Elise watched Gorren walk toward the pedestal and felt a headache starting to form behind her eyes.

’He’s an idiot,’ she thought, her hands clenching at her sides. ’He’s literally falling right into the trap. This isn’t a test, it’s a statement.’

She looked at the Guildmaster, who was watching Gorren with the same bored expression he’d had since they entered the room.

She was starting to realize that the rumors about the royal recommendation must have been true, and Allen wasn’t just unhappy about it, he was actively sabotaging the entire group to make a point.

’He doesn’t want Hajin here,’ she thought, her gaze drifting toward the silver-haired boy leaning against the wall. ’He probably thinks that if he sets a requirement that’s literally impossible, nobody can complain when he fails everyone. We’re all just collateral damage for his political game.’

Gorren stopped a few feet from the pedestal and let out a guttural roar, his mana flaring around him in a violent, messy explosion of orange light. Four distinct shards manifested around his wrists, spinning rapidly while he raised his massive axe high over his head.

The air in the room grew heavy as he poured everything he had into the weapon, the metal glowing with such intensity that it started to hiss.

"Die!" he screamed, bringing the axe down with every ounce of strength in his body.

The impact was deafening. A shockwave of mana and air slammed into the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust that temporarily obscured the pedestal. Gorren stood there, his chest heaving as he stared into the haze with a desperate, hopeful grin.

But as the dust settled, the grin vanished.

The ten-shard core hadn’t moved an inch. There wasn’t a crack, a chip, or even a smudge on its surface. The axe, however, was shivering in Gorren’s grip, the edge of the blade visibly dulled from the force of the strike.

’It’s hopeless,’ Elise thought, her heart sinking as she stared at the core. ’If a four-shard mercenary using his full output can’t even leave a mark, then the rest of us don’t stand a chance. This is just a waste of time.’

Hajin watched Gorren stumble back from the pedestal, his brow pulling together in genuine confusion.

’Why is his mana usage so bad?’ he thought, tracking the fading orange trails in the air. ’He dumped nearly half his reservoir into that single swing, but only about ten percent of it actually reached the point of impact. The rest was just wasted as heat and light.’

He looked at the other applicants, who were all staring at Gorren with terrified expressions.

’Is that how other adventurers use mana?’ he wondered, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword. ’Just throwing it at things and hoping for the best? If that’s the standard for a four-shard fighter, it’s a miracle they survive any gate at all.’

He didn’t know how or why, but he just understood how to use mana perfectly. It felt as natural as breathing, the energy flowing through his veins and into his core without any of the friction or waste he was seeing from Gorren.

Maybe it was a side effect of the blessing, or maybe it was something else entirely, but he could see the inefficiency in every movement around him.

He looked at Allen, who was still standing by the staircase.

"Just to be clear," Hajin said, looking over at Allen. "The only requirement is to leave a mark on the core? No matter what means we use?"

Allen’s lips pulled into a small smile. "Whatever means you want. You can use your weapons, your spells, or your teammates. As long as there’s a scratch on that crystal, you pass."

Sable frowned, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Hajin. ’Teammates?’ she thought, her mind already running through the possibilities.

’Is he planning on using a group attack? Even if all fourteen of us hit it at once, the output would still be too scattered to break a ten-shard barrier.’

Hajin didn’t wait for her to finish the thought. He walked toward the center of the room, stopping halfway between the pedestal and the rest of the applicants.

"The core’s barrier isn’t just a wall of force," he said, looking at the group. "It’s a frequency. If we all hit it individually, we’re just wasting energy. But if we combine our mana into a single point of impact at the exact same moment, we can create enough of a surge to bypass the outer layer."

Gorren let out a harsh, mocking laugh as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "Work with you? A noble brat who paid ten gold to skip the line? Fuck off. I’d rather fail than let some rookie carry me through an exam."

"He’s right," another applicant added, his hand moving toward his sword. "You think you’re better than us just because you have a fancy letter? Go play hero somewhere else before I decide to test my blade on your neck instead of the core."

Hajin looked at them for a long moment, his expression completely flat.

"I’m not asking for your permission," he said, his voice dropping into a low, cold tone that made the nearest applicant take a half-step back.

"I’m telling you the reality of the situation. I’m not some wuss you can push around, and I don’t care if you like me or not. If you want to pass, you’ll follow my lead. If you want to stay here and lose your hundred gold, that’s your problem."

He didn’t wait for a reply, turning his back on them and walking over to a nearby wall. He leaned his shoulder against it and closed his eyes, his hands shoved back into his pockets.

Juna settled in beside him, her tail flicking with curiosity. "Do you really think that will work?" she whispered.

"Wait for it," he replied simply.

The room stayed quiet for several minutes, the tension building as the other applicants stared at the core, then at each other. Gorren tried one more strike, a desperate, wild swing that only succeeded in chipping his axe further.

Slowly, the weight of the situation began to settle in.

Elise and Sable hesitantly walked over to him, their faces tight and their pride clearly taking a hit with every step.

"Explain the plan," Sable said, her voice stiff and her eyes avoiding his.

"Explain the plan," Sable said, her voice stiff and her eyes avoiding his.

Hajin opened both eyes and looked at them, a small, teasing smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"Well," he said, looking at Elise’s perfectly pristine combat tunic. "I thought for sure you’d be too worried about getting a smudge on that white outfit to actually help."

"And you," he turned his gaze to Sable, who was still gripping her weapon. "You look like you’re about to fight me instead of the core. If you’re that tense, you’re going to botch the mana sync before we even start."

Sable’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t reach for her sword. "If you’re just here to insult us—"

"Relax," he said, letting out a short, genuine laugh as he pushed off the wall. "I’m just messing with you. You both look like you’re walking to your own funerals."

The sudden change in his tone caught them off guard. Elise blinked, the anger fading into a confused, slightly embarrassed look, while Sable’s shoulders dropped just a fraction as the tension in her posture loosened.

"Besides," he added, his eyes moving toward the pedestal. "If we’re going to fail, we might as well do it while making Gorren look even more like an idiot."

Elise let out a small, unexpected snort of laughter, quickly covering her mouth with her hand, while even Sable’s lips twitched into the ghost of a smile.

"Alright," he said, his expression turning serious as he gestured for them to lean in. "Here’s how we’re actually going to do this."