After Amane returned to the line, she immediately dove into my arms while the next person went up.

"Heehee~ did I do good, Xuwan Kwai?

"

I smiled and patted her head gently.

"Better than good, actually. It would've been better if you just got green, to be honest. This is fine though.

"

"Hey, Xuan Kai,

" Feng Mian suddenly said with a smirk on her face.

"Wanna make a bet?

"

I raised an eyebrow.

"A bet?

"

"If I can reach the topmost level of that obelisk with my attack… you have to go on a date with me,

" she replied with a wink.

"How about it?

"

"I mean, the holidays are coming up anyway. Sure,

" I replied easily.

"But what if you don't?

"

"Hm… if I don't, then I'll let you take me out on a date. How's that?

"

"… So either way, I have to go on a date with you,

" I muttered, then sighed.

"I'm down. But if you don't do it, I have one more request — you have to tell me about those shadow daggers you used against that girl back during the tournament to enter Fragment.

"

"Oh, those? Sure. It's a deal, then, hehe~

"

Soon, it was her turn to go up. So far, only Amane and Ming Hao had reached the purple level, but there were two more above that, visually speaking. It was just a matter of whether or not she could reach the top.

Feng Mian closed her eyes and gently placed her hand on the surface of the obelisk.

"Legendary Shadow Magic — Shattered Hope.

"

Immediately, from the palm of her hand, unleashed a deadly flash of black-purple energy. It crackled like electricity as it ran up the surface of the obelisk and chained it up. Then, the chains began glowing bright, and finally shattered.

In an instant, the entire obelisk lit up, all the way to the very top where a black glow stood. Everyone who witnessed the scene gasped in shock, including the teachers. Even Ms. Cai, who was usually half-asleep, widened her eyes at this.

"T-The top rank…

" One student muttered.

"There's only ever been one other student who has managed to accomplish this on their first year…

" The Class B teacher muttered.

"And her name is Qian Hua, Child of the Future.

"

"Whew…

" Feng Mian whistled and turned back around, shooting me a seductive wink. The crowd immediately cheered in response, thinking the wink was for them.

After returning to my side, Feng Mian smirked triumphantly.

"So, Xuan Kai. Impressed?

"

"Eh. I kind of expected that to happen. Not really surprised.

"

"Hmph…

" Feng Mian pouted, as if dissatisfied. I sighed and began stroking her hair, much to her surprise.

"E-Eh? Xuan Kai, what are you…

"

"Relax,

" I replied.

"I'm not saying you didn't do good. I'm just saying I knew you were going to do good all along.

"

"…

" She fell silent and blushed, then suddenly hugged me tightly.

"Hehe~ when did you learn to say such nice things?

"

"It's not that,

" Yu An Yan interjected.

"It's just… he always knows what to say at what time in order to make a girl like him. Unintentionally, too. Speaking of… if I manage to do the same thing as Feng Mian, will you go on a date with me too?

"

"Woah, no no no,

" I quickly denied.

"I don't want to have to spend my entire holidays going on dates with you guys, sorry. Feng Mian asked first, so…

"

"Mmph…

" Yu An Yan pouted slightly, but there was nothing I could do about that. If I accepted her deal, then all the other girls would jump in as well, and I would end up with no time to myself for the entire break.

"Ah… Feng Mian got the jump on us, it seems~

" Lan Xiao Su laughed softly.

"Then… how about this? If we can reach purple, you give a headpat. If we can reach brown, you give a kiss.

"

"What about if we can reach black?

" Qing Yue suddenly interjected, a devious smile on her face.

"U-Um… if we can reach black…

" Lan Xiao Su trailed off, cheeks as red as tomatoes.

"Heheh…

" Qing Yue snickered evilly, having reached her goal.

Oh **…

"A-Ahem, anyway,

" I interrupted, cutting the awkwardness short.

"Lan Xiao Su, it's your turn to go up.

"

"Hm? Oh! Right!

"

Flustered, she hurriedly went up to the obelisk, which now had scars on it thanks to Feng Mian's incredibly powerful attack, enhanced by Chaos. She was always introverted and somewhat socially awkward, so being watched by a whole crowd like this definitely wasn't helping.

Still, with the Legendary Water Element spell, Hydrovortex, she was able to reach the purple rank on the obelisk. Not quite as strong as Feng Mian, but raw power wasn't where Lan Xiao Su shined anyway. Her strength lay in her extensive knowledge.

"Wuwu…

" She sobbed a bit as she returned to me.

"I didn't do as good as I was hoping to…

"

"It's fine, it's fine,

" I comforted, patting her head gently.

"I know you're not good with crowds, and… well, this is the exact definition of a crowd.

"

"Mm…

" She nodded slowly and threw her arms around my back.

Next to go was Lin Luo, who I had high expectations for. She didn't fail to deliver, making good use of the extra power I gave back to her to obtain the highest rank of black. She didn't even need to enter her Ascended form.

"Fufu~ Big Brother Xuan Kai… she got the highest rank,

" Qing Yue giggled evilly.

"Does that mean…

"

"NO,

" Lin Luo immediately cut in, shooting both Qing Yue and I a cold glare.

"Yeah… not happening,

" I added.

"She's different from the rest of you. Just here as my tool, nothing more.

"

"Tch… you don't have to rub it in like that, you know?

" Lin Luo muttered in disdain.

"Heh,

" I snickered as the next member of our class went up — Long Lu. He achieved a score of blue, which surprised me a bit. I had expected him to just get green, but I guess everyone held their secrets.

Next was Mei Gui. She strode up to the obelisk calmly, a ferocious look in her eyes.

Mei Gui… don't overdo it.

Understood, Master. I will try my best.

She placed her hand on the obelisk and used a simple Level Three spell, Holy Ray.

BOOM!

The obelisk instantly lit up to black faced with the pummeling beam of light, but thankfully, that was it. I had been expecting the obelisk to shatter, but this was better than expected. She couldn't use Level One or Two spells since that would rouse suspicion that she's holding back, so this was really the best she could do.

Returning to me, she bowed her head slightly.

"Apologies, Master…

"

I shook my head and smiled.

"You did good, Mei Gui. Don't worry about it.

"

After a few other students went up, it was Obsidia's turn. With some simple Fire Magic, she scored a black rank. Everyone watched in awe as more and more black ranks emerged from Class D, but there was nothing they could do but admire in wonder.

Next was Qing Yue, a support type character. Thus, she was forced to use a Level Two spell to do this test, but with the help of Chaos, she was still able to score blue with ease.

"Fufu~ Big Brother Xuan Kai, since I am a support… does getting blue still count for the highest-tier reward?

" She asked, licking her lips and winking seductively.

"Hm… sure, whatever,

" I replied. She had a fair point.

"Hehe~ Big Brother Xuan Kai is the best!

" She yelped and dove into my arms happily.

After a few more students took their turns, it was finally time…

"Xuan Kai…

" Ms. Cai announced lazily, shooting me a look.

I nodded and went up to the obelisk, furrowing my brows in thought.

Hm… what spell should I use? I guess I'll just use the same thing Mei Gui did, just to be safe…

Unbeknownst to me, there were three people who watched me intently. Ming Hao, Ms. Cai, and Qian Hua, all for different reasons. Qian Hua was spectating from far away, where no one could see her, but she held a faint smile on her face as she waited to see what I would do.

Alright… here we go.

Hovering my hand right in front of the obelisk's surface, I chanted in my head to decrease the power output.

Level Three Light Magic — Holy Ray.

A shining beam of light suddenly shot out of my palm, and-

BOOM!

The laser pierced straight through the obelisk, shattering it instantly and tearing through the front gates of the school as well. Everyone who was watching dropped their jaws in shock, frozen in place.

"…!

"

I quickly canceled the spell and turned my palms up to face me.

What the hell…

"X-Xuan Kai…

" Ming Hao muttered.

"You never cease to amaze me…

"

"This boy…

" Ms. Cai whispered softly, stunned and impressed.

"Fufufu~ that's the first time someone has managed to break the obelisk…

" Qian Hua giggled, narrowing her eyes.

"My father told me there will always be skies greater than this one, and there will always be someone greater than me. Perhaps… you are that someone, Xuan Kai…

"