I'll Carry the Academy as a Veteran - Chapter 34

I straightened my clothes, fixed my necktie, tied on the white apron, slipped on my gloves, and turned around.

There was one glaring flaw in this exam.

Magradi grass was the core ingredient for Magradi's Tear, but it had the drawback of degrading the potion's quality, locking it at low-tier. That was precisely why high-tier Magradi's Tear sold for exorbitant prices.

I started by adding water to the cauldron first, then tossed in the haphazardly piled other herbs.

It was like that childhood game with maple leaves—whether you ate three red potions or one orange one, your HP recovered by 150 either way.

Out of the thousands of potion recipes etched in my mind, I'd found a way to substitute Magradi grass while achieving an even superior effect.

In the original story, Magradi grass was rare for one simple reason: the herb itself devoured an enormous amount of ambient mana.

So... what if I flooded it with a massive quantity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of low-tier herbs to match the mana input of Magradi grass?

In reality, that would be absurd. But based on my experiences so far, this world twisted and turned but faithfully adhered to the original game's logic.

Then I'll just try it.

After simmering on low heat for two minutes, the contents turned purple. That was step one.

A foul stench emanated at this stage, but there was no helping it.

Once the mixture transformed like one of Ebnis's homemade disasters, I cranked the heat to high, dumped in the mountain of pre-chopped herbs, and kept boiling.

Right on cue.

"Ugh!"

"What is that smell?!"

"That villain... He's finally resorting to biochemical weapons to kill us all!"

The stench intensified to the level of month-old food waste. I stirred the cauldron's contents with an expressionless face.

"Hm."

I dumped in the last of the herbs, added exactly one cup of water, and waited five minutes. Now the purple liquid turned pitch black, its aroma shifting to something oddly distinctive.

"Done."

Once fully boiled, I transferred half the liquid to a glass vial, sealed it, and...

"Hm."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Mid-tier wouldn't cut it. I uncorked the vial, added a bit more liquid, and resealed it.

I knew it. This world was undeniably real.

But if the system I saw was straight out of the Salenium Saga game, then the impossible wasn't impossible.

By quickly pouring in half, sealing, uncorking, and repeating...

Endless success notifications from the system windows.

Yes. This was it.

Simply uncorking and resealing was enough for the "real-world action" to register differently in the "system."

Seal, pour. After about six repetitions...

Crackle!

The moment I corked it, a golden lightning effect crackled beside the system window, and text scrolled up.

"Hm."

A name, huh.

My Magradi's Tear had hit great success, so it likely came with a slew of bonuses—from basic fatigue recovery to stamina recovery boosts, faster mana regen, and more.

As for the recipe name... Magradi's Tear was a black potion. Players had a nickname for it.

"Ssanghwatang."

I submitted the Ssanghwatang to the professor and earned full marks.

Come to think of it...

"Magradi grass has an issue where 'overloading' it during crafting causes the cauldron to explode."

I muttered that just as—

Boom!

A massive explosion rocked the table diagonally across from me, sending some nameless male student flying into the far wall.

That guy's the culprit. Tsk.

No doubt he'd fail. That's what you get for not playing nice.

The exams continued after that.

General Imperial History was a breeze since I knew it all anyway. Herbology got graded on the spot, so both subjects were full marks locked in.

Lunchtime.

Maybe because Salenium Saga was a Korean game, the magic department's lunch after morning exams on the first day felt nostalgically authentic to anyone who'd survived school life.

What can I say... it was a familiar sight.

Groups clustered around half-eaten meals, comparing exam papers—"You got it wrong, I got it right," "We both missed it, but I nailed this one," "Triple wrong, but multiple choice!"

Others slumped beside wilted friends, chattering about post-exam vacation trips.

"Hm."

Even in a prestigious academy, a school was still a school. At times like this, they all seemed like kids their age—no elite pretensions.

With nothing else worth seeing in the magic department lounge, I headed to the knight department for midterms-cum-public duels.

It was probably just starting now.

Sure enough.

"Oh."

At the first arena, I caught sight of it.

"Please treat me well."

"Likewise."

A boy slammed his greatsword into the arena floor and bowed. Across from him, a girl lightly performed noble etiquette.

That's right. The matchup was the knight department first-years' top two: Ebnis and Erhan.

A clash of destinies.

"Ready!"

At the referee's call from the center, the two freshmen retreated to opposite ends, raising their weapons.

Ebnis's heroine route was already shattered.

In the original event, she always lost to Erhan—no matter how many dozens or hundreds of playthroughs.

But what about this time?

I sat, anticipation stirring oddly within me.

"Begin!"

The match started.

"【Hero Sword: Pierce】!"

"【Holy Sword: Swift】!"

Ebnis struck first. She instantly morphed her Holy Sword into a spear and hurled it at Erhan.

Whoosh!

Erhan deflected it with his greatsword. His pupils flushed red, hair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turning white—the classic Erhan awakening I'd seen countless times.

Thud!

He kicked off the ground, accelerating rapidly. His sword swung smoothly.

The greatsword sliced through air toward Ebnis's shoulder.

Ebnis backpedaled, reshaping her Holy Sword.

"【Holy Sword: Resolve】!"

A broad light shield expanded before her.

Crunch!

She easily blocked the Hero Sword. Then—

"【Holy Sword: Ruin】!"

She flung the shield upward, leaped, and mid-air formed a massive light battle-axe, smashing down fiercely.

"Hyaaah!"

Air compressed before the axe, then tore apart.

"Ho."

That was heaven-sent strength.

A battle-axe wielding Martial God-level power plummeted toward Erhan's head.

But.

"He's this world's protagonist, after all."

As if to prove it—

"【Hero Sword】!"

Erhan braced his hand under the blade, deflecting the strike at an angle.

He swung, his sword grazing perilously close to Ebnis's side. A few golden strands floated in the air.

"Ha, good. Very good."

"......"

"Daring to counter me? That makes it all the more fun!"

Her heaven-sent strength made her peerless. But here, she'd met someone who could match her raw power.

It must thrill her.

"【Holy Sword: Execution】!"

Ebnis reformed it into a longsword, unleashing sharp strikes. Faster and more precise than Erhan's greatsword.

Indeed, Erhan was getting utterly overwhelmed.

But.

"...Excessive thrill breeds carelessness."

Just like in the original.

That moment—

"I—!"

Erhan swept his greatsword wide, parrying everything, then charged.

Ebnis's stance faltered.

"Won't give up!"

What now, Ebnis?

I watched from the crowd, arms crossed.

Her face flushed red.

"Ha! Of course! Come at me!"

She shouted, grinning, and charged with her own Execution raised.

Well. It's over.

Nothing more to say. Even if she lost here, the story would flow as in the original.

I'd just toy with her plenty later... or so I thought.

"No way."

With those words—

The instant Erhan's greatsword met her Execution, Ebnis dropped her Holy Sword.

"Hm."

Erhan's panicked face was clear even from here.

Ebnis breezed past him, drew her waist sword, infused it with radiant light, and raised it high.

Bam!

Erhan struggled to retrieve his embedded sword, but it wouldn't budge.

Ebnis, meanwhile, was free to strike.

"Did you know, runner-up?"

"Pardon?"

"You can't just revel in the fun. I have a duty to fulfill. I must win—for the vow to land a blow on that person's shameless face."

"P-Pardon? Th-That, I, uh..."

"You did your homework on me, prepared thoroughly... but alas. Short, but enjoyable duel."

The blade of light swept the arena. Erhan collapsed, vision spinning.

"Ah! Winner! Ebnis Rothschild de Repelheit, sub-marquess! That's 2 wins out of 2! The freshman top student keeps her momentum!"

Glancing back, she wiped sweat from her brow with her arm, quietly basking in the cheers.

Well. She pulled it off, huh.

I knew she wouldn't go down easy.

I turned and melted into the crowd toward the exit.

A gaze from the arena prickled my nape, but whatever. Not my problem.

In what should've been another forced loss in the midterm duel event, Ebnis overturned her fate once more.

I left after watching.

Not close enough to congratulate her, anyway.

After the duel and lunch, afternoon rolled around. I headed to the magic department classroom for the next exam.

And...

"Adrian, how'd the exam go? I aced it, for the record."

Reina von Wolfgang, seated beside me, struck up conversation.

"I did fine too. Full marks in Herbology and General Imperial History."

"Y-Yes? Wh-What did you say...?"

Reina stared up at me, genuinely shocked.

"Adrian? Y-You don't have to lie... I..."

"Don't believe me? Go ask the professor. And now's not the time to worry about that."

"True... that."

She turned forward with that reply.

The "Elemental Theory and Application" exam was straightforward.

A long straight platform stood at the front. Two students went up each end, staffs raised, for magic duels.

"Everyone here? Listen up."

Professor Walnut, in his green robe, yawned hugely before speaking.

"Simple rules. Draw lots... yeah, draw your opponent from my TA's box. First drawer calls the second's name, you both go up, duel using only mid-tier and low-tier magic. That's it."

Melwood Elion stared at the students with hollow eyes beside him. Only days since I'd seen him, but shadows ringed his eyes.

"Grading: My TA watches your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠duels, scores on form, elemental advantages, tactics, strategy, win/loss combo. Results in three days."

Someone raised a hand.

"Questions: three lines max, concise."

"What do you do, Professor? Seems the TA handles everything."

"Me?"

Walnut pulled a book from his pocket, sauntered to a classroom corner, crossed his legs, and opened it. Utterly brazen.

"From now on, my TA handles everything exam-related. Don't bother me, or it's an F."

"...Haha. How did Professor Walnut even become a professor?"

"Lazy as he looks, his lectures are top-notch."

In the original game, Walnut's classes boosted crit rates, damage, base magic output—mandatory stuff.

Now in reality, he was a genius lecturer who slacked everywhere else.

"Alright... Adrian, draw first."

From here, uncharted territory. Wonder who I'd get.

I stepped up, reached into Melwood's paper box, and drew.

"Call the name inside and head up."

I unfolded the slip. My expression hardened.

"Reina."

Showing the paper, Reina's face drained pale.

"von Wolfgang."

Hm. This for real?