The Teacher and the Student (3)

When the three hours were finally over, only a little over half the students had finished their tests. Those who hadn't finished weren't immediately disqualified, but they would certainly be losing many points.

The teachers all discarded grading to instead begin observations of the practical exam. The rest of the grading would be done later, and with the aid of AI programs, it would be easy. The little bit of grading they had done there was simply the teachers wanting to get a little look at the capabilities of this year's applicants.

The group of teachers chattered happily, many taking the break time to go grab snacks or food. Meanwhile, a portion of the teachers received notifications, and after reading them, got up to leave for the practical exam rooms.

Hai Lan and Alexei noticed Yin Mei was about to leave, along with those other few teachers. "What! Since when did you get assigned as a hidden examiner?" Hai Lan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as she grabbed Yin Mei's arm, dragging her back.

"I pestered Huang Jing about it," Yin Mei said, naming the leader of the practical exam planning group. "I thought it would be amusing," she added on.

Hai Lan looked mildly upset and envious. Of course it would be fun! Damn, she should have thought about pestering that bastard Huang Jing as well, then she would have also been able to join in on the fun of playing around with those little chicks.

But it was too bad that she hadn't thought of that. She reluctantly let go of Yin Mei's arm, her expression like that of an abandoned lover as the girl made her way to the examination rooms.

"Dammit! Next year I'll definitely make sure to get on the hidden examiner's team." She said, and Alexei shook his head in exasperation. He himself didn't understand why some of these teachers enjoyed playing with the applicants so much. It was just like a cat toying with mice, way too easy and nothing fun about it.

But of course, the majority of the teachers didn't think that way, and instead thought of being a hidden examiner as a chance to let loose and relax.

When the group of hidden examiners entered the exam room, all the students were already inside their Deep Dive VR pods.

These pods would transport them to a specially programmed VR world that would be their practical exam site. It was really interesting to Yin Mei how advanced VR had gotten, where it was to the point that it was almost not different from real life. Other than the fact that one couldn't die in VR.

The programmers could even make sure that the applicants would have the exact same physical specs in the VR world as they did in the real world, extracting the data from the physical and fitness exams that applicants were required to take for their application.

A few people dressed in white were making rounds of the room, checking the data displayed on the lids of the pods, including monitoring of the health of the applicants.

One of them stopped in order to talk to Yin Mei and her fellow teachers. "Go ahead and use the ones over there," he said, pointing to several free pods.

They quickly entered, and the lid hissed as it closed automatically. Soon, Yin Mei's consciousness was pulled under.

When she opened her eyes, she was in an all white room. Around her where the young applicants. She felt smaller, and looking at herself, she was smaller. She was dressed in a black and green sleeveless body suit, and moving her left leg as she admired her new virtual body, she could see the thin line that ran across the middle of her thigh, along with the dark inked logo of the prosthetic maker.

Her virtual body had been mad younger, to blend in with the students. Even though Mei Wen was in her late 30s already, in this world, she was still in the prime of her youth, and looked young. But, she still looked like an adult. As a result, there was no way she could be mistaken as an applicant. As a result, hidden examiners were given a younger virtual body. It could also be said to be something of a handicap, as they would have to adjust to the often smaller body in a short amount of time.

"Greetings, applicants." A voice boomed out, clear and loud, silencing the chattering students as they turned to look toward its source. A middle aged man with slicked back hair sat in a floating chair, looking extremely pretentious and dignified.

All the proctors and teachers loved to put on airs during entrance exam time, in order to intimidate and impress the little chicks. Yin Mei resisted rolling her eyes, instead putting on a serious expression as she pretended to dutifully listen to the proctor, imitating the faces of the kids around her.

"The practical exam this year is... an obstacle race!" The proctor said, a slightly smug expression on his face. "In a few moments, you will each be transmitted to a different obstacle race in correspondence to your group number. You will compete against other applicants to become the first to finish. Even if you don't finish first, don't worry - we will be grading you on other aspects as well. Not only that, but there will be chances during the race to achieve bonus points."

Yin Mei nodded. Hidden examiners were not just there to judge applicants, but actually, they were also there to show any groups that weren't doing so well some hints as to how to proceed next in the exam. Of course, it would mean that they would have lower scores - but, it also made it more interesting.

Yin Mei really wanted to say that the teachers at Black Cross Academy were truly sadists - they were more concerned about how interesting the test was in comparison to whether or not the students passed or failed. Maybe that was why the tests had ended up so hard...

After the man finished giving out instructions, he waved his hand, and the white room changed. Many students disappeared, only a small group remaining as they all stood in front of the finish line. Stretching before them was the obstacle race - dark metal blocks that they would have to jump across, and in the distance, large metal spiked balls and sharp axes hung from the ceilings.

The sounds of gears turning could be faintly heard, a steady click click sound that soon faded into the background.

Yin Mei glanced around. She was in the same group as Qin Shuang and Alice. On the other hand, Song Hua was in a different group. She had debated a while which group she should ask Huang Jing she wanted to be in, but in the end, her curiosity in seeing Qin Shuang again had won over.

She quickly spotted the boy. His black hair was trimmed short, and his posture was relaxed and leisurely. His red eyes were dark, darker in color compared to Song Hua's and the demon king's, and he hid the sharp glint in them well, causing them to look dulled and bored.

Yin Mei took her gaze away quickly before he could sense it, turning her sight to Alice. Alice was a pretty girl with long silver hair and glittering blue eyes. She was delicate, in a similar way that Yin Mei's host in the zombie apocalypse world had been, and though she was a commoner, held her head high.

Yin Mei could tell she was slightly nervous, but she hid it well, forcing herself to appear relaxed.

Yin Mei herself couldn't see how this girl was supposed to be similar to her - other than the fact that both were pretty in a similar way, and that both had had the same ability.

On the other hand, Mei Wen's ability was...

"The race starts in 5... 4... 3..."

Yin Mei turned her attention forward, her eyes calming as she debated how to go about things.

Qin Shuang was the male lead now, and should have the strength to back it up.

The problem was, was that she couldn't use Mei Wen's ability too much - this ability was too OP after all. She just needed to test the waters, no need to go too far. Actually, hidden examiners weren't even allowed to go to far, lest they destroy the chances of the applicants to display their abilities.

But she thought that Qin Shuang would definitely be able to hold up against her.

She should draw him to a place where the other applicants couldn't see first, and then test him out.

Nodding, Yin Mei decided she liked this idea, even as the proctor called out "Start!" in a loud voice, and the applicants burst forward.

Yin Mei rolled on her feet for a moment, her steps light as she sprung forward herself. In one step, two, she was already past the main crowd of kids, and some of them gaped at her speed. The physical abilities of a former member of the Brigade couldn't be underestimated - all the training and experience under Mei Wen's belt wasn't for nothing after all.

Before long she had caught up to the leading applicants - Qin Shuang, Alice, a boy whose eyes were covered by a head of thick and fluffy hair, and a boy with flaming red hair.

She was startled, feeling this boy with red hair looked really familiar - he was a member of the Ri family. Immediately an image of a pair of siblings flit through her head. She dug through the information to find out that this kid would pass and become close to Qin Shuang, who would dutifully take care of this descendant of the Ri twins.

As for the boy with the shaggy hair, Yin Mei didn't find him familiar. Yin Mei darted past this group, taking first place. Glancing back, she could see the frown on all their faces, including Qin Shuang, who hated to lose.

Before them came the road turned into a cluster of pillars and blocks, that would require them to continue upward. Yin Mei stepped forward with her left foot and smoothly jumped the couple of meters up onto the first block, surprising those behind her. This prosthetic leg was really handy - the programmers had even dutifully copied over all its specs into this virtual world.

Not everyone could jump up several meters like Yin Mei though, so the applicants paused, having to figure out other ways to make the trip up.

The Ri boy was the first, backing up a little before jumping forward, using some mysterious "Air Step" ability to step by step go up until he landed next to her. She whistled. She was glad that he took the initiative to display his ability, allowing the others to realize that they could use their own abilities. Quickly, all the other applicants began to throw out their abilities, and Yin Mei turned away, starting to quickly jump up the blocks like a lithe mountain goat.

Qin Shuang and the Ri boy weren't far behind, their abilities suitable for this obstacle.

On the other hand, Alice was a little bit further, using her water like jet streams coming from her hands in order to shoot herself up. As for the shaggy haired boy, he had created a golem from the metal of the ground, riding on its shoulder as it slowly but surely climbed the blocks for him.

It was really impressive how this VR could even copy their abilities so accurately. This was partially as a result from the exam before application, as well as the pod's system constantly scanning their brain activity.

Yin Mei didn't know the specifics of how it worked, but it did, and it was impressive.

"To think that she can actually jump up without using any of her ability!" Ri Yang said, shaking his head in admiration. "Unless her ability is physical enhancement?" He couldn't help but ponder.

Qin Shuang heard what the boy near him said, and pondered. He didn't think that this person in front of them had an ability like physical enhancement. The ability may be rough and base, but was actually quite a useful ability depending on how strong it was. That being said, the sense of danger he got from this person... He thought that they definitely had a much more dangerous power than just physical enhancement.

His eyes met hers as Yin Mei glanced back again, not slowing down in the slightest even as she did so.

He had noticed that she kept on looking toward him, and wondered why.

She soon disappeared past the top though, her eyes leaving his. He quickly moved to catch up, his blood threads pulling him past the last block.

Right when he came up, a leg suddenly came at him, and through pure reflex, he raised his hand up, threads almost invisible in the shadows of the obstacle coarse coiling around the leg, stopping it in place. There was a sharp almost creaking sound, like metal clashing against metal as his threads tightened itself against the leg.

When he focused again, he saw that it was the girl who had been in front of him. Her eyes were calm, her short cut hair fluttering softly from her previous movements. Her lips opened ever so slightly, and he couldn't help but stare, finding her so oddly...

Before he noticed, a dark blade had appeared in her hand, cutting through his threads. He frowned - these threads were impossible to be cut through with normal steel. What in the world was that blade? Was that her ability? Looking at it sent chills down his spine - it was darker than the deepest night, glinting menacingly.

But it dissolved away, and her hand became empty as she turned around, seemingly uninterested in him any more. He was flabbergasted - what the hell was the point of that?

"Oho?" A sound broke Qin Shuang's attention, and he looked at the fiery haired boy who had spoke, his hair darker in the darkness of the room the vast shadowy room the obstacle race took place in. "So we can do that!" He said, as if having a sudden realization.

Qin Shuang quickly realized what it was that the boy had realized - so, they could make a move against the other applicants?

A glint surfaced in Ri Yang's eyes and he thrust his hand out to the side, a tornado suddenly appearing before the blocks. Those who were unprepared were quickly sucked in while screaming, and the more quick thinking ones quickly used their abilities to keep themselves from being blown away.

Qin Shuang was not sucked in, using sticky threads on the soles of his shoes to keep himself in place. He quickly ran, seeing that this chaos was letting that girl go even further ahead of them, unperturbed.

Ri Yang, seeing this, also stopped messing around with the other applicants, running to catch up. Before long, Alice, and the shaggy haired boy, both came up, having not been sucked up by the tornado, which was already dying down now that the controller had left.

Alice grit her teeth, seeing the three people ahead of her by several meters, her eyes shining in determination as she landed on the ground running, even faster than before.

The other boy continued riding on his golem as the thing lumbered forward in a light jog, letting out a sigh as he relaxed. The obstacle course had just started, but he was already tired... Sigh, how bothersome!