Ch.108107. Final Exams (1)

# 107. Final Exams (1)

The week that felt like a month finally ended, and the exam period was right around the corner.

Of course, I don’t particularly study during exam periods, but whenever this time comes, I get a peculiar feeling.

And looking at the scene unfolding before me now, that feeling became even more peculiar.

“Seeing you guys like this makes me feel like I should be studying too…”

“Then just study, you jerk.”

“That’s a bit much…”

I already knew all the content, and it was so easy that it felt pointless to study it again.

And I wasn’t the only one who thought that way.

“Right? Studying this again feels like a waste of time.”

“You heard her?”

Since it was her opinion, of all people, Chris couldn’t offer any rebuttal.

Chris let out a hollow laugh of disbelief and turned his eyes back to the textbook.

“But is it okay for Albert not to study? To become a Special Forces soldier, you need good grades… Ah, I guess someone like Albert would be fine anyway.”

“Um… I’m also at the top of the class in written exams.”

“Just like me then, getting first place without studying.”

Just as there are students like Elin who stay in A-class despite poor written scores because of their high practical and combat grades, written exams don’t account for that much of the total score.

So it wouldn’t matter much if I neglected the written portion, but of course, it’s better to take care of it if possible.

That’s why they were studying so diligently.

And among those studying hard, Elin, who was working the hardest, spoke to me and her.

“Sis, I hate to say this, but… you’re really annoying. And you too.”

“Just hurry up and study, Grade 4 nobody.”

“Hey… are you looking down on me for being Grade 4?”

“Ranking around 600th out of 1,500 students is pretty dismissible.”

“…”

Nevertheless, Elin studied hard both normally and during exam periods.

Yet despite all that effort, she remained stuck at Grade 4.

‘Poor thing…’

But I had absolutely no intention of helping her.

Of course, others felt the same way.

“Hey, if you could just help me a little…”

“No.”

“You’re really cutting me off like that?”

“It’s mostly memorization anyway… just put it in your head.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Well, that’s what I did.”

For humanities, I naturally became knowledgeable because I was interested in the subject and kept reading related books. As for magic and skill-related knowledge, I mastered the theory because I kept studying with the thought, ‘I want to use magic too.’

Of course, that was just theory. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t use magic of any element due to my complete lack of talent.

People often say “magic is talent,” but the gap seemed too extreme.

‘I wish I had magical talent like that person…’

Just as I was thinking that, that magically talented person asked me:

“By the way, Albert, have you ever thought about learning magic?”

“Ah… I gave up on that long ago.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

She realized the meaning behind my words and apologized to me.

“It’s okay.”

“That’s good. Besides, you shouldn’t have talent in magic to begin with.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

“If you did, what would be left for everyone else?”

The reason I tried to learn magic wasn’t to become a mage, but to compensate for the lack of defense in my fighting style, so the fact that I had no talent for magic wasn’t that significant.

Still, given the time I’d invested, it was quite disappointing.

“So I have no talent… I can’t use elemental magic, or even non-elemental magic.”

From the beginning, I couldn’t sense any elemental energy in my mana, so using elemental magic was out of the question.

“But I’m the same way.”

“Me too…”

It was somewhat comforting that there were others like Chris and Reina who sympathized with me and also lacked talent in magic.

“We’ll just have to use [Reinforcement] and [Haste] with our excess mana.”

“Isn’t that actually better? [Haste] is better than [Acceleration Magic], right?”

“That’s true… but it’s so ugly…”

Reina’s attempt to rationalize by comparing skills was truly pitiful.

Chris couldn’t hold back his laughter at the sight.

“Is it funny? Is it?”

“It’s… amusing.”

“You’re in the same boat as me…”

“I’m a priest, so I’m a bit different from you. I have holy power.”

Abandoned by her friend, Reina looked at me with a dejected expression.

As if saying, ‘I’ve been abandoned… comfort me…’

But then…

“Albert’s different from you too, right? He has that thing, you know, that thing that goes swoosh! from his sword.”

“That’s true, he is different.”

“You too…”

Seeing Reina’s expression as if she’d lost her country made me feel guilty, but that was all, and for some reason, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re really trash.”

“You’re the one who bailed first.”

“I didn’t break it down like that.”

Hearing our conversation, Reina spoke with a slightly tearful voice.

“Both of you… are mean…”

“Hey, are you actually crying?”

“No, I’m not!?”

I said to Chris, who was teasing Reina with an expression so annoying I wanted to hit him.

“She can cry if she wants to. What’s wrong with that?”

“No! I’m not crying!?”

“Crying isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s okay to cry.”

She and Elin watched with disgruntled expressions as we teased Reina.

Then they conversed in voices too quiet for us to hear.

“They really get along well…”

“He doesn’t act like that with you, right?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s a relief. He acts like that with me though. So annoying…”

“Is that so? Sometimes I wish he would act that way with me too.”

“What? What? Is that right?”

She and Elin were whispering to each other while looking at me.

‘What are they talking about?’

I didn’t know what they were discussing, but judging from Elin’s expression, it didn’t seem to be anything good.

I caught Elin, who was about to return to the dormitory after finishing her studies for the day, and asked her.

“What were you two talking about earlier?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Her response only made me more curious about what they had discussed.

“Nothing special. I was just complaining about how annoying you are.”

“Oh… really?”

“If you’re curious, ask her yourself. You’re her boyfriend, after all.”

From her reaction, it seemed she wouldn’t tell me no matter what.

Feeling it would be a waste of time to ask further, I just saw Elin off.

“Alright… take care. Study more when you get back to the dorm.”

“Hey, you want to die?”

“Try to kill me then.”

“Ugh… so childish.”

With those words, I returned to the library.

Everyone seemed to have finished their tasks and was packing up.

‘Everyone’s leaving. Should I go too? But I haven’t done much…’

It felt a bit unsatisfying to return to the dormitory like this.

It was only 6:30 PM, and I was still in good condition.

Ending the day in this situation felt like a waste of time.

‘I shouldn’t rest here.’

That thought kept circling in my mind, and as if possessed, my body headed toward the dungeon practice room.

When I entered, the supervising teacher greeted me warmly as usual.

“You’re a bit late today?”

“It’s exam period, though I didn’t actually study.”

“What’s that about… B-Advanced again today?”

“Yes, please.”

Originally, Intermediate was just right for me, but now Intermediate is too easy, and Supreme is impossible to clear alone.

So these days, when I’m alone, I only clear B-Advanced.

Before entering the dungeon, I put on the bracelet lent by the academy and did some warm-up exercises.

“Numbers 13 and 15.”

I headed to the rooms with the numbers the teacher gave me, and when I opened the door, I saw a building with the usual eerie and dark atmosphere.

There seemed to be something hypnotic about that gloomy atmosphere, and I immediately entered the dungeon.

As I entered, my status window reacted.

[You have entered the dungeon.]

That message never got old, even after seeing it hundreds of thousands of times.

Whether it was the first time I entered a dungeon with a pounding heart or now, seeing that message still made my heart race with excitement.

But that excitement was short-lived as an unidentifiable stench assaulted my nose.

It smelled like corpses, or perhaps insects.

And soon after, the masters of this dungeon revealed themselves.

Monsters shaped like mosquitoes, though their size was far too large to be called mosquitoes.

“Skittle.”

I spoke the name of these monsters as I drew my sword.

The mosquitoes seemed frightened by my sword and just watched me cautiously.

Still, they had some pride, as they didn’t flee but merely observed.

“I wish I could use fire element magic.”

If the opponent wouldn’t come to me, I had no choice but to go to them.

I activated another of my unique skills and charged toward the swarm of mosquitoes.

Those supposedly formidable mosquitoes tried to counterattack despite my intimidating presence, but…

“You’re too weak for all that posturing.”

-Slash! Crack!-

The mosquitoes lost their lives immediately after just two bare-handed hits, or one slash with my sword.

‘Were they always this weak?’

Even for B-Advanced, they seemed too weak.

In my experience, there was only one explanation for this.

‘Don’t tell me… these just hatched?’

Despite their mosquito-like appearance, Skittles lay eggs only once a year.

However, when they do lay eggs, they produce 70,000 to 100,000 eggs over the course of a month.

‘Of all times…’

No sooner had I realized this than I began to see countless mosquitoes flying toward me from the distance.

“Ah… is this for real? Well, at least I’ll gain some levels…”

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, a difficult path was confirmed.

I looked at my sword shrouded in darkness and asked:

“Can you eat all of those?”