Chapter 244
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: The Underdogs' Rebellion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The cadets of the Imperial Academy were currently weaving through the forest, tackling their exam assignment.
In the process, they could choose to team up with fellow cadets, attack other cadets, or go it alone without getting involved with anyone and handle everything solo.
The failing cadets, however, had gathered all in one spot as if by prior agreement, pooling their strength.
It wasn't the result of some buildup over the past month.
We all know we're the failing bunch. So let's at least make the most of what we're good at.
They had endured nearly hellish training together over the last month.
Naturally, they had no choice but to develop perfect synergy.
Unlike previous exams where the failing cadets had approached from different directions, this time they quickly signaled with familiar puffs of smoke, using it as a code to rendezvous swiftly.
It was hardly a novel method.
Many of the group leaders were using the same tactic.
"Everyone here? Got everything without forgetting anything?"
"No issues."
The failing cadets' atmosphere was sharp as a honed blade.
"Our goal is to smash those damn monster golems and snag their markers. Honestly, I think we can win even if we just do decently."
No one disagreed.
Leon might say they still had a long way to go and weren't on his level, but they weren't fools who couldn't feel how much stronger they'd become compared to just a month ago.
And as if proving their expectations, they dispatched the monster-form golems without much trouble and secured a hefty number of markers.
Back then, maybe, but now they synced up as naturally as breathing and crushed the foes in an instant.
A dozen wolf-form golems, taken down so cleanly and effortlessly for the first time.
"Way easier than those wolves we fought in that cursed space."
"Don't even mention those mongrel bastards. Anyone hurt?"
"We're good over here."
"Honestly, I'm scared of Professor Leon now."
During the previous exam, they had been anxious, despairing, and unable to hide their sorrow.
But looking at them now, there was a faint but unmistakable smile on their faces.
A sight unimaginable just a month ago.
He had solved the fundamental problem that no method had ever cracked before—in just one month.
What Leon had them do was bizarre, but now, a month later, they could fully believe it.
To advance to the next stage of their eccentric training, they had to hone something unfamiliar to them, and that very issue—something they'd never even considered before—was the key to solving everything.
"Hey, hold up."
At that moment, a failing cadet scanning the surroundings—Lidian Ginebuck—raised one hand, silencing everyone.
In unison, the ten failing cadets hid themselves with practiced ease, as if on command.
Moments later, about four boys emerged.
"Those goddamn crazy bitches."
Their clothes were torn in places, showing signs of fatigue.
"I told you, idiot. Don't mess with the Spear Saint's disciple, the magic family's heir, and the alchemy school's princess."
"Who knew they'd be that vicious? We almost started with negative points right out the gate."
Since the exam began, several cadets had stood out.
But Basara Crevad, heir to the Spear Saint; Rubas Hontail, youngest son of one of the thirteen great magical families; and the granddaughter of Galeon Alchemy School's headmaster operated on another level entirely.
Basara mowed down any cadet in sight with explosive power and devastating spear arts fueled by immense aura.
Of course, he wasn't actually killing them—just subduing them—but cadets who started with negative points were effectively saddled with a massive penalty.
Rubas Hontail unleashed rare, unheard-of spells, obliterating everything in range, while the alchemy school's princess—known for weaker martial prowess—deployed ironclad defense with giant golems and pulverized foes with steel-hard strikes.
To regular cadets, they were top-tier threats to avoid at all costs.
Of course, it was a huge relief that Ashuria Abelgard, disciple of the archmage and current top of the rankings, was nowhere to be seen.
In any case, those who hadn't secured proper markers while fleeing these natural disasters targeted none other than the failing cadets.
Seniors who were rated weaker than themselves.
If they flunked again, it meant expulsion, right?
No need to worry.
Even with all ten failing cadets together, confidence surged that they could win.
"Hey, they're not here. You said they came this way."
"Weird. They definitely headed this direction..."
As the boys scanned around in search of the vanished failing cadets...
The hidden failing cadets sprang into action.
The first strike came from Enmi, a girl with a petite frame.
She dropped from the tree with astonishing stealth.
Crack!!
She landed behind one boy and smashed the back of his neck, knocking him out cold in one blow.
"Wh-what?!"
The startled freshmen lunged at her, but Enmi evaded with preternatural timing, slipping just beyond their attack range as if she'd anticipated it.
As the freshmen chased and swung at her, their formation crumbled in that instant—but they didn't notice.
Krunch!!!
The result was an ambush from the other lurking failing cadets.
Lydia's magic—quick to cast but previously flawed and ineffective in real combat—manifested, whipping earthen tendrils from the ground to ensnare them.
Whip! Crack!! Crack!!
Then Basel, with his fluid movements, led the charge, and several failing cadets closed in, knocking out the rest in a flash.
"Clear."
"Clear."
One muttered, and the others signaled agreement.
Soon after, a boy emerged from the woods dragging an unconscious cadet by the collar with one hand, wielding a large spear in the other.
"Karilde Burnaine. You guys done too?"
"Clear."
The failing cadets nodded silently at the freshmen’s smirks.
"Collect the markers. And listen up."
One spoke up.
"I don’t think this exam is just about gathering the most markers for points."
"Yeah."
"We’ve been pissed off all this time. Time to shove it back in their faces."
The other failing cadets nodded in unison at his proposal.
Sure, some were barely acquaintances before, but after a month of hellish training, their bond was tighter than imagined.
"Revenge. We doing it?"
No objections.
"From now on, we hunt cadets. Even if we lose, we show everything we’ve got."
The underdogs began their rebellion.
They had little idea that Leon was meeting Niala or smashing a massive stampede gate.
They simply trusted his words that he'd handle any external factors while they focused on the exam.
In truth, the exam being two days and one night held little meaning.
Most cadets' scores solidified on the first day—often within hours.
Once night fell, cadet-vs-cadet fights usually ceased to conserve stamina, barring special circumstances.
That was the norm, anyway—but not for Basara or Rubas.
"Why do you keep following me?"
"I'm not following. You're just in my way."
The two bickered verbally but didn't actually clash.
"You hunting for that girl or something?"
"......"
They didn't say much.
For two prodigies blessed with talent from birth, acknowledging a superior genius was no easy feat.
"Grandpa told me to come to the academy and see skies beyond my well. Honestly, I don't buy it."
Rubas walked on silently without responding.
"Whether it's the archmage's successor or that professor Leon, I've never felt outdone by either."
Basara drew his spear.
As a massive hobgoblin-form golem lumbered from the woods ahead, he infused his spear with aura.
"So I need to prove it. Perfect timing—Ashuria Abelgard's in the exam area. A legal chance to settle things. We've got plenty of markers already."
The pair had already subdued visible cadets and pinpointed Ashuria's location.
The last cadet they took down said she'd kept heading east through the forest.
For some reason, she hadn't fought anyone, just blasted golem monsters with overwhelming firepower, grabbed markers, and moved on.
Her actions suggested rankings within the academy meant nothing to her.
The two crushed any foolhardy rivals or monsters with raw power that belied their freshman status.
No—within the academy, few could match their skill already.
A few freshman cadets charging at them?
Child's play.
But...
That confidence froze solid upon crossing into a vast clearing.
"......"
"......"
The pair rarely got rattled.
But...
When they saw the girl perched regally atop the wreckage of hundreds of monster golems, silently gazing into the distance...
Their legs locked up like ice.
Where the hell did all these monsters come from? Ogre-forms and Cyclops-forms, no less.
They weren't supposed to be the kind you beat down like that.
A couple, maybe—but there were nearly ten Cyclops-forms visible right now.
More chilling: the exam had barely started.
This was beyond all benchmarks.
The two had never actually seen Luteon Abelgard's adopted daughter, Archmage-in-hiding Ashuria Abelgard, fight.
They hadn't even known what she did during mana measurement, and her spar ended before it began.
Yet the heavy residual mana pressing down like a predator's presence, amid the devastation, made them feel like mere prey.
"You two here to pick a fight as well?"