...

It has been half a day since Shin and the others arrived in the Prison Island, so it was not surprising for each of them to earn quite a lot of points. During the time they stayed in this place, they hunted a large number of monster beasts and also took down a few prisoners at the same time.

The battles that they went through were not easy; there were even some instances where the group was put in a very difficult predicament. There were also some times when a few of them almost got eliminated.

Fortunately, Shin was able to save them time and time again with the help of his 'Zone' personalized technique alongside the Mentalism Talismans that he prepared.

They also bumped into some groups of candidates. The fight was never easy but with everything that they went through, the teamwork that Shin and the others had increased with a great margin.

Each of them was able to adjust with the other members of the group and became familiar with their rhythm and style in battle.

They no longer needed to communicate verbally with each other when they were fighting. All they needed to do was a single glance at each other's movements and positions and they would immediately know what their teammates intended to do.

There was no need to ask about the trio of Shin, Leonard, and Arthur as they were too familiar with each other already. What surprised the teachers the most was Jillian, Molton, and Alice.

The academy would naturally run a background check on each of them, so they obviously know the connection that Shin and his friends had with each other. But from what they knew, the three young Mentalists were not as close as the others.

It was true that Jillian and Molton went on a special mission alongside Shin and the others. But that was only a one-time incident, so it was unthinkable for these two to become overly familiar with the group.

It was even more impossible for Alice. She never had a mission with the group and also never had a chance to interact much with them, but she was one who was showing the most progress within the group.

Not only was she able to quickly adjust to the team's style, but she also managed to integrate her own style with the group.

…

"A future wielder of 'Clairvoyance' sure is amazing," muttered Professor Cora after seeing Alice's progress.

Beside her, Professor Henry raised one of his eyebrows a little before asking. "Don't tell me you also want to take her under your tutelage?"

Hearing that, Professor Cora chuckled a little before waving her hand. "Of course not. I'm not that greedy. I want the others to also have a fair chance to get their pick."

"Moreover, I'm also not that skilled in terms of Mentalism. So, it is only going to be a waste of her talent if she trains under me," she added while turning her attention back to the virtual screen.

Then she turned her focus on Cloe who seemed to be not standing out too much compared to the other members of the group before muttering. "What's more, that girl is more than enough for my fancy."

Professor Henry couldn't help but feel interested in what his colleague was currently thinking. "You are more interested in that girl compared to a future Clairvoyant? This is rather an interesting topic; will you mind if I inquire about what you see from her?"

Hearing that, Professor Cora squinted her eyes and looked at Professor Henry with a skeptical expression on her face. "You're still unwilling to tell me who is the little guy that piques your interest, yet you still dare to ask me that question? I see that you finally have gone senile, Old Crook."

"Tsk!" Professor Henry could only click his tongue when he heard that before deciding to drop the matter and forget about it for the time being.

Moreover, he also had his concerns at this moment. He looked at the Shin who was at the rear of his group before thinking to himself. 'Up until now, this kid still hasn't used any of his Martial-Art Skills. Is he planning not to use any and just focus on his Mentalism Techniques in this test?'

After that, he started grinning from ear to ear before muttering with a quiet voice. "Trying to act in a low-profile manner and hide his full potential? Interesting! Let's see how long he can keep this cover."

Professor Cora who was sitting beside him was able to overhear his words and couldn't help but turn her head towards him. "What did you say?"

Unfortunately, Professor Henry dodged her question and just said. "Don't mind me. It is just a senile old man talking to himself."

********

In the meantime, Shin and the others were currently resting inside a cave that they found. They just finished hunting down a monster beast and currently trying to regain their peak conditions.

After the consecutive intense battles that they went through, the group finally started to feel mentally exhausted.

"This is not good. If we continue with this pace, we are going to be too exhausted to continue the test sooner or later," said Jillian with a deep frown.

"Can we slow down a little?" asked Alice as she nodded her head in agreement.

Hearing that, Shin could only take a helpless sigh before replying. "Well, that was originally the plan but the problem is the nature of the exam itself is preventing us from doing so. And even if we tried to slow our pace down, we can't be sure that our rivals are going to do the same."

"Moreover, there are still the monster beasts around. Those creatures don't know the word restraint. Plus, we also need to keep an eye on the prisoners and the gangs; we don't know when they are going to make their moves," he added after a brief moment of pause.

The others could only nod their heads in agreement since they also understand the nature of the exam. And they now understand why this particular part of the exam didn't have a time limit. The pressure that they were getting alone was more than enough to exhaust all of them.

While everyone was in deep thought, Shin suddenly opened his mouth and said. "But this is actually a good thing."

The others quickly whipped their heads at him when they heard those words before waiting for him to continue.

Seeing that, Shin's lips suddenly curved into a meaningful smile before continuing. "Given the current pace that we currently have, it is possible that this exam is meant to last for a short time only."

He trailed his words for a moment as he tried to calculate something inside his head before quickly adding. "And if I'm not wrong, we only need to stay here for two to three days at most."

"How sure are you with that assumption?" asked Arthur.

"Around 70-80% sure," answered Shin in an instant. He paused for a moment before quickly explaining. "The academy only wants to test our survivability skills and actual combat capabilities. Two to three days of observation is more than enough for them to barely gauge our overall strengths."

"Though, I still think that there is another form of test waiting for us when we get back," he added while shrugging his shoulders.

Hearing that, the group suddenly turned as they fell into even deeper thought. Then they started nodding their heads repeatedly after finding that Shin's words seemed to be reasonable.

On the other hand, Arthur lied down on his spot before complaining. "Tsk! Tsk! That means there is still a possibility that we also need to pass a written exam. D*mn! And here I think that I don't need to concern myself at answering those stupid questions anymore."

At the same time, Cloe suddenly blurted out unconsciously. "Then does it also mean that we can also stay here for as long as we want? After all, we already accumulated enough points to pass the exam. We also have enough food that we need for the next two days."

"Eh!?"

Hearing that, Shin and the others suddenly turned their heads at her with astounded expressions on their faces.

"Why did I not think about that?" muttered Shin, realizing that what Cloe had said was indeed true. "That way, we don't need to actively roam around this place and engage in useless fights. We also can hide as much of our strengths as possible."

"But isn't staying in a single place going to be too dangerous for us? Those prisoners can surround and corner us that way," asked Alice with a deep frown.

Jillian nodded her head in agreement but she still supported the idea that Cloe had shared. "But we can just set up a concealment barrier around the cave to hide it alongside our presence."

After that, he turned her head at Shin before asking. "Don't you think it is enough to hide from those prisoners?"

Shin thought for a couple of moments before nodding his head. "If you three are going to support me, then it is more than enough to fool them. I can also use some of my talismans to set up some defensive arrays."

"Though, it can only buy us a single day at most. After all, we are still in their territory and they are very familiar with this place, so they will still find us sooner or later," he added.

Then Jillian and Molton exchanged glances with each other before nodding their heads and stood up from their respective seats. And when Alice saw that, she could only shrug her shoulders before joining them.

Seeing that, Shin also stood up and said. "Then let's conserve our strengths until the final day."

...