Following the light at his wrist, Yuto pictured Elun in his mind.

'Elun. Can you hear me?'

[I can.]

The immediate answer reassured him.

'What's happening right now? Are you still in the auditorium?'

[I am. The new students, yourself included, are lying collapsed in the auditorium.]

'Collapsed... So my body is still in the auditorium, and only my mind is here, just as I thought.'

[You should be explaining the situation to me. Yuto, what happened?]

'My mind and the other students' minds have entered a kind of virtual space.'

Yuto relayed what the headmaster had announced through the crystal. After a brief silence, Elun spoke.

[The headmaster of Maria Academy... I can see that he is an accomplished mage, but confining five hundred human minds in a fabricated space and making them compete is beyond human ability. This is the work of a constellation.]

'It would be.'

Unlike in his previous life, a thousand prospective students had gathered at the academy and been made to take a selection exam because the constellations had interfered. And the reason for that interference was probably Yuto's existence.

'It seems the constellations are very interested in me.'

[Of course they are. Hmm, until only a hundred out of five hundred remain... This will take quite some time. Rejoice, Yuto. The academy staff are inserting IV needles into the students as we speak. Your body won't die of dehydration.]

'Don't do anything conspicuous, and stay with Levian.'

[That's my line. You're the one who must avoid drawing too much attention, Yuto. You need to keep an 'appropriate' distance from the constellations as well as Shiro Ristal. If you dance too enthusiastically for them...]

'I'll die like I did in my previous life.'

He had to pique the constellations' interest without satisfying them. Yuto kept that firmly in mind. In his previous life, the story of Yuto and his heroic life had followed a course that found its completion in tragedy. The constellations had wanted to see his death and despair, and so he had died that way.

'I have no intention of repeating my previous life.'

[Of course you mustn't. Do not forget our promise. Our contract.]

Elun's tone was emphatic. Yuto nodded and spoke aloud.

“Flokiro.”

FLASH!

As aether drained from him, Flokiro appeared at his side. Blinking in momentary surprise, he looked up at Yuto.

“Yuto. What's going on?”

Evomon and their partners were spiritually linked through their contracts. Apparently, as long as aether could be used here, Evomon could be summoned as well.

'Elun. What about Flokiro?'

[He's sprawled beside you. Did you summon him?]

'Yes.'

Yuto smiled and stroked Flokiro's head. After a brief explanation of the exam's rules, Flokiro understood at once and nodded.

“A hundred out of five hundred. That's not too difficult a condition. What will you do, Yuto? Hunt them down until only a hundred remain? Or avoid the hunt and hide?”

“I'll think about it after I meet my partner.”

Yuto glanced at the light connected to his wrist. The headmaster had said the pairs were chosen at random.

'Who could it be?'

He remembered those who had distinguished themselves in the first test. He was confident he could survive alone, but having a strong partner along certainly wouldn't hurt.

'At the very least, I hope it isn't Shiro.'

Shiro's abilities were beyond question, but Yuto didn't want to stick close to him. He had practiced concealing his emotions, yet even so, the mere thought of spending days at Shiro's side sickened him.

“Let's go.”

Yuto and Flokiro ran across the plain. The light at his wrist led into the forest.

Virtual though this space was, running felt exactly as it did in reality: the sensation of grass beneath his feet, the resistance of the wind, the pressure in his lungs as he breathed. It all felt real.

'The pain will be the same, too. Dying here will hurt just as much as dying in reality.'

It was an excessively cruel test for fifteen-year-olds, especially noble children raised in comfort. That made him all the more certain of the constellations' involvement. Human suffering meant little to them. On the contrary, watching humans scream, struggle, and die in agony was their pleasure.

'There will be more to this than students fighting and killing one another. Since the constellations had a hand in creating this space, anything could happen.'

Yuto glanced at the crystal orb floating in the sky as he thought.

Once inside the forest, he found the person connected to the light at his wrist.

It was a girl with neatly tied purple hair. Yuto stopped a short distance away and stared at her.

To be honest, he didn't remember her. That meant her projection on the platform hadn't particularly stood out. Her constellation's silhouette must have been ordinary, and her aether unremarkable. He couldn't even remember her name.

Yuto glanced beside her. There was no Evomon in sight. Had she simply not summoned one, or did she have no contract at all? While he was considering that, the girl hesitantly spoke.

“Ah... H-hello...”

Her fingers rubbed ceaselessly together, her shoulders hunched, and her eyes kept flicking up to Yuto before dropping to the ground.

“I-I'm... C-Calipha... Rudrock...”

A dud.

That was Yuto's private assessment. Her voice, her expression, her behavior—everything about her was a dud. One shouldn't judge people entirely by appearances, but everything she was showing him now felt like a disaster waiting to happen.

“I, um... saw your projection... earlier... It was impressive... May I... call you Master Yuto...?”

“Sure.”

Yuto nodded, considering the name Calipha Rudrock. He had never heard it before. He knew nothing of a family named Rudrock, either. The same held true for his memories of his previous life.

Calipha Rudrock.

Her true name was Calipha Asward.

Yuto hadn't realized it, but she was the founder of Dark Star and the leader of the Black Mages. Only Shiro knew her true name. Even the Black Mages who served her did not know it.

In Yuto's previous life, Shiro had executed Calipha. Even then, her name had never been made public. She had simply been executed as Dark Star's leader, the Dark Mage. Indeed, she was more often called the Dark Mage than addressed by name.

'Yuto.'

Calipha looked at him with a frightened, insecure, servile smile. Deceiving people like this was enjoyable, but smiling at Yuto was not easy. Looking at the face of the boy before her stirred an emotion that boiled up from deep in her gut.

Murderous intent.

'Yuto, Yuto, Yuto...'

The bastard who had slaughtered the Black Mages in Belkain. Who had smashed the crystals she had painstakingly created and destroyed the corrupted aether factory. Who had ruined every plan she had prepared for Lord Shiro.

Calipha knew everything Yuto had done. She had heard the rumors about him, and Shiro had told her personally as well.

If she had her way, she would kill him right now. He wouldn't truly die in this virtual space, but she could still inflict enough pain to make him beg for death. Her true desire was to torment him horribly here, then subject him to an entirely different kind of suffering in reality before killing him.

“Heh heh heh...”

Yet Calipha kept the murderous intent boiling in her gut perfectly contained. Because Shiro had ordered it.

[“Stay by Yuto's side. Observe him and provoke him. Find out what lies in his heart. What he wants.”]

Ah, all-knowing, all-powerful Lord Shiro. Calipha shuddered at the thought of him. Astonishingly, Lord Shiro had even predicted that this year's incoming students would undergo a selection exam.

And he had given Calipha her orders. He had summoned her to use her as his tool. Calipha—Calipha had obeyed his command. Leaving the tower where she had secluded herself, she had enrolled at Maria Academy as a new student.

To enter the academy, she had forged an identity, concealed her age, and modified her body. As befitted Dark Star's founder, Calipha was an archmage of extraordinary attainment. Regulating her power on the projection platform had been easy. Not a single member of the faculty had discovered her identity.

'But to think we would even be paired together. This, too, is a testament to Lord Shiro's greatness... '

Calipha glanced at the light connected to her wrist and shuddered again. The lord she loved and revered truly was all-knowing and all-powerful.

“I'm... glad I was paired with you, Master Yuto... Heh heh... I-I'm not very strong...”

Calipha watched his reaction with a servile smile.

“As you can see... I don't have an Evomon, either... D-do you know... my family...? House Rudrock is... a minor noble family in the Kingdom of Ristal...”

“You can't be completely without ability if you made it into the academy.”

“I-if this had been... a normal admissions year... I wouldn't have... gotten in... The bar for applicants... was lower this year, wasn't it...? I-I never imagined... there would be a test like this, though...”

Stammering, Calipha moved right up beside Yuto.

“B-but... I won't get in your way, Master Yuto...”

“I hope not.”

Yuto stared at her and asked,

“What can you do?”

“I... I'm a mage...”

Calipha fumbled as she took out a staff. It was plain and unadorned. Gripping it tightly in both hands, she looked up at Yuto.

“M-my magic... isn't anything impressive. I'm not good at combat magic. But instead...”

She began counting on her fingers.

“I can detect nearby living things with search magic. Within three hundred meters... I can also cast wards that impose conditions... And I can put up shields... I-it depends on the attack... but they should stop most things. And...”

Calipha hesitated briefly.

“I can use analysis magic. It reads magic circles and the structure of spells... This whole space was created with magic, wasn't it...? So... I thought it might be useful...”

Yuto's eyes lit up. Detection, wards, defense, and analysis. She lacked combat power, but her support abilities covered a wide range. Given the nature of this exam, where they would have to watch for ambushes, every spell she had mentioned was especially valuable.

“You can do quite a lot for someone who said her magic wasn't impressive.”

“Heh... Heh heh heh... Thank you for the compliment. But...”

Her shoulders slumped, and she bowed her head, the grin fading.

“I... don't have much aether. Search magic doesn't use much, so I can cast that often... but wards are difficult. So are shields... And analysis in particular takes a long time and uses a lot of aether...”

Calipha murmured dejectedly,

“I can barely use combat magic... I'm no better than a bug...”

“No.”

Yuto's answer was firm.

“Detection and analysis will be very useful in this exam. At least, I need them. I can't use magic.”

He couldn't use his Void Skills. Even if he did, they couldn't replace the support Calipha could provide.

“It doesn't matter to me that you can't use offensive magic. I can handle all the fighting. In return, you'll use your magic as I direct. Understood?”

Calipha, who had been staring blankly at him, nodded quickly.

“Y-yes. I understand...”

“Good. First, search for...”

“Y-you won't... you won't abandon me, will you? You'll help me pass the exam with you, won't you?”

“... If you're useful.”

“Yaaay! Thank you, thank you! I promise I won't hold you back!”

Even as she cheered, Calipha sneered inwardly.

'You fucking moooron.'

It went without saying that everything Calipha had just told him was a lie.