Chapter 26

“Wow… Is that guy really an idiot?”

It’s all audible, you crazy guy. Dennis with his dual personality. Even such a problem child seems to be shocked by my actions right now.

But in a way, it’s unfair.

This isn’t my original idea, it’s just a trick that someone with anger management issues happened to find. In the end, I’m getting all the attention that was supposed to go to that guy.

‘Well, still, this is better.’

From the second time on, it’s just copying. So, if I’m going to do it, I might as well do it with a bang first.

“It burns well. Really well.”

I muttered, looking at the blazing flames.

“Hehehehehehehehe…”

Tofuminded Allen was laughing like a madman, shocked again. I don’t particularly need to care about such a guy, but… Huh?

“Huhuhu… Huhuhuhuhuhu…”

Why is she laughing and going crazy too?

“Hey, why are you laughing like that?”

I frowned and said a word to Riviera.

“Just because.”

“Don’t laugh.”

“Why?”

“It’s creepy.”

Isn’t it creepy when a kid who was slaughtering party members covered in blood laughs like that?

“Dog like words. Remember. I will definitely remember.”

Riviera muttered grumpily.

To interpret, it means I will never forget that Dog like nonsense, you bastard.

Surprisingly, it translates smoothly.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, the wind blew, and the smoke turned towards me.

“Cough, cough… Damn.”

My eyes stung, and I coughed from my throat. Seeing that, Riviera let out an unpleasant laugh, moving only her lips with an expressionless face.

“Huhuhu.”

No need for deduction. The culprit is her.

“Sigh.”

Let’s ignore it, ignore it. I don’t have the luxury to play along with such childish revenge, do I? I returned to what I was doing.

“Let’s do this in one go.”

I had no intention of wrestling with the sweaty heat for long. I need to get it done quickly and rest. I buried my head towards the stones. I squinted and scrutinized something as closely as possible. What I was examining was the smoke. That’s what everyone would think. Because that’s what I intended it to look like.

But.

‘The real thing is the smell.’

One would say, what kind of nonsense is this?

I thought so at first, too. But the cheat sheet clearly stated this. In a moment of despair, I faintly smelled something like the crisp winter sea. But… What the hell is a crisp winter sea smell, you crazy bastard?

If you’re going to write it, write it properly. What are you writing, a literary novel? Well, that’s why he’s sitting there writing the cheat sheet like an essay. But I admit it. He’s an amazing guy.

To catch a smell in that situation and use it as a clue to find a breakthrough, isn’t he a cool guy?

Anyway, In conclusion, that strange smell was actually the smell of mana burning. He caught it like a ghost. That guy, he must have an amazing nose.

‘Sniff, I can smell food like a ghost, too…’

My survival sense of smell was also developed. I subtly focused on my sense of smell.

Of course, outwardly, I pretended to be diligently examining something with my eyes.

The guys here are competitors I have to step on anyway. I have to suppress them to move up to the upper class. So I suck the honey, but I can’t stand them sucking the honey.

‘Hmm, where.’

Not this one.

Not this one either.

Not this one either.

This one’s out, too.

Not this one either…?

Wait.

I frowned and returned to the starting point, having sniffed the stones with my sense of smell.

With this number, statistically, at least one should stand out. That’s statistics and science.

But there’s not a single one that catches? That can’t be.

“Hoo.”

I took a long deep breath.

‘That’s food. It’s the smell of food. It’s something to eat.’

I hypnotized myself and concentrated on my sense of smell again.

This time, for sure.

Sniff sniff.

I smelled the scent coming from the stones in a trance. How much time had passed?

At some point, I caught a very thin something different from before at the tip of my nose.

‘Huh? Is this it?’

A crisp fragrance as if a drop of mint scent was added to a 1 ton water tank.

‘Wow… Crazy, I felt that? Was I some kind of dog in a past life?

This is not a level that humans can detect. Even though I knew and concentrated like crazy, I could barely feel it. The guy who wrote the cheat sheet must have a nose like a dog. No, just a dog.

Anyway, that means………….

Most guys won’t even notice. Even if they catch on to my actions, there will hardly be anyone who can go further.

‘Hehe, good. I’m the only one who should suck the honey.’

With a smug smile, I picked out the stone I had just detected with my foot.

First one.

And repeat the same process. Eventually, I picked out three scented stones.

“That’s it.”

As if there was nothing more to see, I extinguished the fire with a water ball spell. Then I grabbed the three stones and stood up with great momentum.

“Let’s go.”

I took the lead, grabbing the nape of Allen’s neck, who still hadn’t come to his senses, as if dragging him along.

“Hmm, not bad.”

Riviera muttered with a strange expression. It seemed unexpected that I had chosen the right answer. I must have looked like quite a fool. Original Max is a fool. But I’m not. You useless team member.

“Of course, people don’t seem to think so.”

“What the hell? You found the real answer with that crazy act?”

“He’s just showing off to get attention. What can such a guy find?”

“If that blockhead’s answer is right, I’m not a person but a dog.”

The guys openly belittled me.

I understand.

Max has been that kind of guy until now. But from now on, watch closely with those two eyes. I’ll show you what kind of person I am.

“Ah, it’s so noisy. Those who are later than me, shut up.”

I looked around and shouted.

A charisma that instantly overwhelms the atmosphere. As if there could be such a thing. In the eyes of the other guys, I was just a problem child, a thug.

“What?”

“Ugh, that insolent guy!”

“Talking nonsense without knowing his place!”

Harsh stares and curses poured out at me. It’s a situation where I should feel bad. But I felt a strange catharsis instead. The situation itself, whether it’s hostility or whatever, brought a strange thrill from the base.

Only then did I understand. Why attention seekers deliberately draw aggro to gather people’s attention. I smiled unpleasantly at everyone as if to show off. And then I handed the stone to Professor Karen.

“Well, then please evaluate it.

“Huh. Well, okay.”

Professor Karen took the stone. Our eyes met.Her red eyes still harbored a sense of interest. Her lips were slightly smiling as if amused. I also twisted my lips into a smile, not to be outdone.

After a while. She tossed them into the basket as if there was nothing to see.

“It’s a perfect score. Excellent.”

The moment Professor Karen’s words flowed, the surroundings were instantly enveloped in silence.

It was as if time had suddenly stopped. And that stopped time soon returned with a tremendous explosion.

“What, what, what?!”

“Perfect score? Did you just say perfect score?”

“My ears… my ears… I think there’s something wrong with my ears…”

“This isn’t right…! It can’t be!”

“Did we all just have a collective hallucination?”

The second year students were engulfed in astonishment. To them, today’s event was probably more shocking than if the sun were to rise from the west tomorrow.

The fact that a common class troublemaker perfectly solved a problem that even the royal class couldn’t properly solve must have felt like an absolute impossibility to them.

“Pepepepepe…?”

On the other hand, there was someone who regained his senses due to the shock.

Allen, who seemed to have reached enlightenment the moment he set the fire and was laughing blankly, suddenly came to his senses as soon as he heard the perfect score, only to mutter “pepepe.”

…I’ll correct that. He still hasn’t come to his senses. Ignoring him, I spoke to Professor Karen.

“It’s the expected result.”

Even I find it an annoying thing to say. But what can I do? To make sure everyone remembers my existence, I need this level of character, don’t I? It’s an eternal truth that boring people are unpopular.

…Of course, I might have overdone it a bit because I was uplifted by people’s astonished faces.

“Then, that’s it.”

I forcibly dragged the mumbling Allen to one side to rest. At that moment, Professor Karen’s voice stopped me.

“Where did you learn that method?”

“It’s not something I learned.”

Sorry, cheat sheet writer. This method is now my original.

“I just utilized the experience I had when I set fire to the fields before.”

“I see. Experience is a good source of knowledge.”

Professor Karen nodded with a smile, seemingly convinced. Getting a good impression from the professor must be what they mean by this.

“Good. I look forward to the next test.”

Allen still couldn’t believe what was happening was real. When he pinched his thigh hard enough to hurt, the usual pain came through.

It hurts.

…This is reality.

“14 minutes have passed.”

The teaching assistant’s voice.

Only 6 minutes left.

Students are still struggling to find the answer. Surprisingly, this included many from the noble class.

Talented individuals who had been in the same class as Allen for a long time. Those talents were just pacing around, unable to find the answer.

On the other hand. What about himself, who had been with the two useless humans of the common class? He had received a perfect score early in the evening and was leisurely sitting back, enjoying the view of the fire across the river.

Well, honestly, it was only Max and the frail outcast girl who were enjoying it. Allen felt more cautious around Max, who had achieved the feat of a perfect score, something he had never done before.

Anyway.

Is this reality?

The real reality?

I felt like kicking reality for playing tricks on me.

“15 minutes have passed.”

The last countdown of 5 minutes.

Now was the time for the remaining students to feel an insane amount of pressure. Their pale faces and the cold sweat streaming down their faces said it all about their situation.

“There’s no answer! Let’s, let’s set fire!”

Whoosh!

Someone desperately set fire.

Was that the signal? Chaos erupted here and there.

“Let’s, let’s set fire too!”

“Us too!”

“It’s fire, fire! Fire is the only answer!”

What a spectacle. The exam hall had turned into a firesetting competition in an instant. But they understood those who had done it. Setting fire was the method that even the troublemaker Max had used to get a perfect score.

It was the only way for those cornered to follow.

“Puhahat.”

Max burst into laughter, seemingly enjoying the scene. On the other hand, the expressions of the royal class were rotten.

“Hmph, to imitate such a base and undignified method. The standards of the academy are falling.”

“That’s how the noble guys are.”

There was one thing in common among those who said such things. They were royal class students who had been outdone by Max. They couldn’t accept being beaten by someone from the common class, and it was turning their stomachs. But Max easily brushed off such shallow emotional outbursts.

“Does it seem easy? It’s definitely not.”

He muttered to himself. But everyone knew. That was meant for those who were gossiping about him to hear.

“Tch, if it’s easy for you, it must be easy for everyone.”

Dennis chimed in. His team had also been outdone by Max. No, it wasn’t just being outdone they barely passed the test after more than 12 minutes.

And it wasn’t a perfect score, only two correct answers. For him, who had never imagined being outdone by Max, it was an unprecedented humiliation. He was already on the verge of exploding from the earlier incident, and this humiliation made him feel like he was going to lose his mind.

If the professor hadn’t been there, he probably would have exploded on the spot.

“You’ll see.”

Max let out a snicker. And not long after, everyone understood the meaning behind that laughter.

“I don’t, I don’t get it! What’s different?”

“The, the color of the smoke? Isn’t the color a bit different?”

“Now that you mention it… it seems to be subtly lighter and darker.”

The students, who had set fire but didn’t know what was different, were uncertain. But even so, most of them focused on sight. It was a trap set by Max.

They had fallen for it because Max had made it look that way with the smoke. And once people believe something, they tend to convince themselves it’s true.

“Is, is this…? It, it must be! This is it!”

“Ha… Hahaha, this was it! This was it!”

“I’m sure, I’m sure of it! Let’s go now!”

Teams shouting as if they had made the discovery of the century. They picked up the stones and ran energetically to the professor before it was too late. By their momentum, they all seemed to have already scored perfectly.

“Here it is!”

“Wait, wait a minute. Our team was first…”

“Don’t we all have to arrive to be recognized?”

In front of the professor were noisy students. Professor Karen clicked her tongue.

“Everyone, calm down. I’m not the kind of professor who deducts points for being a little late.”

The teams from the rush finally calmed down.

But.

“Then I’ll start evaluating quickly.”

As soon as the professor received the stones, she tossed them to the ground as if throwing away trash.

“0 points, strive harder.”

Thud.

“0 points, strive harder.”

Thud.

“0 points, strive harder.”

Thud.

“1 point, well chosen.”

Thump.

“0 points, strive harder.”

Thud.

What is this?

An endless parade of zero points. The one point must have been lucky to have a correct stone mixed in.

One thing was certain. None of the second year students… no, no student at the academy had ever seen such a rampant scoring of zero points. It was an evaluation that would go down in the academy’s history.

In a bad way.

And one more thing.

Max’s words were right.