Instantly, one of the students was dragged before him.

The student's body froze.

Standing this close to the terrifying Magi made it difficult for him to even breathe.

"Please answer within ten seconds," the red-robed individual said calmly.

But the student was so frightened that he could not speak at all.

"Not answering… is considered a wrong answer."

Snap!

The student's neck twisted violently as he died instantly.

"Next."

Another student was dragged forward as another question was asked.

One after another, the students answered desperately, trying their best to survive.

The gap between Tier 2 and Tier 3 Magi had always been known…

…but now they were experiencing it firsthand.

At Tier 2, they were still using basic spells.

Meanwhile, Tier 3 Magi already had access to intermediate spells, not to mention mana reserves several times greater than theirs.

Snap!

Snap!

Their necks twisted one after another as every answer was declared wrong.

But Azar could tell the truth.

Even if someone answered correctly, the man would still claim it was wrong.

He did not care about the answers at all.

He simply wanted to watch them break mentally and eventually beg for mercy so he could toy with them.

But even if they begged…

A person who had gone through so much effort to trap them inside this cage clearly never intended to let any of them leave alive.

Which meant there was only one option left.

"Veya… how long until you recover enough mana?" Azar whispered quietly.

Veya slowly looked toward him, her face filled with worry.

She understood what he was planning.

In fact, most of the students had already realized it as well.

None of them were stupid.

The problem was simply that they lacked the strength to resist a being who could kill them with a mere wave of his hand.

"We fought too many mana-devouring beasts, so after all that—"

"Veya," Azar interrupted softly, "I only need enough for a single buff. How long?"

Veya gulped nervously.

"…A few minutes," she answered quietly.

Azar slowly stood up.

"Hey!!!" Azar shouted loudly.

The red-robed individual raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Had one of the students finally broken under the pressure and decided to seek death early?

Well…

He could arrange that.

But first, perhaps he would toy with him a little.

"Tell the others to find that Tier 3 creature. We're already close to its core. Veya, you'll have to leave after casting the buff," Azar whispered loudly enough for most of the students to hear as he walked past them and stepped before the red-robed individual.

At first, the students were confused.

What was Azar planning to do?

Fight a Tier 3 Magi?

After all, as long as the Magi remained here, none of them would even be able to move.

"How about this? I'm bored of this already. Why don't we have a little spar?" Azar asked calmly.

The red-robed individual paused, his expression filled with disbelief.

"Me and you?" the red-robed man laughed wildly.

"Jejejeje… this is the first time I've ever seen a Tier 2 Magi suggest a spar with a Tier 3 Magi," the red-robed individual said as his interest was finally piqued.

"Yes. And we'll make it a bet. If I win, you let them go," Azar said firmly.

The red-robed individual laughed even harder.

"And 'when' you lose?" he asked with a smile.

"Then it won't matter."

"Either way, you're dead," Azar replied coldly.

The red-robed individual tilted his head in shock.

Was he hearing this correctly?

Who was this kid?

What gave him so much confidence?

For a brief moment, the red-robed individual hesitated.

What if this child truly possessed some hidden trump card?

Perhaps he was a descendant of one of the great Magi families from Continent A.

If that were the case…

…then things could become troublesome.

Yet looking at Azar, the confidence in his eyes was so overwhelming that even the red-robed individual instinctively became cautious.

"Kid, I don't know what kind of trump card you possess, but…" the red-robed individual said as he slowly regained his confidence.

After all, no matter what happened, he was still a Tier 3 Magi.

As long as he remained careful and guarded himself against Azar's tricks, everything would be fine.

"You are still only a Tier 2 Magi," the red-robed man finished as he narrowed his eyes.

"So… is that a yes?" Azar asked calmly.

The red-robed individual chuckled.

"If you want to die that quickly, then fine."

He agreed immediately before stepping away from the students alongside Azar as the two prepared to battle.

---

At the back…

As the red-robed individual moved away from where he had originally stood, Veya noticed a massive opening behind him.

Without a doubt, she knew it led toward the creature responsible for all of this.

All they needed to do was pass through it.

Kill the creature.

Then the academy would finally be able to rescue them.

But before any of that…

They first needed Azar's help.

Could he truly defeat a Tier 3 Magi?

Or at the very least, could he hold him off long enough for them to escape without being attacked?

"No… I have to recover my mana quickly," Veya muttered as she forcefully pushed away the distracting thoughts in her mind and focused entirely on restoring her mana reserves. After all, she was also sharing Azar burdens,

all this won't

matter if she doesn't

quickly recover her mana.