...

Boom!

While everyone was busy doing their own thing, a loud explosion suddenly attracted the attention of everyone and made them cast their attention towards that direction. And the moment they saw what caused that explosion, the expression on their faces immediately turned weird.

It was the same for David and Elijah who were fighting the pair of Umbras currently. Both of them were forced to stop their fight when they saw what happened.

They saw a large monster crawling out from the ground which had the appearance of a giant lizard. And it didn't stop there, more and more monsters of the same species came out from the ground, following the appearance of the previous one.

"Looks like your school doesn't want us to stand on the sidelines idling," said Jerimiah after seeing the large group of Lizard Monsters crawling out from the ground.

"Earthen Demonic Lizards? This is going to be a tough one," commented Vincent from the side while nodding his head.

On the other hand, Shiella and Mariel couldn't help but wear a deep frown after seeing those giant lizards and silently agreed with Vincent's remark. Their small group observed the Monster Beasts for a few more moments before deciding to retreat towards the forest a few distances away from them.

"We should get out of this place as soon as possible before those annoying lizards swarm at us," said Shiella before running in a certain direction.

"Those Earthen Demonic Lizards love to eat all kinds of metals and crystals. No wonder Professor Bullen is grinning from ear to ear when he gives this floating thing to us," said Mariel as she followed Shiella's lead.

Hearing her words, Jerimiah and Vincent couldn't help but nod their heads in agreement while taking another look at those giant lizards. From the frenzied and vicious eyes that those monsters currently had, they could discern that all of them were pretty hungry and starving for food.

At the same time, David and Elijah immediately disengaged away from their respective opponents and quickly regrouped with each other.

"Now it is clear that your school wants us to work together. Though, I doubt that it is going to be easy given that there are some grudges involved," said David after taking a good look at the Monster Beasts crawling out from the ground.

Elijah could only nod his head in agreement as he also understood what the academy was planning after seeing the giant lizards.

In the meantime, the two Umbras also regroup with each other after understanding their current situation. But at the same time, the two of them were still unwilling to let go of their opponents. Especially Liebert who seemed to have an old grudge with David.

"Don't run away David! We are not done yet!" shouted Liebert when he saw that David was planning to retreat.

Hearing that, David couldn't help but laugh at the guy and replied. "Are you an idiot? Do you still want to fight when a bunch of six-star monster beasts appears in front of you? You must be crazy."

Liebert gritted his teeth when he heard that. He wanted to refute but he couldn't find the right words for rebuttal, especially that he was also aware of what David was implying.

Seeing that Liebert couldn't say anything, David waved his hand at the two Umbras before turning around. "Don't worry, we still have a lot of chances in the future to settle this. But for now, let's agree with a temporary ceasefire."

David didn't even wait for Liebert to reply as he quickly kicked the ground and ran towards a certain direction.

Following closely behind him, Elijah took another look at the Earthen Demonic Lizards before asking. "So, what's the next plan?"

David didn't even need to think what he was going to say as he quickly replied in an instant. "Of course, forming a team with others! After all, we can't deal with those overgrown lizards with just the two of us."

Nodding his head, Elijah turned his gaze towards a certain direction where Shiella and the others were heading to.

***********

In the meantime, the situation inside the gymnasium turned for the worst. The battles that were happening in this place became even more chaotic as Shin and the others were almost dragged into the chaos.

"Are we still not going to fight back? These guys are really getting on my nerves," said Arthur impatiently as he looked at the other candidates attacking the barrier surrounding their group.

Earlier, the chaotic battle that was taking place inside the gymnasium suddenly got out of hand when all of the hotheaded individuals started attacking whoever was around them.

Seeing that the situation was about to become more chaotic, Shin immediately asked the other Mentalists of their small group to support him by creating a defensive barrier around them.

The others were quite confused at first when they heard that, but they immediately responded with his words when they realized that there was something wrong with the chaos surrounding them.

With their combined efforts, a sturdy barrier was immediately formed around them that warded off any attacks that were trying to harm them.

"Calm yourself, Arthur. We will only fall into a trap if we fight back," said Shin as he swept his gaze at the surroundings.

"Huh?" Arthur knitted his brow when he heard those words before asking. "What are you talking about?"

Shin facepalmed when he heard those words. 'Sigh~! All in his mind is to fight and show off his skills!'

After that, he pointed at the chaotic battles happening beyond the barrier protecting them before explaining a little. "Can't you see what is really happening? There are few people who purposely create chaos out there."

"And if my guess is correct, then the academy purposely put those guys in the mix to purposely spread chaos," he added while taking note of some suspicious individuals that he spotted.

"Oh~! There are such people hiding there?" asked Arthur, surprised. And as he said those words, he suddenly sensed stabbing gazes directed on his back.

Turning his head around, Arthur saw that everyone in their small group was staring at him with a weird look on their faces.

Despite receiving such looks from them, Arthur remained calm before shamelessly saying. "Of course, I know about that! I'm just testing you guys if you are going to fall on the academy's schemes."

Naturally, the group would not buy his words as they continued looking at him skeptically.

Ignoring those looks from them, Arthur turned his head back to Shin before asking. "So, what are we going to do next? Continue hiding here?"

Seeing that, Shin could only shake his head while wearing a bitter smile before replying. "Since we already figured out the nature of this test, then we naturally need to proceed accordingly."

"If I'm not wrong, then we obviously need to take out those guys who are purposely spreading chaos," he added while turning his head back to the chaotic battlefield.

Hearing that, Arthur immediately responded proudly. "See? Technically, I'm not wrong! So, why are these guys looking at me like that."

Ignoring that remark, Shin looked over his shoulders before asking. "It looks like we need to separate in smaller groups while taking out those guys. At least one Mentalist per group, what are your thoughts?"

The others didn't say anything after hearing his words which indicated that they were going to agree with his arrangement. Though, one of them remained silent to follow the others.

Alice was not familiar with any of them when it came to battle. She only grouped up with them since she was always together with Lorraine since she lived with them. At the very least, the two of them were somewhat close with each other.

She was at least following the lead of the group. But she was somewhat confused why all of them were listening and following Shin's arrangements without question.

It was even more true for the twins of the Potter Clan. Both of them were talented enough to lead the group, especially Jillian who was known for her tactical knowledge in her previous school.

For every school competition, Jillian was always chosen as the leader of the team no matter what kind of tournament it was.

But right now, the same famous leader was listening and getting some commands from someone unknown. Or at least someone that never appeared in any school competitions that she knew.

Sensing that gaze that was directed at her, Jillian suddenly turned her head towards Alice before smiling at her. She seemed to be able to read what was running inside the latter's head before whispering a few words. "Don't worry, that guy is more capable than what you can think of."

Alice was still knitting her brows despite hearing that. Though, she also nodded her head before turning her gaze back to Shin, wondering how he was able to convince someone like Jillian to listen to him.

A few moments later, Shin was finally done with his arrangements before asking. "Is everything clear?"

Responding to his words, the others immediately nodded their heads, indicating they were ready to execute the plan anytime.

After that, Shin looked at Arthur and warned. "Remember, you can defend when the other candidates attack you but you can't fight back. Maybe you are not going to fail the exam if you fight them, but I'm pretty sure that you will lose a lot of points in the process."

He didn't even wait for Arthur to refute his words as he turned his head in front of them once again before saying. "Alright! Let's wrap this up quickly before the other groups get ahead of us!"

Then the others nodded their heads before quickly scattering in different directions alongside their pair after the Mental Energy Barrier was removed.

But at the same time, the other groups that were also waiting on the sidelines earlier also made their moves, signaling the start of a fierce competition that was about to take place.

...