Everyone gathered in the director's office remained silent, watching the screen as four figures continued moving farther and farther toward the mountain.
At first, everyone had expected Trey to finally reveal his magic.
However, what he had demonstrated turned out to be a technique, which could only mean one thing—he was still hiding his true magic from them.
The surprise caused by what they had witnessed was far greater than anyone had anticipated.
Not only did the technique allow him to summon beings resembling members of three well-known races, but it also made it possible to defeat a monster while barely engaging in combat personally.
That was what troubled them the most.
The same question involuntarily surfaced in both the director's and the deans' minds: would they themselves be able to withstand a coordinated assault from that orc and the two elves?
Especially considering that one of them essentially deprived the enemy of freedom of movement, binding them with chains and creating ideal openings for the others to attack.
The orc absorbed all the damage and pressure, while the second elf dealt attacks without consequence.
At their current level of strength, they could certainly suppress this technique with ease.
But when viewed from a long-term perspective, the situation no longer seemed so clear-cut.
Once Trey grew stronger, the outcome of such a confrontation no longer appeared predetermined.
At that point, the odds could very well become even—both for victory and defeat.
"What rank would you assign this technique?" the director asked, finally breaking the silence.
He had been trying to evaluate it himself, but wanted to hear the opinions of the others.
"Based on what we just witnessed, I would rate the technique itself as S-rank, but its current execution as C-rank," Shego`Lo said thoughtfully, her gaze still fixed on the spot where the golem had stood moments earlier.
The director turned toward her.
"And why did you come to that conclusion? Please explain."
Shego`Lo gave a slight nod and began.
"The technique is extremely powerful. It doesn't summon mere shadows, but fully physical entities capable of wielding weapons and dealing real damage. On top of that, he summoned three figures at once."
She paused briefly, gathering her thoughts.
"The orc is clearly meant for close combat and defense. One elf is responsible for dealing damage, while the other specializes in restricting the opponent, blocking physical actions and possibly magical ones as well."
A trace of interest entered her voice.
"So why do I only rate its execution as C-rank? Maintaining an active skill like that should require an enormous amount of mana. Either his reserves are exceptionally vast, or there's still something we don't know."
After finishing, Shego`Lo narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, as if trying to estimate at least roughly how much mana Trey had left after summoning all three figures.
"I suggest we wait until Trey returns from the trial. Then we'll be able to learn far more about this skill," Ama`Lein said, addressing everyone present.
The others nodded in agreement, accepting his suggestion.
After that, everyone returned their attention to observing the stufons.
Many were already asleep, trying to recover their strength for the next day.
Only a few, like Trey, continued hunting monsters even at night.
Cassandra, seated on a tree branch, had been staring for several minutes in the direction Trey had gone with the three strange figures.
At first, she had expected him to do what he always did—charge at the golem with his sword, just as he had against the wolves and the spider.
But instead, Trey had summoned three unusual beings armed with even stranger crimson weapons that resembled solidified blood.
Was this his magic?
Cassandra dismissed the thought almost immediately.
No. This was definitely a technique.
And judging by what she sensed, quite a dangerous one.
Pushing aside unnecessary thoughts, the girl jumped down from the tree and began following the tracks left by Trey and his three summoned figures.
The trial unfolded almost exactly as the deans and director had predicted.
Some participants were gradually eliminated.
After a day had passed, some sustained minor injuries and chose to withdraw from the trial, unwilling to take further risks. Others simply realized that the test was far more difficult than they had expected.
Meanwhile, Trey continued astonishing not only the deans and director, but also Cassandra, who was already exhausted from trying to make sense of the half-elf's strange technique.
By the end of the first day, all participants who decided to check their ranking positions were surprised to discover that a stufon named Trey had entered the top ten.
At that moment, he was ranked seventh.
This surprised many, but it still wasn't a true shock.
What became far more interesting was what happened during the night.
Most stufons were resting and therefore failed to notice as Trey's icon gradually climbed higher and higher: from seventh place to sixth, then fifth, fourth, and eventually stopping at third.
Nreu, who had previously occupied third place alongside his sister, woke up and lazily stretched.
For someone accustomed to servants always assisting with clothing and daily conveniences, it was still difficult for him to adjust to this new reality.
Now he had to do everything himself: dress, get ready, go to the dining hall for food.
No one here treated him as someone important.
Deciding to check his current ranking, Nreu summoned the leaderboard.
As he scrolled down, he quickly noticed that someone else now occupied the position that cursed half-elf had once held.
A smirk appeared on his lips.
He sincerely believed that this half-blood was unworthy not only of studying at the academy, but even of participating in the trial.
However, as he continued scrolling and reached the top three, Nreu suddenly froze.
His gaze locked in place.
He couldn't believe his own eyes.
Slowly closing them, the young man held his breath for a moment, hoping all of this was nothing more than a bad dream.
But when he opened them again, that cursed name had not disappeared.
Third Place — Trey.
Nreu's face twisted with fury.
He slammed his fist into the bed.
A dull thud rang out, and a vein bulged on his temple.
The noise woke Heya, who had been sleeping on the neighboring bed.
"Big Brother, what happened?" she asked sleepily, watching his outburst of irritation.
Recently, the girl had already started getting used to this kind of behavior from her brother.
"Look at who overtook me, and you'll understand everything," Nreu said irritably, his eyes still drilling into the ranking list.
Heya nodded and touched her emblem.
A leaderboard immediately appeared before her.
She calmly scrolled through the rankings, noticing nothing unusual, but when she reached third place, her eyebrows rose in surprise.
Previously, she and Nreu had occupied second and third place.
Now, a stufon named Trey had inserted himself between them.
She remembered his performances during the first and second trials well.
He was the very reason her brother had nearly been eliminated from the selection.
Because of that, Heya felt conflicted toward him.
On one hand—irritation and anger because of her brother.
On the other—respect and an almost involuntary sense of awe toward his talent.
There was also another thought she never voiced aloud.
If her other older brother had possessed talent equal to Trey's, perhaps he would still be here with them now.
"Heya, get up. We need to continue hunting monsters and make sure that bastard doesn't surpass me," Nreu's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Yes, Big Brother. I'll give it everything I have," Heya replied seriously as she rose from the bed.
A determined glint appeared in her eyes.
She was ready to display the full extent of her talent.