Semester-End Evaluation
One hour later, when I finally came to my senses, I immediately ran to Kain and confronted him.
“Don’t you think that was too much? You should’ve told me in advance! Or at least stopped me halfway!”
“Why should I? You’re the one who jumped to conclusions all on your own. And who was it that ran off without even giving me a chance to speak?”
“Well, that’s….”
I couldn’t deny that I had complaints, but Kain’s argument wasn’t wrong either, so I found myself at a loss for words. As I stood there mumbling, Kain changed the subject as if he didn’t want to hear any more of it.
“Enough. That doesn’t matter anyway. There’s a far more important issue at hand.”
“An issue?”
“Yes. The problem is that Priuli Family Mana Cultivation Method you’ve been practicing.”
The Priuli-style Mana Cultivation Method was characterized by its exceptional stability and solidity. Thanks to it, my durability stat had grown noticeably in the early stages, and it had allowed me to endure for quite a while during my spar with Alissa. But it also had a fatal flaw.
It was simply too incompatible with Kain’s martial arts, which emphasized speed and power above all else.
“As you already know, the martial arts I practice pursue a philosophy completely opposite to that of the Priuli family. If you continue like this, you’ll only ever be half-baked at best.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Obviously, you’ll have to switch to the mana cultivation method I use. However, that means you’ll have to discard every bit of mana you’ve accumulated so far. So, what will it be? Will you learn it while preserving your current mana, even if it means staying half-baked? Or will you accept the immediate loss and learn it properly? Choose.”
The former option carried no risk of loss but came with clear limitations. The latter could make me far stronger, but it also exposed me to unknown dangers. There were pros and cons to both, but my choice was obvious.
I leaned toward the latter.
“Kain. About that mana… if I have an elixir, it should be fine, right?”
“What? An elixir? Do you have something useful?”
“Not right now, but I have a way to get one. Then everything’s solved, yeah?”
“Well, as long as you can obtain it, I don’t care. When can you bring it?”
“During summer break. I’ll need to travel pretty far for it.”
“Hmm… I see. Very well.”
Kain looked somewhat suspicious but didn’t press the matter any further and simply accepted my answer. His troublesome personality actually helped in moments like this. If he had suggested coming along, things would have gotten complicated.
What kind of elixir would be suitable?
A long list of elixirs from across the continent floated through my mind. After boldly excluding those near the capital, barely ten remained. From those, I narrowed it down to the ones I could realistically obtain with my current abilities, cutting the list in half again.
While I was busy weighing the options in my head, Kain continued speaking.
“Then I’ll explain the martial arts I practice.”
“Huh? I thought I wasn’t learning it yet?”
“You still need to know the formulas first. With that thick skull of yours, even grasping a fragment will take quite some time. So start preparing in advance. Understood?”
“Yes sir!”
My crisp reply must have pleased him, because Kain gave a satisfied nod before his explanation began to sink into my ears.
“First, the name of the martial art I practice is Mugeuk Cheonri Gong. It means ‘a thousand paths to reach the ultimate limit of nothingness.’ It’s a martial art that came from the Eastern Continent that existed in ancient times. Don’t ask how I obtained it. It’s too annoying to explain.”
“Got it!”
After that, the transmission of the formulas began in earnest. My days blurred together in a haze of relentless training. By the time I came to my senses again, three whole weeks had flown by.
“Alright! As you all know, the semester-end evaluation begins next week and will last five days. This is the exam that concludes the first semester, so don’t let your guard down! Pay attention in class. I’m leaving!”
Sara spat out only the bare minimum before immediately walking out of the classroom.
Semester-end evaluation, huh…
The semester-end evaluation was an incredibly important test that heavily influenced final grades. Each student was randomly paired with an opponent for three one-on-one matches. The results were tallied to determine overall rankings. The room assignments for the next semester’s dorms were decided based on those rankings.
I guess I just need to hold out decently.
Even so, aiming for a three-person room was out of the question. But if I won too easily, I might draw suspicion from the other transmigrators. The safest approach was to focus purely on defense and aim for draws. After all, my spar with Alissa in close-quarters combat class had already proven that my endurance was nothing to scoff at.
Still, what am I going to do about summer break?
The closing ceremony was right after the semester-end evaluation. With only two weeks left, I still hadn’t decided which elixir to go after. Both options offered similar effects and comparable difficulty. The farthest location had an easier dungeon to clear, while the closest one had a much harder dungeon. Of course, I’d have to make a decision eventually, but I couldn’t help hesitating.
Ugh, this is so frustrating!
I continued agonizing over my own indecisiveness. And then, the day of the semester-end evaluation finally arrived.
“Everyone, this way! Just follow me!”
“Hurry! Before the match starts!”
June 23rd. Monday. 9:30 AM.
I was currently heading toward the gymnasium with Abel, Yuni, Yas, and Pernia to watch Alissa’s match. Honestly, when they first invited me, I had planned to refuse. But at this point, pushing them away felt pointless. Besides, I had already identified a good number of the transmigrators around me, so I decided to relax a little. Especially since Pernia no longer seemed to be wary of me at all.
The game’s information alone was no longer reliable. Too many things had already changed.
“There are seats over there!”
“Let’s go!”
I followed behind the noisy Yas and Abel at the front and plopped down in an appropriate spot. Looking down at the arena, I could see the staff cleaning up the traces of the previous fight. Alissa’s match would begin in just a few minutes.
A short while later, the number on the large screen above dropped to zero. The display changed, showing Alissa’s photo along with her information. Height, weight, weapon of choice, and even her ranking from the placement test were all listed. Even someone unfamiliar with her could tell at a glance who held the advantage and who was at a disadvantage.
Her opponent is…
When I turned my head, I saw a busty noblewoman with platinum drill hair standing there.
Felicia Belmore.
Quite coincidentally, Alissa’s friend and rival had been chosen as her first opponent.
Felicia used a greatsword. It was the complete opposite of Alissa’s rapier style. If Alissa took even a single solid hit, her relatively low stamina would likely send her flying right out of the arena.
As I was making my predictions, the match time arrived. Alissa and Felicia emerged from opposite entrances and stepped onto the arena floor. They faced each other.
Felicia spoke first. She covered her mouth with a white-gloved hand and let out a loud, dramatic laugh.
“Ohohoho! Alissa. This is the perfect chance to show everyone who’s superior!”
“Give it your best shot. I’ll dodge everything you throw at me. And while we’re at it, I’ll fix that ridiculous laugh of yours.”
After their brief war of nerves, both girls adjusted their weapons and took their stances.
3. 2. 1.
Match Start!
The moment the referee’s signal rang out, both girls charged at each other.
Clang!
Alissa seized the initiative. Her body, trained to pound me even harder, combined with her exceptionally high sensory stats to produce a speed that was difficult to follow. The instant her wrist flicked, the rapier split into dozens of afterimages, all aiming at Felicia’s entire body.
Felicia watched calmly, then raised her greatsword at the perfect moment to block.
The overall flow of the match consisted of Alissa’s relentless attacks and Felicia’s solid defense.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
“All that big talk and this is all you’ve got? Put in a little more effort, won’t you?”
“Your sword is far too light for someone who talks so much! It’s making me yawn!”
Whoosh!
The greatsword that had only been defending finally traced an aggressive arc. The tremendous force behind it caused the air to explode with a terrifying sound.
The moment Felicia put strength into her shoulder, Alissa read it in advance and stepped back, escaping the greatsword’s range. Before the weapon could even be pulled back, she shot forward again, unleashing a flurry of strikes.
Alissa’s concentration was sharper than it had ever been.
I could feel it.
She’s going to win.
This wasn’t just because Alissa was stronger than Felicia in the game. That was a future event anyway—something that didn’t need to be considered right now. Even if I compared their current selves, the Alissa standing before me felt stronger than she had been at this point in the original game.
Perhaps my advice during practice had helped. She had trained like crazy for nearly a month. On top of that, after sparring with me, she now knew exactly how to break through defenses. At this rate, it would actually be strange if she didn’t win.
Just as I expected, the fight continued to flow in Alissa’s favor from start to finish.
Then, at that moment—
Kaaaaang!
Alissa, who had been pressing the attack, dodged the greatsword by a hair’s breadth and slipped into Felicia’s side. Felicia hadn’t even finished retracting her weapon—it was still mid-swing. There was no way she could block.
But her greatsword stopped as if by magic.
“I won’t fall for that twice!”
Felicia, who had predicted this exact situation, swung her greatsword sideways. Although she used the flat of the blade rather than the edge, the force was more than enough to incapacitate Alissa. Not that she could kill her opponent in a match anyway.
Bwoooooong!
It was just a sword swinging, yet it sounded like ten thousand bees flapping their wings at once. In front of that strike, Alissa looked as precarious as a small boat caught in a storm.
That was when Alissa smiled.
“I knew you’d do that.”
Having known each other for a long time, they understood one another quite well. Alissa, confident that Felicia would counter perfectly, had already planned her next move. She pointed the tip of her rapier at the floor instead of at Felicia. Using the weapon as a pivot, she launched herself into the air like a pole vaulter.
Normally, she wouldn’t have had enough time. But thanks to the rapier’s thin yet elastic nature, she managed to escape before the greatsword arrived.
Crack!
The rapier, struck by the greatsword a moment too late, snapped cleanly in half.
Alissa spun mid-air to regain her balance and landed behind Felicia. Her palm pressed against Felicia’s back.
“I win.”
“…I lost.”
Clatter!
The moment Felicia admitted defeat, the broken half of the rapier fell to the ground.
Winner! Alissa!
That was the signal.
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
The students watching burst into cheers at the high-level match. A few of them, burning with competitive spirit, hurriedly left their seats. They were probably heading straight to the training rooms.
Alissa waved at them in response and scanned the stands, as if searching for someone. When her eyes met mine, she scrunched her face into a scowl and deliberately looked away.
I should head off to train too.
The others’ matches were all scheduled for the afternoon anyway, so we had only planned to watch Alissa’s fight before splitting up. There was no problem leaving now.
When I stood up from my seat, the group gave me puzzled looks.
“I’m heading out.”
“What? You’re leaving?”
“Luan, why don’t you stay a bit longer? Alissa will be here soon.”
“Y-yeah! She’ll be happy if you congratulate her.”
“This is the perfect chance to make up, nyang!”
With so many people talking at once, my head started to spin.
“As if she’d be happy to see me. I’m helping by staying out of the way. See you later.”
I firmly rejected Yuni’s suggestion and left the gymnasium.
Maybe I’ll try lasting one full minute today.