CHAPTER 123: CHAPTER 123 - OVERPOWERING THE TEST

[Seraphina’s POV]

Sigh... poor children.

Most of them don’t even realize what’s coming. To them, this test is just a checkpoint—something to grind through, earn a badge of pride, and move on. None of them truly comprehend the shadows looming just beyond the horizon. The Devil Cult... the very name has faded into legend, buried under seven thousand years of dust and forgetfulness.

They think they’ll spend these academy years making friends, chasing dreams, maybe falling in love. They don’t see the war creeping toward us.

The final assessment—they believe it’s just another dungeon, another simulation. But if only they knew. This is no ordinary year. The threat is real. It breathes beneath the surface.

Still... not all is lost.

In an age of uncertainty, fate has blessed us with five legendary weapons finding their wielders—an omen, or perhaps the world’s cry for help. Apart from among those chosen, we have the Saintess herself. Aria. Calm, resolute, and radiant as ever. She didn’t take this test, of course. There’s no need. Her role is not one of combat, but of salvation. She carries the hopes of the wounded.

And yet... those who did take the test did not disappoint. Student Aiden and Student Kyle even broke records—an extraordinary feat. The rest of the wielders showed remarkable potential, their scores speaking for themselves.

This batch... They’re special. Easily the highest-performing first-year class in the last century. Some are unrefined, yes. But nothing that can’t be smoothed with time.

And now, only one student remains.

Luca Valentine.

The storm in the shape of a boy. Trouble clings to him like shadow to flame. He’s reckless, unpredictable, frustrating at times... but undeniably brilliant. His duel with Aiden—two meridian-saturation prodigies clashing—was the highlight of the year. Aiden has clearly grown since then. But Luca... what have you gained?

My eyes narrowed slightly as I stood upright and called his name.

"Luca Valentine."

The murmurs died in an instant. All that remained was silence.

Every gaze in the arena followed him as he stepped forward with that easy, confident stride. He looked relaxed, but I knew better. Beneath that calm façade, there was fire. I could feel it. The mana gate pulsed softly as he approached it.

And then, without a word, Luca entered.

Let’s see it then, Valentine.

Let’s see how brightly your fire burns.

***

[Back to Present]

As Luca walked toward the glowing mana gate, his hand lightly grazed the hilts of his sabers—one black, one white—hanging at his sides.

"I didn’t expect to be this excited for a test."

He chuckled inwardly, his heartbeat quickening not with nerves, but with anticipation.

"It feels... even more thrilling than defeating a Devil Commander in the game."

When he’d first fallen into this world, he had wandered aimlessly—uncertain of who he was meant to be, or what path to take. At the time, surviving was all that mattered. But slowly, things had changed.

He had friends now. A life.

Family.

"I was avoiding the inevitable back then... but now?"

He exhaled deeply, stepping into the light.

"Now, I want to live. I want to grow. I want to protect them—with everything I have."

The mana gate pulsed around him like a heartbeat.

And with that vow burning in his chest, Luca stepped inside.

[Strength Trial: Crushing Gauntlet]

Inside the vast canyon, dozens of massive boulders rained down from the mountain, and six towering earth golems stomped forward with seismic steps.

The countdown didn’t even finish.

With a single, fluid motion, Luca unsheathed both sabers—one a streak of black lightning, the other a radiant blur of white.

SHING—!

The first slash cleaved every descending boulder in the room in an instant.

A second slash followed—precise, controlled, and devastating.

BOOM.

Every golem collapsed into dust, their cores split cleanly in two before they could take a single step forward.

It took ten seconds.

No murmurs this time.

Just silence.

Pin-drop silence.

Then, a spiral of golden light surrounded Luca—brighter than anyone had seen before. Blinding, majestic, divine.

[Agility Trial: Mirror Maze]

Without pause, Luca stepped into the second trial.

The door behind him sealed shut with a resonant clang, and the room transformed—a labyrinth of crystalline mirrors and moving walls. Shifting floors and hidden pressure plates reset with each second.

He stood still for just a heartbeat.

Then—he vanished.

The moment his foot touched the floor, the traps triggered.

SHNK! Arrows burst from the walls.

CRK—! Floor panels vanished beneath him.

WHRR—! Blades spun out from hidden crevices.

The mirrors shimmered with illusory doubles—blurring friend and foe, right and wrong.

But Luca...

He moved like liquid moonlight.

Not running. Gliding.

Every step was intentional—measured yet instinctive. He tilted his head just as a blade missed by a hair’s breadth. Dropped into a roll, then pivoted onto a vertical wall without losing speed. His sabers remained at his sides—untouched.

A reflection lunged at him.

He ducked and let it crash into a trap he had already anticipated.

One flip.

One slide.

One pivot.

Every turn was a rhythm. Every dodge—a dance.

From the audience’s side, it looked like he was weaving through glass rain in slow motion—but inside, his movements were a blur.

To blink was to miss.

At one point, he leapt into a narrow vertical shaft of spinning mirrors—and ran upward, boots tapping mirror edges, head nearly brushing the ceiling.

Then, in a final motion, he flipped forward and landed silently at the center of the chamber.

The maze dissolved. The illusions fell away.

And once more, the golden spiral surrounded him—now fiercer, more alive.

[Defense Trial: Endless Rain]

The final chamber was pitch-black at first. Silent. Still.

Then came the sound.

FWSSHH—

Like wind building up.

Like death preparing to descend.

Suddenly, the darkness above split open, revealing a massive dome of sky—an artificial reality, yet terrifyingly real. From it, thousands of arrows came crashing down.

A storm.

A massacre.

Luca stood alone in the center.

Not braced.

Not shielding.

Just... calm.

He exhaled.

And then—the world slowed.

Not just in sensation. In truth.

Rain froze mid-descent. Arrows trailed light behind them. The chamber took on a silvery hue as time bent—not for the world, but for him.

"This is the ability... I instinctively awakened during the fight with those cultists," he thought as he calmly raised his sabers.

"Time slows down for me—of course it’s not overpowered , it fluctuates depending on the strength of the opponent."

And these arrows?

They had no heart. No rage.

No will.

Just speed.

Not enough.

He stepped forward.

One arrow came close—he tilted his head and let it pass.

Another—he slashed it in half with a wrist flick.

Then more came.

Hundreds. Thousands.

He spun—sabers twirling in a figure-eight. Each motion sent shards of broken arrows flying. His feet glided over the slick floor with balletic grace.

One slash up.

One parry left.

A backflip through the narrowing gap of three arrows at once.

He somersaulted, twisted midair, and landed in a crouch as a swarm of bolts struck the floor where he’d stood moments earlier.

At one point, he stabbed one saber into the ground, pivoted his full body on its hilt, and used the spin to slash three volleys away in a single rotation.

Time caught up.

A new wave came, even faster. Sharper. Denser.

Still—he did not falter.

His movements became sharper. Not a wasted breath.

Not a wasted step.

The storm howled.

But he was a calm eye within it.

Minutes passed.

Five minutes. Ten minutes

The chamber glowed gold now—his light intensifying with every passing second.

From the outside, students stood on their toes. Teachers leaned forward without realizing. No one blinked. No one dared.

Then—

It stopped.

Not Luca, but the arrows which seemed never-ending

Luca stood in the center, arms slightly spread, blades faintly humming.

Not a scratch.

Not a breath out of place.

Golden spirals surged around him like the wings of a celestial being.

Unmoving.

Unshaken.

Unforgettable.

As a voice broke through it "He...he has reached c-core compression, a 1st year"

Everyone focused on the voice, it was Seraphina as her hands holding the quill trembled.

The silence broke as if the cloud burst open, as gasps of astonishment spread through.

"Is he in the same year as us?"

"Isn’t it too much, what the hell!"

"What rank did he get then?"

As the answer to that question came almost instantly "All three parameters , Top Rank."

"Did it even disturb the Vice Dean?"

Surprisingly,it was the Vice Dean Caelan Thorne. Seraphina bowed towards him as he arrived, he raised his hands as he continued "Don’t stop the tests."

When everyone looked at him in confusion as he said ," Start the 2nd year test for him."

Seraphina widened her eyes , but nodded quickly, "Yes Sir."

Inside the mana gate Luca tilted his head as he thought,

Why isn’t the test over yet, as he looked ahead when the environment started changing again What the...!!