8:00 AM, Celestia Arcane Academy.
The Gauntlet Halls at the central square were already packed to the brim. Tens of thousands of students and mentors crowded the massive spectator stands, creating a sea of bodies. The air hummed with suppressed excitement and restless energy. Four enormous magical projection screens hovered in mid-air, rendering real-time visuals and parameters from inside the Proving Grounds.
A senior mentor, clad in high-ranking robes, stepped onto the stage. His voice, amplified by magic, boomed across the square.
"Welcome to the Celestia Arcane Academy’s annual Centennial Gauntlet!"
The square erupted into a thunderous wave of applause and cheers.
The presiding mentor pressed his hands down for silence and shouted, "This year, 412 outstanding students have registered! Before the gates of the trial officially open, let us look back at the top elites whose names are etched into the history of the Trial Tower!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the images on the four massive screens shifted abruptly. Lines of gold text flickered into view.
[Academy-wide Announcement]
[Historical Trial Records]
1. Vincent Nocturne – Level 78
2. Leo Ironheart – Level 72
3. Glacielle Frost – Level 68
……
All-Time High Record: Professor Aldwin Harrow – Level 79 (50 years ago)
The eyes of the entire audience instantly locked onto a tall, upright young man sitting in the front row of the stands.
The host shouted enthusiastically, "Last year, Vincent claimed the top spot with a staggering score of 78 levels! This year, will he be the one to break the 50-year-old record of 79 levels set by Professor Aldwin Harrow? Let’s wait and see!"
Vincent’s lips curled into a confident, arrogant smirk. He stood up and waved elegantly to the surrounding crowds, basking in the attention.
Cheers rose like a surging tide.
"Go, Vincent!"
"Break the record! Aim for 80!"
In a far, shadowed corner of the spectator stands, a figure dressed in plain cloth robes sat quietly. Most of her reddish-brown hair was hidden beneath a hood. On the ring finger of her left hand sat a simple, dull ring. Elena sat with her arms crossed, watching the celebrated Vincent with cold eyes. Her gaze remained flat, devoid of any emotion.
The host loudly announced the rules of the trial: "The rules are simple! Each level contains a varying number of monsters. Kill them all to advance to the next level. If your HP drops to zero or you choose to forfeit, you will be automatically teleported out and disqualified!"
"The trial is divided into different tiers. Levels 1 to 10 are Normal difficulty. Levels 11 to 20 are Hard difficulty. Starting from Level 21, you will face true Hell difficulty!"
"One more thing—the Trial Tower recalibrates its intensity every year based on the previous year's record! This means the monsters in a level this year are stronger than they were last year. Even last year’s record-holder might not find the same levels as easy as they once were!"
"Every participant's clear speed and real-time footage will be broadcast live to the entire academy!"
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
"The trials—officially begin!"
A massive light-based teleportation array ignited in the center of the square. Over 400 contestants filed into the portal one by one, randomly assigned to their own independent Level 1 spaces.
The light flashed, and Elena’s feet hit solid ground. She found herself standing in a desolate, ruined plain.
Ten meters ahead of her, a low-level beast radiating dark energy glared at her.
[Enemy Detection]
[Level 1 – Enemy Info]
Monster: Shadow Wolf
Level: 1
HP: 150 / 150
Combat Power: 50
Elena glanced at the panel. With her Combat Power now over 1000 and her maxed-out Agility, she could have shredded this Shadow Wolf in an instant using only her physical Strength and the Shadowfang Dagger, even with a damaged Mana Core.
But she didn't.
Elena drew a common iron dagger. She deliberately slowed her pace, her face showing just the right amount of tension and exertion.
The Shadow Wolf roared and lunged. Elena performed a "narrow" side-roll, her boots carving deep grooves into the dirt as she barely avoided the beast’s claws. She then struck back, swinging her dagger and engaging the wolf in a drawn-out struggle.
Panting, dodging, parrying, and being forced back—her performance was flawless. She perfectly portrayed a "trash" student with a destroyed Mana Core who was struggling to survive on fading instincts alone.
After a full three minutes of fighting, Elena finally "struggled" to find an opening and drove her dagger through the Shadow Wolf’s throat.
[System Message]
[Level 1 Clear Results]
Status: Success
Target Killed: Shadow Wolf (Level 1)
Time Elapsed: 3 minutes 12 seconds
Outside, on the giant screens, the clear icon lit up next to Elena’s name.
A wave of sneers immediately rippled through the stands.
"Three minutes? It took her three minutes to kill a Level 1 Shadow Wolf in the first level?"
"What a joke. She calls this competing? She almost got eaten by a wolf on floor one!"
"Trash is trash. Even if she lucked her way in, she’s just here to be at the bottom."
The host at the commentary booth glanced at the progress chart and gave a perfunctory report. "Uh... Elena has also passed Level 1, though it took her a bit longer... Now, let’s turn our attention back to Vincent in the center of the stands!"
Elena couldn’t hear the commentary, but she could guess the reaction. She brushed the dust off her clothes, a faint, imperceptible smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth as she stepped into Level 2.
Level 2, Level 3, Level 4...
Elena maintained her exquisite acting. Against every monster, she appeared drenched in sweat and teetering on the edge of collapse, taking three to four minutes to win each floor.
On the leaderboard of the massive outdoor screens, her name remained pinned firmly to the very bottom.
"Elena... is still struggling through Level 5," the host muttered occasionally when his eyes drifted to the bottom of the list, before quickly cutting the feed to someone else.
It wasn't until she entered Level 6 that Elena increased her efficiency "just a little" to avoid being eliminated on the first day, compressing her clear time to about two minutes per level.
By the time she defeated the Elite Beasts guarding Level 10, 28 minutes had passed.
[Big Screen – Level 10 Completion Real-time Rankings]
Rank Name Time
1 Leo Ironheart 8:15
2 Glacielle Frost 9:03
3 Vincent Nocturne 9:45
……
350 Elena Nocturne 28:12
Mocking laughter broke out in the spectator stands.
"28 minutes! The top three finished ages ago, and she took nearly half an hour!"
"Rank 350. This is an embarrassment to House Nocturne."
"Barely scraping through Level 10 is probably her limit. I bet she’ll forfeit as soon as the Hard difficulty starts at Level 11."
Amidst the ridicule, Vincent sat in the waiting area with a proud expression, not even bothering to look at the name at the bottom of the screen. To him, Elena was already a crippled nobody not worth mentioning.
However, just as everyone’s attention was fixed on geniuses like Vincent and Leo, a tall, slender figure quietly stepped into the teleportation zone at the Proving Grounds entrance.
He was a full half-hour late.
He was clad in heavy, midnight-black armor, his face obscured by a cold, iron-blooded mask. On his back hung an ancient longsword radiating a terrifying, malevolent aura.
His appearance caused the air near the entrance to freeze instantly.
"Who’s that?"
"What insane pressure... what class is he in?"
"I’ve never seen that face before. His gear looks terrifying!"
Under a barrage of confused and awestruck gazes, the armored figure stepped into the portal.
[Zephyr (Avatar) has entered the Trial Space!]
Level 1, Ruined Plain.
Similarly, a Level 1 Shadow Wolf roared and charged.
Beneath the mask, Zephyr’s eyes were as cold as iron. He didn't even draw the legendary sword, Duskfang, from his waist. He simply raised his right hand and flicked his finger, clad in a black iron tactical glove.
A razor-sharp streak of Umbral sword qi tore through the air!
Squelch!
Before it could even finish its roar, the Shadow Wolf’s head went flying, blood spraying across the earth.
[System Message]
[Level 1 Clear Results]
Status: Overwhelming Kill
Target: Shadow Wolf (Level 1)
Time Elapsed: 12 seconds
The massive screens in the square suddenly burst with a brilliant light as a sudden battle report forcibly occupied the most prominent position at the top of the display!
[Academy-wide Announcement: Participant Zephyr has cleared Level 1. Time: 12 seconds!]
The noisy spectator stands fell into a deathly silence.
Eyes bulged as everyone stared at the numbers on the screen in disbelief.
The mentor at the commentary booth practically leaped out of his chair, leaning into the screen and gasping, "12 seconds?! Level 1 in just 12 seconds?! Even with an instakill, it takes time just to walk to the monster! This Zephyr... what kind of monster is he?!"
Before the shock could settle, the numbers on the screen began to climb at a terrifying speed.
Level 2, Kill! Time: 18 seconds!
Level 3, Instakill! Time: 22 seconds!
Level 4 Boss, a flash of sword light, Instakill! Time: 15 seconds!
Level 5... Level 6... Level 7...
Zephyr was like a precise, heartless killing machine, sweeping through the trial space. No matter what beast appeared, none could survive a single strike.
At Level 10, the Guardian Elite Stone Giant rose with a thunderous roar.
Zephyr finally drew Duskfang. The pitch-black blade carved a crescent arc through the air. The massive stone giant didn't even have time to raise its arm before it was sliced clean in two at the waist, collapsing into a heap of rubble!
[Combat Log]
[Level 10 Boss Kill]
Target: Stonefist Colossus (Elite)
Damage: 1850 (Physical/Umbral Hybrid Damage)
Time Elapsed: 35 seconds
The real-time rankings on the big screen were instantly rewritten by sheer, brute Strength!
[Real-time Rankings – Level 10 Finishers]
Rank Name Time
1 Zephyr 3:47 ⭐⭐⭐
2 Leo Ironheart 8:15
3 Glacielle Frost 9:03
4 Vincent Nocturne 9:45
3 minutes and 47 seconds!
Zephyr had cleared the entire Normal difficulty of Levels 1 to 10 in less than four minutes!
This slashed the record of the previous leader, Leo Ironheart, by more than half!
The host gripped his amplification wand, his voice cracking and reaching a high pitch from pure adrenaline. "Unbelievable! Unprecedented! 3 minutes and 47 seconds! Zephyr has swept through the Normal difficulty with a staggering lead! He has broken the all-time record for the fastest Level 10 clear since the founding of Celestia Arcane Academy!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the entire spectator stands exploded!
"My god! 3:47?! He left Leo and Vincent in the dust by several minutes!"
"Where did this top-tier genius come from?! Does he have an SS-Rank class?!"
"This is insane! One shot, one kill!"
Vincent’s smile froze completely. His eyes were glued to the stinging name at the very top of the leaderboard—Zephyr. His breathing became ragged, and his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
Standing near him, his cousin Vivienne had stars in her eyes as she clutched her chest and squealed, "So strong... so cool! Vincent, who is this Zephyr? He’s way better than you!"
Hearing his cousin's praise, Vincent’s face turned incredibly sour.
However, Zephyr’s rampage showed no signs of stopping.
Level 11: Hard Difficulty unlocked!
Even against Hard-tier monsters with doubled attributes, Zephyr’s clear speed remained breathtakingly fast.
Level 11: 45 seconds!
Level 15: 1 minute!
Level 20: Facing the incredibly powerful Hard-tier boss, the Nightcrawler Scourge, Zephyr’s blade flashed repeatedly. The explosive damage of a Shadow Spellblade erupted!
[Combat Log]
[Level 20 Boss Kill]
Target: Nightcrawler Scourge (Hard Boss)
Time Elapsed: 1:30
Total Time for Levels 1–20: 15 minutes
When the final results for Level 20 flashed onto the screen, the trial square wasn't just buzzing—it was losing its mind.
[Big Screen – Level 20 Completion Real-time Rankings]
Rank Name Time
1 Zephyr 15:00 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2 Leo Ironheart 32:00
3 Vincent Nocturne 35:00
Fifteen minutes! To clear twenty levels!
Leo in second place took 32 minutes, and Vincent took 35. Zephyr had created a gap of more than double the time!
"A miracle! This is a true miracle!" The commentator screamed into his wand, tugging at his collar. "Fifteen minutes to sweep the first twenty levels! Zephyr has shattered every early-stage clear record in the academy's 50-year history! He is an absolute, peerless genius!"
Tens of thousands of students were in a frenzy, many standing up and chanting the name.
"Zephyr! Zephyr!"
"God Zephyr!"
Meanwhile, within the ruins of Level 15 of the trial space.
Elena had just struck down a low-level wolf, leaning against a wall and panting as she feigned exhaustion.
Through her shared Spirit link, the frantic cheers of the crowd, the hyper-excited commentary, and the worship and awe for Zephyr all flowed clearly into her mind.
On the massive screens outside, a study in extreme contrast was playing out.
Whenever the commentator mentioned Elena, his tone was dismissive and flat:
"Uh... Elena is still struggling in Level 15. It looks like she’s reaching her limit."
But whenever Zephyr was mentioned, the entire commentary booth shook with roars:
"Look! Zephyr has already charged into Level 25! His speed hasn't slowed down at all!"
The same clear, yet when Elena finished a level, the crowd responded with mockery and indifference. When Zephyr finished, the square shook with thunderous applause.
Leaning against the cold wall, a cold, stunning smile played on Elena’s lips beneath her hood.
These fools had no idea that the "God-tier genius" being worshipped by the entire school was merely an avatar she had created on a whim.
The more they worshipped Zephyr and mocked Elena, the more spectacular the show would be when the truth was finally revealed.
This feeling of having everything under control... is wonderful, Elena whispered in her heart.
Inside Level 22 of the Proving Grounds.
Vincent cleaved through a monster, gasping for breath. He looked up at the real-time leaderboard floating in the sky. When he saw Zephyr’s name already sitting at Level 30, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
How is this possible?!
He was giving it his all, burning through massive amounts of Mana just to reach Level 22, yet this dark horse who came out of nowhere was already at Level 30?
This was impossible!
Vincent scrambled to pull out a communication crystal. Suppressing his internal rage, he hissed, "Uncle! What’s the situation in the stands? What’s the background on this Zephyr?!"
In the stands, Marcus Duskwood, head of House Duskwood, had a face as dark as a storm. He gripped his own crystal and said coldly, "Vincent, I’ve already used all our family’s connections in the academy to check! There are no records! It’s like he materialized out of thin air this morning. No enrollment files, nothing!"
Vincent’s grip tightened until the crystal creaked. Veins popped on his forehead. "Out of thin air? Impossible! How could the academy let an outsider with no background sneak into the Centennial Gauntlet?! Something is definitely wrong with him!"
Marcus said solemnly, "I’ve already got people watching him. Vincent, keep your head! The Gauntlet only gets harder. After Level 30, monster attributes double and triple. He pushed so hard in the beginning, his Mana must be running low! You still have a chance to catch up!"
"I know!" Vincent gritted his teeth, glaring at the name. "I don’t believe he can keep this up! The title of number one can only be mine!"
Not far from him, Vivienne was staring at the projection of Zephyr’s cold, efficient swordsmanship with wide, admiring eyes. "So cool... I wish I could get his contact info. If you could recruit him into our family, that would be amazing..."
Hearing his cousin’s babbling, Vincent felt the blood rush to his head, jealousy and resentment festering like weeds in his heart.
The trials continued for five full hours.
The high-intensity combat left most participants with depleted Mana and exhausted bodies. At 1:00 PM, a long whistle echoed through the square, marking the end of the first day’s proceedings.
The host’s voice, tired but still electrified, came over the broadcast: "The first day of the trials is over! All students, please exit for rest. The trials will resume tomorrow at 8:00 AM! Now, announcing the final rankings for day one!"
The four giant screens lit up with the day’s final report.
[Academy-wide Announcement]
[The Centennial Gauntlet – Day 1 Final Rankings]
1. Zephyr – Level 35 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Leo Ironheart – Level 28
3. Vincent Nocturne – Level 26
4. Glacielle Frost – Level 25
……
280. Elena Nocturne – Level 22
The host’s passionate voice echoed over the square. "The greatest dark horse today is undoubtedly Zephyr! With an absolute lead of seven levels over second place, he holds the top spot! Tomorrow, can he break the historical record set by Professor Aldwin Harrow 50 years ago? Let us wait and see!"
The square erupted once more into a mountain of discussion and cheers.
Everyone was frantically talking about the mysterious dark horse who had made a name for himself across the entire academy, speculating on his true identity and his limits.
At the very edge of the crowd, Elena silently withdrew her gaze. Among the tens of thousands of people, not a single soul mentioned her name, and no one noticed the red-haired girl blending into the bottom tier at Rank 280.
Elena pulled her hood tight, turned into a secluded path on the outskirts of the academy, and melted into the long shadows.
Tomorrow, the real show was only just beginning.