The entire Arcane Hall instantly turned into chaos, and the students looked at the arena, full of anticipation.
A student on the arena slowly began chanting, slowly constructing a formation in mid-air.
[First-tier magic: Flame Bullet]
Very soon, that ball of blazing fire rushed toward Viktor.
Viktor only raised his finger slightly, and the fast-approaching fireball instantly changed direction and shot toward the student.
BOOM!
With a loud bang, the students watched Viktor, who looked completely unpressured, clap his hands. A vine suddenly shot into the smoke in front of him, wrapped around that student, and flung him off the arena.
The student cried out in pain, slowly stood up, realized he had already fallen off the arena, and looked at the fiery curtain above Viktor's head where a "D" rating had appeared.
"Fail."
On another canvas, the number of people in each grade was being recorded.
The students only saw that the line marked "D" had increased by one.
And the number of people with A, B, and C ratings, all were zero.
He could only shake his head, sigh, and quietly leave.
Countless students felt the incomparable pressure coming from Viktor.
He didn't even actively attack, just passive defense alone was enough for people to feel his mountain-like strength.
"Next."
A cold voice sounded faintly.
The students were not intimidated by Viktor's strength into stopping; instead, it seemed to ignite their fighting spirit even more, and they rushed toward the arena one after another.
Since Professor Viktor said he himself would not take the initiative to attack, everyone wanted to become the one who could make Viktor move a single step.
As long as he moved one step, just one step.
The final exam would be passed by everyone.
Inside and outside the Arcane Hall, a long line had already formed, winding all the way from inside the hall to the center of the academy's plaza.
Ever since this news was announced in the morning, many students even skipped class, tossed their books aside, and hurriedly joined the line to wait to challenge Viktor.
This situation also attracted other professors and lecturers.
After all, the students were all gone, there was no way they wouldn't notice.
A group of professors surged into the Arcane Hall. Seeing the non-stop battles on the arena, they became puzzled.
After learning the whole story, they were even more astonished.
After all, Viktor's test would be considered explosive in any department.
Even though the other professors also had the ability to crush the students, they wouldn't go so far as to not move even a single step.
After all, this was a battle of attrition.
With students challenging one after another, a mage's mana would eventually run dry.
The longer the fight dragged on, the harder it would be to deal with later challengers.
Not to mention making a rule like Viktor did, if he were forced to move even one step, it would count as his loss.
"How should I put it… Professor Viktor is… ridiculously strong."
"Yes, and also a bit mischievous."
The other professors crowded under the stage, watching with great interest.
They nodded as they praised him.
Viktor's teaching method was truly new to them.
Normally, they only taught magic knowledge in class; how students learned between classes depended entirely on their own self-discipline.
After all, professors didn't care about that.
A mage learns for themselves. If students aren't willing to learn the dry, boring magic courses, then they pay the price themselves.
So every final exam would eliminate wave after wave of poor students.
The Royal Academy of Magic ensured, through this survival of the fittest, that only excellent students could graduate smoothly.
So someone like Viktor, who directly provided mental and physical education to the students, was extremely rare.
The number of challengers increased at a speed visible to the naked eye, and Viktor still stood there on the arena, not moving a single step.
The defeated students, feeling the vast gap between themselves and Viktor, were both shocked and deeply discouraged and annoyed.
Each of them went up with tremendous confidence, yet that confidence was instantly shattered by Viktor the moment they challenged him.
After countless attempts, Viktor still remained motionless.
It was as if the Viktor standing on the arena did not feel fatigue at all.
His mountain-like presence completely crushed the confidence of countless students.
Finally, the students realized that one-on-one fights in a battle of attrition could not possibly deal with Viktor.
So several students jumped onto the arena at the same time and asked Viktor, "Professor, if we work together, that's fine too, right?"
Viktor gave a cold, indifferent nod.
Whether it was a duel or a group siege, it made no difference to him.
In an instant, the leading students waved toward the crowd below, and a mass of silhouettes immediately appeared on the arena.
Viktor swept his eyes across them, about twenty.
Luckily the arena was wide enough to hold all these challengers.
The twenty challengers were already fully prepared. They spread out evenly, constructing various magical formations in the air.
Different chanting voices slowly echoed in the air, and elemental magic of different colors took shape in the sky.
At that moment, the students seemed to see hope.
If going alone wasn't enough, then going as a group should work.
So many mages attacking the professor at once, it should at least make him move a step, right?
But Viktor truly didn't move. No one saw him do anything, yet the hem of his coat faintly glowed with green light.
Thick vines spread from Viktor's body toward the ground. The vines twisted, and one wooden figure after another emerged from them.
They looked alive, with green lights shining from their heads.
As if they had gained intelligence, they moved on their own.
Just as the students' magic was about to complete its formation, the wooden figures' feet suddenly sprouted countless tendrils, binding the students' bodies. Even the magic in their hands was forcibly interrupted.
A female student was trapped by a wooden figure's arm, struggling desperately. But her mana, in the wooden figure's eyes, was as fragile as bean sprouts, incapable of breaking its defense.
The students panicked and scattered to dodge the charging wooden figures, and the scene turned chaotic.
Viktor stood where he was and spoke coldly, "Ugly."
"If this were a real battle, do you really think you could still be standing safely in place?"
Hearing Viktor's mockery, the students could only purse their lips, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.
Viktor clapped his hands, and the wooden figure wrapped in vines set the female student down.
Then, all of them retreated back to Viktor's side, motionless, like loyal guards.
"Get yourselves ready again. Come at me together."
His gaze swept over the students, his tone icy, making it impossible to tell whether there was contempt within.
The students exchanged looks, then finally stepped forward.
This time, Viktor did not interrupt. He simply watched indifferently as they chanted their spells again.
Whooo~ Whooo~
In an instant, elemental magic of all kinds surged toward Viktor like a rainbow.
Viktor didn't even look. The coat on his body swayed gently.
As if a heavenly cliff had suddenly fallen, it blocked and isolated the merging rainbow blast.
They could only watch as the magic struck near Viktor, glowing with dazzling colors.
And finally, faded away completely.
Everything happened so suddenly.
The students felt their feet slip, as dozens of vines wrapped around their ankles and threw them off the arena.
As the group hit the ground, a large "D" appeared on the flaming curtain above Viktor's head.
"Next."
This time, countless watching students all fell completely silent.
In one morning, Viktor had taken on an unknown number of challenges.
And not a single person made him move even half a step.
They had thought this round had real hope, yet even group fighting was useless, and they lost even more embarrassingly.
Some students couldn't help but turn their hopeful eyes toward Erica, who was also watching.
Last year's freshman top student, currently the youngest Rank-2 mage.
The most likely candidate for this year's strongest student.
Maybe she had a chance to force Professor Viktor to move one step.
"Miss Erica! Please go up and try!"
Someone hurriedly suggested next to her.
Soon, more students began agreeing.
"Yes, yes! Miss Erica, we've all seen how strong you are!"
Their voices, full of expectation, did not make Erica move at all.
She sat quietly, ignoring the students beside her.
She only asked coldly, "Why?"
One student answered.
"If you go up, you'll definitely make Professor Viktor move a step…"
"And then all of you can pass the final exam, am I wrong?"
Erica finished their sentence for them.
They looked at each other, but only heard Erica let out a faint, cold snort.
"Trying to use such vague, illusory hope to obtain achievements that don't belong to you?"
"Alright, I understand the professor's intention in this test now."
Many students stared blankly, confused by her words.
They just didn't want to fail the finals, what did they do wrong?
"People with real ability never place their hopes on someone else."
"Whether you pass the exam or not, what does that have to do with me?"
"It's not like I'm the one who can't pass."
After saying this, Erica didn't look at them again. She stood up, head held high, like a white swan with golden feathers, proud and elegant, as she passed through the crowd and left the Arcane Hall.
Watching Erica leave, some of them suddenly realized something.
The Magic Academy had more than just Erica as a genius.
But why, up until now, had not a single top student stepped forward to challenge Viktor?
Their gazes slowly turned toward the surrounding students.
And then, they saw them.
Several students with distinct auras stood with arms crossed, quietly watching the arena.
They were extremely familiar faces, geniuses of the academy.
Some of them had even been at the academy longer than Erica. They held positions in the Magic Academy's student council, and every one of them was an outstanding talent.
Yet none of them had stepped forward.
Compared to the others, their concern did not seem to be whether Professor Viktor would move a step.
Instead, they focused on the students' ridiculous movements on stage, as if they were watching some grand joke.
Their expressions seemed to say, "How amusing."
A chill ran down the students' backs. After Erica's words, they finally understood.
This test, from beginning to end, was not a shortcut.
On the contrary, it was a lesson.
Why did none of the professors stop Viktor? Why did even the dean ignore what he was doing?
Very simple.
Students who truly had the level to pass the exam would never try to obtain Viktor's recognition.
Because they knew very well, no one could make Viktor move a step.
So they had no need to embarrass themselves by challenging him.
Only those who knew their own abilities were lacking would try to oppose Viktor and seek a sliver of hope from him.
From the beginning, Viktor had stated things clearly.
If someone made him move a step, then everyone would pass the final exam.
But he never said that if no one made him move, everyone would fail.
This was a performance.
A marvelous performance by those seeking unearned rewards.
One student after another who couldn't even last three minutes fell from the stage. The number above Viktor's head steadily increased.
Yet not one managed to break from "D" to a "C."
Viktor still stood in the same place, not moving half a step.
The coat on his body swayed in the petals and leaves flying around the arena, the whooshing sounds like mockery directed at the defeated students.
He stood on the stage, indifferently watching the next student step forward, as his cold voice sounded again and again, "Next."