Operation

The sudden scene unfolding in the Secret Realm left the onlookers stunned.

Most students were shocked by Selina’s audacious move, and even the exam mentor couldn’t help but adjust the slipping glasses on their nose.

“She can do that?” a student in the stands gaped, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Controlling a Sky Eagle? Is that some kind of nature-based magic that can influence creatures?” a more knowledgeable student speculated, piecing together the visuals.

“No, even nature magic couldn’t do that. Those eagles are trained by the academy and bound by contract magic. Controlling a beast with an existing contract isn’t something simple magic can achieve,” an experienced high-tier mage mentor corrected, their expertise in nature and contract magic lending deeper insight.

“To control a Sky Eagle with just a song… this Selina is no ordinary student,” another mentor remarked, impressed.

“Controlling a beast—through a blood pact? But when could she have formed one?” Aemiya muttered, her blood-red eyes fixed on the magical projection. Selina’s actions baffled her. As a vampire with divine lineage, Aemiya knew blood pacts—marks left through blood to forcibly control creatures. But Selina’s song-based control didn’t resemble vampiric abilities.

Vampire blood, especially that of the Progenitor, was highly assimilative and corrosive.

Even regular vampire blood could turn victims into kin or ghouls; Progenitor blood was far more potent.

Logically, if Selina carried Progenitor blood, her genes and bloodline would have been overtaken by its divine power, marking her as a vampire.

Aemiya had assumed Selina was hiding her vampiric nature—understandable, given vampires’ poor reputation.

But Selina showed no trace of vampiric traits or abilities tied to blood or shadows. This sparked doubt in Aemiya’s paranoid mind. Is she not a vampire?

How could she resist the Progenitor’s assimilation? It outclassed even royal vampiric embrace, unless Selina possessed a divine artifact of equal potency.

Aemiya’s grip tightened, her unease mirroring the helplessness she felt years ago when her fate was wrested from her control.

“Magic, physical prowess, observation—she’s top-tier in every aspect,” Litiya commented from the central stands, nodding approvingly. “Beyond her talent, her experience suggests she’s no ordinary student.”

As discussions continued, the Secret Realm battle unfolded. Selina, stroking the eagle, radiated her elven aura, making the creature increasingly docile. “Good boy. Tell your friends to avoid my area when patrolling,” she whispered, imprinting a mark on the eagle. This mark, compatible with its surveillance magic, allowed her to see what it saw, turning the academy’s tool into her own reconnaissance network.

A thief’s adaptability shone through—not just evading surveillance but using it to gather intelligence. The eagle flapped away, leaving her unmonitored. Selina exhaled, her tension easing.

Now free, she could act without restraint. Her elven senses, far superior to human ones, came alive. The grassland’s plants, trees, and creatures became her eyes and ears.

As a royal elf, nature’s children were her allies, feeding her information about the Secret Realm’s ecosystem.

Her endurance outstripped humans’, and with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow at its first stage, her dynamic vision and agility surpassed most candidates.

With the eagles as her aerial scouts and nature as her informant, she processed a flood of data, calculating an optimal route to maximize points while avoiding other candidates and formidable monsters.

A faint ding accompanied her movements as she became a white wraith, darting through the grass.

A Steel-Fur Direwolf, munching on fresh prey, didn’t sense her approach. A silver blade flashed, slicing through its iron-hard fur like butter. Seconds later, a thin bloodline appeared on its neck, and its massive head slid off, blood gushing.

The beast collapsed, silver streams of light flowing from its corpse to merge with Selina’s token, logging her points.

As the exam began, some candidates floundered, others trembled, and a few strutted arrogantly.

But Selina, the seasoned veteran, systematically racked up points with terrifying efficiency, her score climbing as swiftly as her blades struck.