Practical Exam (2)
“So the first practical exam is structured as a subjugation battle, then?”
Fifteen people in total—ten Heroes and five Assists—would move as a single team. The Heroes would fight the monsters released by Sirius Academy, while the Assists used the issued electronic devices to formulate and relay strategy. Of course, that setup risked limiting the Assists far too much. Their true role was to strengthen the Heroes’ capabilities and prepare countermeasures long before any incident ever began. That was why Sirius Academy had introduced a new system.
“A weakness system, of all things…”
“This should allow for a fairly equitable evaluation.”
The academy had chosen monsters whose information was not widely known, yet whose weaknesses were clear and distinct. Since one of an Assist’s core duties was analyzing the enemy, ordinary Assist-department students already possessed far more theoretical knowledge of monsters than their Hero-department counterparts. The better the Assists’ knowledge, the easier the fight would become for the Heroes actually doing the fighting.
“Hmm… can’t we just crush them with overwhelming force?”
Joseph sounded brimming with confidence. Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Honestly, if I brought Darwin out there wouldn’t be an enemy I couldn’t beat—but my role here was strictly that of an Assist.
Still, underestimating this would be a mistake.
There was no point in saying anything, though. Even if an Assist’s job was essentially giving advice from the sidelines, there was no need to crush anyone’s spirit more than necessary.
“So they range from F-class to C-class?”
“If we cooperate and take down a D-class monster, it looks like automatic passage. Beating an E-class would only get us through if we were ridiculously lucky…”
The first stage: eliminate five F-class monsters. Clear that, and the next stage was two E-class. Then, in order: one D-class, two D-class, and finally one C-class. Completing the third stage—one D-class—earned the right to advance further; from the fourth stage onward there were bonus points. Naturally, what I was aiming for was the C-class kill. If we didn’t snatch the bonus points here, where else were we supposed to get them? A C-class monster was hardly something people our age could casually handle, but this was a coordinated group battle with ten fighters. It was more than worth aiming for.
“Our goal is a D-class kill, right?”
“No. We’re going for the final stage.”
“What?! The final stage?”
What was there to be so shocked about? I sighed at the student who looked as though he couldn’t believe his own ears. An Assist needed to know the limits of the Heroes under their charge, true—but far more important was figuring out how to push those limits past the breaking point. And I was more than confident I could do exactly that.
“Joseph?”
“Y-yeah? W-what is it?”
“You remember our promise, don’t you?”
“Y-yeah…”
“If you land the finishing blow on the C-class monster…”
Gulp. I could hear him swallow from here.
“Hmm~? What’s this? Are you nervous?”
“N-nervous? As if…”
Joseph’s pale face flushed bright red. Boys this age were at the peak of craving female attention, weren’t they? For me it was a distant past I could barely recall.
“All right, everyone gather. Let’s put a plan together.”
From C-class onward, ordinary bullets barely worked. We needed something more systematic.
“First, tell me your primary weapons. And if you could explain your unique abilities as well, I’d appreciate it.”
Unique abilities and main weapons were essential for coordinating. Without knowing both, you couldn’t even form a proper formation, which left an Assist with almost nothing to do. The team seemed to understand that; no one held back, freely laying out their information.
“I’m Kaede. Dual daggers for my main weapon, and my unique ability is… stealth, I guess?”
“Stealth… so a hit-and-run type?”
“Pretty much. I don’t have a lot of mana, and my body-enhancement efficiency isn’t great either.”
“Got it. Next… Joseph?”
“Ahem. Joseph Valois. Bastard sword. Unique ability: Berserk.”
“Berserk? Care to elaborate?”
“The more my emotions surge, the longer the fight drags on, the stronger my body becomes! It’s the signature ability of House Valois! For reference, our ancestor once—”
“Mmm~ this is getting long, so save the rest for later. Next!”
I left Joseph behind and finished checking the remaining students’ abilities, then began building a formation around them.
“Obviously I’m taking the vanguard! After mastering all those secret techniques with my family’s help, there’s no way I’d stand behind the likes of you!”
“Excuse me? Who said you get to decide that on your own—”
“Then let’s do it that way.”
“Why are you agreeing?!”
I pulled up the students’ previous match footage on the electronic device issued by Sirius Academy, weighing who fit which role. In the end I concluded Joseph was best suited for the front.
“Your destructive power is excellent, but once the unique ability kicks in the fight turns emotional. Fixing that matters, but we can’t do it right now, so let’s put you up front to tear through their formation.”
“Urgh…”
“He might not look reliable, but his actual skill should be fine.”
“Not look reliable? What is that supposed to mean—”
“All right~ Joseph takes the lead, and we’ll go with an inverted-triangle formation.”
“Inverted triangle…? Then what’s the point of me being the vanguard?! You never planned to give me a solo front line from the start, did you?!”
“You said you refuse to stand in the back, so I’m putting everyone forward together. Hmm~ feeling unsure?”
“Th-that’s not it, but…”
“Heh~ then how about this. Same condition as before—if you succeed, I’ll even make a group chat for us.”
“…!”
He looked satisfied. Good.
“Then we’re ready. I’ll give detailed instructions once we’re inside.”
I finished organizing the materials with the other Assist-department students and stood. When we reported to the exam supervisor that we were prepared, a staff member attached himself to us and led the way.
“This is…”
“You’ll conduct the battle here. Assist-department students will command from the control room. Keep in mind that every action taken during combat will be evaluated and will affect final pass-or-fail results.”
The moment we entered we checked the control equipment.
“So once you clear the enemies, it advances to the next stage.”
“Looks that way. Here—take these first.”
“Hm?”
“Shock-absorption barrier… wait, it can fit into something this small?”
The barriers provided to us were designed to be worn over clothing. They were a little heavy, but contained no metal at all, so they weren’t uncomfortable.
“Shall we start right away?”
“Let’s. I’ll command over the comms.”
The five of us Assists, myself included, took our seats in the control room that overlooked the entire arena.
“Beginning stage one now. Form up.”
—“Formed.”
I glanced at the exam supervisor waiting nearby. Catching my look, he operated his device and called out:
“The first practical exam begins now.”
At the same moment a sealed gate on one side of the sparring ground opened, and the monsters appeared. Our first opponents were F-class Hounds. The name was meant to evoke hunting dogs, but honestly I had no idea how anyone looking at these things could think of a hunting dog. Had the hunting dogs of the past, when the name was coined, really looked like this? Their skin was a deep gray, and the holes riddling their bodies were enough to trigger trypophobia on their own. Maggots crawling between them and the matted, waterlogged fur did nothing for hygiene either.
—“Ugh, no matter how many times I see them I just can’t get used to the look!”
Joseph drew his bastard sword from his side. At the same instant the five Hounds charged.
“A Hound’s burst speed exceeds sixty kilometers per hour. They’re lean overall, but the mana-enhanced muscle power is greater than a gray wolf’s, so avoid frontal clashes. Oh—and they’re surprisingly cowardly, so if you scare them properly you can pick them off one by one.”
—“Haaah—!”
Joseph’s sword cleanly severed a Hound’s neck. The moment their companion’s head hit the ground the others panicked.
“They live in packs, so they react strongly to a comrade’s death. If you go in now, the ones that still resist will be few.”
The words had barely left my mouth before Joseph charged in and butchered the remaining Hounds. His skill was definitely upper-tier among the cadets. If he could just fix that temperament that got swept away by emotion, he had the talent to climb even higher.
“Hoo… I took care of those things…! Ahem, a natural result, of course.”
After dropping the last Hound he tried to look nonchalant while glancing toward my position. I sighed.
“Come to think of it, there’s more than one or two things that need fixing.”
The moment I lifted the radio, Joseph’s slightly elevated tension crackled in my ear.
—“Heh heh, did you see that sword path just now? A perfect diagonal cut—if it’s this level—”
“Joseph.”
—“Hm? What is it? Ah, if you want to praise me, don’t worry. I’ll graciously accept—”
“From now on, don’t charge out alone. You’ll collapse the formation.”
—“Ah…”
“And if you swing the sword like that the edge will go. You’re not planning to run back for a whetstone every time you kill one enemy, are you?”
—“….”
“Joseph.”
—“Yes…”
“Do you not want my phone number?”
—“No, ma’am…”
“Let’s do this properly, all right?”
—“Y-yes, ma’am…”
As expected, the greatest weapon this body possessed was its face.