After reaching the maximum level, my "soft rice system" finally arrived.

If that's the case, then he'll have to put in a lot of effort to control the power of his magic, otherwise it wouldn't be good if he accidentally killed his opponent on the stage.

"What kind of barbarian dueling style are you talking about?"

Enpishi shook his head: "There are quite a few children of great nobles among the new students of the Extraordinary Academy. What if they get injured in the arena? Will the academy still be able to operate?"

"This year's practical assessment will be a trial in an illusionary realm. Look, that's a basic formation."

Charles looked up and saw many instructors dressed in wizard robes setting up something in twos and threes in the center of the arena. One by one, they placed crystals, some pink and some purple, with iridescent surfaces, on the array patterns.

The essence of the Lost Butterfly, the heart crystal of the Jungle Dream Beast... and a massive amount of magic storage crystals.

As a legendary mage, Shar was naturally no stranger to the term "illusion."

Although the Illusion School is not as prominent as the Conjuration School, Elemental School, and Armament School in the Black Tower, it is still a well-known school, and its status is roughly equivalent to that of the Botany School and the Beast Taming School.

The illusionists' greatest trump card in their battles against enemies is their meticulously prepared illusions.

Most of the rules and things in the illusion space can be freely controlled by illusionists. Generally speaking, the more prepared an illusionist is and the stronger their mental power is, the more realistic the illusion they create will be.

Some legendary illusionists can even make illusions indistinguishable from reality, so much so that other legendary figures cannot detect the difference.

Once someone falls into the illusion, they either have to rely on their superior mental strength or physical power to forcefully break free, or they have to obediently follow the rules of the illusion and try to find its own flaws and contradictions with the rules so that the illusion collapses on its own.

When illusions were first created, wizards used them to control and wear down enemies during battles. After all, while dying in an illusion wouldn't actually kill the opponent, it could still severely deplete their mental energy.

With this ebb and flow, the path to victory emerges.

However, times always change.

As time went by, the nature and function of the illusion gradually underwent some subtle changes.

Charles recalled an experience he had once had when he visited the School of Illusion and was invited by those enthusiastic wizards to tour their private illusionary realm.

At first, everyone was having a good time, wishing each other a peaceful and happy life, until—

In someone's illusion, Ciel saw a half-covered, coquettish female goblin.

"People are free to have their own preferences, but I still suggest you go see a doctor."

Since then, Charles has completely blacklisted the Illusion School, and no matter how many invitations those self-proclaimed members of the Interspecies Customs Appraisal Committee gave him, he never set foot there again.

"In any case, it's quite remarkable that we can still see illusions that are actually useful now."

Charles sighed. In this world where morality is declining and the great noble families have an illusionist as a standard feature, using illusions for practical assessments is truly a breath of fresh air.

A white light suddenly shone in the arena.

Immediately afterwards, a faint magical fluctuation spread out from her center.

All the students who were about to take the test were invigorated, because it meant that the Illusion Trial had been set up.

A massive light screen slowly appeared above the arena, drawing everyone's gaze involuntarily upwards.

The essence of the Illusion Trial is to place the participants into pre-arranged story scenarios, while the mentors watching from the outside score them based on their performance in the illusion.

In some ways, it is quite similar to the kind of fully immersive online game with a gaming helmet that only existed in Ciel's previous life.

That's why every student is extremely concerned about what kind of storyline the Illusion Trial will offer this time.

Different story backgrounds mean that the enemies they will face, the types of challenges they will encounter, and the tactics they should choose will all be different.

The light screen rippled, followed by a powerful background sound that resounded throughout the arena.

This is the Kingdom of Kamavia, once the most prosperous and powerful nation on the entire continent.

However, fifty years ago, the King of Fear descended from the heavens, leading a massive army of demons to conquer Holy Light City, the capital of the Kingdom of Light, turning this once-shining jewel of the continent into a paradise for the demon army.

Fifty years later, you, as the last hero of the entire continent of Light, carrying humanity's last hope, arrived outside the Demon King's castle...

"What era are we living in? Why are we still having heroes challenging demon kings?"

"Which necromancer dug this person out of their grave? Hurry up and put it back, you're welcome."

"Even the ground squirrels I keep say it looks so earthy."

……

The student group was filled with curses and complaints.

Chapter Ten: Ciel: Brilliant, brilliant!

In the VIP section of the fourth arena, Principal Dawn watched with satisfaction as the Illusion Trial, now in full operation, began to run at full capacity in the center of the arena.

“Nigut, your Arcane Academy has done a good job.” He stroked his white beard, looking quite approving: “An illusion of this scale is rare even among the illusion schools of the Black Tower.”

"It's just that the background story of your assessment illusion..." Principal Dawn paused, then put it more tactfully: "There is some promise for the future."

"That's right. It's not fashionable to be a hero anymore. You'll either be kicked out of the party or betrayed by the Empress. It's miserable. It's much more fun to just become a Demon King."

The one who spoke was an elderly man in a red priest's robe. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, appearing well-read and quite wise.

As the highest-ranking figure in the Dawn Church within the Aran Empire, the cardinal's words quickly garnered support from the nobles in the VIP section.

“Old man Nicot, you’re out of touch. You should take a look at the bestseller lists at Black Tower Bookstore.”

"Yeah, the current trend is to transmigrate into a duke's son and lie down and do nothing, or at the very least, be a villainous prince and then train your enemies from your past life into firearms."

"Speaking of training, I recently discovered a new book about torturers and female knights..."

"Marquis Norton, you and I are pillars of the empire, how can we be looking at such immoral things! Ahem... After the assessment is over, you can send me a copy privately. As the minister in charge of the law, I will personally take action to eradicate this evil trend in the noble circle."

One teasing sound after another rang out.

This entrance examination was quite a grand affair. Many of those seated in the VIP section were powerful figures within the empire, so naturally they didn't need to give Nicot, the dean of the magic academy, any special treatment.

Nicot looked embarrassed. He had gone to great lengths to innovate the assessment method, naturally hoping to achieve something, not to be ridiculed.

However, setting up an illusionary realm is a huge undertaking, and the storyline and background of the illusionary realm were determined at the very beginning of the project.

Applying for a project requires going through a process: two years for project initiation and application, one year for evaluation by senior college officials, another year for funding allocation, and several more years for project completion.

Over the past few years, the entire empire's trends have changed dramatically.

In just eight years, the stories people sang on the streets and alleys had evolved from the heroic epics of brave warriors defeating evil dragons after overcoming countless hardships, as told by wandering poets, into stories of broken engagements and live-in sons-in-law.

A whole bunch of middle-aged nobles, who suffer all sorts of mistreatment outside and are henpecked at home, are holding these books and fantasizing wildly about one day getting promoted, becoming rich, losing their wives, and returning as the Dragon King after achieving their goals.

Later, the "annulment of engagement" and "son-in-law" styles were phased out, and various other styles emerged, such as "villainous," "killing the dog after the rabbit is caught," "searching for husband," and "regretful" styles. It was a time of great diversity and chaos, leaving the residents of the Western Continent overwhelmed with choices.

Many high-level experts have secluded themselves for years, detached from worldly affairs. When they emerge, they find themselves out of touch with the times and think they have entered the wrong dimension, which has led to many laughable situations.

Fortunately, the illusionary trials soon began to be conducted in batches, preventing Nicot from remaining in such a predicament.

"Lord Norton, this must be the young master."

In an instant, the eyes of the nobles in the VIP seats were drawn to the light screen.

On the screen displaying the real-time content of the illusionary assessment, a handsome young man dressed in bright silver knight armor, wielding a knight's sword, stepped over the corpses of monsters scattered everywhere and arrived at the center of the Demon King's castle, before that magnificent tower.

"The demons within the city are arranged from the outside in, and their strength ranges from the first to the third rank."

"The Marquis's son was able to break through these demons and arrive at the Demon Tower in such a short time, so his strength must have already been firmly established in the realm of a fourth-tier Grand Knight."

"Not bad." Marquis Norton snorted, the upturned corners of his mouth revealing that he was not as indifferent as he said.

To enter the realm of Grand Knights at the age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight is a talent that is comparable even to the Judgment Knights of the Dawn Church.

"Compared to the low-level monsters outside the Demon King's castle, the seven-level trials in the Demon Tower, designed based on the Seven Deadly Sins, are the real test."

"However, as a Grand Knight, the son of the Marquis of Norton must already have a deep understanding of the eight virtues of chivalry. These first few levels of the trials of desire and Slaanesh should not be too difficult for him."

“Of course,” Marquis Norton said confidently. “My son is handsome and has been surrounded by noble ladies and beautiful women since childhood, but he has always remained indifferent. Whenever he has free time, he goes to the military to train in chivalry, let alone the women in this illusion…”

The Marquis of Norton abruptly stopped mid-sentence, his face twitching between blue and purple.

At the same time, the expression on the face of another elderly man in military uniform beside him also became uncertain.

All that could be seen in the light screen was that the handsome knight stared blankly at the muscular man in front of him.

The two figures drew closer and closer, and the image on the light screen flickered and became blurry.

It was clear that some special restriction of the illusion array had been triggered.

A deathly silence fell over the VIP room, leaving only the Marquis Norton and the middle-aged general, their faces turning a deep shade of rage.

"If I'm not mistaken, the other person in the light screen is the Imperial Army's Chief Knight Instructor..."

After a long while, a soft voice slowly echoed in the VIP room.

……

Inside the Demon King's castle, thousands of students are scattered throughout the city, fighting against the monsters within.

The interplay of battle aura and magical light made the originally dark and oppressive Demon King's Castle appear unusually lively.

Some students formed small teams in twos and threes based on the warrior-mage-priest trinity configuration, while others, confident in their abilities, chose to act alone.

Some freshmen with leadership skills have even started recruiting members, forming a group of nearly a hundred people.

The Illusion Trial is a comprehensive assessment that does not only evaluate combat strength. Therefore, whether they are healers or commanders, they are doing their best to show their talents, much like peacocks vying for attention.

Seemingly to motivate the test takers, a giant light screen was also broadcasting live footage of outstanding test takers who had broken through the outer city's blockade and begun their challenge of the Demon Tower.

However, most candidates were too busy with their own battles to pay attention to the light screen—except for a couple of them.

"You city folks really know how to have fun."