I Swear I'm Not a Demon Masquerading as a Human

In the spacious classroom, amid the interplay of dim light, the wood grain of the oak flooring and the carpet exuded an inexplicable air of desolation and intoxication. The only distinct sound was the footsteps of the examiners that heralded roaming, murderous intents prowling the exam hall.

In the back row of the classroom, Hyperion sat with her head bowed. Her eyes were trembling slightly, and her mind was completely blank. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would end up in a Shadow Realm dimension that would require her to play the role of a demon. For her, this was a form of extreme public humiliation.

Unlike other challengers, whose appearances were merely temporarily disguised as demons by the Shadow Realm's setting, her own concealment magic had been stripped away, exposing her true demonic form. She would rather die than have the people of the capital witness her real physical body, let alone face Lance while looking like this.

The only clear thought in her mind right now was this: Their challenge of the Shadow Realm was being broadcast on screens throughout the school. This was a performance and an execution.

She could only struggle to steady her emotions and try to focus on the exam questions before her. Although Hyperion possessed demon blood, granting her a high affinity for demonic magic and an innate ability to cast some basic demonic spells, she also grew up in a human kingdom as a duke's daughter. Basically, she had absolutely no idea how to answer these complex questions regarding demonic magic.

If even she couldn't answer them, then it stood to reason that the questions weren't meant to be solved by the challengers themselves. To pass the exam and leave the hall, the solution was obvious. The challengers scattered throughout the room had to identify which of their demonic peers knew the answers, copy them, and do so while evading the watchful eyes of the two proctors.

The two of them would need to coordinate their efforts. Otherwise, they might fail to gather enough correct answers to pass within the two hour time limit. Furthermore, the demon students were wary of one another. Those in the front rows, for instance, were particularly guarded. There was even the possibility of malicious individuals intentionally providing wrong answers to sabotage or mislead their classmates.

Hyperion struggled to steady her ragged breathing. The only thing offering her a shred of reassurance was Lance’s calm, steady presence nearby. He had surely grasped the rules for clearing this trial by now.

Of course, Hyperion wasn't certain if the strategy she was envisioning aligned with his, so she refrained from making any moves. After all, the pact between her and Lance was simple. He would keep his eyes on the enemy, while she needed only to keep her eyes on him.

***

Not far to the right of Hyperion, Lance was leaning back in his chair, head tilted up, gazing thoughtfully at the two examiners. They were impeccably dressed and outwardly courteous, yet they exuded an unmistakable, terrifying aura.

One was a humanoid owl demon with sleek, glossy black plumage and cold, cunning crimson eyes. He wore a crisp, classic suit adorned with intricate gold detailing, evoking the atmosphere of an ancient, mysterious sect.

The other was a demon with dragon horns and scales, and he possessed a figure radiating majesty and power. His eyes seemed to burn like raging flames. He also had a humanoid physique and wore a lavish, vintage suit embroidered with complex patterns that appeared to symbolize authority.

Both were clearly high-ranking faculty members of the school. Although the two examiners noticed Lance looking at them, they said nothing. Lance's eyes held an open, candid look, as clear as a mirror, showing no hint of an intent to cheat. In fact, it just looked like he was simply resting his eyes after the strain of answering questions.

More importantly, staring at the examiners did not constitute whispering or unauthorized communication in any sense. Of course, doing so inevitably drew their attention, which in turn made cheating significantly more difficult.

However, it was far from a pointless exercise. In just a few minutes of observation, Lance had already gleaned a great deal of information. For instance, he noted that the proctors moved along regular paths and at consistent speeds.

Furthermore, cheating was indeed taking place in the classroom. Quite a few demon students in the front rows would seize the brief moments when the teachers' fields of vision overlapped to create a blind spot to make surreptitious moves. Some employed simple yet precise methods, while others resorted to magical trickery. It was a veritable display of diverse talents and ingenious schemes.

For example, an unidentified demon in the front row had just used mental magic to briefly hijack Lance's eyes at close range, plunging his vision into sudden darkness. Before long, though, he felt as though he had been branded an academic failure by his fellow classmate.

There was a whole clique of cheaters, but once they realized Lance couldn't answer the questions, the surrounding demon students gave him absolutely no chance to peek at their work. They were effectively freezing him out and barring him from joining their scheme of academic fraud.

It's a good thing my spirit and magical resistances are high enough. Otherwise, having my vision manipulated by that kind of spell would be truly nauseating.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling as though he had finally grasped the situation. It was time, then, to show them what he was truly capable of.

***

From Lance's vantage point, a window of opportunity would open roughly every minute, when both examiners had overlapping blind spots. Within that fleeting one-second interval was the perfect moment for those students inside those areas to attempt to cheat.

That rare opportunity was about to arise once more. Up ahead, the two demon students sitting in the same row before Lance turned slightly to the side, clutching their exam papers. They were visibly tense.

Their plan was to answer the questions they knew, then seize this specific moment to swap papers. Lance was watching it all unfold. Crude as the method was, it was effective. The two had been smart enough not to write their names on the papers too.

Hyperion watched Lance quietly from the side. Following his gaze, which was locked onto his targets like a predator's, she noticed the movements of the two students ahead. She had to admit that Lance's bold choice to openly survey the room while drawing more attention from the proctors had allowed him to gather a vast amount of information with remarkable efficiency.

After all, he had discovered that those two examinees were likely on the cusp of swapping papers. If he reacted quickly enough, Lance could use the secondary function of his utility spell card, the Shadow Realm Recording Program, to capture some of the information on both papers at the exact moment of the exchange. He could then review the data at his own leisure. It was an advantage, an informational edge, that only a Shadow Realm challenger possessed!

The proctors were now in the right position, so the two demon students began to make their move. Hyperion waited in anticipation, hoping Lance would successfully snag the answers. If they could use those two students as a stepping stone to copy answers from others, they may not need the full two hours. They could hand in their papers early and leave the exam hall.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Lance raised his right hand, and his righteous, resounding voice echoed throughout the classroom. "Teacher! They're cheating!"

Instantly, both proctors whipped their heads around, locking their eyes onto the students who were caught mid-swap. The two reported by Lance instinctively turned around. Their eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at him, glaring at him as if he were nothing more than a mangy dog.

"I saw what you two did."

The dragon demon, who was closer to the cheating examinees, strode toward the row where Lance sat. On the other hand, the owl demon clicked his tongue in annoyance before turning back around and continuing on his way.

A brutal slaughter ensued. Piercing screams echoed shrilly, leaving the other demon students feeling suffocated. The next moment, the only sounds remaining in the classroom were the crunching of bones and the wet splattering of blood and viscera. In the span of seconds, the cheating demon examinees were reduced to a pair of corpses!

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