Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Chapter 21

"Indeed, he’s outstanding. Top-tier students are different for a reason."

"It’s amazing how the abilities of first-year students are becoming standardized at a higher level day by day. It’s truly admirable!"

"Even though they’re top-tier, they’re still first-years. But there are students with skills similar to prospective Hunters. It feels like a treasure hunt. Ahem!"

The Headmaster and the Guild Masters of the top-tier Guilds were legally monitoring the exam as it progressed.

They had been focusing mainly on the top-tier students, but decided to take a look at the others as well.

Students who were less capable than the absolute top ranks yet still came from relatively famous families...

Or those said to possess hidden talent—they turned the screens toward them.

Then they saw a scene where a large number of students were engaged in combat.

A clearing deep in the forest.

It was terrain very useful for survival thanks to the presence of fruits and valleys, but also dangerous due to the large number of beast-type Monsters.

In that place, more than twenty students were surrounding a single target.

It seemed they had decided to cooperate in order to deal with the boss Monster of the forest...

But something was strange.

The target the students were surrounding was none other than Neo Haias.

The Headmaster knew Neo Haias well.

He was the lowest-ranked student who had barely avoided expulsion thanks to his excellent written exams and knowledge, despite never having manifested any ability.

It was definitely him.

However, his current appearance was like that of a member of the Beastmen race among Monsters—brown fox ears and a tail growing from his head.

The ends of his arms and legs had transformed to resemble the body of a brown fox.

If they had no prior information, they could easily have believed he was simply a Beastman or a Monster prepared for the midterm exam.

"Isn’t that a Monster?! But the system says he’s a student?"

"A shapeshifter? A possessor? Aren’t there Hunters with the ability to transform into other beings to fight?"

"I see. That student seems to have the ability to transform into a fox Beastman."

"I can feel a considerable amount of Mana."

The Guild Masters had seen so many different abilities over the years that they immediately understood and moved on...

But the Headmaster, who memorized the information of every Academy student, was different.

’A student who was at the very bottom and couldn’t manifest any abilities suddenly has this kind of power overnight? I’ll keep an eye on him for now. He might become an unexpected treasure...’

The sight of the students surrounding and encircling Neo Haias looked exactly like a pack of predators trying to hunt weak prey first.

Among those surrounding him were two top-ranking students.

He did not know why they were targeting the bottom-ranked Neo Haias first, but if things continued like this, Neo would inevitably fail the exam...

’Wait? Hold on! There’s a student who was already eliminated by Neo Haias?’

The Headmaster’s eyes slightly shook as he discovered the additional information.

The elimination of a mid-ranking student... even if that student had been careless, such a thing should never have happened so easily.

"Oh my! Isn’t that student Ziek? The second son of the agile Thief family?"

"Hmm... promising. Let’s keep our mouths shut and watch how he fights."

"Ahem...!"

While everyone recognized the top-ranking students and watched the battle...

The Headmaster’s gaze remained solely focused on Neo Haias.

It had been a long time since he had retired from the field. But his still-sharp intuition was telling him clearly.

Keep an eye on Neo Haias. He had a strong feeling that Neo would make a great leap forward here and rise to the top ranks—or even higher—in an instant.

’Good... show off your amazing skills after being on the verge of expulsion, Neo Haias.’

Perhaps his unspoken wish was understood.

Neo Haias’s figure suddenly disappeared with a soft whoosh.

Thud!

And suddenly, a student collapsed on the spot.

The only ones who noticed this situation were the top-ranking students, the Headmaster who was watching the entire screen from a high altitude, and the Guild Masters of the top-tier Guilds.

"Did you see that just now?"

One of the Guild Masters asked, unable to hide his excitement.

At the same time, another student collapsed on the spot.

Both disappeared into particles of light with only a slight difference in timing.

"Perfect assassination. Erasing traces and Mana, movements specialized purely for assassinating the enemy... it looks like abilities beyond the top ranks."

Leaving the particularly excited Guild Master alone, the other Guild Masters focused intently on the video.

"Hey... heyaaaa! Everyone gather in one place! Keuaaaaak!"

"What? Where’s the atta— Keoeuk...!"

"Stealth and attack. Detection magic... HOW THE HELL DID HE DO TH— ARGHH!"

Neo was an unstoppable force in this exam.