My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

Char was obviously unaware of what was happening outside.

He lowered his fingers, turned his head, and glanced at Sylvia out of the corner of his eye.

She leaned against the rock wall, her long silver hair tousled by the heat, her hands covering her ears, but her eyes remained fixed on the bombed area. Her pupils were slightly dilated, her lips trembled, but she didn't utter a single word.

"Not satisfied? Want to be number one?" Xia Ya teased.

She could have easily pulled the signal flare and gone, but she stayed here instead.

Sylvia opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She put the Silver Moon Bow back on her back, and when she stood up, her legs went weak. She had to hold onto the rock wall to steady herself.

She took out a bottle from her person, drank the contents in one gulp, and then threw the bottle away.

Char recognized the substance; it was a potion made from some kind of liquefied ether, equivalent to a blue bottle, and everyone could buy a few bottles.

"I can still fight," Sylvia said.

Char didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and tapped his headphones, switching the noise cancellation mode to ambient sound.

It can amplify some sounds that he normally cannot detect.

Of course, most importantly, it will perform intelligent noise reduction when the sound exceeds a certain decibel level.

By 2072, this technology will be very mature and there shouldn't be any problems.

As a salesperson, he used to wear headphones for eight hours a day, but now that there are no charging options, he doesn't usually wear them anymore.

Char ignored Sylvia and glanced at his own points list. He had now jumped to first place, probably because of the achievement points from the rescue.

The reason he stayed there for so long was not only to observe what abilities these things possessed, but also for other reasons.

The most important thing is to confirm that they have entered a dangerous situation.

Xia checked his inventory and found that he had used less than fifty, so he shouldn't have to worry about running out of his inventory here.

Thinking it over, he started walking and continued deeper into the tunnel.

Sylvia snapped out of her daze and looked around, trying to find the sword that Amon had just dropped.

But she searched the spot where Amon had last been with her lantern, but couldn't find the sword.

Was it buried in the dust by the explosion just now?

Watching Xia walk further and further away, she decided to temporarily give up the search for the sword and quickly followed after him.

"You're not from the Golden Family?" Sylvia asked. "Why do you possess such immense magical power?"

"Following me doesn't guarantee you'll get points," Xia Ya replied, seemingly unrelated to the question.

"I've heard of you," Sylvia continued. "Are you the new sixth-tier student?"

Char paused, then didn't respond. Instead, he took out the Marauder's Map, opened it, and started looking for the exclamation mark.

"You actually have a map of the Abyss?" Sylvia's eyes lit up. "Did your mentor give it to you?"

"I found it," Xia said. "I found it on a miner."

After a pause, Xia seemed to remember something. "Do you know what's down there?"

Sylvia shook her head. "You'll have to ask the Vilvia family; this is their mining area. But according to my elders, their original purpose was actually for that thing down there, disguised as mining. But they messed it up."

"Did I mess up?" Xia pondered the question silently. "Did I really mess up?"

Sylvia was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing." Xia shook his head. "A group of people who broke taboos because of greed, and ultimately lost their lives because of their greed. Don't you think it's a cliché? Like a storybook."

He looked at Sylvia and asked, "What is the Vilvia family's position among you?"

"The last of the Twelve Golden Families," Sylvia said truthfully. "They've lost their former glory and haven't produced a new sixth-tier member in a hundred or two hundred years. Their family has been trying to win over Meredith for years, but without success."

"So, that's why they took the risk?" Xia's face showed a hint of interest. "And if they succeed?"

Sylvia frowned. "Does it mean winning over Meredith or...?"

Both possibilities exist...

Xia thought to himself.

However, he knew that there must be people watching them from the outside, including Meredith, whom he mentioned, so it was not appropriate to say these things.

His reason for this speculation was that the sudden change of the exam format and the location to the Abyss Eye was itself puzzling.

Even if it were to test Einstein, it could be done inside the Tower of Truth. The Tower of Truth is even safer. Are they really that confident that the Vilvia family will truthfully reveal everything about the Abyss Eye?

If something unexpected happens, to put it bluntly, even if these important figures don't care about those commoner magic apprentices, what if the rest of the Golden Family members die here?

Char is the kind of person who needs to think things through when he has doubts; he needs a logically consistent reason.

Or rather, a reason why the Tower of Truth insisted on choosing this location.

For example, the Vilvia family actually achieved their goal, or rather... achieved half of it.

They needed a reason to re-enter the Eye of the Abyss without arousing suspicion from the rest of the Golden Family, in order to finish up the work.

A practical test in the Tower of Truth would undoubtedly be a very suitable reason.

That's why they're trying to win over Meredith.

Char didn't speak, but silently opened the map and searched for Viktor's name among the dozens of names on it.

He quickly found it—the place they were in was deeper than Char had imagined.

Should we go or not?

The idea popped into Char's mind.

Logically speaking, he's already in first place, so he can just keep playing and maintain that position. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up.

Unfortunately, the tall man outside is now called Albert Einstein.

Char let out a long sigh.

There's really no other way.

In short, whatever happens, he must do everything in his power to prevent it from happening...

Nip danger in the bud.

Without much hesitation, he followed the map and walked deeper into the tunnel.

Sylvia seemed to understand what Char meant, and she quickly followed after him.

"Assuming what you're saying is true, the proctors will be using magic to monitor our every move from outside, so the Vilvia family has no chance."

"Is there any way to block surveillance?"

"Even if we shield them from the outside mages, they can still come in and investigate immediately. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless they get into the inner circle," Sylvia said. "There's a magic-free zone there, where magic has no effect. But before Victor gets in, the school will probably remotely control the teleportation magic."

"How did the Forbidden Magic Domain come about?" Xia asked.

"It must have been the Vilvia family who did it," Sylvia said. "They sent in quite a few high-level mages, and many of them died."

"So, they have the potential to manipulate this field?" Xia asked with interest. "For example... expanding the scope of this field?"

Sylvia paused, then instinctively retorted, "Impossible. What if they fail? Once the magic-suppressing domain is activated, even short-distance teleportation arrays won't work. There are still quite a few members of the Golden Family in there; what if they die? And what about the Tower of Truth? Is he planning to provoke both the Tower of Truth and the Golden Family at once?"

"The Demon-Suppressing Domain itself exists here; he could easily explain it away by saying that the domain has fallen into disrepair and lost control, and besides..."

Char stared at Sylvia. "Who decided to hold the exam at the Eye of the Abyss? And who's responsible for the security of this exam?"

Sylvia's expression grew increasingly grim, but she still didn't quite believe Char's deduction.

"How could Meredith go to such lengths for the Vivia family?"

"Yes..." Char murmured softly, "Why?"

Sylvia remained silent, then pulled out a flare from her person. "If what you say is true, I will go find someone to help."

As she spoke, she pulled the pin on the signal flare.

But a few seconds passed... and nothing happened.

Sylvia's expression turned extremely grim. She raised the Silver Moon Bow in her hand, attempting to conjure a magical arrow, but the point of light vanished as soon as it formed in her hand...

In the dark, silent tunnel, a chilling wind swept through, and a bone-deep cold gradually enveloped her heart...

......

Meanwhile, on the other side, on the platform above the airship.

The monitors in front of the proctors turned into a screen full of static and gibberish.

Meredith frowned slightly as he looked at the mage maintaining the monitoring screen to the side.

"Is it not done yet, Geraint?"

Geraint looked flustered and glanced at Meredith.

"Professor...it seems to be...the Forbidden Magic Domain."

"A forbidden magic domain!?" Bourne abruptly stood up from his chair, his expression changing as he looked at Meredith to the side. "Teacher, something's happened!"

Meredith frowned, but he didn't say anything. He simply turned to look at Einstein sitting beside him...