As Lance followed the exam protocol and stepped through the massive Void Gate under the examiner’s guidance, he instantly felt as if he had been thrown into a pitch-black chamber that stripped away all five of his senses.
Total darkness. Nothing was visible. Even the sound of his own heartbeat was absent.
Gradually, like a singularity in the void, a single point of light appeared in his vision. Simultaneously, characters materialized like a meteor shower, rushing toward him—
【Welcome to the Artificially Simulated Shadow Realm, supported by the Magic Engineering Institute.】
【Note: This exam consists of a Shadow Realm practical simulation. The simulated Shadow Realm poses no real life-threatening danger.】
【If you fail within the Shadow Realm or perish during the challenge, you will be automatically ejected.】
【However, you may experience sensations of death and pain, including but not limited to falling from great heights, decapitation, and other distressing scenarios.】
【……】
【Have you read the above information and agree to enter the Artificial Shadow Realm?】
【Continue / Exit】Lance didn’t just click through immediately.
Instead, he carefully read the entire instruction manual for the Artificial Shadow Realm Activation Terminal before moving his finger toward 【Continue】.
He recalled reading in books that if someone perished in a real Shadow Realm, they would truly die.
To Lance, the real Shadow Realm was an exceedingly dangerous place, completely unlike this artificial version with built-in safety measures.
Moreover, Hetton Kingdom’s laws explicitly stated that beginners must train extensively in artificial Shadow Realm simulations, achieve top-tier evaluations, and pass the Kingdom Alliance Council’s assessment before they could obtain permission to challenge a real Shadow Realm.
Even so, the mortality rate in real Shadow Realms remained alarmingly high.
That alone spoke volumes about how deadly they were.
Thankfully, the artificial Shadow Realm used in the exam was essentially a practice mode—relatively safe.
"The chief examiner mentioned that this test is about ‘Wisdom and Mental Fortitude’…"
"Then, I should push my wisdom and mental fortitude to the limit to avoid experiencing ‘death’ in the artificial Shadow Realm."
Lance mused to himself.
As his fingertip touched 【Continue】, ripples spread across the silver-white screen, expanding rapidly from his touch. The previous text faded away, making way for new content.
Before he could fully process it, he suddenly felt as if he was plummeting from the sky.
A sharp sense of weightlessness took hold, and in an instant—
Lance was completely immersed in an entirely new world!
The surroundings lit up in a flash.
Scenery flooded his vision in an instant.
At the same time, an unbearable chill surged through his body like an unforgiving blade, stabbing straight into his core.
He felt the temperature drop sharply—the entire world was frozen solid.
His blood felt like it was turning to ice, the frost easily piercing through his skin.
"D**n! What kind of hellhole is this?!"
Even his breath nearly crystallized into ice the moment it left his mouth.
Gritting his teeth, he endured the biting pain as the cold gnawed at him.
Lance found himself standing in a vast, snowy field.
A thick blanket of snow covered the earth, while howling winds roared between the heavens and the land, making his head buzz with the noise.
Looking up, the sky was a murky lead-gray, its heavy clouds obscuring the sun.
The wind carried endless flurries of snow, twisting and scattering unpredictably, making the entire snow-covered world feel both surreal and merciless.
"My lord, we’re almost there!"
A hoarse voice, shouting desperately against the wind and snow.
Lance turned toward the sound and saw an old man wrapped in thick winter clothing, trudging forward alongside a heavily armored knight clad in silver-white plate armor.
Although Lance had no idea what the old man’s words meant, he quickly spotted what they were approaching—a small village, barely standing amid the frozen wasteland.
Like a lone gem abandoned in the snow.
And somehow, he was already within it.
At that moment, Shadow Realm notifications appeared before his eyes—
【Shadow Realm: The Hidden Flame of Winter】
【Tier: 1】
【Challenger Count: 1】
【The gap between kindness and the power to enforce it is called righteousness. To impose righteousness blindly is foolish, yet some insist on upholding it to the very end.】
【Winter is coming. As a noble of the Northern Border, your territory is facing a financial deficit, and your personal funds are nearly depleted.】
【While passing through this village for shelter, you hear from the village chief that a magical furnace was stolen today.】
【With the recent relentless blizzards, if the furnace is not recovered, a family of three may freeze to death tonight.】
【Mission Objective: Before nightfall (within one hour), resolve this family's crisis and ensure they can survive the harsh winter.】
【Note: As a noble of the Holy Kingdom and a devoted follower of the Holy Rites Church, you are bound by strict principles. You must not break the law, harm civilians, or deceive them. If you violate these rules, the Church’s Inquisitor—who knows your background—will execute you.】
【Conversely, if you discover any criminal activity, the Inquisitor will assist you in punishing the perpetrators accordingly.】
After fully understanding the exam’s requirements, Lance looked ahead.
Not far away, he spotted a wooden house buried beneath thick layers of snow, almost blending into the pristine, icy world.
The old man beside him was likely the village chief, while the knight in silver-white armor had to be the Inquisitor.
Lance didn’t rush toward the house. Instead, he took a moment to analyze the situation.
Since his identity in this scenario was that of a noble in this strange country, and he was bound by strict laws, the simplest and most forceful solutions were out of the question.
For example, he couldn't just steal supplies from another household to help this family.
Unless, of course, he was confident enough to defeat the Inquisitor—who already looked terrifying.
That was probably a "try it and die" scenario.
As for taking the family to squeeze into the village chief’s house?
That might help them survive tonight, but not the entire winter.
Clearly, that wouldn’t fulfill the mission’s objective.
Forcing another household to take them in for the whole season?
That would be an abuse of power, outright violating the law.
"So, shortcuts are completely blocked in this Shadow Realm."
Lance muttered to himself in the midst of the swirling snow.
In just a short while, his cheeks had turned red from the cold, a thin layer of frost forming on his skin.
When he tried to move again, he noticed his limbs stiffening in the extreme cold—his joints were growing sluggish, his movements increasingly difficult.
Even though he was dressed in thick noble winter attire, it couldn’t keep out the piercing chill.
At that moment, Lance realized—based on the examinees' physical endurance, the amount of time one could survive outside in the snowfield was extremely limited.
Wandering aimlessly would only lead to his death in this relentless blizzard.
"Might as Well Investigate This Household First."
Lance quickly picked up his pace and headed toward the wooden house ahead.
In a spacious, well-lit conference room inside the Sage Institute’s Main Building, the seats and tables were arranged in a round-table format. Several large circular tables were positioned around the central projection screen.
At each table sat five to six instructors per group, either focusing intently on the magical screen or engaging in active discussion with one another.
Rather than a formal meeting, the atmosphere resembled more of a seminar or review session.
The faculty members were diligently recording the highlights and details of each examinee’s performance, occasionally exchanging thoughts with their peers.
On the screen, the visuals from the Artificial Shadow Realm displayed the situations the examinees encountered after entering.
Without exception, all of them were progressing slowly.
Upon reaching the affected household, they learned from the couple that, on the night of the theft, eerie noises had been heard outside the window. Then, the front door had seemingly been blown open by the wind and snow, and the house’s temperature had plummeted.
When the couple cautiously stepped out of their bedroom, they found that the magic furnace was gone. Outside, faint footprints had been left in the snow—likely from a tall adult male—but were soon covered by fresh snowfall.
As for questioning the family’s young daughter—the orphaned niece they had adopted—it was evident that she knew something. However, no matter how the examinees tried to communicate with her, she refused to speak.
Thus, some examinees chose to gather clues from other villagers, while others attempted to investigate the young girl’s unusual behavior.
Of course, there were also those who failed to properly analyze the exam requirements and ended up mysteriously dying by the Inquisitor’s sword—
One examinee bribed the village chief to take in the affected family for the entire winter.
However, given the dire state of the noble’s territory finances, there was no way to guarantee the funds for such an arrangement. This constituted fraud, and the Inquisitor—who was well aware of the noble’s situation—immediately saw through the deception and executed the examinee on the spot.
"These self-proclaimed ‘clever’ individuals often overlook logical flaws—that’s why they’re the first to die in the Shadow Realm."
Sighing, Vice Dean Rohan crossed out the disqualified examinee’s name.
"This is what a lack of wisdom leads to."
The correct approach should have been simple: recognize the "young girl’s abnormal behavior" as a crucial clue, gather key intelligence from the villagers, solve the mystery, and subdue the culprit. That would have resolved the problem efficiently.
"The Shadow Realm requires both wisdom and skill. Sometimes, even a noble character is necessary, as it helps gain the trust of the Shadow Realm’s inhabitants and uncover hidden clues."
As they discussed the topic, another instructor pointed out an examinee who was using wind magic to chop down trees and quickly drying firewood with fire magic—a particularly skilled mage.
Some went even further, attempting to craft fire-based magical tools as substitutes for the stolen magic furnace.
Everyone was showcasing their unique abilities.
However—
These seemingly brilliant solutions failed to impress most of the instructors.
"Sometimes, leveraging the Shadow Realm’s mechanics can create shortcuts. But other times, taking such shortcuts can lead straight into traps..."
"I remember the original version of this Tier 1 Shadow Realm being particularly sinister. At the very end of the investigation, it turns out that the ‘loving couple’ had deliberately hidden the magic furnace. Their true intent was to let the girl freeze to death in the storm—so they could fraudulently claim a high-value funeral subsidy under the Northern Border’s legal provisions."
"Even if you give them firewood or a new magic furnace, it won’t save the little girl—because the real cold lies in the twisted hearts of those people."
"When someone is too arrogant and tries to bypass the Shadow Realm’s mechanics, it often leads to unexpected failure. This is what happens when one's mental fortitude is unstable."
With a collective sigh, the instructors delved deeper into the core philosophy of this entrance exam.
For most of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 examinees, this Tier 1 Shadow Realm had little in the way of actual combat elements.
It was merely the most basic and simplified Shadow Realm model.
Yet, it was designed to fundamentally assess whether an examinee had the necessary aptitude to challenge a real Shadow Realm.
"Hey, what the hell is this guy doing?!"
A sudden exclamation drew the attention of all the instructors.
The teachers at every table turned to look at a particular split-screen feed in the corner.
It displayed a Knight Institute examinee—
But his screen looked completely different from the others.
Unlike the rest, who were wearing thick noble winter coats, he was shirtless, wearing only a pair of pants. His well-defined muscles stood taut as he crossed his arms, standing resolutely in the icy wind.
Even as his grayish-white, unkempt hair became speckled with frost, he seemed entirely unfazed by the cold. His deep violet eyes gleamed with a lone wolf’s resilience.
"What the hell is this guy doing?"
"Wait a second! Actually, since the examinee is a noble, his clothes are worth a fair sum. If he sells them, the money would be enough to cover the village chief’s expenses for taking in the family throughout the winter—thus ensuring the little girl’s safety."
No ordinary person would be this ruthless toward themselves.
It was as if he hadn't even considered his own survival.
But technically, the exam didn’t specify that the challenger had to survive until the end.
"Sacrificing oneself to uphold righteousness… is also an option."
"Knight Institute students are always like this. Every now and then, you get one with more muscle than brain."
"But this guy, Frey… you’d call him dumb, yet he seems weirdly smart at the same time…"
While Frey’s method completely deviated from the exam’s core principles, he had, in an unconventional way, successfully met the challenge’s criteria—
He displayed noble character, exceptional physical resilience, and unwavering self-sacrifice.
"Perhaps… abandoning both wisdom and mental fortitude is, in itself, a display of wisdom and mental fortitude?"
"You have to admit, he embodies many knightly virtues—honesty, compassion, bravery, and sacrifice… It’s just that his approach is completely different from what we initially wanted to evaluate. Looks like the Knight Institute got themselves a real gem this year."
Slowly, despite their difficulty in objectively evaluating Frey’s approach, the instructors couldn’t help but admire him.
At the very least, as a knight, he was undeniably qualified.
"Wait."
Suddenly, Vice Dean Rohan, who had been flipping through the examinee files, spoke in a low voice.
"…I just found out that this guy has a severe gambling addiction. He frequently loses everything except his pants, so he’s developed a habit of pawning off his clothes whenever he’s in trouble."
"……"
"……"
After praising him so much, the room was filled with awkward silence.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Finally, after a deep sigh, Vice Dean Rohan cleared his throat, trying to steer the meeting back on track.
"On the bright side, he’s a Knight Institute examinee. That means it’s their problem to deal with."
"True."
"Our students seem much more… normal."
The faculty nodded, feeling relieved.
However—
Before long, some instructors noticed something unusual in the Sage Institute’s examinee roster.
In one particular screen feed, a black-haired, green-eyed boy was shown.
Unlike the others—
He wasn’t in a hurry to investigate at all.
After obtaining the village chief’s permission, Lance began searching the bookshelf and soon pulled out a few books.
Then, he leisurely leaned back on the sofa, flipping through the pages by the warm fireplace.
Every now and then, he even took a sip of hot tea, his expression utterly relaxed.
His bizarre actions immediately caught the attention of the instructors.
"What is this guy doing? Is he seriously enjoying himself?"
The instructors watching Lance began exchanging puzzled glances.
Soon, a younger instructor let out a light scoff, shaking his head.
"Students who give up halfway usually do something like this—find a safe spot to wait out the exam. But I’ve never seen anyone quit so decisively."
Upon hearing this, the other instructors nodded in agreement.
They had almost been fooled by this kid’s calm and composed demeanor.
"Lance Wilfort… his attribute assessment results weren’t impressive. His family is a well-known merchant house in the South Wantina Border Region, and he’s the eldest son… Is he just here for a taste of adventure?"
Vice Principal Rohan retrieved Lance’s enrollment information, sighing helplessly.
After learning of Lance’s background, the instructors quickly lost interest in this carefree young noble.
Just as the professors shifted their attention away from Lance—
He finally closed the book in his hands.
Then, carrying that very book, he decisively headed back to the house of the family that had reported the theft, bringing the Inquisitor along with him.
Knock, knock.
Lance rapped lightly on the door.
The wind howled outside, and from within, faint footsteps approached.
As soon as the door opened, he was greeted by the sight of a shivering middle-aged man.
"My lord, have you made any progress in your investigation?"
The man’s expression was tinged with nervous anticipation.
However, deep inside, he was already smirking.
This fool of a noble has completely fallen for the misdirection.
All he had to do now was trick this naive lord into leaving again, let him wander the snowfields with his ridiculous sense of justice, and wait for him to freeze to death out there.
However—
Lance simply narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at the man.
As if he had finally confirmed something.
"No, there’s been no progress in the investigation. However—" Lance raised his hand slowly, pointing straight at the man.
"The first time we met, and even just now when you opened the door—you didn’t bow to me, did you?"
The sudden accusation sent the middle-aged man into a panic.
"My apologies, my lord! I heard that you’re always kind and don’t care for such formalities. It was an oversight on our part…"
Flustered, he and his wife quickly pressed the young girl’s head down, forcing a bow as they spoke in hushed voices.
He had no idea what went wrong.
This "soft-hearted" noble hadn’t even conducted a proper investigation in his house—how could he possibly have noticed anything?!
Lance let out a cold chuckle.
"According to the etiquette of the Northern Border, you and your wife should have bowed to me upon meeting. Yet, you both failed to show me the proper respect—not once, but twice."
"This blatant disregard is an insult to my status."
Lance snapped open the book in his hands, raising his voice sternly.
"As stated on page 719, line 3 of the Holy Kingdom Legal Code, ‘Insulting a noble’ is a crime. I hereby arrest you both."
"Children under 12 are exempt from this crime. However, according to page 134, under the Custodial Guardianship Regulations, this girl has now lost her legal guardians and will be taken back to town under the care of the Church—as per protocol."
After finishing his legal declaration, Lance turned to glance at the Inquisitor, then raised his book, pointing to the exact passage detailing the crime of insulting a noble.
The law was clearly written on the page.
As for the Northern Border’s etiquette customs—Lance had just double-checked them in detail with the village chief and the Inquisitor earlier.
The Inquisitor hesitated for a moment, visibly caught off guard.
But after a brief pause, he stepped forward and restrained the utterly dumbfounded couple.
"You will be held at the village chief’s house for now. Once the blizzard passes, you will return to town with me—those who need to be jailed will be jailed, and those who need to study in the Church will study in the Church."
Lance kept his eyes fixed on the legal code as he spoke, enunciating each word clearly.
Then—
He watched as the three were escorted away by the Inquisitor, their footsteps crunching in the thick snow.
Standing amidst the howling blizzard, Lance shoved his hands into his pockets, let out a long sigh of relief, and smiled in satisfaction.
"It’s obvious now—this exam is actually testing the students’ legal awareness. Well, with this, they’ll be spending their winter nice and warm in either prison or the Church."
Outside the Exam—
"?!"
The professors, who had casually been observing Lance's actions, suddenly tensed up—their eyelids twitching violently.
Even Chief Examiner Loren, who had been calmly overseeing the test, now stared wide-eyed at the screen.