32. Additional Evaluation and Dungeon Night (1)

The Colosseum was bustling with power evaluations.

At its center stood a large magic engineering device covered in a large quantity of magic stones. Around it, dozens of artificial gates were installed.

And in a corner of the evaluation ground, several instructors from the preliminary squad were conversing.

“It’s been four hours. Will we see any graduates soon?”

“Not yet, I think? The graduate student who created the evaluation Dungeon said it would take at least five hours, no matter how fast they are.”

Instructor Mitter responded to that.

“No. This class has quite a few talented cadets. It won’t take five hours. We might see one or two emerge from the gate shortly.”

Mitter thought. Especially Rosette and Chloe. Those two are outstanding. Among Pantheon’s history, they are top-notch in magic and alchemy, and their combat sense is excellent.

‘Of course, Rosette is a step ahead right now.’

Indeed, in the sparring match at the opening ceremony, Chloe was significantly pushed back by Rosette. It was treated as a draw due to some incident, but in reality, Rosette won.

Her innate total Mana. Based on that, Rosette can unleash high-powered attack magic without restraint.

And with her witch-specific aerial combat, she isn’t restricted by terrain or height. Chloe fought valiantly, but her opponent was too strong.

‘But this evaluation might be different.’

A few days ago, late at night, Instructor Mitter visited the Colosseum to check the completion of this evaluation Dungeon.

He saw an interesting scene there.

The graduate students working overtime looked different from usual.

‘A very expensive mint chocolate tea for teatime. Expensive late-night snacks at this hour.’

They said the late-night snacks were purchased with their own money, but that was nonsense. There’s no way the graduate students’ wallets are that thick.

After pressing them a bit more, a familiar name came up.

Lady Aitherne, the Marquis’s daughter. So, Chloe. Chloe had apparently given the graduate students late-night snacks. There’s no way that cunning Chloe did that without a purpose.

‘She must have extracted information about this evaluation Dungeon.’

And Mitter inwardly praised Chloe highly. It would be heavily criticized in Pantheon’s theory exams. This evaluation is for the preliminary squad.

The preliminary squad members’ job is to fight magical beasts. In other words, they’re going to a battlefield where a moment of carelessness can get their heads lopped off.

‘Fair play doesn’t feed you. And you can’t turn that fair-playing corpse into an undead to fight.’

Black magic was illegal in the Empire. Anyway, in such a battlefield, information warfare is essential. Obtaining that advance information is naturally an individual’s skill.

Also, no matter how much information you have about the Dungeon, in the end, you have to conquer it yourself. If your basic skills aren’t up to par, that information is just a piece of paper.

So, Mitter was secretly looking forward to who would come in first place. Of course, even if Chloe had that information, Rosette was still superior.

‘However, Rosette, being a genius witch, lacks a desperate edge.’

She’s not lazy, but she’s not the type to push herself until she exceeds her limits.

If Chloe wins this time, it might stimulate Rosette. If their skills improve further, it would be a pleasure for Mitter.

“Then who will come in third place? Probably Leaf from the Combat Discipline, right?”

“Leaf, huh. Probably? As the representative cadet of the Combat Discipline, he seems quite skilled.”

Leaf. A swordsman from a commoner background. Currently, a Mana swordsman who has entered the 3rd tier. Mitter naturally knew him as well.

‘He’s been rumored to be a skilled cadet since his freshman year.’

Of course, Rosette and Chloe were too outstanding, so he wasn’t as famous. Moreover, including support cadets like healers, his presence is overshadowed by Princess Lilia as well.

However, his recent results in the preliminary squad missions were not bad. Looking at the mission reports, he defeated the magical beasts in a very textbook manner.

‘But it’s too textbook. No fun. No unexpectedness.’

So, the cadet that came to Mitter’s mind was someone else entirely. He said,

“Another cadet might unexpectedly come in third. For example, Count Yulian.”

“Yulian? That rascal… I mean, that Count? I know you’re friendly with Count Yulian, Instructor Mitter, but aren’t you overestimating him too much?”

One of the instructors said, looking puzzled. The other instructors agreed with him.

“He’s the noble successor of His Excellency, Frontier Count Wilhelm… but wasn’t his combat skill terrible enough to make Reinhardt’s blood feel wasted? He’s been absorbed in strange arts since his freshman year…”

“Heum. Strange arts, you say? The world of art is freely open. Even to someone like me who makes art with magical beast corpses.”

“Ah. I misspoke without realizing it. Anyway, Count Yulian coming in third is quite unexpected.”

But another instructor refuted that instructor’s words.

“No. Instructor Mitter’s words aren’t entirely without merit. I heard that the rascal Count has changed since becoming a sophomore. He’s been consistently attending the Combat Discipline’s training. And above all, the mission report from Nvere Territory that became a hot topic recently. I heard that Count Yulian succeeded in that mission.”

“Nvere Territory, that’s where that unique gate came from. But didn’t he form a pair with Chloe in that mission? Then it must have been due to the Marquis’s daughter’s efforts…”

Mitter immediately denied those words.

“That’s not the case. According to the report, Count Yulian ended the Dungeon boss’s life. Not just the boss, but also other magical beasts and monsters.”

“Heum. If it’s Lady Aitherne, she has an extraordinary mind, befitting the successor of that giant merchant guild. Isn’t she deliberately giving the credit to Count Yulian after handling everything herself? To curry favor with the Frontier Count’s family.”

That also wouldn’t be the case. Mitter had heard from Darren, a highly skilled instructor in the Combat Discipline with whom he had a personal connection. Unexpectedly, Count Yulian already knew how to use the Lionheart Sword.

Moreover, he showed amazing performance during training, overwhelming other cadets in the Combat Discipline.

‘The famous White Night Knights’ standard swordsmanship. And to satisfy that strict Instructor Darren’s standards. Imitating it poorly would be counterproductive.’

But Yulian seemed to have completely satisfied Darren’s standards.

Because he’s an instructor who never speaks empty words. And he secretly told me that his potential might be superior to Leaf’s.

Moreover, after confirming the Nvere Territory mission report that I showed him. Darren seemed even more convinced of his assessment. That picky person, that is.

The instructors’ conversation continued.

“Well, Instructor Mitter’s words might be right. Either way, Reinhardt is Reinhardt. The Count is the grandson of the great His Excellency Wilhelm and the son of Saint Agnes-nim. There’s a saying that blood can’t be deceived, right?”

“That’s true, but his performance last year was so below expectations. But if Instructor Mitter thinks so. Is there perhaps room for consideration?”

“Euhm. Come to think of it, I heard that Count Yulian is taking lectures from various Disciplines. His name has been frequently mentioned among other professors recently, so I wondered if it was possible. Has he really changed?”

That’s how the instructors debated among themselves. They all seemed half-doubtful. Well, it wouldn’t be easy to change that complete rascal image from last year overnight.

Mitter clapped his hands together to calm them down.

“Alright, alright. Well. We’ll know whether that’s true or not by watching the results of this evaluation. More importantly, this isn’t the end of the power evaluation. Let’s stop stealing our salaries here.”

“Instructor Mitter is right. We need to conduct additional evaluations for the cadets who haven’t retired. We should start preparing.”

The instructors who finished chatting were about to move. Right then.

A cadet emerged from the artificial gate. The instructors fell silent for a moment. Soon, one instructor shouted.

“That cadet is…! That… Instructor Mitter was really right. It’s Count Yulian!”

“Really? Maybe he retired and came out of the gate early…”

“I don’t think so. Look. Doesn’t he look perfectly fine?”

“Then are you saying Count Yulian really came in first place?”

All the instructors looked at Instructor Mitter with astonished eyes. They seemed to be expecting an explanation from him. But Mitter himself was actually flustered.

‘Wait. I thought third place was possible. First place?’

Mitter examined Yulian’s expression. He looked calm, as if he wasn’t surprised at all that he had come in first place. He calmly raised his hand and shouted towards the instructors.

“Yulian von Reinhardt. Power evaluation Dungeon cleared!”

And he held out the Dungeon’s core in one hand. The artificial core that created this test gate. Clear evidence of Dungeon conquest.

The instructors were once again in shock.

I successfully completed the power evaluation. First place, as I aimed for. The Undead Knight, who was the Dungeon boss, wasn’t really anything special.

‘According to the cheat sheet, the process of getting there was more important than the boss.’

The various buffs that increased the difficulty of the boss. I had taken care of all the tricky subordinate magical beasts responsible for those buffs.

Even if it was the boss, the Undead Knight was only a slightly stronger 3rd tier magical beast.

‘And I had White Night.’

The more magical beasts and monsters I cut down, the more Reinhardt’s blood surged. I maintained that sensation and used the ultimate technique, White Night.

The Undead Knight couldn’t react to that attack at all. The result was first place, as it is now. The expressions of the instructors who found me outside the gate were quite a sight to behold.

Even the always easygoing Instructor Mitter couldn’t hide his flustered expression. He came up to me and said,

“Count Yulian-nim? Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? It must have been a nauseating Dungeon.”

“Yes. I’m fine, Instructor Mitter-nim.”

“Oh… I see. Well, good job. And you can speak informally as usual. Anyway, why don’t you wait nearby for now? The other cadets haven’t come out yet.”

“I will.”

And Instructor Mitter whispered to me.

“Count-nim. But actually, this power evaluation isn’t over yet. After two more people come out after you, we have to conduct an additional evaluation right away. Take a rest for a moment.”

“Additional evaluation?”

Of course, I already knew. That the artificial Dungeon I cleared a little while ago was definitely not the end of this power evaluation. But I pretended not to know and listened to his explanation.

“It’s a kind of endurance training, so to speak. You’ve all used your strength properly in this evaluation Dungeon. We’ll group the top three in order of clearing the Dungeon and throw them into a separate artificial Dungeon one more time. And that will be a Dungeon of a higher tier than the current 3rd tier. It’s a very useful training method, isn’t it? It’s also an evaluation.”

If your physical condition wasn’t good right after coming out of the current gate, you could give up the additional evaluation.

But that didn’t apply to cadets aiming for squad leader. If you didn’t receive that evaluation, you wouldn’t be awarded the squad leader’s qualification and insignia, even if you passed the previous Dungeon within the top 10.

“Anyway, it’s a Dungeon where we deliberately throw cadets to suffer to death. It’ll be tough. What will you do?”

Of course, it was a question that wasn’t even worth considering.

“Of course, I’ll take it.”

“Hoo. Count Yulian-nim. How fascinating. Count Yulian-nim from freshman year was also fun, but your eyes have changed a lot since then. Could it be…”

Mitter whispered with a sly expression.

“Did you perhaps learn the taste of women during winter vacation? A man only becomes a real adult after knowing women. Count Yulian-nim. You didn’t have any sexual experience for a rascal, did you? I knew it all along.”

I was taken aback by his words. In fact, that was one of the reasons I became stronger. More than that, Yulian was surprisingly a virgin.

‘Come to think of it, Aylin was also a virgin.’

But I didn’t know if he hadn’t gone all the way even at the lewd parties he enjoyed with Fabian. It was surprising that Mitter knew that fact as well.

I calmly replied.

“Of course not. I’m not some lewd and evil demon. I was just training hard.”

Instructor Mitter vigorously patted my shoulder.

“That’s Count Yulian for you. As expected of someone who shares my theory of art. Wonderful!”

I shared a theory of art with this crazy instructor who makes performance art with magical beast corpses… As expected, the original owner of my body’s world of art was also unique.

As I was chatting with Instructor Mitter like that. Another cadet came out of the gate. As expected, Chloe. And another cadet came out with a very slight difference. It was Rosette.

“Oh my. That Marquis’s daughter barely came in second. What a shame. If it weren’t for Count Yulian, she would have been first.”

It was as he said. Chloe, after confirming that she had won against Rosette, raised both hands above her head, unlike her usual self. But soon, she saw me, who had arrived earlier, and her expression became subtle.

“Anyway, now that three people have come out. We should start the additional evaluation soon. Ah. And Count Yulian-nim. The additional evaluation Dungeon is very dirty. I’ll explain it one more time, but the goal isn’t to clear it.”

He wore a sly expression.

“A Dungeon close to the 2nd tier. And we’ll throw you into the gate with the cadets’ divine power bound. Just try to survive until the set time. Ah. As befits a 2nd tier Dungeon, there is night there as well. Be careful.”

That was exactly as I knew it. Of course, my best record in Demon King Slayer was 5th place, so I entered an easier place than the additional Dungeon Mitter was talking about.

Soon, Rosette, Chloe, and I. The three of us entered a new Dungeon according to the instructor’s instructions.