...

While Shiella and her team were busy battling their opponents, the professors who were overseeing their exam were silently observing them from afar.

"It seems like we are totally forgotten by these kids. Should we remind them about our presence?" said a female professor while sitting on a tree branch while pouting her lips as she watched the battle. She was Professor Shane, one of the Beastmasters of the academy.

Standing on another tree branch not far from her was a lean man with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. And just like Professor Shane, he was also one of the Beastmasters who was controlling the Earthen Lizards in the field.

This person was Professor Billy, the chief caretaker of the academy's beast cage. He looked at the ongoing battle for a couple of moments before replying to Professor Shane. "Let them be for the time being; our colleagues seem to be having fun watching this fight, so we should give them more time to enjoy the show."

"At the very least, we are having a better time than Bullen; that guy is currently sitting alone on his spot since the start we started testing these kids," he added after a brief moment of pause.

But Professor Shane immediately refuted his words right after he said them. "What are you talking about? That guy is too lazy to accept this task in the first place, so I'm pretty sure that he is more than happy enough to thank these kids for not bothering him at all."

Hearing that, Professor Billy couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly as he also remembered how lazy Professor Bullen was.

After that, he turned his attention back to the ongoing battle and continued to wait for the right time to act.

********

In the meantime, the inmates imprisoned in one of the Prison Islands of the Soaring Continent were currently facing a very difficult situation that they never had expected.

"We can't let this continue, Boss! At this rate, all of us are going to get wiped out by those kids if we don't do anything to retaliate properly right now!" said one of the prisoners who seemed to have a high ranking in their gang.

He was currently in a special settlement designated to them on this island. And around him were the other prisoners who seemed to also have the same level or ranking as him.

There was also a particular guy who was sitting on the chair in the center of the room. And from the look of it, he seemed to be the leader of this group.

He was sitting haughtily on his seat and seemingly not concerned about the topic that the previous guy was telling him. And when that guy saw his boss ignoring his words, he couldn't help but bite his lower lip and opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But before he could even voice out his words, another guy opened his mouth first and said. "Drop it, Ivan. If you are not confident about your own strength, then don't drag us down with you since we are different."

Hearing that, the guy named Ivan immediately turned his head towards the direction where the voice came from. There, he saw a guy with a lean physique and was currently leaning on the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Seeing the guy, Ivan's face immediately turned solemn, and said with a heavy voice. "What do you know, Lennon? You are always hiding inside your cave, so you will never know how strong this batch of students is!"

"They are very different from the young talents that we met before! Heck, they are even more troublesome compared to the young soldiers of the Top Military Schools that we have met so far," he quickly added, trying to defend himself.

Unfortunately, the guy named Lennon didn't buy his excuses and just sneered. "As I said earlier, don't put us on the same level as you. If you are that afraid to die, then go back to your quarters and don't come out until all of this is done."

"Nonsense! If we are going to let those kids run amok, all of your men are going to die in their hands." refuted Ivan.

This time, Lennon could no longer endure listening to his words and said. "You are so ridiculous, how many times do I have to say that you are not the same level as us, so stop acting like you have a higher rank than me."

"As for those guys outside-…?" he trailed his words for a moment and wore a mocking face before continuing. "They are trash among the trash of society, so no one will care if they die!"

"Moreover, all of us are imprisoned on this island because we committed a crime that deserves death. So, don't act as if we have that thing called pride that we have to defend."

"We are criminals who got a death sentence, you hear me?" he spelled out for another time, afraid that his words would not get through Ivan's thick skull.

After that, he turned his head towards their boss before saying. "Now, if we don't have anything good to discuss in this meeting, please excuse my rudeness but I can no longer endure this guy's nonsense."

He then turned around and walked off the room, not bothering to turn his head back at them. And when the other guys saw that, they also started to stand up from their respective seats and left.

One of them was at least modest enough to give their leader a bow before leaving. "I will also take my leave, boss. If you need something, then please send a messenger to my quarters to inform me about it."

On the other hand, Ivan could only watch his fellow island prisoners one by one before lowering his head dejectedly. And when he realized that there was no point staying in here, he could only pick himself up from the ground and also leave.

But before he could even take his step outside the room, he suddenly heard the voice of his boss behind him, saying. "I understand where you are coming from, Ivan. And you are also right that we still have some pride to protect even if we are some criminals who committed some unforgivable sins."

"But Lennon also has a point. In fact, what he said is all true. Even if everyone deserves to have a fair chance to repent for their sins, people like us already lost those chances the moment we set foot on this island."

"We are already fortunate enough to live on this island despite the weight of the crimes that we have committed in the past. What we can do right now is to be thankful for what we have so far and continue to live for as long as we can."

"Do you understand what I mean," he added after staring at Ivan's back for a few moments.

Ivan remained quiet after hearing those words before silently nodding his head. After that, he walked out of the room before closing the door behind him.

In the meantime, the boss of the group remained seated in his place for a couple of moments before casting his gaze towards a dark corner of the room while asking. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Dragon King?"

Right after those words left his mouth, Nathan Springfield suddenly walked out from that dark corner with his hands crossed behind him. Then he pulled a chair and placed it across the other guy before sitting on it calmly.

"Not special actually, I just happened to be assigned to be the main administrator of this ongoing event to guard this troublesome batch of kids," he answered after getting a comfortable position.

"And since I'm already here, I decided to visit some old acquaintances around. And from what I can see, you seem to be doing rather fine, Daniel," he added after a brief moment of pause.

Hearing that, the man named Daniel couldn't help but smirk as he could already see through the façade behind Nathan's words. "Stop with the nice words already, it doesn't suit you at all. Just directly ask me what you want to know and stop beating around the bush."

"If that is what you want, then let's go straight to the point," said Nathan noddingly. He trailed his words for a couple of moments to look straight into Daniel's eyes before continuing. "Tell me what you know about Snake Head of the Black Serpent Mafia."

Daniel knitted his brow for a moment when he heard that before asking. "You already asked me about this before, so what's the point of asking me again if I already tell you all I know about him?"

Nathan continued to stare straight at him with a poker face before clarifying what he was asking. "I'm not asking about that fake guy who only represents the real guys in the organization. What I am asking is those guys hiding behind him all this time."

He trailed his words once again to read the expression that Daniel was currently making before completing his words. "That Snake Head Group that is hiding behind your previous organization."

...…