Ch.113112. Final Exams (6)

# 112. Final Exams (6)

That incident did make me question how safe the academy really was, but I figured it would be fine since not many people possessed Lilith’s level of mana control ability.

‘It should be fine… I’m probably worrying over nothing.’

Even though Amelia would be leaving the academy temporarily to escort us, the academy still had plenty of exceptional talents like her and Riel.

Besides, according to Lilith, there was virtually no chance of the Babylon Kingdom launching another attack at this time, so my concerns were indeed unnecessary.

That’s why it would be wiser to get some sleep now rather than dwelling on these thoughts.

I went to bed with a small wish:

‘I hope I do well on tomorrow’s exam.’

***

Wednesday was somewhat less boring than Monday and Tuesday.

Today was the always-nerve-wracking exam day, but the situation was quite different from the previous midterms, so this time we were all heading to the exam hall together.

Perhaps because there were too many students and some demons’ whereabouts remained unknown, unlike last time, two grade levels at a time were directed to the written exam hall.

That’s why the 1st and 2nd year middle school students took their written exams on Tuesday, a day earlier than originally scheduled.

Of course, there was no schedule change for the 3rd year middle school students and us 1st year high school students.

“Our schedule stays the same.”

“That’s a good thing…”

“But what’s wrong with you? Did you pull an all-nighter?”

Chris looked sleep-deprived.

He had clearly been studying day and night because of the exam tomorrow.

“Well… something like that.”

“That’s actually worse, you know? Your condition is so important…”

“What good is being in good condition if you don’t know anything?”

“So now you know?”

“Sort of…”

Judging by his condition and the way he was talking, it seemed like he was going to fail this exam too.

But since it was Chris, I wasn’t particularly worried.

Worrying about a genius who had already obtained [Gabriel’s Blessing] at his age would be nothing more than a waste of time.

Fortunately, everyone else besides Chris seemed quite confident.

Not only Briton, Reina, and Rachel, who had done well on the previous exam, but this time even Eve and Aelin had confident expressions.

“You should just give up on the written exam.”

“No…! I’ll do well this time!”

He was more confident than I expected.

The fact that he stayed up all night seemed to have given him a bit of confidence, but I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

“Oh… really? Good luck then… It’s fine if you do well, and if not, that’s that.”

“Don’t do well on yours.”

“Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you fail miserably too.”

We exchanged these friendly words of encouragement and then went to find our respective exam rooms.

‘Almost everyone’s already here…’

Since we were following at the very end, we arrived last, and most people had already arrived and were waiting in their assigned seats.

I too sat in my assigned seat and waited for the exam to begin.

While others were chatting with their close friends during that time, I had no one to talk to.

‘What are they talking about so animatedly?’

That question was short-lived as the proctor entered the classroom, and the first period of the exam day began.

Since this was the final written exam of the first semester, the scope was quite broad, causing many students to struggle.

There were quite a few students complaining in the library about it.

‘But… this seems really easy?’

That was just my first impression, and I clearly needed to stay focused since I didn’t know what problems would come next.

‘Still, first-year problems are all pretty similar…’

***

First-year problems were indeed all similar, and that thought didn’t change even by the last period.

While they were similar, I couldn’t say they were truly easy either.

On our way back to the academy, we discussed various things about this exam.

Everyone seemed to have done reasonably well, as no one looked particularly distressed.

As I was feeling relieved about this fact, Chris approached me with a bright smile and asked:

“Hey, how did it go?”

“I definitely did better than you, no doubt.”

“I think I did pretty well this time?”

“I’m beyond just ‘pretty well.'”

I hardly had any problems I didn’t know, let alone ones I was unsure about.

“Oh… really? What about you guys?”

“I’m also… beyond just ‘pretty well’…”

“Eve… what about you?”

Chris’s bright smile was gradually disappearing.

“I must have done better than you, at the very least.”

And with that one cutting remark from Eve, who had failed the midterm exam with him, his smile completely vanished.

That stinging comment flew straight at Chris.

Chris lost his smile and was now walking quietly with a gloomy expression.

Amelia and I burst out laughing at the sight, while the others were giving Chris sympathetic looks.

“Hey… you’re laughing?”

“It’s funny, isn’t it?”

“Sorry to say this, but… it is a bit funny.”

“…”

Chris couldn’t say anything as even Amelia took my side.

I felt a bit sorry for Chris, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘It’s all his own karma…’

It was his own fault for neglecting theoretical studies.

While many people were briefly happy at Chris’s misfortune, I noticed quite a few students breaking away from our group.

“Don’t we need to stop those kids?”

Although officials had instructed everyone to return directly to the academy after the exam, those students were ignoring the directive and taking different routes.

Amelia just sighed at the sight but didn’t take any other action.

“I tried to stop them yesterday… it’s not something a person should have to do…”

I wasn’t sure what had happened, but from Amelia’s expression, I could tell it wasn’t anything good.

“So I asked about it, and they said to just let them be, that they’ll take responsibility for themselves.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Still, you guys should go straight back. Nothing good comes from being mistakenly identified.”

“Of course.”

I was planning to return directly even without Amelia saying so.

I had nothing else to do, and I wanted to get back quickly to clear some dungeons.

However, Aelin was different from me.

“But what are we going to do when we get back?”

“Want to have a mock battle after a long time?”

“Huh…? Do we have to?”

“We haven’t done it recently because of the exam period.”

“That’s true, let’s do it.”

Briton was on my side as usual, and the others seemed to feel similarly.

“What? Couldn’t we do it after all the exams are over…?”

“Today is fine too.”

“Well… that’s…”

I said to Aelin, who was genuinely reluctant:

“Just give up. If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.”

“Ah… really, can’t you just exclude me?”

“And if I refuse?”

“I really want to rest today. You saw how much I studied… Oppa… please…”

“Do you think I’d like it if you called me that?”

That form of address made me even less willing to let her off.

“Really, I can’t skip it?”

“Nope. Change your clothes at the dormitory and come right out. Let’s eat and then start.”

“Be careful today. If you mess up, you might get beaten to death.”

I left Aelin, who was making such threatening remarks with a fierce expression, and entered the dormitory building.

As agreed, we changed into comfortable clothes and came back outside the dormitory building, and the girls did the same.

“If you take it easy today, you’re really dead, you know?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been hit by your skills…”

Even if I had, it would be countable on one hand.

“You were hit that time when you and Reina unnie were on the same team.”

“But it didn’t really hurt?”

“That’s because I put very little mana into it.”

It seems it did happen after all.

“Be quiet and eat your food.”

“What did you say?”

“Someone is looking at us with the same expression.”

Rather than Aelin, Chris with that expression seemed more dangerous.

I might not get hit by Aelin’s magic, but I quite frequently get hit by Chris’s fists.

“That’s all your karma.”

“Karma can be avoided if you handle it well.”

“If you handle it well…”

And Amelia was watching the situation with interest.

That hero seemed to have taken a liking to observing us like this.

I wanted to invite her to join us, but I didn’t make that choice since I didn’t know what might happen. Instead, I asked a small question:

“Will you be watching us this time too?”

“If that’s alright?”

Hearing her answer, my party members said:

“Of course it’s possible!”

“It would be an honor for us!”

Their social skills, honed through socialite activities, were certainly impressive.

Instead of such flattery, I brought up something more practical:

“Could we ask for your feedback afterward?”

“Oh, would that be okay?”

“Yes, it’s still a rare opportunity for us.”

Amelia was experienced enough to be called a veteran, so she was likely to provide valuable feedback.

And she was a long-range archer, completely opposite to my position.

I was curious how someone who could be considered the best in that field would evaluate our party members’ skills.

And if given the chance, I’d like to face her in combat.

A true active-duty warrior.

I wanted to see firsthand the skills of the hero who was recently being evaluated as “The Future of the Kainis Empire” after the recent battle.