Midterm Exam Mishap #6
“Lucian Theodore von Deodore.”
“Yes, Professor Staffen.”
Professor Staffen was usually the type who would finish grading and simply say “Next.”
Yet after my duel ended, he suddenly called my name and stared at me in silence.
What was he trying to say…?
“…It was splendid. All your effort over the past period has finally borne fruit.”
“Ah, thank you, Professor.”
“Now that the scoring is complete, you may go. Ridel, you worked hard too.”
After offering a light bow in response to Professor Staffen’s words, I turned to leave the training ground.
As I walked out with my neck still exposed, I felt gazes from the other classmates landing on me.
These looks were ones I had seen many times in other lectures, but in swordsmanship class they were completely unfamiliar.
They weren’t just showing off their own abilities. They had watched me push an Apprentice Knight to the limit. That alone was enough to leave anyone stunned.
When I stepped into the corridor after finishing the swordsmanship exam, someone suddenly rushed at me.
They grabbed my shoulder and kept blurting out words that sounded half-serious and half-joking.
“Hey, who are you?”
“Ah, seriously. What kind of weird prank is this again?”
“It’s not Lucian. You can’t possibly be Lucian! Who are you, anyway?! Huh?!”
“Uwaaah.”
It seemed Raoul had taken the shock hard.
Up until now, among the first-year literature students, anyone who ranked at the bottom in swordsmanship would have pointed at me without hesitation.
Yet here he was suddenly acting completely opposite, even challenging an Apprentice Knight himself.
For Raoul, who had watched the entire thing, it must have been more shocking than anything else.
Raul, who had taken the exam before me, probably hadn’t performed terribly either.
He had attacked the targeted Apprentice Knight multiple times, yet every opening was exploited and every defense was broken.
Even if he had trained with all his heart, the poor result must have left him feeling extremely frustrated.
And now, his friend who had shared similar pain with him had suddenly become insanely strong, standing in a place he could never reach.
Was he feeling self-doubt or even jealousy?
Concerned, I cautiously tried to read his intention.
“Hahaa! My one and only friend is abandoning me and climbing this high! I’m dying of sadness! I should just drop out of the academy, ugh!!”
“…”
This guy… he’s all talk. For a second I almost fell for the joke.
I had forgotten that Raoul’s ability was only slightly above average, but his mindset was in the top tier.
I knew better than anyone how much effort he had put in just to get into this academy.
Yet the moment he said “drop out” or something similar, he was clearly telling me he was just playing with me again.
Come on, you absolute idiot. When are you finally going to grow up?
I let out a sigh and lightly flicked the back of his head, which was bobbing around with effort.
“Ouch!”
“If you’re going to lie, at least manage your expression. Even if I wanted to overlook it, I can’t stand you.”
“Hmm? You were looking at me with a very worried expression earlier. You got tricked.”
“I didn’t get tricked. If you pull another prank, this time I’ll give you a proper beating.”
“Wow, you bad boy. From suddenly becoming a swordsmanship genius in the swordsmanship seminar, you’ve gotten so arrogant!”
“I’ve earned that right. Do you have any complaint with what I said, Raoul Ocoe von Gocur?”
“No! There’s no way! We should greet our Lucian Theodore von Deodore, the academy’s genius rival, who came from a theoretical genius to now rival the academy’s own genius!”
“Really!”
I really had a hard time imagining this friend showing any serious demeanor.
In fact, imagining Raoul being serious would have been more shocking than anything else.
Now, if you mentioned the name Raoul, the first thing that came to mind was this playful atmosphere.
While I was thinking that, Raoul put his arm around my shoulder and patted my back as if he had suffered.
“Congratulations. You must have been looked down on by your classmates all this time. Now you’ve reached a level where you can safely ignore them all. I’m genuinely happy for you, my buddy.”
“Thanks, Raoul. And I’m sorry. It felt like I ran away first by myself.”
“Hey, don’t be careless. If you could do it, I could too. I’ll properly train my swordsmanship too and soon catch up right behind you, so keep running forward with all your heart.”
He said it with such bravado, as if he could do the same as me.
Anyone listening would have thought the one with the ability wasn’t me but him.
I just laughed at the absurdity, and Raoul now set aside his jokes and started speaking with a slightly more serious tone.
“I watched every bit of your duel. You were incredible. Who would have thought you’d push an Apprentice Knight that hard?”
“It was luck. My preparation also worked well in that situation.”
“Luck is also skill, but don’t belittle your own efforts. I know how much blood and sweat you’ve put into your sword training, right? Every day you’d come back with your body covered in dust.”
“What? You were watching? You pervert. I have no interest in men. Remember that.”
“I’m rejecting weirdos like you too. Anyway, the other students probably have nothing to worry about. The first place in the literature division’s swordsmanship midterm is yours, Lucian. There’s no one else who can compete with you.”
“Some other classmate might have shown even greater ability, though?”
“Right. Too much humility is actually unlucky, so keep it moderate.”
The saying that excessive humility is actually poisonous hit sharply.
Now that he could suddenly jump in magic as well as swordsmanship, Lucian had become more than enough to be called Rie’s rival, overflowing with talent.
Yet I had thought it would be better to remain ordinary like before.
After hearing Raoul’s words, I realized it might actually work as a counter-strategy.
A mediocre person boasting would only look pathetic, but
An overwhelmingly talented person pretending to be ordinary would twist the heart even more.
If you have talent, there’s no need to show off, but it would be good to reveal it just enough.
After all, people immediately look up to those they judge as superior.
A person who thinks it’s natural for someone to boast a little rather than seeing it as pathetic.
“Besides, there’s one more thing to worry about. You’re first, so who will be last?”
“For now, Raoul, it can’t be you.”
“…”
“I think I’ll definitely be last. Don’t comfort me for nothing. It would be even more pathetic.”
“I’m speaking sincerely. Even though all my attacks were blocked and my defense wasn’t great, Professor always said that in swordsmanship the most important thing is ultimately mindset. No matter how talented the sword technique may be, without a sharp mind it’s useless talent in the end.”
This wasn’t just a duel. It was also a midterm exam, a test.
What mattered wasn’t the win or loss, but whether the professor’s eyes showed clear growth.
Even if I lost, if I could show that I had grown this much, I would get more points.
Conversely, if I showed a miserable face no matter how I endured, there would naturally be deduction points.
Raul had shown many ugly moments, but he had at least shown the will to do something.
And looking at Professor Staffen, he was definitely not the type who wouldn’t evaluate that part.
“Your score will be decent, so don’t worry and prepare for the next exam. Tomorrow is magic and philosophy. Even if not as heavy as history, philosophy is still quite a pain for you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, right. For me, who treats everything as a joke, those heavy subjects are really tough.”
“But you know you treat everything lightly, don’t you? That’s exactly what philosophy means by ‘know thyself.’”
At that moment, Raoul shouted, “What nonsense!” and grabbed me again.
But he suddenly sighed with “Huh…” and let go of me.
Then, without leaving me behind, he said, “I’ll go first. You should be grateful to have such a good sense of timing,” and suddenly disappeared.
I was wondering what had happened when I felt a familiar presence behind me.
“Did you take the exam well today?”
“Yes. Thanks to Lucian, I did pretty well. Still a little regretful, but…”
“Administrative theory isn’t that easy, so don’t rush too much. You’re doing well enough right now.”
At my words, Rie answered with “I understand” and gave a gentle smile.
I immediately understood that she wanted to hear something, so I told her I would pass on the news that he was waiting for her.
“Professor Staffen praised you. He didn’t say a word to the other classmates.”
“Really?”
“He fought equally with the Apprentice Knight. If it was like before, I could never have dreamed of it. This really feels like reality. I was worth the hard work, Rie.”
“…”
“I’m glad. Really, it worked out well, Lucian.”
“It’s all because of you. I’m really grateful, Rie.”
Then Rie shook her head and said it was all made by my effort.
She had only shown the direction of how to walk.
In the end, it depended on what kind of heart I had and what kind of effort I made.
“What kind of exam is tomorrow?”
“Magic. Originally, tomorrow should have been the worst day, but…”
“Now you can do magic, right? Show it properly tomorrow. You’re my rival.”
“It has to be. No, as the academy’s genius, I’ll make sure you remember me instead.”
“I don’t want to refuse that. It makes me want to work even harder.”
This is exactly the advantage of having a rival.
Each other provides the right amount of competitive spirit and motivation, resulting in both rising vertically and giving each other good influence.
It was exactly that relationship that Rie wanted and that I thought was fine.
“Tomorrow, cheer each other on. I hope you get good scores, working hard.”
*** *** *** *** *** ***
The next day, I headed toward the place where the magic lecture exam would take place.
The space that boasted such a vast area was the exam venue for today.
After calling attendance and confirming the number of participants, Professor Raven gathered our attention and began explaining how the exam would proceed.
“The exam is simple. You will be given one of the magic spells you have practiced so far, and you just have to implement it. That’s all. The midterm exam will be conducted by dividing into groups, and both speed and the state of the magic will be scored, so be careful not to rush and perform too roughly, as that may lead to deductions. Everyone ready?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Good. Then shall we start with Group 1?”
Since I was in Group 1, I stood right in front.
Some other classmates spread out and secured a safe distance.
After confirming that there was enough space, Professor Raven nodded, glanced at the exam paper for a moment, and after saying “Start,” he told us a magic spell.
“Ice Orb.”
The magic learned after Light, a modified version of Water Ball.
To put it simply, I had to create an ice sphere.
Previously, that would have been a magic I would have failed at the very first try, making only a few water drops.
But this time it was different. I could do it. I had learned the method.
As Senior Charlotte had said, differently from others. She thought in a completely different way from the ordinary.
Ice, cold ice, the sphere made of that ice. No, just think of coldness. Only coldness…
“Thirty seconds have passed. One minute and thirty seconds remain until the time limit.”
“…?”
What? Why isn’t this working? Just a moment?
I hurriedly looked at my hand, but unlike before, nothing happened.
Suddenly my nape went cold and a dizzying sensation pierced my body.
‘…Did the exam fail?’