*Pant*

The professor clutched his chest as he felt like he would pass out any second. He looked up at the maid before him with wavering eyes, which refused to keep still.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words escaped except more pants.

"What's wrong, Professor? Is the pressure too much for you? All you need to do to stop is to tell me where my young miss is. It should be easy enough for you to do, right?"

Mary asked with a smile on her face, but her expression looked to be that of a devil.

Her image overlapped with a demon inside the professor's mind, and he finally snapped and told her.

"S-She is stuck in a test. I can here to get 'first class' Great Wizard Rodric Burnance to help me enter the test site, but the professor is nowhere to be seen. I don't know what to do anymore."

The professor confessed and immediately felt the cold and sharp touch of metal against his neck.

It made the professor curse, but he held firm and refused to move.

When he was sure he would die, the maid before him sighed disappointedly.

"Don't kill this man, Raziel. There will be no point in doing so. Besides, we will need this man to take us to the test site."

Mary reminded the person who was threatening the professor's life.

Raziel's sharp eyes looked at the professor, and he slowly backed away.

As soon as he did, the professor breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back. He clutched his neck to hide the mark from the blade that had been made before his eyes looked at the kid in front of him.

Raziel was sharp, with all angles and bones. It made him look intimidating despite his young appearance.

"Fine! Since this man will lead us to master, I can let him go this time. But I don't think he will be this lucky later."

Raziel promised with narrowed eyes as he looked at his opponent. His eyes made the professor shiver and curl over himself. He knew he was in danger, but the professor could not bring himself to say anything.

"Now, then, please lead us to our miss, professor. You can leave the barrier and anything related to it with us. We will take care of it."

Mary's smile was frightening, making the professor shiver when he looked at her.

He could tell he had made a mistake running into her, but he could no longer change his fate.

...

Layla and the other two toppers had been thrown into the exam space as soon as the spell finished casting.

They ended up in a small cave with a clearing big enough for a few kids to stand.

It had a low ceiling and could only comfortably fit kids her age or a little older.

'Even Raziel would have a hard time standing inside this place. The one who created this test never intended for anyone to come here but the people taking it. I doubt the professor would be able to follow us here.'

Layla looked around the cave for any signs of what she needed to do, but she could not find anything regarding this.

Once she confirmed her suspicions, she heeded toward the exit to make her way out.

She made it to the door before she was spotted.

"Hey, where are you heading toward? We need to stay here and wait for the professor. You will die if you go out now."

The second topper noticed Layla's movement, and he called out to her in alarm.

He felt scared that the professor had not followed behind them, but he was sure that the professor would be here soon.

"Wait? We should not wait around her. I doubt the professor would be able to come here after us. It will be better to look after ourselves or try to clear this test."

Layla spoke the facts, but her words angered the kids she was with.

"What do you mean? The professor will be here any minute now. He cannot leave us alone to take this test-"

"No, I think she has a point. This place is made to fit kids. It has a low ceiling and a compact air. If made with that purpose, the marker took extreme measures to ensure only kids could enter."

The first topper interrupted the second topper, and a small fight broke out between them.

But as amusing as it was to see them fight, Layla had no intention of saying here and being a part of this fight.

She was much busier, looking around and trying to find her way out of this cave.

Layla moved around a little before she felt the slight vibrations in the earth around her. It made her lose her balance, and Layla's system suddenly came to life.

[Warning! The user is surrounded by life-threatening creatures way above the user level. The user is asked to practice caution and do their best to ignore them.]

Layla looked down at her system, and three big red dots indicated where the danger was.

Something about this situation made Layla feel ominous, and she immediately turned toward the two older kids behind her and cast a spell.

The arguing pair fell quiet as the spell forcefully made them shut up. They glared at Layla, but she ignored them instead of looking at the map.

"Don't speak and follow me. We will be in danger if we stay here for too long. I'm afraid that the monsters are already here."

Layla informed the other kids before she turned to head out. The pair behind her exchanged looks before they followed after her without thinking much about it. Their only goal was to survive and get out of there.

And if they had to grit their teeth and bear with it, they would. After all, what else did they have to lose except their dignity by doing this?