The Genius Villain Dies Tomorrow

If Rian knew nothing about the examination, he would definitely be freaking out right now.

In the small camp, there were four groups, making up a total of sixteen students. Each team had received a tent that was already labeled with their number.

"Why do we have a tent to ourselves?" Julius asked out of curiosity.

"Because the examination is going to last for several days."

Rian replied quickly, going inside the tent to check. After what happened in the woods near Eisenbran, Rian had developed post-traumatic stress disorder for small tents.

Luckily, the Academy was kind enough to give them spatial tents that were at least big enough on the inside to hold the four of them comfortably.

The other three followed him inside one by one. Their mouths fell open, though the expanded interior wasn’t what surprised them.

"What?! What kind of examination requires us to stay here for that long?!" Eliza practically cried out. "I didn’t prepare enough things!"

Marie entered last, her confusion just as clear on her face as the other two’s were. "Wait, what do you mean by several days? Are examinations always like this?"

"They aren’t," Julius answered surprisingly calmly. "We were never told about anything like this at Eidelgard Prep."

"Three days, to be exact."

All three of them turned toward Rian.

"How do you know that?" Marie asked.

Rian ignored the question and walked toward one of the two bunk beds inside the room. He promptly dropped onto the bottom bunk, claiming it for himself.

"You heard the Headmaster. We’re supposedly the Golden Class, or whatever." He rested his head against the pillow. "This examination was probably designed to find her ten stars and weed out everyone too weak to belong here."

"That doesn’t explain how you know it lasts three days," Marie pointed out.

’Ugh...does this girl always notice everything?’

"There are four beds and a few set of clothes set out for us. And by the way camp was set up with those crates and that campfire..." Rian answered without missing a beat. "It wasn’t too difficult to figure out."

"Oh..."

Rian was surprised that his second attempt at gaslighting worked. Maybe he really did have a knack for politics? Either that or people from the boonies were really easy to convince.

Probably the latter.

The explanation seemed to have satisfied them for the time being. After all, what else could they do if they wanted to get into Eidelgard Academy?

Julius climbed onto the top bunk above Rian, while Marie claimed the bottom bunk across from them. Eliza hesitated for a moment before placing her bag on the remaining top bunk.

But just before they could actually settle in at all, the instructor’s voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire camp.

"All candidates are to change into the provided field uniforms and gather around the central campfire in ten minutes!"

Four sets of folded clothing had already been placed inside a wooden chest near the entrance. Each consisted of a dark-gray tunic, reinforced trousers, leather boots, gloves, and a hooded cloak.

The number thirteen had been stitched onto every shoulder.

Several cloth partitions could be pulled across the center of the tent, allowing them to change without forcing anyone outside.

At least the Academy had thought that far ahead.

Ten minutes later, the members of Group Thirteen emerged from their tent dressed in identical field uniforms.

Rian tugged uncomfortably at his collar. The uniform had automatically adjusted itself to fit his body, although no amount of magic could make it feel pleasant.

The four groups assigned to Base Camp D gathered around the campfire. Sixteen prospective students stood in a loose circle, accompanied by several Academy workers who remained near the supply tents.

Orion and his three noble companions stood on the opposite side. Other than him, everyone else looked like hopeful extras.

Once everyone had arrived, the scarred man stepped forward.

"My name is Edgar Klein," he introduced himself. "I am the instructor responsible for Base Camp D. While you remain here, my instructions take priority over anything your families, tutors, or personal servants may have told you."

Instructor Klein turned and pointed beyond the magical barrier surrounding the camp.

"As you have probably guessed from the thousands of graves outside, this region is called the Graveyard."

A few students glanced toward the thick fog beyond the walls. "Hundreds of years ago, this land served as a battlefield against an archlich."

"Many people died here in a way that their bodies could not be properly recovered or buried," Klein reached down and picked up a handful of gray soil. "After the archlich perished, its undead mana corrupted the place, leading to what you all see now."

A faint black mist rose from the dirt before being dispersed by the camp’s barrier.

"Every few months, that energy reaches a point where the missing bodies throughout this region begin rising again. The longer an undead creature remains active, the more corrupted mana it absorbs and the stronger it becomes."

A student raised her hand cautiously. "What happens if there are too many of them?"

"They leave the Graveyard and become a problem."

Marie and Eliza glanced at each other, both with uneasy looks on their faces.

"Normally, the Academy, Adventurers Guild, or Royal Army sends an extermination team here to reduce their numbers," Instructor Klein continued. "This time, that responsibility has been given to you."

Several students began whispering among themselves.

"You aren’t being asked to clear the entire Graveyard. Most of the stronger undead have already been pushed into the inner regions. Your examination will remain within the outer burial grounds and mausoleum district."

At the mention, several Academy staff started handing out a small map to each team. The area around their base was circled and labeled in green, while deeper sections were similarly color-coded—shifting from a dark yellow to bright red and eventually...black.

"Should?" Julius quietly repeated.

"The yellow region contains 2-Star and 3-Star monsters. You may enter it at your own discretion, but the Academy will not take responsibility for poor decisions."

Finally, Klein pointed toward the red section in the center of the map.

"The inner catacombs are prohibited. Entering them will result in immediate disqualification, assuming whatever lives inside does not deal with you first."

Rian glanced toward Orion, who was already staring at the red portion of the map.

’He’s definitely going in there.’

"Your examination will last for seventy-two hours," the instructor continued. "During that time, your goal is to destroy as many undead monsters as possible and retrieve the cores formed within their bodies."

He gestured toward a row of wooden crates near the northern tent. There were four of them, each marked with a different group number.

"Each group has been assigned a separate storage crate. Your bracelets will unlock the corresponding crate and record every core placed inside."

Instructor Klein lifted one of the silver bracelets.

"Your bracelets will also record which members participated in defeating each monster. The final ranking will consider the number and quality of your cores, along with each candidate’s individual contribution."

"So, plan wisely."

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