Multiple groups of students, clad in armor and holding their weapon of choice, stood before the teleportation gate.
"Woah, look at them," one guy said, capturing the attention of many students.
"So all these Rankers are on one team, I envy them," another guy said.
Just then, Kevin's team was entering.
Everyone on the team was a Ranker, with the exception of Ria Adler. Their allure attracted considerable attention from the students.
However, seeing their competition, some students grew even more anxious.
This examination was designed to grade the Hunter Teams.
Some of them were really striving to score well, and having half the Rankers on one team stirred a bit of envy.
Usually, only two or at most three Rankers would be on a team, as previous mid-terms took place in teams of 4.
But this time, World Academy increased the team limit from 4 to 10.
This led some students to lose hope, as they stood no chance of winning against the two teams comprising all the Rankers.
Reliance on others' abilities to win wasn't ideal, but they couldn't help feeling that the top 2 spots were already decided.
"The professors aren't here yet?" Ria asked, scanning the area.
It was 7 A.M., and all the first-year students were instructed to assemble before this time.
But only students had gathered here with their teams.
Around 130-140 teams had formed.
Almost all the teams were balanced, except for a few ready for the increased difficulty of having top-ranking students on their teams.
"Attention Students, we'll start soon, so if your teammate hasn't arrived yet, gather them immediately," a professor announced.
Some people began using their ID Bracelets to hastily call their tardy teammates.
At another portal gate, Asher's team stood, with Dahlia ensuring that everyone on her given list was present.
"It was true, that girl is indeed on their team," some students whispered among themselves.
Seeing Alyssa confirmed the rumors, but no one dared to speak too loudly.
"But did he really outperform all the mages?" one guy asked his mage teammate.
"Yeah, and it was a C Rank Monster as well," his teammate replied with a nod.
"But isn't he a swordsman?" a girl in their team asked.
"Yeah, he was supposed to be a sword user, but I don't even know at this point," their team leader replied.
Each Hunter team had a team leader responsible for guiding them in the test and managing the team.
"Let's just hope we don't have to face them," he said.
"I don't think we'll directly compete with other teams, so we'll be fine," the girl replied.
"Yeah, she's right, some of the professors hinted that it'll be a dungeon-based test," the mage of their team chimed in.
"Then our composition should work," the team leader responded.
Most Hunter Teams adhered to the pattern of having a few mages and weapon users for protection.
Each team consisted of 6-8 students, with some having even 9 or 10, but most didn't.
Having too many people on their teams meant that their grades would decrease, so most teams opted not to have 9 or 10 students.
"Listen carefully, apart from this team, all of you will be competing in the dungeons we have prepared for you," Dahlia announced, pointing to Asher's team.
"We'll take you to the dungeons, and you have seven days to clear them. If you can't do it, you will fail this exam," Dahlia's words made some students nervous.
"So there will be no one following us like last time," one of them muttered.
Everyone understood that this time they wouldn't receive any external help.
But Dahlia didn't mention that two instructors were told to go inside the dungeon much earlier than the students to prevent the situation that occurred with Asher and Alyssa.
Farnus didn't want to take any chances now, so he personally chose all of them, who were A Rank Hunters that could ensure the safety of the students while maintaining the fairness of the test.
"So we're not going with them?" Damian asked, raising his hand.
Dahlia looked at Asher's team.
"No, I'll take you to the place where your test will be held separately," Dahlia said.
"Due to the fact that two teams have all the Rankers, we've given them a much higher difficulty than all of you," Dahlia mentioned to all the students, in case anyone thought it was unfair that they were not going inside a dungeon.
"What kind of test will they go through?" Some students wondered, whispering among themselves.
"Everyone, exit through that portal in the order your team is called," Dahlia commanded, eager not to waste time on trivial matters.
Teams began moving towards the portal, entering as their names were called.
"As for you guys, we've prepared a Maze Type Dungeon with special traps. You need to compete with the other team traversing the same dungeon," Dahlia said, approaching where Asher and his team stood.
"Maze Dungeon?" Venessa asked, puzzled.
"It's a dungeon with multiple starting points," Amelia replied, having heard about it.
"Exactly, consider it as a race, but we've altered the structure of the dungeon by placing monsters that we want you to compete against," Dahlia explained.
"Also, there will be numerous traps we've placed to slow you down," Dahlia added.
"So what's the winning condition?" Asher asked.
"You need to reach the center where there will be two medallions. Take one and exit the dungeon, then race against the other team to reach the final destination and place the medallion on the final spot," Dahlia explained.
"We've anticipated that both your teams will place in the top 2 ranks, so we'll determine the positions with this test," Dahlia mentioned, not fully explaining the difficulties they would face.
Asher realized they intended for them to compete with Kevin Whiteheart's team, but this still didn't make sense as even in a race, Asher could help them win by clearing all the monsters himself.
"Are the monsters we'll face different?" Asher asked.
Dahlia raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised that Asher had already grasped the structure of the exam.
"Yes, but it's done to ensure that you guys take this test as a team," Dahlia replied.
'She didn't mention the traps,' Asher thought to himself.
He figured that the traps they would encounter would also differ from what Kevin's team would face.
The fact that they'd placed external monsters indicated they'd carefully selected monsters that would force them to act as a team. The same was true for Kevin's team, who were receiving a similar explanation from another professor.
Maze Type Dungeons were different from regular dungeons; the center of the dungeon was always the Boss Room, and every 5 minutes, the starting point would shift to one of the four edges.
This was the basic rule followed in every Maze Type Dungeon.
"Is the medallion a compass?" Asher asked one final question.
Dahlia smiled, realizing Asher understood the true nature of the test.
It didn't matter if they reached the center first; the real test was outside the dungeon.
"Yes, and Professor Neyman is present there, so he'll explain the rules to you guys there. Now, enter the portal," Dahlia instructed, glancing behind.
All the teams had entered, so the place had become empty.
"Now, good luck," Dahlia said.
Asher turned towards the portal, while the rest of the team remained silent.
"So what should we do?" Damian asked.
"Should we change our formation?" He asked Asher, who was leading them.
Their previous formation was designed to clear a dungeon by killing monsters, but now the test was a bit different.
"No, we'll follow the same formation," Asher replied,
"Well, if you say so," Damian said, surprising the whole team with his casual interaction with Asher.
Even Sam was taken aback like the others on their team, seeing Damian talk so naturally with Asher.
Only Amelia, who had known Damian from a young age, was aware that he was the only one who could talk to Asher so casually without feeling awkward.
Most people, including Sam and Venessa, found it difficult to interact with Asher, who always carried an indifferent look on his face.
It was hard to know what he was thinking while his crimson red eyes stared at you.
This made most people avoid engaging in conversation with Asher since they couldn't discern his thoughts, given his lack of facial reactions.
