Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 61: Special Evaluation—Game

Rina became confused, her brows furrowed. Seeing, the confusion in her eyes, Kaiser sighed and explained.

"It is natural to be confused, teacher. And I don’t really have the energy to explain thoroughly. However, you should be well aware that I was only willing to injure him, not surely injuring him. Do you have an understanding of my words now?"

Rina blinked, then nodded absentmindedly. Truly, she now understood his words. The fact that he said he was willing, didn’t mean he would.

"I see." She nodded, then sighed. "That aside, there’s another matter we need to discuss."

Although he already had an inkling, Kaiser still asked. "And what could that be?"

"You’re the only student we’ve received with a Darkness Affinity." She said, "Others only have related affinities like shadows, but yours is true darkness. It is just as rare as Light Affinity."

"Hmm." Kaiser nodded, unsurprised. He was already expecting this from the academy.

"How many nodes have you created?" Rina asked, her expression filled with subtle curiosity. After her talk with the chairman, she had come to realize that he was a true genius. Therefore, she had high expectations of him.

’He should have been able to create seven or eight, right? After a—’

"Eleven."

Rina blinked, stunned. "Huh? Say that again."

"I said eleven." Kaiser stressed the last word, ensuring she heard him correctly.

’Eleven?! A student at Rank 1 Awakened already created eleven nodes?’

Rina was shocked, but she immediately regained her composure. Without knowing that the microscopic changes in her expression had been read, she continued with a stoic face.

"That’s impressive. Then we can proceed smoothly from here. The school has assigned me to be your personal instructor on Darkness skills and usage of that affinity."

"I refuse."

Without missing a beat, Kaiser objected.

"Hm? What are you saying? This is an opportunity presented to you by the academy."

Rina’s face darkened slightly, feeling a hint of irritation towards this dangerously handsome student.

Kaiser rose to his feet, rolled his shoulders, and stretched slightly.

"As much as you’re an impressive teacher, you lack the qualifications to tutor me."

He spoke honestly, looking at her with eyes as clear as day.

’Lack... qualifications...?’

While Rina processed his words, he smiled faintly, then walked closer to her. Placing his hands on the table, he leaned forward until their own faces were inches apart.

"Teacher, you won’t suddenly gain color, would you? That’d be very nice."

Rina stared into his blue pupils while he stared into her green ones.

"Although your evaluation is low, I have some hopes for you."

He straightened himself, took a cup of tea for himself, then walked out of the office.

Left alone, Rina remained frozen in one position, then gently shook her head.

"Fuck..."

She exhaled, closing her eyes shut as if trying to escape something. However, the feeling only intensified.

’His scent... his voice... his eyes...’

She held her head in frustration as heat crept unto her cheeks.

’What’s going on with me? I can’t seem to control my body in his presence!’

A fire seemed to be lit within her, and she had to use her essence to suppress it. Closing her eyes again, she sighed—a bead of sweat having formed on her temple.

’But critically thinking, what does he mean by qualification? Is it related to the gaining color he also mentioned?’

Although she wasn’t exactly clear on the matter, she felt like she had gained some understanding about Kaiser’s nature.

’If I can understand him well... will I be able to make him help my class reach Class-A?’

...

Kaiser was planning to return to the class after a quick visit to the restroom, but unfortunately, an unexpected person showed up.

"Ara~ What a pleasant coincidence it is to meet you here."

As soon as he walked out of the Instructors’ block of offices, he was met with a familiar short, lilac-haired girl from Class-A.

"Truly, a fake coincidence." He nodded casually.

From her posture which showed that she had been waiting outside for a while, anyone could tell that it wasn’t a coincidence at all.

"For you to sought me out during classes, what is it you want to speak of?"

Without beating around the bush, Kaiser went straight to the point.

"Hmn... Kaiser doesn’t seem to possess enough patience for me today." Adela’s lips curled into a mock pout. "Well, I just wanted to inform you that there’ll soon be a stage for us to play. Although this might no longer relate to Class-C’s existence, it’d very much allow me to play with you."

Kaiser raised a brow. "A Special Evaluation, huh? Not unexpected."

After the recent peace experienced by all students, he was expecting the academy to bring up another challenge for them.

’If my intuition is right, then Mid-Semester Tests would also commence this month. Oh, this month would be quite hectic.’

"Ara~ Kaiser is very smart. It’s a Special Evaluation which I don’t know its contents yet. However, I’m sure I’d be able to create a stage for us to play once it begins."

She spoke with absolute certainty in her purple eyes as she looked up at him.

"Why though?" Kaiser asked. "Why do you want to ’play’ with me?"

Adela closed and reopened her fan at that question, her smile turning genuine.

"It is simply because I want to gauge your value, Kaiser. How strong are you? Would you be able to survive my moves, or would you just get crushed? I’m very interested in knowing."

"Ah..." Kaiser’s eyes widened slightly, and he suddenly understood her obsession with games.

’She believes in crushing other geniuses, not only in raw power but also in mind, huh? So competitive.’

To be honest, Kaiser found her type so annoying. They were the type that relentlessly challenged people just for the fun of it. Still, he’d rather resolve the issue now than later.

"Alright. I’ll agree to your game." He nodded. "However, you can’t expect me to play another game with you after this, regardless of the outcome."

Staring straight into her eyes, he continued coldly. "Else, I might decide to flip a coin for you too."

’Flip a coin?’

Adela’s eyes curved with a cunning glint. Even if she didn’t understand what he meant, she knew it was a threat.

"Alright. This would be our first and last game. Depending on what kind of evaluation it is, we’ll set the rules for our game."

Covering her lower face with the fan, she spoke coquettishly.

Kaiser nodded, then began walking away. After taking some distance from her, he said.

"Adela... always learn not to play with every wolf."

The girl blinked, then blushed slightly. "Ara~ You’re so caring~"

Kaiser didn’t stop walking, and soon disappeared from her sight.

’Kaiser. You’re too arrogant. The moment you decided to play with me, you lost your freedom and became a piece on the board. Very soon, you’ll become a pawn, just like the others.’

Her purple eyes revealed a trace of disappointment. Although it wouldn’t take long before she broke down the character ’Kaiser’, it should suffice entertaining her until then.

"You done staring at him?"

A tall girl appeared from the corner, her gaze fixated on Adela. She had neck-length black hair in a fringe cut, a pair of dark eyes, and a gloomy expression.

"Relax, Tamara. I’ve already spoken enough with him." Adela giggled, turning to her loyal follower. "How about we grab some snacks after school?"

Tamara looked displeased, but she remained silent. She had always been the one monitoring Kaiser’s movements and reporting to Adela.

Although their history was quite dark, she now had no choice but to work for her.

"My~ My~ Tammy shouldn’t look like that. A smile would be beautiful when illuminating your face."

Although the black-haired girl didn’t smile, Adela giggled softly and lead the way.

...

Days continued to run by smoothly, and the first-year students eventually relaxed. Nothing special happened, until it was halfway through the month of February.

"Settle down, everyone."

Instructor Rina walked into the class with her signature expression. The bustling class instantly quietened, and everyone prepared for lecture to begin.

Surprisingly, Rina didn’t open her lesson notes to begin the lectures. Instead, she displayed some information onto the projector using her tablet.

On the large screen, two words stood out boldly.

’SPECIAL EVALUATION.’

"Special Evaluation...?"

The class grew heated, and a feeling of excitement stirred from within. This was it, a chance they had been waiting for.

"We can finally close the gap and surpass other classes?" Jose yelped in happiness, frantically glancing around to see if the others agreed with him.

Hazel gave him an unimpressed glance, almost facepalming.

"Instructor, please proceed in your explanation."

As soon as she spoke, the class quietened and everyone turned back to Rina.

They became aware that even if there was a chance, they needed to understand the rules and triumph over other classes.

"Very well." Rina nodded. "This Special Evaluation is called Gate Closure."

’Gate Closure...? You don’t mean...?’

"You all guessed right. In this Special Evaluation, every class is expected to clear a dungeon and close the Nirad Gate."