“Regardless, after resting, let’s head down the mountain first. We might find some clues there.”
Ailundun chuckled lightly, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
“No problem.”
Isabella nodded, and Luofulei had no objections either.
The group walked down the mountain.
The foothills were also clad in a suit of armor made of snow, the gloomy view almost making them lose their way.
Not far away, a small village built from ordinary wood was faintly visible, with many children playing and frolicking in the snow.
It was like a unique little world hidden within this flawless, pure white snowscape.
Searching house by house would definitely be much slower.
The gaps in time could very well allow Lamier to escape.
They decided to go straight to the village chief of this village to ask questions.
The village chief was an old man with a simple, honest demeanor.
“Elder, has anyone come through here before?”
Ailundun rubbed his hands together, asking with a warm smile.
“I saw someone. He seemed to head up the mountain. It was very cold at the time, so I warned him not to go up, but he didn’t listen to my advice.”
The village chief thought for a moment and told them the truth of what happened.
“Thank you, elder.”
Ailundun nodded, smiling at the chief.
The group turned and left.
Luofulei cast her Locking Magic again but still found no trace of Examiner Lamier in the village.
What the village chief said was true.
“He predicted us.”
Luofulei moved closer to him and said softly.
“Yeah, this is troublesome…”
Ailundun nodded.
He had naturally realized this point.
If what the old man said was true.
Then it meant their actions had been completely predicted by Lamier.
It was entirely possible that by the time they returned to the mountain.
Lamier would already be back at the foot of the mountain.
“How could he be so sure we would head down the mountain?”
Isabella frowned, feeling something was off.
“It should be an attached-type Locking Magic. We were all misled by the prompt. He never intended to stay far away from us in the first place. Instead, he was watching us from nearby…”
“Probably while we were still discussing by the campfire…”
“We all have Locking Skills applied to us now. He already knows our location.”
Luofulei said calmly.
Both Isabella and Leisha were stunned.
Neither of them had expected Luofulei to deduce so much from just that bit of information.
Even Leisha had to admit at this moment.
Luofulei’s analysis made a lot of sense.
“So, what do we do now?”
Leisha asked unwillingly.
Although she was very reluctant to admit it.
In her heart, she understood clearly.
Asking her, a Holy Knight, to play mind games?
She definitely couldn’t outwit these crafty veterans.
“With our current abilities, is there any way to dispel this kind of magic?”
Isabella bit her lip.
“No way. This is at least a third-tier magic…”
Luofulei shook her head.
“Then let’s just wait for him here…”
Ailundun spoke up thoughtfully, attracting the attention of the three women.
All three were stunned, staring at him blankly.
“Do you have a good idea?”
Leisha asked curiously.
Ailundun looked very calm, as if he wasn’t worried at all about not finding Lamier.
“No, what idea could I have.”
Ailundun shook his head.
This kind of person just wouldn’t fight head-on. If he insisted on hiding, what could Ailundun do?
“But what if he sees us all staying put and just doesn’t come out?”
“He probably will.”
Ailundun shrugged.
“Why?”
Isabella asked curiously.
“Because he also has to undergo the Examiner Evaluation. Just hiding the whole time could easily affect his rating. He’d be labeled as an examiner who fears the candidates, which would be very detrimental to his future prospects…”
Ailundun said seriously.
This statement.
Not only did Isabella and the others fall silent.
In the conference room, the teachers and Principal Paerwa, who were watching the candidates’ examination situation in real-time on the screen, also fell silent.
They had to admit.
What Ailundun said.
Made a hell of a lot of sense.
“When you designed and assigned the examiners, didn’t you pay attention to this point?”
A teacher below the stage was silent for a long moment before asking, as if in disbelief.
“Of course we thought about it, but what can we do? The Examiner Evaluation is a longstanding tradition of our academy… We can’t just change it.”
“Unless we change the standards of the Examiner Evaluation.”
Another teacher said helplessly.
Hearing this, Paerwa showed an awkward smile.
This was a habit left by the previous principal.
No major issues had ever been found with it before.
So he had been too lazy to make adjustments.
“Does this count as exploiting an examination loophole?”
Someone asked worriedly.
“Since this point exists in fact, then Ailundun’s actions are correct. On the contrary, this should be our own oversight…”
DeSa nodded firmly, pushing up his glasses.
He stared at Ailundun on the screen, a rare look of strong interest rising in his eyes.
Paerwa gave an awkward laugh.
Hearing this, everyone said no more.
They simply treated it as a special accident.