Opening his eyes, Nn was met with the brilliant sun rays emanating from the sky right above his head.


    He squinted a little at the sudden brightness before his eyes adjusted to the intense light.


    [First time you came back from the test realm so early...]" the system teased him.


    It knew well Nn had always been thest person to open his eyes in all of the previous test they all had.


    Being one of the first to wake up early in this test was definately noteworthy, and Nn rolled his eyes at the sarcasticment before looking around.


    He noticed some students still deep in slumber, no doubt still working through their exams, while some very few others were already disappearing down the hall, exiting even faster than Nn, and possibly scoring higher than him due to the exam setup that gives those who awakens higher, a better chance of scoring higher due to less deduction in thier points.


    "I guess all that intense library study you didst week helped a lot," a voice suddenly rang beside his ear.


    Nn turned to his side and saw a girl walking right past him, heading down towards the hall exit.


    With a single nce, he recognized her.


    He had met her in the library due to his frequent visits.


    Surprising to Nn was the fact that she usually arrived in the library around 4:00 AM, the same time when the rest of the Celestial Heirs went for their various training room.


    She would then leave the library at around 9:00 in the night.


    Unlike Nn, her timing seemed much more deliberate, and he could rest assured that she came to the library every day.


    Seeing each other frequently had created a simple sense of recognition between them, and their mutual acquaintance with the librarian made it easier for her to notice Nn''s struggles with theoretical concepts.


    That exined the reason for her sudden greeting.


    "It did," Nn replied as he rose from his seat and grabbed his bag before stepping down the stairs.


    Since he had also finished the exam, there was no need to wait for anything else, and all his worries had faded into thin air. Now, he felt more alive than ever.


    "Good for you," she said to him. Nn''s eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "How long have you been awake?"


    "An hour earlier," she replied. "I was wondering when you''d finish, so I decided to wait."


    Nn''s eyes shed with amazement. She had finished a 6500-question exam in just two hours.


    Even with all the studying Nn had done in the past week, it had still taken him three hours.


    But it was understandable.


    If all she ever did was read, and given her friendship with the librarian, it was likely she was far more knowledgeable than him.


    Not ignoring his own condition of not knowing anything that was taught in the past three years at all.


    "Thank you," he said to her as she slowly turned her face toward him.


    Half of her face was hidden behind her silvery white hair, but the other visible part revealed her ssy white skin and brilliant golden pupils.


    "Thank you for what?" she asked, stopping in her tracks.


    "For waiting," Nn replied.


    She could have left after finishing her exam, but she chose to wait until he hadpleted his. He didn''t know why she did that, but at the very least, he could thank her for it.


    "I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity. There''s no need for a thank you," she replied, resuming her steps. Nn followed as they both moved out of the Neer Hall.


    Soon, they arrived at the crossne. The male and female dormitories were opposite each other and ced far apart by the academy, which meant it was time for them to part ways.


    "Well, see you around," Nn said, waving as he prepared to leave. But he noticed her stop in her tracks once again, giving him a piercing look. He stopped in his steps and turned back, slightly unnerved by her gaze.


    "What?" he asked.


    "I don''t want to see you around," she said, her voice as cold as ever. Nn didn''t mind and simply shrugged.


    "I guess that''s fine too?," he replied, about to continue on his way.


    But he found it unsettling that she kept staring at him as he disappeared into the distance, so he lingered for a moment before noticing her eyes finally blink.


    "When you see me around next time, you can call me... Lily," she said, and Nn stared at her, a little dazed.


    That was thest thing he expected her to say, and the fact that she said it in the same cold voice and with those distant eyes made it even weirder.


    But he regained hisposure before responding.


    "I am..." He wanted to introduce himself, but remembering his ''special'' reputation, he awkwardly fell silent.


    "See you around, Nn," she said, turning toward the female dormitory area.


    Nn scratched the back of his head awkwardly before waving her off and continuing on to his dormitory.


    "[What a weird person]," the system suddenlymented, catching Nn''s attention. He raised an eyebrow.


    "What do you mean?"


    [The other half of her face. Did you see it?] the system asked, its tone mystifying.


    "No, I didn''t," Nn replied. The truth was, part of Lily''s hair had covered her face, and while Nn could have looked more closely to see what was hidden, he felt that would''ve been too intrusive.


    So, he had simply decided to ignore it.


    Not like he had a reason not to.


    [The other side of her face is strange. There''s a mark, an evil mark.]


    [She must''ve been through a lot too...] The system added, as Nn furrowed his brows. He stopped and turned to look back, but by then, she was long gone.


    He shrugged it off and continued on his path, soon arriving at the Greek Descent Building.