Chapter 307: Final battle

In the Training Room

Everything was going as normal, and the last round of the test had just started. However, Professor Elisa suddenly stood up and began walking towards the exit door.

The staff members looked at Elisa for a moment, their expressions filled with confusion. They couldn’t understand why she was leaving when the test had only just entered its final round. After exchanging glances with each other, one of them finally gathered the courage to ask in a nervous tone, "Professor Elisa, where are you going? The test hasn’t finished yet. Or did something important come up?"

Professor Elisa stopped when she heard the question. She turned her head slightly towards the staff members before answering in her usual calm tone, "There is nothing left to see. The result has already been decided, and the winner is already determined."

The staff member who had asked the question immediately fell silent.

After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that her words weren’t wrong. There was little doubt that Asher would win this test, just as he had won the previous ones. No matter what happened during the final round, the outcome was already clear to everyone who had seen his last abilities.

Professor Elisa didn’t bother explaining any further. Instead, she looked at the staff members and continued, "You can handle the students’ points and rankings after the test finishes. Once everything has been calculated, announce the results and send the final report to me."

The staff members nodded in response, accepting her instructions without raising any further questions.

Having finished what she needed to say, Professor Elisa turned around and left the training room. However, despite her calm expression, she was in a rather bad mood.

As she walked down the corridor at a slow pace, her mind returned to the decision to organize this test in the first place.

’Just how terrible was the decision to host this test?’

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became.

This test had turned out far worse than the previous ones, mainly because of Asher’s change in behavior.

During the early days of his time at the Academy, Asher had been completely different. His eyes almost seemed lifeless, and after defeating his opponent as painfully as he could without any mortal danger to their life, when his opponent looked at his lifeless eyes and emotionless expression, that was enough to make them feel fear. He rarely showed emotion, and when he defeated someone, he did so without seeming to care about their reaction.

It was bad but still somewhat acceptable.

But now, things had changed.

Asher no longer seemed interested in simply defeating his opponents. Instead, he openly tried to destroy their confidence and break their will, deliberately playing with them while they struggled against him. He took his time, letting them feel the gap between their abilities and his before finally defeating them.

As he slowly destroyed their confidence, his statement was clear.

"I don’t care if you break; it’s your own fault for being so weak."

Professor Elisa couldn’t deny that his behavior was effective for some students at least, they were growing faster, like those three students who fought well without giving up. However, watching him deliberately crush their confidence still left her with an unpleasant feeling.

She continued walking, but before long, another memory came to her mind.

Noah.

The moment she remembered what he had done during the test, her expression darkened even further.

’That idiot...’

She couldn’t help feeling angry whenever she thought about his decision.

Noah had given up even before making a proper attempt to fight. He hadn’t even tried to see whether he could do anything against his opponent. Instead, he had accepted defeat and given up the test without putting up any meaningful resistance.

If this had been a real battle, Elisa could have understood his decision. After all, there was no point in throwing away one’s life in a fight that couldn’t be won. Knowing when to escape was also key to surviving in a dangerous world.

However, this wasn’t a real battle.

It was merely a test conducted within a virtual environment. His life wasn’t in danger, and even if he lost, there wouldn’t be any serious consequences beyond the result itself. He had the chance to test his abilities, face a difficult opponent, and learn from the experience.

Yet, despite all of that, Noah had still chosen to give up.

He hadn’t even tried.

That bothered Elisa most.

’At the very least, you should have tried to fight back. Even if you knew you couldn’t win, you could have learned something from the experience.’

Elisa finally reached her room, and after entering, she made herself a cup of coffee. She then sat down on her chair and took a sip, trying to calm herself down. She decided to stop thinking about Noah before it made her mood even worse.

’There is nothing I can do to change Asher’s behavior, I guess. I can only try to motivate the other students to do their best from now on. Everything else is up to them.’

Inside the Virtual Test.

Asher easily maneuvered through the forest, ignoring most of the beasts he encountered and killing only a few that happened to get in his way.

He continued moving forward without wasting much time, making his way towards the marked area on the map.

Soon, he finally arrived at his destination.

Asher was the first one to reach the area, and his condition was almost perfect. There wasn’t a single injury on his body, nor was there any dirt on his clothes. He looked as though he had just taken a casual walk through the forest rather than fought his way through an area filled with dangerous beasts.

After entering the marked area, Asher glanced around briefly before finding a suitable place to stand. He then began waiting for the other three students to arrive.

It didn’t take long for them to appear.

The other three students were exactly the ones Asher had expected to see. They were Leon, Celestine, and another boy who ranked sixth in the class and was also one of the best students when it came to close combat.

All three of them used swords.

However, unlike Asher, their journey to the marked area hadn’t been easy. They had encountered and fought numerous beasts along the way, forcing them to spend a considerable amount of time and energy just to reach their destination.

By the time they finally arrived, their breathing was ragged, and their hair was disheveled. Their clothes were also covered in dirt, showing how much effort they had put into making their way through the forest.

As they entered the area, the first thing they noticed was Asher standing there, calmly waiting for them.

A slight look of surprise appeared on their faces when they saw him. After all, they hadn’t expected him to arrive so quickly.

However, that surprise quickly disappeared.

Instead, their expressions became a little more solemn as they took a closer look at Asher’s condition.

He was standing there without a single injury, his clothes perfectly clean, and his breathing completely steady.