[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess":3,"chapter-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-91":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I'm in Love with the Villainess!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},895260,1171,"Chapter 91: D-Day (2)","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-91",91,"\u003Cp>As we headed to the next examination hall, I could already see everyone’s mood change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some students who had been afraid before were now walking confidently, while others were starting to lose their composure. Everyone’s true abilities and preparation were beginning to show.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it’s still way too early to decide if that’s going to be their final demeanor in this entire examination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We still had two more academic tests to finish before we reached the practical ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If our minds didn’t go out first, our writing hand surely will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second hall was larger than the first, with wider spacing between desks, a higher ceiling, and a ridiculous amount of layered enchantments carved into every visible surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This one wasn’t just anti-cheating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was anti-everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the air felt heavier, like thinking too loudly might get you flagged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, that was an overestimation, but with how tingly the air got the moment I walked in, it definitely felt like it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took my seat without incident, stretching my fingers once as I waited. A few students recognized me again, some stiffened, others glanced away like eye contact itself was dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The proctor this time was different. Younger. Sharper eyes. Military posture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Photographic Memory]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was a professor from another academy, the only answer I could come up with since I’ve never even seen her once in the list of faculty staff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second assessment,\" she announced. \"Applied Theory and Strategic Reasoning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this was going to be more specific than the first exam, then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Begin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seals broke, and the moment I read the first page, I had to resist the urge to sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t about memorization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was about judgment. A skill that even the most basic of rulers needed to survive for a day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hypothetical scenarios involving food shortages, hostile environments, civilian presence, and conflicting objectives. The kind of questions where there wasn’t a single correct answer, only defensible ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smirked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was practically written for someone like me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’You are stationed near an undefendable city when a hostile force emerges from the field...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I skimmed ahead. Just another basic risk assessment, resource allocation, and ethical tradeoffs kind of question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah. This was just another day at work. It wasn’t fundamentally different from Corvus’s question in the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wrote calmly, deliberately. Not overly flashy, not extreme, just balanced and practical answers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where others might write about heroics or ideals, I wrote about survival, control, and minimizing long-term damage. Not because I was trying to look good, but because those were the only answers that actually worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But of course, I also had to sprinkle some morals once in a while in my answers. What competent ruler didn’t possess at least a measure of kindness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Halfway through, I noticed several students visibly struggling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some stared at the page like it had personally offended them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others were writing too fast, hands shaking, clearly panicking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strategy exams always separated the thinkers from the talented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic was power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judgment was dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the final page, my wrist finally started to ache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I may have gone a bit too overboard on my answers...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hey, at least it gives me less room for error the more bases I cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...There it is,\" I muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I finished cleanly and leaned back, rolling my shoulder once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This exam took longer to clear. The proctors moved slower, eyes sharper, occasionally stopping behind a student for far longer than comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we were dismissed, the hallway outside was noticeably quieter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confidence had thinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stress had settled in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One more academic test left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third and final hall felt... different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smaller, circular, and no desks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, we were each led to individual stations, raised platforms surrounded by faintly glowing rings of metal, the welding lined with various runes and magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More specifically, dark magic that induced illusions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that’s how they were doing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The proctor’s voice echoed through the chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Final academic assessment: Mental Resistance, decision making under pressure, and cognitive stability.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few students paled instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do not panic,\" she added dryly. \"This is not a combat test.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That didn’t help anyone, even if it isn’t a literal combat test; they were still going to make it feel like one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You will be subjected to controlled stimuli. Illusions, pressure, and manipulation of your senses. Your task is simple: maintain clarity and respond to prompts either through magic or basic answers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So basically... don’t crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped onto my platform as the ring activated beneath my feet, a faint hum rising into my bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room faded, replaced by a familiar scent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Oh,\" I murmured. \"You’re doing this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The illusion was high quality. Too high quality. A battlefield sprawled around me, screams in the distance, bodies half-buried in ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t as perfect as the one in the emperor’s tomb, but it definitely did its job in making the test-taker feel like they were actually in the illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A psychological pressure test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For most people, this would be devastating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For me? Once again, I’d lived worse. They really didn’t account for someone who had lived two lifetimes...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then again, what kind of academy will?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Prompt One:You are overwhelmed. Reinforcements are delayed. What is your priority?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I answered without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stabilize myself and secure an exit. No action will be taken while emotional instability persists.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My answer was risky and optimistic, but as soon as the ring gauged my answer, it found it acceptable within my personal capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the illusion shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Darkness closed in. Whispers followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regret. Accusations. Faces I recognized, and some I didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seemed like it was trying to convince me of a dreaded future scenario where everything went wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad, I found it way too unrealistic to even worry me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Prompt Two:What do you do when guilt impairs judgment?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I exhaled slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ignore it, handle it later. Act first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could feel the pressure increasing from my answer, the machine doing its best to try to gauge if my actions could back up my words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>DING!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I passed, and my control held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somewhere beyond the illusion, I could sense movement, other students faltering, platforms flaring erratically, one collapsing entirely as a proctor intervened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Prompt Three:What is more important: victory or survival?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I paused this time. My old trainers already asked this question a thousand times; I knew full well what to answer with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Survival,\" I said quietly. \"Victory means nothing if it kills the ability to choose again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pressure immediately eased with my answer. It didn’t require the machine to test my capabilities; it was just a good answer in general.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with it, the battlefield dissolved, and the platform dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now I was back in the hall, sweating slightly, surprisingly enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The proctor looked at me for a long moment, then marked something on her tablet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Completed in record time, congrats.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1156,"2026-06-03T05:52:53.768Z",1,"novelbin.me","7a7b137670796a75dcd584b0c24f57203663137aa99f07c17012d9cb0c5b8854","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-92","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-90",324,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-cover.jpg"]