Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Exam Day: Part Three The illusion had stopped holding back.

    Noel stood on uneven ground, blood running slowly down his forearm. The injury was shallow, but annoying. His breathing was steady, but deeper now. Each wave chipped away at him—not just physically, but mentally.

    [Wave 17]

    Two enemies stepped into view—humanoid, lean, and fast. Each held a long spear tipped with glowing blue crystal. They didn’t growl, didn’t charge. They waited. Studying him.

    Noel gripped Revenant Fang tighter.

    ’They’re not normal beasts anymore.’

    One lunged without warning. Noel dropped to a crouch, letting the spear pass over him, then slashed across the attacker’s thigh. The illusion stumbled back, but the second moved in immediately, spear aimed at his side.

    He spun and cast.

    "Frost Wall."

    A slanted barrier of ice erupted between them, redirecting the strike. Noel stepped onto the wall mid-formation and leapt over it, landing behind his first attacker.

    "Fire Arc."

    The spell ripped through the enemy’s back, dispersing it into light.

    He turned just in time to deflect the second’s spear with the flat of his blade. A clean side-step, then a horizontal slash.

    Two down.

    [Wave 18]

    A single opponent this time. A mage.

    Noel didn’t wait.

    He rushed in—but the enemy raised a hand. A bolt of wind magic hurled toward him. He countered with a precise swing, breaking the spell mid-air.

    Another spell, this one stone-based, erupted beneath his feet. He jumped sideways, rolled, and closed the gap.

    The mage tried to form a shield. Too slow.

    Revenant Fang slashed upward in a clean diagonal arc, splitting the shield—and the mage—into light. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ’They’re getting smarter. And faster.’

    [Wave 19]

    The next illusion was different.

    It looked human—broad-shouldered, silent, no aura of magic. Just a sword in hand and a steady stance, like a trained duelist waiting for the first move.

    They circled each other.

    The fight was fast, precise—two blades clashing in tight rhythm. Revenant Fang met steel again and again. Sparks danced. Neither gained ground.

    Noel blocked low, twisted his wrist, and hooked under the enemy’s arm.

    A riposte. The illusion stabbed forward, grazing Noel’s ribs.

    ’Close.’

    He didn’t flinch. He ducked under the follow-up and drove his shoulder forward, throwing the enemy off-balance.

    One clean slash through the chest ended it.

    He stepped back, chest rising and falling.

    [Wave 20]

    The glyph began to glow again.

    Noel lifted his head. His eyes sharpened.

    ’Still going.’

    The glyph pulsed. Noel barely had time to reposition when a screech cut through the air. A winged beast dropped from above, talons like curved knives and feathers sharp as blades. Its eyes locked onto him, and in an instant it dove.

    Noel rolled to the side, feeling the wind split open where he’d been standing.

    "Fireball."

    He launched the spell mid-motion, catching the beast’s wing as it rose. It shrieked, unbalanced, but not down.

    Another pass.

    "Ice Spike."

    A frozen spike shot from the ground, clipping its chest. The creature wobbled in the air, struggling to stay airborne.

    It dove one last time.

    Noel let it come. Just before impact, he raised Revenant Fang and swung upward with both hands. The blade met bone.

    The beast cracked apart in midair.

    But not without cost—blood dripped from a fresh gash on Noel’s leg.

    His breathing grew heavier.

    And then something shifted.

    A whisper inside his mind.

    [Trait Activated – Revenant Fang]

    Clarity: Increases focus under life-threatening pressure. All distractions suppressed. Mind refined.

    The pain dulled. His thoughts snapped into perfect order. His heartbeat slowed. It was like falling into cold water—sharp, stilling, pure.

    He looked up, calm.

    [Wave 21]

    Three enemies stepped forward this time—armored, shielded, coordinated. Their movements were disciplined, almost military.

    Noel didn’t cast a single spell.

    He sprinted forward and moved like a ghost.

    He ducked under the first spear, slashed low to unbalance the shield bearer, then stepped sideways and let the second lunge past him. Revenant Fang slipped through the gap in its armor like a needle.

    They tried to regroup. Too slow.

    A perfect rotation, one strike each. Clean. Surgical.

    All three faded into mist.

    [Wave 22]

    One enemy. Massive. Covered head to toe in silver plating. Its surface shimmered like a mirror—reflective enchantment.

    ’Magic’s no good here.’

    Noel circled, watching its stance. The knight raised a greatsword of light and charged.

    He blocked the first swing. His arms trembled from the force.

    He let the knight swing again, narrowly missing.

    Then he cast.

    "Glacialis."

    The freezing gust reflected—and struck the knight’s exposed flank as it turned, catching its own spell.

    Noel closed the distance and rammed Revenant Fang straight into the opening beneath its arm.

    The light shattered.

    He stood still, chest rising once, then settling again.

    ’Next.’

    The glyph flared again.

    [Wave 23]

    Noel steadied his breathing. The pain in his leg had returned, but faint—muffled by the clarity that still pulsed through him.

    Then the air darkened.

    From the mist ahead, something emerged. Not a beast. Not a soldier.

    A figure of pure shadow.

    Its form was human, but wrong—featureless face, no eyes, no mouth, only a silhouette. It held a long blade made of flickering voidlight. Silent. Still.

    Noel gritted his teeth.

    ’One more.’

    The shadow moved.

    And just appeared in front of him.

    Noel barely brought up Revenant Fang in time to parry. The force of the impact sent a shock through his arms. The blade vibrated with the strain.

    He stepped back, eyes focused.

    The shadow circled, fast, each strike faster than the last. Their swords clashed again and again—clean, deliberate, deadly. No wasted movement.

    Noel countered with an upward slash. The shadow dodged. He cast.

    "Ice Spike."

    The spell shot upward—missed.

    The shadow slipped past and struck. Noel twisted his torso just in time, the blade grazing his ribs.

    His shirt tore. Blood bloomed.

    He dropped low, spun on his heel, and swept the ground with Fire Arc. The spell cut through the illusion’s leg. Not enough to kill—but enough to slow.

    Noel didn’t wait.

    He cast "Frost Wall" in a crescent, sealing the enemy between curved ice and the arena’s edge. Then, he climbed it in one burst and leapt from above, Revenant Fang in both hands.

    One clean vertical strike.

    The blade met the shadow’s core.

    Crack.

    The illusion fractured and collapsed into dust.

    Silence.

    Noel stood over the fading remnants, chest heaving, one hand pressed to his side.

    A message appeared.

    [Wave 23 – Complete]

    He stared at the empty space where the enemy had been.

    Then dropped to one knee.

    "Fuck it," he muttered. "I’m not going anymore."

    The world dissolved into white.

    Silence hung in the chamber.

    Hundreds of crystals glowed softly, showing scenes of students collapsed, fighting, or eliminated. One by one, their illusions ended.

    But a few still remained.

    One professor leaned closer to the crystal showing Noel, eyes wide.

    "Headmaster Nicolas... do you think that kid is normal?"

    Nicolas didn’t look away from the crystal. "Who, Noel? No. I know he’s not. That’s why he stayed until wave twenty-three."

    A pause.

    Professor Daemar spoke next, his voice low and calm. "Yes. That kid is special indeed."

    Every head turned toward him.

    For a moment, the room was dead still. In all his years at the academy, Daemar had never spoken of a student like that. Not once.

    Another professor whispered, half in awe, "If even Professor Daemar holds him in such high regard... then he must be."

    Nicolas finally turned away from Noel’s fading crystal.

    "There are others worth watching. Marcus reached wave nineteen. That alone puts him among the top ten."

    He gestured toward another crystal.

    "But the most impressive..."

    The image zoomed in.

    "Selene von Iskandar. She’s still going. Wave twenty-six—and counting."

    Gasps echoed through the chamber as her crystal brightened.

    Inside, Selene stood in a frozen wasteland. Her expression was calm, blank, detached. Around her, monsters shattered into pieces, crushed by gravity fields and lanced through by shards of ice. Her mana didn’t flicker. Her breathing didn’t change.

    She didn’t even look tired.

    One professor stepped forward. "Is she... using dual affinities at that scale? Ice and gravity? Simultaneously?"

    "Yes," Nicolas said softly. "And she’s not even trying."

    Daemar watched in silence.

    The main plaza was packed.

    Students crowded in front of the large floating screen embedded in the academy wall—one of the mana-powered displays used during major announcements. The screen shimmered, rotating slowly between columns of data.

    Noel arrived a few minutes after the first wave of shouting and murmurs. His pace was calm, arms in his pockets, bandages tight around his ribs under the coat.

    The screen flickered, then stabilized.

    [Overall Rankings – Combined Scores (Theory + Practice)]

    He scanned the list.

    1st – Selene von Iskandar

    13th – Elena von Lestaria

    18th – Elyra von Estermont

    19th – Noel Thorne

    Noel blinked.

    "Not bad," he muttered. "Guess I made it out alive after all."

    His eyes moved across the crowd. Roberto stood a few meters away, animated as always. Clara had her hands clasped nervously, but smiled when she spotted her name. Marcus was laughing softly with Laziel. Garron stood tall with Sophie at his side. All of them were still in Class S.

    ’Everyone made it.’

    He looked back at the list.

    ’Elyra’s eighteenth. Not the best in practice, but her theory score must’ve pushed her up. She almost matches Elena when it comes to that stuff.’

    He glanced higher.

    ’Elena, thirteenth. Let me guess—aced the written part again.’

    Right then, the screen shimmered and shifted.

    [Written Exam Results – Theoretical Assessment Only]

    The names scrolled.

    1st – Elena von Lestaria

    5th – Elyra von Estermont

    202nd – Noel Thorne

    He stared at his name.

    ’Fuck.’

    A second later: "Wait—two hundred second?"

    He rubbed his face with one hand.

    "How the hell did I still end up nineteenth overall?"

    The screen shifted again.

    [Practical Rankings – Illusion Trial Results]

    The air changed.

    1st – Selene von Iskandar – Wave 33

    2nd – Noel Thorne – Wave 23

    3rd – Marcus – Wave 19

    Conversations exploded instantly.

    "She reached wave thirty-three?"

    "Ten more than Noel?"

    "What the hell is she?"

    Noel stared at the numbers.

    ’Selene was always strong in the novel... but I think she only hit wave twenty-five in this trial. Thirty-three is... absurd.’

    He looked at Marcus’s result.

    ’Even he did better than in the original story. That’s good. That helps.’

    He took a step back, letting others push forward to see.

    ’The story’s shifting. Not just for me. Everyone’s growing faster than before.’