Chapter 87: Midterm Exam 7
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: Midterm Exam 7
"Oops, my hand slipped."
"W-what is the meaning of this...?"
Gashurin stared at Loki with trembling eyes, his mind unable to process what had just happened.
Can someone who’s already been eliminated take someone else out?
Even after being struck down by Loki, Gashurin hadn't realized that the earlier announcement of Loki’s elimination had been a total fabrication.
"I'll explain the situation just for you, Gashurin. Consider it a special perk for being my friend. You're welcome~"
With a wave of his hand, Loki dispelled the illusion of Professor Elicia.
If it had been a student from another class, he wouldn't have bothered explaining, but Gashurin was a classmate. Besides, he couldn't sense anyone else nearby.
"Ta-da! Look at this."
Loki pulled a doll and a sound-amplifying magic tool from his Pocket Dimension and whispered into the device.
[Loki eliminated.]
"............So that's how it was. Thank you for telling me."
After a moment of silence, Gashurin nodded, finally grasping the situation.
"Aren't you angry?"
Loki was actually the one taken aback. The reaction was far calmer than expected; he’d thought Gashurin would at least show some frustration, if not outright fury.
"It was all my own negligence. How could I blame a friend?"
Loki scratched his head, feeling a rare pang of guilt.
This makes me look like such a piece of trash.
"The way you took down Ren earlier was magnificent," Gashurin added.
"How did you...? No one was around..."
"Didn't I tell you before the exam started? I told you I’d always be watching."
The words Loki had spoken earlier flashed through Gashurin’s mind.
'No matter how far apart you all are, I will always be watching you.'
He had naturally dismissed it as Loki's usual nonsense. To think it was actually the literal truth.
"Hahahaha! I naturally thought it was a jest. Since it’s come to this, you must win."
"Of course! I'll send everyone else to join you soon."
"Don't talk as if I've died."
* * *
In the monitoring room, the faculty had gathered to watch the proceedings.
"In the end, that crazy bas— I mean, Student Loki took down Student Gashurin."
"To be honest, wouldn't anyone be fooled by that?"
"That's true."
While the professors discussed Loki’s victory over Gashurin, a professor monitoring a different screen spoke up.
"Oh? She finally got him?"
Not all the professors were focused on Loki. To be precise, they couldn't be, even if they wanted to. They had to monitor the other students to calculate their evaluation scores.
While the screens had a recording function for later review, relying on that would make the grading process take far too long. The professors had only one primary evaluation criterion: how effectively a student utilized their own unique abilities.
"That student is wasting too much mana."
"This one fell into their own trap."
"That student is doing a good job hunting artificial monsters, but they're using more power than necessary."
"Student Clara is also using mana continuously, but since it's Clara, we should consider that she's actually managing it well."
If any other mage burned through mana as fast as Clara, they wouldn't receive a high score. But Clara was an anomaly. Her defining characteristic was her near-infinite mana pool—a reservoir incomparable to any other mage.
Even Elicia had coveted Clara, second only to Loki. In terms of pure mana quantity, Clara even surpassed Elicia herself, who was a dragon.
"Student Sepia is also utilizing her spirits well."
"Using inconspicuous wind and earth spirits to scout for other students or monsters is the optimal method."
"Having two spirits scout while keeping fire and water spirits active for protection... she really is proficient with all four elements."
The professors continued their rapid-fire evaluations of the remaining students.
"......Then, how should we evaluate Loki?"
""".................."""
The room fell into a heavy silence at the question.
"His ability utilization is... extremely outstanding, isn't it?"
"That much is undeniable."
Before the practical exam, the professors had predicted how the students would behave. Most hadn't strayed far from those projections.
Loki, however, had defied every single one. From the moment he had "invaded" this very room shortly after the exam began, all the professors' predictions had been rendered moot.
Step, step.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the hall. They didn't even need to look; there was only one person who would be coming here now.
"I'm back! It's still chilly outside. Home really is the best! You professors should try to stay indoors as much as possible, too."
The professors hated the fact that they were slowly getting used to this nonsense. They shouldn't be getting used to this.
Loki, having returned 'home,' greeted the professors and began comparing his score with the other students on the screens.
"As expected, I'm in the top ranks."
Gashurin had already accumulated a high score, having taken down Ren before being caught by Loki. Ren also had a significant point total, all of which had been absorbed by Gashurin. Now, Loki had claimed the entire pot.
Honestly, he could probably secure a top-tier rank even if he just sat still for the rest of the exam.
But the goal is first place.
Loki turned his gaze to another screen to check the remaining competition.
"There aren't many left. Excluding me, there are only three Special Class students remaining. To think so many have been eliminated already... the other students really have no grit, do they?"
That's all because of you.
The professors' heads began to throb the moment Loki returned. Just as they were seriously considering whether to kick him out and pretend they didn't know him, Loki pulled a chair out of his Pocket Dimension, sat down, and pointed at a screen.
"Oh! Sepia and Lucas are starting to fight! Professors, why don't you sit next to me and watch? Ah! Should I get you some popcorn?"
They felt as if the ownership of the room had shifted, but the professors nonetheless turned their eyes to the screen Loki was pointing at.
* * *
[Lucas Leonhart eliminated.]
Who's left now?
Clara heard the broadcast and wondered who remained. While eliminations were announced, Clara only knew the names of the Special Class students; she didn't recognize the names of the general student body.
She knew that all the Special Class students except herself had been eliminated now that Lucas was down, but she had no idea how many others were still lurking in the forest.
Since the professor had announced thirty minutes remaining earlier, by now...
Throb.
While calculating the time, Clara massaged her left shoulder, which was pulsing with pain. If Lucas hadn't been exhausted from previous encounters, she might have been the one to fall.
[10 minutes remaining until the end of the exam.]
Clara listened to the broadcast and came to a conclusion.
I'll probably take first place even if I just stay hidden.
By eliminating Sepia and then the weakened Lucas, Clara had secured a massive amount of points. Just as she decided to rest for the final ten minutes...
"Eek!"
Someone burst out of the brush, screaming. It was a face she didn't recognize. Assuming it was a student from another class, Clara quickly chanted a spell and hurled a mass of flames to finish him off so she could finally rest.
Whoosh. Boom!
However, the man threw himself aside with impressive speed, dodging the fireball.
"Tsk."
This time, she manifested dozens of fire arrows and launched them in a wide arc.
That movement?
But the man dodged all of them with a peculiar, fluid rhythm. It was a movement she had seen somewhere before. Just as Clara was trying to place it...
Clang!
A dagger flew through the air, striking her active shield before bouncing off. Clara stared intently at the weapon on the ground.
It was a familiar dagger. It was the exact same kind someone threw at Professor Elicia every morning in the Special Class.
"......Why are you still here?"
Clara spoke, her elegant brow furrowing in suspicion.
"Oops, I've been caught. By the way, it didn't look like you activated that shield in response to my dagger. Don't tell me you've been keeping it up this whole time?"
The appearance of the ordinary student vanished, replaced by the familiar, playful face of Loki. Clara didn't answer; she simply began chanting a new spell.
"Keeping a shield spell active throughout the entire fight when others only use it the moment they're attacked... isn't that a bit cowardly?"
Clara remained silent and used flight magic to take to the sky.
The broadcast definitely said he was eliminated earlier.
Clara's judgment was swift. She didn't know why Loki was still here, but one thing was certain: in her current physical state, she couldn't risk a prolonged fight with him.
If I'm going to be eliminated, it has to be by a monster.
If Loki eliminated her, he would get her points. But if a monster did, her points would simply vanish.
* * *
Boom! Bang! Kaboom! Crash!
Clara flew through the air, raining spells down on Loki as he pursued her on the ground.
I don't see any monsters.
Clara scanned the forest while fleeing, but not a single beast was in sight.
"Clara, you aren't trying to get yourself eliminated by a monster on purpose just to deny me points, are you?"
Clang! Boom! Bam!
Clara answered by launching a barrage of magic.
"Unfortunately, I took care of all the monsters in the vicinity before coming to see you."
Loki, however, blocked or dodged every spell flying his way with infuriating ease.
[1 minute remaining until the end of the exam.]
"My, time really flies when I'm on a date with you, Clara. But if things stay like this, I might actually lose."
"So," several Lokis said simultaneously.
""""Please just let yourself be caught now.""""
Clara clicked her tongue as she saw the clones rushing toward her.
"Tsk."
Even if she managed to hit one with a spell, if it was a fake, she would be vulnerable to the real one's attack. Caught in a stalemate, Clara canceled her flight magic and descended to the ground.
"""Give up now. There is no more hope for you. Ah! Didn't I sound like a total villain just now?"""
Ignoring the nonsense, Clara silently chanted. This was a spell she had learned from her master, the Tower Master; she wasn't yet proficient enough to cast it while maintaining flight magic.
"I'm not a third-rate villain who waits for a magical girl to finish her transformation, you know."
Boom! Bang! Crash! Roar!
Loki, who was rushing in to interrupt her, suddenly jumped backward to dodge flames falling from the sky.
"Ahaha, I'm screwed."
Loki looked at Clara, who was holding a mass of flames in both hands. If it had been an ordinary fireball, he would have charged through. But the mass of flames Clara held was dark and so massive he had to crane his neck to see the top of it.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of throwing this at you."
Clara slammed the spell into the ground at her own feet.
KABOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
Along with a tremendous explosion, the broadcast announcing the end of the exam rang out.
[Exam concluded.]
"Huff... huff......."
Throb.
Clara felt like she might faint at any moment. However, her pride wouldn't allow her to collapse. She deactivated the shield she had been maintaining to rest a bit more comfortably. Since she had aimed for the ground on purpose, she assumed Loki wasn't seriously hurt.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Someone walked out from the thick dust, clapping.
"To think you'd mask my vision by blasting the ground at the very end. You really are amazing."
She was too exhausted to even turn her head toward the owner of that playful voice.
"Good work, Clara."
Because of her exhaustion, she didn't notice Loki placing a sword against her back.
"The exam is already over—"
Just as Clara was about to express her displeasure at Loki for brandishing a weapon after the buzzer, the final announcement echoed through the forest.
[Clara Adelian eliminated. Remaining time until the end of the exam: 2 hours and 33 minutes. However, as Loki is the sole survivor, the practical exam is concluded.]