Ch.1717. End-of-Term Evaluation (5)

Like all schools, one learns by studying intensely, making mistakes, receiving scolding, and accumulating knowledge and experience.

However, there must be a way to verify if these lessons have been properly learned.

Tests that comprehensively cover everything taught so far inevitably exist, and they’re conducted periodically like a ritual to monitor students’ growth.

And naturally, there are various types of tests—achievement assessments, performance evaluations, midterms, finals, quizzes, and more—all according to the professor’s syllabus.

But in this academy, only two tests truly matter to students.

The end-of-semester evaluation. The beginning-of-semester evaluation.

These two tests carry the most weight in each of Levrant Academy’s three semesters per year.

Based on these two tests, performance levels and practical results are extracted, graded, and used to determine class placements.

They reveal whether a student has fallen behind, or perhaps excelled unexpectedly in a previously neglected area.

These tests are also when the most noticeable changes occur—when latent potential germinates or blooms into unique magic according to one’s aptitude and talents.

Consequently, since they often determine the direction of growth, these tests are more important to students than any other.

However, the reaction to this end-of-semester evaluation was seriously negative.

“This seems odd for an end-of-semester evaluation.”

“I know, right? It feels like something’s missing. Maybe the professors from Hardia are underestimating us?”

“They didn’t even say anything when I went separately from my partner. I should’ve ditched them earlier—I would’ve arrived sooner. They just held me back.”

“You got off easy. One senior from the Empire told me to strip naked and cross the river! I treated them with respect, but they turned out to be worse than the vanguards!”

“Wow… I guess vanguards are useless even in Hardia.”

“Vanguards will be vanguards. I’m really glad I spent money to learn basic magic.”

“Sigh, this test seems completely meaningless. I wonder what they’re even trying to evaluate.”

“Maybe they made it easy for the vanguards’ sake? Not that it’ll help them move up anyway.”

“A test where you just arrive and camp? If that’s all, I should’ve come faster!”

“Wake up. We still have the beginning-of-semester evaluation. Let’s go have some wine outside.”

While the end-of-semester evaluation should represent the culmination of students’ knowledge and experience, most reactions to this assessment were that it was strange or peculiar.

Furthermore, students were expressing all sorts of complaints—that something was wrong with Hardia, that the Artena Empire’s prestige wasn’t what it used to be—showing their dissatisfaction with the entire evaluation process.

Students who completed the four-stage test poured out of the examination site.

Only the professors and supervisors responsible for judging remained.

Professor Muniher had frowned so many times that it was impossible to count.

“Tsk, they said there were talented individuals everywhere. But this is nothing short of human disaster.”

Was it that students reacted poorly to the end-of-semester evaluation? No.

The problem was the test-takers’ attitude. So far, not a single person had met Professor Muniher’s standards, which said it all.

The current first and second-year students were at such a serious level that, far from being assets, it would be fortunate if they didn’t become liabilities on the battlefield.

How could these ragtag individuals be called elites? They should be considered the bottom of the bottom.

Inwardly, Muniher hurled insults at the professors who had called these students Levrant’s proud honor students.

He fully understood why the Grand Duke had sent an urgent request.

“Um… Professor…”

“What is it?”

“Professor… I truly am not lying. There’s nothing to record…”

“I’m in the same situation…”

“…This is absurd.”

How dire must the situation be for the supervising judges to helplessly hold their evaluation sheets and say there’s nothing to record?

Swallowing the vulgarities and curses rising from his throat, he accepted the evaluation sheets.

“Sigh… How many have gone so far?”

“Ahem… Six-tenths of all first and second-year students.”

The supervisors were clearly watching Professor Muniher’s mood, indicating how bad the situation was.

Six-tenths. More than half.

It meant that 60% of first and second-year students had failed to grasp the purpose of the end-of-semester evaluation and simply left.

Professor Muniher felt dizzy at the thought of how to grade and divide the classes. After personally setting up the end-of-semester evaluation site and establishing appropriate educational guidelines, those 60% had recorded failing grades.

Professor Muniher finally determined that drastic measures were needed to cut off the rotten branches.

“We’ll need to establish another class.”

“Wouldn’t that make class division more difficult?”

“Not at the top. We need a class to put those rejects in. Some might have a change of heart and approach the beginning-of-semester evaluation properly.”

“Then… an F class below E class…?”

“Yes. Let’s create one at the bottom.”

Class assignments are determined by two tests: the end-of-semester evaluation at the end of a semester and the beginning-of-semester evaluation at the start of a new one.

Those students still have a chance to escape failing grades.

If they prepare for the beginning-of-semester evaluation during the short break after the end-of-semester evaluation, they might avoid being assigned to the worst class, F class, which will soon be established.

“What about the remaining four-tenths of students?”

“Some are still in progress, and there are a few noteworthy ones, I hear.”

“…That’s a small blessing amid misfortune.”

Professor Muniher, who had been anxious about what would happen if all students ended up in lower classes with 60% of first and second-years failing, breathed a sigh of relief. It meant there was still a glimmer of hope in this disastrous academy.

Unlike when cutting off rotten branches, he now nodded in approval as he looked at the evaluation records of properly growing sprouts.

Pairs checking if there was something special about the rock wall they had returned to.

Those who were told to cross a river but verified whether there were hidden streams beyond the visible river.

Even this was excellent, and quite a few had made up for points lost in the first stage test by climbing the rock wall rashly.

‘This is how it should be. Indeed.’

Now the correct attitudes of those responding to the test were emerging.

When nothing is explained, one should question if there’s something more, and it’s right to be suspicious of hidden objectives.

Shouldn’t one wonder why the test is so easy, or what this unrestricted test is trying to evaluate?

One might make impulsive judgments at the start, but that shouldn’t continue in pursuit of comfort.

That was precisely the intention of Muniher, the creator of this end-of-semester evaluation.

Looking deeper, one could see the true divine nature.

“Whew, it’s quite cold?”

For instance, that student at the back by the river who, unlike his foolish partner, took off his top and crossed the river without using any magic, with the mindset of surviving in the wild, trying to keep his clothes as dry as possible.

“I thought this would be enough to record… but something seems off, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm… You’re right, Erika. Let’s readjust the contour intervals. We’ll have to mark this area.”

“Michelle, I’m so grateful you’re here. I couldn’t have done this alone.”

“Erika, you’re the one who detected there were no magical beasts. And you suggested making a map of the terrain might be the right answer.”

A second-year pair who remembered they were supposed to be in teams of two, staying with their partners, and keeping in mind that the test must have some purpose.

“The color of the leaves isn’t changing. So it’s not about purifying polluted river water… What could it be?”

A second-year female student who, despite acting separately from her partner due to disagreement, was approaching the test’s intention in her own way.

All of these students showed they had pondered what the hidden intention might be.

‘Goden, Erika, Michelle, Senia… and several others stand out. I should make a separate record.’

These were names worth noting even by the discerning Professor Muniher’s standards.

Optimistic that there would always be promising sprouts even with such terrible teaching, he was jotting down promising names on his personal notepad when—

“Ah, ah. Can you hear me, Professor Muniher?”

The guide instructor from the second stage test requested communication with him.

“What is it?”

“Well…”

Just like with Professor Jake, a situation had arisen where it was difficult to grade a certain pair.

***

“Which pair are you referring to?”

“Those two over there. Second-year male—”

“Shh. That’s not important. Let’s just observe quietly for now.”

Upon receiving the information, Professor Muniher immediately focused on the conversation between the two individuals.

“Senior, is this enough?”

“That’s plenty. Put it over there. I’ll tie the rest with rope myself.”

Initially, not using magic might have been coincidental, but even now, Junon and Renias showed no intention of using magic.

They maximized the use of tools provided in the containment pocket, even untying and using the small string attached to the provided water bottle.

It was as if they had perfectly grasped an objective that no one else in this test was expected to achieve.

‘…Could it be they haven’t used any magic at all so far?’

A second-year male student with black hair and black eyes whom he’d never seen before.

A first-year female student with silver hair and black eyes whom he recognized.

As Professor Muniher focused on the two, a strange sense of expectation began to bloom.

“By the way, Senior.”

“Huh! What?”

“Why aren’t you using magic even though you succeeded in climbing the rock wall in the first stage?”

“Because I’m planning to do it with just my body.”

When the silver-haired girl asked this of the black-haired boy who was tying knots to bind logs together, Professor Muniher flinched momentarily and raised an eyebrow.

The student named Goden from earlier was at least someone who had grown up in Hardia and whom he had once taught, so that was understandable.

But what did this second-year student just say?

Planning to do it with just his body?

‘He couldn’t have received any instruction from me… yet he immediately grasped the reason not to use magic?’

That single statement penetrated the significance of this test.

In battle, crises come without warning—how would one cope in extreme situations where not a single spell can be cast?

While it was partly to check if students had this kind of awareness, he hadn’t expected anyone to notice the core content of the test.

No, he thought no student would realize this was a test based on emergency situations.

With expectations inflated like a balloon, Professor Muniher held his breath and concentrated on their conversation.

However, as if meant to burst like a balloon, those expectations subsided.

“Isn’t it difficult to cross with just your body?”

Junon checked if one side of the raft was secured by pulling it, then answered Renias’s question.

“If that bothered you, you should have said so earlier. I told you to go ahead at your own discretion without worrying about me. They said we could separate from our pairs once we entered the second stage test.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m just curious. If needed, I could use magic to transport you too, so I was wondering why you’re choosing the difficult path.”

“Hmm… It’s just my personal issue.”

“Personal issue?”

“Even though I’ve germinated my unique magic, it’s not very effective in places like this. So I just have to make do with my body.”

“Oh… so that’s what it was. Ah, let me do that. Give it here. I’m finding this fun.”

After leaving these meaningful words, the two focused solely on making the raft.

‘…So that’s what it was.’

He had been hopeful, but it wasn’t to be.

He had wondered if there might be someone who took this entire situation as a battlefield and approached everything with seriousness.

Someone who might show potential as a commander in emergencies.

It didn’t help that the student’s black hair and black eyes reminded him of someone who had returned to land long ago.

Since excessive expectations aren’t good, he needed to return to his position as a professor and test supervisor.

“Do you have a record of their movements?”

“Here it is.”

“Hmm…”

Looking at their movements, it seemed the E-class student had realized early on that he lacked talent for magic and had turned to using his body instead of magic.

‘So it was coincidence, not judgment.’

Though disappointed, it was enough that there were items worthy of high marks, and Professor Muniher personally graded Junon and Renias.

“I’ve handled the problematic parts myself, so continue taking turns watching and handling the rest.”

“What? P-Professor! Just a moment!”

“Right now I’m quite busy sorting through all those who failed. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

Professor Muniher recommended rest for the existing supervisor, assigned a new one, and returned to his original location.

However… a rather troublesome situation unfolded.

“Um… should we call Professor Muniher back?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Well… the issue isn’t what the professor just checked…”

“Hmm? Explain in detail.”

The instructor scratched his head in perplexity before revealing the truth, and the new supervisor could understand why they had called Professor Muniher.

“Hmm… It is concerning that they’ve already figured out the nature of the clock that’s only supposed to be revealed in the fourth stage test…”

“But it feels awkward to request communication with the professor again and explain the situation, doesn’t it…?”

The newly arrived supervisor nodded in agreement. Professor Muniher was currently very angry because of the rejects.

If they requested communication again, he might become irritated, thinking they called for such a trivial matter.

“Just record it for now. We can talk about it later when he’s calmed down, can’t we?”

“That sounds good. Oh, and I’m absolutely not saying this because I don’t want to bear the brunt of his anger. You understand, right?”

“Stop with the plausible excuses. The professor probably wouldn’t make much of it even if he checked directly. Don’t worry.”

However, this sloppy handling began to overturn everything.