By Zephyria 
Soon, the Black Mana scattered into the air began to affect the invisible Formula. Then the space itself collapsed. The forest lost its shape and crumbled, and the sky flowed down like melting ice cream. It would have been impossible for me before, but I have now achieved the 4-Star level. I had enough Mana to distort the Cycle Shackling Space, which is a 6-Star magic.
“The space….”
Herman muttered, looking around.
Eventually, the space, having completely lost its original form, was no longer a forest. A space with nothing but a hazy mist. When I gave it another ‘tap,’ a strong headwind blew, and the mist cleared.
We had escaped from the Cycle Shackling Space.
We were standing in front of a forest with ordinary dirt ground, where the presence of wild animals and the chirping of birds could be heard. Across the forest was a building that looked like a temporary shelter.
The children who had solved the exam and come out before us were sitting and waiting nearby, and there were many familiar faces among them.
“Oh! Raymond!”
Melicsa, waving her hand with a bright smile, Clona, Ibelia, and Derek sitting demurely next to her. Hawkrun and Newit, each passing the time idly. Tom and Zeon approaching as soon as they recognized us… even Ardian.
Most of them were students from Class A of the 1st year of the Magic Department.
However, there were also some children whose faces were not familiar, but since they were all wearing the same academy uniform, they were likely children from a different grade or from the Swordsmanship Department.
Suddenly, I turned to look at Ardian and ended up making eye contact. I avoided his gaze as he smiled brightly as usual. In the meantime, Zeon started talking to me, and Tom and Herman also started a conversation.
“Are we the last ones? You guys were super fast.”
“It wasn’t that difficult… wasn’t it for you guys?”
“Huh?”
Just as Herman and Tom were realizing that each group had different exam tasks, I suddenly felt a strange gaze and turned my head to look at the person standing apart.
‘That girl….’
It was the woman who had been showing suspicious movements since the carriage and then disappeared at some point. She was sweating profusely and had eyes that seemed unable to hide her shock.
She had an expression as if she had seen something unbelievable.
After a while, the woman composed her expression and paused for a moment before clapping her hands to gather the children’s attention. As the commotion subsided, the surroundings became quiet. The woman raised her head again and glanced around at the children. The same emotion as before was not visible on her face.
“Good work, everyone.”
The children looked at her, bewildered.
Soon, she smiled and released the Formula, and the magic that had been cast on her body began to unravel. The body, which had been moving abnormally, swelling and shrinking, soon grew taller, her hair grew longer, and her face became more mature.
Now she looked to be in her late 20s.
“Heok!”
Derek suddenly gasped, like a scream, upon seeing that figure. At first, I thought it was because he was surprised by the change in appearance, but the reactions of the other children that followed were also unusual, so there seemed to be another reason.
And I was soon able to find out what that reason was.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Sherry. I’m a Level 2 Black Class holder and the first examiner for this White Class Certification Exam. I’m also from Merzel Academy like you all, so I’m a little happier, I guess!”
The bangs that had vaguely covered her eyes became completely long, revealing her forehead and a bright smile.
A Black Class holder from Merzel Academy.
Cloud also said he was from Merzel Academy.
-Out of all the academy graduates, only three have obtained the Black Class Certification… three in the history of the academy, which has been established for well over a hundred years.
I remembered what Polargehen had said before. Then that meant I had already met two of those three. In addition, Raculus was also said to be Black Class, so I had met three out of the five Black Class holders recorded.
‘A strong human.’
Of course, not comparable to Raculus or Cloud, but still quite skilled, comparable to Zeon.
“Sherry Ileiva! Raculus’s disciple….”
“That’s right, disciple. Black Class members usually only come as examiners when the Black Class promotion exam is held… but this time I came at my master’s request.”
That explains it. I thought the difficulty was quite high for a White Class Exam, so that was why. While I was understanding that, Sherry suddenly turned to me and didn’t take her eyes off me. As I met her eyes, she opened her mouth as if she had something to say.
“We divided you into pairs and assigned each group a different task. Which task went to which group was random. The most difficult of them was… that group’s task. I naturally thought one of you would fail. Because the task was designed to make one person fail in the first place.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at me.
“I never thought you’d both come out with ‘that method’.”
I was wondering what she was suddenly talking about….
So, she seemed to be pointing out that we didn’t come out through normal means.
“Are you going to disqualify us both for using tricks?”
Herman glanced around nervously at my impulsive question. There was a subtle tension among the children who were watching without knowing exactly what was going on.
And after a moment of silence.
Sherry burst out laughing, then laughed loudly.
“Of course not! You showed me something so interesting. Don’t worry. I’m not such a fool as to be bound by the rules and disqualify two people after seeing something so amazing. The courage to concede and sacrifice oneself for a colleague was also wonderful.”
Herman’s face turned red as he realized she was talking about him. Sherry narrowed her eyes into crescents and smiled, then turned back to the children.
“Alright! Shall we go to the next place? The second exam is just a simple interview, so it won’t be that difficult.”
Sherry, gesturing, moved first. The place she was heading to was the building that had been set up as a temporary shelter. There was a shabby sign that read ‘White Class Certification 2nd Exam Site’ on it, so it seemed the interview would be held inside that building.
“If you go inside, Cloud, the examiner for the next 2nd exam, will welcome you.”
“Ah. Cloud is a Level 1 Black Class holder! Is the 2nd exam also being overseen by a Black Class holder?”
Someone who wasn’t a student in Class A of the Magic Department was surprised and expressed their question. Sherry nodded with a smiling face.
“Yes. He’s also my master’s disciple, like me. So he came at my request. Haha, this year’s first quarter is a bit exceptional, isn’t it? It’s a White Class Certification Exam, but two Black Class members are involved.”
She seemed to acknowledge that it was an unusual case herself.
Then the question arises as to why only this exam is being watched by Black Class holders. I pondered for a moment and recalled a point that could be inferred.
‘Corso isn’t by my side because it’s vacation.’
However, just because I’m resting doesn’t mean the Fiends targeting me are resting too. The higher-ups must still be watching my safety. I wondered if this was related to that. Before long, we arrived at the temporary shelter. Sherry smiled brightly, moving a few steps away from us.
“This is as far as I’ll guide you. Don’t be too nervous, and good luck, everyone. I hope you pass!”
And she waved her hand.
After that, the children, led by Melicsa, who moved into the building first, began to enter the entrance one by one.
I, who entered the building last, paused in the lobby for a moment and glanced around. Not only me, but the other children who had entered the building earlier were doing the same.
I thought it would be shabby because it was a temporary shelter, but it was a place with a surprisingly decent-looking hall and a decent-looking counter.
“Was this originally a place used for certification exams?”
“It’s clean as if it’s been managed, so wouldn’t it be?”
“It seems there are several exam sites like this.”
Since there was no one at the counter, the children, not knowing where to go next, talked to each other or walked around, looking around the building.
It was then.
Suddenly, a presence was felt at the counter where no one had been, and something in the form of a person appeared. The children were startled and turned around, and the counter staff member looked at us as if nothing was wrong and spoke.
“I will now accept applications for the 2nd exam. Please come here and write down the examinee’s name. When your name is called, please enter the room on the right.”
The children, looking at each other for a moment and sizing each other up, slowly moved towards the counter. While watching that, one person is opening the door and coming out of the room on the right. That face was quite familiar.
“Hello. We meet ‘again’.”
A face that smiled slyly like a water snake as he met my eyes. It was Cloud.