Midterm Over

Running back through everything that had happened,

it began with arresting the Blood Cult Elder to lower the main quest's danger level,

I had quickly secured the Blood Explosion Pills in advance and handed them over to the Disciplinary Committee,

and having slain the Alpha Ogre along with a whole crowd of regular ones, I'd been able to sharply cut down the damage to the other students.

So while injuries may have been unavoidable, there hadn't been a single death.

With all that, the reward level had climbed several tiers at once.

A mighty authority, one that had once stood shoulder to shoulder with Copy, Amplification, and Sovereign, had come back to me.

It was also the skill that had contributed enormously to my old nickname — the "S-Rank Factory."

I'd check the details at my leisure once I was out of the dungeon.

A storm had certainly swept through, but the midterm was still in progress.

Which meant that scooping up every last benefit available was, surely, the duty of a seasoned veteran like me.

▷ Crystals

Red 100% x2

Blue 100% x3

Green 100% x2

Yellow 100% x1

Red 0% x1

Green 0% x1

Blue 0% x2

I'd completed a crystal set long ago, charged the extras at the Sanctuary, and the ogres had even dropped more on top of that.

It was past abundant — it was overflowing.

I asked Seo Ye-in first.

"Mind if I use the leftover crystals?"

"Mm."

She nodded without a care. As teammates we shared our scores, so I'd asked permission first, but since she'd never cared much about the practical exam anyway, I'd expected an easy yes.

Next I approached the Gwak Ji-cheol and Jeong Su-ji duo. The two of them were completely worn out, slumped any which way on the slimy floor.

"How many crystals did you two manage?"

"...Just two yellows."

Gwak Ji-cheol answered with a bitter expression. Not much, as expected — and both of the same color, no less.

Under normal circumstances, day three of the midterm was when the most crystals dropped and got charged. But that crucial third day was exactly when the Blood Explosion Pill incident erupted, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and everyone had burned through their stamina fighting ogres.

Rushing to a Sanctuary now would be far too late, and locking horns with other teams would be a sure loss.

So it seemed they were resigning themselves to finishing with just two yellow crystals.

I tossed it out to them like a passing remark.

"You two are in luck. I happen to have one or two extras of everything except yellow."

"...Really?"

"Why would I lie? Don't believe me if you don't want to."

"I'll believe you. What do you want?"

Nothing in my playbook was ever free. Especially now, when crystals were worth even more than usual.

If I was handing over three of them, they naturally owed me a price to match. Gwak Ji-cheol knew that too, which was why he asked right away what I wanted.

I answered with a faint smile.

"Emeralds. B-rank would be nice."

"...You mean after we get out?"

"That's what I mean."

"...Hmm."

There was no law saying the price had to be paid right this second, either. Paying up after the midterm ended, once we were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠outside the dungeon, would be perfectly fine.

The two exchanged a glance. Judging by their tempted expressions, they were nearly sold already.

Before long their minds seemed made up, and Jeong Su-ji double-checked the terms.

"One B-rank emerald for a charged red, blue, and green crystal. That's the deal, right?"

"Exactly."

"...Fine. I'll hand it over right after this ends."

I passed the crystals over. Completing a set through an unexpected trade, Gwak Ji-cheol and Jeong Su-ji's faces lit up bright.

From their perspective, that was 1,500 exam points and 6,000 points apiece. For first-years, that was an enormous sum — well worth paying a precious emerald for.

On the other hand, if I'd held onto those crystals myself, my take would have topped out at 750 exam points and 3,000 points. A B-rank emerald was worth far more than that.

In the end, a trade that benefited both sides.

About time I put those gems to use, too.

There was also the ruby Hong Yeon-hwa had given me, and the small emerald I'd received for helping Gwak Ji-cheol with his training. Add Jeong Su-ji's emerald to the pile, and it was about time to go hunt for a gem-related hidden piece.

The relentless sheets of rain gradually thinned and finally stopped. The ink-black clouds that had smothered the sky slowly parted as well, letting the first light of dawn stream through the gaps.

As everyone stared up at the sky as if spellbound, a notification message printed itself out, announcing the end of the midterm.

Even after dumping a fistful of crystals on the Gwak Ji-cheol duo, one extra had been left over.

The result: over two thousand exam points and a full nine thousand points.

And that wasn't even the end of it.

Two Fixing Pins, earned by wrapping up the sub quest at maximum achievement.

A peerless cheat of an item that turned any skill or trait brought over through Copy into fully my own.

Been a while since I ate this well.

Bestow, emeralds, a fat pile of points, and Fixing Pins on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠top. It had all been worth the trouble.

The midterm being settled also meant the academy had reclaimed control of the dungeon. A teleport portal promptly opened nearby, and I stepped through it.

My view shifted in an instant, and I found myself standing in the hall where I'd first entered the midterm.

A wash of murmuring noise pressed in from all sides.

— Holy crap, I barely survived.

— What the hell did those ogres eat to get that strong?

— I heard they got pumped with Blood Explosion Pills?

— Blood Explosion Pills? You mean the Blood Cult stuff?

— That's what they're saying.

Most of the talk was about the berserk ogres; the rest was about midterm scores.

— How many crystals?

— Three.

— Oh, not bad.

— Ugh, I could've gotten one more if the ogres hadn't cut us off.

— Shouldn't the school compensate us for this?

— You really think they will?

Some grumbled about the midterm being derailed, but going by Dragon Slayer Academy's policy, it would most likely be brushed aside with something like "handling unexpected situations is also a hero's virtue."

The teachers were sorting out the injured and sending them off to the Infirmary. Meanwhile, Song Cheon-hye and a few other Disciplinary Committee members appeared to be explaining the whole affair to Lee Sudok — and as she handed over the Blood Explosion Pill syringes, she pointed in my direction.

Apparently explaining that she'd received them from me.

"..."

Lee Sudok stared this way with fierce eyes, but perhaps because Song Cheon-hye had explained things thoroughly enough, he didn't call me over. Still, with no way of knowing when his mind might change, holding his gaze wasn't a good idea.

So I shifted my eyes sideways — to find Seo Ye-in, still gripping my sleeve, standing there dozing off on her feet, bobbing up and down.

The sloth's battery had gone flat ages ago.

"How many percent are you at now?"

"-5..."

So it could drop below zero percent, huh.

Since the exam was over there was no reason to linger here, so I sent her off to rest.

"Sleep well over the weekend. See you Monday."

"Mm..."

Seo Ye-in answered my farewell with a slow wave of her hand, then trudged out of the Dungeon Hall.

Next, Gwak Ji-cheol and Jeong Su-ji came over from their class's side. As promised, Jeong Su-ji handed me the sizable emerald.

"Thanks."

"No, thank you."

I snatched it up and stored it in my inventory without delay.

My business with the two of them was done now, but as Gwak Ji-cheol turned to leave, he stopped, looked at me, and worked his mouth. Then he spoke while looking elsewhere.

"...I, uh, I'm thankful too. For everything. I'll pay this debt back, I swear it."

"Sure, I look forward to it."

I'm the type who doesn't refuse a gift, after all.

Before long Gwak Ji-cheol turned his back on me completely and strode off ahead at a faster pace than Jeong Su-ji's. Watching him go, I decided it was about time for me to leave as well, and was lifting my foot when—

"Excuse me."

Song Cheon-hye and Han So-mi stopped me for a moment. They must have finished their report to Lee Sudok.

Han So-mi brightly raised a hand, palm out.

"Great work out there! High-five!"

"You too. Good work."

I raised my hand and slapped hers. High-five, twice — clap clap.

Song Cheon-hye also gave me a small bow.

"Thank you for your efforts. Thanks to your early warning, we were able to respond before the situation worsened."

"You did well too. Honestly, I didn't expect you to round up ten people."

Credit where credit was due, praise where praise was earned — that was the right way to move on.

From Song Cheon-hye's side, my early heads-up had let her set up countermeasures fast. From my side, her dragging a whole squad of Disciplinary Committee members along had made the job easy.

If it had been just the two of them instead of ten, the Alpha would have taken less damage from my Paralysis Scroll, and even after Phase 2 began, one or two ogres would have stayed clinging to the fight.

Rare as it was for the two of them to be praising each other, Song Cheon-hye perhaps felt the awkwardness of it, darting her eyes this way and that before saying,

"Well... have a good weekend."

"Byeee!"

"Yeah, you two."

Even after the two left the Dungeon Hall, I still had a few more greetings to accept. Hong Yeon-hwa waved awkwardly and shuffled off; Park Nari timidly offered her thanks; and Beomi rubbed its forehead against my knee a few times before slipping snugly back into the Life Cube, its personal villa.

Go Hyeon-woo and Shin Byung-cheol held me hostage for a good while, rehashing the battle with the ogres and the Alpha in exhaustive detail. Put those two together and they were surprisingly chatty.

Only after all that was I finally alone.

Time to head back, then.

I needed to sort through what I'd gained today and plan what came next. So my final destination today, as always, would be the Training Center.

The midterm had only just ended, but for a seasoned veteran, rest was a concept that simply did not exist.

Back in her dorm, Seo Ye-in had her preparations done in a flash.

Lazy and sluggish as she always was, this was the one moment where she showed a certain diligence of her own.

Before I knew it she was in her pajamas and burrowed under the covers, hugging a giant tiger plushie tightly to her chest.

It had been a full three days since their last reunion.

She was on the verge of letting her eyes drift shut when—

"...?"

—she opened them again and peered at the tiger plushie.

Then she tilted her head. Something about it felt different, somehow.

Hard to say exactly what, but it seemed less comfortable than before.

The plushie had been sitting right here the whole time, so what could have changed?

But she was far too sleepy to investigate the cause. So she closed her eyes again, tiger hugged tight, and before long soft little snores filled the room.