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Cardon Academy's exam week was notoriously referred to as "Hell Week" by its students—a nickname earned through the grueling schedule and intensity of the lessons.

It wasn't just the volume of material that made the week so challenging but also the unique approach the academy took to education and evaluation.

Unlike traditional exam systems, Hell Week wasn't designed to test whether students had mastered the lessons of an entire year.

Such an evaluation would have been impossible, given the academy's philosophy.

At Cardon, every student grew stronger at their own pace, with progress measured not by standardized benchmarks but by individual growth and potential.

Instead, Hell Week focused on evaluating how well students could adapt and learn under specific conditions.

The aim wasn't to test rote memorization or past achievements but to push students to overcome their current limits in real time.

Throughout the week, students participated in a series of lessons tailored to challenge them in different ways.

Each lesson came with a clear objective that would be tested during the exams on Friday.

For instance, during Professor Orlen's practical combat lessons, students were paired for sparring matches where their weaknesses were identified.

Orlen would then give each student personalized feedback, pointing out areas that needed improvement.

However, he wasn't unreasonable in his expectations—he didn't demand perfection or ask for the impossible.

Instead, he focused on fixing smaller, manageable flaws, such as refining technique, improving stamina, or sharpening tactical awareness.

The same principle applied across all subjects.

In magical theory, students might be tasked with mastering a spell variation they had struggled with, while in strategy lessons, they might have to devise plans under pressure and adapt them on the fly.

Each task was designed to be just difficult enough to push the students out of their comfort zones, forcing them to grow.

Hell Week wasn't just about individual improvement, either. Many challenges required collaboration, encouraging students to rely on their peers and work as a team.

It was as much a test of their character and resilience as it was of their skills and knowledge.

By Friday, the culmination of the week's efforts came in the form of exams.

These weren't traditional written tests but practical evaluations that recreated the conditions students had faced during the lessons.

Success was measured by how well they had addressed the weaknesses identified earlier in the week and how effectively they applied what they had learned.

In the case of theoretical studies, though, written exams were still applied.

For the students, Hell Week was an exhausting, high-pressure experience. But it was also one of the academy's most effective methods for fostering growth.

By the end of the week, even those who struggled often found themselves stronger, more skilled, and better prepared for the challenges that lay ahead.

This relentless pursuit of excellence was what set Cardon Academy apart—and what made its students some of the most formidable individuals in all of Trion.

---

Maria did as she was told and entered the arena. Alia did the same. She didn't know what Alia's class was.

It wasn't certain if Orlen, one of the more famous teachers at Cardon Academy, had seen through Maria or if this was by chance, but Alia was also a summoner.

Of course, Alia was kind enough to tell this during her greeting.

After greeting each other, they got ready.

"Take your positions," Orlen commanded, his authoritative voice silencing the murmurs of the spectators.

Maria and Alia exchanged brief nods of acknowledgment and prepared themselves.

"Begin!"

The signal hadn't even finished echoing before Maria acted. With a quick gesture, she summoned a ghostly wolf, its ethereal form shimmering in the light. "Attack!" she commanded, pointing at Alia.

But instead of reacting with the typical caution expected of summoners, Alia did something entirely unexpected: she ran straight at the wolf.

The players, except for Arlon, who had witnessed this kind of bold fighting style in his past life, gasped in shock.

Summoners were supposed to stay back, using their contracted creatures as shields while supporting others. Charging directly into combat was practically unheard of.

The wolf lunged at Alia, claws aimed at her face. But instead of defending herself, Alia leaped forward, twisting her body mid-air.

The wolf's claws grazed her leg, drawing a shallow scratch, but she barely flinched.

Her movements were fluid and calculated. Alia's decision to bypass the wolf entirely had been deliberate—she'd already sized up Maria's abilities.

Summoning a basic wolf had told her enough: Maria was still inexperienced.

So, when Alia passed the wolf without a fight, Maria was defenseless

Maria froze for a split second as she realized Alia was coming for her directly. Her mind raced, panic threatening to take over.

But the training from the first week kicked in, and she forced herself to stay calm, focusing on Alia's movements.

Why is she punching me? Maria thought, bewildered, as Alia closed the gap with her fist poised to strike.

With no time to think of a counterattack, Maria did the only thing she could: she summoned the body part of one of her stronger contracts—a lion's torso—directly in front of her to block the punch.

Alia's eyes narrowed as her fist approached the summoned lion's body. A sharp frown crossed her face as if Maria's move had irritated her.

But instead of halting, Alia's punch morphed mid-strike.

Something blue and translucent materialized around her hand. The glowing aura expanded, shaping itself into the form of a shark's head, complete with menacing, razor-sharp teeth.

The spectators gasped as the shark's jaws clamped down on the lion's torso, not biting through it but passing through as if it were butter.

What happened after was expected, the shark's mouth embodied Maria's face as a whole, threatening to separate it from her neck with its teeth.

Everyone was sure that Maria's neck wouldn't be different from the lion's body and that it would be cut through like butter.
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But Alia didn't strike. She stopped just short, her frown deepening as she lowered her hand. Even though Maria wouldn't die if she continued, she didn't complete the maneuver.

Then, she frowned at Maria's face once again angrily but didn't say anything and went down the arena.

The students clapped silently as if it was expected and players stood there with their mouths open.

Professor Orlen approached Alia as she stepped down.

"Well done," he said, waving his hand over her injured leg. A faint glow surrounded the scratch, and to everyone's amazement, the wound vanished in an instant.

Arlon's eyes narrowed as he observed the process. That wasn't healing magic, he thought.

Mages in Trion had healing spells, but it wasn't as effective as a priest's heal. So, Orlen, no matter how strong he was, shouldn't have been able to heal Alia's leg in a second.

It must be the area's effect. Since the area was magically created, Arlon assumed that it had a time-locking feature.

It was mentioned in A Magician's Secret that stopping the time was impossible. However, it was possible to create pocket universes with different timelines or locked times.

So, when Orlen created the area as a different dimension, he created it so that anything going inside would be locked in time.

Any injuries sustained here could be reset to the state the person was in when they entered—like a game checkpoint.

This wasn't an easy spell and it wasn't a real checkpoint, so it was impossible to fight against someone strong again and again until the spell caster won by resetting the time.

It was only good against these small scratches. Of course, Orlen could use it against students, making sure they don't die.

But even then he wouldn't bring them from dead. He would reset the time before they were dead.

Or that is what Arlon assumed.

Agema's book didn't teach Arlon how to use it, nor could Arlon achieve it even if it did.

Maybe after I met her...