The Practical Exam

BEEP-beep BEEP-BEEP-beep BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-beep BEEP-beep-BEEP-beep BEEP-BEEP-beep BEEP-beep-BAA BEEP-BEEP-beep—

"Aaagh..."

What the hell kind of alarm was this? I'd downloaded a compilation of "alarms that will get you out of bed no matter what" off Everyday, and now every single morning started with me wanting to put my fist through the speaker. Then again, I did actually wake up, so I supposed it was doing its job.

Liliana was asleep beside me again. And the blowjob — well, the genuine Hell-native article really was in a league of its own. A succubus's tongue was something no human being could ever hope to imitate.

Today was Thursday. The morning would be the group boss-monster hunt exam, which meant the silent group project with Nam Da-eun, Rumi, and that guy named Lee Byung-hoon was starting up again. I wasn't thrilled about it, but there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was no getting around it. I'd already shown a decent amount of my power, so this time I'd have a real chance to carry.

The same went for the live monster combat training in the afternoon. Last time I'd gone in while I was still weak and had barely managed to match the A-Class average. I was stronger now. I could climb higher.

"Today really is Lee Ho-yeon's day."

The day I properly showed everyone what I could do.

"The group boss-monster hunt exam this morning will be held in the same testing grounds used for your first dungeon field exercise. As before, you'll be able to watch the other groups."

At morning assembly, Professor Kim Jin-hyeok laid out the details of the day's exams.

"The live monster combat training this afternoon will likewise proceed according to your assessed levels. That one takes place in the practical sparring hall."

It was all information I already knew, so I let my mind wander and waited it out.

"If you've got time to sit there regretting a written exam that's already over, spend it managing your condition and do well on the practicals. That's all."

Having delivered every last notice, Kim Jin-hyeok left the lecture hall, and the cadets drifted together in twos and threes, seeking out their groups.

"Lucy, hang in there. Rumi and I are heading out."

"Yeah. You guys got this too. First place is basically yours anyway, but we're not going down without a fight."

"Your group's synergy is pretty solid, though? Ours is just the Nam Da-eun one-woman show."

"Okay, fair. Anyway, go crush it!"

Lucy waved us off and went to find her own group.

"So where's... our group?"

"I'm not sure... We never do manage to gather properly... Oh? Isn't that Lee Byung-hoon coming this way?"

"Huh. You're right."

A group that never assembled on time had three people in one place. Midterms really did have a way of motivating people.

"Good morning, Ho-yeon. Fine day, isn't it?"

"...Come again?"

Lee Byung-hoon — the guy I'd filed away as Extra Male Number One — had walked up and greeted me.

"I realized I never properly introduced myself, even though we're in the same group. I'm Lee Byung-hoon, eldest son of a storied Warrior Guild."

"..."

This pattern. It was exactly the same as when people first started approaching Nam Da-eun. So now that I was famous, he was finally bothering to say hello?

What a piece of work. There was something almost funny about how consistent he was. We were on the same team, so I couldn't exactly hit him. I'd let it slide. Cute, in a pathetic kind of way.

"Sure. Let's get along. I'm Lee Ho-yeon."

"Yes, sir. Might I trouble you for your contact information?"

"No."

"...Understood."

"I'm kidding. Carry us through the boss hunt and I'll give it to you."

"I'll give it everything I've got!"

Give it everything you want. Let's see you outperform me and Nam Da-eun.

The three of us headed for the boss-monster hunt testing grounds. Naturally, cadets had packed the place to the walls, and the noise was staggering. Lee Byung-hoon would not stop talking, so I ducked out on the excuse of using the restroom.

The chatter at my elbow had reached the point of actual ear pain. Was this why Nam Da-eun always showed up late?

I stepped out of the cramped exam building. I didn't actually need the restroom — I just wanted some air. A walking path ran nearby, so I pointed myself that way and started strolling.

"Yeah. No, I love you more."

A woman's voice drifted from the emergency stairwell behind the exam building. I wrapped myself in a Rune Barrier to kill the sound of my footsteps and looked over.

Nam Da-eun.

She's always on the phone with her little sister.

These midterms would matter a great deal to her. In the original game, the protagonist only took first place from Nam Da-eun in the second semester of first year, or the first semester of second year — after he'd grown strong enough. Finish first at the end of first year, and a protagonist who hadn't built any foundation yet couldn't face the guild alone, which locked you out of her route entirely.

The ending where she slaughtered the guild members to protect her chastity, killed her little sister, and then took her own life... that one had been hard to sit through. Steal first place in the first semester of second year, though, and by then the protagonist's base was solid enough to fight the guild and save her.

My goal was to have that foundation in place by the end of first year and pull Nam Da-eun out. There was no need to drag this into second year. Better to finish it fast.

"I have to go now. Yeah."

Hearing her wind down the call, I dropped the Rune Barrier as naturally as I'd raised it and headed for the front entrance. I timed my greeting for the moment she finished and came around toward the doors.

"Hey."

"...Hey."

Nam Da-eun flicked a glance at my eyes, gave that single clipped syllable, and cut toward the entrance as if she couldn't get away fast enough.

"Let's go in together. We're the same group."

"..."

She didn't answer. She just fled into the testing grounds.

Talk about prickly.

I needed to start making my move on her by the next exam, but I had no idea how to even break the ice.

I headed back to where our group had gathered.

"You're here...!"

Rumi looked so desperate to escape the awkward atmosphere that she lit up the moment she saw me.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. Looks like we're about to start?"

"Yes. It seems that way."

The murmur of cadets was swelling, and professors were taking their positions one by one. The exam was close.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Sh-should I go...?!"

"I'll go..."

Sending Rumi into that pack of hungry lions and hoping she'd come back with a number ticket felt like a bad bet. And Byung-hoon — this bastard had been acting buddy-buddy two minutes ago, so why had he gone quiet again?

I walked up to the drum set out in front of the testing grounds and drew a number.

"Number three. Please write your name and your group members' names here."

"Yes."

Third. A meaningless number, honestly, given that first place was already ours. Starting early would tank everyone else's morale, but that wasn't my problem.

I took the ticket and headed back to our spot.

"We're third, guys. Let's get in, get it done, and get out."

"Y-yes!"

"Going early seems like a good thing, actually. Fortune really does favor you."

"..."

Byung-hoon's reactions had multiplied. I'd have preferred he showed it with his skills instead of his mouth.

"It's starting!"

"Ugh, I'm so nervous. We're Group 11. We're up before we know it!"

"We're Group 2... we go in right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after this and one of us isn't even here. What do we do?!"

The cadets' chatter swelled. Our group eased the tension by watching the feed.

Group 1's opponent was a Cyclops — a little stronger than an ogre, or about the same.

"Whoa, a Cyclops?! Can Group 1 even win that?"

"Hard to say. Their composition is decent, but winning might be a stretch."

The monsters were assigned differently to each group. The groups had been built with roughly even averages at the start, but growth rates diverged wildly as time went on, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and by midterms the balance was usually in pieces. That was why the monster levels weren't the same.

"Aaagh!"

Group 1 lost to the Cyclops. Losing, however, did not mean automatic failure. This was an exam that graded process, and Group 1 had read the Cyclops's patterns well enough to walk away with a respectable evaluation.

Our turn was already bearing down on us.

"Let's move."

A portal stood ready at the front of the testing grounds.

"Step through this portal and you'll arrive in a space where a virtual boss monster is waiting. Even if you're injured or killed, it's a simulated environment, so there's no actual physical harm. You will feel the pain, however, and psychological aftereffects are possible, so please be careful."

We took in the last of the warnings and threw ourselves through the portal. A nauseating sensation wrapped around my body for a moment. When I opened my eyes, we were in a cave.

"Caves. Always with the caves."

Group 1 had gotten a grassland. Group 2 had gotten the ocean. We got another cave.

"Gather up. Let's identify the monster first, then move."

An exam that graded process made preparation everything. Rumi and Byung-hoon listened. Nam Da-eun did not. She started walking before I'd finished the sentence.

"Nam Da-eun! Listen to me this time. If you run off on your own in a boss hunt, the rest of the team can get hurt. I told you — this exam grades process."

I called after her as she kept walking. A boss monster was not a regular mob. And because this was an exam, we needed to use every bit of the team's capability and clear it as safely as possible. That was the entire point.

"...I can finish this fastest if I move alone."

She didn't listen. She broke into a run and shot ahead.

"Ah, that crazy— hey, just follow her."

We had no choice but to chase after Nam Da-eun. Even at a run, I kept my eyes on the cave walls and ceiling, hunting for clues.

No marks on the walls, but there are small claw scratches on the ceiling. A cave-type boss, small claw marks on the ceiling...

We burst into a cavern. I put the pieces together and looked up on reflex — and found myself staring into hundreds of pairs of brightly glowing eyes.

"It's a Night Queen! Cover your ears with mana, all of you!"

I shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. My teammates slapped mana over their ears just as the cavern began to tremble.

Flutter-flutter-flutter-flutter.

The Night Queen's signature opening — an ultrasonic blast to break the enemy apart, then a flood of servant bats to finish anyone left reeling. That was her most basic combat pattern. Block the first attack, and she wasn't that difficult an opponent. The only real problem was that there were far too many bats.

The servant bats, however, were cowards. Use that. Work them down one by one in the light, and you could clear the whole thing without a scratch.

I planted a fireball the size of my own body in the center of the cavern.

Gyaaaak!

Guuuuhk!

The bats spooked at the massive flame and plastered themselves against the ceiling in a dense, twitching carpet. Now we just had to pick them off one at a time, and we were done.

And then Nam Da-eun started running. Again.

"Nam Da-eun!!!"

There were hundreds of them, which meant not every bat had made it to the ceiling — some were still circling in the air. Nam Da-eun used those airborne bats as stepping stones, a running display of acrobatics, and closed on the Night Queen.

"For— Rumi! Put a shield on Nam Da-eun. Byung-hoon, you protect Rumi. I'm going up to support her."

I split the roles and launched myself after them. A Night Queen grew stronger the more bats she had. Even if Nam Da-eun somehow finished it alone, she would take wounds doing it — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and that would make the whole raid pointless. The foundation of any raid was safety. A proper raid party would rather retreat in one piece than complete the clear at the cost of even a single member.

I followed Nam Da-eun up, using the bats as footholds the same way she had. I tapped Acceleration here and there, closed the gap — and found myself staring at Nam Da-eun settling her sword, and a Night Queen whose body had been cut cleanly in two by a single stroke.

Kkeeeehk!

The virtual Night Queen's bisected body dissolved into mana.

"...Huh?"

The Nam Da-eun of the first semester of first year was stronger than I had imagined.

The moment the Night Queen vanished, the raid registered as complete, and we were automatically shifted back out through the portal. Outside, the hall had gone dead silent, stunned by Nam Da-eun's highlight-reel play.

The result was good. This time, though, I couldn't let it go.

"Nam Da-eun. You— hah. Why are you in such a rush? You happened to be right this time, but if you hadn't dropped the Night Queen in a single hit, we would have taken a massive point deduction. I told you. This exam grades process."

I wasn't saying this for the team's sake. I was saying it for hers.

In the original, she could have gotten away with this and still held first place. She was that overwhelmingly strong. But I was here now. Even if I wanted to throw the practical, a certain amount of my ability was already public knowledge. Seducing the heroines went better from a position of strength than weakness, and having revealed my power, I had to show it on the practical exam as well.

If Nam Da-eun kept behaving like this, I might take first place from her faster than I'd planned.

Nam Da-eun was already looking for an exit, already leaving.

No. That is exactly how you fail to take first place, you stubborn idiot.

Did she think being pretty was enough to get away with everything? In her own head she was probably apologizing for hogging the score, but she could at least listen to people until they finished talking.

Even the professor on the mic was stammering. Our clear had rattled him.

"W-well, we did succeed, in a way?"

Rumi was just happy we'd cleared it at all.

"A success that isn't a success..."

More than anything, this exam had been about reading the situation. I'd identified the Night Queen fast enough to stop a wipe, which would earn me a high score. Rumi had thrown up a shield and not much else, so hers wouldn't be anything special...

"As expected, you're incredible, Ho-yeon. That insight — picking out a Night Queen so quickly. I'd love to learn from you. ...Might I trouble you for your contact information?"

This guy was getting a zero, no question.