After massacring a group of monsters, Evan and Gerda headed onward. The steam gradually dissipated and their field of vision was growing larger by the second.

They didn't know how many opponents were left in total, but Evan didn't think there were many of them. The monsters were strong enough, but they could well be defeated. They were fighting two against nine, but Evan knew that even without Gerda's help he could handle them. He might have sustained a few wounds, but they would not have been serious.

Evan and Gerda were going forward in silence. From the outside, they might have seemed relaxed, but in fact Evan and Gerda were focused, because they could be attacked at any moment.

While walking, Gerda thought about how to beat Evan out of the game and still be on the plus side. She was in a tricky situation. On the one hand, she needed to stay close to Evan and help him in any way she could to make it to the finals. On the other hand, if they fought one-on-one, she would probably lose.

She could try to exhaust Evan by constantly engaging him in fights, but she had vague doubts that she was already trapped.

Evan had used far fewer spells during their battles than she had. It was as if Evan could read Gerda's mind completely and weaken her himself beforehand. But, that wasn't the only option that occurred to Gerda`s head.

Gerda was able to reason calmly about such things, for if she had been in Evan's shoes she would not have been ashamed to use her partner for her own good. Moreover, Evan was not particularly polite or kind. In Gerda's eyes, Evan was a strong guy with a touch of madness in his eyes.

...

The teachers watched the actions of each of the students closely, and the fight between Evan and Gerda couldn't help but interest them.

"This guy is very capable, it's too early to say anything about the girl, she was only helping him. But, I don't like that these two didn't lift a finger during the first wave of monsters. They're too cynical.

" The man in the silver mantle said calmly.

"You're thinking too narrowly. Their actions are quite logical, I would do exactly the same. Why waste your energy when other people can solve the problem for you? These two didn't waste mana, they were only gathering information about their potential rivals. I think it's very clever, and although you say it's too early to evaluate the girl, it's obvious she's much weaker than the lad.

"

The girl in the platinum mantle said with a smirk.

"Why do you focus so much on their actions? They've only killed nine monsters out of one hundred. Their skills aren't bad, but something tells me they're going to have a lot of trouble in the third stage

". Said the man in the silver mantle.

"Draven, what do you think? That's the guy who gave you a new haircut for the first time in decades.

" Smiling said the same girl in the platinum mantle.

Usually Draven wasn't much interested in anyone, but Evan was something of an outlier. When the students saw Draven knocking out exam participants in a matter of seconds, they retained the sobriety

of their minds at best. However, Evan had not only challenged Draven in a peculiar way, but, as the girl said, had managed to cut off strands of his hair.

It couldn't be counted as a hit with an attack, much less a wound, but it was something special. For the same reason Draven looked at Evan most of the time, he was curious about how far such a man could go.

Draven sighed and simply replied,

"What do you want me to say? It's pretty obvious, the boy's strong, the girl's certainly weaker, my opinion is the same as anyone else's.

"

The girl frowned, but said nothing more. She was clearly upset by his answer, she expected Draven's opinion to be strikingly different from the others.

"А...? Draven, lying is bad.... You're practically looking at his every move under a microscope.....

"

Suddenly Arabella said slowly. She sighed sleepily and continued watching the performance.

Draven didn't answer her and concentrated on the other contestants. At that moment Evan and Gerda were just pacing among the dissipating steam.

...

"It's been a long time since we've seen monsters. This area is huge, of course, but we've been walking for quite some time, too.

" Said Gerda.

"Do you think something happened? We're probably a long way from everyone, both monsters and people. I think somewhere the monsters have piled up against a cluster of students.

" Evan answered calmly.

Gerda wanted to say something, but suddenly Evan pointed forward and said:

" Well, here are the monsters, look, how many there are. I don't envy him.

"

The steam wasn't as thick as before, so Evan could see what was going on from a distance.

Gerda looked where Evan was pointing. She saw a black-haired, muscular guy surrounded by monsters. This particular young man had lasted ten seconds in the exam, thanks to his amazing defense.

The young man was surrounded exclusively by the

"Blind Death' monsters. As many as six creatures tried to tear him apart. They slowly circled around the young man, the monsters were ready to attack at any second.

Evan and Gerda watched the young man's actions closely, they wanted to see how strong his armor was.

"Aren't we going to help him?

" Gerda asked.

"You'd think you were going to save him... We'll just see, either way he's safe. We need to keep as much strength as we can.

"

Evan said calmly as he watched one of the monsters pounce on the young man. The monster was about to cut him open with its sharp blades.

Bam.

However, the monster didn't succeed. The moment its blades reached the young man, the boy's arm was covered in a thin layer of metal.

Clang.

The monster retreated. His attack was unsuccessful, and not for the first time. The monsters had tried to kill the young man, but each time they were met with metal armor that was irresistible to them.

"He'll be exhausted soon, his mana is probably already running out, it's impossible to defend yourself forever, especially against such opponents.

" Said Gerda looking at the heavily breathing young man.

Bam.

Another monster attacked the guy. Its blow was blocked, but the monster had no intention of retreating. Instead, it attacked again together with two more monsters.