<203 - Finish Line Without a Goal>
Jiang thought.
There’s not just one way to pass the exam.
The finish line is the same, but the process to get there varies immensely.
If that weren’t the case, so many instructors wouldn’t be hiding in the woods, watching the students’ every move.
As an assassin sensitive to the slightest presence, she began to ponder the examiner’s intentions and recalled the mindset of her business partner friend she met upon entering the academy.
‘What would Oknodie think in a situation like this?’
Imaginary Oknodie smiled brightly and spouted nonsense.
– Just do whatever you want!
Just do whatever I want, huh…
Heh heh. Telling an assassin to unleash their limits and have fun.
That’d get me kicked out of the academy.
If I did something like that.
Still, it was reference material.
‘As long as I don’t kill anyone, I’m good, right?’
Just then, she spotted second-year seniors passing under a tree, glancing at their wristwatches.
“Is the information certain?”
“I told you, right? There’s definitely a first-year upper class student around here. If we get that upper class badge, we can pass this damn exam immediately!”
“You’ll keep your promise, right?”
“Sure. I’ll take the badge and pass, and in exchange, I’ll give you my accumulated points. That’s the deal.”
Hopeful for the future, Jiang swooped down with arms spread wide over the heads of the seniors.
“Surprise!?”
“Got hit, ugh!”
Before the seniors could react, they collapsed in an instant.
Holding onto one of them, Jiang couldn’t hide her joyful smile as she pulled them into the bushes.
‘From a hundred down to ninety-eight.’
Let’s knock out just 100 of them casually.
Jiang’s joyful assassination began that way.
*
Sing’s case was even more wicked than Jiang’s.
He was confident in his abilities.
He didn’t need to hide, dodge, or be cautious.
Just charge at everyone, and that’d be enough to slice them all down.
In the [Instructor’s Teaching] lecture, even Oknodie felt pressure and avoided him during a head-on confrontation.
Although he had never clashed swords, among first-years, there wasn’t anyone who could match him in close combat if it wasn’t Warrior Ishtar.
That lack of challenge became a thirst for him.
‘My sword is getting dull.’
A sword that doesn’t draw blood loses its meaning.
A sword that has much to protect is unable to act decisively.
He came to the academy hoping to gain strength for revenge.
Instead of getting stronger, he was left weaker—it was upside down.
“Whoa. A first-year is still wandering around a place like this. Is it time for you to just give up and head back to the dorm?”
“Considering the feelings of my junior, I’ll give you a chance. Hand over the badge. Then I’ll let you go nicely.”
“Get lost. Come at me if you dare. Of course, it’s 3 against 1. We’re teaming up cowardly against a first year. But I won’t feel guilty about stomping on a talent leecher!”
These seniors were disgustingly trashy.
Their arrival was welcomed even by Sing.
“Is that so? Take it.”
Without hesitation, Sing ripped off the badge and threw it into the air.
As the badge soared high, the three second-years looked up in shock.
As they realized, Sing’s sword struck down one of them.
The student who retreated in response to the sight narrowly avoided a fatal blow, but couldn’t escape the following swift attacks and collapsed.
The student who moved all at once—eyes, feet, and hands—raised a shield to block the sword.
Ting!
“!!!”
An unimaginable strike resonated through the shield.
In the brief moment when the kick sent the shield soaring into the air, blood flowed from the ankle, and the wrist went limp as three deep cuts appeared on the abdomen and chest.
Thud!
The second-year lay on the ground, soaking in blood, tears streaming down.
That wasn’t pain; it was the despair of talent so overwhelming that even a year’s effort couldn’t bridge the gap.
“There’s no way anyone could catch up to this no matter how many years pass.”
Beep!
A red light appeared on the wristwatch of the second-year who pressed the retire button.
A warning signal that no further attacks were permitted.
Sing continued to point his sword without stopping.
The instructor stationed nearby had a fierce look.
“How boring.”
Sing withdrew the sword aimed at his heart.
If it were to fight, it would definitely be much more interesting over there.
Even as Sing displayed hostility towards the instructor, the instructor seemed to have no interest in the student and concealed his presence.
“Too boring.”
His sword still thirsted for blood.
*
“Boo. What a cowardly act.”
“…….”
“Jiang and Sing are having all the fun themselves.”
Oknodie displayed the location information that floated on the magic watch.
The instructor nearly chuckled at the sight of that action, likening it to a child who just had their toy taken away, but he bit his lip to hold back a laugh.
The malicious Oknodie, threatening even the instructor’s professionalism, fell into contemplation.
‘Isn’t it getting dangerous soon?’
When the students in the boarding area began to find their mounts and head toward the finish line.
Though he wanted to wait for Sing and Jiang, if he remained silent, his ranking would suffer.
‘If my overall score drops, that would be a real problem!’
So he decided.
Let’s activate the preparations made while smashing the place where the mount was stored.
“Switch!”
Type – Space Magic
Activation – Position Swap
Specialization – Range Extension
A 2nd circle space magic.
The phase-shifting magic that switches the positions of two objects is commonly used by novice magicians when showing a hidden stone in one hand from the other hand.
It’s a magic that can be used even in a lower circle, but a slight miscalculation could mean that the stone embeds itself in the palm or, horrifically, causes skin to get ripped off, leading to unexpected side effects!
In the game, a certain probability leads to injury or being caught in a scam and ends up being hung in the village square.
Flash!
As a single twig in front of Oknodie shimmered, the instructor secretly scoffed.
‘Is she trying to show me a magic that changes twigs into candy due to boredom? That’s not even close. I’ve seen magic department students’ performances every year at the school festival!’
But go ahead, give it your best shot.
I’ll watch carefully, with eyes wide open, that first-year’s performance, their sincerity, and their potential!
The instructor was having a personal match, unrelated to Oknodie!
As the light diminished, the result appeared.
The popcorn in the instructor’s hand fell to the ground.
“Yay! One successful attempt!”
“You… Did you just switch that… No way…!”
“Oh. Is it because I’m the instructor? You recognized it right away?”
The instructor yelled in shock.
“What are you doing bringing the finish line here?!”
The third section’s riding exam.
The condition for the examinees mounted on their vehicles to hit “goal.”
The finish line, measured against the records.
A long line of mixed black and white was replaced with twigs at the feet of Oknodie.
How could this happen!
Stealing the finish line, right before the instructor’s very eyes!
As the instructor was about to reprimand him, Oknodie puffed up his cheeks and struck a pose saying, ‘Boo━ I’m sulking!’ adorably.
“There was never a rule against bringing it with magic!”
The instructor was skeptical and turned to the communication magic device, asking the examiner, Professor Plato.
“Student claims this, what should we do, examiner… Yes? You agree it’s true? So this is more impressive? No, don’t tell them to laugh, it’s a mess!”
The instructor, caught between communication, getting angry then exhausted, finally dropped the device from his ear.
“What did you say?”
“The exam proceeds.”
“See? It works!”
The instructor felt sorry for the students of Class 981.
It was clear they would be tormented by that devilish kid during every exam throughout their time in the academy.
You must not use mobility magic on the finish line.
There is no such rule.
That’s because mobility magic cannot be activated on the finish line from the start.
‘The activation condition for mobility magic is accurately interpreting a structure to send it somewhere else.’
If in the interpretation process, one embeds a magical formula difficult to read, preventing a proper interpretation, then the space mobility magic will not activate at all.
Even the instructor himself wouldn’t dare attempt something he wasn’t specialized in, but a first-year pulled it off unexpectedly.
This was real magic, worlds apart from some street magician.
Professor Plato was right.
This was an incredible feat for the one who pulled it off.
‘So what about the students who were supposed to be at the original finish line? What happens to them?’
Sweat dripped nervously down the instructor’s face.
*
Skola tried to shake off her regret.
“Don’t go for the snipe?”
“Regardless, Oknodie won’t reach the finish line for a while. Waiting to attack isn’t as beneficial as just passing the finish line first.”
With Saint Yufi advising to prioritize grades over a job to snipe the mounts, Skola had no reason to shoot at a golem while throwing her score away.
An excellent archer is adept at riding as well as pursuing, to say nothing of that.
Finding her mount easily, Skola dashed straight towards the finish line.
“Heh. Silly Oknodie. I bet he never thought to cross the river without swimming using warp arrows!”
I’ll give him the humiliation of having his ranking handed over without even seeing my face.
[This is the finish line!]
[Go juniors!]
[Thanks for your hard work on the midterms.]
[Professor Plato’s protein soup to boost your spirit will be available in the right barn.]
Signs filled with messages from seniors in the production department.
Skola, who crossed the finish line, couldn’t help but feel excited.
– Who’s that?
– They say it’s a first-year student named Skola.
– Wow, amazing! She made it in upper ranks.
– Perfect for the Warrior Party!
– I wish I could invite her to our party.
Seniors gazing with admiration in her imagination!
“Hey, first-year.”
“Heh. I can’t give autographs, senior.”
“What are you saying? You’re still in the race. You can’t go into the protein soup area before the exam is over.”
Skola’s face twisted in irritation.
“I won’t eat it. I didn’t plan to. I promised myself I’d never eat that disgusting soup again.”
However, a strange feeling, ‘Something’s off?’ began to creep into Skola’s face.
“Um, senior? I just heard something strange; you said the race isn’t over yet?”
“The completion of the riding sector is measured by racing from the starting line to the finish line. Haven’t you heard that from the instructors?”
Skola looked back at the finish line she just passed.
“What’s this?”
Of course, the finish line that should be on the ground was nowhere to be seen, with just a shabby twig crushed by the mount’s foot left there.
