But it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Derek opened his eyes and saw Emma sitting exactly as he had just seen her.

'Did I do it correctly? Or was that just my imagination?' he wondered.

Emma, Eva, Henry, and Art were all deeply focused as well, each struggling in their own way to grasp the technique.

After a brief glance, Derek closed his eyes again. By now, he had already memorized everything written on the tablet — there was no need to look at it anymore.

He steadied his breathing and focused his entire concentration on fully deciphering the technique.

Time ticked by.

The audience slowly grew impatient. After all, they were used to blood-pumping action and explosive battles. Watching contestants sit motionless for hours felt unbearably dull.

Yet despite the boredom, a heavy silence hung over the arena.

Bored or not, everyone wanted to see just how far the participants could go in comprehending the technique.

By now, almost all the participants had memorized what was written on their stone tablets. No one opened their eyes anymore to read from them. Still, they were far from true comprehension.

From time to time, a pair of eyelids would twitch, as if their owner was on the verge of grasping something — only to fall back into stillness moments later.

Derek had not opened his eyes since the last time he saw Emma. But slowly, a thin smile crept onto his face.

No one noticed it.

The five-hour time limit was drawing close to its end. No warnings were given, as any interruption might disrupt the fragile concentration everyone was clinging to.

The announcer had already returned to the arena, ready to officially end the trial the moment the final minutes passed.

In the gallery, the audience leaned forward.

The moment was almost there. The tension sent goosebumps through the crowd — stronger than even the final round of past Half-Yearly Ranker's Tests.

Eight minutes.

Four minutes.

One minute.

Ten seconds.

And then...

"Stop." The announcer's voice echoed across the arena.

Slowly, one by one, the contestants opened their eyes.

"Now," the announcer continued, "it is time to see whether you have truly learned the technique — or at the very least, comprehended it to some extent." The team members exchanged confused looks.

A question surfaced in everyone's mind. Earlier, it had been announced that the results would be determined based on how much one had comprehended, but how was that comprehension going to be measured?

As if answering their doubts, the announcer clapped his hands.

Eleven instructors entered the arena and walked toward the participants. Soon, one instructor stood before each of the eleven teams.

The announcer spoke again. "You were given five hours to comprehend the technique. Now, you will be tested. Based on your performance, we will determine the level of your comprehension." He paused briefly. "The most basic application of Divine Sense is the ability to perceive the direction of sound."

Murmurs rippled through the teams.

"One by one," the announcer continued, "a member from each team will be blindfolded. The instructor will then release a spell in a random direction and it will result in a blast."

"The blindfolded contestant must identify the direction in which the spell was blasted. If your answer is correct, you pass. If not, you fail."

His gaze sharpened. "You may attempt to just guess and give a random answer. However, we will know whether you are genuinely sensing the direction or merely giving a random answer. If anyone is found cheating, their entire team will be disqualified."

Silence fell.

Some participants looked nervous. Others remained calm.

The test began.

One by one, students stepped forward.

Many failed, pointing in the wrong direction, their faces darkening with disappointment.

But many succeeded as well, accurately identifying the source of the spell.

From Linda's team, four members passed.

From another team, four passed as well — making them the two teams with the highest number of successes.

From one team, not a single member succeeded.

When it was Derek's team's turn, Derek passed. So did Emma. And Eva.

Henry failed. He cursed loudly, shame written all over his face. Art felt the same, his fists clenched in frustration.

Derek quickly stepped in, placing a hand on their shoulders and whispering words of reassurance, trying to keep their morale from breaking.

Ultimately, two teams were disqualified because none of their members passed the test.

Nine teams remained.

One more would be eliminated. And the final eight would advance to the third trial.

The announcer spoke again. "Now, the instructors will launch an attack spell from a random direction. The spell will whistle through the air, giving you a clue to its trajectory."

He paused briefly before continuing. "This phase is more difficult than the previous one. You must not only determine the direction of the attack, but also the distance. You need to detect both and successfully dodge the spell."

His voice hardened. "Dodge successfully, and you pass. Get hit, and you already know the outcome."

A brief silence followed.

"Begin."

With that, the next phase of the test started.

This time, failures piled up quickly. One after another, participants were struck by the incoming spells before they could react.

The audience was now thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. The gallery buzzed with cheers every time a participant successfully dodged the attack.

From Linda's team, only two participants managed to pass.

From Derek's team, Derek and Emma passed, but Eva failed this time.

One team was disqualified entirely.

From each of the remaining teams, only one participant succeeded.

In the end, only ten participants remained standing.

High above the arena, the Headmistress watched with an intrigued expression, as though she were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

She could see it clearly.

Although ten participants had passed, every single one of them had struggled — barely managing to detect the correct direction in time.

All except one.

One participant had passed both phases with ease. One who knew exactly what he was doing.

Derek.

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