Ch.116115. Final Exams (9)

# 115. Final Exam (9)

It’s true that she has an advantage in terms of compatibility and basic skills.

However, compatibility can be overcome depending on the situation, and the skill gap isn’t that significant, so it probably won’t be an easy match for her either.

Just like in our previous close combat where I nearly won, this time too, neither of us will achieve an overwhelming victory.

But there was one problem with the current situation.

The problem of an unreasonable schedule.

“But seriously, having five close combat matches in one day seems really unfair.”

“I don’t think so though.”

This is exactly why I call it unreasonable.

Originally, it wouldn’t have been an issue since everyone had five matches, and pacing oneself was considered part of one’s skill, so there were no complaints.

However, my opponent will only have her match with me tomorrow.

“Since that seems like cheating, I’ll go easy on you.”

“No need. You can go all out.”

Of course, I didn’t want to whine about it either.

My pride wouldn’t allow it, and besides, the match started at 7 PM, so there was plenty of time to rest.

“Pacing is also a skill.”

“I thought you’d say that… you never disappoint.”

She smiled contentedly at those words, and I replied:

“Anyway, I look forward to tomorrow. Though I’ll win, of course.”

“Just make sure you don’t lose before facing me, okay?”

“Don’t worry about that. I may not be confident about beating you, but I’m confident about beating those guys.”

“Didn’t you just say you’d win?”

“That’s just a figure of speech, you know.”

***

After the practical exam, which was no different from before, the schedule everyone had been waiting for arrived.

The one-on-one close combat exams proceeded sequentially according to the schedule.

Despite the tight schedule, it wasn’t too exhausting thanks to the short breaks between matches.

In fact, compared to our usual practice matches, these one-on-one exams were relatively easier to handle.

I was now heading to the assigned arena for my match against Leo, which would be my last battle in this time slot.

‘I wonder how it’ll go…’

Like Leo, Raycle wasn’t in our party, but despite losing to me, he showed skills beyond my expectations.

So I was curious about Leo’s abilities, especially since I heard he trained with Raycle.

Of course, since he mainly uses magic that isn’t as threatening as Aelin’s, I wasn’t too worried.

With that mindset, I stepped onto the arena.

Then I greeted him, who had arrived earlier.

“Long time no see?”

Leo, with his brilliant hair that shone like the midday sun, even more radiant than Aelin’s, answered with a faint smile.

“Not really, we see each other in class all the time.”

“Oh… right.”

“But… why are you my opponent? I don’t understand at all. Do you know why?”

“How would I know? Ask the professors.”

Compared to confident kids in our party like Chris or even Raycle, Leo seemed to lack confidence.

Despite having skills worthy of confidence.

“I’m probably going to lose anyway, so can I just surrender?”

“That would be… inconvenient for me.”

“Unlike you, I’m not the type who enjoys this kind of thing.”

When he said “unlike you,” it seemed like he thought of me as someone obsessed with fighting.

“Still, if I surrender, those people will complain, so I’ll bear with it.”

“That’s not for my sake… why are you acting like you’re doing me a favor?”

“It’s a win-win anyway.”

With those words, Leo drew his main weapon.

Just by looking at the spear he pulled out, I could tell it was quite expensive.

The golden spear, not much different from his hair color, looked like it would boast impressive performance.

Leo gave me an annoying smile as he saw me staring blankly at his weapon.

“Jealous? Why don’t you ask your rich girlfriend to buy you one?”

“Actually, my weapon is probably better than yours.”

I summoned a sword that was not at all inferior to Leo’s spear—in fact, it would be no exaggeration to say it was even better.

-Woong!-

Leo, just like me earlier, was staring blankly at my weapon.

I spoke to Leo, who had an expression that seemed to say, ‘I want that…’

“You couldn’t buy this even if you offered hundreds of billions.”

“…”

“If you’re jealous, just say so.”

“When do we start?”

“Now.”

I was looking at the referee coming up to the arena, and so was Leo.

Gloria, who had been overseeing my close combat exams since before, spoke to us.

“I didn’t know you two were so friendly. I thought you weren’t close since you never talk to each other normally.”

“We’re not close.”

“We’re not close.”

We both denied it simultaneously, and Gloria looked at us with a pleased expression.

“We’re really not close, seriously.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, please get ready everyone.”

“Let’s start right away, I’m ready.”

“Me too.”

“You probably know the rules, but let me explain…”

We hastily interrupted Gloria.

“It’s fine.”

“This would be the fourth time hearing it… really.”

“But I still need to explain…”

“Let’s start.”

“You come at me first.”

We didn’t want to hear the explanation for the fourth time, so we started the exam right away between ourselves.

I didn’t want to attack first, but to avoid the explanation, I had no choice but to go in.

“Be careful.”

I used [Swift] to close the considerable distance between Leo and myself.

Gloria seemed flustered by our sudden action, but it didn’t matter.

Ignoring Gloria’s surprised expression, I swung my sword at him, being careful not to touch his spear.

Since I hadn’t surrounded my sword with the Abyss, it would be a bit dangerous if I got hit by Leo’s magic.

-Swish! Swish!-

However, Leo must have learned [Swift] too, as he momentarily increased his agility to avoid my sword.

‘This wasn’t supposed to be a skill that just anyone could use…’

If Leo’s growth rate was this high, it wouldn’t be surprising if everyone in A-Class learned [Swift] by their second year.

After all, Leo was at the bottom of A-Class when we first entered.

“I have that too.”

Leo seemed to have quite high mana reserves, as he kept spamming [Swift] to maintain that state.

I could do the same, but unlike Leo, I chose not to.

“That’s not very efficient.”

Continuously using the same skill not only reduces efficiency but also makes the body tire more quickly.

Leo must know this fact too.

Yet, he still chose that approach.

‘Because he can’t keep up otherwise.’

Leo’s agility is by no means high.

So to maintain the same pace as me, who has overwhelmingly high agility, he had no choice but to use that method.

Of course, it was still insufficient.

I maintained the same pace, while Leo’s agility was gradually decreasing.

-Swish! Thud!-

As a result, Leo was developing more and more openings, allowing attacks, and I was making those openings even bigger.

-Thud! Thud thud!-

Since using the sword could be dangerous, I attacked Leo using only my fists.

However, Leo didn’t seem to appreciate this consideration.

“Are you looking down on me?”

“Yeah, I am. What are you going to do about it?”

Leo’s current position was too ambiguous.

He was using a spear and magic without having mastered the basics of being a warrior.

“That’s why you lose to Aelin too.”

“Don’t bring her up.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised by Leo’s unexpectedly serious voice.

Leo, who seemed angered by the mention of ‘Aelin,’ suddenly pointed his spear at me with a serious expression.

“And stop going easy on me. It’s annoying.”

***

Albert and Leo.

Their match was a hot topic both inside and outside the academy.

Not only the academy students but also people who were normally interested in the Imperial Academy paid close attention to the match.

However, there were definitely people who didn’t welcome such attention.

‘What’s the big deal about this…’

Aelin clicked her tongue as she watched those who were filming the match up close.

“Tsk…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Why are they filming like that?”

“It’s a big deal these days, especially your brother.”

Albert had gained quite a bit of recognition due to the title of “the princess’s lover,” and both he and those around him were feeling the effects.

“That’s true, but to this extent?”

“Of course. Haven’t you looked it up online?”

“Why would I look that up…”

Aelin continued to look at her brother with a dissatisfied expression.

As expected, Albert was dominating the match, but his expression wasn’t very good.

‘What’s wrong with him now? Wasn’t he planning to go easy?’

Albert had been holding back, conserving his skills, but it seemed his mind had changed as he suddenly started to take the match seriously.

For the first time in this close combat exam, Albert activated [Mortal’s End] and pointed his sword at Leo.

Then he said to Leo, who had suddenly smiled just like himself:

“You could die if you’re not careful, so stay alert.”