No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

Professor Kong Hu stood at the front of the field like a statue carved from granite. His bellow silenced the last whisper of conversation.

"Stand at attention!"

The first years jolted upright.

Back straight, heels together, arms at their sides. It was easier said than done. Their uniforms were still half-wrinkled. Sweat already clung to their skin from the rush earlier. Still, nobody dared move.

"You are not allowed to move or say a single word until otherwise ordered," he growled.

And then—click.

A spotlight switched on overhead. Then off. Then another one flickered on at the side, then another behind them. A disorienting strobe began, light and shadow slicing through the field with no rhythm, no logic. Students squinted. Some flinched. Most just gritted their teeth and held their positions.

By the third hour, someone finally cracked.

"This is torture!" a girl shouted, her legs trembling as she stumbled forward. "This is abuse! Torture! My father's on the Mage Council! He'll sue Pearl Institute for this!"

A few students nodded shakily in agreement.

Another student, face pale and sweat-soaked, called out from the back, "You can't legally make us stand here for hours without water! I memorized the national military code! This violates section 42 of mana cadet welfare!"

Someone else muttered loud enough for a nearby instructor to hear, "My cousin goes to War God College, and they get snack breaks during orientation…"

A boy raised his hand like he was still in class. "Sir, I think my rights are being violated. This is wrong!"

Professor Kong Hu smiled at them like a kindly grandfather. Then he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Shadows moved.

In an instant, those students were dragged off the field by silent, uniformed staff. Kicking. Screaming. Pleading.

They were expelled on the spot.

The rest of the first years snapped back to attention with the fervor of religious converts.

By the fifth hour, the first girl fainted where she stood, dropping like a marionette with its strings cut.

That was the start of the collapse.

Like doors creaking open, that first collapse triggered the other students and they began to drop—one by one, two by two. Some fell silently, others sobbed, some simply slumped over where they stood. The second years watched in fascination, occasionally exchanging knowing smiles as if enjoying a live performance.

"Three hundred new students," muttered Professor Wu with a lazy sip of tea. "Eighty-four left."

"Sixty."

"Thirty."

"Now six."

"Not as bad as last year," said Professor Bai Lian coolly. "At least these ones are still conscious."

Then finally at the eighth hour, the first second year swayed slightly… and collapsed.

The murmurs from the instructors began instantly.

"Ha! Eight hours. I win! Pay up!"

"Damn it.. These second years have gone soft during the holidays. I will triple their physical training this year!"

"Six first years left." Bai Lian said again, this time more thoughtfully. "Not the worst batch we've had."

"But still far from what the overhaul required." Another instructor murmured with disappointment.

"Might be enough. War doesn't need hundreds of heroes. Maybe a handful of monsters on the right side will do." Professor Wu slurped his tea nonchalantly.

"No. It is far from enough." Professor Kong Hu said with disappointment.

It was only the first trial, and only six were left.

Weak.

They were too weak!

But the bright spot was that the six remaining first years stood strong like oaks in a storm.

Well, almost all of them.

Next to Damien Bloodbane, Fatty wobbled slightly on his feet, his face pale and glistening with sweat. But he still managed a crooked grin.

"Boss," he whispered hoarsely. "If I die… tell my mother I didn't shame the family name."

"Shut up and breathe," Damien Bloodbane murmured without turning his head.

Professor Kong Hu studied the six remaining students with a thoughtful frown.

Ji Chen. Jennifer Aquafrost. Zhao Rui. Damien Bloodbane. Fatty. And the quiet, mysterious girl whom no one recognized.

Six potential monsters.

"Let's see if they can last twelve hours," Kong Hu thought, his gaze lingering.

And as the hours crept forward, one by one, more second years collapsed to the ground. Their knees gave out, eyes rolled back in a dead faint.

By the time the twelfth hour arrived, only six second years remained standing.

And not a single one of the six remaining first years had fallen.

Professor Kong Hu nodded in satisfaction. The four first years which had a favorable reaction during the mock attack were also included in the final six.

They were good seedlings indeed.

"Good. I will be in charge of training the twelve of you." Professor Kong Hu pointed at the track that circled the training field. "Each lap is 500 meters. Go and run 30 laps for me."

The students on the ground gasped in shock.

"What's going on? They weren't this crazy last year." A second year student croaked in a hoarse voice.

The twelve finalists rushed forward without hesitation.

They were the best of the best, but twelve was still too large a number.

This crazy test would separate the true elites from the normal elites!

The twelve finalists dashed onto the track without hesitation, their feet hitting the dirt in perfect rhythm. Around them, the rest of the student body sat or lay sprawled on the field, too exhausted to even lift their heads.

But they weren't too tired to gossip about their classmates!

Their legs were jelly, their hair a mess, but their mouths were still working perfectly.

"Holy crap, the Mu Triplets are so hot, especially in their athletic gear." One breathless second year whispered as he propped himself up on one elbow, eyes wide with awe.

"Mu Qingling, Mu Qingxue, and Mu Qingyu," another muttered reverently. "The lightning goddesses. They say when they cast together, their spells sync down to the millisecond."

"They're so beautiful it's unfair," a third groaned, clutching his chest. "I think I'd die happy if one of them electrocuted me."

The Mu sisters ran in seamless formation. Ponytails swaying, expressions cool, their steps impossibly light. Even among the elite, their elegance and raw magical pressure were unmistakable.

Their running form was as smooth as wind gliding over silk.

And just behind them were three boys.

"The Lin Triplets are no less breathtaking," a second-year girl sighed dreamily.

"Lin Fei,Lin Bao, and Lin Xiu," someone sighed. "They're absolute monsters."

"Lin Bao scored a top-five time in the Winter Trials. Lin Fei's spell control is basically perfect. And Lin Xiu is a rank freak. I heard he is almost at high tier B rank!"

The three brothers cut sharp, powerful silhouettes as they charged forward, each with broad shoulders, honed muscles, and gazes so intense they made even other boys sit up a little straighter.

"Man, how are they so strong and so good-looking?!"

"Forget the first years. This is a battle of demigods."

The six second years moved with the confidence of predators who'd run this path a thousand times. Their strides were smooth, their pace relentless, and the gap between them and the first years widened with every step.

Within minutes, they were even close to lapping poor Fatty, who was already panting like a chicken being chased by a starving wolf, his arms flapping uselessly as he tried to pump his legs harder.

"Boss…" he wheezed. "Save me a grave plot. Something with shade…"

Damien Bloodbane on the other hand, was silent.

Fifteen kilometers was quite a long distance.

The most important thing wasn't speed, but pace and sustainability.

He burst forward with explosive speed, then quickly settled into a relentless, high-paced rhythm, rapidly leaving the other first years behind.

Zhao Rui noticed the widening gap and let out a sharp, frustrated roar.

"Don't get cocky, you E-Rank bastard!"