NOVPUBThe backstage screen seemed to have its sound muted.
The entire examination area fell into a deathly silence.
Then, an outburst of shock, exhilaration, and almost insane cheering pierced through the walls, echoing throughout the examination building, causing Gloria, who was watching from outside the screen, to feel a chill up her spine.
Gloria was now thoroughly convinced; the new Saint Heir was a man who brought entertainment value.
Although the Bishop of Hegemony has not yet publicly announced their Saint of Hegemony.
But if a man who has already been deemed as the Saint of Hegemony stands out so prominently in the Protoss Royal Magic Academy and stirs people’s expectations, only to falter at the crucial moment, or is even torn apart, it would undoubtedly be a disgrace to their Hegemony Branch.
Even Gloria, who is in the examination area, would feel a chill up her spine at the bounty of 130,000 Academy credits.
It should be enough to make all the students stray from the norm.
And anyone that the Saint Heir comes across in the barrier would become his enemy, using every means necessary to bring him down.
The ordinary rule protection might not be so effective in the possible scenarios to come, except for in classrooms with strong teachers enforcing the rules!
Many students may seize the opportunity to break the rules and try to claim the bounty.
After all, breaking the rules at worst just incurs a punishment from the teacher or deduction of a few hundred Academy credits.
When compared to 130,000 Academy credits, this consequence is nothing.
They have deemed it a risk worth taking, abandoning warrior ethics at crucial moments to hunt down Zestira by breaking the rules.
And there’s another staple mechanism in the bounty—
[For each other student that the person with the bounty makes leave, the total bounty will increase by 1%.]
No matter if the other students had intentions to attack, once their severe injuries caused by the bounty holder directly or indirectly, causing them to be unable to continue the exam, they would be sealed by the barrier, to be then taken away by the teachers, and their total bounty would increase as well.
Although students signed a detailed safety hazard notice upon admission, the school did not want anyone to die during the monthly exam period.
Ordinarily, each additional opponent the bounty holder defeats would only increase his bounty a little.
But the Saint of Hegemony, due to his outrageous base credits, would increase his bounty by thousands each time he defeated someone!
Even if the Saint of Hegemony could fend off a few, or a dozen students, this laborious twelve-hour period would be a war of attrition with no end in sight, facing increasingly more and stronger enemies!
"His desire to win is not strong, and I don’t expect him to accomplish much under the school’s rules. In whatever way, if he can protect Zestira until the exam concludes, he has already exceeded my expectations."
Sigrid said impassively, her perception of her Saint Heir was clear.
After all, they were fighting away from home, and the limitations were significant.
"..."
Gloria consciously refrained from making comments and just watched silently.
As a directly subordinate soldier, she is not supposed to question her Bishop’s choice of the Saint Heir.
Yet she still felt that the Bishop of Hegemony favored the Saint Heir excessively.
She had no idea how a Fourth-Order Saint of Hegemony could possibly survive a twelve-hour breakout and last until the end of the exam.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, at the southern examination area of the Protoss Royal Magic Academy.
There were just ten minutes left until the official start of the examination at nine o’clock.
In a corridor on the first floor of a dark building, the carpet, adorned with the flower patterns of Demon World plants, occasionally shifted, swallowing the sound of footsteps and giving the corridor an unfathomable aura of mystery.
The portraits and mirrors on the walls were interspersed every few steps. The eyes in them seemed to follow the passing students, silently bearing witness to everything in this ancient academy.
After observing the surrounding architecture during the preparatory period, Lanci seemed to have everything figured out. They were already close to reaching their target classroom.
The dim light casted the shadows of two persons onto the rigid marble wall. The shadows lengthening and shortening with their steps. Eventually, Lanci’s pace slowed down, and he stopped in front of a door.
Several sinister shadows had already followed them, trailing far behind in the corridor.
At this point, all the students were suppressed by the barrier and were unable to engage in combat. This restraint won’t be lifted until nine o’clock.
For those who were after Zestira, it was not a good decision to approach recklessly.
It would be better for others to make the first move.
"Master."
Zestira didn’t say anything, she just softly called out.
She had been holding back her anxiety.
As a Second-Order being, the current pressure on her was excessive.
The only person she could rely on now was her Master.
"Don’t worry, I feel like I’m starting to get back into the groove."
Lanci gently smiled and said confidently.
Upon hearing this, Zestira felt slightly relieved.
On the other hand, the Cat Boss hiding in the shadow was somewhat nervous.
Although it had not personally seen Lanci go all out in school,
every time Xi Bao and Tata chatted casually, they would say that once Lanci untied his moral restraint, he would do some crazy merit offerings, and even thought that the Lady Goddess would praise him.
Zestira looked at the door in front of them.
You couldn’t tell the specifics of the examination from the placard on the classroom door. After observing along the way, all you could guess was which department it might belong to.
"This seems to be part of the Beast Breeding Department, do you know anything about this, Master?"
Zestira asked with a hint of worry.
This was a marginal category.
Despite the fact that city’s magical beasts had been domesticated, they originated from the Demon World and were still somewhat ostracized by the people of Protoss.
And they were also quite dangerous.
"Those of us from the Demon World have a natural advantage in this regard, so no problem."
Lanci’s voice was full of confidence.
"Alright."
Zestira felt that since Lanci had entered the examination area, his self-perception seemed to have changed unconsciously. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
"Zestira, keep a lookout for me."
Before entering the classroom, Lanci took a step forward into the door frame. He decisively took out the engraver’s knife and brush from his Portable Card Making Tool kit, as if he had planned to do so.
Zestira nodded and slightly shifted her position to the side, looking towards the end of the corridor.
Meanwhile, Lanci quickly modified the symbols on the door plaque.
"Done."
Upon Lanci’s end sentence, he opened the door and walked straight in.
Although it was hastily done, his skillful technique unwaveringly retained discrepency to an unbelievable level; at a glance, there were no issues.
Zestira looked carefully before entering the classroom after Lanci.
The symbol on the door plaque had been changed from [Beast Breeding Department – Difficulty Three]to [Cooking Production Department – Difficulty One].
Zestira: "?"
