Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Midterm Exam (3)
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"Done... with it!"
As Falco shouted that, one of the clusters of other students got swept up in his wind magic.
At the same time, Luca darted over with lightning speed and snatched up all their necklaces in an instant.
It all happened so fast they couldn't even let out a gasp.
"Nice, let's bounce!"
Grid held off the screaming horde of pursuing students while Tricia threw up a barrier. Meanwhile, the slow-footed Falco scooped up Luca and retreated.
A flawless execution of the plan.
"You guys were great!"
The moment they fell back to safety, Tricia hopped up and down, clapping her hands.
And honestly, no amount of praise would be too much for what they'd pulled off.
"Nine necklaces or more? For a freshman midterm, that's gotta be a perfect score!"
Most groups were made up of three or four students like theirs, but every single fight had been a real ordeal, no question.
These were students from the Imperial Academy Elpante. Not a single one of them was going to hand over their necklaces easily.
"Yeah, no doubt."
Falco grinned and checked the map.
The map of the great plain issued to every student. It didn't just show the terrain—it also ranked the top students by necklace count.
'We're...'
All four of them had breezed into the perfect-score zone among the hundreds of freshmen.
The surprise, if anything, was that they weren't in overwhelming first place.
Third.
Even with a score like that.
"..."
Those rumors about historic freshmen at orientation weren't just hype after all.
Falco chuckled wryly as he glanced at the name above theirs.
Second place...
'Fainol Lifec? Who the hell is that...?'
He'd memorized every freshman who might score high. But even for Falco, this was a total unknown.
And on top of that.
"Wait a sec. This guy's solo?"
"What?"
At Falco's words, his friends crowded around.
"No group, and he's got fifteen necklaces? What kind of monster is this?"
"Why are our class full of freaks like this...?"
Tricia whined from the side, but Falco just brushed it off with a smirk.
Hey, third was still a guaranteed perfect score. No need to get down about it.
More importantly, who was first that fifteen was only second?
'Oh, Eliya's group.'
Falco's face twisted into a bitter smile as he checked.
Dawood Campbell, Eliya Chrisanax, and Yuria Grayhauncher.
The next-gen hero candidate crew, right on brand.
No surprise they were outshining the famous freshmen.
And their count...
"..."
Falco blinked.
"Hang on, is this glitched?"
"Why?"
His friends crowded in again and checked the number.
And they all instantly got why he'd said that.
Because.
"...Over a hundred?"
"..."
Everyone went speechless at once.
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Truth be told, when they first gathered, even the students had grumbled that it was overkill.
Sure, the targets had a bad rep, but was mobbing them with over a hundred people against just three really anything but a lynching?
And now, probably everyone was thinking the same thing.
Ah, we were cocky.
To think we'd called a hundred "just."
"..."
Eliya and Yuria probably hadn't drawn their swords with any grand intent.
Just counterattacking the incoming strikes—nothing more, nothing less.
But the result?
First second.
The moment the swords cleared their sheaths, the reaction ripples out. Wind pressure surges like a typhoon, sweeping every nearby object away at once.
Next two seconds.
Everything in the swords' paths gets dragged into the monstrous torrent one after another. Students instinctively sense the power and go pale.
Final three seconds.
The two blades clash with the approaching students.
And in that instant.
The landscape tears apart.
-!
-!!
-!!!!!
The ground flips over. Rocks in the sword paths get pulverized, trees rip out by the roots and scatter into the sky, and the charging mob bounces back entirely.
It doesn't stop there.
The stretched-out physical energy sweeps up the students prepping spells or blessings in the rear. Not flung skyward like the front line, but they topple like fallen leaves anyway.
"..."
"..."
Dead silence blanketed the area.
What the hell was that?
Even knights who'd maxed out body reinforcement techniques couldn't pull off a scene like this.
Swing a sword and make a typhoon? That was fairy-tale or myth stuff at best!
And this was from just.
Two people "swinging once."
The victims were stunned, but Yuria and Eliya's jaws dropped too.
"...Wh-what the...?"
[...]
Even these two were shocked by the power of their own swings. It didn't feel familiar.
No one would know, but Yuria—who'd sliced countless foes—and Eliya—who'd joined magic beast hunts—were equally floored.
So naturally.
All eyes turned to the one person here still "calm."
"Not bad."
Dawood Campbell said it with a grin.
Chills raced down everyone's spines.
They all sensed it instinctively.
This freakish scene was all orchestrated by this guy. Alone.
"..."
Heard he was aiming for the Holy Faculty.
Sure, elite priests could buff allies to insane levels with blessings. But to cause this?
What realm was he even in?
"...I surrender."
Someone mumbling that was the most natural outcome.
What they were up against.
A hundred, two hundred.
It was bone-deep clear they couldn't handle it.
●
A few facts first.
The Mental World skill lasts shorter than you'd think.
The activation summons the spirit Kaliban using my holy power, so with my pitiful reserves, I can barely sustain it for one or two attacks.
That said, it's still ridiculously strong.
'Isn't it a bit too strong, though?'
Even I, sharing the buffs, thought so.
Just now, the first students hit by Eliya and Yuria's strikes would've been ground meat if I hadn't shielded them with Ultrim of Divinity linked to Asceticism.
I knew most stat buffs multiplied base stats by skill coefficients, but this was overkill.
Considering these two's physical stats hovered around B to C right now, even more so.
'My all-stats F meant I was getting less than half the skill's potential.'
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
'Gotta raise them.'
Stats are notoriously tough to level, even for veterans. Not why I'd been putting it off.
Luckily, opportunities to boost them were coming soon. Finish this midterm, and rewards would pour in.
'For now, though...'
I've got other gains too.
I fiddled with the window again.
[ You racked up massive assists in battle via buffs on 'party members'! ]
[ 'AP (Assist Points)' granted! ]
[ Use AP to raise proficiency in desired traits! ]
That's right.
Sera has this AP system. Even without fighting myself, just supporting party members lets me feed XP into traits like this.
And just now, my two buffed allies sent a hundred people flying in one shot.
The AP haul?
[ Trait: Breathing Method - Breeze Proficiency increased. ]
[ Trait: Gale Proficiency increased. ]
[ Both traits made massive leaps! ]
[ Both traits advanced from 'Basic' to 'General'! ]
[!Info!]
[ All conditions met. ]
[ Two traits merge! ]
↓↓↓↓
[ Trait: Hidden Gale ] [ Grade: Basic ]
[ Proficiency: 0% ]
[ Parry enemy attacks at precise timings to reflect significant damage back at them. ]
...All in one go.
Solid gains. My combat power just jumped big time.
As I thought that, someone groaned beside me and dropped something with a thud.
"...Whoa."
Eliya gawked at the sack full of necklaces.
All left behind by the guys who'd surrendered earlier.
"What score do you think we'll get with these?"
"Not about the score."
I smirked and fielded her question.
High midterm scores naturally yield Sera main-story rewards too.
Three gets top tier, ten is elite, twenty is legendary.
But.
If a player goes ham and grabs over a hundred like this, there's hidden rewards on top.
Usually from the Crafting Faculty, who crank out weapons and gear.
'Perfect for those guys.'
I needed stuff from them for Chapter 2 anyway. Nice haul.
"By the way, teacher."
Eliya crossed her arms and cut in front of me.
She looked pouty. Something to say, huh.
"You did some weird shit to me again without asking, right?"
"...Yeah."
Yuria paused beside her and glanced at me too.
Her eyes darted around—she was clearly bothered by it.
"With all those people watching. Right? Rumors are gonna spread."
"...Yeah."
"Teacher, last time you apologized and said you'd do anything I want. Remember?"
"..."
Yeah, kinda.
Back when we farmed ectoplasm in that backroom realm, she got pissed, so I promised.
Why bring it up now, though.
Bad vibes.
"So that means I've got two wish tickets now?"
Eliya grinned mischievously at my face.
Playful expression, but my unease doubled.
"...What do you want?"
"Se-cret. Won't use 'em twice—it's one big twofer wish. Cool?"
She stuck out her tongue and giggled.
"I'll tell you after the midterm's done. Look forward to it then."
"...After?"
What could be coming then?
Then our family butler’s words popped into my head.
-Events coming up soon, timing-wise. Easier to find a partner too. I heard you met your wife there...
...No.
She couldn't mean.
If she did, I'd have to drag her back to my territory.
Sweating bullets inside, Yuria timidly raised her hand beside me.
[Um...]
"Yeah? What?"
[...I wouldn't mind if you just declared me your master. Wouldn't think it's weird.]
"..."
[It, uh, might even be nice...?]
Eliya and I locked eyes.
Silent agreement to ignore the floating text for now.
She cleared her throat and spoke.
"Anyway, teacher. You know Kendrid Margrave or something?"
"...? No?"
Kendrid Margrave was Eliya's foster father figure.
One of the continent's top paladins. In the game, he joined late as a companion.
Insane sustain from honed combat skills and high-level holy powers—that's what I remembered.
"Cuz your fighting style's way too similar."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Good at close quarters, handles all kinds of blessings, times 'em perfectly. He'd be interested if he saw."
"...Tell him no thanks."
Gideon and Kendrid Margrave were infamous enemies among great nobles.
Without imperial meddling, they'd have warred ages ago.
And I'm in a sorta-priest thing with Gideon now, casual but regular contact.
Get tangled with Kendrid Margrave, and it's chaos guaranteed.
'Hope Gideon's doing alright.'
Under my orders, holed up training somewhere.
Once he emerges... the growth will be something.
"...Honestly, standing out's just a matter of time anyway."
I ignored Eliya's mutter and looked ahead.
"Oh, we're here."
A small stone building encased in a blue hemisphere.
The midterm's end point: the sanctuary.
Submit necklaces inside, event over.
'...No way it's that simple.'
Bitter smile as I eyed it.
From my playthroughs, it never ended peacefully in there.
Midterms were always Sera hotspots for incidents. No exceptions.
"Why're you just standing there? Not going in?"
"...Nah, let's go."
Still, gotta go in.
Pushing the heavy stone door, we entered.
"...Hold up."
Eliya's panicked voice.
"What the hell is this? Part of the test? No way, this is ridiculous...!"
Because inside.
Someone lay collapsed, covered head to toe in blood.
Ghastly state. Like deliberate torture.
"..."
And.
"...!"
The moment I recognized who.
My heart clenched.
I knew this person. Unfortunately.
Why unfortunate?
Because someone next to me absolutely shouldn't see her like this.
I glanced aside—Yuria stared blankly.
Blankly. Unblinking.
Eyes lifeless.
Like her mind had shattered.
"...Sister?"
Then, instead of text, a hollow, endless voice leaked from Yuria.
And a window popped up.
[ Main Quest ]〖 Chapter 2 – Boy King 〗
[ Stop the rampage of the scapegoat bearing the 'Curse of Severance'! ]
[ Fails if 'Lucien Grayhauncher' or 'Yuria Grayhauncher' dies! ]
[ Reward: Echo of Consecration x1 ]
[ Reward: Seed of Evil x1 ]
Yeah.
Figures, fuck.
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