Midterm Evaluation (1)
Midterm Evaluation (1)
-Good~ mor~ ning~! Ba-ba-ba...
Early morning. As I sat absently scratching with my pen, a song I hadn't heard in a very long time filled my ears.
The hologram projector lying in the corner of the desk blared its alarm, oblivious to its owner's mood.
The lyrics, melody, and tempo were genuinely pleasant, but hearing them in such an unwelcome context stirred a creeping, unpleasant irritation. That, of course, was what made it a remarkably effective morning alarm.
- Ba-ba-ba─
I reached out and tapped the hologram floating in the air.
- Tap
The song stopped, and the hologram updated to display my schedule.
[ Schedule: Midterm Evaluation Day 1 ]
[ Monday AM: 6:00 ]
When I checked it through the Observation Authority, an involuntary sigh slipped out—a breath heavy with fatigue. Dark shadows had settled under my eyes, which I rubbed by habit.
It was a morning alarm. Meant to wake you up. But I was already awake. To be precise, I hadn't slept.
My master had told me I needed to get enough sleep for my condition, but... honestly, I was afraid of the nightmares. Falling asleep meant I'd have nightmares and ruin my mood for the day, and I was also scared to rely on medicine too often.
The only other method to avoid nightmares was to fall asleep in someone's arms... and that was, frankly, an unbearably embarrassing method to attempt while sober-minded.
I didn't plan to spend the whole Midterm Evaluation pulling all-nighters. On the night before the tournament, I planned to take medicine if I had to, just to get some sleep.
'Ughhh.'
I set down my pen, pushed my chair back, and stood up. I'd been sitting for about ten hours straight, so my whole body felt stiff.
I stretched out my limbs, bending and loosening them with a series of pops. I bent and stretched my legs, then raised my arm high...
As my locked-up body gradually loosened, a peculiar sense of relief spread through me.
Having only one arm limited my range of motion during stretching. It wasn't just stretching. Living with one arm caused plenty of inconvenience. Daily life was a given. In combat especially, it created a fatal gap. Beyond the obvious loss of a second arm, deeper issues like my body's balance being thrown off were also substantial.
On top of that, some kind of interaction issue must have cropped up in my body, because my senses—which I'd been keeping properly harmonized—had temporarily gone haywire. More precisely, in a similar over-amplified state to when I was at the Tower of Growth... I'm keeping them under control again now, but back then, when my master stroked me, I ended up flopping around like a fish fresh out of water.
The Combat Major practical test. And right before the tournament, I planned to harmonize my senses again with my master's help.
- Whirr
I didn't have much time to spare, so I simply washed myself with magic. I put on my cadet uniform and pulled an arm sleeve over the hand where the hideous burn scars were visible.
...Because I had one arm, things like getting dressed were inconvenient. I had to bite the fabric and tug it up, or manipulate the Sky Wing Feather to pull things over.
No matter how I thought about it, the Sky Wing Feather was the best choice. It helped in every area, from combat to daily life.
'...On the other hand, that Origin Egg is...'
That white elephant of a thing still occupying the corner of the sofa... Another sigh escaped. I never imagined it would still be like that even after the Midterm Evaluation date had arrived...
'It isn't hatching for real, is it?'
Not that the Headmaster would have scammed me, but... Come to think of it, the Headmaster never told me about it. I just made up that story myself, picked the thing up assuming it was a Hidden Piece. When other cadets approached it, it showed no reaction, but seeing as it unlocked when I approached... it was probably meant for me, but...
'Ugh.'
Why do I, after obtaining a Hidden Piece, have to agonize over it right up to exam day?
'Please just wake up...'
I tapped the outer shell of the Origin Egg, putting in a wish for it to wake up soon, then finished packing my things and headed out the front door.
.
.
.
The written exams that start on Day 1 of the Midterm Evaluation continue through Day 2. Just looking at the packed schedule, which ran from early morning almost until evening, made my stomach knot up. And I wouldn't be spacing out during that time; thinking about having to wring my brain dry to solve one more problem...
'Ah, geez.'
I could only shake my head. I checked the rest of the schedule. Days 3 and 4 in the morning were for major practical exams, and the afternoon of Day 4 and Day 5 were scheduled for the tournament preliminaries and main rounds respectively.
As a side note, the day Siyoram opened to outsiders was the final day—the day of the tournament main-round matches. Only the main-round matches were broadcast online, and outsiders were allowed to come watch in person.
Today was Day 1 of the Midterm Evaluation—the written assessment day. My assigned exam location was the Fifth Evaluation Hall, which was unfortunate since Hong Yeon-hwa, Ellia, and Baek A-rin had all been assigned to other locations. The same went for anyone else I had even a small personal connection to. I was surrounded by cadets from other classes with whom I had no particular relationship.
The Fifth Evaluation Hall I entered was simply a huge auditorium. The quality was probably on another level, but it looked exactly like a common auditorium blown up to enormous proportions.
"Is it true we'll actually use the Superhuman Special Law later?"
"If we weren't, they wouldn't make us study it like this..."
"There are way too many things to memorize, for crying out loud... What kind of law makes you memorize dozens of exception clauses too?"
"Wow, what the hell is Formula Composition Studies... Even if only the predicted questions come out, I feel like I'll miss half of them."
"The magic side's difficulty has always been notoriously absurd."
"Shit, I'm not even a Magic Major."
"As expected, only the practicals are the way to live, yep."
"What's with you giving up before even seeing the written exam?"
"I offer my praise for your swift surrender decision-making skills."
As I settled into the seat with my name on it and made my final preparations, a variety of quiet mutterings reached my ears. Since it was right before the exam, the conversation topics were consistent. They also shared common threads of tension and worry running beneath them. Looking at all those faces full of anxiety and concern, I guess my stomach wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable.
Though the written portion's weight may be low, it's that low weight that often splits the upper and lower ranks. A disaster where your ranking drops just because you didn't do well on one written section must feel incredibly frustrating to cadets full of academic zeal and competitive spirit.
"The written examination will begin shortly. There are 60 questions. Exam duration is 2 hours. Cadets who finish within the time limit are free to leave early."
After I finished skimming the last section I'd organized for a final review and settled into a brief meditation, a voice rang out from the ceiling speakers. The tension already thick in the air doubled. Around then, staff members moved among the cadets, collecting smartwatches and similar devices.
"..."
The staff member approaching from my left reached out a hand, then flinched upon noticing my empty left sleeve.
At that, I removed the hologram projector hanging around my neck and handed it over.
[Here you go.]
"...Thank you. You can retrieve collected items at the desk when you exit after the evaluation."
[Do I need to submit other artifacts as well?]
"...No. That artifact is not subject to collection."
[Okay.]
[Thank you.]
The staff member went on collecting devices from the other cadets. It was a security protocol, needless to say. You could think of it as sloppy, but the security measures went beyond this. When I exercised the Authorities of Observation and Space, I sensed countless magic formulas arrayed like a dense spiderweb. Magic installed specifically for security. It functioned as a curtain that completely cut off all mana flow between seats. Once activated, it would also shut out every bit of noise from outside the curtain.
Given that the formulas were drafted with the help of Siyoram's Magic Major professors and the Magic Council's manpower, the security was airtight. There probably weren't many cadets who could break through. And any attempt to break through would be instantly detected. That was the nature of the security.
"..."
For me, the scene outside the curtain was perfectly observable. Beyond the curtain, the interior of the evaluation hall and even the cadets inside other privacy curtains were all clearly perceptible. In other words, I could watch in real time how another cadet solved a problem. Not that the cadet I peeked at would necessarily have the right answer. Still, there were over a hundred cadets in this hall alone. I could check all of them, or just skim the answers of cadets who looked like they'd score well. A test of conscience. With a deep sigh, I pulled back the Observation Authority, limiting it to just the area around my seat.
I needed to be able to hold my head high in front of myself. I needed to be able to confidently say that I wasn't someone who deserved to be treated as pathetic, no matter when or where. So I didn't entertain the option of cheating in the slightest. It wasn't a desperate enough situation to warrant it anyway.
"The time has arrived. The written examination will now commence as of this moment."
Once again, the voice flowed from the speakers. The privacy curtains activated at the same time as the starting declaration.
- Whirr...
The tablet the staff member had placed on the desk powered on, displaying the exam questions. This subject was Magic.
[Question ①]
[Write out the magic formula for the lowest-grade magic 'Mana Strike'.]
[Note: Refer to the standard formula registered with the Magic Council.]
...
[Question ⑭]
[The following formula is a composite spell with several modifications made to the low-grade magic 'Fireball'.]
[Assuming the above formula is manifested, write answers to the questions below.]
[(1) Describe the differences between the original formula and the modified formula.]
[(2) Draw the analysis diagram and the inverse computation diagram of the modified formula.]
[(3) Write an arbitrary counter-formula for breaking this formula.]
...
[Question ㊺]
[The following formula is the arbitrarily modified mid-to-high-grade barrier magic 'Artervita's Mirror Wall'.]
[The above magic cannot be manifested normally.]
[Write answers to the questions below.]
[(1) Describe the cause of the abnormal manifestation of this formula.]
[(2) Correct the cause of the abnormal manifestation and write out a formula for normal manifestation.]
"..."
The passages were a headache in more ways than one. Amazingly, there were no multiple-choice questions. Exam time: 120 minutes. 60 questions. That meant I could devote roughly two minutes per question. ...I could only spend two minutes per question. Normally, no one finishes them all anyway. Those ten or so seconds I'd spent deliberating already felt precious. I quickly lifted my pen.
* * *
The dormitory where Lee Ha-yul resided had no particular decorations or added furniture. The wallpaper, the arrangement of furniture and items—everything remained as it was when first assigned. The one thing that was different from the default was the enormous egg resting on the sofa, and nothing else.
The dormitory was empty of any sign of life. A silent interior where no particular noise could be heard.
Several hours after Lee Ha-yul had left, the sound of something breaking shattered that stillness.
- Crack
- C-crack
The enormous egg shuddered. Fine cracks spiderwebbed across the shell's surface, rocking by itself without any external force.
Hatching was approaching.