Vale wasn’t sure why they were holding back with their performance today, but he didn’t have plans to ask them why. They must have something in their mind, so he decided not to point it out.

The exam with Class 1 continued, and Vale realized that there were indeed many talented students in this class.

This is especially true with Maya’s group of friends.

Goldie Forrest created a gorgeous coat with her Darkness Manipulation Spell, followed by the usage of Ghost Apparition Spell. The Apparition wasn’t that popular, but anyone who has this Spell could be a scary opponent, especially if she reached the Intermediate Realm of this Spell.

Crystal Ravinie and Ana Chalton, the other two loyal friends of Maya, had also performed well with their Darkness Manipulation Spell but only showed a weak but high-level Spell on their second Spell.

Soon, Vale heard their conversations as they went off the stage and stuck closer to Maya.

“Maya… If you’re planning to challenge Vale later, make sure not to use a spell with a long cooldown. Also, don’t show your most lethal Spell.” Ana reminded. She knew that Maya would be called in just another minute or so, and she must not let Vale know her real strength.

“What?” Maya was shocked momentarily before shaking her head.

“I’m not planning to have a duel with him. You guys can go ahead and volunteer.”

As she said this, Goldie and the others looked at her in surprise. They couldn’t believe it.

If there was someone who could defeat Vale in a duel, they believed that it was guaranteed to be Maya Featherstar. As for them, they only believe that they have at least a 75% chance of winning against him with all their preparations.

“Aren’t you the one who was the most eager to show who’s the real boss of the Second Year?” Goldie asked softly.

Maya’s face suddenly turned red after hearing this. She quickly blocked Goldie’s mouth with her hands.

“Sshhh… What are you saying? I’m not trying to be a boss… I just want to defeat him since I believe I have learned plenty of things in my family and shouldn’t disappoint them. I want to do it by performing better in our Academic Classes, not in a duel.” Maya immediately explained, hoping not to cause a misunderstanding.

Luckily, as she glanced in Vale’s direction, it seemed that he was too focused on watching their classmate performing his second Spell, Dark Mist, and didn’t hear their conversation.

Soon, Professor Stella called her out.

She was indeed the last student for this exam, and she could somehow understand why.

As soon as she stood on the stage, she used her Darkness Manipulation Spell to create a disk made of Darkness on her feet!

Then, she used the disk to float a few inches off the ground!

It was only about 4 or 5 inches, but it certainly surprised all of them!

“Whoa! Maya is indeed the best in our batch!”

“Of course… I’ve never doubted her.”

“She wasn’t that showy, but she really deserves to be the student representative.”

“Indeed. She doesn’t go around and seek duels here and there… unlike a certain someone who wanted to be a center of attention and even challenged our seniors.” 𝒃𝒆.𝒎

Vale heard their words and knew that he was the one they were talking about.

He simply glanced in their direction and remembered their faces before shifting his attention back to Maya’s performance.

In his mind, he believed that he could do it as well. He knew that once he tried it, he would do better than Maya…

‘This exam is really good… I learned a few more uses of the Darkness Manipulation Spell.’ Vale thought to himself as he recalled all the other techniques he had seen.

The Full-Body Armor, Spinning Barrier, Floating Sword, Multiple Arrows, and now, a Floating Device!

The Darkness Manipulation Spell truly deserved to be called the core of the Dark Spellcasters.

“Vale… I think Maya performed better this time.” Chad muttered.

This time, Aubrey didn’t disagree. She even nodded with Lisa after hearing this.

“Indeed. I never thought that it was possible to do that.” Vale replied nonchalantly.

However, his answer shocked Aubrey and Lisa as they looked at him with doubt. Even Leonore, who was silently listening behind them, couldn’t help but look at Vale curiously.

“That’s impossible… Are you telling us you can’t do that?” Aubrey muttered.

“I see… So there’s something you can’t do as well.” Lisa said with a bright smile on her face while nodding continuously.

Vale was stunned momentarily as they seemed to have misunderstood his words.

He certainly said that he didn’t think it was possible to do that, but he didn’t mean he couldn’t.

Anyway, he decided not to explain himself and just shook his head and continued watching Maya.

After she finished her trick with the Darkness Manipulation Spell, she continued with her second Dark Spell.

She looked at the Professors judging the examination before she triggered her Spell.

“Dark Nova…”

As soon as the Professors realized what Maya aimed to do, they quickly acted and reinforced the stage’s Formation Circle!

“Y-you!” Zara was shocked as she saw Maya adamant about the usage of this Spell.

Mark and Cyrus also grunted as they poured their Dark Energy into fortifying the defensive Formation Circle they placed on the stage.

They wouldn’t make the same mistake again!

Boom!

The Dark Nova created a powerful explosion that made the hall tremble…

Luckily, this was much easier to deal with than Vale’s Moonlight Curse which could bypass their defenses.

Professor Stella clenched her fist tightly as the hall was surrounded by a bright light followed by darkness.

Crack… Crack… Crack…

Soon, the barrier created by the Formation Circle started shattering due to the sheer power that Maya had released.

However, Stella ignored it. She looked worried and immediately went to the stage to check Maya’s condition. She covered herself with Dark Energy to bypass the defensive circle and grabbed Maya’s shoulder.

“You idiot… Dark Nova uses your Life Force… This is just an exam! Why are you so determined?”

Maya looked weak after using that Spell, but she still smiled and replied.

“I won’t be joining the duel… I need to take a rest, Professor.”

This content is taken from 𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ𝓂