Chapter 50

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 50

Chapter Title: Midterm Evaluation (1)

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After defeating Kael in the Imperial Swordsmanship class,

I left the training grounds with Libia and headed back to the dormitory.

On the way there,

Libia spoke to me first.

"But why did you turn down his offer, Aden? You weren't trying to win just because of that, were you...?"

"Huh...?"

She was asking why I had rejected Kael's offer to teach me Imperial Swordsmanship.

'Of course...'

Of course,

it was because I had already mastered Imperial Swordsmanship through completing the quest.

'In the game, it was an event to raise proficiency, so I would have accepted it...'

But thanks to the fraudulent effect of the {Pioneer} title,

my proficiency started at max,

so there was no need to invest time in accepting it.

"No, that's not it. I already know how to use Imperial Swordsmanship."

"Ah... because you're a regressor..."

However, I couldn't explain something like possession privileges to Libia,

so I took advantage of her thinking I was a regressor

and answered that I already knew how to use it.

As expected, Libia quickly accepted it, saying I really was a regressor.

After that,

we had a casual conversation...

Like whether we were preparing well for the midterm evaluation,

if we were eating properly,

and not overdoing it—

the kind of everyday talk ordinary students ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠might share—as we returned to the dormitory.

We arrived in front of the dormitory.

"I'll head in now. See you tomorrow, Aden!"

Libia waved goodbye to me first as she headed toward the dormitory.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Libia."

I replied simply,

and made my way to my own dormitory.

Once inside,

I took a quick wash, sent my sweat-soaked uniform to be laundered,

changed into sleepwear, and lay down on the bed to sleep.

Before that, I called up my status window to check my current condition.

'Status window.'

A translucent window appeared before my eyes.

'Whoa... my Stamina stat...'

The most eye-catching thing in my status window was the 89 in Stamina.

'No recent achievements or anything...'

Indeed, lately,

there had been no achievements to clear, so this must be the result of just steady stamina training.

And today,

Imperial Swordsmanship had finally been added.

With this, all preparations to learn the Emperor Sword were complete,

so I could acquire it right away during the break.

After thoroughly checking my very satisfying status window,

I lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

'Things should be easy for a while...'

The midterm evaluation was coming up soon.

It was an assessment everyone was tense about, preparing with all their might.

But armed with my possession privileges, I felt I could spend the time leisurely...

'Time to sleep.'

With that,

I closed my eyes to sleep with a much more relaxed mind.

And time passed quickly,

flowing by ordinarily without any sudden quests or events.

Required subjects,

elective classes.

As expected before the midterm evaluation, nothing special happened,

just studying for the written exams and practical training—

peaceful days that felt that way only to me.

And before I knew it...

The time that had been peaceful only for me flew by,

and the morning of the first day of the academy's major event arrived—

the midterm evaluation, where classes could shift from C to B, or B to A, depending on results.

"What a tiring morning..."

It was a morning all students would greet with tension,

but for me, it was just a day of fatigue.

'Well, today is...'

Well, today was the first day of the midterm evaluation.

The day of the written exam, which was the easiest for me out of all of them.

However, even if the written exam was basically just looking at the answer sheet thanks to {Piercing Eyes},

I still had to go to the academy to take it...

I rubbed my tired eyes

and got out of bed.

First, I splashed water on my face to wake up,

washed up, changed into my academy uniform, left the dormitory, and headed to the classroom.

"It's so quiet..."

On the way,

countless first-year cadets were moving to the location of the entrance exam, as pre-announced,

to take the written test.

Yet the academy interior was filled with silence.

It was just a hush permeated with tension.

'This is the last day for this.'

However, this tension-filled silence would end today.

After the written exam,

what remained were tests from elective subjects

and sparring with cadets of similar levels...

Starting tomorrow, the tension among cadets would ease somewhat,

and conversations would start to be heard.

With those thoughts,

after walking for a bit,

the large academy building came into view after a long time.

Inside it,

numerous cadets were visible.

From those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd grown familiar with or acquaintances,

to complete strangers...

'It's been a while...'

Seeing everyone gathered in this building

brought back vivid memories of when I first possessed this body and took the entrance exam.

As I was reminiscing there for a while—

A guidance voice made of mana echoed through the massive building.

And soon...

Along with the sensation of mana permeating my entire body,

my vision shifted like a hologram.

The academy's...

midterm evaluation written exam had begun.

Inside the academy,

in the massive building where the entrance exam had been held.

Isabel Helm was waiting there for the academy's midterm evaluation written exam.

'I have to win this time...'

During the last comprehensive evaluation week,

I ultimately couldn't beat Libia in the rankings...

'Pfft! It's fine, Isabel! Your opponent's me, after all~!'

'Third place is still good!'

'Call me big sis! Then this big sis will specially teach you~!'

Once again,

until the midterm evaluation, I had to endure that humiliating teasing...

This time, I was definitely going to steal her second place

and turn the tables by teasing Libia instead.

'And this time, even the top spot...!'

And Aden,

I planned to snatch even Aden's top position this time.

'Can he even protect himself with that level of skill...?'

The midterm evaluation,

unlike the comprehensive evaluation week,

was a test where scores had a huge impact.

In other words, it was a test where I could dream of revenge for the entrance exam

by taking not just second-place Libia, but even top-ranked Aden's position.

As I burned with determination recalling how those two had beaten me—

The mana guidance voice echoed through the building interior.

Soon after,

my vision shifted along with mana permeating my body.

The magical exam hall I'd experienced during the entrance exam and the comprehensive week's written test.

I was transported to that white space.

[Academy Midterm Evaluation Written Exam, Magic Section.]

And in that white space was the written exam paper.

Seeing the incredibly thick exam paper that was clearly different from before, I sat down

and began solving the problems one by one.

However...

"The combination magic formula of Dark Cloud and Light, and the binding formula needed for combination...?"

The difficulty rose exponentially with each problem.

"Reverse Dream magic formula...?"

Eventually, the relentlessly increasing difficulty

stopped my hand, which had been steadily progressing past halfway, let alone the end.

"This... is grand magic..."

The problem's difficulty had risen to an insane level,

asking a first-year academy student to draw a grand magic formula.

'Skip it...'

Honestly, even Aden probably couldn't score full marks, let alone over 80 on this exam.

So, clinging to it more

was pointless for problems I couldn't solve anyway.

I quickly moved on to the next sections: swordsmanship and practical combat studies.

However...

"Why is the difficulty like this...?"

All the exams had bizarrely high difficulty...

"Practical Combat Studies never had theory classes..."

There had never even been theory lessons,

yet even Practical Combat Studies, which always had easy difficulty, was the same.

In the end, I couldn't even finish 70% of all the exams,

and despite double-checking multiple times with the remaining time in disbelief,

there were no more problems I could solve.

Beep—

With a devastated heart, I submitted the written exam paper that hadn't even reached 70%.

Then, once again, mana spread through my body and my vision shifted.

Afterward, the academy's massive building interior came back into view.

"I'm screwed..."

"No way..."

"This can't be..."

And at the same time, the voices of cadets who had finished the exam—

cries mixed with despair and resentment.

"Haa..."

Hearing those sounds filled with despair and resentment,

I too let out a sigh laced with despair...

A miserable one.

Thus, the academy midterm evaluation's written exam,

filled only with despair, came to an end.