The Troublemakers
Watching Seron's outburst, I gave her a look of pure pity. "Where are your manners, Seron-Seron? Especially in front of Grantoni."
"Argh! I'm more curious about what's going on inside that brain of yours, thinking this bonehead is actually going to be of any help!"
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but I'd wager it's still bigger than yours, Seron."
"Bwahahaha!" Card burst into roaring laughter, wiping a tear from his eye as he watched us bicker.
"Now, now, Seron, calm down. I'm sure King Hanon had a reason for bringing the Little Ossuary along, right?" Card tried to soothe her, but she only huffed and pointed a finger at Grantoni.
"And why on earth is he our healer anyway?!"
Traditionally, the role of healer was always reserved for students of Divinity. Thus, Seron couldn't comprehend for the life of her why Grantoni was assigned to treat their wounds.
"Honestly, I'm more puzzled by why you can't see the logic in it."
"He doesn't heal people, he kills them!"
Such was the prejudice against spiritualists. I pointed toward Grantoni's head.
"Let me ask you this instead. Is there a single Divinity student who could keep someone alive and functioning when they're reduced to nothing but a bare skull, like Grantoni here?"
Seron's lips parted, but she stammered, "...Usually, people don't call that being alive."
"Fair point," Card agreed, nodding in understanding.
These absolute laymen.
"Grantoni is a spiritualist, and he's highly skilled in necromancy. He understands the exact composition of the human body. He can realign shattered bones and even reconstruct torn flesh."
Of course, unlike divine magic, his methods would involve an excruciating amount of pain. Still, it was an undeniable fact that a spiritualist could step in as a healer if a Divinity student wasn't available. Holy magic and dark magic were polar opposites, yet they shared a fundamental similarity: both manipulated the living vessel.
"And above all, Professor Beganor gave her explicit permission when I asked."
In the first place, we wouldn't have been allowed to bring him if the faculty hadn't approved. Hearing that the professor had greenlit the decision made Seron hesitate, though she still seemed to have a lingering complaint.
"But the real issue is whether that bonehead will actually cooperate with us."
In the team evaluation, cooperation was a significant part of the grade. Grantoni had a notorious history of causing trouble. There was a reason the students avoided him like the plague, calling him the Little Ossuary.
"It's not like the rest of us have a stellar reputation either."
To the rest of the student body, Seron, Card, and I were viewed in much the same light as Grantoni. Card the Simp. Seron the Bulldog. Hanon the Bastard. Before we knew it, each of us had been branded with our own derogatory nickname.
Now that I think about it, isn't mine a bit too harsh?
Perhaps it was because I was the sworn enemy of Isabel, whom everyone at Jerion Academy adored and admired. My nickname was exceptionally hostile. Still, lately, fewer people dared to insult me to my face. The students weren't fools. After seeing my track record, they knew better than to provoke me for no good reason.
"Anyway, no Divinity student was willing to join our team. We should be grateful Grantoni agreed to step in."
"Heheheh... Well, I was on track to be disqualified anyway, so this works out perfectly for me."
If a student failed to join a team for the group evaluation, they would be disqualified and given the lowest possible score. Thus, joining our team was a win-win for Grantoni as well.
"If our grades go up, we'll get more funding, right? That means I can spend more time in the Flip Side."
Grantoni clattered his teeth together, letting out a sinister chuckle. Seron looked like she wanted to argue further, but she ultimately let out a heavy sigh and shut her mouth. She had realized that wasting her breath wouldn't change a thing.
"If our grades drop even a single point, you're dead, Princess Sweet Potato."
I had no idea who she thought she was threatening.
"Oh no, is she going to be okay?"
"What do we do...?"
At that moment, gasps and worried murmurs erupted from the crowd. Looking up, I spotted someone being carried away on a stretcher. The moment I saw her, my body instinctively leaned forward. It was Nikita. It seemed she had been injured in the middle of her team's match.
Tug.
A hand tightly gripped my collar. It was Sharin, who had been dozing off against my back. She looked up at me with half-open, sleepy eyes.
"We're in the middle of our exam right now, Husband. It won't be too late to check on her after we're done."
Sharin was right. Even if I rushed after Nikita right this second, there was nothing I could do.
"Wasn't she the vice president?"
"Hmm. I had high hopes since she's of the Cynthia family, but..."
"They don't call them the weakest generation for nothing. Losing Nia Cynthia must have been a devastating blow to the family."
"I heard Nia Cynthia's body hasn't even been recovered yet."
Whispers and gossip rippled through the spectator stands. Even after Nikita was carried off, the matches continued. The third-years fought desperately in their own way, but they failed to capture the interest of the VIPs, who barely spared them a glance. Consequently, the third-years' morale withered with every passing minute. By the end of their round, not a single soul in the audience was clapping. The third-years concluded their evaluation wrapped in a heavy shroud of helplessness.
"Now, we will begin the second-year team evaluations."
"Oh, finally."
"The Golden Flame Generation. I've been looking forward to this!"
"Now we'll get to see a real show."
The moment the Magic Engineering professor announced the second-year matches, the atmosphere among the VIPs shifted instantly. It was a deeply humiliating display for the third-year seniors, but even they knew the truth. Their talent couldn't hold a candle to the monstrous second-years below them.
"First up, Team Iris."
The professor called out the first group. The order of the exam was determined by the average score of each team's members, meaning the highest-ranking team would go first.
Since this is a competitive format, having a high score set right at the beginning will force the following teams to push themselves even harder to surpass it.
It was a calculated psychological tactic. Going first when no baseline score had been set carried immense pressure. It was essentially telling the elite students that they had to shoulder the psychological burden of setting the standard.
But did such trivial pressure even apply to Team Iris?
"Let's go."
Iris Haishirion stepped forward with majestic grace, her pitch-black hair fluttering behind her. Beneath her dark bangs, her ruby-red eyes gleamed with absolute clarity. The teammates following her were all top-tier elites of the second year. Not a single trace of fear could be found in their eyes. They exuded nothing but the supreme confidence of those who already knew they would take first place.
"Ah, Princess Iris."
"This should be spectacular."
"Is she not the strongest royal in the empire's history?"
The VIP section buzzed with excitement. The top student of the Martial Arts department. The strongest royal in history. Though she was branded with the infamous title of 'The Ultimate Villainess,' no one could deny her overwhelming strength.
As Team Iris took their positions on the stage, a thick mist began to rise, and the arena's layout shifted. A massive, semi-spherical dome enveloped the stage. From inside the dome, the outside world was completely invisible—a design intended to prevent the students from being distracted by the gaze of the spectators.
Soon, a dense white fog rolled in, and then—
Thud!
Through the power of illusion magic, an Apostle materialized. It was a colossal beast, taking the form of a towering, muscular bull.
"ROOOAAAR!"
The moment it appeared, the beast beat its chest and let out a deafening roar.
Slash!
And in the blink of an eye, its head was severed from its shoulders. It was an instant kill.
The entire crowd gasped in unison. Before anyone could register what had happened, Iris was already standing behind the fallen Apostle. Almost no one in the arena had been able to track her movements. Her ruby eyes glowed quietly amidst the dispersing mist, resembling a pair of crimson roses blooming in the dark.
"She really is a monster," Card muttered.
Everyone could only nod in silent agreement. What followed was a relentless parade of instant kills. It was an overwhelming display of dominance, enough to crush the fighting spirit of any who watched. Team Iris was sending a silent, undeniable message to the rest of the second-years: First place belongs to us. Don't even dream of it.
However, as they reached the later stages, even Team Iris began to slow down. The Apostles summoned in the final phases were formidable opponents, even for them. Yet, considering that almost none of the third-years had even managed to reach these final stages, their victory was already set in stone.
Boom!
And finally, Team Iris brought down the very last Apostle registered in the illusion magic array.
"Thirty-one minutes and twenty-one seconds."
That was the total time it took for Team Iris to defeat all ten Apostles. Given that the final boss had taken just over ten minutes, it meant they had torn through the first nine in under twenty minutes.
"Excellent work. Congratulations on being the first to clear it."
Professor Beganor, dressed in a surprisingly neat suit instead of her usual disheveled attire, offered her praise. Iris gave a polite nod of gratitude and turned back with an air of effortless dignity. Unlike her exhausted teammates, she didn't show even a hint of fatigue. As she walked back, her gaze briefly drifted toward me. She cast a fleeting glance in my direction before passing by.
She's still a monster.
At least within the walls of Jerion Academy, there wasn't a single person capable of defeating her right now.
"Next, Team Hanon."
Our team was called immediately after.
"W-Wait, us? Why?!"
Seron gasped in sheer panic. But the reason we were selected as the second team was painfully obvious. Our eyes slowly turned toward Sharin. The top student of the Magic Engineering department, Sharin Sazaris. Even under our intense scrutiny, she merely shrugged her shoulders with a lazy, nonchalant expression.
"I'm just incredibly talented, you see~"
The gaze of the other second-years shifted to us as well. Those who hadn't realized Sharin was on our team looked utterly bewildered. Their expressions practically screamed: Why on earth is a genius like her hanging out with those troublemakers?
"Aaaah! Right after Princess Iris?! That's so unfair! Our team is a total disaster if you exclude Sharin!"
Despair washed over Seron's face. To be fair, going right after Team Iris was a recipe for public humiliation. I reached out and firmly pressed down on her head, silencing her before she could ruin the mood any further.
"Listen up, everyone. The strongest team has set the bar."
A wicked, predatory smile spread across my lips.
"Which means, if we clear it in under thirty-one minutes and twenty-one seconds, we take first place."
It was a simple, logical truth, yet one that no sane person would dare utter. Card burst into another fit of roaring laughter.
"Exactly! King Hanon is absolutely right."
"Heheheh... This is going to be fun."
True to their reputation as troublemakers, not a single one of them showed any sign of intimidation.
"Mhm. If you're going to drag me along, that's the bare minimum."
Sharin nodded, looking thoroughly pleased.
"Let's go claim that first place."
As I walked toward the arena, my eyes caught sight of Isabel. She hadn't taken her eyes off me for a single second. A fierce, burning passion flickered in her gaze—a clear declaration of rivalry.
She's basically telling me that no matter what score I set, she's going to surpass it.
Isabel hadn't cared about Team Iris from the very beginning. Her sole focus, her only target, was defeating me. In that case...
I'm not letting you win.
Even for the sake of the scenario, I had absolutely no intention of losing. This team evaluation—I would make sure we finished in first place, no matter what.