Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Midterm Exam (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Professor Sierra had gathered everyone for one final explanation about the midterm exam.
In truth, they'd already heard everything when teams were formed in advance, so there was no real need to go over it again...
"But it always happens, right? Some students don't listen at first and then complain later."
Professor Sierra smirked.
The nearby professors and instructors wore similar smirks.
They taught different departments, but as Sierra said, there were always those students every time. Majors might differ, but the headaches were universal. So, no matter how annoying, they had to explain once more before starting.
And so.
"This midterm exam is a match point."
Match point.
Normally, it referred to the final point that decided a match. Who knew this world had the term too?
Anyway.
"Once you enter the exam grounds, there are two main things you need to do."
The first was to kill monsters.
"Kill a monster, and you'll get one of these small magic stones. Acquiring one gives your team 10 points."
The second was to take those collected magic stones—those points—and head to the escape zone within the time limit.
"The time limit is four hours total. If you reach the escape zone within four hours, your team keeps all the points from the monsters you killed."
But if you couldn't make it to the pre-set escape zone with your points in time...
"Then only two-thirds of your accumulated points count."
It might sound unfair at first glance.
But in the end, this was all about student competition.
"Now, by this point, some of you might be trembling at the thought of having to kill monsters..."
Professor Sierra's eyes scanned the first-years.
They briefly met Aren's, but... it wasn't him.
Trembling today of all days?
If anything, the monsters that crossed paths with Aren should be the ones shaking. Sierra knew that too, so she chuckled softly and moved on.
"Don't worry, they're artificial monsters. More precisely, golems disguised as monsters."
Of course, their power was real enough.
They'd been made a bit weaker than real monsters for student safety, but this academy was still a place that pursued combat training.
A single mistake could lead to serious injury.
Plus, there were especially strong variants among the artificial monsters...
"Keep your wits about you. Otherwise, you'll end up in the infirmary afterward. Got it?"
Even with professors and instructors monitoring the exam grounds constantly, accidents happened. Especially since the midterm spanned all years, clashes between departments weren't uncommon—even without monsters involved.
"..."
The gathered first-years nodded.
Of course, the top contenders in the front row—the protagonist teams—seemed barely paying attention, confident in their power.
And with that, the midterm exam finally began.
"Hoo..."
Aren took a light breath as he entered the exam grounds and looked around.
'A real forest.'
He'd thought the exam grounds would be like the artificial monsters—a set built by the academy. But surprisingly, this was a genuine forest.
Maybe that's why.
Aren hadn't been tense to begin with, but now he relaxed even more.
This kind of forest was his specialty. Other students had probably been to one or two woods at most, but Aren’s experience was incomparable.
'Master once released monsters and told me to survive on my own.'
Thinking back still gave him chills.
Master had suddenly tossed him onto a snowy mountain and said to fend for himself. To make matters worse, it was before he'd properly learned Shu Arts, so it had been tough.
And the monsters Master unleashed were drakes—a type of lesser dragon. Mutated ones at that, so it was really rough.
'Fond memories now...'
Compared to that, this place was child's play.
...Relatively speaking, anyway. Not literally.
As he pondered alone, Lydia and Veronica approached.
They were watching the other teams scatter quickly.
"Aren? What should we do now?"
"Hm..."
"All the other teams are going after monsters. Shouldn't we? We need to collect magic stones."
Lydia's opinion.
Veronica agreed with her.
"Miss Lydia is right. Monsters aren't infinite, so we need to grab as many as possible early to avoid falling behind."
"True enough."
It was the textbook approach.
The one that best fit the exam's purpose.
But.
"Do we really have to?"
"Huh?"
"...?"
Question marks floated over both their heads.
"I don't think we need to hunt monsters at all."
"W-what...? But Aren, if we don't hunt monsters, we won't get points... Our practical scores..."
Lydia's concern was valid.
For students who needed to kill monsters for stones and points, skipping that meant no points—which was basically forfeiting the midterm.
Even Aren would lose his top spot for sure. So why...?
Veronica narrowed her eyes sharply at him, wondering what he was thinking.
"I'm not saying we skip points."
"Then what?"
"I'm saying we collect them a little differently."
"Differently...?"
Veronica murmured softly, staring at him.
Doubt filled their eyes.
Aren chuckled and glanced at the scattering teams.
"We just take them from those guys."
"...? Pardon?"
Lydia tilted her head.
Her pink hair swayed cutely.
'Wanna pat it.'
Ahem.
"But they're not monsters...?"
"Lydia really is innocent."
Which made her cute.
Meanwhile, Veronica, grasping his meaning, widened her eyes and muttered, "No way."
Soon, she fixed him with a cool gaze.
"...You're saying we steal the magic stones—points—from other teams?"
"Wha...?"
"Exactly."
"Ehhh???"
Aren patted Lydia's surprised head.
"Monsters are finite, so clashes between teams are inevitable. In that case, isn't it more efficient to target other teams instead of hunting monsters?"
Auto-hunt was great for a reason.
Idle games didn't exist for nothing.
Aren was just applying it to reality.
"...But how do we find the other teams? Hunting monsters or hunting teams seems like the same effort."
Hesitation lingered in her voice.
In other words, if there was a good method, Veronica would agree. Victory was crucial for her dream of rising higher and crushing her family.
"Of course there's a way. We just wait at the escape zone."
"............Ah."
Veronica let out a low exclamation.
Lydia beside her understood too, staring at Aren with wide eyes.
"I-is that allowed?"
"It is."
Nothing in the rules said otherwise.
Right?
"...You're right. Nothing prohibits it."
"So that's a yes?"
"......"
"......"
Confirming their quiet nods, Aren headed for the escape zone.
"Hm... Which team will take first place this time?"
A swordsmanship department professor eyed the screen.
It showed the Crown Prince's team, the Sword Saint's disciple team, the Next Northern Grand Duke's team, and... Aren's team.
The academy's top first-year teams.
Another professor watching the same screen spoke up.
"The top team, obviously? The others are strong contenders, sure... but the top team's baseline performance is just superior."
"This isn't sparring, though. Rankings could shift."
"True. Still, the top team will hold first, don't you think?"
"Hm..."
The professors exchanged views.
But the consensus was Aren's team taking first.
His overwhelming presence in the entrance exam and duel with Ferris made it natural.
The other teams were elite, but they seemed a bit dimmer by comparison.
As opinions converged—
"...? Wait. The top team... they're lying down?"
"?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Not seeing things... right?"
"???"
Something bizarre appeared on screen.
Aren, Lydia, and Veronica... lying there like they were on a picnic.
"?????????"
Meanwhile, at the escape zone, Aren...
"Lydia. Mind lending me your thigh?"
"Huh?"
"I need Lydia's soft thigh."
"Huh???"
Was getting a lap pillow.