31. Reserve Platoon Power Evaluation (2)

In that instant, the gazes of the other students focused on Rosette.

A red-haired witch with a strikingly cute appearance. On top of that, she was a strong candidate for first place in today’s power evaluation. Among the nearly 80 members of the Golden Wing squad, about 50 were combatants.

All of them were students who could be called Pantheon’s elite dealers. The scene of all those students staring at Rosette at once was quite impressive.

‘Rosette’s preliminary squad mission was rated A, wasn’t it.’

The mission in the Nevere Territory that I completed. That mission was also later rated A. But even so, the grade I originally chose was B+.

But Rosette chose an A-grade mission without hesitation from her first mission. And she completed all the missions that very day and returned to Pantheon.

‘It was said to be the fastest A-grade mission completion record in Pantheon.’

Moreover, she was said to have single-handedly dealt with the boss monster of that mission. Rosette’s performance became a hot topic among the Golden Wings for a while.

And it wasn’t just her skills that were attracting attention. Rosette’s cute appearance. On top of that, her specialty as a witch made Rosette popular even among students from other religious orders.

It wasn’t easy for just anyone to approach her because of the magic order students’ iron wall, though.

Of course, since Rosette came flying to me like this. There was no problem at all.

“Doesn’t it seem a bit chilly today? But even if we go inside the Dungeon, the weather will change as it pleases. I hope it’s warm inside!”

Rosette said nonchalantly. A relaxed expression as if she were going on a picnic. As if in a good mood, she fluttered the long sleeves of her robe.

Chloe, who was watching the scene from afar, covered her face with a fan as if annoyed.

“The weather doesn’t matter, does it? You can just summon a spirit anyway.”

I glanced at Rosette. As usual, she wore a witch’s robe with large sleeves. And inside, she wore a skirt that reached her knees and a light pastel-toned sweater.

An outfit that suited her well today as well. But it might be a bit chilly if she flew up on her magic wand like that. Rosette replied.

“That’s true, but. The weather is surprisingly important when riding a magic wand. The wind blows a lot when you go up high! And the flying speed has become incredibly fast since I switched to this Black Magic Wand that Yulian gave me as a gift! Hehe.”

Rosette proudly held out the Black Magic Wand she was holding in one hand. Of course, it had been transformed into a normal magic wand through magic.

‘I’m jealous that you can fly around as much as you want.’

And that was Rosette’s fraudulent aspect as a combatant.

To compare it to modern weaponry, it was like a bomber or a fighter jet. Of course, ordinary magicians also had ‘Fly’ magic, but.

Thanks to the grace of her bloodline, the difference in utilization was like heaven and earth compared to a witch who could freely ride a broom or magic wand without consuming much Mana.

Moreover, Rosette fired off 3rd Circle magic as if breathing while flying like that.

It wasn’t for nothing that Chloe was pushed back by Rosette in the sparring match at the opening ceremony. Moreover, Rosette would enter 4th Circle magic after this combat evaluation.

Truly a witch blessed by the god of magic. So it wasn’t for nothing that Chloe disliked Rosette.

‘So much so that she even made a Jokbo.’

That’s right. The Jokbo that Chloe secretly made for this power evaluation. And two days ago, I used Cecilia’s contract to get that Jokbo from Chloe.

Rosette, who seemed to be in a good mood for some reason, smiled bashfully and said.

“This evaluation, you know. It seems like we’re taking it in a special testing ground made by the professors and teaching assistants of our magic order. Do you see those devices with a lot of Mahon Stones attached? So the graduate student teaching assistants of our order have gotten even worse dark circles because they were making that.”

“It won’t be just the magic order. I heard that professors from the alchemy order also participated.”

“Really? They’re professors who don’t get along well. Did President Sophia mediate well? Anyway. This evaluation, you know. It’s an evaluation that uses illusions, fantasy magic, and even a monster’s gate with the toxicity removed. So will it be similar to a real Dungeon? I hope so.”

As expected, it was a tone that didn’t show any tension at all.

A little while ago, when she entered the Colosseum, Chloe hurriedly ran to me and greeted me politely. Her expression was very nervous, unlike usual. It was a world of difference from Rosette now.

‘Chloe will be even more pissed off if she sees this.’

This power evaluation was not an ordinary test. An abnormal contamination gate was discovered near the Old Imperial Capital. The Imperial Guard and the squad headquarters also recognized the seriousness of the situation.

The impact also reached Pantheon’s preliminary squad. The level and difficulty of training were much higher than before.

So this time’s testing ground was also made with unprecedented care by Pantheon.

It was to the extent that they used this Colosseum, not an ordinary lecture hall or training ground, to construct the testing ground. It was also an important evaluation to select the squad leader of the Golden Wings.

It meant that it was an evaluation that Chloe, who had a high sense of pride, would definitely want to be in first place.

It was the same in Demon King Killing. Chloe used all sorts of means in the power evaluation to beat the fraudulent witch Rosette.

That means was the Jokbo.

In fact, there was no such thing as a Jokbo passed down from seniors for this power evaluation. In the first place, it was a new evaluation created by the professors because of the special gate that I had reported.

So it was right to call it Chloe’s personal Jokbo. Chloe bribed the people who made the testing ground for this evaluation.

‘The magic order and alchemy order graduate students who designed the layout of the evaluation testing ground. She bribed all of them.’

Pantheon was no different from reality when it came to professors passing on all sorts of annoying tasks to graduate students.

The graduate students were working on the testing ground all night while doing graduate work under the professors’ instructions. Of course, they were full of complaints. So it would have been easy for Aitherne Merchant Guild to bribe them with their wealth.

Perhaps they gave Mincho Tea and snacks to the graduate students who were working all night, and also slipped them some money as encouragement.

So they must have created a Jokbo that was close to cheating, an illegal hack. The method of this power evaluation was a time attack.

The goal of this test was to enter a fantasy Dungeon created with magic and defeat the Dungeon’s boss monster as quickly as possible.

So it was all the more advantageous to know the composition and map of the fantasy Dungeon in advance like Chloe.

‘Of course, Chloe making a Jokbo is just my speculation.’

But unless Chloe was an idiot, she wouldn’t go around telling others that she had made such a Jokbo. She would have silenced the bribed graduate students as well.

I noticed that secret through Demon King Killing. Chloe couldn’t beat Rosette in terms of skill. Especially in this type of time attack test, it was even more disadvantageous for Chloe.

But she had narrowly won against Rosette in this power evaluation. I speculated that there was definitely something close to cheating.

And that was the answer. Two days ago. When I casually mentioned the Jokbo to Chloe in Atlee.

Chloe asked me back with an expression as if she had seen a ghost.

‘How does Count-nim know that?’

Chloe couldn’t even deny it because she was so flustered at that moment. And there is no complete secret from the moment two people know.

Even if the fact of the bribery was revealed, it wouldn’t be a big disadvantage for Chloe, who was the daughter of a Marquis. But it would be very embarrassing if it was known to the magic order.

In the end, Chloe handed over the Jokbo to me for free.

I obtained the perfect Jokbo like that. And the essence of the Lion’s Heart Sword 1st Form, White Night, is with me now. So I had no intention of giving first place to Chloe and Rosette at all.

“But… you know. Yulian. Have you gotten a little closer to the spirits you contracted with last time?”

At that time, Rosette suddenly said to me.

“Spirits? I think I’ve gotten a little closer to Salamander.”

I briefly recalled the sticky anal sex I had with Lilia at the Dol Stone Altar. If it was Salamander, I used it very well for heating at that time.

‘Actually, the most familiar spirit is Teneb, though.’

In particular, the affinity with the dark spirit Teneb has increased considerably. I used it often because of its Incubus characteristics. Of course, I couldn’t recklessly talk about the dark spirit, which was forbidden to contract in the Empire.

“Salamander? But Yulian, you’ve contracted with all four elemental spirits! So it’s a waste to only use one Salamander.”

After saying that, Rosette paused for a moment. She tapped the floor of the Colosseum with her toes as if hesitating about something, then suddenly said in a loud voice.

“If you need it, I’ll teach you how to get close to spirits!! Euat?!”

Rosette herself was surprised because her voice was louder than she thought. It was cute to see her small body shaking.

I stroked Rosette’s witch hat. Then Rosette was startled again. It felt good to see a responsive pet. Rosette said in a hurried voice.

“… You can’t stroke me like that… We’re friends.”

Before I could answer that, the conversation between the two stopped for a moment. Instructor Meters arrived at the Colosseum.

“Alright… everyone pay attention! It would be nice if you came to play. But today is the day we have to do the annoying power evaluation.”

Meters shouted with an expression as if he hadn’t fully woken up yet.

“… So that’s all for the explanation of this power evaluation. Simple, right?”

Instructor Meters’ explanation was all over. As he said, there wasn’t much to explain about the power evaluation.

The pseudo-gate that was unfolding before my eyes now. The evaluation would be over if I entered that place and cleared the Dungeon quickly.

“If you retire during the evaluation, your ranking will be based on the difficulty of the place you retired from. They’re just monsters made with illusion magic and hallucination magic anyway. Don’t be too scared. At least they won’t smell as bad.”

Then Meters added as if he had belatedly remembered.

“Ah. And one more thing. The reproduction rate is high because it’s a pseudo-Dungeon made directly with purified Mahon Stones. Even if it’s an illusion, it hurts if you get hit by the monsters. The graduate students who made this pseudo-Dungeon said that they perfectly recreated the pain and the feeling of dying. Of course, I haven’t died yet, so I don’t know that feeling at all. It’ll probably suck, so be careful. Then start the evaluation!”

At the same time as Instructor Meters’ signal, the students moved.

Pseudo-gates were created individually in front of the students. The composition inside was the same for all students.

And if you clear that Dungeon, you will return to the current location and rank them.

I casually checked the color of the gate. A green gate. Just like the mission in the Nevere Territory last time, it was a 3rd Form monster’s gate.

But dark sparks flickered around the gate. That meant it was a special species Dungeon, not a normal 3rd Form monster Dungeon.

‘It means it’s similar to the Cyclops Dungeon last time.’

Of course, the inside of the Dungeon is more difficult because it’s not a real thing. But I know all the internal information through Demon King Killing and Jokbo. So I’m not nervous at all.

I entered the gate. The surroundings went dark for a moment and then brightened again.

“A dirty Dungeon.”

That was the first thing I said as soon as I entered. There was a reason why it was difficult to be in first place in this power evaluation. The middle of a vast mountainous area. The view was immediately limited due to the dense trees on all sides.

It was more difficult to find the way than to find the monsters. On top of that, it was full of curses and ominous fog due to the Mahon Power unique to Dungeons.

Keuooooh-

And the monster’s cry was heard from not far away. It wasn’t an ordinary cry. It was a scream that made me nauseous, like a kind of curse.

‘Mahon Power is mixed in. Is it a monster that has been monsterized?’

I took out the Imperial Sword from its scabbard. Last winter. The Imperial Sword that I first grabbed for the military parade in Essenmund. A completely different new sensation was transmitted through the handle than that Imperial Sword.

Uuuuuuu-

When I poured Mana into it, the blade of the Imperial Sword resonated with a dull sound. And the rune letters clearly floated on the blade.

It was the Imperial Sword that I had newly strengthened through Cecilia. I checked the grade of the new Imperial Sword through the system.