Episode 56. Midterm Evaluation (1)
Click.
The classroom door opened and a large man walked in with heavy steps.
Professor Lucas, a man with an impression reminiscent of a wild beast, stood at the podium and looked around at the candidates gathered in the classroom.
“Let’s see… Are all 253 members of the third-year warrior club here without a single one missing?”
“Yes. Everyone is here.”
The candidate for the representative of the warrior department, Yuren, stood up and answered.
I looked around the classroom filled with warrior cadets and clicked my tongue.
‘Looking at it this way, there really are a lot of warriors.’
More than half of the 472 third-year candidates were members of the warrior club, which specialized in close combat.
‘Of the remaining 219, half are from the Ministry of Magic, and the rest are from the Support Department and other departments.’
The support department was mainly comprised of priests specializing in healing and blessings like Iris, while the other departments were a collection of irregular candidates who did not belong to any of the three.
“As you all know, tomorrow is the midterm evaluation day for the warriors’ division.”
“… … .”
At Professor Lucas’s words, tension appeared on the faces of the candidates gathered in the classroom.
Midterm evaluation of the warrior department.
The final exams at the end of the semester are evaluated through a ‘party’ regardless of the department, but the midterm exams are given separately for each department.
The grade ratio for the midterm and final exams is 3 to 7.
Although the final evaluation carries a greater weight, it was an exam that could not be ignored by the candidates, who could say that their life as heroes after graduation depended on their overall ranking.
“This midterm evaluation will determine your grade based on the points you accumulate by hunting demons within a designated area.”
Professor Lucas placed his hand on the magic tool on the desk.
Light burst out from the magic tool, and a holographic map appeared in the air.
“There are three zones in total. There is a mountainous terrain made up of bushes and trees, a desert terrain made up of sand and rocks, and a snowfield terrain made up of snow and ice.”
The holographic map displays areas in green, yellow, and white, respectively.
“If you successfully hunt a demon within this area, you will receive points according to your level.”
“How many levels of demons are there?”
One of the candidates who was listening to the explanation raised his hand and asked.
“That’s a good question.”
Professor Lucas nodded and manipulated his magic tool.
The holographic map floating in the air transformed into the shape of a demon.
“Regardless of type, a three-eyed level demon can earn 1 point, a four-eyed level demon can earn 3 points, and a five-eyed level demon can earn 10 points.”
The professor’s subsequent words caused the classroom to become turbulent.
“eww….”
“Oh, there’s a demon of the Oan class?”
“I wonder what will happen if it gets to the level of a matter….”
“I’m going for a mass battle. Can’t I just pick out the Sam-an-class and wipe them out?”
“Hey, tell me after looking at the score difference. You need to kill 10 Sam-an-class demons to be able to compare with one Oh-an-class, so it’s better to aim for the big one.”
“How do you hunt a five-level demon?”
“Well… well?”
“Oh my. That’s the kind of thing you hunt for people like Yuren! We have to go for a war of wits, no matter what!”
When the candidates were raising their voices, arguing about whether this was good or that was good.
“Quiet.”
thud.
A cold silence fell over the bustling classroom as Professor Lucas slammed his fist on the podium.
“I haven’t finished explaining it yet, so put off thinking about it until later.”
Professor Lucas pressed the button again.
The hologram floating in the air transformed into the shape of a giant horse.
A horse with horns that emit a brilliant blue light.
Scarily developed muscles, white fur covering his entire body, and lightning that shoots out around him every time he breathes in and out.
And above all.
Three pairs of red eyes covering the face.
Even though I was only seeing the holographic appearance of the demon, not the actual thing, it was a demon that gave me a chill down my spine.
“Who, you have six eyes?!”
“Crazy…! Even a Six-Eye level demonic beast can only deal with current heroes?”
“Lu, Professor Lucas, you’re not telling us to hunt that beast, are you?”
The candidates look at Professor Lucas with trembling eyes.
Professor Lucas looked down at the candidates from the podium and raised the corners of his mouth.
“Do you think there would be a reason for me to prepare the materials and show them to you unless you told me to catch them?”
“that….”
The candidates looked at each other, unable to continue speaking.
“Well, of course I’m not saying you can catch just anyone.”
Professor Lucas continued, looking up at the hologram floating in the air.
“This demon is a servant specially trained by Professor Bianca of the Ministry of Magic. It will not attack unless you attack first.”
“ah….”
“The candidate who breaks the bell around this demon’s neck can take first place in the midterm evaluation regardless of his score.”
in other words.
It meant that if I could just break the bell around that demon’s neck, there was no need to desperately search around the area and compete with others.
“And there will be an additional reward given to the candidates who succeed in breaking the bubble.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“What about additional compensation…?”
“What kind of compensation is it?”
“Hehehe. Let’s save that for later.”
Professor Lucas is smiling and acting cute.
“Just let me tell you that it’s quite a valuable item.”
“A valuable item… .”
Desire flashed in the candidates’ eyes.
If Professor Lucas himself says it’s a ‘valuable item’, then it must not be an ordinary item.
If I could just catch it, I would have won first place in this midterm evaluation, so I couldn’t help but feel my desire boil over.
But that was only for a moment.
“Hmm.”
“No matter what, a demon of the level of the naked eye….”
The candidates who met the three pairs of eyes flashing above the demon’s head immediately faced reality.
“Since you said you wouldn’t attack first, can’t you just sneak up on me and break the bell?”
“Would that be as easy as it sounds? And if you were to hit someone on the body instead of the bell, you’d be sent straight to the intensive care unit that day, right?”
“It’s fortunate if you get to a hospital, but if you’re not careful….”
“Hey, but, you said you were Professor Bianca’s servant, right? You wouldn’t die, would you?”
“Hey, haven’t you heard that every year before the exams, a few third-year students die? Last year, during the midterm exams, three people died!”
“Crazy… Weren’t they the current 4th graders last year? They’re the strongest since the school was founded…”
“So. Even among those seniors, there were three casualties. What would we do?”
The candidates begin to murmur again.
Professor Lucas opened his mouth in a low, hushed voice.
“Quiet.”
A voice filled with magic resonated heavily throughout the classroom.
Professor Lucas looked around at the candidates and opened his mouth.
“As you said, unlike the previous exams, there could be ‘human casualties’ starting from the midterm exams for the third year. In short, if you don’t know your abilities and show off, you could end up in trouble.”
“… … .”
Gulp.
The candidates swallowed dry saliva with frightened expressions.
Professor Lucas, who was watching the scene, clicked his tongue.
“Candidate Albert.”
“Yes, yep!”
“Where is this place?”
“… Yes? That… Main Building 1-A Lecture Room…”
“Other than that. Where are you guys going right now?”
“Ah… Yes, it’s Hero School!”
“Yeah. It’s Hero School.”
Professor Lucas nods heavily.
“You did not come here to get good grades, to secure a secure future, or to seek fame and glory.”
“The reason you come to this school and receive education for four years is to learn how to survive as heroes.”
“I won’t tell you not to be afraid. I won’t tell you not to run away.”
but.
“If you want to live as a hero, think.”
Think about it and agonize over it.
Think about it and think about it.
“What you can do, what you need to learn, and how to survive.”
Professor Lucas looked around at the candidates and banged on the blackboard.
“That is the purpose of this test.”
“… … .”
The ticking sound of the second hand echoed throughout the lecture hall filled with over 200 people.
“Each candidate can start on any terrain they want, so think about which terrain would be most advantageous to you.”
With those words, Professor Lucas walked out of the classroom.
“Whew.”
“Ugh… As expected, Professor Lucas’s intimidating presence is really…”
As Professor Lucas left, the classroom, which had been silent, began to buzz again.
“By the way, if you could decide where to start, where would you go?”
“Wouldn’t a moderately mountainous terrain be best?”
“Hey, think about it, Inma. Everyone will choose mountainous terrain with similar ideas to you, so there will be a lot of competition, right? It would be better to choose desert or snowy terrain here to reduce competition as much as possible.”
“No, but what if I end up being pushed towards that side instead?”
“that….”
One day until the midterm evaluation.
A large-scale battle of wits among the candidates to get good grades had already begun.
* * *
“Dale, which district will you start in?”
As soon as class was over, Yuren came over to me.
“I’m going to start in mountainous terrain.”
“Mountainous terrain? Hmm. Isn’t there too much competition there?”
“Well, it’s the easiest terrain to move in.”
I couldn’t tell Yuren though.
The reason for choosing the mountainous terrain was not simply that it was ‘easy to move around’.
‘Actually, if you ask which side is easier to move in, the snowy area is more comfortable.’
Having spent thousands of years wandering across a continent covered in snow and ice in my previous life, I found the snowy areas to be the easiest terrain for me to move through.
Still, there is one reason why I chose mountainous terrain as my starting point.
‘This time, I should try for first place.’
A horned white horse wrapped in blue lightning.
In my previous life, the place where the demon was first discovered was in mountainous terrain.
‘I’m a guy who never even thought about hunting in my previous life.’
Things are different now.
‘I’m also a bit greedy for the reward.’
In his previous life, it was Yuren who broke the demon’s bell and took first place.
The special reward given to him was a sword forged from the horn of a demon.
‘It was a sword that would flash with lightning when you poured magic into it.’
Well, it wasn’t a mythical artifact that could grant immense power with just one weapon.
Still, it was a very good sword that could not be compared to the standard iron swords currently in use.
‘Sorry, but I’ll take the black one this time, Yuren.’
Anyway, after graduation, Yuren will inherit the legendary sword, ‘Dawn’, which has been passed down through the Helios family, so can’t they make this much of a concession?
“Dale, you… Are you thinking of going after that devil?”
Did you notice what I was thinking?
Yuren asked with a stiff expression.
“Yeah. Are you planning on doing that?”
“… … .”
Yuren glared sharply at me as I answered calmly.
“…no.”
Yuren bit her lips with an anxious expression.
“Even if it’s you, I can never give up the first place.”
“Well, then you just have to break the bell before me.”
“…Okay. See you tomorrow, Dale.”
With those words, Yuren turned around and walked away.
“Hmm.”
I tilted my head as I watched Yuren moving away.
‘When Yuren was a candidate, he was more obsessed with grades than I thought?’
Is it because I have this perception in my head that if it’s Yuren, it’s obvious that she’s number one?
Seeing Yuren obsessed with being number one like this gave me a strangely refreshing feeling.
“Well, even so, I don’t intend to give in easily.”
I walked out of the classroom with the image of the holographic ‘unicorn’ imprinted on my mind.
