Can the sadness that magic cannot take away be offset by love?

"The exam time is up. Please put down your pens and stop answering questions."

Number of remaining test takers:

"Student scores are being tallied..."

"The candidates' scores have been tallied, and the assessment results have been posted to the candidates' individual panels."

When Iris opened her eyes again, she found herself back in the Incense Plaza.

"Level B mission [Passing the Medicine King Valley entrance exam] has been completed, points +100."

A notification immediately popped up on the user's panel:

Dear candidates:

Congratulations on passing the Medicine King Valley entrance exam and becoming a formal student of Medicine King Valley. May you follow the guidance of Thirteen Spices and find your own path in your future studies.

Medicine King Valley wishes you a pleasant learning experience.

A woman stood on a high place, looking down at the crowd. The patterns and ornaments on her clothes were more intricate, and the color of her green robe was deeper than that of the others, so deep that it was almost black. Behind her were thirteen sticks of incense burning with long, wispy smoke.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I am Zora, the Holy Maiden of Medicine King Valley. I am very happy to tell you about your next mission."

"You need to complete a total of thirteen days of study and cave assessment. From dawn to dusk each day, your task is to study pharmacology; from after dinner to midnight each day, your task is to listen to a cave debate and then complete the cave assessment."

"Everyone must pass a cave test every day, otherwise they will be considered as students who have no intention of learning and will be expelled from Medicine King Valley."

"Tomorrow is your first day of formal study at Medicine King Valley. Please get some rest in your dormitories tonight to conserve your energy for tomorrow's studies and assessments."

Saintess Zora left, surrounded by a group of people in blue robes, leaving only the contestants in the square.

The student dormitories are not where they lived before the entrance exam, but are scattered throughout Medicine King Valley. There is a navigation on the personal panel, which can directly guide them to their dormitory.

The instance then emitted a notification sound:

You have unlocked the following tasks:

"Level B Task: [Complete Daily Pharmacology Study] (0/13)"

"Task completion reward: 100 points per day"

"Rank A Mission: [Pass Daily Cave Assessment] (0/13)"

"Reward for completing the task: 300 points per assessment"

These two tasks total 5200 points, which is already higher than the total points of some of the fifteen contestants who completed the S-level tasks in the previous round.

The current leaderboard shows a significant gap in scores between the top fifteen and those behind them. All fifteen of them earned 2000 points in the previous round for completing an S-level mission, which earned them a bonus round where they would automatically receive 100 points for each floor they climbed, causing their scores to skyrocket.

Currently, Leander Joe is ranked first in the standings with a score of 8010. He has been climbing the tower like crazy in the bonus race thanks to his wings, which has given him a significant advantage in this round.

Iris is second with 7100 points.

Celeste and Ernest were locked in a stalemate in the last round, and Iris didn't even see them climb the tower. The former is ranked twelfth with 4210 points, while the latter is ranked fourteenth with 3900 points.

The fifteenth place is Byron Smith, who was killed by Iris in the previous round of tower climbing, with 3500 points.

Olivia, who finished sixteenth, suddenly dropped to 1600 points after blocking Lyland's attack for Iris, thus failing to advance to the bonus round.

The leaderboard will be updated at midnight tonight, but the top spots are unlikely to see any major changes, since there aren't many task points available today.

Suddenly, a bright firework burst in mid-air, shaped like a cloud.

Soon, fireworks of various styles burst forth one after another in the square, creating a continuous "bang" sound. These were the players gathering their pre-arranged partners before entering the arena. The map would be larger back in the dorms, making it more difficult to find others; it was better to gather and coordinate now that everyone was together.

Iris turned around, intending to go straight back to her dorm.

She hadn't walked far, and hadn't even left the square, when she felt a heat on her back.

The defensive barrier opened automatically, blocking the fire attack that was trying to take advantage of her. Iris slowly turned around and looked at the person who had been frozen in ice not far in front of her.

An unfamiliar male mage.

Several companions were gathered around him, looking at her with a mixture of wariness and shock.

Before her defensive barrier could even open, they sensed a sudden surge of dense ice element at the location of their attacking comrade.

Didn't they just unleash a large-scale, area-of-effect ice and snow magic attack that killed tens of thousands of people? They should be weakened right now, so how come they reacted so quickly?

The heavy snowfall during the assessment, and the dense snowmen that automatically formed from the snow, were clearly man-made. And among the top-ranked contestants, it's easy to find an ice mage with such skill; there's only one: Iris.

These individuals then unleashed their best remaining defensive magical artifacts or items, while simultaneously shouting to those around them:

"She was able to eliminate hundreds of thousands of people right from the start. If we don't eliminate her now while she's exhausted after finishing a large-scale spell, it will be even easier for her to deal with the remaining 80,000 people!"

As soon as she said this, the gazes of those around her became even more intense.

They pressed on, saying, "With over 80,000 people, one move from each person would be enough to eliminate her!"

Iris crossed her arms and smiled, "You're right. I may not be able to deal with 80,000 people at once, but I can at least deal with the person who attacked me first."

The field fell silent for a moment.

Even if she couldn't tell who went first and who went last when 80,000 people attacked at the same time, what if she did?

Everyone glanced at the ice block; the fate of the one who sticks out is already clear before their eyes.

"After saying all that, you still haven't... uh—"

One of the men tried to convince the others that she was already at her limit and could take advantage of her misfortune by pointing out that she hadn't yet dealt with the person who had first provoked her. However, he was killed in a single blow before he could finish speaking.

The one who launched the attack was not Iris.

The person who made the sound was suffocated to death by the water flow surrounding his mouth and nose, and several of his companions also collapsed in the blink of an eye, all dying from the same cause.

Where everyone's attention was focused, a smooth, silken stream of water parted the crowd, and a person in the center of the stream walked gracefully toward Iris.

"Why bother talking to them so much? I think the safest thing to do is just kill them all. If you're tired, I can help you."

Olivia Noviro twirled a strand of hair in front of her with her fingers, her shimmering eyes staring straight at her. Her long, silvery-white hair cascaded down her back, gleaming brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight.

“I’m not bad either,” she said with a smile, handing a handkerchief to the young mage in front of her. She didn’t even look at the people she had killed, focusing only on speaking to Iris. “I can kill a lot of people too.”

She was helping her.

Iris noticed this.

She was only provoked by a few people, but she didn't deal with them all immediately. So everyone thought she was exhausted after that large-scale magic battle. Even if those few people didn't say anything, the others—especially the competitors who were also aiming for the bonus competition—would definitely not let this opportunity pass easily.

After all, she can't even take down a few small fry right now, so how much power can she put up against attacks from higher-level players?

However, if Olivia, who is also a high-level player, takes the initiative to stand on her side, the others should think twice.

After all, even for the top fifteen, Olivia's sixteenth ranking does not mean that she is not strong. The ranking is affected by both strength and luck, and cannot represent the absolute difference in strength. Everyone knows in private who has real skills.

Iris glanced at Lucius and Angelia standing together in the corner, then lowered her eyes to take the handkerchief with the Novello family crest embroidered in one corner, wiped her hands, and avoided looking at the crest with three wavy lines arranged in a "川" (river) shape.

Seeing this, Olivia smiled and continued to exert her strength:

"However, the person who would be happiest to see such a large-scale elimination before everyone has accumulated points seems to be none of the people still in the competition right now, don't you think, Mr. Lucius Ramirez?"

She pointed the finger at the two members of the Ramirez family who seemed to want to stay out of it, implying that if too many people were eliminated before accumulating enough points, Ernest, who only had an advantage in the first round, would not fall off the leaderboard and would be able to continue to qualify for the next round.

Therefore, the one who most wants the contestants to be eliminated on a large scale right now is not Iris, nor Olivia, but Lucius, who is representing the Ramirez family in the competition.

This shifted the identity of "enemy of the masses" from Iris to Lucius.

Yes, Olivia is happy to see Ernest pushed out of the rankings by newcomers, so she will try her best to prevent large-scale eliminations in the early stages of the competition.

Now is a good opportunity to eliminate the last remaining seeded players of the Ramirez family all at once.

Henry Jones from the Mage Tower team also spoke up: "Since he didn't even participate in this round of the competition, why bother trying to reserve a spot for him? Why keep eliminating so many people just for him? What about the other contestants? Oh, I can understand, after all, he's your young master..."

This person is also a master at stirring up trouble.

"so……"

Before Olivia could finish speaking, Angelia suddenly interrupted her: "Didn't you see the rankings in the last ten minutes of the assessment? The number of people who got full marks far exceeded 100,000. If Iris hadn't eliminated the excess people, who knows what changes might have occurred at the end of the assessment? What right do you have to point fingers at her after benefiting from her?"

Olivia: "..."

Olivia smiled and then fell silent.

Angelia's words avoided the topic most detrimental to her and Lucius, and directly misinterpreted Henry Jones's meaning, attaching the title of "wanting to eliminate people on a large scale" to Iris, who "has already eliminated people on a large scale," and she even spoke from Iris's perspective.

After she finished speaking, not only were the others unable to touch Iris, but Olivia, who had originally intended to use everyone to eliminate Lucius and Angelia, also couldn't bring herself to do it. After all, Olivia was originally ostensibly standing up for Iris, and now that Angelia was also speaking up for Iris, it wouldn't look good if Olivia continued to target Angelia.

The Robert family, who usually keep a low profile, reacted quite quickly.

Olivia, having failed to drag the Mireiz family into the mess, stared at Angelia for a moment, then turned to give Henry Jones, who had inadvertently provided an opening, a sinister glance before turning back to Iris:

"Our hero must be exhausted. Let's go back and rest."

Without waiting for her reply, he took her hand and walked towards the dormitory.

Olivia's hand was cooler than Iris's. Iris was used to Olivia's mixed feelings of sincerity and pretense, and let her pull her away.

Henry Jones gave Angelia a wistful look and said, "Consider yourselves lucky." Then he left.

Angelia ignored the buzzing of mosquitoes, turned to look at Lucius, and pulled him along.

The dormitory area is located on the west side of Qixiang Square, and all rooms are single rooms.

After locking the door from the inside and taking precautions against peeping, Angelia gave Lucius a look.

Lucius then raised his hand, palm up, and held that position for a while before a flame the size of a thumb leaped out of his palm.

The room was dimly lit as dusk approached and the faint firelight illuminated the two men's somber faces, flickering and adding to the ominous atmosphere.

The flames went out soon after, and Lucius remained motionless in his original position. Angelia placed her hand on his palm and pressed down his stiffly raised hand.

In the darkened room, the two sat facing each other in silence.

The judges' panel, this scene, was lost in the performances of thousands of contestants and went unnoticed by anyone.

Even if there were any opinions, they would probably just be that Lucius had just lost his parents and was under pressure to continue playing, so he wasn't in good form.

Iris's dorm room was simply furnished with a bed, a desk and chair set, and a wardrobe.

She collapsed onto the bed as soon as she entered the room, remaining motionless. Olivia closed the door, pulled out a chair, and sat down, looking at her with amusement: "You seem to really enjoy going all out from the start."

Iris rolled over, refusing to respond to her probing.

Olivia picked up the handkerchief that had fallen out of Iris's pocket as she turned over, folded it neatly, and put it back into Iris's pocket.

"I'll come and get you in an hour."

She left the dormitory room and closed the door. Shortly after, Iris vaguely heard her voice coming from the doorway of the next dormitory room:

"Excuse me, would you mind switching dorm rooms with me?"

"Is...is this okay?"

"There's no rule that says you can't."

The sounds gradually faded, and Iris didn't hear anything more because she quickly fell asleep.

In my dream, all was silent except for the endless snowflakes.

"Dong dong."

There was a knock on the wooden door, which had been coated with a high-quality fire-retardant material. Inside, the assistant opened the door, and the doctor who had come in quickly entered with a medical kit.

The doctor walked through the front hall and quickly entered the office inside the study, where he saw a person sitting in a chair, flipping through documents.

The young patriarch of the Ramirez family had tied his black hair into a high ponytail, and in the heated room, he was still wearing a thin black shirt with a long black trench coat over it.

As soon as he got closer, he could smell the blood, but the doctor didn't even look at his current injuries. He took out a small bottle of medicine from the box and handed it to the person in front of him.

Ernest's lips had turned pale. He reached out, and as his fingers brushed against the bottle, a golden light flashed across it. In the blink of an eye, the light disappeared, and the tiny lock on the cap opened automatically.

He withdrew his hand, and the nimble doctor had already drawn the liquid from the bottle into the syringe. The assistant stepped forward and rolled up his sleeve. Then, the three of them, including the doctor who gave him the injection, watched intently as the liquid was slowly injected into the veins in Ernest's arm through the needle tip.

Only after the last drop of liquid in the syringe was squeezed into his vein did the doctor begin to examine his injuries.

All the wounds that had been simply treated before the doctor arrived were reopened, treated with medicine, and then tightly bandaged again.

As the doctor worked, Ernest picked up the bottles and jars that the other person kept taking out of the medicine box and placing on the table, drank them all in one gulp, and soon the doctor finished his work and stepped aside to give his assistant some instructions in a low voice.

Before Ernest could catch his breath, his eyes were glued to the report his subordinate had just transmitted via the intelligent network. The doctor had barely left the study when Ernest put down the network and asked his assistant:

Has the live broadcast of the match started?

"not yet."

"Did the competition committee agree?"

"They disagree with blocking the live stream of a specific player."

When is the live stream expected to start?

"Six hours later."

Ernest frowned. Unfortunately, the Ramirez family was in a precarious situation, like ants teetering on the edge of a volcano about to erupt. He couldn't even spare enough energy to be distracted by a single matter for even a moment.

“Keep an eye on the live stream, Angelia, Lucius, Eseria, Olivia…” After reciting a string of names, he recalled the scene at the entrance and finally uttered a few words, “And, Henry Jones.”

He stood up and strode towards the door, his assistant immediately following behind, saying:

"We have already arranged for someone to monitor the game closely, and important information will be sent to your communication channel in real time."

Just as he stepped out of the study, Assistant Number Two rushed towards him, holding up a transparent sealed bag containing what looked like ordinary sand:

"The assassins turned into sand shortly after they were captured. The report from the testing department indicated that they contained the aura of forbidden magic. We are currently comparing this aura with the aura that killed the head of the Gracia family."

Ernest nodded, and Assistant Number One seized the opportunity to say, "Those assassins left you with too many wounds. You'd better go to the family medical center for a full check-up as soon as possible..."

"I'm going to the forbidden area. You guard the entrance."

Assistant Number One immediately replied, "Yes."

Since the situation has escalated to the point of involving restricted areas, everything else must be postponed; there's no room for discussion.