The day of the third exam arrived, and we were all gathered in our class's training area for the exam. We were all still waiting for Mr. Alan, who hadn't yet arrived to test us.

  A few moments later, Mr. Alan finally arrived, accompanied by six other staff members. Four of the six staff members he brought were the same ones he brought with him during the first exam. The other two were new ones I hadn't seen before.

  "It seems like this time we're being asked to fight something again. The presence of six other staff members is proof that they will help Mr. Alan create something," I said.

  "Yes, I think you're right, Rid," Charles said.

  "Good morning, everyone. It looks like you're ready for this third exam. This time, I'm accompanied by six of my friends to prepare for this exam. I'm sure some of you can already guess what kind of exam you'll be taking this time, seeing as I've brought six of my friends to help."

  "Before we begin the exam, I'll explain what this exam is all about. Just like the previous exams, this third exam will be divided into four sessions over four days. You'll have Friday off again and will return the following Monday. You may go home immediately after completing the exam. I also want to remind you that there will be no daily matches this week, as this is exam week."

  "In this third exam, you can earn a total of 2,000 points. The point distribution is the same as the first exam: 200 points on the first day, 300 points on the second day, 500 points on the third day, and 1,000 points on the fourth day. Just like the first exam, if you fail the first, second, or third exam, you won't be able to take the next exam. So you better be careful about this," said Mr. Alan.

  Some of the students were getting nervous because of this exam system.

  "So this is what Mr. Alan meant when he said this exam would be similar to the first one," said Charles.

  "Yes, the exam system is similar, but we won't be fighting wooden dummies like the first one," I said.

  "I wonder what we'll be up against this time," said Charles.

  "With six staff members assisting Mr. Alan, it looks like we'll be facing something even more difficult than the first exam," I said.

  -

  "Since I've already explained the exam, how about we start?" asked Mr. Alan.

  "Wait, Mr. Alan, isn't the explanation of this exam complete? How about an explanation of what we'll be doing in this third exam?" asked one of the students.

  "You're right, so I'll start the exam right away. I'll explain what you'll be doing in this exam when it starts. So, let's get started,"

  "Rid, come on," said Mr. Alan.

  "Me again? Why am I always the one going first?" I asked.

  "If you didn't want to be called first, you shouldn't have put your name in first place. Okay, go ahead," said Mr. Alan.

  "Okay," I said.

  I stepped forward to the center of the training ground.

  "Okay, to explain what you have to do in this test, you have to defeat something the five of us created. You're probably wondering why there are only five of us, even though there are seven staff members here, one of whom is me. Because the other two staff members are tasked with healing you if you get injured in this test," said Mr. Alan.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "In the previous test, every time a participant got injured, they were taken to the center building. But why now suddenly have other staff members come to heal us if we get injured? Is this test really that dangerous?" I thought.

  "You have to defeat something the five of us created within two minutes. The quicker the better, and if you take more than two minutes, you fail. Do you understand?" asked Mr. Alan.

  "Understood," we all said.

  "Then, let's start creating something for this exam," said Mr. Alan.

  The five of them, including Mr. Alan, began to take out an Artifact from their pockets.

  ~Wind Creation Magic~

  ~Water Creation Magic~

  ~Fire Creation Magic~

  ~Earth Creation Magic~

  ~Electric Creation Magic~

  The five of them began creating creatures from different elements. There were wolves, eagles, bulls, large snakes, and lions. These creatures were created from different elements. There were a total of 20 creatures created by Mr. Alan and the other staff.

  "You must defeat all of these creatures within two minutes. Keep in mind that your opponents are creatures made of elements, so be careful when using certain elements against them. For example, if you use the fire element and want to defeat a lion made of electricity, you know what will happen next," said Mr. Alan.

  "So that's it. Because creatures are made of elements, they can also create elemental reactions when they come into contact with other elements," I thought.

  The other students and I understood what Mr. Alan was saying.

  "Then let's begin the exam. The third exam of the first day begins!" said Mr. Alan.

  -

  As soon as Mr. Alan announced that the exam had begun, the creatures immediately attacked me. Some tried to bite me, scratch me, or gore me. But I managed to dodge all of their attacks. In addition to melee attacks, all of the creatures could attack with ranged attacks. For example, the eagles could shoot their feathers imbued with various elemental magic, and other creatures could fire elemental magic attacks from their mouths.

  I now understood why Master Alan had brought other staff that could heal injured students for this exam. The attacks these creatures launched were incredibly fast and different from the puppets we fought in the first exam, even though this was only the first day. I wouldn't be surprised if some students failed this first day's exam.

  Then I began defeating the creatures with my sword techniques. I destroyed them without using any elemental magic. I could have defeated them all at once when the exam started, but I was curious about how these creatures would attack, so I didn't. This would also help my friends understand their attack patterns. For that, they'll have to thank me later.

  ~Sword Art: Half Moon Slash~

  I finished off the few remaining creatures with my sword technique, and they were all instantly annihilated. I managed to defeat them all in less than two minutes.

  "Congratulations, Rid. You've successfully completed the first day's test. You may retire now," said Master Alan.

  Then I retreated to the side of the field as Master Alan instructed.

  "Next, Irene, please step forward," said Master Alan.

  Irene stepped forward to the center of the training ground.

  "The test begins!" said Master Alan.

  The creatures immediately tried to attack Irene, but Irene immediately used her magic to defeat them.

  ~Ice Magic: Full Frost~

  Irene froze the floor in the center of the training ground. All creatures that stepped on the floor froze, slowly cracking and shattering. Meanwhile, the flying creatures, like eagles, continued to attack Irene, but Irene quickly shot ice magic from her fingers. The eagles hit by Irene's ice magic were instantly shattered and destroyed. Irene had thus completed the first day's test.

  "S-so fast,"

  "She didn't even take 20 seconds to complete the first day's exam,"

  "She's even faster than Rid," said the students, surprised by Irene's performance.

  "Congratulations, Irene. You've also successfully completed the first day's exam. Next up..." said Mr. Alan.

  -

  Then Charles, Chloe, Enzo, and Noa successfully completed the first day's exam. Kotaro, Leandra, Lily, and Julie also successfully completed the first day's exam. The first day's exam ended.

  Several students who successfully completed the exam were injured and exhausted. They were immediately attended to by the two staff members who were tasked with recovering them.

  "Congratulations to those of you who have completed the first day's exam. You can go home immediately or continue practicing here to prepare for the second day's exam tomorrow."

  "For those of you who failed the first day's exam, I apologize, but you are not allowed to take the exam on the second day or the following days,"

  "Some people already failed on the first day, and I wonder how many more will fail on the next day's exam," said Mr. Alan.

  As Mr. Alan said, on the first day of the exam, in our class there were students who failed to complete the exam. There were 5 students who failed to complete the exam on the first day, which means only 35 students will take the exam on the second day.

  -To be continued