Chapter 86: Midterm Exam 6
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86: Midterm Exam 6
"That crazy bastard."
A professor from a Viscount’s family—a man who valued etiquette and dignity enough to teach them to young nobles—spat out the curse. Yet, not a single other professor bothered to reprimand him.
After all, every person in the room was thinking the exact same thing.
That lunatic had just scammed every single student participating in the exam.
This was a problem on an entirely different level than simply monitoring the students' locations and status on a screen.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!"
One professor, finally snapping out of their daze, shouted urgently at Loki.
"Ah! It was just a little monologue, but I guess everyone heard it," Loki said, shamelessly scratching the back of his head.
The professors stared at him blankly.
A little monologue?
That "little monologue" had echoed throughout the entire forest. And the content of that broadcast was the blatant lie of Loki’s own elimination.
"Director, this is... this is okay, right?"
Even Professor Idra, who usually cackled at Loki’s antics, turned to Elicia with trembling eyes.
"…I don't even know anymore."
Elicia let out a heavy sigh, looking as if she had completely given up.
She knew he wasn't normal from their morning brawls, but she hadn't realized he was this far gone. Even as a Dragon who had lived longer than anyone could imagine, she had never encountered a nutcase of this caliber.
Unaware—or perhaps simply uncaring—of the professors' burning frustration, Loki leisurely sipped his drink and spoke.
"Oh, come on now. It was just a little monologue. Don't worry about it so much. Besides, it’s not like I broke any 'rules,' right?"
Loki put a heavy emphasis on the word rules.
Just as he said, there was no rule stating, 'You must not spread false news of your own elimination throughout the forest.'
That was because there was no reason to make such a ridiculous rule in the first place! What kind of professor would ever think, 'Hey, one of the students might broadcast a fake elimination to the whole forest, so should we ban that?'
Furthermore, Loki hadn't used the microphone the professors used; he had used his own magic tool. The madman was doing everything he could while strictly staying within the lines of the regulations.
"…Don't tell me. When you were wandering the forest earlier… did you set this up then?"
"Bingo! Correct! As a prize, I’ll show you which magic tool I used!"
Loki held a small doll that looked just like him in his left hand and pulled a small magic tool out of his Pocket Dimension with his right.
"Testing, one, two."
[ Testing, one, two. ]
As Loki spoke into the doll, his voice echoed through the monitoring room via the small magic tool. Only then did the professors realize how he had broadcast the fake news to the forest.
"You scattered those small magic tools all over the forest while you were walking around, and then used the doll to announce your own elimination."
"Ha! A perfect answer! Unfortunately, I’m all out of prizes, so I have nothing left to give you."
"What are you going to do if the other students protest after the exam?"
Even if Loki hadn't technically broken the rules, some students would surely try to find any excuse to complain. Loki simply shrugged at the professor's question.
"Well, I’m sure you professors will handle that for me, right?"
The professors were speechless at his brazen response. It wasn't just because they were flabbergasted; it was because they couldn't refute him. Some students might curse Loki, but in the end, their formal complaints would be directed at the faculty.
"I made a tiny mistake during the written exam, you see. I plan to work hard and not make any mistakes during the practical."
A tiny mistake? Getting every single question wrong was a "mistake"?
Unlike the students, the professors knew that Loki hadn't received a zero because he forgot to write his name; he had received a zero because he had intentionally failed every single question.
"So, Professors… I’m counting on you."
After tossing a massive headache into the professors' laps, Loki spoke with a sly grin.
The practical exam grade was a combination of the points a student earned and the evaluation score given by the professors based on their actions. Although the professors were fuming at Loki’s audacity, they couldn't justify giving him a low evaluation score for being clever.
The moment they realized the madman probably knew that and was acting brazen on purpose, their heads began to throb.
"Yaaaawn. Well, I have something important to check later, so I’ll take a quick nap!"
Loki spoke with a solemn air and then proceeded to fall fast asleep.
"...................."
The professors watched Loki, who had even pulled out a blanket, and seriously contemplated their life choices.
Should I just give him a failing evaluation score and quit being a professor?
* * *
"Up we go! Shall we start moving again?"
The professors, who had been moving quietly for fear of waking Loki, jumped in surprise when he suddenly stood up.
No, please. Just keep sleeping.
They already had a headache; now they were terrified of what this lunatic would do next. To be precise, they were terrified of the mounting paperwork and overtime his actions would cause.
Contrary to their wishes, Loki stretched and walked toward the screens.
"Hmm, now that I think about it, I haven't made much use of this place despite coming all this way."
The professors looked at Loki with cold, dead eyes as he spouted nonsense.
No, you’ve used it plenty, you psycho.
"Oh? Look at that. There’s a student hiding quite cowardly over there."
Loki pointed to a student crouching in the bushes, breathing heavily. They didn't seem injured; they were likely waiting in ambush to snatch points from passing students.
"Everyone else is running around the forest so hard right now! How cowardly. Don't you professors agree?"
"................."
You’re the last person who should be saying that while hiding in here.
The monitoring room where Loki sat was the safest place in the exam, inaccessible to both magic beasts and other students. While that student was at least lying face-down in the dirt, this guy was sipping a drink through a straw.
"I can't allow this. I cannot forgive such a cowardly student."
"Are you going out?"
One of the professors asked, trying to sound indifferent while inwardly rejoicing. If Loki left the room, they might at least have a moment of peace.
"No. I plan to handle this 'smartly' from right here."
Before the professors could even process what he meant, Loki pulled the doll that looked like him out of his Pocket Dimension. They didn't know why it was coming out now, but they had a very bad feeling.
"AAAAAAAGHHHH!!"
[ AAAAAAAGHHHH!! ]
Loki screamed into the doll, and the sound echoed through the forest via the magic tools. The difference this time was that, unlike the elimination announcement, the scream only came from the magic tool near the hiding student.
The student in the bushes jumped in shock at the sudden scream and looked around frantically. Meanwhile, other nearby students, sensing an easy point, rushed toward the source of the scream.
Quite a few students converged on the location and began fighting each other for points.
"Yes! That’s it! Ha! Now that’s what I call youth. Don't you agree, Professors?"
The large group of gathered students was eventually wiped out by Kuran, who suddenly intervened.
Watching the scene, the professors had only one thought.
Ah, more overtime. Dammit.
* * *
Loki continued to use the screams to thin out the student population. The problem was that the numbers were dropping much faster than the professors had anticipated.
About half of the Special Class students had already been eliminated. They had been lured by Loki’s screams, gathered in one spot, and knocked each other out. However, since the Special Class students had already secured plenty of points before being eliminated, they were still guaranteed top rankings.
"Well, shall I head out now?"
Deciding he had sufficiently reduced the competition and drained the Special Class students' stamina, Loki walked out of the monitoring room. He targeted a student who was nearby and had earned a lot of points but was currently exhausted.
Loki’s target was Gashurin, a Special Class student who used Eastern swordsmanship. Having just defeated Ren, another Special Class student, Gashurin was panting heavily, clearly spent.
"""Phew..."""
The professors let out a collective sigh of relief once Loki was completely out of the monitoring room. They had been terrified he would do something even weirder if he stayed.
Looking at the direction Loki was heading, the professors immediately realized who he was targeting.
"It looks like he’s going after Student Gashurin."
"Will he use his Innate Magic to hide his presence and launch a surprise attack like before?"
"Probably. Or he might use his Innate Magic to transform into another student to get close."
As they made their guesses, the professors were left speechless by Loki’s suddenly bizarre behavior.
"…What on earth is he doing now?"
Loki had been walking fine, but then he suddenly stopped and began rolling around on the ground. His school uniform became filthy in an instant.
His antics didn't end there.
"Wait, why is the Director over there?"
"What is he trying to do now?"
Using his Innate Magic, Loki created an illusion of Elicia and began walking alongside her.
Step, step.
Loki walked boldly toward Gashurin, making no effort to hide his footsteps.
"Oh? Hello, Gashurin. Fancy meeting you here."
He even waved his hand and greeted Gashurin.
"Why are you here?"
Gashurin was startled by Loki’s sudden appearance and took a defensive stance, but when he saw Elicia standing next to him, he seemed to remember the news of Loki’s elimination and lowered his guard.
"Ah! I got eliminated earlier, so I was heading to the gathering area for eliminated students with Professor Elicia."
Only then did the professors realize what the crazy bastard was up to.
"Loki, I’m sorry to hear you were eliminated."
Believing Loki was out of the exam, Gashurin sheathed his sword and offered words of consolation.
No! Run! That guy is a lunatic! It’s all a lie!
Unfortunately, the professors' desperate internal screams could not reach Gashurin.
"I’m also sorry to hear that you’re about to be eliminated, Gashurin."
"Huh? What do you mean—"
Loki lunged at Gashurin. Already exhausted and having sheathed his sword, Gashurin couldn't react in time.
Eliminated in an instant, Gashurin stared blankly at Loki with trembling eyes.
"Oops! My hand slipped."