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On the other side, the examinees who were still inside the tower were also affected.

The surrounding temperature plummeted, and snowflakes even began to fall from the sky.

"What\'s going on?" Gro wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked up at the sky in confusion.

Everyone else exchanged bewildered glances, equally at a loss.

Just then, a notification appeared in front of everyone.

[Ding! The Trial Tower has been damaged. This assessment is now concluded early. All participants will be forcibly exited!]

"Damaged Trial Tower?!" The examinees looked bewildered.

Before they could react, a white light flashed before their eyes.

When they came back to their senses, they found themselves back in Red Maple Academy\'s stadium.

Except for Luca, who was on the 20th floor, everyone else had been kicked out of the Trial Tower.

Staring at the now completely ice-sculpted Trial Tower, the examinees were dumbfounded.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Is this some kind of cult terrorist attack?"

"What about our assessment scores? Does this mean we passed or failed?"

"Damn it! I was just about to reach the fifth floor!"

...

The examinees were in an uproar, while the spectators were even more stunned.

"Holy crap, he actually froze the entire Trial Tower! That kid is just too outrageous!" a mentor couldn\'t help but exclaim.

"If I\'m not mistaken, the skill he just used was a high-tier ice-elemental skill—Winter Frost Dragon!" Kruse pushed up his slipping glasses, his voice filled with shock.

A low-level combatant using high-tier skills? What on earth had Lucia and Franklin taught him?!

Orf was equally stunned.

The Trial Tower was designed for low- and mid-tier combatants\' assessments. The trials for high-tier mentors weren\'t conducted in the Trial Tower. Yet Luca, out of nowhere, had unleashed a Winter Frost Dragon, essentially blowing up the entire tower. Orf didn\'t know whether to laugh or cry.

The problem was—who would have expected a low-level combatant to use high-tier skills?!

But now was not the time to dwell on that.

He stood up and addressed the gathered examinees in the stadium, his voice calm and reassuring: "Everyone, I apologize. The Trial Tower has encountered a… small issue. Rest assured, the academy will provide you all with a proper explanation."

"All examinees who reached the fourth floor will be admitted. Those who made it to the fifth floor will be placed directly into Class 3-A."

Orf\'s voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone\'s ears clearly.

The spectators erupted in another uproar.

Something like this had never happened in the history of Red Maple Academy.

But then again, damaging the Trial Tower during an assessment was probably a first as well…

Upon hearing Orf\'s announcement, the examinees who had reached the fourth floor were elated.

Especially those who hadn\'t expected to make it to the fifth floor—at this moment, it felt like they had gone straight from hell to heaven.

Most of them had already given up hope, but this sudden turn of events allowed them to successfully join Red Maple Academy!

Of course, where there\'s joy, there\'s bound to be disappointment.

Take Rogge, for instance. He was completely dumbfounded.

He had fought tooth and nail, enduring until the very end, and was just about to claim the title of top freshman.

And now they were telling him that the assessment was being ended early?!

"Great, now nobody gets to be the top freshman," the black-clad boy said, his voice dripping with schadenfreude. While he wouldn\'t benefit from the title being gone, seeing Rogge lose out was immensely satisfying.

"Damn it… damn it all!" Rogge\'s face flushed red, then turned white as he held back the urge to curse out loud.

His father had promised that if he secured the top spot in this freshman assessment, he would be rewarded with a limited-edition Cloudwing Airship. Now that everything was ruined, how could he not be furious?

But even if he had the courage, he wouldn\'t dare demand an explanation from Orf.

After all, Orf was a Superclass practitioner and one of the most powerful figures in Southwind City.

Even the head of the Illamundi family had to show deference and bow in front of him.

No matter how unwilling Rogge was, he could only accept reality begrudgingly.

On the other hand, Susie didn\'t care at all. As long as she could join Red Maple Academy, that was enough.

The thought of Luca kneeling in awe before her, fawning over her and begging her to help him level up, made a smile bloom on her face.

"You… you actually smiled at me!" Nomadey froze, feeling his heart race as if it might leap out of his chest.

Could it be that Susie had changed her mind and was ready to accept him?!

"Who\'s smiling at you?!" Susie shot him a look of disdain.

Her good mood vanished in an instant.

Just as she was about to put some distance between herself and this idiot—

She suddenly heard murmurs among the audience, as if they were discussing Luca\'s name.

"Luca?" Susie was puzzled, thinking she had misheard.

But when she looked up, she saw the image in the sky—right there in the projected mirror image was a silver figure standing tall with a spear in hand!

"What\'s that guy doing here?!" Susie exclaimed, staring at the all-too-familiar figure in disbelief.

"Huh? Who?" Nomadey glanced at the image and couldn\'t understand why she was so surprised.

Susie didn\'t respond. She just glared angrily at the image of Luca.

She had known Luca for 18 years—he could cover his face, or even turn to ashes, and she would still recognize him!

This guy had clearly arrived in Southwind City long ago, and he was already at Red Maple Academy.

Yet, just this morning, he had told her that he was still on the airship and wouldn\'t be arriving for a couple of days.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was thinking the exact same thing she had been…

"That bastard!" Susie fumed, clenching her fists tightly, her face filled with rage.

He dared to hide this from her for so long? Just wait, she was going to make him pay!

…

Meanwhile, after slaying the Skeleton Emperor, two golden beams of light enveloped Luca\'s body.

[Ding! You have slain a level 40 Skeleton Emperor (Leader). You gained 567,000 experience points!]

[Your level has increased to 30. You have received 30 free attribute points!]

[Congratulations! You are the first to break through to the intermediate rank. Reputation increased by 500 points!]

[You have acquired new class skills: "Level 1 Magic Rune Berserk (Intermediate)," "Level 1 Lich\'s Curse (Intermediate)," "Level 1 Illusory Seal (Intermediate)"…]

[You have cleared the 20th floor of the Trial Tower. Would you like to proceed to the next floor?]

Staring at the prompt in front of him, Luca chose "No."

The duration of his Ice Pattern Awakening skill was already more than halfway over.

Once the skill\'s effects wore off, he might not be able to handle the stronger monsters on the higher floors. There was no need to waste energy. It was better to stop here.

[Ding! Your final result in the Trial Tower is the 20th floor. Rating: SSS-level!]

[Rewards obtained: Essence of Water (High-tier), Spirit Ring (Platinum), Elf Fruit (Intermediate)…!]

…

After choosing to exit the Trial Tower, his rewards were settled.

Unfortunately, before Luca could check them, everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the stadium.

The overwhelming heat and the deafening roar of the crowd crashed over him like waves.

For a moment, Luca thought something major had happened. But when he looked around, he realized that every single gaze was fixed on him.

Their expressions were complicated—shock, admiration, envy, and even anger...

Following their line of sight, Luca turned and spotted Susie, who was glaring at him as if she could chew him up and spit him out.

He paused for two seconds, then quickly turned his head away, pretending not to see her.

After all, he had concealed his appearance—Susie wouldn\'t be able to recognize him…

Just as Luca was reassuring himself, a large, muscular figure suddenly barreled toward him.

Before he could react, a pair of massive hands clapped onto his shoulders.

"Hahaha! You did it, kid! I can\'t believe you actually completed the assessment!" Fred\'s big hands pounded Luca\'s shoulders forcefully, his rugged face beaming with a hearty smile.

If it weren\'t for the fact that the sunlight gleamed off Fred\'s shiny bald head, Luca might have mistaken him for that brute Cassman.

At that moment, Orf and several other instructors approached as well.

The expressions of the gathered mentors as they looked at Luca were incredibly complex.

Thinking back to how they had fought tooth and nail just to reach the 15th floor, and now seeing this young man in front of them clearing the 20th floor with ease, they couldn\'t help but feel a deep sense of shame. These prodigies really knew how to make people feel inadequate!

Luca turned to Orf and gave a slight bow. "Professor, I suppose I\'ve completed the assessment, haven\'t I?"

Orf\'s mouth twitched slightly.

If this didn\'t count as completing the assessment, then most of the instructors present would probably have to be dismissed.

But Orf couldn\'t say that out loud. As the headmaster of Red Maple Academy—and Luca\'s teacher—he had to maintain some semblance of authority.

Orf cleared his throat, adopting a stern expression. "Your performance was… acceptable. You\'ve barely passed. Naturally, I won\'t go back on my word. From today onwards, you are officially an instructor at Red Maple Academy!"

Kruse and the other mentors shot Orf disdainful looks.

He\'s probably so thrilled to have Luca as a student that he wants to pop a bottle of champagne in celebration. And now he\'s trying to act all nonchalant? If they weren\'t certain they\'d lose, they\'d have gone up and given Orf a good beating.

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Luca\'s face. "Professor, I\'m curious—what kind of benefits does our academy offer?"

He hadn\'t gone through all this trouble just for some title or honor; he was here for Red Maple Academy\'s benefits. Otherwise, he wouldn\'t have bothered wasting his time here.

Orf chuckled heartily. "Don\'t worry, our academy offers the best benefits in the entire Southern Territory! The Red Maple Academy library contains advanced professional knowledge for every class, and you can choose two courses to study each month."

"In addition, you\'ll receive a monthly salary of 1,000 gold coins and a chance to enter the Celestial Pool Secret Realm once a month!"