Chapter 495: The Sky is Torn, but the Joint Examination Must Continue
At this moment, Tan Han had successfully led everyone out of danger. Despite having protection spells, everyone appeared to be in a sorry state.
Once they felt somewhat safe, they collapsed on the ground, their bodies weary after the life-and-d*ath struggle. The intense relief left them completely drained, with only the aftershock of fear remaining in their minds.
“Is everyone okay? Did anyone get left behind?” Tan Han asked once she regained her composure.
It’s fair to say that she had pushed herself to the limit in that short time, requiring decisiveness, a guiding hand, protective spells for everyone, and boundless courage.
Although the girls who stayed with Tan Han all had their own skills, only a few were able to react promptly in the moment of crisis.
Even with spellbooks, not everyone could unleash defensive spells at the first sign of a sudden d*ath threat, particularly under extreme mental stress and emotional turmoil.
Spellbooks are tools, not instincts.
Fortunately, everything was fine at the moment.
Tan Han leaned against a volcanic rock, supporting herself, unconsciously looking at everyone.
When they had just escaped from the volcanic ash area, her flying broomstick had three additional people hanging off it besides her, clearly overburdened. But at that moment, they had no choice; there weren’t many alternatives.
Flying spellbooks were relatively rare and mostly expensive functional items, with low cost-performance ratios. Most witches who had obtained their flying licenses would opt to buy a flying broomstick instead of using spell flights.
Looking at everyone who had narrowly escaped d*ath, Tan Han felt a twinge of guilt. Though the volcanic anomalies had nothing to do with them, it gave them a stark realization of how terrifying what they were about to face could be.
Before anyone could catch their breath and respond, Tan Han answered her own question.
“No one is missing, thankfully… phew… Let’s rest here for a bit.” Tan Han patted the fine volcanic ash on her clothes; even she wasn’t immune to the overwhelming disaster.
That suffocating feeling from the volcanic ash seemed like it could return at any moment.
However, they had come out against the wind direction, so at least they didn’t need to worry about the ash hitting them again.
Once they calmed down, many began to share their fears and excitement about what had just happened.
After this disaster, it was clear in their eyes that some were bewildered.
“Tan Han, what do we do next? Does the joint examination really have to continue?”
“The joint examination isn’t over; that’s natural.” Tan Han nodded at the girl beside her.
The girl’s name was Xiao You, affectionately called Xiao You by everyone. In that perilous moment, her reaction time was also quite fast, and she had managed to bring two companions to safety.
Xiao You was one of the earlier friends Tan Han had made, though they hadn’t spent much time together during fun activities.
In comparison, Tan Han had spent more time with Minian, Heddy, and others, as they were sisters who had fought together in the initial exchange competition, and their relationship was naturally closer.
“That…”
“I know everyone has some lingering fear from this experience, but I want to tell you that the joint examination is not finished. Although this all happened a bit suddenly, at least it isn’t the worst outcome, is it?” While Tan Han spoke, she took out her phone to search for messages.
“No, Tan Han, we know the joint examination isn’t over. What do we do next? Even if a volcano erupts again, I will follow!”
“Right! This was so thrilling; we suffered so much mainly because we weren’t prepared. We can handle this again for sure!”
“Yeah, victory is right in front of us. I can’t stand it without blowing up that volcano.”
At this moment, many girls chimed in, echoing Tan Han’s sentiments without any complaints.
Under such circumstances, the support from her followers meant more to her than any healing potion could.
After expressing her gratitude, Tan Han took this opportunity to sort out the current information.
At this stage, it took her a bit of time to understand the current situation from the group chats.
The volcanic activity had caused ash to cover nearly half the main island. Currently, no one had reported flowing lava, indicating that the volcano hadn’t truly erupted, so things shouldn’t worsen.
Moreover, according to the information in the group chat, there were some good news: the core teams remaining from the Witch Academy had not been affected by the volcanic ash, while news from Ninglan Qiuyue indicated that the Aphhemia Forest Elf had been affected by the ash; their safety was uncertain.
Tan Han speculated they were likely in trouble because they had personally experienced how dangerous this was.
Just as she was about to share this information, a sudden and intense anomaly occurred.
Everyone’s attention was captivated by the surrounding extraordinary event; the world appeared to lose its color in an instant, almost like an old television flickering with static.
Everything before them trembled as if it were about to collapse, and the source of this phenomenon came from high above.
In a short amount of time, everyone calmed themselves and looked up; the sky had torn open a massive rift, penetrating the heavens.
Through that rift, a beautiful yet perilous starry sky could be seen; each glimmering star radiated a dangerous light, and as the tear widened, it seemed to threaten to engulf the entire Bobapop Islands.
“What… what is that?”
“Could it be the work of another teaching assistant?”
The horrifying phenomenon prompted people to involuntarily ask, almost as if seeking answers from the universe.
The sky’s anomaly tore through the lingering high-altitude volcanic ash, creating a vacuum in the sky, followed by a surge of black tides pouring down from the rift like a tidal wave.
Upon witnessing this, Tan Han quickly recognized what it was, and a distant memory surged back.
“That’s… an Abyss Demon! d*mn…” Tan Han quickly exclaimed, unable to restrain her frustration.
The last time she had encountered Abyss Demons was during the Nightmare event in Ninglan New City.
But she hadn’t expected to encounter such creatures again during this joint examination.
When they had first arrived in Ninglan New City, they were still under the influence of the dream state and didn’t have a deep impression of those minor demons, but those Dream Demons… even a few of them could toy with them completely, being on a crushing level of strength. The Dream Demons had left a deep impression on them.
“What are Abyss Demons?”
It was evident that some people here had not experienced the Nightmare event and were unaware of the concept of Abyss Demons.
“They are a terrifying race from another world. We encountered them before in Ninglan New City; I should have mentioned… the Dream Demons we discussed before are just one kind among the Abyss Demons.” Tan Han had to explain quickly.
After the matter in Ninglan New City concluded, she had researched many topics, including information on Abyss Demons. They were a dangerous race that had extended their reach into this world, and she had learned that the Inferior Demon Academy and Undead Academy were branches connected to the Abyss Demons.
Others who had also experienced the Ninglan New City incident quickly recalled their memories from that time…
“How could it be… are Abyss Demons truly so persistent? Where are the instructors? Aren’t we in a joint examination? They couldn’t have missed such a massive disturbance, right?”
“Yeah… where are the instructors?”
Everyone reacted quickly, their initially panicked expressions now showing some resolve.
However, with no instructors appearing at this point, not even the patrolling teachers, made them uneasy and restless.
Surely they couldn’t have encountered an accident?
As the group fell into an atmosphere of mild panic, a figure appeared not far from them.
“Sorry, looks like I arrived a bit late?”
I appeared here using a teleportation spell and saw the girls looking dazed, prompting me to offer a reminder.
“Xiao… Sister Xiao Han!” Someone immediately recognized me and excitedly called out.
“It’s Teaching Assistant Xiao Han!”
“It’s fine; you can call me Sister Xiao Han.” I waved my hand and then glanced at everyone, “I was held up by some matters, and I know you’re all very anxious, but please don’t panic.”
“Don’t… panic? Sister Xiao Han, how can we not panic with something like this happening?”
“Yes! Are you here to announce that the joint examination is over and to take us away?”
As soon as I said that, everyone surrounded me, pressing for answers.
“Alright, the reason I was delayed was to get clarification on this matter. The academy has stated that the situation is still manageable; the joint examination needs to continue, so halting it isn’t an option for now.”
When I finished speaking, there was a visible dejection among the crowd; many had shocked expressions, and they felt this decision was exceedingly unreasonable.
As some prepared to question, I spoke first.
“There’s no need to question this decision. This incident was indeed unexpected, and many instructors have mobilized, but these monsters aren’t very powerful; it’s definitely within your capacity to handle them. The more formidable ones have already been dealt with by the instructors, so please rest assured.” I explained patiently.
In fact, these minor demons were easier to deal with than they thought. Firstly, these beings definitely wouldn’t reach the extraordinary level, because Abyss Demons at that level wouldn’t be trapped in a false world. Moreover, as outsiders entering the main world, they were cursed with misfortune, making them even easier to k*ll.
So Sister Bai was right; these Abyss Demons intended to take advantage of their opportunity to enter the main world and cause chaos, trying to harvest the flesh and soul materials of the world’s inhabitants.
But they certainly didn’t expect their plans to be intercepted at the outset, and the minor demons they brought along were trapped in the false world and became expendables for this joint examination.
The demons trapped in the false world wouldn’t exit intact like the exam candidates but would completely perish within this grand sorcery space, just like the initial monsters.
As the discussions unfolded, I opened my mouth again.
“By the way, please inform each other about this situation to prevent unnecessary panic due to a lack of information. That’s about it—good luck! I’ll help in my own way.”
After saying this, I prepared to leave. There was no point in lingering; if they had more questions, I wouldn’t know how to answer.
After all, these were problems for the instructors, asking me didn’t help.
“Wait!”
“Hmm?” I paused my steps; if someone had called out to me, I might not have stopped, but since it was Tan Han, I turned to look at her, my expression not changing much, “Is there still a question?”
“I just want to ask… do we get points for killing those demons?”
“Oh, that’s a tricky question. I’m not quite sure, but… if you really have the capability to clear them out, I think the academy will reward you. If not, I will personally request it from the instructors.” I raised my eyebrow, surprised that Tan Han even asked that.
Although I truly didn’t know how to respond, Tan Han’s question indicated she had accepted the situation.
So I didn’t mind painting a picture for them at this moment and seeing if I could fill it in later. After all, I didn’t believe the academy would have no intentions of compensation facing such a sudden event.
As everyone watched me leave, their feelings were mixed; some were unwilling to accept that the joint examination continued under such unexpected circumstances while others lamented the bittersweet change in their identities…
“Alright everyone, since the joint examination is still going on, let’s continue! It’s just Abyss Demons, right? Those guys bullied us in Ninglan New City so arrogantly last time; now it’s time for us to get revenge! Let those disgusting creatures know what kind of existence they’ve provoked!”
With Tan Han’s impassioned speech, everyone quickly stirred with newfound enthusiasm.
They felt uneasy; the sudden anomaly had created a huge gap between their inner thoughts and reality, but after taking a breather to accept it, they were now motivated by Tan Han’s words!
Revenge for Sister Tan Han!
Whether they experienced the Ninglan New City event or not, they were willing to take up the banner of revenge against those disgusting monsters, swearing to eliminate every single one!
Just like the monsters that had previously inhabited the Bobapop Islands.
Meanwhile, I had naturally left the scene and moved to another side. Regarding the unexpected assault of the Abyss Demons, the academy had not notified us teaching assistants beforehand, and the rules did not mention it, which meant this unexpected situation permitted me to take action as well.
Although I wished to leave the false world and witness what extraordinary-level confrontations were like, that level was beyond my reach.
And I was somewhat worried about Sister Bai, but considering the number of extraordinary witches, including Sister Bai, that the academy dispatched for the Abyss Demons, it should… be unlikely for anything bad to happen.
