Chapter 277

The courses for each class at Endless Ability Academy were not entirely the same; the lower the class rank, the more cultural lessons they had. After all, their abilities weren’t enough to secure a foothold in the Ability World, and most of them would eventually have to return to the world of ordinary people.

Since they had to go back, cultural lessons were essential. They were only first-years now, and F-Class spent more than half of each day on cultural subjects. After their three years were up, they would go back and seriously repeat their final year of high school. Their college entrance exam scores would be basically the same as ordinary students.

This requirement made Su Bei’s face wrinkle up. Fortunately, a young person’s skin was smooth and firm enough to prevent him from looking like a shriveled orange peel. If he remembered correctly, he had performed exceptionally well on the last exam, surpassing Lan Subing and the others to take second place.

Aside from Si Zhaohua in first place, the top five positions often rotated. Second place was already his limit, so it would be perfectly normal for him to drop next time. Being punished for that would be a true injustice.

Thinking of this, Su Bei couldn’t help but raise his hand. “Teacher, it’s going to be very difficult for me to maintain this rank.”

“It is very difficult.” Meng Huai knew his grades and had been surprised by them at the time, so the impression was a deep one. He nodded in agreement, but before Su Bei could push his luck and make a request, he continued bluntly, “So you’ll just have to work hard, huh.”

Su Bei: “…”

Hide your strength, hide your strength, he should have hidden his strength. The price of a moment of pride was being riddled with wounds from a boomerang. Su Bei secretly resolved to learn how to control his scores next time.

“By the way, teacher, may I ask how the government plans to handle the Wesi Sanctuary matter?” Jiang Tianming asked, steeling himself against the admiring gazes of everyone else.

He didn’t want to bring up the old topic, but he was genuinely curious about the aftermath. Wesi Sanctuary would surely be sanctioned for colluding with Nightmare Beasts, but the severity could vary. After all, there were innocent people in Wesi Sanctuary.

Having already vented his anger, Meng Huai wasn’t too upset about the topic being raised again. He answered directly, “Wesi Sanctuary isn’t our country’s territory. If it’s to be dealt with, it will be handled by the United Nations. But the process will be the usual. First, they’ll investigate everyone’s faction, then assign different charges based on those factions.”

The most serious of the three factions was definitely the Conservative Faction; their collaboration with the Nightmare Beasts was a heinous crime. Next was the Radical Faction, who harmed the interests of tourists, which was more of a commercial crime. Finally, there was the Neutral Faction. Knowingly failing to report was certainly a crime, but not as severe as the other two.

“As for Wesi Sanctuary itself, that will depend on the outcome of the politicians’ bickering,” Meng Huai sneered dismissively. “Perhaps after all their squabbling, Wesi Sanctuary will still end up in the hands of the Neutral Faction.”

Everyone deeply agreed. When it came to benefits, the guiding principle was often ‘if I can’t have it, neither can you.’

As soon as the bell rang and the teacher left, Su Bei looked expectantly toward Lan Subing, Jiang Tianming, and Qi Huang. When one of them looked back, he waved his hands like a lucky cat. “Please go easy on me~

Attending cultural classes in F-Class was really boring. Most importantly, since he wasn’t always with the class, he would inevitably feel like an outsider when he went. If he was called on by the teacher and couldn’t answer, it would be awkward.

The first to turn around was Lan Subing, who couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle. “How the tables have turned. I remember you were so happy after the last exam.”

Although it was teasing, she put it quite gently. Su Bei had gotten third place several times before, so when he finally got second, he was more than just happy—he was downright smug.

And now, what he had thought was a good thing had turned into a complete disaster. It was just as Lan Subing said—the tables had turned.

Su Bei let out a long sigh, feeling that his chances this time were slim. He glanced around, looking to see if anyone might be joining him. Right now, he just hoped he wouldn’t be the only one going to F-Class to study.

Unlike their group, who didn’t feel the pressure of the final exams, the other students in their grade had clearly accepted the situation. There were fewer students chasing each other in the hallways; most were studying diligently in their classrooms. The few who came out were holding books, making it hard to tell if they genuinely loved studying or were just cramming at the last minute.

Su Bei had no intention of cramming. A last-minute review was only useful for those with significant gaps in their knowledge; for someone like him who basically knew all the concepts, it was a pure waste of time.

But clearly, not everyone in the class shared his opinion. The rankings of Jiang Tianming’s group of three didn’t conflict, so they reviewed together.

Ai Baozhu had hired a special pre-exam tutor to help her, Si Zhaohua, and Zhou Renjie review. It was worth mentioning that Ai Baozhu wasn’t counting on the tutor to help her improve. As far as Su Bei knew, she had already secretly given large red envelopes to the few people ranked just above and below her, asking them to go easy during the exam.

Damn rich people!

Although Feng Lan didn’t care much about his grades, he was rich, so he had also hired a tutor. Qi Huang had originally planned to study on her own, but seeing that his tutor seemed quite good, she arranged to review with Feng Lan.

Mu Tieren’s grades were average, but he was always a steady learner, reviewing methodically. Wu Jin joined him, as Mu Tieren had a solid grasp of the fundamentals, making him perfect for helping others fill in the gaps. Plus, he was a man of few words and very considerate, so Wu Jin didn’t feel much pressure around him.

As the darlings of the academy, Zhao Xiaoyu and Ling You had teachers giving them private tutoring. This wasn’t unfair, however; it was a form of compensation because they often had to use study time for specialized training.

As a result, as soon as classes ended, the classroom was filled with the sight of students burying their heads in their books. It was clear that no one wanted to waste time attending cultural classes in F-Class; every single one of them was studying with all their might.

Only Su Bei and Li Shu seemed out of place, unhurried and showing not a hint of the tension of impending final exams.

“Aren’t you worried?” Su Bei curiously asked Li Shu, who sat next to him. Since the two of them weren’t studying, they didn’t want to disturb others, so they naturally ended up together during the break.

Su Bei wasn’t worried because he knew his own level very well; whether he could maintain his previous rank was purely up to luck, and cramming would be useless for him. But Li Shu was different; he didn’t have any bottlenecks. Was he being so carefree because he wanted to experience life in F-Class?

“I missed one subject on the last exam,” Li Shu said calmly, flipping through a manga in his hand.

Su Bei: “…”

Right, now that he mentioned it, Su Bei remembered that Li Shu had a fever during the last exam. Although with a healing-type Ability user, a fever could be cured in an instant, Ability users didn’t really care about cultural exams. So Li Shu had used it as an excuse to skip the first day, ending up missing one subject.

In other words, as long as he didn’t miss the exam this time, it was almost 100% certain that his rank would surpass his last one.

Now Su Bei was really starting to panic. Was he going to be the only one going to F-Class in the end? Maybe he should actually study hard for the next few days. It might not be very useful, but at least it would be a psychological comfort.

However, he soon gave up the idea of struggling. So what if he had to go? Even if he studied now, it wouldn’t change anything; it would be a waste of time. He couldn’t even use his ability during the cultural exams, so there was no way to make himself luckier.

Going to F-Class wasn’t necessarily all bad. The teachers always viewed students from S-Class through a filter and wouldn’t restrict them too much. He could use that time to study more materials from the ‘Destiny’ organization.

The cultural exams and the ability exams were not held at the same time; there was a half-month gap between them. After finishing the last cultural exam, Su Bei walked out of the first examination hall and stretched. “It’s finally over. When do the results come out?”

The examinee seating numbers were arranged according to the results of the previous exam, so Si Zhaohua was one seat in front of him. Hearing the question, he shook his head. “I don’t know, but it should be before the ability exam.”

“Won’t that affect a lot of people’s moods?” Lan Subing frowned. If someone found out they did poorly, who would be in the mood for the next exam?

Qi Huang walked out from behind them and overheard their conversation. “Not many people would care, right? Everyone here is an Ability user.”

After all, this was an Ability academy; not many people valued cultural exam scores. A class like theirs was actually quite strange. Qi Huang had heard a friend from A-Class complain about why they had to be so outstanding.

Saying that, she also stretched. “I’m really curious about what the ability exam will be. Going to the Nightmare Beast World to eliminate Nightmare Beasts?”

“It probably won’t be that simple,” Si Zhaohua shook his head. “If it’s just about eliminating Nightmare Beasts, why do we have to go to the Nightmare Beast World?”

That made sense. Qi Huang fell into thought. “What is something that can only be done in the Nightmare Beast World?”

She was just asking casually, but Su Bei took the question to heart and began to think seriously. The Nightmare Beast World was a keyword in his mind. As soon as he heard Qi Huang’s words, Su Bei faintly had a guess. He did know one thing that could only be accomplished in the Nightmare Beast World.

The author was definitely focused on the main storyline when creating the comic. The main plot of ‘King of Abilities’ initially had only one thread: the struggle against the Black Flash Organization.

But due to his series of actions, another main plot was added: the complete annihilation of the Nightmare Beasts. The ‘Manga Consciousness’ had confirmed this point.

The Black Flash Organization appeared quite frequently, but the author hadn’t yet put the ‘eliminate the Nightmare Beasts’ storyline on the agenda. Of course, this was reasonable. After all, Su Bei had only added this plotline a few months ago. Both the conception and the drawing would require a certain amount of time, so it was normal for it not to have appeared in the comic yet.

But the neighboring ‘Black Flash’ storyline was already more than halfway through, even well past the halfway mark, while the other line hadn’t even started. From the perspective of the comic’s progression, Su Bei estimated that the author should be making some progress on the ‘eliminate the Nightmare Beasts’ storyline soon.

To completely eliminate the Nightmare Beasts, all the Meteorite Dust in the Nightmare Beast World must be eliminated. Therefore, this storyline was definitely related to the Nightmare Beast World. And them going to the Nightmare Beast World for their final exam was a very suitable opportunity.

Thinking this, he felt a little expectant. Although the author was targeting him now, Su Bei’s chances of survival were still very high, and he naturally hoped for world peace.

More importantly, if he could figure out the author’s arrangements through this final exam and deduce what method he intended to use to eliminate the Meteorite Dust, he could prepare in advance and strive to contribute when the time came.

It wasn’t about saving the world, mainly because if he contributed then, and something really happened to him later, he would have more supporters for his resurrection.

Actually, Su Bei was quite confident in himself. He didn’t think the author could kill him off in the plot. After all, his character archetype wasn’t one that would die easily. If he were to die inexplicably, the author would definitely be flamed to death by the readers.

But you can never be too careful. Weren’t there plenty of death flags in the comic world? Su Bei didn’t want to become a clown who set up his own death flag; everything he did was a precaution.

The results of the cultural exam were released quickly. As expected, Su Bei took third place. The two people ahead of him were Si Zhaohua and Qi Huang.

Seeing this ranking, Su Bei immediately smiled. Although it was a foregone conclusion that he would be attending cultural classes in F-Class, at least he had company.

“How the tables have turned~” Su Bei looked at Lan Subing with a grin, returning her own words to her. Lan Subing was third in the last exam, but this time she was fourth, a drop in rank.

Struck by the boomerang, Lan Subing’s face was stern, looking displeased but trying to endure it. She told herself not to lose her composure; losing it would only make Su Bei happier.

Wu Mingbai cheerfully retorted on her behalf, “Su Bei, why are you so happy? I thought the tables had turned on you.”

Su Bei wasn’t angry at all; at least he wasn’t the only unlucky one. He looked cheerfully at the others. “Anyone else going to F-Class next semester?”

“Me…” Zhao Xiaoyu raised her hand dejectedly. “I filled in the answer sheet wrong.”

After seeing her score and noticing it was different from her estimate, she had specifically gone to ask the teacher. It turned out she had misaligned a row on her answer sheet, so her ranking naturally dropped quite a bit.

“That’s awful,” Lan Subing said, patting her hand comfortingly.

It had to be said that their class’s cramming session was quite effective. Su Bei’s and Lan Subing’s drop in ranks had nothing to do with whether they reviewed or not, and Zhao Xiaoyu’s case was a mistake. Everyone else had actually improved compared to last time, which showed the effect of the past few days of review.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoyu and Lan Subing so dejected, Jiang Tianming quickly changed the subject. “Speaking of which, since the exam results are out, the details for the ability exam should be released soon, right? Don’t tell me they’re going to wait until we get to the Nightmare Beast World?”

The exam content for the first and second years had been announced long ago. The first-year exam was similar to the first monthly test: eliminating Nightmare Beasts in an alternate dimension, with final rankings based on points. However, this time it was an individual competition, not a team battle, focusing more on individual strength. Of course, the academy would accept it if someone managed to get a good score through alliances.

The second-year exam was a group arena battle. It was said that team formation was currently in full swing; Su Bei and the others on the first floor could often hear the sound of people running back and forth upstairs.

Now, only the third-year exam content remained unannounced. With less than 15 days until the final exam, it was no wonder they were getting anxious.

“It’s possible,” Li Shu said, resting his chin on one hand. “But I think we could ask the third-year seniors. They might know something.”

That was a good idea. Jiang Tianming thought for a moment. “Then let’s go ask Senior Mu.”

Mu Yunfan was on good terms with them and was the student council president of Endless Ability Academy. Although he had already stepped down from the student council since he was about to graduate, his connections were still there. If anyone might know about the final exam, it would undoubtedly be him.

“I’ll go with you,” Si Zhaohua stood up. He happened to be going to the student council to hand over some tasks, so he could ask about the final exam content along the way.

Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua were gone for the entire lunch break. They finally returned just as the first afternoon class was starting, both with strange expressions.

Faced with the curious stares of the crowd, and since class was about to start, the two said nothing. It wasn’t until after class, when the teacher had left, that Jiang Tianming satisfied everyone’s curiosity. “Senior Mu said the tasks for this final exam are a bit strange. Different types of abilities will likely have different tasks. The weird part is that he feels this exam places an excessive amount of importance on elemental-type ability users. Each element even has its own separate exam content.”

Usually, the elemental type, as a major category of abilities, would be assigned tasks together. It was rare for each element to be tested separately.

“That is a bit strange.” As a fire-element user, Qi Huang naturally felt this more keenly. Their elemental type had always been tested together; she had never encountered a situation where a separate exam was held just for the fire element.

Wu Mingbai, also an elemental type, noticed another issue. “Besides the elemental type, what other categories are there?”

“There are six categories: Elemental, Physical, Control, Summoning, Support, and Special,” Jiang Tianming explained, classifying their class. “You and Qi Huang are Elemental. The class president is Physical. Me, Ah Bing, Li Shu, Zhou Renjie, and Wu Jin are Control. Zhaohua is Summoning, and actually, Qi Huang could also be in Summoning. Xiaoyu is Support. Finally, Feng Lan, Ling You, Baozhu, and Su Bei should be classified as Special.”

He wasn’t entirely sure about some of the classifications, but it should be roughly like that. Si Zhaohua then added, “Besides the elemental type, all the other categories have the same test for the entire category.”

This was another reason they found it strange. When had the elemental type, the most populous of all abilities, ever received so much attention?

After hearing them, Su Bei understood. The drunkard’s intention is not in the wine. What Endless Ability Academy truly valued was likely not the elemental type in general, but the Earth Element ability users within it.

This coincided perfectly with his earlier speculation. Everyone going to the Nightmare Beast World this time was probably for the sake of finding a way to eliminate the Meteorite Dust and, consequently, completely eradicate the Nightmare Beasts.

A meteorite was also a stone, naturally falling under the control of the Earth Element. Compared to other abilities, the Earth Element was the most direct and obvious one with the potential to destroy the meteorite.

Coincidentally, this was also what Su Bei wanted to know. He planned to finish his exam as quickly as possible and then see if he could go observe the elemental exam.

To avoid making their intentions too obvious, Endless Ability Academy probably wouldn’t put the Earth Element first if the elemental exam was conducted element by element. This gave him room to maneuver, allowing him to use the time difference to go and watch.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the final exam. The exam content was still not announced even as they gathered on the sports field, fully equipped and ready to head to the Nightmare Beast World.

On the field, everyone was discussing amongst themselves, guessing what the content for each category would be. As third-years, the vast majority of them had been to the Nightmare Beast World before. Even the third-year F-Class had experienced it under the guidance of academy teachers.

When they saw Su Bei and his group arrive, everyone was stunned. A grade had less than 200 people, so after three years, everyone was basically familiar with each other’s faces. Su Bei and his group were clearly not third-years, so seeing them seemingly about to take the exam with them, everyone was naturally surprised.

The dean of students on the podium didn’t give them much time to be surprised. After the teachers of each class confirmed attendance and made sure no one was late or missing, Lei Ze’en stepped forward and opened the Teleportation Array to the Nightmare Beast World.

Normally, to get to the Nightmare Beast World, one had to find a ‘Closing Point’ in an alternate dimension and then find a way to open it. But with Lei Ze’en, it was different. His Teleportation ability allowed him to easily reach any corner of the world.

The gate opened, and Lei Ze’en walked over to Jiang Tianming and the others with a smile. “I’ll be your supervising teacher for this exam. Little Huai told me you guys are keen on causing trouble. For my sake, since I’m leading the team this time, could you please do me a favor and not make me lose face in front of that guy, okay?”

He was going to go with them anyway. After all, they were heading to the Nightmare Beast World, and a channel for a smooth return at any time was essential. His purpose was to ensure everyone’s safety. As long as he was there, even if a Nightmare Beast trapped them in the Nightmare Beast World with a barrier, he could still bring everyone back to the academy.

Since Lei Ze’en had to be with the team anyway, Meng Huai directly entrusted him with looking after Jiang Tianming’s group, lest these troublemakers disappear into the world, which would make finding them again difficult.

Since they were the only first-year students present, they did indeed need a teacher to look after them specifically. Lei Ze’en agreed to his friend’s request and specially applied to watch over the first-years.

Endless Ability Academy approved it directly. Thanks to them causing trouble every day, Principal Wu Di had a deep impression of this year’s first-year S-Class. He felt it was better to have a familiar teacher watch them than one who didn’t know them. That way, if something happened, they wouldn’t be completely clueless.

“Don’t worry, teacher.” Zhou Renjie nodded confidently. “This is a final exam. What kind of trouble could we possibly get into?”

Hearing this jinx, Su Bei immediately realized something was terribly wrong. If he hadn’t said that, they might have actually gotten through the final exam peacefully. But since he had said it, this exam was bound to be fraught with twists and turns.

He sensed a bit of danger. Just like Meng Huai, Su Bei had the same worry. The Nightmare Beast World was not the real world; the level of danger here was countless times higher than in the real world.

A crucial point was that if an Ability user died in the Nightmare Beast World, they would directly transform into a Nightmare Beast, and many resurrection items would be completely unusable. Even if one had bound themselves in advance, they might not be able to resurrect themselves.