The day after the Ranking Battle.

  The situation remained much the same as yesterday.

  Or rather, the story from yesterday had spread far and wide, transforming into increasingly exaggerated rumors that convinced anyone who had considered challenging her to abandon the idea.

  As a result, Hulim found herself repeatedly going through the motions of stepping onto the field and off again—with the actual match portion completely absent.

  This continued until no one dared to face her at all...

  Yesterday she had at least gotten to use her magic once—today she didn't even get that chance!

  Before she knew it, she had already secured first place in the Ranking Battle.

  This was probably the most bizarre first-place finish in Manacos history—a student who hadn't cast a single spell after advancing to the top hundred, yet still emerged victorious.

  But this also reflected that she might be the strongest first-place winner in Manacos history...

  "Ah, the Ranking Battle is finally over!"

  Miko stretched lazily in the dessert shop.

  "Congratulations, Miko—you got second place in the Ranking Battle," Hulim congratulated.

  Miko gave Hulim a deadpan look and retorted:

  "......Hulim, hearing you say that is just... awkward."

  "Uh..."

  Though it was belated, Miko had been Hulim's opponent in the final match.

  Unlike the other competitors who surrendered out of fear of exaggerated rumors, Miko simply recognized the gap in their abilities and surrendered straightforwardly, just like everyone else before her.

  "No, really—Miko, you're amazing! If you take me out of the picture, you would've been first place!"

  At least in other years, Miko would likely have been first...

  "What do you mean 'take me out of the picture'..."

  "Besides, there are no 'what ifs' in this world. Actually, I achieved second place precisely because I've been using you as my goal all this time."

  "Miko is right—we've been able to grow this much thanks to Hulim's guidance these past three years."

  "Y-You two..." Hulim stammered. "Fine—let's call it the result of our collective efforts."

  "Agreed!"

  "Then let's celebrate our collective efforts!"

  The three ordered an extra dessert...

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  "By the way, the Gauntlet Run is in two days," Alicia changed the subject.

  "I don't know the specifics for this year, but I've heard this exam can be dangerous. Every year, many students end up getting injured..."

  "Don't worry—for us, nothing like that will happen," Hulim reassured.

  "Yeah, Alicia, instead of worrying about that, why not think about whether we can break the record from previous years!"

  "The record from previous years... That might be difficult, but—"

  Alicia glanced at Hulim.

  "With Hulim here, I think breaking the record won't be a problem."

  "Ah, right! Hulim definitely can do it!"

  "......You two have way too much faith in me."

  "No, it's not about faith—it's just the plain truth. And for some reason, I have a feeling Hulim won't just break the record—she'll do something even more impressive!"

  What was that supposed to mean?

  ...

  Time quickly arrived for the Gauntlet Run.

  The exam venue was set in the mountainous area outside Langard, where Manacos mages had jointly created a specially designed course.

  "All methods are permitted. Each participant must pass through every checkpoint on the path. The earlier you reach the finish line, the higher your score will be!"

  "I now declare—"

  "The exam begins!"

  At the teacher's signal,

  students who had been ready at the starting line immediately surged forward.

  Whoosh—!

  But just as they began running, they felt something blur past them.

  "Did... did something just fly by?"

  "No, you must be imagining things."

  "Hey, stop chatting and hurry up! You want to come in last?"

  "Ah, right away..."

  As time passed,

  students who had been crowded at the starting line gradually spread out.

  The strongest students raced to the front, with fewer and fewer figures following behind.

  They navigated through canyons, crossed large crevices, climbed cliffs, and forded rivers...

  After much effort, they finally reached the first checkpoint.

  A mountain valley.

  But within the valley, barriers were set up—each stronger than the last. They had to break through all of them to pass through the valley.

  Additionally, according to Gauntlet Run rules, everyone must pass through this exact point; bypassing it would invalidate their results.

  Each student carried a special magic item that recorded specific magical wavelengths—only at the checkpoints' designated passage areas were there magic circles emitting these wavelengths.

  Therefore, any attempt to cheat was impossible.

  Interestingly, the rules didn't prohibit cooperation. If students worked together, everyone's results would likely improve.

  But unfortunately, the nature of this competition was inherently competitive. Besides completion time, ranking was also part of the evaluation.

  In other words, everyone was an opponent!

  Cooperation was nearly impossible—except for those who couldn't overcome the checkpoints alone and had no choice but to work together...

  Like right now.

  Boom! Boom! Boom...

  At the entrance to the first valley.

  A group of students were fighting.

  They were trying to eliminate their opponents to pass through the checkpoint faster.

  Whoosh!

  Some ignored the chaos and directly attacked the barriers to break through.

  However, the moment a barrier shattered, everyone who had been fighting nearby would simultaneously rush forward.

  And while the barrier-breaker was recovering, they would sprint past them.

  "You—you guys!"

  The barrier-breaker's face turned crimson with rage.

  They'd been used!

  Worst of all, mocking laughter drifted from ahead:

  "Haha, thanks for saving us the trouble~!"

  "You bastards! Stop!"

  Similar scenes repeated throughout the Gauntlet Run course.

  After the attack-testing checkpoint came the defense-testing checkpoint.

  This was also a mountain valley, but much longer than the first one.

  Moreover, the ground and sky were covered with dense attack magic circles.

  Flames, wind blades, ice shards, lightning—all manner of elemental magic attacks illuminated the entire valley in a dazzling display.

  "......"

  But for the students who reached this point, this spectacle was anything but enjoyable—their hearts were filled with trepidation.

  If their defense failed, they could end up severely injured or worse!

  "What are you afraid of? If none of you will go, I will!"

  Among the crowd, confident students cast protective spells and charged into the valley.

  Some had the skill to make it through unscathed, but others...

  "Ah!"

  Screams echoed from within the valley.

  Teachers monitoring nearby immediately rushed in to rescue someone.

  After that, more and more students were carried out...

  ...