[Damn, you really went and declared war against them early in the morning, huh.]
Sariel said as he hovered in front of me in a form of a system window.
"Well, that’s just to spice things up for the show that I’m about to give everyone."
I replied to him, smirking a little bit.
It’s already [10:00 AM] and the second day of the assessment test will start in half an hour.
I’m currently heading to where the second exam will take place.
[Whatever... Anyway, are you sure with your plan?]
I glanced at the transparent window floating beside me before opening my mouth.
’I’m at least confident that everything will be fine... But well, I’m actually pretty nervous. After all, there’s nothing certain about the future.’
I mumbled inside my head.
[Hmm, you will be fine. Probably.]
And I responded with a small nod and a smile.
Then after the small talk with him... I walked faster to arrive earlier at the test area.
It didn’t take long for Raven to arrive at the place where the second test will be held.
It was just a big spacious room with white walls, ceiling, and flooring.
There’s a spectator area near the entrance of the room where some students, staff, teachers, and others are watching.
And at the very middle of the room... There’s a big green portal!
There are two sections of freshmen in the said room, excluding the spectators.
The sections are [CLASS A-1] and [CLASS B-1].
[CLASS A-1] is on the right side of the room, while [CLASS B-1] is on the left side.
Raven is in the [CLASS A-1], and currently, he’s looking at someone from the opposing class.
It was Sean Dixon, who is in the [CLASS B-1], and he was glaring daggers at Raven!
Not that Raven gave a shit as he raised his middle finger toward him with a pure bright smile.
Sean of course got angry, but he couldn’t do anything hasty, so he just turned away from Raven.
Though, the moment he did that—
Raven exclaimed that.
Everyone’s eyes turned to look at him.
But then Raven suddenly mixed in with the [CLASS A-1] and his presence became hard to sense!
So there weren’t many who really saw him shout that!
’That fucking bastard...’
Sean angrily thought as he clenched his hands into fists and scanned the area to find Raven.
Though, he received no luck as he couldn’t spot where the hell he was.
’I’m gonna kill him if I find him...’
He thought as he continued to search around.
On the other hand... Raven was just continuously walking and slipping through across the whole [CLASS A-1] while avoiding as many gazes as possible.
Which is a pretty difficult task because he’s kind of eye-catching now. With his looks, reputation and all.
It was then, Kendy and another person came into the room.
Their footsteps were audible and their presence came strong!
Not that Raven minded as he was still avoiding everyone’s gazes as hard as he could.
And soon... Kendy, along with his company— reached and stood beside the huge green portal that is in the center of the room.
With a fake cough, Kendy gathered all the attention in the room toward him.
And after a satisfied nod, he opened his mouth—
"I hate beating around the bush... For the second test; you all are here to fight to death."
Then he declared that with a casual expression and voice!
And even though his announcement was something scary and unbelievable...
There wasn’t much change in the expressions of the students inside the room.
Especially Raven, who already knew what the second assessment test will be.
His eyes just glanced at the portal in the middle of the room.
"Bruh, you need to explain more than that..."
Just then, the person who entered with Kendy spoke. He looked at Kendy with a small frown and shook his head.
"Sure, I don’t want to do this announcing shit anyway."
And Kendy casually replied as he stepped back.
The person Kendy came with stepped forward with a charming polite smile, then he spoke.
"Hello everyone, my name is Luke Arya, the homeroom professor of the [CLASS B-1]."
He introduced himself.
He’s a handsome man with a well-built body, green eyes, and short brown hair.
"All of you are here for the combat test."
Luke stated, then after that, he started explaining things.
"The combat test will be held inside this portal dungeon, [The Celestial Dimension]."
He said as he took a small glance behind him where a green portal was gracefully emitting dense mana.
"This dungeon is... Hmm, what do we call it..."
Luke started to think of the right words to say. Then he continued speaking after a short pause.
"Yeah, this dungeon is one and only... It’s a dungeon that wasn’t produced naturally after all."
Luke’s words naturally caused small confusion to appear on the students’ faces, even Alec and the other main characters were shocked after hearing that.
Though, Raven still didn’t show any change in his face.
"If you’re confused, then let me tell you a not-so-secret amazing fact."
Luke said as a smirk appeared on his face.
"This dungeon behind me was made by the strongest hero of all time."
He teasingly muttered. Most of the students showed surprised expressions, small gasps echoed throughout the room.
"It was created by [The Protector]— Raziel Winfred."
Luke declared that, his eyes shining with excitement.
’He’s already dead tho...’
Raven thought to himself with a bored face after hearing the name.
"Sir Raziel is a magic swordsman! He was also said to be sent by the gods to protect humanity against the enemies and demons!"
"He was one of the first generation awakeners 120 years ago... And also— Sir Raziel was the one who united the awakeners at that time to form an organization and protect humanity."
Luke explained even further, he was really passionate about this.
"And [The Celestial Dimension] behind me was made by Sir Raziel’s skills, with some help from artifacts he personally collected and some of his trusted comrades."
Luke then got back to talking about the portal behind him.
"Let me tell you one thing that makes this portal extremely incredible."
He looked at the students with serious eyes, making the whisperings across the room fall silent.
Then, opening his mouth again—
"Death... doesn’t exist inside this dimension."
"You will feel pain, you will feel emotions, you will be able to move, you will be able to think, you can do anything... But you wouldn’t die inside this dimension."
"You all will fight with everything you have inside this dimension, you can bring whatever you want too... You might think that this is too intense for a test— but death is normal if you’re a hero."
Luke muttered. His warm and polite appearance just a while ago disappeared and was replaced with seriousness.
"This dungeon is the reason why the [Lunar Academy] was able to produce the best heroes... So if you’re afraid of dying, then you chose the wrong career to pursue."
"Fight to the death...?"
"What the hell? A-Are they serious?"
"I know we wouldn’t actually die, but still..."
Some of the students started having second thoughts about their choice of pursuing being a hero.
Luke scanned the crowd of students, observing their shifting expressions—some determined, some shaken, and others trying to suppress their fear.
Raven, meanwhile, simply narrowed his eyes at the portal.
’It’s the same test in my novel, nothing changed. That’s good.’
His gaze lingered on the swirling green mana that danced around the portal like ghostly flames.
[Are you nervous now?]
Sariel’s voice chimed quietly inside Raven’s head.
’Hmm, weirdly... I feel more calm now than earlier.’
Raven replied, adjusting his clothes
"Each class will enter in groups of twenty five. Once inside, the system within the dungeon will record all of your actions."
Luke’s voice echoed again, regaining everyone’s attention.
"Points will be awarded based on performance, teamwork, and skill. And remember— just because you can’t die, doesn’t mean you won’t suffer."
He gave a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Then at that, a large magic screen appeared above, listing all students’ names.
"First group, from Class A-1—"
The list began shuffling.
Raven’s eyes calmly watched, his name flickering briefly before locking into place.
’Tch. First group, huh?’
Raven thought, a lazy frown on his face.
[Well, you did ask for a show.]
’And I plan to deliver one.’
But he quickly replied with that.
The combat test will start soon.