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After Borik's lesson, the students returned to the PE classroom inside the castle-like academy.

The lesson with Borik had been their final official class. Now, it was time for self-directed PE, and tomorrow, they would be in this same classroom again, doing their own training.

The group gathered together once more.

Some carried books they had gathered from the library for research. Others prepared for physical training, stretching their limbs or checking their equipment.

A few took out their notes from theory lessons, flipping through them one last time before getting to work.

But everyone had the same goal—getting ready for the exams on Friday.

Before they could start, though, Arlon asked a question to no one in particular.

"How can we have all our exams in just one day? We had five theory lessons and four practical lessons. I'm exempt from two of them, but not everyone is. How is all of that going to fit in one exam day?"

"Ah, no one explained it to you yet, huh?" Alia answered, glancing around. Seeing that every player was now looking at her, she continued, "We don't have set times for the exams.

Once the first bell rings, exams begin. The theory exams are all written, so we'll all be in one classroom. Whenever you finish a test, you'll move to another classroom for the next one."

This immediately unsettled the players.

Even with Earth's questionable education system, students at least had recess between classes and breaks between exams. But here, they had to keep going non-stop.

And Alia wasn't finished.

"After you finish all the theory exams, you go to the designated area to present the outcome of your individual mission to the relevant professor. They'll all have assigned spots, so you just go to the right one and report."

"Wait," Evan said, frowning. "Every professor will be evaluating at the same time?"

"Exactly," Alia nodded. "Other professors will help as well. Since each grade's Hell Week is held at different times, there won't be any scheduling conflicts."

"And after the individual exams?" Zack asked.

"Then," Alia continued, "you'll go to the team exam areas, where you'll be paired with random students."

June furrowed her brows. "What if you finish early?"

"Isn't it obvious? You wait," Leafa answered.

June frowned. "But isn't that unfair? Both for the ones who finish first and those who barely make it in time? If you finish too early, you might get stuck waiting for a long time. And if you finish too late, you might run out of time for the team exam."

Leafa shrugged. "And?"

June hesitated. "I mean... it just seems like a bad system. You could get penalized just because of how the timing works."

Leafa gave her a pointed look. "Do you think everyone is supposed to pass the exams?"

That shut down the discussion immediately.

The players exchanged glances.

Leafa crossed her arms. "This academy is a war. We had over two hundred students in our grade when we started. Now, we're down to about fifty."

Unlike Earth's schools, Cardon Academy didn't care about everyone graduating.

The most determined, talented, and hardworking students thrived.

The others? They fell behind.

But losing didn't mean the end of the road for anyone. They could transfer to another academy, train differently, or take another path entirely.

Even though the players shuddered at the thought, none of them objected.

This was a different world.

Zack, however, had another concern. "You said we'd be switching classrooms after every test. What if students cheat by telling each other the exam questions?"

Mirek gave him a confused look. "Huh? You guest students ask weird things. Why would anyone do that?"

Zack stared at him. "What do you mean why? They might prefer cheating over failing."

Mirek shook his head. "Again, this is a war."@@novelbin@@

Zack raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Mirek sighed. "Think about it. Why would someone help a competitor? And even if someone wanted to cheat, it's a waste of time. If you're staying behind to take answers from someone else, that means you have already accepted not to be the first to finish the exam."

Zack frowned. "Still, people cheat all the time where we're from."

Mirek gave him a disbelieving look. "Why would anyone stay in this academy if they weren't here to learn? If you want an easy diploma, go to a lesser academy. Finishing Cardon Academy doesn't guarantee you anything except that you survived it.

The only reason people come here is the harsh conditions and good lecturers. The name of the academy means nothing."

The players fell silent at that. This was another major difference from Earth.

In Trion, academies weren't a status symbol. A person who never attended an academy could still be stronger than a Cardon Academy graduate.

There were no automatic job offers, no special privileges, and no guaranteed future. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

The only thing this academy had was difficult lessons and skilled lecturers.

The only reason to be here was to get better.

And wasn't that what schools were supposed to be about?

After the conversation ended, the group naturally shifted to preparing for their training.

Some students pulled out their notes again, reviewing theories or strategies they could use in the upcoming exams.

Others, especially those focused on physical training, started stretching or checking their weapons.

The players, meanwhile, exchanged glances.

"So," Evan said, cracking his knuckles, "how are we handling this? We all have different missions, right?"

"Yeah," Zack said. "And none of us are planning to fail, so we better get serious."

Pierre crossed his arms. "Then we should use today and tomorrow wisely. It's our last real chance to refine anything before the exam."

Since they didn't have evenings, these PE lessons and Thursday's "day off" were their only chance at this.

"I need to test something," Arlon said, already standing. "I'll be outside."

No one questioned it.

Arlon had been like this from the start—constantly training, always trying to push himself further. At this point, they were used to him disappearing to practice on his own.

But this time, Mei followed after him.

"What are you working on?" she asked once they were outside.

Arlon didn't stop walking. "Counterplay."

Mei raised an eyebrow. "You already understand counterplay better than most of us."

"I understand it. But understanding isn't the same as execution."

Mei hummed in thought. "You're planning something for the exam, aren't you?"

Arlon didn't confirm or deny it.

Mei smirked. "Well, since I'm here, let me help. I need to train my magic control anyway."

Arlon finally stopped and glanced at her. "...Fine."

Back inside, the rest of the group had started their own training.

Lei was sparring with Sia, their blades clashing in a steady rhythm. Leafa was running through solo drills, practicing her form.

Zack was trying to convince Pierre to let him test an "experimental" move on him. Pierre, having known Zack for too long, was strongly against it.

Meanwhile, June and Maria were working together, comparing notes on spell casting, while Mirek was deep in thought, rereading parts of his research.

Carole and Carmen were going through their theory notes. Evan was trying to get their note to study.

It was a chaotic but productive scene.

Because despite their different approaches, despite their different backgrounds—everyone here wanted to pass.

And in two days, they would all be tested.