Celine Ardent.
The president of Avalon Academy’s Student Council.
From the body’s memories, Leonis knew that this woman was considered one of the academy’s most outstanding senior students.
However, what caught his attention more than her reputation was the way she stood.
Her shoulders were straight, her hands rested at her sides without any unnecessary movement, and her gaze seemed to keep the entire hall under equal watch.
This woman doesn’t need anyone’s admiration.
He looked at her with even greater interest.
After a few seconds of silence, Celine spoke.
"All candidates present in this hall are Level One, none of you have an Exorcist License, and none of you have any official records of hunting Fallens."
Her gaze slowly moved from one row to the next.
"Today’s exam will determine who is ready to enter the next stage of training and take on real missions."
One of the students raised his hand.
"Madam President, will the number of Fallens we kill determine our ranking?"
"No."
Several students looked at each other in surprise.
The woman continued, "If you think an exorcist’s only duty is to kill hostile creatures, then you’re probably not ready to receive your license yet."
She raised her hand, and the large screen behind her lit up.
An image of an abandoned city appeared on the screen; stone-paved streets, half-ruined buildings, and a huge clock tower standing in the center.
"The exam has two stages. The first stage is decision-making in a crisis, and the second stage is containing threats and defending protective facilities."
Celine paused briefly.
"The details of the second stage will be announced after the first stage ends."
Then the image of the city grew larger.
"The first stage will take place in the quarantined area known as the City of Silent Bells. The Fallens inside the area are real, but they are under protective restrictions. Emergency response teams will also remain on standby the entire time."
Her gaze became more serious.
"This doesn’t mean the exam is safe. If your own mistakes put you in a situation where there is no way to save you, you may suffer serious injuries before the response team arrives."
The hall grew even quieter, and Celine continued without changing her tone.
"There are three shelters in the city. Before the third bell rings, you must rescue the simulated civilians, keep the safe routes secure, and find the source of the spreading corruption."
Three blue points lit up on the map, one in the eastern part of the city, another near the western market, and the third in the southern area.
"After each bell, the city’s conditions will change. Closed routes may open, safe routes may become unavailable, and Fallens may enter new areas."
She lowered her hand.
"Your scores will be based on decision-making, protecting civilians, teamwork, containing threats, and combat performance."
Then she looked at the crowd for a few moments.
"Remember, surviving without completing the mission isn’t enough, and completing the mission without surviving is worthless as well."
"All three shelters are shared objectives for every candidate. However, you don’t have to defend every route on your own. Working with other students and choosing the right routes are also part of your evaluation."
"Every time a bell rings, the city’s conditions will change. These changes won’t only affect your routes. They may also put the shelters and protective facilities at risk."
"The protective restrictions prevent threats from outside the designated area from entering, but they don’t remove the danger posed by the creatures inside. The response teams will only step in when the situation goes beyond the safety limits of the exam."
This time, no one asked any questions.
Leonis kept his eyes on the map, studying the three shelters, the central clock tower, the narrow streets, and the areas that would change after each bell.
From this explanation alone, he could tell that the exam wasn’t designed only for combat. It was meant to test the students’ ability to make decisions when they didn’t have all the information.
A very small smile appeared on his face.
Interesting.
The entrance to the City of Silent Bells was through a large protective gate in the southern part of the area.
When the group of candidates passed through the entrance, the cold air and the smell of damp, old stones greeted them.
The city looked completely real, or at least it seemed that way.
Half-ruined buildings stood on both sides of the streets, and some of the windows had been covered with wooden boards.
The clock tower could be seen in the distance.
Its huge hands were pointing exactly at the starting time of the exam, and at that moment, Celine’s voice came through the city’s magical speakers.
"The first stage begins now. Until the first bell rings, the routes will remain unchanged."
"The first stage is just a preliminary test. If you can’t even get through this, you don’t deserve to be an exorcist"
Then silence returned.
The students immediately began to move. Most of them ran toward the nearest shelter, while a few others formed groups and discussed how to divide the routes between them.
However, Leonis was still standing beside the street, his gaze moving across the surrounding buildings.
Two broken windows on the second floor of a building to his right, deep scratches on the wall, and a pile of dust gathered directly beneath one of the windows.
The wind was blowing from the north.
However, the dust beneath the window had spread toward the street, against the direction of the wind.
There was only one explanation for this. Something had passed through there.
Without changing his expression, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
One of the students passing by noticed that he had stopped.
"Hey! Why aren’t you running? Time is running out!"
Leonis didn’t take his eyes off the window.
"That’s exactly why I’m making sure I’m going to the right place."
The student looked at him in confusion.
"What?"
The sound of breaking glass rang through the air, and a black creature jumped out of the second-floor window.
Its body was thin and long, and its dark skin stretched over its prominent bones. It had two long arms with curved claws, and when its mouth opened, its lower jaw dropped much farther than normal.
A Fallen.
"So this is a Fallen," he whispered to himself. This could be considered his first experience of seeing a Fallen in this world.
They were disgusting and terrifying, and these were the very creatures that had pushed the world into the age of the apocalypse.
The creature landed directly on the student standing in the street.
The boy only noticed the danger when the creature’s shadow fell over him.
"Ah!"
His foot instinctively moved backward, but it was already too late.
A danger indicator appeared in Leonis’s vision.
The falling path, the point of impact, and the very short distance remaining before the student’s shoulder would be torn open.
He moved.
[ Quick Step ]
He appeared beside the student in a short distance and struck the creature’s side with a controlled hit, changing the direction of its landing.
Bang!
Instead of hitting the student, the Fallen’s claws struck the stone pavement.
The stones cracked under the impact, and the creature landed on the ground with a harsh growl. It immediately turned its head toward him.
He took two steps back.
The Fallen lunged toward him.
This time, Leonis waited.
When the creature’s right claw came down from above, he turned his body slightly to the left and raised his sword at a small angle.
The claw passed beside his shoulder. At the same moment, he moved into the open space beneath the creature’s arm.
His sword moved.
A precise slash passed across the side of the Fallen’s neck, and the sound of flesh and bone being cut spread through the street.
The creature still tried to turn its body, but it had already lost its balance.
Its body fell onto the stone pavement. It struggled for a few moments, moving its arms and legs, and then became motionless.
[ You have killed a Level 2 Fallen. ]
[ EXP gained. ]
He glanced at the notification. Although he had gained EXP, there was no Essence. However, this was normal as well. The chance of low-level Fallens dropping Essence was very low.
The strong smell of blood spread through the cold air.
He looked at the corpse. This was the first Fallen he had actually hunted in this world.
Unlike training dummies, this creature had tried to kill him. If he had made even one wrong move, the result could have been completely different.
However, this reality gave him even more reason not to let excitement control his decisions.
"Y-You killed it that easily?"
Leonis turned his head. The student he had saved was still standing a few meters away.
His face was pale, and his hand trembled slightly as he held his sword.
"It wasn’t easy."
The student blinked. It wasn’t easy? That bastard had killed a Fallen in just a few seconds! And he was saying it wasn’t easy?
Leonis pointed at the broken window.
"I had simply decided where to strike before the attack. If something came out of that window, I already knew where to hit it."
The boy looked at the window and then at the Fallen’s corpse again. When he turned back, Leonis was already walking away.
"W-Wait! What’s your name?"
"Leonis Habsburg."
The student froze for a moment.
The last Habsburg?
That F-rank student?
His gaze fell on the Fallen’s corpse once again. He felt as if his entire view of the world was breaking apart. Had this talentless student been hiding such strength all this time?
In another part of the city, Kaelen was leading his first group toward the eastern shelter.
Unlike many of the other students, after seeing the first Fallen, he didn’t try to attack it directly.
He first examined the positions of the buildings.
Then he sent three students who were with him to both sides of the street, while he stood in front of a narrow path that the Fallens would have to pass through.
The first creature attacked.
Kaelen took a short step out of the path of its claws and sent his sword toward the Fallen’s knee.
Bang!
The Fallen’s leg joint was damaged, and the creature lost its balance. At the same moment, one of the students accompanying him attacked from the side and delivered the final blow.
"Don’t fall back. Keep your distance," Kaelen ordered in a calm voice.