My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

Char and the others were teleported directly back to that platform.

The moment he landed, he felt countless eyes staring at him from all around.

After a brief moment of silence, the sound surged forth like a flood.

"Is it him? That madman who randomly dropped bombs in the underground bunker?"

"Keep your voice down! He's looking over here!"

"How did he do that? He can use magic even in a magic-suppressing zone?"

"He saved my life, otherwise I would have almost died at the hands of those things."

Char encountered many classmates on his way to the inner circle, saved many people, and almost blew up quite a few people as if they were ghouls.

Look around.

Most of the faces I saw when we set off from the Tower of Truth have returned, though most of them are injured. Some may have been transferred to an in-flight facility for treatment due to the severity of their injuries.

Char has now roughly pieced together the entire plan for the Tower of Truth.

In a sense, these new students taking the exam are all "bait" for this plan.

They were confident, and indeed achieved their goal with minimal casualties.

There were many black-robed mages on the platform whom we hadn't seen before; they must have been staying in the cave early on as a precaution.

Char's gaze swept over them, finally landing on Sylvia.

She stood at the edge of the crowd, the Silver Moon Bow slung back on her back, her long silver hair slightly disheveled by the wind.

Aldridge recovered quickly under the magician's healing and is now talking with Sylvia.

He clearly had some information gaps and wasn't quite aware of what was happening; he just saw Sylvia being choked and immediately attacked.

Aldridge's face was ashen as he listened, nodding frequently and glancing at Xia Ya from time to time.

After Sylvia finished speaking, Aldrich walked straight towards Char, stopped, and bowed deeply.

"I am Aldrich, the foreign affairs deacon of the Christian family. Miss Sylvia has already informed us of the situation underground. The Christian family will remember your great kindness."

"It was nothing, no need to thank me," Xia said.

Aldridge remained silent, but slowly raised his hand and gently tapped the air.

"bite-"

A notification sound came from his ear. Xia had been hearing this sound frequently these days; it was the sound of points being credited to his account for purchasing his configuration patent.

He subconsciously opened the system on his medal.

The next instant, the densely packed zeros on the account made Xia's eyes pop out.

Wow, how many points would that be?

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand...

"This...this is way too much."

Aldridge shook his head, his expression still solemn: "Not much. Sylvia's life is worth more than this."

Xia opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

His gaze went over Aldridge's shoulder and onto the other side of the platform.

A middle-aged man in black robes was angrily reprimanding Viktor. Viktor lowered his head and did not argue.

Because of the magic, sound was blocked, so it looked like the two of them were performing a silent film.

One of his henchmen sat not far away, his face pale, while a doctor was reattaching his right hand, which had been blown off by Char—the very same hand that had caused Char's wreckage.

In a sense, Cindy lost because of the information gap, and so did Char.

Then, the man in black led Victor away from the platform and into the airship's interior.

Viktor's steps were unsteady, and he was clearly somewhat lost and dejected.

Seemingly noticing Xia's gaze, he turned around and met his eyes.

That glance was complex—it contained resentment, anger, and a hint of inexplicable apprehension. But in the end, he said nothing, turned his head, and followed the man into the cabin.

"What will he do?" Xia asked.

"Nothing serious will happen," Sylvia said, arms crossed. "At most, you'll get a minor punishment, and then you can continue studying at the Tower of Truth. After all, nothing major has happened, right?"

Char frowned slightly.

"You need to understand one thing, Char." She noticed Char's confusion and lowered her voice slightly. "There's a reason why the Twelve Golden Families have always been these twelve. Even if the Vilvia family weakens to the point of not reaching the sixth rank, they will still be one of these twelve."

Aldridge stood to the side, his gaze following the direction Victor had disappeared in. He nodded slightly upon hearing this. His face was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth turned down slightly, as if he both agreed with and resigned to Sylvia's words.

"The Tower of Truth is theoretically a neutral force and should not interfere in any disputes." He continued, his tone calm. "This time, the Tower of Truth intervened to protect the students, and the reasons are perfectly valid. But we will not completely break ties with the Vilvia family."

He paused, then continued, "But if they succeed this time, I doubt any of you will survive. I will seek justice for you."

After he finished speaking, he gave Xia a slight bow and followed in the direction Viktor had left.

Char seemed to want to ask something more, when a commotion arose in the center of the platform.

The rankings are out!

Someone shouted.

All eyes were fixed on the huge, semi-transparent light screen in the center of the platform. The scrambled snowflakes on the screen had disappeared, replaced by neat lines of text—hunt points, achievement points, total points, and real-time rankings.

Char's name was prominently listed first.

It wasn't a tie, nor a narrow victory—it was a precipitous lead.

The total score was far higher than the second place, and the numbers were still fluctuating, seemingly waiting for final confirmation from some invigilator.

After a brief silence.

"How the hell did they manage to get this?" someone muttered under their breath, but there was no resentment in their tone, only resignation.

"You didn't see it, his magic power is inexhaustible. I guess he must have some kind of magical bloodline."

Xia touched his nose and didn't say anything.

He turned around and looked at the other side of the platform.

Einstein was already standing there sometime earlier. He might have been blocked by the crowd.

Her grey-blue eyes looked at him, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

The arc was small, but Char understood it.

It means: Well done.

Tesla stood half a step behind Einstein, his hands in his pockets, expressionless, but he nodded slightly to Char.

Char nodded as well.

Meredith appeared on the stage at some point, glanced around at the crowd, and began to speak.

"After careful consideration by the school, I will announce the award for the first place winner in this year's preliminary examination."

Before the next exam, the top-ranked student will unlock the Level 1 training agreement. Access to all functional rooms, the library, and open courses, including Level 6 courses, will be free.

Herbs and raw materials are 40% off...

As Meredith announced the first-place rewards one by one, Char felt many envious gazes directed at him.

The remaining students will receive points rewards based on their rankings!

Six months later, the school will hold a joint entrance exam with the Clock Tower and the Sion Abbey at the already explored Ruins of Aliverau. If you're lucky, you might find some useful items there, but the entry requirement is Tier 3, so you'll need to work hard for the next six months.”

Amidst the wails of agony, the Grey Pelican's engines began to hum, steam hissing from the exhaust valves, gleaming golden in the setting sun.

The clouds churned, and the sky gradually darkened.

This exam is finally over.