Some had swords, some had spears, and some even had warhammers. Every student present was equipped with their own ons and was adorned with light armor. Even though they were just cadets, they already resembled true knights.

  A few days have passed since Grey and Yu up with Kris and Aria, and the day has finally arrived. Today is their st day at the Royal Academy and it was time to test out how much the students have improved.

  "Are you all ready?" ［Grey］

  """Yes!"""

  With determination burning brightly in their eyes, the students sang their resolves with passion throughout the training grounds. They have bee different from what they were three weeks ago, they were now filled with fighting spirit rather than arrogance.

  For their st day, the students would o battle against a horde of goblins, and the leader of that horde will be a Goblin Chief. That would also mean that there will be a number of G-rank hobgoblins amongst the hundreds of goblins.

  It wasn't just a normal horde of gobliher. Grey had buffed them to bee strohan usual, allowing goblins who were normally on par with pre-teen children in strength to be on par with adults.

  It was a feat that only those at the higher end of D-rank and above above it aplish alone. A feat that not even a dozen full-fledged knights easily aplish even if they have been w together for years.

  Initially, Grey wahem to fight a lesser golem like what happened on the first day, but with how powerful the students had bee, it would bee a piece of cake for them. He needed something more difficult.

  Grey had only traihem for three weeks, and their bat powers only increased by about 5 to 7, increasing their overall strengths by at least 20% which is admirable knowing how short the training time was.

  But that wasn't the determining factor in winning. What they improved the most in those three weeks was their cooperation and strategic skills, something that only be honed by real experience.

  Grey already desighe final test so that the students will be at a disadvantage. He found it iing to anticipate how the match will py out, to see if the students have really grown.

  ??Horde: Goblin?? ［Grey］

  As soon as Grey ihe spell, mana quickly gushed out of his body and assimited into the air. A few moments ter, mana swirled around the air and densed into a myriad of beings, taking the form of green-skinned nightmares.

  Just by eye, it was easy to tell that there were at least 200 of them, with the goblins almost taking 90% of the popution. As for the rest, they were posed of hobgoblins, and of course, the leader, the Goblin Chief, an E-rank monster.

  The students' eyes opened in shock after seeing the rge number of goblins summoned before them. It was only natural since Grey didn't tell them the tents of the test beforehand. It was a test, after all.

  Fear and ay shook the students' resolve, but after recolleg the harsh days they had experienced because of Grey, the determination in their eyes burned even brighter and sharper. There were no traces of fear left, only passion.

  "In 3... 2... 1... Begin!" ［Grey］

  With Grey's signal resounding all over the training field, the shrieks of the goblins and the roars of the students cshed ferociously in the air, creating a pandemonium of noises not bowing down to one another.

  "Everyone, focus on the higher variants!" ［Julius］

  Before they could engage in close bat with the goblins, the students took the opportunity to extermihe vanguards with le magic, cutting down their numbers slowly but surely.

  Although they were targeting the higher variants, because of the nature of the magic spells they used, some of the goblins nearby were taken out by colteral damage such as explosions.

  ??Fire Arrow!?? ??Frost Coffin!?? ??Wind Cutter!??

  Uing barrage of spells rained down upon the horde and when it was time to csh directly, the g sounds of metals hitting one another filled the battlefield along with battle cries.

  Oer ahe goblins were sshed down to the ground by the students, and the students themselves received blows from the goblins. It was a full-scale war on a small-scale battlefield.

  Grieeekkkk

  ??Fireball!?? ［Amelia］

  ??Thunderspark!?? ［Julius］

  Amelia and Julius bsted purposely weakened basic-level spells towards the hobgoblins without the iion of killing them. They repeated such tactics, slowly but surely shaving down the hobgoblins' lives and making them go mad.

  The moment one of the hobgobli on a rampage, the others followed suit and also started swinging their spears recklessly, cutting down their kin as a result. The battle has beore chaotic.

  It wasn't just Julius and Amelia, the other students also performed such tactics. It was a good strategy that will not only shave down the enemies' number but also let them serve their mana.

  Griieeeekkkkk

  A hobgoblin tried to ssh Julius down with its sword, but before it could hit, there was a sudden ale quake in the ground, and ahen wall abruptly appeared

  In front of Julius, stopping the attack midway.

  The one who erected the wall was her thaudent just a few meters away from Julius. She immediately stopped attag when she saw Julius in danger and prioritized his safety.

  "Are you alー"

  ??Lightning Bolt!?? ［Julius］

  A bolt of lightning bored through the hobgoblin's chest, stopping it from thrusting its spear towards the girl who just saved Julius. The lightning bolt, after b through the hobgoblin's chest, killed a couple moblins along the way.

  "I'm alright, thank you, but don't let yuard down again. We are still engaging in a dangerous battle." ［Julius］

  "Ah, yes..."

  After that short exge, the two immediately resumed their previous positions and tinued with their own battles. Time after time, more and more of the goblin horde's numbers have been cut down

  "Cadet Amelia, please target its wrist. We o disarm it." ［Julius］

  "Yes. ??Fire Arrow??!" ［Amelia］

  While Julius and Amelia's battle tihe other students also tiheirs. A group of three in particur was he middle of the horde, trying their best to slow down the Goblin Chief.

  "Hey, the walls are gettiroyed!"

  "I'm on it!"

  With all of them w as ohey mao keep the Goblin Chief at bay, all while dealing with the goblins trying to assault them. They were pying the most important role amongst the css.

  When a goblin is about to assault the middle group, students from the viity would fire a spell towards the goblin if they were avaible. It wasn't the best strategy, but it was an effective one.

  It was even more difficult with how much dust there was scattered across the air. If it wasn't frey's "Divine Eyes", all he would have seen was clouds of dust and particles of mana swirling in the air. It was a really extreme battle.

  "Behind you!"

  "Copy!"

  ??Mantis Cross!??

  Griieeekkkkk Griieeekkkkk

  Although the battle had been dragged on for almost half an hour, slowly but surely, the students were able to shave down the goblins' numbers. And with them watg each other's backs, none of them were hurt badly.

  Some students have received minor wounds and scratches, but it couldn't be pared to what happeo the goblin horde. Just by rough estimates aloheir numbers have been reduced to a quarter of its inal.

  Griiieeekkkkkー

  ??Lightning Bolt!?? ??S Edge!?? ??Fme Burst!?? ??Gust!??

  Oer ahe hobgoblio the ground with a loud resounding thud, vanishing into thin air just a few moments ter. The same also went for the much weaker goblins, they were quickly exterminated

  All that was left from the horde was the Goblin Chief, which was still caged in the massive earthen walls, trying to break its way out by repeatedly. Unfortunately for it, the students repaired the wall every time cracks appeared, trapping it inside an endless cycle.

  It was almost time for the climax of the match. With their current strength, they could fight on par with the Goblin Chief, but that was when they were still in peak dition. Now that they were tired, there was no telling what would happen.

  "Huff... Huff... How long will those walls st?" ［Julius］

  "It should still st for... Huff... about two more minutes..."

  "Alright, the's use that time to rest and pn something. Everyone, gather near me, we'll e up with something." ［Julius］

  Heeding Julius' instrus, the students formed a circle to create a pn to take down the Goblin Chief, with their meager mana and stamina remaining being the most important variable.

  They could go all out, but ces are, they would run out of mana before they could defeat the Goblin Chief. Doing that would just be reckless as it would waste all the effort they have poured into the battle.

  'Hmm... They sure are taking it easily, huh...' ［Grey］

  Grey said on the back of his mind as he leisurely sat by the bench, enjoying the cool shade of the tree. It was his first time seeing people huddle and pn something whilst in the middle of a battle.

  The students would have undoubtedly been wiped out if they were in a real battle out in the wild. Even Grey and Yuna moved their bodies while they coordinated pns with one another.

  Griiiieeeekkkkkkkk

  With debris bsting over all dires, a deafening screech apanied a loud crash echoed through the sky as the Goblin Chief finally broke free from its earthen prison, its eyes full e.

  It knew full well that its kin was sughtered yet there wasn't a single ounce of sorrow in its eyes, only rage towards those who e. It was to be expected of a monster born solely for destru.

  And as if seeing the students as nothing more than obnoxious pests, the Goblin Chief slowly walked towards them with the ambition to elimihem. With each of its steps, a loud thud resounded in the air.

  Thankfully, the Goblin Chief was just a summon of Grey, and he wishes for it, he could stop it on its tracks when it has gooo far. It was nothing more than a moving dummy to test the students, after all.

  "Everyone, get into position!" ［Julius］

  """"Roger!""""

  Not wasting any time, the students quickly scattered throughout the training grounds and surrouhe Goblin Chief in all dires, all while maintaining a safe distance from it.

  Although their pn looked like the reckless "Let's gang up on it" pn, Grey was able to notiething peculiar from it... There were four students which are much farther thaher six.

  While it may have looked like they were just trying to maintain their distance, all of the four that were distang themselves were capable of using the earth-attribute and weren't raising their ons as if they were still trying to rest.

  The group of four was posed of the girl who previously saved Julius from a hobgoblin's attack, and the other three who once kept the Goblin Chief in check by surrounding it with walls.

  "Hyaaa!" ［Julius］

  With Julius' battle cry as the signal, the students immediately rained down their barrage of attacks towards the Goblin Chief, but uheir previous strategy against the lesser golem, they were taking turns in attag.

  Oack hits the Goblin Chief and when its attention is drawn towards that attacker, audent will attack it from anle, drawing the Goblin Chief's attention away from the previous student.

  Although such a strategy wouldn't work towards people, it is effective towards beings such as monsters whose intelligence is not that sharp and bright. The students made the Goblin Chief da the palm of their hands.

  ??Iron Vine!??

  ??Fme Burst!??

  ??Frost Breath!??

  Time passed by quickly, and with each passing sed, the Goblin Chief sustained more and more damage. At the same rate, the students also lost more and more mana with each attack.

  The students' strategy was effective at the start but when the Goblin Chief had gone berserk, it stopped minding the attacks thrown into it and charged towards whoever it eyed first like a mad bull.

  "Watch out!"

  "Ehー"

  The students have fotten that despite its size, the Goblin Chief was a quick oppo. A mohat easily cover dozens of meters in a couple of seds, and with the size of the training grounds, it was a terrifying speed.

  His reflexes not being to respond quickly enough, a student got hit by the Goblin Chief's sword and he was knocked off the ground towards the air. Thankfully, he was wearing durable armor.

  The Goblin Chief was about to nd atack mid-air, but before it could jump towards the student, audent leaped into the air and caught her cssmate, saving him from danger.

  " you still stand?"

  "Ah, yes... Thank you..."

  "Don't worry about it."

  Seeing their cssmate getting hit, rather than feeling afraid, the students raised their guards and mihe Goblin Chief sharply. The one who was hit only rested for a very short while before standing up again to battle.

  The battle betweeudents and the Goblin Chief tinued, and during that time, the students received a number of blows from the Goblin Chief. The same also went for the tter.

  The students were clearly gasping for their breaths and the Goblin Chief gred at them with eyes full of bloodlust while bathing in its own blood. Its whole body was covered in wounds left behind the student's sharp ons.

  In spite of such a tough battle was happening, the four earth-attribute students still didn't move from their spots and tinued with whatever that was tasked upohey were so focused that they didn't eve when their cssmates got bsted towards oblivion.

  When the Goblin Chief noticed one of them, it tried to charge towards him, but just as it was about to do it...

  "Stop it at all costs!" ［Julius］

  ... two of the students used their own bodies to stop its track, making them get blown away more than a hundred meters from where they previously were.

  Although they received a rge amount of damage, because of their sacrifice, they were able to distract the Goblin Chief and buy enough time to let the others shift its focus away from the four.

  'Hmm... Are they ceous or just reckless?' ［Grey］

  Grey couldn't help but doubt the students' sanity in sacrifig their own bodies just to protect their cssmates and their pn. It made Grey more curious as to what their pn actually was.

  ??Lightning Spear!?? ［Julius］

  Lightning assimited with Julius' spear and with all his might, he threw it towards the Goblin Chief, and like a bullet, it pierced the Goblin Chief's left shoulder bde, making it shriek wildly in agony.

  Ehe Goblin Chief charged towards Julius and with a swing of its broadsword, it made Julius get blown away all over the pce like a rag doll. Thanks to his armor, he didn't sustain any bone fractures or serious injuries.

  Griiiieeekkkk

  Still not satisfied, the Goblin Chief once again delivered a blow towards the now unscious Julius, making the tter suffer a rge wound on his shoulders.

  ??Fme Burst!?? ［Amelia］

  As fast as she could muster, Amelia burnt the Goblin Chief's arm, preventing it from nding another blow to Julius as she rushed towards him and took him away from danger's grasp.

  Without even much effort, the Goblin Chief ehe fmes Amelia created and tried to pursue Julius, but just as it was about to, a sudden rumbling reverberated in the ground.

  The sudden shaking stopped everyone oracks. It was akin to ahquake but noticeably different. It wasn't a natural phenomenon, but rather one caused by maniputing the ground with the use of magic.

  "Everyone, fall back!" ［Amelia］

  As if running for their lives, the students escaped away from wherever they were towards outside of the perimeter of where the four earth-attribute students have been stationed all the time.

  Defying the ws of gravity, the soil ohe Goblin Chief rose from the ground and solidified midair, leaving the Goblin Chief stuside a wide 10-meter deep pitfall. It was deep and rge enough to house a few cargo trucks.

  'I see... So that was their pn.' ［Grey］

  Grey had finally ected the dots after seeing the rge lump of earth floating above the training ground. It was indeed one whieeded a lot of time to prepare and a lot of mana.

  "Now!"

  With all their might, the students dragged the rge chuck of earth to wherever it was before, and with the amount of ford pressure behind, the Goblin Chief stu the pitfall was ultimately crushed into oblivion.

  Silence swallowed the training ground as the students froze in anticipation, not knowing whether the Goblin Chief really had bee with. After all, it was their first time using that strategy, there was no guarahat it worked.

  "Haah... Haah... Haah... Is it over already...?"

  "Did we win...?"

  The only one who khe answer was Grey. As the summoner, he knew full well the state of his summons. He already khe results and was really proud of his students.

  "It's over... I decre the Css Alpha of year 3 as the victors of the battle!" ［Grey］

  Upon hearing Grey's decration, the students froze in disbelief. Seds ter, screams of happiness resounded iraining grounds. It was something they did unsciously in unison.

  Some were so happy that tears started f in the er of their eyes. Not even the boys were exempted from those tears of joy. They have never felt so aplished in all their lives.

  ??Perfect Heal?? ［Grey］

  Large halos appeared midair and beams of warm light shone upoudents, healing up the student's wounds while bing them ile and lulling warmth to calm them down.

  The students were surprised at first, but they quickly put the pieces together and figured out it was Grey who casted it. It was their first time feeling so much warmth and fort from a holy-attribute spell.

  "Ugh... What happened..." ［Julius］

  "Yhness... We won...!" ［Amelia］

  Julius was worried at first, seeing his beloved cry while he rested on her p, but when he heard her words, a smile of reassurance quickly sprouted on his face as a surge of relief gushed inside his heart.

  "Ahh... I never khat fighting would tire me out that much... But well, I'm really happy to have defeated such a strong oppo with everyone." ［Julius］

  "Fufu, I'm happy too." ［Amelia］

  Seeing hoy the students were, Grey felt a little guilty for letting them experience hell and back. There was only way he khat he could reward them.

  "Alright, everyone, listen up! To celebrate your victory, you order as much food as you want in the cafeteria, it's all on me! I could also give all of you a cup of pudding if you want." ［Grey］

  Silence quickly swallowed the training ground when those words rang ihe students' ears. They looked at each other's eyes, trying to figure out what they would feel rey's annou.

  "Hey, Instruake it 2 cupsー no, 3 cups and some ice cream too!" ［Julius］

  Oudent was really daring. It was her than the sed prince who looked at Grey with eyes full of seriousness over such a silly topic. The other students also bore the same will.

  "Haah... Alright, but only 3 cups ead a single serving of ice cream. Nothing more, you hear that." ［Grey］

  """"Yaaayy～!!""""

  As if they just wotery, the students filled the training grounds with screams of uraiion as they heard Grey's promise. They were even much happier than when Grey annouheir victory.

  'Seriously, what a bunch of kids...' ［Grey］

  CHAPTER 97 END