Chapter 406
The freshmen were buzzing with excitement in the main lecture hall.
Creak—
The front door opened.
At the sound, the entire hall fell silent.
Step. Step.
Mel entered through the open door.
As soon as she appeared, the freshmen started talking again.
“What do you think the assignment will be?”
“Isn’t it going to be survival-related like last year’s sunbae?”
“Maybe it’s an inter-department competition.”
“Oh? Then does that mean you and I will be enemies?”
“Look forward to it. I’ll take you down without mercy.”
“That’s what I should be saying.”
They threw themselves into heated speculation about what the assignment might be.
The reason everyone had clammed up when the door first opened was simple.
They’d been terrified it would be Harrid or Artianne—two of the most frightening professors to freshmen.
Harrid was, of course, the Wailing Wall feared by every grade, and Artianne punished anyone who talked or did anything else during class by having them possessed by other Spirits.
Compared to those two, Mel was gentle and benevolent.
In other words, in the kindest terms, she was an easy professor for freshmen. In the bluntest terms, she was a pushover.
Normally, an attitude like that might have upset her, but Mel only smiled.
It would have been stranger for a Dragon Lord to get angry at young students over something like that.
“Everyone, please pay attention.”
At Mel’s words, the students looked toward her.
The Magic Department students, in particular, focused immediately.
Whatever else was true, Mel was the best magic professor for first-year Magic Department students.
It was only natural to listen to her.
The Knight Department and Summoning Department students, however, weren’t fully locked in.
That didn’t last long.
“Huh? What are you all chattering about? Do you not think Professor Mel’s words are worth listening to?”
Artianne’s fierce voice rang out as she appeared out of nowhere.
Just by looking at her, it was obvious another Spirit was possessing her.
In other words, she’d shown up in berserk mode.
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
The chatterers screamed.
As Artianne’s murderous gaze swept over them, the freshmen hurriedly averted their eyes.
“Hehe, I’m fine, Professor Artianne.”
Mel smiled gently as she calmed the growling Artianne.
“You all better consider yourselves lucky.”
Once the room finally went quiet, Harrid appeared behind her.
“Anyone who ignored Professor Mel and kept chattering will receive a ten-point deduction.”
The freshmen who lost points couldn’t even protest.
“How pathetic.”
Sasha clicked her tongue softly.
Harrid stepped up onto the platform.
“The reason I gathered you here today is to inform you of the final exam assignment.”
At those words, the freshmen—who had been deflated—perked up.
The final exam assignment they’d been waiting for.
Seeing their faces, Harrid said flatly, “It looks like you’re harboring some unnecessary expectations.”
The corners of Harrid’s mouth curled into a cynical smile.
“It seems some of you are enjoying the fact that the World Summit and the final exam overlap.”
His eyes turned cold.
“Listen carefully. Originally, nearly half of you would have been expelled before even taking the final exam.”
The freshmen stiffened.
“That means many of you have survived to this point only because the school’s operating policy changed this year. Surely none of you think you survived because of your ‘skill,’ do you?”
Some students looked like they were on the verge of tears at his ruthless words.
“And some of you have truly pathetic skills.”
But Harrid wasn’t finished.
“It’s true that numerous dignitaries and heroes are visiting Lumene for the World Summit. It’s also true that you freshmen will present your achievements for the year through the final exam in front of those visitors. But remember this.”
Harrid narrowed his eyes.
“They won’t be evaluating your skills in isolation. They’ll compare you to your Mentors—your second-year sunbae.”
The freshmen’s faces hardened.
“The whole world knows you are the Mentees of the second years. In that situation, can you actually prove your value compared to them? The Mentor system has given you a great opportunity, but it also created a side effect—putting you and the second years on the same scale. Will outsiders say, ‘The first years are amazing’? Or will they say, ‘The second years are amazing, but the first years are only this good’?”
Harrid’s gaze sharpened.
“You’re dreaming, knowing you might be ridiculed for the rest of your lives. And more than half of you will be expelled after the final exam. Have you forgotten that too?”
The freshmen went pale.
They had overlooked it.
The fact that this year’s class was different.
They’d been intoxicated by how much they’d improved.
But the moment they were told they’d be measured against the second years—the Golden Generation—they couldn’t help but feel intimidated.
Artianne, now back to her normal self, looked uncomfortable as she watched the freshmen bow their heads in silence.
“I-Is it really necessary to discourage them this much?”
“I think it’s necessary. And it’s true the freshmen have been lacking tension.”
Mel smiled gently.
In fact, the freshmen’s mood had changed in an instant.
‘We’re being compared to the second-year sunbae?’
‘If we mess up, we’ll be expelled.’
‘Ugh. My stomach suddenly hurts.’
‘What kind of assignment is it?’
They’d been staring only at the bright side, and now they were forced to see the shadows, too.
Some would taste glory.
But that would be the minority.
Far more would end up swallowing something bitter.
And on top of that, there was the pressure of expulsion.
Their entire attitude toward the final exam shifted.
Tension tightened through the air that had been so relaxed.
Harrid looked over them with cold eyes.
“Now, I will announce this year’s final exam practical test assignment.”
At those words, the freshmen fixed their tense gazes on the blackboard.
Tak. Tak.
Chalk in hand, Harrid wrote the assignment in large letters.
The students began to murmur.
Tuk.
Harrid set down the chalk and faced them.
“Your final exam practical test this year is a 1:1 tournament battle.”
—
“1:1 tournament? Wow, that’s cruel.”
After hearing about the freshmen’s practical exam in the library’s private room, Carr clicked his tongue.
Juen, who had come to deliver the news, looked puzzled.
“What is?”
“It’s a pure skill check. No piggybacking, no relying on luck.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“I survived my entire school life by piggybacking.”
Carr clicked his tongue again.
“So selling my know-how is out of the question.”
“…….Were you actually planning to sell something like that?”
“Of course.”
Juen let out a deep sigh as Carr shrugged.
Carr continued, “Alright. Shall we start?”
“With what?”
“Data analysis.”
Carr opened a Subspace using an item.
A massive pile of bundled documents spilled out.
Thud—!
Juen’s eyes widened.
“Why do you think I rented a private room?”
Carr smiled.
“It’s for these confidential materials.”
At his words, Juen reached out and checked what he’d prepared.
They were records—Aina Beidna’s data.
She read through them carefully.
There was even a bead that had recorded video with magic.
“Where did you get all of this?”
“I’m on good terms with some of the faculty.”
Carr chuckled.
Students aside, the academy was full of employees—janitors, maintenance staff, people who handled repairs inside the school.
Carr, sociable as ever, had stayed close to them since he was a freshman.
“I asked them to film the other freshmen training.”
Carr’s strongest talent was gathering information.
And he intended to use it to the fullest with the freshman final exam approaching.
“Mages have less ability to respond to unexpected situations than knights or summoners.”
Carr’s expression turned serious.
“Chelsea is specialized in that area, so she doesn’t really show weaknesses. But even Abad and Chloe have less adaptability than the top students in the other departments.”
It was an unavoidable trait of mages.
Mages generally had low mobility.
To bring out overwhelming power, they needed to stay in one place, focus, and channel it.
That let them create enormous variables on the battlefield, but ironically, those same strengths made the mages themselves vulnerable to sudden variables and unexpected situations.
What Carr wanted to do for Juen was reduce those surprises as much as possible—by analyzing key opponents and preparing.
“When did you even prepare all this? This kind of thing only matters if it’s a tournament.”
Juen stared blankly, and Carr smiled.
“Juen, you’re a great mage. Honestly, you could aim for the top of the grade even with an average exam assignment. But the one assignment where you’d be at a disadvantage is a 1:1 battle. Mobility matters in a 1:1, and you’re definitely behind Aina, Haviden, and Sasha in that area. You can compensate with stealth magic, but it’s hard to use stealth properly in a 1:1 tournament match.”
Carr crossed his arms.
“So I prepared this in case of the worst-case scenario—the one where you’re most disadvantaged.”
“Was it necessary to go this far?”
“I’m not much help to you as a Mentor.”
To put it bluntly, Carr was behind Juen in raw magical power and in handling Magic Formula.
Juen had the kind of talent you could only call genius.
Next to her, Carr was average.
“Still, you chose me as your Mentor because you said there was something you could learn from me.”
Carr looked at Juen seriously.
“So if you’ve gone that far, then I’ll do everything I can to help you take first in the grade. In other words, I’m going to be a kingmaker.”
“Carr Sunbae……”
Juen looked moved.
“Carr Sunbae really is the best Mentor!”
Juen smiled brightly, rushed over, and hugged him.
Carr said, “Yeah. Promote me hard as the best Mentor. If I’m still attending school next semester, make sure you use my stuff a lot.”
Then Carr added, “Now, let’s check the key targets. I’ll tell you in advance—Fritz, Abad’s Mentee, and Jane, Chen Xia’s Mentee, are just as important as Aina, Haviden, and Sasha.”
Their grades weren’t on the same level as the top students, but their combat power was unusual.
And there was very little data on either of them.
‘They must be Shadow Candidates.’
Carr already knew from Leo that there were Shadow Candidates among this year’s freshmen.
Shadow Candidate.
To be honest, they were unknown targets to Carr as well.
“It’s true those two are bothersome. But for now, we can put them on the back burner.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because my first match opponent has already been decided.”
“It has?”
“Yes. We drew lots at the announcement.”
“Who is your first match opponent?”
Carr looked slightly embarrassed.
In response, Juen took a slow breath and lifted the file she was holding.
“Don’t tell me……. Aina Beidna?”
Juen nodded, staring at Carr as he went dumbfounded.