Chapter 53
Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Hero vs Final Boss (2)
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I took a deep breath and stood in the designated position.
Three examiners stared at me intently all at once.
The moment I felt their gazes upon me, every nerve in my body stood on end.
Honestly... I was nervous.
Extremely so.
Did they notice?
One of the examiners spoke in a slightly gentler tone.
"Student Celen."
"Yes."
"No need to be too tense. Just stay calm and show us your true abilities."
"Understood."
My true abilities, huh.
If that were possible, I wouldn't be nervous in the first place.
But right now...
'What do you mean, 400th place in the written exam? 400th place—that rounds up to 500th! It's 492nd!'
Marian Labelin.
To end up in the same class as that blockhead, I had to deliberately lower my score.
And that too—
in front of people who could instantly read how tense someone was just from their posture and breathing.
'This is driving me crazy, seriously.'
I had a plan in place, at least.
I wasn't sure about House Noir's reputation,
but I planned to adjust my performance to avoid tarnishing House Eliad's prestige as much as possible.
After one final deep breath, I corrected my stance.
At that moment—
The examiner who had spoken earlier said in a firm tone.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
I gave a short reply and assumed the most basic stance.
A brief silence.
Gripping the wooden sword lightly, I intended to demonstrate my full skill.
Gaze.
Stance width.
Shoulder angle and waist rotation.
And breathing.
Concentrating all my senses, I executed the first movement.
The daily morning practice.
My body moved on instinct now.
The wooden sword sliced through the air, tracing a smooth, familiar arc.
For now...
I decided to show my true basics at least.
The attendant role didn't require combat prowess,
but as an employee of House Eliad, one should at least know how to hold a sword properly.
I flowed through the movements without excess.
Students.
Examiners.
Gasps of admiration, big and small, brushed past my ears.
'So far... this is going as expected, of course.'
The problem came next.
Magic targets,
and group sparring.
I'd spent my whole life acting with expressions,
but I'd never once tried deliberately losing.
'Will this work?'
I finished the last movement and sheathed the wooden sword.
The first test, evaluating all basic forms, was over.
The scratching of pens stopped, and the center examiner looked up.
"That was impressive."
"Thank you."
"Next, swing your sword at the magic targets that will appear in front of you. Nod when you're ready."
"Understood."
I'd missed it because of Ruena's major blunder,
but Marian Labelin had apparently aced all the way to the final 15th stage with perfect scores.
Truly a relief.
That blockhead had talent in swordsmanship.
'...Her mana presence is barely detectable. Her magic score will probably be around mine or slightly better.'
Pretending to prepare for the test, I finished my calculations in my head.
To narrow the score gap with her.
And to manipulate it naturally without the examiners noticing.
My decision was—
I swallowed hard enough to feel my Adam's apple move.
Pretending to wipe the sweat from my hands, I rubbed my palms on my pants.
Lips slightly bitten and released.
Eyes darting side to side.
I shook out my legs a couple times unnecessarily, adjusted my stance, and nodded.
A moment later—
Stage 1 magic target appeared before me.
Stage 1.
Stage 2.
Up to Stage 3.
I succeeded without a hitch.
Exerting maximum effort for scores close to perfect.
And then—
At Stage 4,
I tensed every muscle, staring solely at the target ahead.
'Here it comes.'
My wooden sword traced its arc forward.
"That's done."
"...Yes."
I bowed politely to the examiners and set down the wooden sword.
Of course,
my sword had only sliced empty air,
missing the target that appeared and vanished swiftly.
This was the best choice I'd judged.
Stage 4 was 'speed.'
The target registered a hit on even a graze.
But—
Quite a few students failed it.
The more tense you got, the less your body responded instantly.
So, it was optimal in many ways.
Strong in basics,
but too nervous to perform at full potential—the classic image.
'No idea how much they bought it.'
From start to finish of the test.
I'd acted tense the whole time, putting extra force into every movement.
Expression acting was a bonus, of course.
How well it worked...
I'd gauge from which group I got placed in for the group sparring.
I headed back to my spot as if it were natural.
Sure enough... familiar indigo hair came into view.
'Wonder how much she'll tease me this time.'
As I shrugged and approached—
What I faced was Ruena, looking utterly flustered and on the verge of tears.
I blinked at the unexpected situation.
'What?'
I'd expected her to smirk mischievously,
grinning as usual and teasing me—but it was completely different from my prediction.
I glanced around subtly and whispered very quietly.
"What? Did you cause another incident while I was gone?"
"It's not me—it's you who messed up—!"
What nonsense. Me causing trouble?
I puzzled briefly before realizing it was about the exam just now.
'Come to think of it, she'd notice for sure.'
Childhood friends are inconvenient like this.
Everyone else falls for it, but she sees through it like a ghost.
Well, for her specifically, it was the worst choice.
Anything else, maybe,
but she knew I was leagues ahead in speed-related things.
I chuckled and patted Ruena's head.
"I got nervous."
"What? You, Celen?"
"Hey... even I get nervous sometimes. Like... in front of your father."
I pointed at one of the examiners as I said it.
"Doesn't he look a bit like him?"
"Pfft!"
Ruena clamped her mouth shut, shoulders trembling.
As expected...
My eye for resemblance was spot on.
Even the sole daughter of the man couldn't hold back her laughter.
Stern expression.
Intimidating gaze.
Chin that refused to lower.
The looks differed, but the vibe was pure Kasian Eliad.
"See? I had reason to be nervous."
"Jeez..."
As we laughed and chatted—
The group assignments for sparring were complete.
As expected—
Marian Labelin was top of the current rankings.
Standing proudly at the front of Group 1.
'Let's see. Ruena's...'
Ruena was in Group 1 too.
At the very bottom, though.
Probably high marks for near-perfect basics
and destroying the rumored tough Stage 7.
And me... right in the middle group, as planned.
Fortunately—
The acting had worked decently.
Before stepping back in front of everyone, I patted Ruena's head one last time.
"Do your best."
"Yeah. You too, Celen!"
"Please... don't mess up this time. Okay?"
Ruena responded with laughter instead of words.
Her eyes were resolute, but why did it feel like sending a kid to the water's edge?
With a long sigh, I headed to my group's sparring area.
'Just in case, aim for 2nd or 3rd place.'
But—
Things don't always go as planned.
Maybe I undershot my level too much.
Deliberately losing turned out harder than expected.
Exaggerating a bit,
it felt like losing to a child or a sword newbie.
No doubt—
Awkward acting like that was worse than none at all.
After gauging their levels roughly, I changed plans and quickly took them out one by one.
Ending up a boring 1st in the group.
The plan veered a bit, but it was still fine.
'Looks like most are wrapping up. Group 8 done, Group 5 done. Group 1...'
Group 1, with Ruena and Marian.
Unlike other groups showing rankings, it was still blank.
Impressed, I scanned the sparring area where Group 1 was still fighting.
'Holding their own against Ruena?'
Ruena was House Eliad's heir.
Clumsy by nature—
sometimes treating her body like someone else's—but her basic combat ability was solid.
Clashing swords with her always left my body tingling.
And right now,
she'd be even more serious than in our practice spars.
Her score had tanked from that big mistake earlier.
For someone to hold out against her this long.
Whether Marian
or someone else in Group 1.
There was definitely a skilled fighter there.
'Guess I should check it out...'
Pure curiosity.
Vigilance as House Eliad's attendant.
I quickly turned and headed toward Group 1's sparring area.
Groups 1 through 3 were outdoors.
Makes sense—with that level of skill in a melee, indoors would be unmanageable.
I stepped outside the building.
Under the stinging sunlight—
Dozens of students and instructors surrounded the sparring area with tense faces.
'This is Group 3, that's Group 2... so over there.'
The moment I reached Group 1's area—
BOOOOOOM───!
A deafening roar shook the ground,
and thick dust clouds billowed like a storm, obscuring vision.
I raised my arm and squeezed my eyes shut.
Screams and startled shouts erupted around me.
"Wh-what?!"
"Ugh—!"
A moment later—
The heavy dust cleared, revealing a figure standing in Group 1's sparring area.