...

Shin and the other crown emblem bearers were fully on guard with each other as they were aware of what was going to happen if one of them attacked either one of them.

Having that in mind, Dylan took the initiative to make the move against Shin since he was quite curious about the latter's real abilities. He first gathered his Sword Qi and condensed a couple of small swords using it before sending them towards Shin's direction.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The condensed sword energies flew straight at Shin with incredible speed. And when the latter sensed them, he quickly gave Dylan a sidelong glance before focusing on helping Leonard on his exam.

But despite him seemingly ignoring the incoming swords, none of them managed to get near him as a hexagonal wall made of Mental Energy blocked their path and prevented them from advancing forward.

Seeing that, Dylan slightly raised his eyebrows before planning to do another attack. But Jean beat him into it by gathering his Internal Qi on the tip of his index finger before pointing at Shin and sending out an invisible energy beam from it.

Meanwhile, Diel coordinated with his attack and quickly snapped with his fingers to release an energy ripple in the air with the help of his own Mental Energy. And due to that, the balance that Shin's wall had suddenly collapsed and let Jean's attack passed through it.

"Hey, hey! Ganging up on me? That is unfair," cursed Shin the moment he sensed what just happened.

After that, he lightly tapped the tip of his pen on his desk a couple of times, creating another ripple in the air that countered Diel's move before creating another wall in front of the incoming energy beam. That wall looked like a mirror and redirected the trajectory of the energy beam towards Dylan's direction.

Seeing that, Dylan suddenly smirked as he could read what Shin was currently thinking. Then he flicked his wrist to send a Sword Qi that collided with the incoming energy beam.

After that, the four started exchanging blows with each other with each attempt focused on a different target. They did all of it until the time that they had for the exam finally came to an end.

Professor Jennifer was smiling from ear to ear as she somewhat enjoyed the show. These selected four with crown emblems didn't disappoint the academy for giving them such acknowledgments.

When she was done collecting the exam papers from everyone, she immediately smiled at them before saying. "Alright, that should be it for now! You all can go back to your respective homes for the time being while we are checking these papers."

"We will summon you again a few days later if you manage to pass this test," she added before turning around and walking towards the exit.

But before her feet stepped out of the room, she suddenly remembered something and turned at everyone once again before saying. "Oh! Before I forget, please make sure to be at your peak form when you are summoned by the academy once again."

"I'm pretty sure that all of you already know what the next part of the exam is going to be, so you better be ready to give us a good show, alright?" she added before spinning around and finally walking out the room.

After that, the others started standing up from their seats, planning to leave. And while Shin was standing up, he suddenly saw Dylan walking towards him from the corner of his eyes.

Raising his head, he looked at Dylan and saw the guy extend his right hand, offering a handshake. "You're good. I hope that we bump into each other again on the next part of the exam."

Shin was stunned at first before accepting the handshake before nodding his head. "I'm looking forward to it."

Then Dylan walked past him before heading out of the room. Shin looked at the young swordsman's back before smiling quite widely as he felt a little excited to exchange blows with this guy. "The so-called Sword Genius, huh?"

Not long after, Arthur and Leonard walked towards him before the latter nudged his arm to tell him that Jean Camus and his two friends were looking at them.

Given that, Shin turned his head towards the direction that they were looking at. And after a little bit of staredown, he suddenly heard Arthur smirking at them. "The next time we meet, we will know which one group is better; the Monster Trio or the Three Kings."

Meanwhile, Diel ignored all of those and walked out of the lecture hall alongside Falcon. Shin gave him a quick sidelong glance before looking at the two beside him. "Let's go, I can't wait to have a proper rest right now."

"At last! A proper bath and a soft bed to sleep on! I can't wait to finally get home!" said Arthur while stretching his waits left and right.

Meanwhile, the girls were already outside and heading home ages ago since Professor Jennifer stepped out of the lecture hall.

And while they were about to walk out of the hall, the corner of Arthur's eyes caught the glimpse of Molton still sitting on his seat. "Huh? Why is this guy still sitting there?"

"Hey, Molton! Why are you still there? Don't you want to go back home?" said Arthur while waving at his so-called junior brother.

Hearing his voice, Molton finally snapped out from his dazed state and turned his head towards Arthur's direction. "Ah~! Yeah."

The trio waited for Molton to catch up with them before Arthur put his arm around Molton's shoulder while asking. "What are you dazing about? Don't tell me you are not confident that you are going to pass that written exam? Isn't it too easy?"

Hearing those words, Shin and Leonard rolled their eyes at him, unable to endure his shamelessness.

On the other hand, Molton immediately shook his head and quickly answered. "Ah~! That's not it, Senior Brother! I'm just reflecting on everything that happened up until now. And thinking about all of it, I don't think that I've shown any remarkable performance."

"Eh!?"

The three were taken aback by his words. Then they exchanged glances with each other before Arthur nodded his head and patted Molton's shoulder. "Who cares if your performance is remarkable or not? What's important is that you break through those hurdles and survive in the end."

"B-but… I don't think our clan will think the same," replied Molton with a meek tone.

"Huh~! Why is that? Don't tell me your clan is so strict to think that about that?" asked Arthur with a deep frown.

This time, Molton smiled bitterly before replying. "As much as I don't want to admit it, my Clan is indeed like that. And since this is supposedly a competition between geniuses, they are most likely expecting us to perform well and outshine the other clans from the other country."

"But after I look back at my performance, I'm pretty sure that I don't live up to their expectations," he added with a bitter tone.

Hearing that, Shin suddenly ruffled Molton's hair before saying. "Don't worry about it too much. Your performance up until now is actually outstanding, so there is no need to be this anxious, right?"

Molton slightly nodded his head after hearing those words but the expression that he was wearing didn't change much. And after a brief moment of hesitation, he finally voiced out his real concern. "Maybe I am going to be alright given the current goal of the exam, but it is a different matter for my sister."

Arthur's ears suddenly perked up the moment he heard those words and quickly asked. "What's wrong? Is there some kind of problem with her performance too?"

At this point in time, Molton couldn't help but sigh helplessly before continuing. "Of course, her performance is actually quite remarkable compared to mine since she perfectly fulfills the role that was given to her. But that is also the problem."

"Since we are young, Sis perfectly resembles a leading figure which is why the Clan has high hopes for her. She is really outstanding in everything that she does and she has always been the leader in every group that she partakes in."

He then paused for a moment to take a quick glance at Shin before continuing. "But in this special exam, not only does she fail to get the 'Leader Role', but she also takes orders from someone else. I'm pretty sure that she will get scolded if father heard about it."

Hearing that, Arthur frowned quite deeply before commenting. "Isn't it a little too much? It is the academy's decision to give her the 'Auxiliary Role', so it shouldn't be her fault."

"I know, but our clan will not think that way. For them, the fact that Sis didn't get the 'Crown Emblem' means that she lacked the ability to have it," said Molton.

"She may be fine outside but I know that she is quite frustrated deep inside," he added with a sigh.

When Arthur heard that, he immediately smacked his right-hand fist to his left hand before saying resolutely. "So, this is actually the time to lend her a shoulder to lean on. Don't worry, junior brother. I will make sure to comfort her later!"

Shin and Leonard rolled their eyes at him once again before deciding to leave. The latter even commented with a sneering tone. "Good luck with that. Don't you know that she already left ages ago?"

Arthur immediately stood straight and patted Molton's shoulder before refuting. "Heh! Do you already forget that her twin brother is still here?"

He then looked at his junior brother and asked. "So, tell me. Where are the two of you staying right now? I'll pay you a visit later."

"Ahm… Actually, we are currently staying at the school dorm, so we are not together," answered Molton while lowering his head.

Hearing this, Arthur suddenly froze on his spot as his plan immediately crumbled before he could even start it. And at the same time, Shin and Leonard burst out laughing the moment they overheard Molton's reply from a distance.

In the meantime, inside a conference room where their exam papers were being checked, the professors were engaged in a heated discussion because of a certain test paper.

...