Flames of Ambition

53: Passed the test

Chapter 53: Passed the Test

Zexel flinched as she received another wound on her shoulder. She had been staying in this place for three days, and still, she had no clue what the test was truly about.

She entered her pagoda and healed herself first. There were too many monsters outside, and she couldn't even sleep properly. She was too worn out, feeling like she could collapse at any moment.

Upon entering her pagoda, she was greeted by her five summons.

All she saw were the weird looks that Red, Blue, Black, and White were giving the new creature. It was expected since the four used Mandarin, while Panggetsa Nigesuntu spoke Tagalog. It was practically two different languages in one room.

"Maybe I'll make a translator device so you can understand each other," Zexel muttered to herself.

"Stop! Tigil!" Zexel commanded in both Mandarin and Tagalog.

"Red, Blue, White, Black—stop communicating with Panggetsa Nigesuntu for a while. I'll make a translator later so you can all understand each other. Panggetsa Nigesuntu, pwede bang 'wag ka munang makipag-usap sa kanila? Gagawa ako ng gamit na tagasalin sa wikang Tagalog mamaya. Magpapahinga lang ako."
(Panggetsa Nigesuntu, can you please stop talking to them for now? I’ll make a device that translates Tagalog later. I’ll just take a rest.)
All of them nodded in understanding.

Zexel sighed and weakly went to her room inside the pagoda. The White Tiger helped her since she was too weak.

---

Healing inside the pagoda frustrated her. She kept thinking about the real goal of the final test. Surely, it wasn't just about killing monsters—there had to be something more.

She tried to recall everything that happened since entering. Even her group was nowhere to be found. She had no choice but to rely on herself because no one else would help her here.

Unknown to them, an old man had been watching everything. Zexel’s group, including Leng Fu Ting, had truly caught his interest. This man was none other than the Headmaster of Scarlett Academy.

“Feng Guan Xi is disqualified due to killing his target. However, Fan Qingyou had too much luck—she accidentally completed the goal. Should we accept her even though she barely passed?” a voice asked behind him.

“Let her in. Let’s see how long she’ll survive after entering the Academy. I’m interested in these five people. Whether they passed or failed doesn’t matter—let them all in,” the Headmaster said, still searching the screen for Zexel, who had seemingly vanished into thin air.

---

Was this a retrieval test? A skill test? A survival test? A tracking test?

Zexel healed quickly inside the pagoda. Without wasting time, she went to her laboratory and crafted a translator seal. She embedded it in a scroll and activated it for all five of her summons.

Now they could understand each other, even while speaking in their native tongues.

"Oo nga pala, may pangalan ka ba?" (By the way, do you have a name?) Zexel asked curiously.

"Wala. Wala akong pangalan. Pero tinatawag kami sa numero. Ako si isang libo’t siyam na raan at dalawampu’t pito."
(None. I don’t have a name. We’re called by numbers. I’m One Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty-Seven,) the creature politely said.

"Hmm... simula ngayon, ikaw na si Purple."
(Hmm… from now on, your name is Purple.) Zexel said with a smile. The eyes of Panggetsa Nigesuntu sparkled with joy.

"Salamat! Salamat! Salamat! Hindi ko alam kung paano kita pasasalamatan. Nagustuhan ko nang sobra ang bago kong pangalan!"
(Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I don’t know how to express my gratitude. I love my new name so much!) Purple said with great enthusiasm.

Zexel smiled and told them she was heading back to the test site.

After eight hours inside her pagoda, she reappeared in the same place where she had disappeared. She immediately resumed killing monsters using the katana she had retrieved from her pagoda’s weapon room.

She coated the blade with her qi, making each slash far more lethal.

Three hours into her spree, she obtained a glowing red orb from one of the beasts she killed. Curious, she touched it and picked it up from the ground.

When she crushed it, a note appeared.

Secret Mission:
Collect 1,000 beast cores from Level 6 monsters.

Zexel couldn’t help but curse under her breath. She had been killing beasts non-stop since her arrival here—many of which were probably Level 6.

She sighed and sat in a lotus position. Channeling her qi, she spread it across the forest like a web, magnetizing her body to attract beast cores from Level 6 monsters and above.

Thanks to her heightened senses, she could effortlessly count every beast core that arrived.

Having slain countless beasts since entering, it didn’t take long. She managed to gather 856 Level 6 and above beast cores. Smirking, she leapt back into a killing spree. Every beast in sight met its end instantly.

Moments later, her body glowed, and in the blink of an eye, she reappeared—standing in front of Feng Zhengying, who was just as messy and exhausted as she was.

Both of them burst out laughing as Fan Yaoli, Leng Fu Ting, Feng Ming Li, and Fan Qingyou appeared next to them one by one.

For the first time in history, Scarlett Academy broke its record for highest enrollees. They had six who passed the test.

“Congratulations to all of you. You passed the fourth test. Welcome to Scarlett Academy,” a teacher announced.

All six smiled, though their faces showed exhaustion.

The moment they passed through the true gates of Scarlett Academy, their appearances returned to normal—and all memory of the fourth test vanished completely.