Card simulation, starting with the Goblin Deserter

The three exclamation marks at the end of the word "blood" are crooked and distorted, creating a stark contrast with the neat and orderly preceding text.

Hayes's expression changed instantly as he looked at the blood-written words on the blackboard.

"I'm doomed. I can't even answer Professor Grace's questions in class."

"If I were to take her class in a secret realm, I'd die a thousand times over!"

Professor Grace isn't going to come into the classroom later with a set of exam papers and give us a pop quiz, is she...?

If she dares to take the test, Hayes dares to die!

Linda was used to Hayes's unconventional thinking, and she stared at the words on the blackboard, lost in thought.

"Thirty minutes? That's a long time?"

"If this secret realm is modeled after Zuma Academy, then it should follow normal get out of class schedules..."

Before Linda could finish speaking, Hayes understood what she meant.

"Do you think this is time the secret realm is giving us to gather intelligence?"

Linda nodded, then said seriously, "Large-scale secret realms are different from medium and small-scale ones!"

"Here, there's no world order to tell intruders what to do; we don't even have a clear method to clear the level—we have to discover it ourselves!"

"This secret realm is clearly not officially operational yet; now is the best time for us to go out and gather intelligence!"

Looking at Linda, Hayes sighed.

"That's how you tricked me into going outside the classroom when you were disguised as one of your secret creatures."

Linda:...

"Are you coming or not?"

"Walk."

The two hit it off immediately and decisively got up and walked out of the classroom.

This left the students in the classroom, who were still pondering the message written in blood, completely stunned.

Someone couldn't help but shout, "Where are you going?"

"There could be danger outside the classroom!"

Linda replied without turning her head: "It's more dangerous in a team where people aren't united."

Upon hearing this, the man immediately shrank back and said no more.

Yes, Linda is right. Those mysterious creatures disguised as "classmates" have shattered the trust within the entire class.

In just the first level, nearly half of the students died in the secret realm.

If Zuma Academy hadn't recruited students who were all reasonably talented card masters, these children would probably have been terrified and cried.

In this situation, how can they believe that the classmates around them are really "classmates"?

Shortly after Linda and Hayes left the classroom, a murmur arose in the previously silent room.

Someone scoffed, "Those two idiots! The creatures of the secret realm were practically begging to lure us outside, and they actually went on their own!"

Immediately, someone chimed in, "That's right, maybe they're actually creatures from the secret realm in disguise, just to trick us into going outside the classroom!"

It was like grabbing a vine while struggling to stay afloat.

In an environment of fear and oppression, most people start discussing things in order to alleviate their fear.

They mocked Hayes and his companion's choice, as if their decision to stay in the classroom was not cowardly, but "correct."

However, after a while, the boy who had called out to Linda earlier suddenly said something.

"Actually, I think it was the right thing for them to go outside the classroom."

"There are still thirty minutes before class starts, staying in the classroom isn't a wise choice..."

There was a sudden silence in the classroom.

A few seconds later, one of the men stood up, sneering, and asked him, "Then why didn't you go with them?"

The latter fell silent. His name was Evan Cole, and he was only seventeen years old.

Reason told him that leaving the classroom was the right thing to do, but his trembling legs reminded him that he didn't have the courage.

However, Cole didn't dare, but there was one person who did!

Before anyone knew it, Gentry had arrived at the classroom door.

His forehead was covered in sweat from fear, and the flesh on his cheeks was trembling.

Gentry stared at the empty, dark corridor, his heart pounding in his chest.

The next moment, amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Gentry flung open the classroom door, closed his eyes, and sprinted down the corridor, screaming all the while.

"Wait for me, Hayes!!!"

"I'm scared!!!"

In the silent college, where only the cold wind and raindrops could be heard, Gentry's voice sounded like a pebble falling into a calm lake.

Hayes paused on the stairs, turned around, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Linda looked at him and asked, "Is he reliable?"

Hayes shrugged: "Who knows?"

"But in this place, one more person always means one more force, right... if he's not some creature from the secret realm in disguise."

Linda nodded, agreeing with Hayes.

Gentry's footsteps were unsteady; he ran with his eyes closed, and even tripped and fell along the way.

Hayes stood on the stairs looking at him, and asked with a smile, "Aren't you afraid I'm not a real person anymore?"

Gentry braced himself on his knees, panting heavily.

"I've figured it out! You and Linda must have some way of confirming each other's identities, which is why you dared to leave the classroom together!"

Wow, you're not stupid after all!

Hayes was somewhat surprised. The next second, his expression changed instantly, and he spoke in a cold tone, mimicking the person in the mirror.

"What if we're both creatures from a secret realm, and we staged this whole thing just to lure you out?"

He raised his hands, and the smile on his face gradually became sickly.

"The real Hayes and Linda are dead in the mirror, and you're about to be next... Hehehe!"

Gentry instinctively took a step back, his face paling slightly, but then he spoke firmly.

"impossible!"

"Someone like you won't die so easily!"

"Oh?"

Hayes dropped the pretense and asked curiously, "Because I'm very capable?"

Gentry shook his head: "Because you're a menace."

"Following you will surely bring me eternal infamy!"

Hayes: ? ? ?

"Pfft!"

Linda laughed, but being professionally trained, she quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.

"Alright, time is of the essence. We need to search the entire teaching building within thirty minutes..."

Linda pulled out a scouting magic card; her bright eyes, like a cat's, gleamed faintly in the night.

-

Meanwhile, in the Zuma Academy's teaching building, the atmosphere in Class 2 had reached freezing point.

Soraka stood in the corner, quietly watching the center of the classroom—Patty and Graham were surrounded by a group of people, who were verbally attacking them.

"Believe me, I really don't know what that secret scroll is, let alone where this secret realm came from!"

"The Marquis Stern instructed us to bring them to the training center, saying it would teach Linda a lesson... We had no idea we'd drag everyone into this secret realm!"

Page stood in front of Graham, offering a feeble explanation.

A tall, hot-tempered boy grabbed him and pulled him close, his eyes looking as if he wanted to devour him alive.

"For the sake of a pointless power struggle, you actually disregarded the safety of your classmates and brought such a dangerous item into the academy!"

The tall boy's roar was choked with sobs: "So many classmates have died... Don't you feel any remorse for doing such a despicable thing?!"

Seeing that the surrounding students' emotions had been stirred up, Paige, in her desperation, shouted in a panic.

"It's Linda's fault! It's all Linda's fault!"

"If she hadn't been so determined to get into Zuma Academy, we wouldn't have even considered targeting her..."

"If we had simply handed over a portion of the family business to Marquis Stern, none of this would have happened, and none of us would have died!"

"So it's all her fault!!"

Paige's shrill voice echoed through the classroom.

Almost simultaneously, the few lights that were on in the entire teaching building, including the faint glow of the spell card in Linda's hand, all flickered briefly and in unison.

Hayes, who had the best hearing among the three, suddenly stopped in the corridor and looked back into the darkness.

"Did you... hear anything?"