Chapter 104
Chapter 104: I'm Gonna EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT!
Not all candidates had it as easy as Erika.
The top-ranked students who had entered first were being sent out one after another.
Their dust-covered faces were written plainly with frustration and indignation.
Some students went back into the Formations.
But another portion, upon coming out, began to curse out loud.
"Is this even something a human being can pass?"
"This exam is completely unreasonable! Why do 3 Magical Creatures attack at the same time?"
"Nobody is ever going to pass this!"
Carrying the fury of defeat, they swore and grumbled as they left the Mage Tower.
Some couldn't even bring themselves to try a 2nd time.
Many of the students still on the sidelines watched the scene unfolding before them, the voice of retreat in their hearts growing louder.
Some followed the departing students and chose to leave—but the majority stayed put, watching to see what would happen as more people came out.
Heni remained exactly where she was, watching the students with a smile, entirely unmoved by whatever emotions they stirred up.
Before long, the students who had gone back in for a 2nd attempt were sent flying out once more.
"Damn it! I was so close! How does a mosquito just pop out of nowhere like that!"
"You made it to the 3rd round? I can't even clear the 2nd!"
"That wretched bat—how is it even that accurate!"
"I refuse to accept this! Again! Again!"
These students, similarly fired up, chose to go back in one more time.
The same anger.
Yet they were entirely different from those who had left because of that anger.
The students still watching took note of this, and it began to pique their curiosity about the world on the other side of the Teleportation Formation.
And so, one by one, students stepped forward and reached out to touch the Formation.
They weren't gone long—but before much time had passed, they too would be forcibly teleported out upon failing.
And they would come out with a hot-headed burst of fury, swearing and grumbling.
"What the hell! How does that duck-billed rat lasso your legs with vines!"
"Ugh, I can't even clear the 1st round!"
"I seriously don't believe this anymore! Charge!"
There would always be some students who gave up because of the difficulty—but without exception, every single one of these candidates would find their hearts flooded with a surge of intense anger.
Some were indignant at what they felt was an unreasonable level of difficulty.
Others were furious because victory had seemed so close within reach, only for a single moment of carelessness to send them back to square 1.
But regardless of the reason, the students' raging frustration permeated every corner of the Mage Tower without pause.
Swirling around Heni.
***
With the sun directly overhead, Viktor's Mage Tower below was packed shoulder to shoulder with reporters.
Word had gotten out about the difficulty of Viktor's exam.
When the students who had given up walked out, the media reporters had swarmed them immediately, asking question after question.
They were practically shoving microphones up the students' nostrils.
"Professor Viktor's exam is completely unreasonable!"
"That absurd difficulty level is nothing but making things difficult for us."
The students vented their frustrations into the cluster of microphones and walked away.
Up until now, not a single reporter had encountered 1 student who walked out of Viktor's exam smiling.
Just how extreme was the difficulty?
The exam content was not permitted to be disclosed before the session ended—so even with the media interviewing them, the students couldn't reveal the details of the assessment.
Well past noon, 1 student walked out.
His expression was completely different from those before him—carrying a smile of relief and ease, beaming with pride.
As though he had achieved some impressive feat inside that exam.
The reporters stared at this smiling student in slight bewilderment.
Had someone actually passed!?
But it was just passing an exam—was there really that much to be happy about?
Still, with fresh news material right in front of them, those reporters weren't about to let it go.
They surged forward in a swarm, asking this and that:
"Hold on, this student! Did you pass the exam and come out?"
The happy student froze for a moment and looked around.
"Ah, you mean me? Uh, I suppose I did pass, technically."
"Yes, yes—we've been interviewing quite a few students who walked out of this Mage Tower, but without exception every single one of them failed. I'd like to ask: what is your view on the difficulty of this assessment?"
The student thought for a moment.
"The difficulty? It really is tough—I spent roughly over 2 hours just barely scraping a passing grade."
"From my first year of enrollment to graduating this year, I've sat 4 End-of-Term Exams in total. This one is probably the hardest assessment I've ever taken."
The reporters' eyes lit up immediately.
They hadn't expected to be interviewing a graduating student.
"I can see that so far you're the only student who has walked out smiling. In your opinion, if things continue like this, how high do you think the pass rate for this exam will be?"
"Very high—that's all I can say."
The student smiled and replied calmly.
"The difficulty of this exam isn't the issue. What matters is whether students have the courage to dare and try, and the patience to keep going no matter how many times it takes."
"Ah, sorry—I can't reveal the exam content, so I can't say too much more than that."
The reporter nodded in understanding and continued:
"On a side note, I'd like to ask—what are your plans after graduation?"
"That, huh."
The student smiled warmly.
"I'm a Student Council member. If nothing goes wrong, I may stay on at the Academy as a lecturer."
"Ah, well—Professor Viktor's exam was really interesting. I'm actually quite hoping to stay at the Academy and spend more time interacting with this Professor."
He waved a cheerful goodbye to the reporters and walked off without a care.
But the reporters were anything but composed after hearing his words.
A Student Council member?
Holy—a Student Council member!?
The selection criteria for the Royal Magic Academy's Student Council were notoriously strict. Magical knowledge was certainly one factor, but formidable ability was also taken into comprehensive consideration.
Even a Student Council member had needed over 2 hours to complete the exam.
And had only barely scraped a passing grade at that?
Just what kind of exam was this??
***
Inside the Mage Tower, Erika was teleported out once again.
She stared at the Teleportation Formation in front of her as its light slowly faded, and a surge of stubborn defiance rose in her chest—and once again she threw herself headfirst back in.
Quite a few candidates who watched Erika going in and out of the Formation were left somewhat dazed.
Because this was already her 10th attempt at a retry.
"Even Top-ranked Freshman Erika has to keep retrying? Can the exam really be that hard......"
"I just came over from another Professor's exam—is it too late to leave now?"
The newly arrived candidates wore grave expressions as they asked the students around them.
Those students shot them a sidelong glance loaded with pent-up grievances.
Under the weight of those stares, they couldn't help but give a small shiver.
"Just arrived?"
The newly arrived candidates nodded, and at that, some of the tension eased from the other students' expressions.
"My advice: just try it yourselves. The attempts are unlimited anyway—there's nothing to lose."
"Trying it yourself will tell you more than any amount of guessing out here. You'll know soon enough just how hard it is."
One student finished speaking, stood up, brushed the dust off himself, and walked toward one of the Teleportation Formations.
Other students who had rested sufficiently saw him stand, got up themselves, and followed right behind him.
"Back in!"
"Damn it, I'm not eating dinner until I clear the 3rd round today."
"Ugh, I haven't even had lunch!"
Amid a chorus of swearing and grumbling, the newly arrived candidates watched them go, one after another reentering the Teleportation Formations.
Once they had all vanished from sight, the newcomers blinked in bewildered silence.
This......was this really that intense?
Heni watched the students enter one by one, and as their hot-headed, furious emotions surged, wave after wave of warm magical energy flowed back through her body, filling her to the brim.
At last, a hollow voice that was entirely unlike Heni's own rang out directly inside her mind.
"What deliciously rich anger!"
"I'm gonna EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT!"