The Practical Exam

With my arms crossed, I escorted Sherry all the way to the front of the girls’ dormitory building.

Unfortunately, we ran into Luden right before we reached the entrance.

I studied her carefully.

As expected of Miroel and her sharp eye—she caught it immediately.

The reason Luden was rarely seen at the training grounds was simple. Unlike the other students, she focused primarily on real combat experience. That meant she spent far more time in dungeons than in the academy’s training facilities.

“Baran? Why are you here?”

She looked back and forth between Sherry and me with suspicious eyes. If I let this drag on, she was bound to misunderstand something, so I quickly explained.

“Sherry didn’t have an umbrella, so I was escorting her back.”

“Y-yes! That’s right!”

Sherry nodded vigorously, her face flushed bright red in agreement.

“I understand that part… but how did you get inside the girls’ dormitory?”

“Ah.”

It seemed she wasn’t misunderstanding that we were dating. The reason for her suspicion was simply that a male student had entered the female dormitory.

Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched my cheek and answered.

“The guard lady gave me permission to accompany her as far as the building entrance.”

“What? That picky ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠woman?”

Luden’s eyes widened in genuine shock. She was usually so stoic—seeing her this surprised made me wonder just how strict that guard really was.

I knew the setting described her as difficult, but is it really that shocking?

While I was pondering internally, Sherry hugged my arm tighter and came to my defense.

“I-it’s true! The guard sister really did let Baran inside!”

“I can’t imagine her ever letting a man in… Ah!”

Luden scanned me with a doubtful gaze, then her expression suddenly brightened as if a light bulb had gone off above her head. Seeing her reaction while looking at my eyes, it seemed she had figured it out.

“I see…”

“It looks like the misunderstanding has been cleared up. In that case, I’ll leave Sherry here.”

“Huh?”

At that moment, Sherry whipped her head toward me. Her expression clearly asked why I was abandoning the escort halfway.

I answered her silent question with a gentle smile.

“Luden has an umbrella, doesn’t she? From the mana I sense coming from it, hers seems far stronger than mine. You’ll probably be more comfortable using hers.”

“Um…”

“Is that all right with you, Luden?”

“Yeah. I don’t mind.”

Luden nodded with her usual indifferent expression. I carefully handed Sherry over to her.

“Since Luden says it’s fine, I’ll be on my way.”

With those final words, I quietly turned and began walking away, doing my best to ignore the heavy gaze boring into the back of my head.

You don’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to point it out, Master.

The weekend ended, and the day of the practical assessment finally arrived.

Today was the day the main episode would begin.

Whew. I just need to prepare for any unexpected variables.

While I was thinking that and waiting in the auditorium, Professor Dale stepped onto the platform as if it were the most natural thing in the world and poured mana into the crystal orb.

The next moment—

It looked incredibly complex at first glance. While everyone quietly watched the screen, Risa leaned over.

“Baran, a map just appeared on the crystal orb.”

It seemed both Miroel and Risa were trying to be considerate, assuming I couldn’t see it. However—

“Risa, mana screens are made of mana. I can see them just fine.”

“Ah, that’s right. Ehehe.”

She gave an embarrassed smile, apparently finding her own consideration awkward. Miroel quickly averted her gaze as well.

Well, I don’t actually need an explanation anyway.

All we had to do was hunt the artificial monsters on the island. Points varied depending on the type of monster, and if your gauge suit reached zero, you were eliminated.

Honestly, what comes after this is the real problem.

As long as I scored reasonably well, my grades would be fine. But the episode that would follow was far more important.

After all, the Demon Army executives King and Jack had already infiltrated this island. And midway through the exam, Jack’s ability would send every monster into a frenzied rampage.

And Sherry, too…

I glanced toward her. As if sensing my gaze, she blushed and lowered her head.

I should probably leave her alone for now.

If I got involved unnecessarily, it could trigger a butterfly effect. Then I wouldn’t be able to predict how the story would unfold.

In the worst case, even the protagonist could die.

Therefore, I needed to avoid intervening as much as possible. As long as the butterfly effect didn’t occur, Luden would save Sherry on her own.

While I was organizing my thoughts, Dale finished his explanation.

“Then please enter one by one.”

He opened the gate. At the far end of the auditorium, a gate rippled with dense ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana before revealing a subspace created from pure magical energy.

Students began filing in under the instructors’ guidance. I followed the crowd and stepped through the gate as well.

And so, the long-awaited main episode finally began.

The moment I entered the gate, a vast forest filled my vision.

Since the exam was taking place on an island, seeing a forest was only natural. What mattered more was figuring out exactly where I had been teleported.

Let’s see…

When I activated Mind’s Eye, a complete view of the island appeared in my sight. Countless streams of information flashed through my mind.

When I frowned, Miroel approached with a deeply worried expression. I gave a vague answer.

“It’s nothing. I just felt a little dizzy from the teleportation.”

She nodded in understanding. I deactivated Mind’s Eye and steadied my breathing.

“Hoo…”

I had a rough idea of where I’d been sent.

This main episode had two possible strategies. The first was to defeat the boss monster that appeared during the practical exam. The second was to ignore it entirely.

Obviously, taking the first route would make the upcoming difficulty far more manageable. After all, there was a chance Jack could seize control of the boss monster as well.

Originally, the protagonist was supposed to handle it.

But Luden had been teleported quite far from the boss’s location. I suspected my own actions had caused the butterfly effect. Or perhaps it was because the protagonist in this world was female.

Either way, since Luden couldn’t defeat the boss right now, I would have to step in. Wasn’t that exactly why I had been preparing for every possible variable?

Then let’s get going.

With that thought, I headed straight toward the boss monster’s location.

Perhaps because the cave where the boss monster resided wasn’t far, I reached my destination quickly.

Of course, a few monsters attempted surprise attacks along the way, but with Mind’s Eye active, they were nothing more than minor distractions.

I fired an arrow at a monster charging toward me without even looking. The artificial creature collapsed instantly, reduced to a corpse.

Miroel gazed at the artificial monster with curious eyes. To her, monsters had simply been targets to be slain. She probably never imagined they could be manufactured like this.

Still, it’s a welcome sight if they exist.

Back in her era, mass production would have been impossible. So it was only natural for her to find them fascinating. She was even poking the corpse repeatedly.

“Master, you can’t even touch it. Let’s keep moving.”

She grumbled but floated after me again. Soon, she asked in a puzzled voice.

“I’m heading toward that cave over there. I can feel considerable mana emanating from it.”

She smiled with satisfaction and gently stroked the top of my head. …Why does this feel like I’m being treated like a child?

While I was quietly experiencing her touch, a monstrous roar echoed in my ears.

The creature that made such a sound was none other than the boss monster—a Sand Golem.

But why is it roaring right now?

From what I remembered, it was programmed to stay quietly inside the cave unless attacked first. The professors had set it up that way.

Don’t tell me Jack already made the first move?!

I ran as fast as I could, just in case. I climbed a hill that offered a good vantage point for sniping.

“Hoo…”

If Jack had already acted, I needed to kill the boss as quickly as possible. I used Mind’s Eye to look toward the cave.

The Sand Golem was rampaging wildly. However—

Huh?

Contrary to my expectations, Jack was nowhere to be seen. And the person currently fighting the Sand Golem like a madwoman was none other than—

Why is she fighting it?

It was Kanya, the young lady with the roll-bread hairstyle who had received a thorough “lesson” from me during the 2-on-2 duel.

Her sudden appearance was surprising, but when I thought about it, it wasn’t that strange. Kanya wasn’t a main or supporting character—she was nothing more than an extra. There was nothing odd about her getting beaten by the Sand Golem and dropping out.

It’s a little unexpected, but it doesn’t matter.

Her poison mana had no effect on the Sand Golem. Therefore, it was impossible for her to win.

That was when it happened.

A quest appeared out of nowhere. I had been planning to kill the Sand Golem anyway, but it seemed the system wanted to give me a bonus.

Then all I have to do now is…

Wait patiently until Kanya chips away as much of its health as possible.

Kanya, you’ve got this!