Random Encounter (1)
Question 1. Which of the following is not a habitat of the Red Slime?
Ah, I knew this one. The answer was number four—‘Volcanic Zone.’ Red slimes have the fire attribute, so you’d think they’d pop up all the time in volcanic areas, but the slimes that actually spawn there are a separate variant called Lava Slimes.
Question 7. Your current party contains one swordsman who uses a longsword as their primary weapon and one scout who uses daggers and a crossbow. When recruiting two new members, list the most efficient choices for a labyrinth-type dungeon and explain your reasoning.
Hmm. An essay question. As long as you write something that sounds smart, they’ll probably give you points no matter what. My answer… ‘One mage specializing in offensive magic and one porter.’
Labyrinth dungeons have clean layouts where every path except the corners runs in straight lines. That means no worrying about ambushes from behind or the flanks. Plus, enemies only appear from the wide-open front, so the initiative is completely ours. In situations like that, the most efficient strategy is to charge straight ahead and bulldoze everything with raw firepower. I know because I’ve done it in the game. Add the mage to crank up the damage output, then dump all the heavy gear on the porter to keep our movement speed high. Honestly, I’d love to swap the swordsman for an archer or another mage too, but the question didn’t ask for that, so I’ll leave it. For insurance, treating him as a meat shield is plenty.
Good. That question’s handled.
Question 10. The following are some of the S-rank adventurers currently active in the Empire. Select the option where the adventurer and their primary area of activity are not correctly paired.
Goddamn it. What the hell is this? Silverit? Ienriver? Who are these people, you damn otaku? But don’t worry. The pen is more accurate than the brain. I prepared for exactly this—I engraved the numbers one through five on my pen. If I roll it…
Clatter… clatter…
The answer is number two. Perfect. I trust my Luck! With this pen, midterms are nothing but a cakewalk!
…….
As long as the academy existed as an educational institution, one thing was unavoidable: evaluation. Or, as everyone called it, exams. You had to verify the results of education to tell whether the curriculum was flawed or the student was simply trash.
That was why, a little over a month after admission, the academy had plunged into midterm season.
“I’m losing my mind. This is insanely hard.”
Theo, face planted on the desk, muttered gloomily.
After the first day of midterms ended, we gathered in our hideout and—unlike our usual chaos—sat quietly at the desks. No matter how you looked at it, we still had exams tomorrow and the day after, so nobody was stupid enough to burn stamina in the Goddess Dungeon. Even battle-crazy Faye sat at her desk staring at a textbook without complaint. She twitched restlessly every few minutes, though; the itch to move was clearly killing her.
“Anyone taking ‘Fundamentals and Application of Mana Manipulation’? Wasn’t today’s test ridiculously difficult?”
Theo glanced around at everyone seated at the desk, but no one answered.
“It’s a mage-only class from the name alone. Who else would take it besides you?”
“Ah. Right.”
Theo scratched the back of his head. Then, refusing to give up, he opened his mouth again. He really must have hated studying with a passion.
“Luna. Why are you so relaxed? Aren’t your grades in danger too?”
“Me? Why would they be?”
“You’ve been running around with me the whole time. I barely had any time to study, so there’s no way you did either.”
“Hmph.”
I wiggled my index finger at him.
“You really shouldn’t underestimate me. Do you honestly think I didn’t study at all?”
“Wait, seriously?”
Who did he think I was? A monster who had survived twenty-plus years in entrance-exam hell. Sacrificing sleep to cram was second nature. Besides, a beastman’s ridiculously sturdy body didn’t get wrecked by losing a little rest. Understand? Even if we were equally busy, the study skills between Theo and me existed on completely different levels. Our specs were different. Our skill trees were different.
Well, that’s what I meant, anyway.
“I didn’t, though.”
That didn’t mean I actually studied. Just that I could if I wanted to.
“I knew it…”
Theo’s gaze shifted to the look you’d give a particularly pathetic rabbit. Wait a second. Why was he singling me out, asking if my grades were in danger? Faye and Claire were right here too. Annoyed, I kicked his leg under the desk.
While we bickered, Claire, who had been quietly focused on her books, lifted her head.
“Ah. Sorry, Claire. Were we too loud?”
“Not at all. My concentration was starting to slip anyway, so I was about to take a break. I was thinking of making tea—would the three of you like some?”
“Anything’s fine with me.”
“Same~”
“Darjeeling! Do you have Darjeeling?” Faye asked, hand shooting up.
“Hmm… I’m afraid we don’t have any Darjeeling.”
“Really? What about Assam?”
“We do have that.”
“Then Assam, please.”
“Coming right up~”
Claire headed to the kitchen to boil water. Theo and I turned our eyes to Faye.
“Ooh.”
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Faye tilted her head, completely lost.
“No, it’s just… that exchange felt really… ladylike.”
“Yeah. Like a noble perfectly used to teatime.”
“What are you talking about? I am a noble young lady.”
Faye puffed her cheeks in protest. Fair enough—telling an actual noble they “seem like a noble” probably sounded like an accusation that they didn’t usually act like one.
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Hmph!”
“I said I was sorry. Tell you what—I’ll spar with you. With Theo, that is.”
“Huh? Hey, Luna, why am I suddenly the one getting volunteered?”
“You’re not going to do it? You worked hard for it, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but… ugh. Why does this feel so weird?”
“It’s just your imagination.”
We had to spar with Faye eventually anyway. No point dodging it. Luckily she didn’t seem to care who her opponent was.
“…When?”
“Exam period right now, so it’s tricky. How about the day after exams finish?”
“The day after? Can’t we do it on the last day?”
“Last day we’re throwing a party. Grilling meat, drinking, the works.”
“Ooh…! That sounds awesome!”
“Right? The yard here is perfect—won’t bother any neighbors, ideal spot for a party.”
Already picturing the gathering, Faye’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Clink. The sound of teacups knocking together announced Claire’s return. Steaming black tea was set before each of us, along with a plate of cookies.
“That sounds wonderful. You mentioned a party?”
Slurp. I took a careful sip of the hot tea. The faint sweetness was surprisingly pleasant.
“Yeah. You’re coming too, right, Claire?”
“Of course. Though I probably won’t be drinking alcohol.”
“Huh? Does your church ban drinking?”
“No, it’s simply that I don’t enjoy it much. I’ve been told my drinking habits are rather poor.”
“Really? What are they like?”
“The thing is, I don’t actually know. When I asked my former colleagues, they only told me ‘don’t drink’ but refused to explain what exactly my bad habits were.”
“Heh.”
Slurp. We chatted leisurely while sipping our tea. The conversation drifted from topic to topic before naturally settling on the exams.
Crunch. Theo grabbed a cookie and spoke through a mouthful.
“But seriously, none of you are taking the mana manipulation class? Shouldn’t everyone take at least one mana-related course? It’s useful.”
“It’s not that I’m avoiding mana classes. I’m just not taking that one.”
“What are you taking, then, Luna?”
“‘Magic Resistance and Countermeasures.’”
Crunch. The volume of Theo’s cookie-chewing increased noticeably.
“Uh… why that one?”
“Because I’m a beastman. My magic resistance is lower than a human’s, so I need to cover my weak points.”
After watching Theo’s staff techniques, I had realized something. Pouring everything into a single stat like a glass-cannon build from the game was basically suicidal in reality. Reinforcing your weaknesses was just as important as maximizing your strengths—maybe even more so. That was why I chose Magic Resistance and Countermeasures. In the game it passively raised resistance just by attending; now that this was real life, I actually had to put in the work.
“I… see. Yeah, it’s smart to shore up obvious weaknesses.”
“What’s with that weird reaction?”
“It’s just… this is the first time I’ve seen a beastman actually worry about that kind of thing.”
“Oh. Really?”
“Yeah! I’ve never met a beastman like Luna before either!” Faye chimed in.
“A beastman like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Most beastmen think, ‘If you’re weak to magic, just kill the mage first!’”
They actually do that? No wonder I was the only beastman in the classroom. Meanwhile I’d adapted to reality and changed my build, but they were still playing by game logic.
“What about you, Faye? Mana-related classes, I mean.”
“I’m taking ‘Efficient Physical Enhancement Techniques’ and ‘Basic Sword Ki Practice’!”
“Oh, is the enhancement class any good?”
“It’s useful, but there’s way more theory than I expected…”
She slumped, weakly tapping the book she’d set aside. It was rare to see Faye looking so drained. Must have been really tough for her.
“What about you, Claire?”
“I am not taking any mana-related courses. The way divine power is manipulated is entirely different. Instead, I am attending ‘Understanding the Principles of Holy Arts: Buffs.’”
“There’s a class like that?”
“It is restricted to clergy students, so it is understandable that you would not know of it.”
Made sense. Just because I’d played the game didn’t mean I knew every single elective.
The conversation lulled. My mouth felt empty, so I reached for the cookie plate… Huh?
“What the— Who ate all the cookies?”
The plate was completely empty. I hadn’t even eaten that many. I glared at the culprit who had been busy moving his hands the entire time.
“Uh, well… haha. Those cookies were seriously delicious. Where did you buy them? I’ll have to pick some up later.”
This guy was trying to change the subject on the sly.
“We can talk about that later. What about the ones I was going to eat?”
“All right, everyone rested enough? Shall we get back to studying?”
“Hey! Theo!”
This bastard, I swear!