So she detached from him gently but firmly and ran into the bathroom saying she needed to wash her face.
"How was the quarantine zone?" Yurial asked while Lith removed tears and snot from his uniform with a darkness spell.
"Classified." He replied with a stern voice and a stone face that he let crumble after an instant.
"Off the record? It was the stuff nightmares are made of. Believe me, you don't want to know. So much death and misery in a single place that is beyond imagination, and it's better for it to stay that way."
Lith sighed, borrowing Solus's words.
- "Shame on you." Solus rebuked him. "Using my words to fake feelings you don't have. I forgive you only because you have been great with Friya. Her situation is the worst among them all. She needs all the help that she can get."
"I did? I mean, thanks. Now she is even worse off than Quylla, since she can leave the Ernas family whenever she wants as a free woman, while in the eyes of society Friya would just be a traitor without them." –
The group spent the rest of the day catching up with each other, resuming their usual routine from the following day.
Between the pointers that Lith had extorted from Rudd and Quylla's talent, all of them managed to open Warp Steps, coming close to even completing the Blink spell. Everyone was on edge, knowing that the second exam was around the corner.
As Lith predicted, Friya became a target for all those kinds of harassment that no Ballot could stop. Not even the name of the Ernas could protect her from the spite and the scorn that came from her being branded as a fallen noble and a traitor.
"The only silver lining in all this situation, is that I'm putting so much effort in my studies to relieve my stress, that not only my grades are improving, but I am also in the upper tier of my Magic Knight specialization." Friya said with pride.
"Yeah, seems a lot of people have been slacking off while we were working our as*es off." Phloria pointed out.
The three weeks break had caused many students to relax and lose their rhythm.
Not to mention that between the impending civil war worrying the nobles and the harassment most commoners experienced, it was easy to fall behind. With the academy's competitive environment, making up for the lost time was nigh impossible.
When the day of the second exam came, it took everyone by surprise once again.
"Since many of you complained about the last test, I have decided to use written tests again." Headmaster Linjos said to the student body assembled in the main hall.
Many of the old noble families smirked in defiance, feeling victorious over the now tamed Headmaster.
"But that will bring your grades only up to rank B. If you are fine with that, raise your hand." Linjos continued, enjoying their spunk turning into stupor.
"For those who want a Rank above B, I have prepared a special test, modified according to your input. This time you can make up your teams as you want, up to 4 members.
Each team will have a supervisor, a student from the fifth year. It will be their responsibility to make sure that foul play isn't involved and that you come out alive. Per your request, there will no more monitoring or help from the Professors.
Whoever wants to take part in the test must first fill a liability release form. The academy will not be held responsible if anything befalls you."
The students jumped from their seats, running toward those they believed to be their best bet to pass the exam, while others preferred to give up and take the written test instead.
Lith was discussing with his group how to come out of that mess, since only four out of five of them could form a group, when Linjos joined them.
"Don't worry my students. The nature of this test is such that some people, like Lith, cannot be part of any group." Before they could express their surprise and outrage, Linjos raised his hand, forcing them to shut up with air magic.
"He can still get a rank above A. You'll understand when the test begins."