For several moments, the clearing was silent.
Everyone stood there, breathing heavily after the long battle.
The corrupted lion’s body lay split cleanly in two, its shattered jewel scattered across the dirt.
No one spoke.
Oscar slowly lowered his hand as the last fragments of Dead Man’s Bulwark crumbled into dust.
Aster let out a huge sigh beside him.
“Okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I think it's safe to say that was the craziest entrance exam I’ve ever heard of.”
Alexander brushed dirt from his arms, the remaining lightning around him slowly fading away.
“That beast shouldn’t have been there.”
Lillie was already kneeling beside several injured applicants, desperately trying to treat their wounds.
“Look at all these injured applicants,” she said urgently.
She turned toward the group.
“Help me treat some of the wounds!”
Oscar glanced toward the fallen students scattered across the clearing.
Not all of them survived.
The corrupted lion’s corpse loomed nearby like a fallen mountain.
Something about the entire situation felt… wrong.
Then—
Clap…
A slow clap echoed from the edge of the clearing.
Clap… clap… clap…
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Everyone turned.
A man stepped out from the trees, completely relaxed.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
His giant white coat shifted lightly in the wind as he continued clapping.
“Well,” the man said casually.
He gave a thumbs up.
“That was really entertaining.”
Oscar sighed.
“…Haruto.”
The others stood frozen in place.
“Wait…” Aster muttered. “The Haruto?”
The group stared as Haruto casually walked toward the lion’s corpse and looked down at it.
He gave a low whistle.
“A corrupted alpha controlling cubs during an entrance exam.”
He nudged the shattered jewel with the tip of his shoe.
“Someone is gonna have a bad time reporting this.”
Haruto paused.
“But it ain’t gonna be me.”
Elaina crossed her arms.
“You were watching?”
Haruto shrugged.
“From a distance.”
His eyes swept across the clearing, studying each of them one by one.
Then they stopped on Oscar.
A small smirk appeared on his face.
“Seems like I’m a great teacher.”
Oscar rolled his eyes.
“Don’t wanna hear it.”
Aster leaned closer to him.
“Bro… you trained with him?”
Oscar muttered back,
“Unfortunately.”
Haruto chuckled.
“You flatter me.”
He stretched slightly before continuing.
“Jokes aside…”
“This exam is officially over.”
Several of the applicants looked confused.
“Over?” Alexander asked.
Haruto nodded.
“I actually had the other instructors move all the remaining applicants out of the forest.”
“Why?” Elaina asked.
“There were plenty of students that showed tremendous ability,” Haruto said.
“But with the presence of this corrupted beast, we removed everyone up to this point.”
He gestured toward the lion’s corpse.
“As you probably figured out, this thing wasn’t part of the exam.”
He shrugged.
“So we had the proctors end things early.”
Aster slowly raised his hand.
“So… we passed?”
“Nope.”
All the students yelled in sync.
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”
Haruto burst out laughing.
“I’m just kidding.”
He waved his hand dismissively.
“You six passed with flying colors.”
The group let out a collective sigh of relief.
“You all survived,” Haruto added.
“That’s usually a good sign.”
He motioned for them to follow.
“Grab the injured and start moving.”
“We’re heading back to Aegis Academy.”
The group immediately began gathering the wounded applicants.
Elaina and Alexander helped lift the majority of the injured students.
Vega silently sheathed his blade before walking toward the forest exit.
Behind them, the corpse of the corrupted lion remained motionless.
“…Your mentor is weird,” Aster whispered.
Oscar shrugged.
“You get used to it fast.”
Haruto suddenly spoke without turning around.
“Try to keep up back there.”
The group continued walking through the forest.
The entrance exam was over.
But Oscar couldn’t shake the feeling that something about the entire situation was wrong.
Because that monster…
Should have never been inside the exam forest in the first place.
