The Performance Evaluation Begins
The next day, the morning of the performance evaluation finally arrived. The Class A students were riding carriages down to the Underground Dungeon.
“Isn't it fascinating?”
From inside the carriage, Camibarez gazed out the window and spoke.
“That so many dungeons and ruins could be gathered inside little Roc Island like this...”
Rick shrugged.
“From what I've heard, Nephthys is apparently a bit of a collector. Whenever she discovers an ancient ruin like this, she has the whole thing relocated to Roc Island.”
“Whoa! An entire ruin?”
Rick and Camibarez chattered away, trying their best to thaw the stiff atmosphere, but Simon and Meilin didn't say a single word the whole way to the dungeon.
“All right, we're here! Everyone off!”
The carriages finally rolled to a stop and the students climbed out.
The eyes of the students, who had been noisily chattering before the live exercise, turned toward Meilin as she stepped down from the carriage on crutches.
“...They're done for. That team.”
“Isn't she on the combat roster? And she's injured?”
The students murmured.
“If your combat lead is in that state, there's no hope. They're doomed from start to finish.”
“Well, that's a win for the rest of us.”
“Shh! Shh! Keep it down!”
Straining to ignore the murmurings, Meilin walked on with her head held high. The members of Group 7 followed behind her.
Kizen's Underground Dungeon was a kind of colossal prison where monsters captured alive from across the continent were kept locked away. Not just monsters, either—rumor had it that every manner of dreadful criminal on the continent was imprisoned in its deepest floor.
As they followed the TAs, the students rolled their eyes about nervously, faces pale. Horrific screams and monstrous shrieks echoed from every direction.
“This is just an unconfirmed rumor, but they say an 'angel' is bound in chains and sealed away on the very bottom floor of this dungeon.”
At Rick's words, Camibarez flinched and shuddered.
“D-don't scare me like that! Where in the world would an angel even be?”
“Hehehe. If there are demons, why wouldn't there be angels?”
Fortunately, they didn't have to go deep into the dungeon.
Their destination was a place walled in on every side with bricks carved from bare rock. Like the training hall, a mana projector hung from the ceiling.
“This way, please.”
Inside, Jane and the TAs who had arrived first were waiting. This was Jane's first class since the Student Protection Period ended, so everyone stood at rigid attention with tense faces.
She spoke.
“Attention, everyone.”
“Yes, Professor!”
“Groups 1 through 8 will conduct their performance evaluations this morning. Once you enter the dungeon, you will come face to face with a living Cyclops.”
The TAs circulated through the room, handing out clipboards and pens to the students.
It was the life-forfeit waiver Jane had mentioned on the very first day of class—a document declaring that no matter what happened inside the dungeon, Kizen would bear no responsibility.
“Of course, if your own life matters more to you than anything else, you are free to put down the waiver and walk right back out.”
They had all steeled themselves for this the moment they entered Kizen. Every student finished signing, and the TAs handed out training uniforms.
“Let me say it again. There are three ways this evaluation can be stopped: if a combat-roster member becomes unable to fight, if any member of the group raises a hand and declares their surrender, or if a professor or safety officer judges that the battle can no longer continue. Speaking of which, our safety officer today is Agent Andrew, dispatched from Kizen headquarters, who has kindly agreed to oversee us.”
The man standing beside Jane, heavily armed with all manner of equipment, bowed his head. He had an extremely taciturn air about him.
“Then let us begin the performance evaluation with Group 1.”
Group 1 remained in the arena while the other groups were escorted to a room on the level above. It functioned as a waiting room of sorts, a place to rest—but one entire wall was as clear as glass, allowing them to look straight down and watch the other groups fight.
“A-a real Cyclops!”
“The scale is unreal.”
“I never believed it would be an actual live exercise until the very end.”
“What are we supposed to do...”
The waiting room buzzed with students gawking at the Cyclops, but Simon's group had no leisure to sit around spectating.
The four of them settled into a quiet corner on the far side and discussed their plan.
“All right, all right! Let's lighten the mood, people! We've still got a fighting chance!”
Rick led the meeting, clapping his hands for attention.
They traded opinions in a serious atmosphere, occasionally interrupted by cheers and screams from the students above.
They could tell which groups had won and which had failed. And as expected, Hector of Group 3 had succeeded in his hunt.
Time flew by faster than light, and at last—
“Group 7, you're up.”
Though they had no idea how an hour or two had slipped past, it was already Group 7's turn.
All the members of Group 7 were escorted down by a TA. The students, quiet until Meilin descended, immediately crowded against the transparent wall.
“Meilin's got an injured leg—looks like she still intends to fight.”
“Is that even allowed? The doctor should've restricted her.”
“Uh... wait a second!”
Someone pointed at one side of the wall. It was Simon wearing the protective vest issued to combat-roster members.
“It's Simon! They swapped Simon Polentia into the combat roster!”
“Will they be okay?”
“Obviously not! They've been leaning on Meilin's Dark Flare this whole time. With this, their entire plan is shot.”
“But how is a Summoning major supposed to take down a Cyclops?”
“Guess he just wants to be seen giving it his best shot until the end, that's all.”
At that very moment, Hector, sprawled across two seats, narrowed his eyes sharply.
“Simon Polentia is on the combat roster?”
“Th-that's what they're saying?”
One of the boys in Hector's clique forced a laugh.
“Isn't he the guy you're always going on about? You don't even need to watch this one.”
“...”
Hector gave no answer and closed his eyes.
Whooo.
Simon took a deep breath to steady his pounding heart. As he put on the vest, a Barrier Gauge appeared above him, projected from the mana projector on the ceiling.
If that gauge reached 0%, the combat-roster member would automatically be declared 'unable to fight' and the examination would end on the spot.
Behind Simon, Rick, Meilin, and Camibarez stood in their set positions, one after another. Thankfully, Meilin had talked the doctor around, and had been granted permission to act as a stationary support—so long as she didn't move from her spot.
“Not much changes for us.”
Simon looked around at his group members.
“The situation's shifted a little, but none of the work we've put in goes to waste. Let's give it everything we've got, right to the end.”
The three of them nodded.
Meilin, who had been dazed for a while, snapped back to her senses once the evaluation began, her face grimly serious.
The safety officer, Andrew, glanced at his wristwatch.
“Send in the next Cyclops.”
GRrrrrrrRRK!
The dungeon's iron gate rose. Out of the pitch-black darkness, a real Cyclops emerged in its chains, with four guards straining and groaning as they pulled the chains to guide its steps.
Gulp.
Face to face with the monster, Simon's mouth went dry.
In sheer appearance it looked exactly as it had in the simulation, but the real thing was undeniably different. A foul stench stung his nose, and an unpleasant breathing rasped out at irregular intervals.
His heart hammered wildly with tension. To imagine running into such a thing out on a mountain... it was horrifying.
And there, floating above the Cyclops's head, was a jet-black magic circle.
Because of the curse in that circle, the creature's pupils hung loose and unfocused—but the moment the curse broke, its senses would return and it would begin attacking whatever stood before its eyes.
Clack! Clack!
The guards removed the iron chains and bolted out of the dungeon as fast as their legs could carry them.
—Then, we will now begin Group 7's performance evaluation.
Jane's voice echoed from the ceiling.
—There is no need to overexert yourselves. If anyone feels it is simply too much, raise your hand and request that the examination be stopped.
“Understood, Professor!”
At some point, Andrew the safety officer had turned invisible, vanishing from sight.
Now this space belonged to the four members of Group 7 and the Cyclops alone.
—Curse release. The examination begins.
The magic circle floating above the Cyclops's head shattered with a crack! At the same instant, the monster's lax, unfocused eyes flashed back into focus.
—KRRRRAAAAAAARGH!
The beast let out a colossal roar. The sheer pressure of it alone made it feel as though his body might be flung away.
“Simon! Focus!”
The battle began at once. Simon pulled an imaginary lever and brought out his skeletons.
Three armed skeletons charged out from three different directions.
'Just like we practiced. Stick to the plan!'
The combat roster had changed, but the framework of their strategy had not.
While Simon held the line with his skeletons, Rick, Camibarez, and even Meilin would pile on the curse. By stacking Exhaust to its absolute limit they would cripple the Cyclops, and then Simon would drive a spear through its chest to bring it down. That was the plan.
But—
SLAM!
The Cyclops refused to humor the skeletons. Charging like a battering ram, it bowled the skeletons over with its sheer bulk and came straight for Simon.
“...Huh?”
“Wh-what?”
The plan had fallen apart before it even began.
The Cyclops, its eyes bloodshot and streaming red, swung its club down in a savage arc.
KUOOOOONG!
Simon flung himself desperately aside. The club came down where he had been standing, and the whole dungeon shuddered violently.
“Rick! What's going on?”
Camibarez, mid-preparation for her curse, cried out in flustered panic.
“This is nothing like the simulation!”
“Is it trying to teach us that reality is different from the simulation? No, wait—this is...”
Rick bit his lip slightly.
'It's like it's targeting Simon from the very start!'
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Drool flying from its mouth, the Cyclops swung its club like a thing possessed.
Against that ferocious onslaught, Simon had to roll and tumble across the floor like a ball just to survive.
“Ngh!”
His back ached from the uneven stone floor. Having evaded every blow, Simon sprang back to his feet and thrust out his right arm.
TATATATAT!
A skeleton that had slipped behind the Cyclops swung its sword, slashing at the monster's back.
'Gah! It's way tougher than it was in the simulation!'
The skin hadn't even been scratched.
Perhaps because it hadn't taken any real damage, the Cyclops ignored the skeleton once again and came at Simon alone.
'Stay calm.'
Simon's eyes flashed.
'Diagonal downward strike.'
Bending his knees, Simon tilted his body sharply to the side at the last instant. The club whistled through the air directly above where he had leaned away.
'Long breath, horizontal swing!'
Simon took a short step back, his body retreating just as the Cyclops's attack whirled past into empty air again. The students watching from above let out gasps of awe at his dazzling footwork.
Simon himself, of course, felt like he was dying.
'I analyzed the Cyclops to help Meilin, and now it's saving my own hide!'
—GWAAAAAAARGH!
Just as the enraged Cyclops whirled around to charge—
“Exhaust!”
The three in their set positions finally unleashed the curse. The Cyclops's movements slowed for an instant, and in that split second, Simon dove in.
Stepping on a burst of jet-black to launch himself, Simon drew his arm back. A spear thrown by a skeleton landed perfectly into his waiting hand.
'Now!'
FWOOSH!
Simon's spear tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, hurtling straight toward the Cyclops's eye.