End of the First Day
Orion Academy's instructors had gone through a not-so-short meeting to decide on the practical exam.
There had been opinions that it might be best to just have the cadets steal bells from each other, as originally planned from the start. But looking back on recent events, they couldn't shake the impression that it would be too soft.
To make the second semester's training even more substantial, they needed a deeper understanding of the cadets.
And so the bell moved from the cadets to the instructors, and a variety of evaluation items emerged.
Among them, one thing drew positive reactions from all the instructors.
The children of prestigious families, who made up the majority of the academy cadets.
Even if allowed to use any means possible, those kids were likely to stay within the bounds of common sense to save face.
That wouldn't do. Half-hearted pride was just a shell that led to pointless deaths in real combat.
The instructors made stripping away that pride as much as possible one of their goals for this opportunity.
Separately, they were full of anticipation for what clever tricks the cadets might pull out.
KABOOM──!!!
A bomb exploded from where Carrot was standing, accompanied by a deafening roar.
The watching cadets gaped in shock at the completely unexpected sight.
Of course, Carrot was fine.
She hadn't earned her spot as an Orion Academy instructor by luck.
"Eek, my hair got singed..."
Carrot fiddled with her smoke-damaged hair, sounding disappointed, but her lips curved into a smile.
Fun from the get-go, huh? Already exceeding expectations.
The ground felt off. But when did she plant the bomb?
Carrot had only sensed something wrong with her beastkin instincts.
When she first stood there, it had been hard to spot anything amiss visually. Plants grew normally on the ground, and there were no signs of digging.
That meant she'd planted the bomb and cleaned up perfectly afterward.
"Hehe, naughty boy."
As the thick black smoke cleared, Rohan came into view.
Meeting Carrot Instructor's gaze, Rohan kept his smile and pulled a bottle of liquid from his pocket.
A brown glass vial, like something from a hospital.
Right in front of Carrot, he flung it into the air. It arced toward her over her rabbit ears.
Rohan aimed his pistol and pulled the trigger.
Carrot watched with sparkling, intrigued eyes.
Hydrochloric acid? Sulfuric? Or poison?
Normal poisons or acids had little effect on mana-infused bodies. They were usually less effective than bombs.
Yet he'd pulled it out, which meant he was confident. She had to humor him.
BANG!
The bullet shattered the glass vial with a crash!, spilling green liquid into the air.
Carrot kicked off the ground to dodge the falling liquid.
She hopped forward to close the distance with Rohan.
Entering striking range in one leap, she immediately followed up with a kick.
Rohan twisted his body, narrowly dodging the chin-targeted strike.
"Don't get mad. It was just regular green tea."
"...You're a really fun cadet."
Was it a trap for her next move? Or to lure her into a straight approach? Or to check her response to an unknown attack?
Carrot couldn't wipe the smile from her face at Rohan's tactics.
It was a strangely disorienting sensation.
Did Instructor Juyeon teach him? Or experience from raising ruins in the south? Either way, it'll stimulate the others.
For a mere cadet, Rohan was unnaturally seasoned.
It didn't feel like he'd been taught step-by-step by someone—the connections and movements were too fluid. Even if imagined, it didn't feel like a first try.
"Hya!"
The rabbit beastkin's signature leg strength.
Rohan's large frame floated up from the roundhouse kick.
Without any mana!?
Rohan's eyes widened in surprise.
Even stabilizing with mana, getting lifted like this was on another level of impact and muscle power.
──Skrrrt! Rohan slid to a landing on the ground.
Carrot was already in close range, showing off her flexibility as she raised her leg high.
He blocked the downward stomp with his scabbard without panicking.
Crack!
Heavy.
He could feel profound training beyond innate talent from Carrot's toes.
If he hadn't added the pistol-holding arm to the defense, he'd have lost his sword.
"Instructor. You're merciless."
"Of course! You singed my hair, so I'm pissed!"
She looked more excited than pissed. Her rabbit ears stood straight up.
──Whish! Carrot's attacks carried a lively rhythm, conveying her upbeat mood.
Rohan naturally drew Radiance from its scabbard.
He swung it without hesitation, infused with Scorching Blade.
Carrot spun backward to dodge the slash, then wiggled her hips.
"Eek! Rohan Cadet, that's too much! Trying to kill such a pretty instructor?"
"I'll pay my condolences generously."
Rohan fired his pistol—bang! bang!
Carrot dodged the bullets with minimal movement and extended her leg again.
"I don't take money that smells like cadet!"
"Kuh!"
Carrot's movements were incredible. Blocking each kick felt like it would tear his sword-grip apart.
The fact that she swung lightly without intent to kill was mind-blowing.
...My mana’s getting chipped away.
He could read her movements visually, but keeping up with the blade and gun barrel was grueling.
Click! Click! He pulled the trigger, but no bullets came.
He ejected the empty magazine.
Rohan tossed the pistol upward.
Gripping his sword two-handed, he swung to push Carrot back, even if slightly.
Then he reached for his magazine pouch.
"Heng!"
Carrot clung persistently, refusing to let him.
And Rohan pulled out something other than a magazine again.
This world had special weapons unseen in his previous one.
Firearms for mana users had evolved into bizarre forms.
Rohan had bought plenty.
And here, he'd use one.
An infrasound noisemaker grenade, bought for 46 coins. Shaped like a grenade.
Infrasound was hard for normal people to hear—most couldn't at all. Even in his old world, it was used to repel wild animals.
But beastkin heard it fine. Even elf Sion said she could.
When asked what it felt like, she called it "unpleasant noise that disrupts focus."
Click!
Rohan pressed the button and tossed the noisemaker to the ground.
It started vibrating like a phone on ring.
Nearby beastkin cadets watching clutched their ears and squeezed their eyes shut.
"...!"
Carrot grimaced too. Her upright rabbit ears quivered.
If not for the restriction to use minimal mana, she could've easily blocked her hearing. Too bad.
Carrot eyed Rohan's falling pistol.
He'd need to grab it to fight.
So she targeted the noisemaker on the ground.
As expected.
He'd even predicted her kicking it away.
Rohan ignored the falling pistol. It wouldn't scratch even hitting the ground.
"Hup!"
He threw himself forward.
Shoulder-checking Carrot as she tried to kick the noisemaker like a soccer ball.
"Ack!"
The two rolled on the ground.
Rohan grabbed Carrot's leg as she tried to spring up, clinging on.
"Hehe, I don't hate persistent guys."
Maybe because of the slim leg attached to her lithe body. Rohan's frame dragged across the ground after her.
He tried twisting the ankle into a joint lock, even dropping his sword to grab with both hands, but it wouldn't budge—like iron.
Crazy.
Her leg strength was absurd. He considered Weakness Infliction, but without embedding in ammo, contact would unpredictably drain mana.
So he resolved to pull out more prepared items first.
As Rohan gestured toward a distant building—
"I surrender~"
Carrot laughed and raised both hands.
"Pardon?"
"Can you turn off that noisemaker first? My ears hurt."
"..."
Just words? Rohan narrowed his eyes.
Carrot giggled, pleased, and pointed to one side.
"Ah."
The silver bell on Carrot Instructor's waist had already fallen.
Hanging precariously by a thread before snapping as it rolled on the ground.
Rohan jumped up, snatched the bell, and cleared the noisemaker.
"Sorry."
"Sorry~ doesn't cut it! That distrustful attitude—excellent."
Carrot felt even more satisfied seeing the stunned cadets around her.
She clapped for Rohan in congratulations.
I used too much mana on defense.
Any more, and full recovery in a day would be tough.
No more spending on day one. Impatience was poison.
From now on, he'd scout the other exams and gather intel.
Rohan wandered around collecting information.
And ate a hearty lunch.
Thus, at the promised 5 p.m., the announcement played.
Rohan left the academy without lingering.
...
...
After showering, Rohan lay on his dorm bed and checked his phone.
He opened Orion Circle, the Orion Academy community, to snoop around.
Pure chaos.
But sifting through yielded usable info.
Those two had already claimed one of the mere 20 bells available.
Tomorrow would be a scramble too.
This kind of competition is good.
They usually talked often, but during the practicals, contact would naturally pause.
Lots to catch up on after.
He kept scrolling, gathering more intel.
Over half got stuck on the first exam.
Those who'd blindly bulked mana with family elixirs couldn't pass Marcel Instructor's test.
Mastering the knack alone would take three days. Likely more.
"Hm."
Good start, all things considered.
He's pleased.
Rohan got out of bed and continued preparations for tomorrow's exams.