Chapter 18
The Freshman welcome exam.
An event that existed in the original work.
'It was the first episode to take place at the Academy.'
After the tutorial, it was a stage to get a feel for the game controls.
An episode designed to let Users experience a refreshing sense of impact.
For an easy difficulty, the setting was a sparring match against Students in the lower-ranked classes.
Because the Player is usually assigned to Class A at best, and Class C at worst.
It's essentially sparring with Cadets roughly two tiers lower than their assigned class.
'Looking back on it now, it was a truly malicious event....'
Setting up matches where the outcome was predetermined from the start.
It demonstrates the gap between classes.
And right in front of the other Cadets watching.
The lower-ranked Students are crushed, falling over and over.
A device to humiliate them. Their spirits are thoroughly trampled.
There was only one reason to hold such a harsh event.
'To incite competition.'
Conflict between classes.
The lower ranks are appropriately ignored, while the upper ranks are treated with due respect.
As a result, the lower-ranked Students try to raise their rank somehow, while the upper-ranked Students try to defend their positions.
In short, it provides a stimulus.
Ridicule, contempt, inferiority complex... all of it fuels the drive to improve.
Regardless of whether the direction of that stimulus is positive or negative.
'And if their spirits break in the process....'
They are simply deemed to be only worth that much.
If they couldn't even withstand this kind of environment, it was judged that they were never meant to succeed in the first place.
A truly extreme educational philosophy.
Teach them harshly, raising them so they won't break.
Thus, Grandia Academy's methods often felt ruthless.
'I suppose this is what an elite Academy is like.'
It was almost like a declaration.
As if saying one had to accomplish at least this much to be recognized as a member of Grandia Academy.
In fact, there were quite a few Cadets who applied to drop out after just one semester.
Most of them being Students from the lower-ranked classes.
'The treatment is pretty bad, after all.'
This exam alone proved that.
Even so, since it was a schedule set by the Academy, they couldn't openly ignore it.
Especially for Class E, where most members were Commoners, they had no right to refuse.
If they wanted to earn a Grandia diploma here, they had to grit their teeth for the next three years.
"Ah, we've arrived."
I, too, arrived at the Examination Hall right on time.
For now, I was planning to play along.
The Examination Hall was located near Main Building A.
'It's incredibly huge.'
Should I call it a giant indoor Gymnasium?
Of course, the size was staggering to just be called a Gymnasium.
It was large enough that you could attach several soccer Stadiums together and still have room left over.
"Then... shall we stop around here?"
Screech-.
The Rickshaw comes to a halt.
As I quietly get off, the Shuttles who pulled the cart also dust off their hands.
Wiping away their dripping sweat, the kids each enter the Examination Hall.
I followed behind them and moved my feet.
In my School Uniform pocket, Carmilla wriggled as if in admiration.
[It looked big from the outside, but the inside is just as magnificent.]
'They aren't called the best on the continent for nothing. The facilities provided are all state-of-the-art, too.'
The similarly expansively built Sparring Ground.
The Spectator Seats were densely lined up along the edges.
It looked as if several circular Stadiums had been glued together.
It seemed to be formatted so that while a few exams took place, the other Students would watch from the Spectator Seats.
[It seems the exam has already begun.]
'Because we arrived a bit late.'
[Hasn't your turn for the exam already passed?]
'My turn is last. There are still about 30 minutes left before it's my turn.'
[That is a relief.]
'Shall we sit in the Waiting Area and wait for now? I also want to watch the other Students' exams.'
I walk over.
The Waiting Area.
It was a place for Students who were about to take the exam to sit.
Right now, Class E and Class C Cadets were waiting.
As I appear with the Bread Shuttles, the gazes of the surrounding Students focus on me.
-Huh...? Isn't that him? Class E's Top Student?
-Class E's Top Student... Ah, the kid who supposedly got Top Student with an E rank in all Stats?
-Did he say he was Victor? I thought he would run away, but he somehow showed up?
The Students whispered.
Looking at their School Uniform Name Tags, they were all Class C Cadets.
They must have heard the rumors about me.
-What are we going to do with that pathetic guy? He is going to get totally humiliated today!
-Phew, how can someone with an overall E rank in Stats be the Top Student of a class?
-If trash like that can become the Top Student, what is the level of the kids below him?
-Tsk tsk... They do not even meet the standard.
Various noises poked at my ears.
Conversations full of hostility and ridicule.
[Hmm... They do not look very favorable.]
'There is no other way.'
If Class E is a gathering of Underachievers, I am the Head of that gathering.
Besides, I am a Top Student with the flaw of having an E rank in all Stats.
There must be a lot to gossip about.
Furthermore, Class C is a class two steps above us.
They will probably start laughing just thinking about how to play with us.
-Hehehe... He must hear everything, so is he trying to protect his pride?
-Yeah! He does not even pretend to care! He seems a bit arrogant....
-Oh my, let us not be too harsh on him. He is about to be completely trampled anyway.
-Hahaha, is that so?
Whether they said that or not, I took my seat.
The Bread Shuttles filled their seats in the same manner.
""....""
They were all clenching their teeth.
Their tightly clenched fists trembled.
However, there was nothing they could do.
They just sat quietly in their seats, pretending not to hear.
'Their teeth are going to break at this rate.'
I quietly turned my eyes.
My gaze landed on the Sparring Ground where the exam was in full swing.
"...."
I started watching without saying a word.
The contents of the sparring were all similar.
A sparring match between a Class C Cadet and a Class E Cadet.
A gap that made it difficult to even match up properly.
One side was excitedly slaughtering the weak, and the other was miserably swept away.
-Oh, this guy seems to be holding up quite well?
-Pfft... Do you not see that? Silphy is only using one hand.
-Ah, you are right! She is completely playing with him, but the other side is just getting all worked up?
Mockery.
It was repeated in the next turn, and the turn after that.
The Class E Students fell, and the Class C Students laughed at them.
I stared at the Sparring Ground with cold eyes.
'Wow....'
Looking at it this way, there was no Academy crazier than this one.
When I saw it in the game, I just thought it was a setting and moved on, but....
-Oh my, look at him struggling over there.
-Ahaha! He is dangling there, and what? He is even crying?
-That is why low-level trashes should not have enrolled....
This.
The more I looked, the more my eyebrows furrowed.
'It is... not very pleasant.'
[I share the same thought.]
Compared to other classes, the treatment of Class E was particularly harsh.
In addition to the skill issue, most of the class members were Commoners.
There was no need to even mince words.
[Are Humans originally all like this?]
'Well.'
Humans.
Their nature to ignore, belittle, and trample on others.
Those who cannot live without pushing someone away and basking in that sense of superiority....
'Because that is a Human. Unlike other races with strong solidarity.'
[Are you also like that, Victor?]
'Perhaps. After all, I am a Human too.'
[The Human world is full of difficult parts the more I experience it....]
Before I knew it, my turn was right around the corner.
The last exam before it was my turn.
'Is it Luyan.'
Luyan Jestar.
The Salutatorian of Class E.
The guy who would have been the Top Student if it were not for me.
He was also one of the Bread Shuttles pulling the Rickshaw.
Well... unlike the other kids, he does have a distinctly sharp edge to him.
'His opponent is....'
Luyan's opponent, naturally, was the Salutatorian of Class C.
He was being kicked around the entire time during the sparring.
He tried to counterattack, but Luyan's Magic couldn't reach his opponent.
He merely stumbled around, becoming a laughingstock.
-Oh my, is he really the Salutatorian? He is particularly stubborn.
-He keeps getting back up? I guess he can't grasp reality....
He struggled desperately, but in the end, he failed to land a single attack.
Luyan was ridiculed the entire time before eventually retiring.
He came down from the Sparring Ground utterly exhausted.
His steps faltered, perhaps due to Mana Exhaustion.
"...."
He only shook off those around him who tried to help him up.
Blood dripped from his tightly bitten lips.
Even that wretched state seemed funny to those Class C bastards.
Watching him draw only mockery, I quietly stood up from my seat.
""....""
The surroundings were quiet.
To be exact, only Class E's Waiting Area was quiet.
The eyes of the kids, all exhausted in body and mind, looking like they were dead.
They looked as if they just wanted this humiliating time to end quickly.
"Ahem."
As expected.
Things like this put me in a bad mood.
"Mr. Luyan."
"...."
"You worked hard."
Pat, pat-.
A gaze that looked like it would break at any moment.
Passing by him, I lightly patted his shoulder.
"Please rest for a bit."
My Bread Shuttle number 1.
Luyan just stared blankly in my direction.
With a look that seemed to ask why I was suddenly acting like this.
"Hehe, it's not good to mess with someone else's Bread Shuttle."
That thought crossed my mind.
My Bread Shuttles.
I'm the only one who gets to boss them around.
Whether it's giving them a flick on the forehead or making them buy bread, it's a privilege given strictly to me.
'Class E itself is mine.'
How dare they mess with them as they please.
Scratching the edge of my Mask, I walked down toward the Sparring Ground.
[41st Match]
-Victor (Class E Top Student)
-Sharien Labriel (Class C Top Student)
My opponent was already waiting on the other side.
The one who had been eagerly trashing my Class E classmates since earlier.
An unlikable character who occasionally appeared in the original work.
'Shariel.'
Unlike her pretty face, she was a girl with a pitch-black heart.
I stood quietly, facing Shariel.
Without saying a word.
I just stroked my Mask.
"Hmm...."
"...."
The spacious circular Stadium.
Shariel's demeanor couldn't have been more relaxed.
Because she surely believed the momentum was in her favor.
The girl smiled brightly and tossed out a few light taunts.
"Oh my, so you're the rumored person? The unprecedented figure who claimed the Top Student position of the class with an overall E rank."
"I didn't realize I was that famous."
"Of course you're famous. To the point where there's no one in the Academy who doesn't know you... pfft."
"...."
Mockery.
And the gazes pouring down from the Spectator Seats.
I just smiled without saying much.
Hoping that smile would be conveyed even through the Mask.
"Aren't you getting worried by now? About what kind of humiliation you're about to face."
"Well. I suppose I might be a little worried."
"Would you like to forfeit? If you crawl on all fours in front of the entire student body, I might let you off easy."
"My classmates did their best, so I must do my best as well. You don't know how things will turn out until you try, right?"
"Is that so? Fufu."
An ominously smiling girl.
Her eyes were cruelly dead.
"It is a shame. Kicking away the opportunity I went out of my way to give."
Whoosh-!
As she said that, a crimson flame, as red as her own hair, wrapped around her extended hand.
Before long, the coalesced fire demon had taken the shape of a single bow.
The girl drew the bright red bowstring and stared in this direction.
"Do not regret this. I certainly gave you a chance to give up."
A fiercely burning Arrow.
Once she finished aiming, the voice of the Teaching Assistant soon rang out.
The air in the Spectator Seats sank.
Just like an Audience holding their breath right before the climax.
The Teaching Assistant recited the signal plainly.
The following word triggered the tranquil scene.
Whoosh-!
As soon as the Teaching Assistant's lips moved, a massive pillar of fire erupted from the center of the Sparring Ground.
The blazing flames.
The bright red vortex slowly enveloped the circular Stadium.
Amidst the fluttering wind stood the red-haired girl.
At the tip of the fully drawn bowstring, a single Arrow flashed.
Sharien whispered with a cynical smile.
"Then... I will end this at once without dragging it out."
Even from quite a distance, the heat was transmitted vividly.
A sudden spark of flame touched my cheek.
There was a truth I could discern from just that fragment.
'She is strong.'
Is this what it means to be the Top Student of Class C?
Shariel was strong.
The air that felt like it would bake anything at any moment, and the delicately woven structure of Mana.
The murmuring in the Spectator Seats, which had temporarily died down, revived.
-Hah... As expected of a Top Student? The power is reaching all the way to the Spectator Seats?
-Isn't that dangerous? It is not at a level that a mere Class E kid can deflect, right?
-Won't he get hurt at this rate?
Background noises that seemed to warn of danger.
However, even in such a moment, I just stood upright.
"Quietly get knocked out!"
Along with a sharp cry, her fingers let go of the bowstring.
The fire demon, its Leash untied, shot forward fiercely.
The Arrow leaving a long tail behind.
It swallowed the Arena whole.
Swoosh-!
A piercing sound that savagely tore through the air.
Just as everyone's eyes were focused on the flame flower.
I took a step forward and extended a single finger.
"Well."
The Mask was smiling.
My finger touches it.
The next moment.
Swish-!
The rushing flames completely vanished.
Shariel became flustered by this.
"Wh-what...?"
It wasn't that the Arrow was intercepted or missed.
It was literal annihilation.
The flower that had filled the space left not even a trace of heat behind.
A scene where the scene was erased; the Audience simply stared blankly in this direction.
"Hmm."
"...."
I look at her.
The red-haired girl dyed in panic.
"You said you would end it in one strike...."
A brief taunt.
A cold, beaming smile hung on my lips.
The Mask, too, bizarrely stretched its lips to the bottom of its ears.
"Is this all?"
A calm yet clear resonance that dyed the Arena.
The next moment.
The reaction of the Audience was flipped upside down.
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