Relocation Exam (1)
Kendra gave Welton a light nudge and said, “Yusford student. You’re not allowed to impersonate a teacher.”
“Yeees.”
“Right then, shall we start with roll call?”
So it begins here.
If everything up to enrolling at the academy had been the prologue to the prologue, then this was the true beginning of the prologue.
There were still two years left until the novel’s protagonist entered college. But every important supporting character who would become close to that protagonist was already gathered right here.
It wouldn’t hurt to get friendly with them in advance.
First, the most dangerous person on the list.
“Zernya von Adelbein.”
Of course it was her.
In a world without the variable called me, she had taken the top spot. A hexagonal genius with overwhelming talent. Yet she was also the unfortunate girl who, dissatisfied with her own abilities, had summoned an Outer God and met with disaster.
As the boss of the college arc, she was incredibly dangerous. It would be ideal if we could become friends and she ended up on my side, but her notoriously twisted personality made building any rapport extremely difficult.
Next.
“James Hendleton.”
A sincere and taciturn guy. Give him an assignment and he’ll do more than his share. The biggest victim of group projects.
“Mezlen Whiritia.”
A tiny girl with dark green hair. Height: 149.4 cm. Growth plates officially closed. Suspiciously obsessed with biology lectures and rounding numbers.
“Matus Biterling.”
From a frontier planet. His behavior is as violent as his hair color. I honestly don’t care about his tragic backstory, and I have no idea what his current condition is. He keeps glaring at me for some reason.
“Kristin Herset.”
A face that could have been a model instead of a legal professional. Can’t stand injustice. The word “corruption” flies out of her mouth at every opportunity. Overflowing with loyalty.
“Welton Yusford.”
The kind of guy who orders sundae gukbap and asks them to hold the sundae.
“Seti von Rheinland.”
“Here.”
“And… Idel von Rheinland.”
If I were listing people to watch out for, that would be about it.
When I came back to my senses, Kendra was making direct eye contact with me.
No, it wasn’t just Kendra. Every student in the class was either staring at me openly or at least sneaking glances.
“Idel, you left quite an impression during the written exam. So you really took the top spot. Congratulations.”
“I knew it! There was definitely a connection! The root of all entrance exam corruption!”
“Chris, maybe you should keep quiet for now?”
The classroom instantly erupted into chaos.
Kendra began a speech disguised as orientation.
“As you all know, the Federation is at war. Because of the monsters and avatars created by the Outer Gods, countless people are still dying even now.”
“……”
“You are no exception. The Outer Gods do not go easy on children.”
Kendra then mentioned the massive accident that had occurred during the practical evaluation. Many students had nearly lost their arms there.
“It’s entirely possible that you or your friends could die suddenly tomorrow.”
“……”
“This may not be the military, but you will have to live like it is. I expect you to devote yourselves to your studies while also taking combat training seriously.”
Kendra spoke with considerable force. The students swallowed hard.
“You must learn how to wield a plasma sword. You must also learn how to handle ether.”
Only then can you survive.
“Is there anyone here thinking, ‘I’m going into research anyway, or I’ll be working in the rear, so I don’t need swordsmanship’? If so, you won’t be getting good grades here. Keep that in mind. That is all!”
A few students nodded.
Kendra leaned on the lectern and grinned.
“Anyway, this batch of students seems remarkably sharp. I like that.”
But—she continued.
“…Don’t assume every single one of you will still be in this class two weeks from now.”
Now the real story begins.
It was time for me to open my ears and listen properly.
“Three days from now, the entire student body will take the relocation exam.”
“The relocation exam?”
“That’s right. It’s meant to supplement the practical evaluation that couldn’t be properly conducted during the entrance exam. You’re all smart, so I’m sure you understand what that means?”
Since admission itself was unavoidable, this was a chance for students with outstanding combat ability to prove themselves and earn a spot in the advanced class. In simple terms, it was a way to separate the plump grains from the empty husks.
A rather pragmatic compromise.
“Um, ma’am? What about the format of the practical evaluation?”
“The format, you ask? Ah, right…”
Kendra scratched her head.
“I don’t know.”
Three days later.
Three days was far too short to conduct any proper lessons. We only learned the basics of handling ether before the relocation exam began.
“I will now reveal the test subject. The theme of this exam is live combat against imitation monsters. It is almost identical to the one during the entrance exam, yet designed to evaluate you from far more varied angles. Keep that in mind.”
So they said.
“This is ridiculous.”
One student from the middle class muttered those words. The murmur quickly spread through the room. Only the elite class students remained relatively calm. They had always possessed outstanding ability in multiple fields. There was no reason for them to be shaken by a reinforced practical evaluation.
“I wish they’d just get this meaningless nonsense over with quickly.”
Zernya grumbled like that. She was inspecting her sharply shaped plasma sword while letting out a yawn. Come to think of it, the setting was that Zernya slept a full eight hours every day. Apparently the more she used her head, the more sleep she needed.
The other students were equally composed. It seemed they all believed there would be no change to their class placement. Even Seti looked unconcerned.
The only one feeling anxious was me.
Ether is like a pulsating star. At close range its behavior resembles the strong nuclear force, and its essence can be understood by thinking of light elements.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, recalling the ether manipulation technique the homeroom teacher had taught us. A formless energy flowed along my bones, through my wrist, and wrapped around both hands.
When this energy was driven into a plasma sword, it could ionize matter even at room temperature. The resulting energy, combined with ether’s inherent power, could incinerate monsters. That was the mechanism of a plasma-ether sword.
I was repeatedly practicing the sensation of manipulating ether when it happened.
— Notification: Due to the influence of an Outer God, you cannot accumulate or emit ether during this exam.
What the hell?
Cold sweat poured down my back. My combat ability was already pathetic. If I couldn’t even use ether, what was I supposed to do?
“The exam content is simple. Using the Dodeca Forest visible over there as the stage, you must either confront a B-rank golem or evade it while collecting ether fragments.”
A golem, huh. I wondered whether the mentally destructive Caliper of Wisdom would have any effect. And honestly, with my current physical stats, could I even get close to a B-rank golem in the first place? I had no idea.
“Hey, now that I think about it…”
At that exact moment, Seti spoke to me.
“Last time I saw you smashing monster heads left and right. Don’t tell me you actually have a talent for physical movement?”
“What?”
I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t speak. Seti was praising me?
No, wait. More importantly, she was praising something that wasn’t even true.
“Your swordsmanship is outstanding too?”
“As expected of the top scorer…”
“Don’t fall for it. It might just be an illusion.”
“Still, he’s the top student. He must be pretty amazing, right?”
No. You crazy people. Stop expecting things from me.
I now understood exactly what it meant to incur a thousand-gold debt with a single word. The single sentence Seti had uttered created an enormous ripple effect throughout the entire elite class.
And there was one student who visibly staggered under that ripple.
“You bubble-headed moron. I’ll be the one to crush you.”
It was Zernya, of course.
Yeah, at least you’re evaluating me properly—
No, fuck. This is not good.
I was screwed. That was a conclusion I could reach without any deep deliberation.
But perhaps there was still a silver lining. The supervisor overseeing the relocation exam added a few more words.
“This relocation exam is being conducted to evaluate all of you according to appropriate and suitable standards. Therefore, we will comprehensively assess not only raw combat power, but also sensory ability to detect ether, instantaneous judgment to grasp the situation, mathematical and scientific thinking to interpret ether maps, and affinity to form teams and cooperate with others.”
In short, even if your combat ability was weak, you could cover for it with intelligence or the power of allies.
Relieved sighs erupted among the lower-ranked students.
“However, teams may consist of up to three people. Once a group is formed, you must report it. At the end, the points earned will be divided equally among group members.”
“Ah.”
The moment the supervisor mentioned “points will be divided equally,” the lower-ranked students’ hopes came crashing down. This was nothing but cruel false hope.
“Haha, cooperation? Sounds fun. Of course, I won’t be doing it.”
Welton Yusford grinned as he stroked the blade of his sword.
“…I’m enough by myself.”
Matus Biterling was the same. Most of the elite class did not form teams. Their skills were so outstanding that solo play was more advantageous than cooperation. Besides, they had only just met; there was no reason to work together.
The only ones who did form a team were childhood friends Mezlen Whiritia and Kristin Herset.
And then there was me.
“Hey.”
I was called by my little sister.