While Ed was still in a daze, one of the Witchers behind the group finally spoke.
"Stop wasting time, and deal with these ghouls first."
Ed turned to look at the woman. He was stunned. She wore a veil, her face alluring yet devoid of any expression.
What caught his attention the most, however, was that she was dressed the same as the Witchers—armor, a cloak, and twin swords made of steel and silver.
In other words, she was also a Witcher!
Ed could hardly believe it. "A female Witcher? That's nearly impossible!"
"Well… it's not entirely impossible," he muttered to himself.
After the woman spoke, the other Witchers immediately sprang into action.
It became clear that not only could this woman become a Witcher, but she was also the leader of the group!
The Witchers fanned out in different directions, entering the battlefield. Silver flashes ripped through the darkness.
These were silver swords, each burning with faint blue flames.
Additionally, some Witchers threw chains, while others tossed glass bottles that exploded into holy fire.
In the end, the five Witchers killed all the ghouls who had been slaughtering the students in less than a minute.
"Oil for the swords, bombs, chains—this is definitely a Witcher's way of fighting!" Ed's eyes widened, and he was now completely convinced of their identities.
So, this was real. He had truly been transported to a world of Witchers!
Once the battle ended, the Witchers' horses trampled over the ghoul remains as they turned to look at the surviving students, including Ed.
The woman remained expressionless, her voice cold. "Gather all the survivors."
The other Witchers quickly moved, and soon, Ed's classmates were brought over.
To be precise, it was the students who had survived.
There had been 37 students in Ed's class, but now, including Ed, only 15 remained.
Over half were dead or injured!
The remaining survivors looked dazed, the only one who seemed slightly better off being a golden-haired boy—Ed's class president, Kate.
"What's going on here? Who are you people?"
Kate asked, looking at the Witchers with a mix of suspicion and fear.
But the Witchers didn't respond to him. A man looked at the woman Witcher."Arya, everyone's here."
Arya replied calmly, "Then let's begin the aptitude test. The sooner we leave this cursed place, the better. I hate this moonlight."
Even Witchers, though immune to the freezing cold, despised the moonlight.
A male Witcher nodded, dismounted, and stepped forward. "I'm Simon. Welcome to this world."
"First of all, you should all be feeling terrible right now. Cold, aren't you? That's because of the moon!"
Simon raised his hand, pointing to the moon in the sky.
The students paused for a moment. They had been cold all along, but only when facing life-or-death danger had they not thought about it.
Now, with the immediate danger passed, they began to feel their hands and feet freezing again, even colder than before.
"Remember, the moon is our enemy!"
Simon's voice was deep as he began to explain some basic history.
"For many years now, the moon has undergone a mutation, and within it lies a deadly toxin."
"It not only makes us feel cold, but more terrifyingly, it has given birth to countless monsters, like the ghouls you just saw!"
"From now on, as soon as night falls, evil will be everywhere, and monsters will roam free!"
The students were starting to understand, and they now knew just how dangerous the nights in this world could be.
Simon continued, "In this world, daylight is incredibly short. I hope you remember this: in summer, we only have 6 hours of daylight, and in winter, it's even worse, only 2 hours!"
At those words, a chill ran down everyone's spine.
With such brief days, it meant that most of the time, monsters would be ravaging the world, right?
In such a terrifying world, how could ordinary people like them survive?
For a moment, many of the students felt immense fear and pressure, worried that they would die here.
Ed was also shaken, and his thoughts were not much different from the others.
However, he had one question that none of the others seemed to have: why couldn't he feel the cold that the others were complaining about?
"I know you're all scared, but there is a way for you to survive,"
Simon said, effortlessly drawing out the students' fears and using them to his advantage.
Sure enough, Kate immediately lifted his head, eager to ask, "What is the way?"
Simon smiled. "That would be to become Witchers, just like us!"
At these words, the students froze for a moment.
Become a Witcher?
Many of them quickly became excited. Not only Kate, but several students couldn't wait to know more.
"Really? I want to become a Witcher!"
"I have to survive in this world!"
Kate furrowed his brow and asked, "So, what exactly do we have to do to become a Witcher?"
Simon spoke, "It's simple. All you have to do is become our apprentice!"
"To be honest, we came here specifically to recruit apprentices and train Witchers from among you!"
Upon hearing this, the students finally understood why the Witchers had come to this place.
A group of male students immediately became excited, their blood racing with the desire to be trained.
Ed, too, had a deep admiration for the Witchers, but he felt that it couldn't be this simple.
Sure enough, Simon soon took a crystal ball from behind and handed it to Elia.
Holding the crystal ball, he said, "If you want to become our apprentices, you must first pass a process."
"That process is the Qualification Test!"
"The Witcher's qualification test is divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. Level A represents the most gifted individuals who have the best potential to become Witchers. The lower the level, the less likely you are to succeed!"
He walked over, placed the crystal ball on the ground, and to the students' amazement, the crystal ball emitted a faint purple glow and began to float on its own.
"Only those who score C-level or higher are eligible to become our apprentices," Simon added.
Ed understood the implication—if someone was tested to be a D-level, they would not have a good future.
The students grew nervous, swallowing hard, each one wondering what level they would fall into.
"We can begin," Simon said.
A very skinny male student stepped forward first to take the test. Simon instructed him to place one hand on the crystal ball.
The student followed the instructions, but as soon as he placed his hand on the ball, Simon threw a dagger at him.
"Now, cut your finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the crystal ball."
The student hesitated, his body trembling as he grasped the sharp dagger. After a moment's hesitation, he finally cut his finger.
The blood dripped into the crystal ball, and immediately, red light surged from the bottom of the crystal ball and spread upward.
A few seconds later, the red light reached only about a quarter of the way up the crystal ball.
Simon glanced at it and announced, "I'm sorry, you're D-level."
As soon as the words were spoken, the skinny student's face turned to despair, but he had no choice but to step back.
The next person to step forward was a girl. She acted much faster than the previous student, immediately cutting her finger without hesitation.
This time, the red light spread halfway up the crystal ball.
"C-level," Simon announced.
The girl immediately brightened, thrilled that she had passed and could stay in the test!
Next was Kate, the blonde boy. His movements were swift and decisive.
Kate grasped the dagger firmly, quickly slicing his finger and letting his blood drip onto the crystal ball.
There was a fierce determination in his eyes.
"I can't die! I must get stronger! Stronger than everyone else!"
His mind screamed with desire, his obsession burning fiercely. His other hand, clenched tightly, even dug his nails deep into his palm.
Many of the students looked curiously at Kate. In fact, quite a few of them were somewhat afraid of him.
Not only was he the class president, but he was also a key member of the school's sports team. He often gathered a group of school bullies to intimidate others.
Many of the "outsiders" in the class were frequent targets of his bullying.
As for Ed, he was also considered an outsider, but Kate had never picked on him.
This, of course, wasn't because Kate didn't want to, but because Ed was physically stronger than Kate—just as strong, if not stronger. So Kate never bothered to mess with Ed.
Ed was certain that Kate craved power more than anyone else.
Under Kate's fiercely intense gaze, the blood-red light rose again. This time, it didn't stop in the middle of the crystal ball. It even surged past the three-quarters mark!
Finally, the result appeared. Kate's blood caused the red light in the crystal ball to reach the very top!
The entire crystal ball turned red.
Simon's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "A-level? What's your name?"