15 Ordeals and its Mechanics

"I now give the floor to Professor Grisham to further discuss the ordeals and the ranks."

With that, Professor Samuela sat back down on her seat and the moment Professor Grisham had stood up to walk to the middle, all the students howled and cheered, making the old professor chuckle.

"Now, now... silence, my fans," he said jokingly, making the students laugh--even Zann giving him a small smile!

It is indeed evident that Professor Grisham is the students' favorite!

"Other than the ordeal, a student can raise his or her rank depending on your performance during quests. On certain missions, too, you can get rank points and you can get more rewards such as diaz! Put it simply, it's like being in an RPG game!"

Aranea's eyes widened as she looked at Vayne. "For missions, do they give it to us, or can we volunteer to do it ourselves?"

"Oh..."

Vayne propped a hand under his chin then answered her question.

"Some missions can be given to us if it is appropriate for our magic or if they need help. We can also choose our own missions on the academy board but it has to be accepted by Professor Noir in order for us to push through with it."

Aranea nodded, now understanding the missions and how it is given to a student.

"In addition," Professor Grisham called their attention once more. "Most of the time, your performance in classes and your presence in the academy can also give you points. So you do well to study hard and get along with everyone. Understood?"

"Yessir!"

Professor Grisham now smiled as he felt satisfied with the reactions of the students. It was obvious from their reaction that they have understood what he had discussed, making him go on with the discussion of the ordeals that they have to go through.

"Now, for the serious part."

The professor snapped his fingers and the moment he did, an envelope magically appeared on the table, in front of each student. It had surprised the freshmen, but it didn't do any effects on the older students since they have already experienced this the last year.

As the students got their specific envelope with their first name written on it, they carefully opened the envelope and they arched their brow to have seen nothing written on it.

"Of course, there is nothing there... yet," Professor Grisham said, making the students feel expectant. "On that piece of paper lies the ordeal that a student has to face. It is a very specific task specially made for you and for this year, the ordeals are under my jurisdiction."

"Yes!"

Most of the students felt happy when they heard that it was Professor Grisham handling the ordeals for this year.

Last year, it was handled by Professor Noir and most of them had a hard time since he had a high standard of ranking students.

Now that it is Professor Grisham's turn, they wonder how he'll handle it!

"Ah-ah!"

The old professor raised his finger to warn them as he smirked, the happy faces of the students now turning serious.

"You think this year it will be easy?"

With a wave of his hand, the students' ordeal appeared on the paper that they were holding. The moment the instructions were readable on the paper, the students' eyes widened as they couldn't believe that their kind and gentle Professor Grisham...

Turned out to be a more difficult professor in handling the ordeals!

"Students, prove yourselves worthy. To the freshmen, you will learn that the academy is not at all happy--as if living in a fairy tale with beautiful twists and turns!"

A smirk appeared on his face, making everyone quiet.

"You will all learn that this academy is preparing you for something that you might not even expect to face in the future."

The moment Vayne's eyes landed on the name of the place they were going to, his hand started trembling, making Aranea furrow her brows in worry and at the same time in wonder.

"What's wrong?" she asked, making Vayne grit his teeth as he answered.

"We're going to Stygian Forest... it is a place as the name suggests--a place that is almost lifeless and without light."

"Is it a really bad place?" Aranea asked another question, making the girl beside her nod and she answered her instead.

"It is. It is a forbidden place in the academy. Even high ranking students cannot enter without the watch of a professor. In the forest lies creatures that may not even be present in our bestiary. It is rumored that once a person steps his or her foot inside... he or she will never return."

On each of the students' papers, they were all tasked to go to a forbidden area, the Stygian Forest, in the academy.

Exploring the dreadful forest is separated by four batches, determined by random grouping per batch.

They were all going to the same place... but they have different end goals.

Professor Grisham smiled as he saw the panicked faces of most of the students.

Some, were of course, unfazed by his way of handling the ordeals.

Zann for example didn't find any problem with how the professor made the challenges.

"Now listen... even though you go to the Stygian Forest in batches, remember that you are going to be ranked individually. Keep that envelope close to you as it is the one that is going to detect your performance," he said then he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Keep your end goal to yourself. Once you share, your tongue will be cut in half."

Hearing this, the students' widened their eyes, making one person in the higher classes stand up and voice out his concern.

"Is this even legal!? It's like threatening and hurting the students already!"

Professor Grisham chuckled as he shook his head, then answered his question.

"It is not. You see... a lot of students now rely on the other! How can one be a great mage if he or she cannot rely on him or herself? Teamwork is all well and good... but it should not happen all the time."

Hearing his answer, the students became quiet, but that one student who stood still held his ground.

"How can this be!? You can't decide for yourself!"

Professor Grisham chuckled as he cocked his head to the side, his decisions final and clear.

"I didn't decide for myself. Headmaster Gavin himself approved the ordeals and its mechanics for this year."