Group Project Massacre (2)
Once teams were assigned for the joint exam, the students made their way to the lecture halls designated for their groups.
There they would meet their teammates, get acquainted, and discuss the joint exam that lay ahead.
Rosaria, having been placed on a team herself, relocated to join hers and soon found herself face-to-face with the members of Team D-19.
"Everyone here? Nice to meet you, rookies. I'm Gren, fourth-year close-combat major. I'll be the team leader for this exam."
The moment he sat down, a male student propped his feet on the table, crossed his arms, and introduced himself.
With a heavily muscled build and a closely cropped head of hair, Gren kept up a thoroughly arrogant attitude as he continued speaking.
This exam was not simply a matter of gathering students from the same year and the same major. Seasoned upperclassmen took charge as team leaders, with the rest of the members following their lead.
"I-I'm… a third-year, Rasel… M-my major is… scouting and support… Yes, y-yes…"
The next teammate to introduce himself was a third-year boy who kept his hood pulled low and stammered through every word.
From the moment he sat down he had been fidgeting restlessly, eyes always averted, head always bowed.
"First-year magic major. Rachel Smiren."
The next to introduce herself was a noble young lady with striking red hair.
Her glossy crimson locks gleamed as if they might catch fire at any moment. Instead of the standard-issue robe and staff issued to every magic student, she wore a custom-made robe of luxurious red silk and carried an expensive-looking staff set with a luminous orb. She introduced herself with complete indifference.
"…A little short on manners, aren't we, first-year junior?"
Gren's face twitched at the curt, dismissive reply. He glared at her as he spoke.
"Where did you go and sell off any respect for your seniors? Ah~ what, because you're a noble? Did your precious noble house tell you not to even speak to filthy commoners? Huh?"
Thud—
He uncrossed his tightly folded arms and slammed the desk hard enough to fill the room with a menacing atmosphere.
"First. You are not a senior in my major. Second. Once this exam is over, we will never see each other again. And third. You yourself have yet to act in a manner befitting a senior… so why should I bother with courtesy?"
Rachel, however, refused to back down. She answered him head-on, laying out her reasons one by one.
"You little—running that mouth of yours—!"
"Aigoo, let's all just calm down for a second, okay? Things are getting a little heated… How about we cool our heads and talk this through?"
"…Tch."
"……"
When the tension spiked to the point that fists seemed ready to fly, Rosaria finally stepped in to mediate. Only then did the atmosphere settle somewhat.
"I'm Rosaria Evergarden, second-year. Combat major."
Seriously, what kind of dumpster fire is this for a first meeting?
After the room had quieted, Rosaria introduced herself while breaking into a cold sweat on the inside.
"Hmph. Anyway. I'd rather die than let that stuck-up bitch walk away with any points, but my own score is on the line too. So listen up—I'm going to talk about the exam. Open those clogged ears of yours and take it in."
Once Rosaria's introduction was finished, Gren launched straight into the real discussion about the exam.
"The best way to rack up points on this exam is simple: farm high-value scores."
"Which means our one and only goal inside this artificial dungeon is this—race to the center from the start and dig in early."
"You get points every time you take down a monster in the artificial dungeon, sure. But the real jackpot is killing the dungeon boss."
"And every time a dungeon boss is killed, it respawns after a set amount of time."
"So there are bound to be teams that want to take that boss down during the remaining period."
"That's why we get to the center before anyone else, plant ourselves there, and wait for other teams to come kill the boss."
"Sorry? Why do we have to wait on purpose?"
Midway through his explanation, Rosaria cut in with a question, puzzled by Gren's plan.
If they arrived first, why not just kill the boss themselves and leave? That was the doubt that had risen in her mind.
"What a dumb question. Figures—noble types always have their brains locked up tight like this…"
Gren snorted and sneered at both Rosaria and Rachel in one go.
"You heard the rules, didn't you? After you kill the boss, one team member has to hold onto the mana stone that drops for ten full minutes to pass."
"Yes. I heard that. But why does that mean—"
"Which means after you kill the boss, you're stuck waiting around for ten minutes."
"Right?"
"So we just wait for another team to kill the boss, then the second they're done we rush in and snatch the stone. No effort required, free pass."
"…Ah."
At Gren's follow-up, Rosaria finally nodded.
It was true—when Gerton had explained the joint exam, he had made it clear that inside the dungeon, anything short of outright murder was fair game.
"I scored exactly like this on the last exam… pure honey, I'm telling you!"
"Ahh…"
What fun is that supposed to be? We're going into a dungeon and that's how you want to play it?
Rosaria managed a strained smile as Gren proudly boasted about how he had passed the previous exam the same way.
She had been looking forward to a proper RPG-style dungeon crawl—clearing the floors with her teammates and eventually challenging the boss. Gren's method drained every last drop of excitement out of the whole thing.
And the behavior itself was nothing short of dirty and cowardly.
"Um… m-maybe we could just… fight together as a team…"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Eek…!"
Rasel, who had been listening, carefully floated a different suggestion, clearly unhappy with the plan as well—only to shrink back instantly under Gren's shout.
"Or what? You high-and-mighty noble young masters can't follow orders from some lowly commoner because of your precious honor? Is that it?"
"Ah, nooo~ of course not~ I was just thinking this exam was going to be tough… and if we do it that way it feels a little anticlimactic… you know. Yeah…"
Rosaria smoothly deflected Gren's glare with a breezy, innocent tone.
This bastard's been pissing me off since the start… I can't even just deck him…!
She had no idea how strong Gren actually was, but she was fairly certain she wouldn't lose. Part of her desperately wanted to turn the atmosphere-wrecking idiot into a pulp, yet she forced herself to swallow the urge.
This was her first joint assignment; she wanted it to go as smoothly as possible. On top of that, her reputation inside the academy was already less than stellar—if she pulled a stunt like insubordination, she would be finished for good.
"I don't mind either. I already thought this exam was unnecessary, so there's no reason to waste energy for nothing."
The twist was that Rachel, of all people, accepted Gren's proposal without complaint.
She had seemed high-maintenance from the first impression, but more than that she simply wanted to get through the exam with as little effort as possible.
"Well… then it's settled. No need to talk any further, right?"
"…What?"
Once the team's direction was more or less decided, Gren stood up, clearly ready to end the meeting.
"What? Got a problem?"
"Um… even so, is it really okay not to prepare anything at all?"
"Ugh, this is why rookies… What else is there to prepare here?"
"Well… we still have to spend three days inside the dungeon. Shouldn't we at least prepare for that…?"
"No need! You lot just follow this senior's orders and you'll be fine! Stop whining about every little thing."
"…..Ah, yes."
I don't trust that for a second…
Rosaria tried to press the point that the plan seemed far too careless and that more preparation was needed, but Gren brushed her off, telling her not to worry and just trust him.
"Well… it's only an artificial dungeon, and I'm not the type to get into trouble in a place like this. I'll be heading out as well."
"Th-then… goodbye…"
One by one the other teammates rose from their seats and left as they pleased, as if they had nothing more to say. Only Rosaria remained.
"…..Ah, this feels seriously off…"
She stared at the now-empty table, a bad feeling settling in her gut.
"Ah, screw it. Whatever. It'll work out somehow."
With no better solution coming to mind, Rosaria finally stood and left the lecture hall as well.
That was when it happened.
"Excuse me. A moment."
"Ack!? Y-you startled me…!"
The instant she rounded the corner outside the lecture hall, a shadow approached her. Rosaria flinched back a step and looked up at the figure.
"Uh… you're… from earlier…"
"I am Rachel Smiren of Count Smiren's house. You are Lady Rosaria of Count Evergarden's house, correct?"
It was Rachel, the same teammate who had left first.
"Uh… yes, that's right."
"………"
"…Um?"
"Pardon the interruption. I'll be going now."
"….???"
Rachel had appeared out of nowhere, stared at Rosaria for a long moment without saying a word, then gave a light nod and simply walked away.
"….What the hell was that? Seriously, what?"
The whole encounter had been so abrupt that Rosaria could only stand there blankly, watching Rachel's retreating back and muttering in disbelief.
"So that's Professor Felix's little sister?"
Walking down the corridor, Rachel murmured to herself as she recalled the vacant-looking girl she had just seen.
Felix Evergarden, Honorary Professor.
From the very first lecture he had stood among a host of other professors and flaunted his knowledge—an outstanding mage and scholar.
For someone claiming to be that scholar's sister, Rosaria had looked far too unimpressive.
She was beautiful, yes, but her sharp eyes gave her a bad impression. Despite being a noble of the same count rank, she mixed freely with commoners without the slightest airs… and overall she seemed like someone with a screw loose. Rachel could not help but feel disappointed.
"Still, I suppose I'll see for myself on the day of the exam."
Deciding it was too early to write her off completely, Rachel gradually picked up her pace.
She wanted to reach her dormitory as quickly as possible and continue the magic-circle studies she had left unfinished the night before.
And so Rachel hurried toward the dorms, her red hair streaming behind her.