They found the next Slasher just a minute later. Edward readied his water to cut it down, but Isabel drove her shoulder into his back as she sprinted past him, knocking him sprawling to the ground. By the time Edward got back to his feet, Isabel had already dodged the Slasher’s initial attack and separated its head from its neck.

“Ooh, bummer,” Noah said with false sympathy. “It’s too bad your Shield doesn’t block people from bumping into you on accident. If only you were able to do things without it, maybe you’d have been a little more aware of your surroundings.”

“Keep moving,” Allen snarled, no longer even bothering to hide his fury.

“By the way, that’s two-one,” Noah said cheerfully. “What runes do you have in your book? Just wondering.”

Allen didn’t even bother responding.

Todd found them shortly thereafter, breathing heavily. He held up four ears, two in each hand, as he skidded to a stop before them.

“Got two more Slashers,” he said proudly. “And another one is on my tail. Isabel?”

“I’ve got this,” Edward snarled, shoving past Todd.

Todd caught Isabel’s eye and jerked his head to their left. Something blurred between the trees. Isabel frowned in confusion, then understanding hit her and she turned, backing up as if to let Edward fight the Slasher without interruption.

“Where is it?” Edward demanded, squinting through the trees.

Isabel turned and ran toward the direction of the blur. A Slasher roared, ripping its claws through the air to cut her from head to toe. Isabel skipped to the side, avoiding the attack, and drove her sword through its throat.

“Three-one,” Noah said.

“Where’s the Slasher that was chasing you?” Edward asked, looking from Isabel to Todd in befuddlement and anger.

“Sorry. I must have gotten it mixed up with something else.” Todd smiled sheepishly. “Whoopsie.”

Edward snarled and stomped the ground. He stormed into the forest without waiting for anyone to say anything else, and they all ran to keep up with him.

Over the course of the remainder of the exam, they ran into seven Slashers that weren’t already fighting other teams. Evidently, Allen’s willingness to steal kills was limited to only Isabel and Todd, because he never sent Edward after them.

The first of the Slashers went down to a well-placed beam of condensed fire right between its eyes, crumpling moments before Edward’s water got to it.

The second and third died to Allen, who killed the monsters before Isabel or Todd could reach them, claiming that they were about to unfairly fight Edward. Noah had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he was beyond caring.

The fourth Edward actually managed to kill, but only because it had already been badly injured – probably by another student who had failed the exam.

As for the fifth, sixth, and seventh, all went to Isabel. She killed one while Edward was fighting the other Slasher, and stole the other two right out from under his nose by executing them in the middle of their fight with Edward.

“The rules don’t say anything about how you get the kill,” Noah pointed out when Allen confronted him. “And it’s not like you or I helped them fight. Are you really implying that Edward would stoop so low as to help Isabel? Of course not. Thus, she earned those entirely on her own merit.”

Allen had nothing to say to that, and so all he could do was seethe in fury. And, just like that, the three hours of the exam came to an end. The transport cannon grabbed all of them and they fell into particles, pulled back to Arbitage.

As Noah’s body flew through the blue ether, a rogue thought struck him.

I really hope they somehow stagger our arrivals, because there’s no way they can get everyone out of that tower in time to make room for us. It’ll end up looking like an overstuffed can of tuna.

Luckily, Noah’s fears were unfounded. Instead of returning within the tower, he found himself reforming on the ground outside it. Other professors and students popped out all around him, many of them falling as they arrived.

It looked to have kept the general groups together, because Isabel and Todd were right beside Noah – unfortunately, that meant that Allen and Edward appeared next to them as well.

“Congratulations to all of you who passed.” Tenfort’s voice echoed above them as the proctor took to the air on his flying sword. “There were only a few reported incidents this time around, and only four severe injuries. None were due to monsters that did not belong in the exam. Instructors, please ensure that you report the results of the exam before the week is over. Students, for those of you that passed, keep up the hard work. This exam was the hardest one you’ve had so far, but don’t get lax. Things don’t get any easier.”

Tenfort didn’t even bother addressing the students that had failed. He did a loop over their heads and shot off, heading toward the center of campus. Noah watched him leave, then lowered his gaze as the crowd parted and Moxie walked toward them, trailed by a short girl with long, silver hair. Moxie frowned, slowing as she drew close.

“Well, that’s that.” Noah crossed his arms. “I believe we had a deal, Magus Allen.”

Allen ground his teeth so hard that Noah could hear it. Edward’s face was so red that it resembled an overripe tomato. Making enemies of them probably wasn’t the smartest move he could have made, but Noah was beyond caring. They’d started the fight.

“You cheated,” Edward said.

Noah cocked an eyebrow. “Cheated? How so, Edward? Please, tell me what tactic I used that you and your teacher didn’t. Of course, I can’t blame you for suspecting my quality of character. I do have quite the reputation. It does shock me that you think your esteemed teacher would stoop to my level, though. What part of this exam did he do that, exactly? Where did he debase himself to become just as bad as I?”

Allen’s hand fell on Edward’s shoulder, tightening until his Shield squirmed. He pierced Noah with a deadly glare, his lips pressed so thin that they turned white. Noah gave him a winning smile.

“Wipe that smile from your face, Vermil. Edward is mistaken. You did not cheat, though your methods are certainly questionable. You may have been able to find loopholes that allowed your student to win this particular challenge, but–”

“Isabel.”

“What?”

“My student has a name. She’s standing right there,” Noah said, nodding to Isabel. “Use her name.”

“Isabel, then. I will admit that she clawed her way to an irrelevant victory in this, but it will carry no farther. You can only manipulate the odds in your favor so long. When it comes time to advance to the next Rank, all this effort will be wasted.”

Noah shrugged. “We’ll see about that. The future isn’t my concern. Getting Isabel what she’s been promised, on the other hand, is. I believe you owe her a Rune from your grimoire.”

Allen’s eyes bored into Noah. Slowly, he reached down to his side and pulled out a metal trimmed, leatherbound book. Moving as if he were trapped underwater, Allen forced himself to hand the grimoire out to Isabel.

Noah gave Isabel an encouraging nod. She took it from him nervously.

“Just tear the page you want from the book,” Allen ground out. “I will not stand here for hours while you learn it. They are all replicas anyway. You have five minutes.”

Isabel didn’t need to be told twice. She popped the book open and flicked through it, her eyes darting along the pages. After a few minutes of searching, she found what she was looking for and pulled the page out from the binding, tearing it carefully along the edge. She closed the book and handed it back to Allen, who nearly slapped it out of her hand as he grabbed it.

He slammed the book back into its holster and spun on his heel. “Come, Edward. We have training to catch up on.”

Edward scurried after Allen, sending one last dirty glance back at them before they disappeared into the crowd. Isabel folded the page she’d taken up and placed it in her pocket with a trembling hand.

Todd slapped her on the back, a huge grin on his face. “Yes! Did you see the looks on those stuck up pricks’ faces? Ha! I’ll never forget that.”

“You did well. Both of you,” Noah said. “Isabel, before you do any partying, I’d suggest learning that Rune and replacing one of the ones you don’t need. We’ll celebrate this next class. Until then, dismissed.”

Isabel finally let a smile creep across her features. Her shoulders slumped in relief and she nodded, letting Todd pull her into a victorious hug. As Todd pulled her away, Isabel sent a grateful smile at Noah that spoke more than words ever could.

Warmth swirled in Noah’s chest.

That’s what I do this for. That’s the look that every single student should have when they put the work in and get the results of their effort.

“I don’t believe it,” Moxie said, finally speaking up from the sidelines. “You actually did it?”

“I didn’t do anything. It was all Isabel and Todd,” Noah replied with a shrug. “Maybe the Linwick family should put a little more focus on training their students instead of pampering them.”

Moxie shook her head in disbelief. “You’re so full of it. Allen is pompous, but he’s no slouch. He wouldn’t let Edward skip lessons or get subpar education in any way.”

“Tell me something. When you’ve got an exam, how do you prepare your students for it?”

“By training them. What’s that supposed to mean?” Moxie asked.

“And how do you train someone to fight monsters?”

“By having them practice magic and spar against me.” Moxie gave Noah a baffled look. “Where’s this leading?”

“Wrong.” Noah crossed his arms. “If you’re teaching your students to fight monsters, you train them by having them fight monsters. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for the past few weeks.”

Moxie’s eye twitched. “You’ve been bringing your students to the Scorched Acres? We’re not training to be soldiers, Vermil. This is Arbitage. But… I didn’t see either of them with a Shield. Even with them it wouldn’t have been safe, and I find it unlikely that they can form their own Shields yet.”

“If we had the funds, I’d love to outfit them with shields.” Noah said. “After they learned how to fight without them, of course. If you want to be good at something, you do it yourself. Shields look like a fantastic tool, don’t get me wrong. But if your entire fighting style revolves around an item rather than your actual abilities, I think you’re a pretty poor fighter.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Moxie’s student finally spoke up. “You made them fight Slashers without a Shield? What if they got hit? They could get killed on the spot. It’s stupid to fight without a Shield.”

“Death is an excellent motivator. I never said I was a safe teacher,” Noah said with a cold smile. “I’m just an effective one. And, as it turns out, when you lead by example, people learn. I know every single movement the Slashers make like the back of my hand. I understand them perfectly. When they can’t surprise me, what is there to fear?”

Moxie stared at Noah. “How many Slashers have you killed? The sheer amount of them you’d have to go through to understand them that well…”

“Lost count. Hundreds. Maybe more,” Noah replied with a shrug. “It’s literally the only thing I’ve done for the past month.”

“Every single day?”

“Every other day. I alternated between teaching and hunting, but I spent a good amount of time hunting them before I ever started teaching.”

“How’d you have time to live like that? If you’re telling the truth, then you’d have had to spend nearly all of your waking moments in the Scorched Acres.”

Noah just arced an eyebrow. Moxie let out a huff of air.

“You’re insane.”

“Do you know what the difference between an idiot and an innovator is?” Noah asked.

Moxie shook her head.

“An innovator succeeds. Teaching is all about the pursuit of finding the best way to instruct your students. And, for this exam, my methods worked. I’d call that a successful plan. Congratulations on passing your exam, though.”

Moxie’s student blinked. “I didn’t say that I passed.”

“Moxie’s your teacher. I figured you did. I’ve got some things to handle, though. Planning a celebration for my students and all that. There’s got to be a pizza place somewhere around here. Every good campus has one.”

“I’m going to ask what in the world you’re talking about, but I’ve got a question,” Moxie said. “Allen looked furious. More than I would have expected him to, honestly. What happened?”

Noah rubbed his chin. “I punched him. On accident, mind you.”

Moxie’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. That wasn’t the wisest move.”

“He had it coming. I’m not the best at holding back. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised he didn’t go at me for that. I half expected to get into a brawl.”

“Vermil. Allen is a Rank 4. If he just attacked you, it doesn’t matter what you did, Arbitage would come down on him. Your punch shouldn’t be much worse than a bug bite for him. You better expect him to be bringing that up with the Linwick family, though. You’re going to pay for that. The only reason he didn’t react more is because he’s biding his time.”

“That does make a little more sense. I was wondering why he just took it. Well, he had it coming. Bastard was trying to cheat.” Noah went to leave, then paused. “Say, Moxie, who should I report the results of this exam to? I haven’t seen any administrators around recently.”

Moxie grimaced. “Yeah. They’re a bit hard to get a hold of. You should be able to report it in the A building.”

“You’re the best,” Noah said with a wide grin.

Moxie just shook her head. “Just get out of here.”

Noah raised a hand in farewell and headed away from the dispersing crowd.

“Are you going to hold a celebration too?” Noah heard Moxie’s student ask. He suppressed a laugh. He could practically feel Moxie’s glare burning into the back of his neck as he stepped onto the main road and made for the main square of Arbitage. Hopefully, pizza both existed and wasn’t too expensive. He wasn’t exactly swimming in money.