With the second semester evaluation exam schedule announced, the students erupted into a buzz of countless speculations.0

“Do you think they’ve developed some kind of special new testing method? Like uncovering unique skills that don’t even show up in the status message?”0

“Hmm, that sounds possible.”0

Because Babel was unlike other academies, who would change their exams under the guise of practical training or fieldwork if internal circumstances came up, the students couldn’t help but speculate. They assumed their examiners, with their combined expertise, had prepared something extraordinary and unknown. 0

And to a certain extent, they were right.0

“Grrk… ugh…!”0

“Arghh!”0

All sorts of groans and screams resounded from the testing grounds. The students of Aqar Quf, dressed in workout gear, were lifting weights in various positions. 0

Their repetitions with each weight were all recorded by their examiners, those responsible for grading, who even made heartless remarks as they did so.0

“Don’t worry if you get injured. We will use Divine Magic to heal you immediately, so give it everything you’ve got without reservation. All of this will factor into your grades.”0

“…”0

Long believing they were already giving their all, the students could only make utterly exhausted expressions. While they weren’t unfamiliar with strength training—something they did regularly—the effort demanded by the examiners was particularly unsettling.0

My arms feel like they’re going to tear apart, yet they want me to do more…?0

Are we supposed to push ourselves until we actually get injured?0

Even if they made a part of the evaluation a physical exam, there were still clear limits to how much effort could be extracted, especially with such unfamiliar ...0