Ethan’s smile vanished so quickly that it was almost comical.
Hold on...
When the principal had said the assessment would begin soon...
Did he actually mean just a few days from now?
The color slowly drained from Ethan’s face.
Logically speaking, how was he supposed to increase his rank in such a ridiculously short amount of time? If he hadn’t stumbled across Saint Aster’s guide by pure luck, there would have been absolutely no chance. No matter how gifted someone was, awakening ranks weren’t something that could magically change within a week.
...It was almost as if they genuinely wanted him out of the academy.
Well...
Now he was in even deeper shit.
Standing beside him, Rin had watched Ethan’s expression change from dazzling happiness to utter despair in less than five seconds.
He couldn’t help but rub his forehead.
...His best friend had fallen hard.
Just look at that face.
The senior had barely left the stage, and Ethan already looked like his entire world had collapsed.
Well...
As ridiculous as it was...
It was also strangely amusing watching his best friend experience love for the first time.
Completely oblivious to what was going through Rin’s head, Ethan hurriedly grabbed his sleeve as the students began filing out of the assembly hall.
"Rin, did you hear what the principal said?"
Rin blinked.
"Hm?"
"The assessment!" Ethan cried. "He said it starts in just five days!"
The two of them walked out together with the crowd, slowly making their way across the academy grounds. Rin raised an eyebrow at Ethan’s obvious panic.
"So?"
Ethan stopped walking for half a second before staring at him with his mouth hanging open.
"...So?"
"That’s all you have to say?"
"Wow."
"Go ahead and brag about being a straight-A student right in front of me."
"You know you’re practically the academy’s favorite child, but at least think about my poor heart for a second!"
Rin immediately waved his hands.
"No, no, no. That’s not what I meant."
He looked genuinely confused.
"The thing is... you’ve never cared about assessments before. You always said there wasn’t any point worrying because you were an F-Rank Guide anyway, so why are you suddenly panicking now?"
Ethan nearly smacked his own forehead.
Right....
He had completely forgotten that he never told Rin about the principal’s warning. Letting out a long sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well... that’s because if I don’t improve this time..." He paused before forcing out the rest. "...I’m getting expelled."
Rin’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
"...What?"
His playful expression disappeared completely. "What do you mean, expelled?"
The two continued walking toward their dormitories while Ethan slowly explained everything that had happened in the principal’s office, including the scholarship conditions and the academy’s ultimatum.
"...So basically," Ethan concluded helplessly, "if I don’t increase my rank within five freaking days, I’m getting kicked out."
Rin stared at him in complete disbelief. "You’re... actually going to get expelled?"
He looked genuinely horrified.
"They can really do that? Just because your rank is low?"
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"Turns out they can. I guess people in power really can do whatever they want."
Although he intentionally joked to lighten the mood...
The joke didn’t make either of them feel any better. Rin lowered his head, deep in thought.
"I wish there was something I could do."
His brows knitted together.
"I’ll think of something."
Ethan couldn’t help smiling despite the situation.
"Yeah?"
He nudged Rin lightly with his elbow.
"And how did thinking of something work out for my dorm room?"
Rin immediately coughed awkwardly.
"...That’s different."
"It really isn’t."
"...It is."
Ethan chuckled.
"...Besides..."
His words trailed off as he hesitated.
How exactly was he supposed to convince Rin that he already had a solution... Without mentioning Saint Aster’s book?
His friend looked genuinely distressed, and Ethan hated seeing that expression directed toward him. After a brief moment of hesitation, he finally smiled reassuringly.
"I’m already working on a solution."
Rin narrowed his eyes immediately.
"Ethan..."
He folded his arms. "Don’t you dare try calming me down by lying."
He suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Wait."
"I can’t personally train you because I’m a Sentinel..."
"But maybe I can ask an A-Rank Guide to help train you—"
He paused abruptly his excitement barely lasted two seconds before another realization struck him.
His face darkened all over again.
"...Hold on."
"How are they expecting you to rank up when you haven’t even gone through your second reawakening yet?"
Ethan sighed deeply.
"I honestly don’t know." He kicked a tiny pebble along the pathway. "This fucking academy contradicts half the things it teaches."
Before they realized it, they had already arrived at the path where they normally separated to return to their respective dormitories.
Ethan had already begun walking toward the F-Rank dormitory when Rin suddenly called after him. "And Ethan!"
Ethan turned around.
"...Yeah?"
Rin hesitated for a moment before scratching the back of his head.
"There was actually something important I wanted to tell you..."
"What is it?"
Rin smiled awkwardly before rubbing the back of his neck.
"...Not now."
"Huh?"
"I’ll tell you after the assessment."
Ethan frowned.
"Why after?"
"Because..." Rin laughed nervously. "I have a feeling it’ll ruin your mood if I tell you now."
Before Ethan could question him any further, Rin turned on his heels and practically ran away.
"E-Eh! I’ve got to go!"
"See you later!"
Ethan watched him disappear into the distance before bursting into laughter.
"Bastard!"
His voice echoed across the pathway, earning a few strange looks from passing students.
Still smiling to himself, Ethan finally turned and continued walking back toward his room.
Unfortunately...
The smile didn’t last long.
The moment he stepped inside his tiny dorm room, reality came crashing back.
The stakes had just become even higher.
He no longer had five days.
After today...
Only four remained.
Four days.
Four miserable days to somehow climb from F-Rank to at least E-Rank.
"...How the hell am I supposed to do this?"
He collapsed backward onto his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. How was he supposed to find enough time to cultivate?
He still had academy classes every single day. Ig he skipped them, he would be punished.
By the time classes ended each evening, he would already be mentally exhausted.
Then there was sleep.
If he stayed awake cultivating all night, he would barely have enough energy to survive the following day.
"...Augh!"
Ethan buried his face inside the pillow.
"There has to be some solution..."
He lay there for several minutes before suddenly sitting upright.
Then...
An absurd idea suddenly appeared inside his head.
...Hold on.
The academy only said I have to attend classes...
They never actually knew if he was awake what they needed was attendance right?
...
It was a wonderfully shameless plan.
And naturally...
Ethan adopted it immediately.
For the next three days, he faithfully attended every single class without fail. He deliberately chose the seat furthest from the professors, quietly rested his head on the desk whenever lectures became lengthy, and stole every bit of sleep he could manage. Then, once night fell and the academy finally became quiet, he devoted every remaining ounce of energy to following Saint Aster’s cultivation method.
The schedule was exhausting.
His body complained endlessly.
More than once he questioned whether he had completely lost his mind.
Even so...
The results spoke for themselves.
After succeeding in channeling spiritual energy on only his second attempt, his cultivation speed had increased dramatically.
Now...
Three days later...
It was finally the weekend.
No classes.
No interruptions.
From early morning until now, Ethan had remained inside his mental sea, tirelessly drawing in spiritual energy without stopping.
The once pitiful little pool had become densely saturated with brilliant golden light.
Every inch of water shimmered with compressed spiritual energy until it could no longer absorb another single strand.
Then...
His consciousness suddenly emitted a soft golden radiance while standing within the water.
The light spread gently across the tiny mental sea.
According to Saint Aster’s book...
That glow meant only one thing.
His mental sea had reached its current capacity.
It was full.
Ethan slowly withdrew his consciousness and opened his eyes.
Without wasting a single second, he grabbed the mysterious book and eagerly flipped to the final pages.
Just as he had expected...
The once-hidden section was no longer blank.
New words gradually appeared across the pages.
The third stage.
The cultivation method he had been waiting for all this time.
The Compression Method.
Ethan’s heartbeat unconsciously quickened as excitement flickered across his eyes.
Now...
It was finally time to begin the most difficult step of all.