“Huh? That’s how it just ended?”
As I explained what happened in the Dean’s office, Tana looked at me with a confused expression.
I definitely felt like I was a bit vague in my explanation, but can I really spill everything?
“Yeah, it ended like that.”
“I see.”
Eve, listening from the side, started to sort through what I had said, seemingly not understanding.
“You’re saying you got called to the Dean’s office because of the fight yesterday, and they told you not to worry because it was their fault?”
Hearing it like this, I realized I left out a lot, but what’s the difference?
As long as the results are the same, it doesn’t matter.
“Aren’t you from the Reylos family, Fenil senior? I don’t think they’ll back down so easily. Besides, Daniel is…”
A commoner.
Tana clamped her mouth shut, but I nodded with a smile.
“Despite how they look, they’re actually pretty nice. They really care about the students. Thanks to them, I’m safely attending school.”
“You’re saying the Dean is a good person? Yuck.”
For Tana, who had been bullied by Mei, the Dean and Mei didn’t seem that different. It’s true, the two of them I saw were quite similar.
“Anyway, they said they would take good care of things, so I just have to work hard on this test.”
I couldn’t even participate in the first practical exam due to interruptions.
But maybe because the news of me stepping on Fenil’s group spread, there were no interference this time. Or maybe it was because I stepped on Mei?
“But how is the practical exam going?”
“I heard the first round was 1:1 duels, but this time it’s a team battle.”
“Actually, the first round is the main one, and the second round team battle is like a bonus stage for students who didn’t score well.”
Eve shivered at Tana’s explanation.
It seemed that Eve wasn’t good at combat, and her nature didn’t seem to favor it, making the exam itself painful for her.
But there’s no helping it.
You can’t avoid the exam just because you’re not good at it.
“Just like I taught you self-defense last time, try to learn something from Daniel using attributes.”
Tana nudged me in the side casually, but I shook my head.
“That was a special situation. In an open duel like this, unless the opponent is seriously careless, it won’t have much effect.”
“Ugh.”
Seeing Eve make a pitiful sound, I suddenly got curious.
“But how did you do in the exams during your first and second years?”
“Thanks to having a good team in the team battle, I scored well, but in 1:1 duels, I almost came in last.”
“……”
“I earned a lot of points in the written exam, so it’s okay!”
Is it a strategy of sacrificing one to gain another?
“When you have time later, let’s exercise together. You should fix your reading posture too. If you keep that up, you’ll ruin your health at a young age.”
Reading books is good, but if your posture isn’t good, it’ll hurt your health. And basic stamina is essential for health, so I said that.
“Wow, you’re talking like our nanny.”
“My dad always said that.”
“……”
Now I’m being treated like an uncle.
Isn’t 28 a bit young to be called an uncle?
Well, 28 is already an age where you’d be married with kids.
Sigh.
Speaking of marriage, I suddenly thought of Eris.
Back then, I didn’t realize it, but thinking about her little by little now made me realize how much she had shown her affection for me.
Feeling foolish for not knowing and just being devoted to my job as a Sherpa guiding in the forest was both regretful and pitiful.
Upon arriving at the gym, we could see many students already warming up. Even though there were still 30 minutes left before the exam started, they were preparing in their own ways.
“Wow, everyone is so diligent.”
Especially Ares and his school of fish were sparring lightly with each other, keeping their senses sharp.
‘Huh.’
I knew Ares already had quite a talent for swordsmanship and martial arts. But Arni Duratan, Elise, and Hayun also didn’t lag behind him.
‘Honestly, impressive.’
I knew it took not only talent but also effort to gain such skills at this age. Watching them made me feel a little envious as Sen, who had been standing beside me, nudged me.
“Aren’t you staring a bit too hard?”
“Mommy!”
“Wh-What? I was surprised.”
Sen’s sudden appearance made Tana and Eve yell out in shock, drawing the attention of those around, but I didn’t care and replied.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect them to be this good. Impressive.”
“I can do that level too!”
She pounded her chest, but when it came down to a head-on battle, it seemed like she wouldn’t stand a chance against any of those guys.
“If it’s an ambush, you’d win though.”
But if it’s an ambush, it’s a different story.
With the nature of the Chokugen Faction, there wouldn’t nearly be a chance for a full-on battle, so if Sen genuinely tried to take them out, she would likely win.
Of course, we would only know the result by trying it out ourselves.
“By the way, did you use that well?”
“Yeah, I used it very well.”
Thanks to the paper that Sen had cast a recording spell on Mei’s body, everything was handled quite smoothly. Thanks to that, it seemed I could live comfortably at the academy going forward.
“Hehe, that’s a relief.”
Knowing that the property of that item would likely be used in a not-so-good direction, Sen still looked happy just to have been helpful. Whether that was a good deed or a bad one was another issue.
After chatting with Sen, I headed to where Tana and Eve were warming up. Eve looked as if she was about to collapse, fiddling with her hands to read a book, while Tana was preparing earnestly.
“Honestly, 1:1 might be a bit tough, but even if you can’t fight, you can still be of help in a team battle.”
“Hmm?”
By the way, how does a team battle even proceed?
I was curious about how the teams were formed when the professors started to come in.
Professors for classes A to E.
“For the team battle, we have formed teams in a manner that balances fairness. Please come out and check your team members.”
Having teams mixed from all classes could be seen as unfair. No matter how much the professors said they balanced the teams, it was impossible to achieve a perfect balance.
But they said that was also part of the test.
As long as there weren’t any excessively mismatched teams, the time given afterward would allow them to build camaraderie and improve teamwork as part of the exam.
The list was unfurled, making a total of 16 teams consisting of 12 members each.
Some cheered and hugged each other, while others were disheartened, cursing their luck for this exam.
“Looks like an average team.”
Tana rubbed her chin with her arms crossed. But Eve next to her had turned to stone.
[Team 1]
Ares
Hayun
Emali
Demalico
Pouni
…
…
…
Eve
“Wow, what a good team!”
Tana whistled, envious. Some students murmured that it wasn’t fair to be in a team with Ares and Hayun, but the professors didn’t give a proper answer.
‘But it does seem a bit weird.’
Team A was strangely skewed in strength.
Of course, members like Pouni and Eve were terrible in combat, but Ares and Hayun were students capable of pulling their weight more than twice.
Well, anyway.
“Where am I?”
No matter how much I scanned the list of 16 teams, I couldn’t find my name. Just as I was getting anxious, Professor Amanda from class E called me.
“Everyone, pay attention.”
Standing next to her, my face was a mix of confusion, but the students’ eyes were already focused on us.
“We split the teams based on last week’s first-round test.”
Oh, I see, some students understood the criteria of how the teams were organized. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be too strange for the likes of Ares and Hayun to be together.
“But there are students who didn’t take the test.”
“……”
Immediately, students’ gazes turned to me.
“Daniel McLean. As a commoner, you transferred directly into third year, so even our professors don’t know your exact skill level.”
Professor Amanda, looking like she found it amusing, wore that charming smile unique to adults.
“Therefore, we are trying to put Daniel into a team, but since that makes the number of team members increase by one, a penalty will be given.”
A moment of silence.
Adding a team member is good, but if there’s a penalty, then that changes things.
Having someone without reliable skills onboard could end up being a minus factor, hindering the team’s members instead.
Naturally, the atmosphere was mostly one of students who didn’t want me on their team.
“This is going to definitely come with a penalty, isn’t it?”
Isn’t that a bit too harsh? But Amanda just shrugged and replied.
“Well, you should’ve come to take the last test properly.”
“No…”
I tried to say something, but Amanda ignored me and continued. I had heard this exam was like a bonus test, but isn’t this too much?
I need these points from this exam.
“Now, if there’s a team that wants to take Daniel McLean, raise your hand.”
Only four people raised their hands.
Rin from Team 2.
Sen from Team 5.
Tana from Team 9.
And Mei from Team 16. ‘……You?’
I glared at Mei, who seemed to also have a displeased look but stubbornly kept her hand raised.
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