Chapter 281: Virtual Test.

Arwin couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at that.

Elisa ignored his reaction and continued, "But even that could have been taught to him at home. Why did they have to send him to the Academy and make him my responsibility?.

Arwin remained silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about what Elisa had said. Then he finally asked, "So, what are you going to do to make them regain their confidence? It doesn’t seem like they will be able to defeat him the way he is right now. His abilities are simply too good."

Elisa sighed for a moment before answering, her expression still troubled.

"I don’t know what to do. I just have to make another test before the Final Practical Test, one in which that kid isn’t as overwhelmingly strong."

Arwin nodded slightly and remained silent for a moment.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said, "By the way, you can use those new virtual games developed using the techniques created by the Velmora family."

Elisa looked at him with some curiosity.

"The Academy still hasn’t started using them officially because they are still in the trial phase. But if you can get permission to use them, you could create a test where everyone has the same amount of mana, the same level of control, and the same physical strength."

Arwin paused for a moment before continuing, his tone becoming slightly more serious as he explained the idea.

"In that kind of environment, the only things that would really make someone stronger would be their experience, techniques, battle instincts, and ability to use what they have learned."

He then looked at Elisa and added, "Everyone would have the same basic strength. Asher would still be stronger than them because of his fighting abilities and experience, but he wouldn’t be nearly as overwhelming as he was during the last practical exam."

Arwin’s expression became slightly awkward as he remembered what had happened.

"After all, he defeated a hundred students by himself..."

He paused for a moment before adding, almost as if he was hoping he had misunderstood something.

"I guess he won’t be able to do that again in this kind of test, right?"

Elisa listened to everything Arwin had said without interrupting him.

The more she thought about his suggestion, the more reasonable it seemed.

It was a good idea.

Using the virtual world would allow her to create a much more balanced environment for the students. Asher’s biggest advantages, such as his mana armor, mana blade, and spatial abilities, would be completely unavailable to him.

The other students would also be unable to use their usual abilities in the same way, but the disadvantage they would suffer would be negligible compared to the restrictions placed on Asher.

For once, the other students would be able to fight him without having to worry about being completely overwhelmed by his overwhelming abilities.

However, Elisa still wasn’t certain whether that would actually be enough to defeat him.

That kid was simply full of surprises.

Every time she thought she had figured out his limits, he somehow managed to show her something else.

Elisa remained silent for a few more moments, thinking carefully about the idea.

In the end, she decided that it was still better than doing nothing.

"Thanks for the idea, Professor Arwin. But is enough preparation already done for us to host an Academy examination inside that virtual world?" Elisa asked, her tone curious.

Professor Arwin nodded.

"Don’t worry. As far as I know, the Academy has already made sure that the experience inside the virtual world will be almost the same as the real world."

He paused for a moment before explaining further.

"The students will be able to feel things like injuries, pain, and exhaustion, and the virtual bodies will also have the same basic physical characteristics as their real bodies."

"Things like height, weight, and physical proportions will be properly replicated."

Elisa listened carefully as Arwin continued.

"Of course, their real bodies won’t suddenly become physically stronger just because they enter the virtual world. However, their brains will be able to adapt to the virtual body’s movements and characteristics."

He then added, "The Academy’s goal is to make the experience feel as natural as possible, so the students won’t have difficulty adjusting when they return to their real bodies."

Arwin leaned back slightly before continuing.

"Even though their bodies won’t actually be trained physically inside the virtual world, their brains will still experience the movements and combat situations. Once they return to reality, their bodies should be able to integrate those experiences without too much difficulty, assuming the difference between their virtual and real bodies remains small."

Elisa nodded slowly.

She was becoming more interested in the idea with every word Arwin said.

Elisa then said, "I will take permission from the Headmaster right after we finish lunch."

Arwin smiled in response and said, "That’s good. I hope everything goes well... though it feels weird to hope that one student gets defeated."

Elisa sighed and said, "Yeah, it is weird, but it is also probably the best way."

Arwin nodded in agreement.

After that, both of them continued eating their lunch in silence. Neither of them had much else to say, and both were already thinking about the duties they still had to attend to.

Once they finished their meals, they left the cafeteria and headed toward their personal rooms to take care of their other duties now that the classes had ended for the day.

However, while they were walking through one of the Academy’s corridors, they suddenly noticed a group of professors standing together and talking among themselves.

All of them had amused smiles on their faces, as if they had just heard or discovered something particularly interesting.

Arwin and Elisa noticed the group and immediately recognized them as the Alchemy professors.

As the two of them walked past, one of the professors noticed them.

The conversation among the Alchemy professors immediately stopped, and all of them turned toward Elisa and Arwin before greeting them politely.

"Good afternoon, Professor Elisa and Professor Arwin."

Arwin and Elisa also greeted them in return.

After that, Arwin looked at the professors and asked, "What happened? Why are all of you laughing like this?"

One of the female Alchemists looked toward Professor Elisa before answering.

"It is nothing serious. It is just that one of Professor Elisa’s students actually managed to make a flavoured mana potion."

She paused for a moment, seemingly trying to hold back another laugh.

"Normally, adding a flavour would cause a significant decrease in the potion’s efficiency. But this student somehow managed to make one without reducing its efficiency by too much."

The female Alchemist shook her head slightly, still looking amused.

"Of course, it still falls short of a normal mana potion in terms of efficiency, but the research itself was quite amusing. We never thought that someone would actually try to do something like this."

When Elisa heard the word "flavoured," she immediately understood who they were talking about.

She also instantly understood why Asher had actually attended the Alchemy class that day.

Her expression became slightly tired, and she couldn’t help but sigh.

’That kid really does all kinds of useless things.’

Elisa remained silent for a moment before looking toward the Alchemy professors with a complicated expression.

Of all the things Asher could have researched in an Alchemy class, he had apparently decided that making a flavoured mana potion was worth his time and his talent.

She honestly didn’t know whether she should be impressed or simply frustrated.

’How does he even come up with these things?’ she thought.

Arwin, who had noticed Elisa’s expression, couldn’t help but become slightly amused.

After that, Elisa and Arwin left the Alchemy professors behind, leaving them to continue discussing Asher among themselves.

As they walked through the quiet corridor, neither of them spoke for a while.

Then Arwin finally broke the silence and said in a joking tone, "I guess for the next four years of the Academy, you won’t be bored by your class, as long as he remains in your class."

Elisa immediately shot an annoyed glance at Arwin before replying, "How about I fail him and then have him demoted to Class A? Then you can also experience the fun I am having."

Arwin’s expression froze the moment he heard this.

He looked at Elisa for a few seconds, seemingly wondering whether she was actually serious.

However, after seeing the annoyed expression on her face, he decided that it was better not to say anything else.

For the rest of their walk, Arwin remained completely silent.

Eventually, they reached the point where they had to go their separate ways.

Professor Arwin went to his office to attend to his remaining duties and deal with the work that had accumulated during the day.

Elisa, however, had something else in mind.

She decided to meet with Headmaster Eldric, both to ask for permission to use the virtual system for the upcoming practical examination and to ask for some suggestions on how she could help the students regain their confidence.

She felt that simply telling them to try harder wouldn’t be enough.

After all, their problem wasn’t a lack of effort. It was the fact that they had already convinced themselves that there was no point in trying to compete with Asher.

After reaching the Headmaster’s office, Elisa entered and explained the situation to Eldric.

She told him about the condition of the students, her concerns about their confidence, and the idea of using the virtual system to create a more balanced practical examination.

However, instead of giving her any particular suggestions, Eldric simply listened to everything she had to say.

After she finished explaining, he calmly said, "Ignore Asher and do whatever you think is right. You have my full permission."

Elisa was slightly surprised by his answer.

She had expected him to at least give her some advice regarding how she should handle Asher or the other students.

Instead, Eldric seemed completely unconcerned about the matter.

Elisa also found Headmaster Eldric’s behavior a little strange, especially when she mentioned that the entire situation was related to Asher.

However, she didn’t think too much about it.

In the end, she simply accepted his permission and decided to continue with her original plan.

The virtual practical examination would be held.

At the very least, it might give the other students a chance to regain some of their confidence and see how they performed against Asher without all of their usual advantages being completely overshadowed.

Whether it would actually be enough to defeat him was another matter entirely. But fighting against Asher would atleast also help them improve their own combat techniques bu fighting against Asher more.