Kevin's performance was quite overwhelming—not only to the few students from Ardentia, but even Daverfall's students were visibly impressed by his quick thinking and versatile skill set.

Not only that, despite lacking the strength to carry the dummies, Kevin swiftly devised a way to drag them along without damaging them.

Following that, his ability to deal with so many Devils at the bridge even made Brutus nod in admiration.

He has shown that it didn't take several flashy spells or loud roaring to take down a fleet while protecting people. His work was silent, efficient and quick..

Once he was done, he returned to Island Beta, where Natalie wore the widest smile.

Kevin exchanged a brief glance with her before taking his position among the others.

Guinevere hummed, "That was impressive—from someone who performed so poorly during the Goblet of Honor."

Natalie's smile froze, while the students from Daverfall glanced at one another, barely suppressing their chuckles.

Guinevere added, "That only shows how brilliantly you've progressed in such a short period."

Kevin exhaled. 'She has a weird way of complimenting people.'

But well, she was right about him improving from the last time. Maybe it was the strange message he received on his way back to the academy or the realization of what he has been doing wrong.

The black-haired woman wasn't finished. "While I appreciate your method of carrying the civilians to safety, as well as your composure during the ambush on the bridge, there is still something you failed to notice."

Kevin blinked, eager to hear exactly what he had missed.

Guinevere tilted her head toward the building and said, "That building still has more than eight survivors—and more than four Devils who would have devoured them, had they actually been breathing."

Kevin froze on the spot. His eyes widened slightly as he asked, "E-Eight?"

Guinevere nodded. "Two of them were in the storage—the same place where you picked up the rope." Her eyes narrowed. "I believe you didn't pick the dummies from the storage, did you?"

Kevin's breath caught in his throat… he hadn't.

Guinevere huffed. "Well, typical of a teenager. You were so elated to find a solution to your immediate problem that you failed to notice what lay beyond it."

Kevin lowered his head, teeth clenched. How could he have been in such a rush? If this had been a real incident, those people would have been dead by now.

Guinevere noticed that the boy was genuinely repenting his mistake.

*He isn't overhyped by Ardentia's headmaster. He has potential,* she noted.

Shifting her gaze, she said, "Brutus, you're next."

Everyone instinctively straightened as the violet-haired boy moved calmly toward the building.

William watched with interest, eager to see how quickly the supposedly strongest student would complete the task.

Brutus continued forward at a moderate pace—but he wasn't merely walking.

Sand began to swirl around him, first appearing near his waist despite him holding no container. That initial wave pulled more sand from the surroundings.

With two small sand tornadoes circling him, Brutus entered the building.

"How long do you think?" one of the Daverfall students—whose name William overheard as Angelica—asked the boy beside her.

"Maybe a minute at most? Something like this isn't even a challenge for him," the short-haired boy replied with a snicker.

And he wasn't boasting.

Not even a minute passed before Brutus emerged from the building. The tornadoes were still there—only now, they were carrying something.

"Are… those Devils?" Gizel asked, her eyes narrowing.

"They appear to be," Daven replied, brows raised. "He dealt with that many already? Hmm…"

Behind Brutus were the dummies. Unlike Kevin, he didn't need rope to make them move.

As if hypnotized, all the training dummies rolled in a straight line, following Brutus toward the bridge.

As he passed the group of students, Brutus dropped the Devils. Already fading from suffocation, their bodies were completely packed with sand.

He continued his march toward the bridge.

Every eye followed him.

This time, the challenge was different.

A massive snake awaited him on the bridge—something that had appeared out of nowhere.

William scanned the surroundings but found no hidden passage that could have allowed such a creature to emerge.

*Someone capable of summoning Devils? I highly doubt they'd be helping the Great Hall.* Only a General-ranked Devil could open Death Sinks anywhere to bring underlings from the netherworld.

His focus didn't linger long.

Brutus moved.

No—rather, the sand arms forming around him did.

The snake reacted just in time, springing back as two massive sand hands lunged to seize it.

The monster hissed and spat what looked like venom.

The sand deformed and reformed, the venom falling harmlessly into the sea.

This time, the snake had no time to react.

*CLENCH*

The monster was caught.

Without wasting another moment, Brutus advanced, the dummies following obediently behind him.

The snake thrashed and hissed, but the sand hands stretched it relentlessly until its body began to tear from the middle.

"That's brutal… just how much strength can he exert with those hands?" Daven muttered.

"Whatever it is, I definitely don't want to get caught in that," Natalie said—and as her words ended, the giant snake split in two, its body burning into ash moments later.

Standing off to the side, William fell into deep thought.

His telekinetic arms shared similar traits—but they were invisible to the naked eye.

Still… could he gather that much strength?

The answer was no.

They were durable—most attacks directed at him were tanked by them—but in terms of raw power, William doubted he could tear apart a beast that massive.

Scratching his chin, he muttered, "I think I need to focus more on my basics."

Someone had told him not long ago that his only limitation was his imagination.

Yet, with all the flashy spells he had unlocked recently, he had drifted away from the fundamentals.

That couldn't continue.

Soon after, Brutus returned to Island Beta and took his place among the others.

Guinevere nodded. "You deserve the praise I've heard about you even before your arrival. That was flawless for the most part. Just remember—you can't fill real people with sand."

Brutus replied instantly, as if he had expected the remark. "If they were real people, I would have carried them the same way I carried the Devils."

Guinevere nodded. "As expected." She then turned to the silver-haired girl beside William. "Emma, you're next."

Kevin tilted his head toward her—so did Brutus.

Many noticed that even Brutus seemed genuinely interested in Emma's performance.

Unbothered by their gazes, the girl squeezed William's hand one last time before departing.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.

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