Ch.27Chapter 27. Second Exam (2)

“Ugh. How…”

Cain muttered in disbelief as he stared at the screen.

In one corner of the classroom, the inter-grade competition was being broadcast live.

On the screen, Ryuyeong was smiling happily after finishing the second test, his face filling the entire display.

“A-Amazing.”

“As expected of a Sinclair…”

The first-year representative team of four, led by the commoner Ryuyeong, was performing exceptionally well in the competition so far.

It started with the first test, which they completed in almost the same time as the third-years.

It was expected that the third-year team would finish the first test and arrive at the obstacle course track.

But immediately afterward, with virtually no time difference, the first-years appeared on screen, causing the entire building to buzz with excitement.

Everyone had naturally assumed the second-years would appear after the third-years, not the first-years.

It was only natural for fellow freshmen to be surprised and cheer for their peers.

Up to this point, Cain had been indifferent.

The first test was just a written exam anyway, and the real challenge would begin with the second test.

He’d assumed the first-year team of just four members would struggle from here on.

But to his surprise, the first-year representatives breezed through the obstacle course, the second test, with remarkable ease.

The obstacle course was where one could truly see why the Sinclair family was among the Six Great Families, and why Elaine Sinclair was called a once-in-a-generation talent.

Elaine Sinclair, who ranked second in the 158th class.

She single-handedly destroyed all obstacles, leading her team forward.

She split rolling boulders in two, effortlessly cut through massive trees, and destroyed swift golems.

Each time Elaine demolished an obstacle and the team advanced, cheers erupted from the upper floors.

Before long, the first-years were naturally cheering for their peers.

The same went for Agnes and Marie sitting next to Cain.

But Cain couldn’t bring himself to cheer for the first-year representatives with a pure heart.

Instead, seeing Ryuyeong’s triumphant face filled him with subtle anger.

He was just lucky to have teamed up with the exceptional Elaine Sinclair, that’s the only reason he’d made it this far.

Cain really disliked how Ryuyeong showed no signs of guilt or apologetic feelings toward his teammates.

“Ugh.”

The fact that Ryuyeong hadn’t shown anything impressive so far was another point that fueled Cain’s anger.

He didn’t know about the first test, but during the obstacle course, all Ryuyeong did was run.

Why was everyone cheering for a team that included one useless commoner?

“At this rate, they’ll start the dungeon exploration before the second-years!”

“Wow… could they really take second place?”

BANG-

Unable to contain himself any longer, Cain slammed his fist on the desk while listening to Agnes and Marie’s conversation.

This created a momentary heavy silence in the classroom.

Only three people remained in the S-class classroom that originally had seven students: Cain, Agnes, and Marie.

As a result, Cain’s every action completely dominated the atmosphere.

Because of this, Agnes and Marie couldn’t openly express their joy even when their classmates performed well.

“H-hmm.”

“…But the third-year seniors are amazing too! Even with just two participants, they’re already exploring the dungeon.”

Agnes and Marie forced themselves to continue their conversation, trying to ignore Cain.

They deliberately changed the subject to praise the third-years’ impressive abilities.

Indeed, the two third-years were demonstrating remarkable skills.

As everyone had predicted, the two third-years who finished both the first and second tests fastest were advancing relentlessly.

The two moved forward confidently, as if they already knew the dungeon path by heart.

Gareth Iskea, the top student of the third-year class, and Verthe Bernstein, who ranked second.

They were already famous seniors known to everyone at the Academy.

When the inter-grade competition roster was announced, everyone was surprised that only two students would represent the third-year class.

But when people heard it would be these two, everyone nodded in understanding.

Agnes and Marie suppressed their desire to cheer for their peers while keeping an eye on Cain.

‘Looks like we picked the wrong side…’

Both thought the same thing.

**

“Wa, wahaha.”

Amillion couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

*whisper whisper*

“As expected of a Sinclair.”

“To show such skill already.”

“Who would have thought first-years could display such power.”

Amillion’s shoulders rose with pride as she listened to the professors talking around her.

Not only had her students finished the first test faster than the second-years, but they had also maintained their momentum and completed the obstacle course before them as well.

Her students, the first-year representatives.

Amillion couldn’t contain her smile as she watched her students waiting for the warp to the dungeon, the third test, at the finish line.

They truly exceeded expectations.

Of course, the competition had barely begun, but it was impressive nonetheless.

The proof was that all the professors gathered here were expressing their admiration.

‘However, the problem is…’

As their homeroom teacher, she was pleased that her students were performing well and not falling behind their seniors.

The problem was that if things continued this way, the true purpose of this competition would be lost.

The only reason this inter-grade competition was divided into three parts and scheduled earlier than usual:

To verify whether the commoner Ryuyeong deserved to be the top-ranked student.

In the second test, the top-ranked Ryuyeong hadn’t shown any notable achievements.

That was because the monster Elaine Sinclair had handled everything by herself.

So while Amillion was proud of her students’ performance, she also felt growing anxiety.

If the dungeon exploration ended the same way, with only Sinclair’s achievements being highlighted…

“Sigh.”

Amillion’s head was already throbbing at the thought of what might happen in that case.

“I wonder if we’ll get to see the top student’s skills during the dungeon exploration.”

“…Professor Sinclair.”

This was exactly the kind of criticism she expected.

“My sister has improved a lot in that time. I think it’s thanks to Professor Amillion’s guidance, despite the short period.”

“Not at all. What could I, a mage, teach Elaine, a knight? She did well on her own, as expected of a Sinclair.”

Amillion felt somewhat uncomfortable with Kassis Sinclair, who had approached her and started a conversation.

He had gone from being just colleague Professor A to becoming the older brother of one of her students.

Although, to be fair, he had never once asked her to give Elaine special treatment.

“Haha. By the way, we should see the top student in action too. Ryu was his name? That would dispel everyone’s doubts.”

“…”

Amillion couldn’t find an appropriate response to Kassis’s words.

He had hit the nail on the head.

Although it hadn’t been publicly announced, all professors knew the true purpose of this inter-grade competition.

That’s why Kassis could speak so openly about it.

Probably not just Kassis, but every professor watching the competition here was thinking the same thing.

Wondering when the commoner Ryu, who ranked first, would show something impressive.

“That would ease Professor Amillion’s concerns a bit.”

“…We’ll have to wait and see. After all, this competition is really just beginning now.”

Amillion tried to hide her anxiety as she responded to Kassis.

The Ryuyeong she had seen was definitely a student with potential.

Enough to set a new record in the Golem Hit test using only mana-infused fists and teleportation magic, without any weapons.

And after that…

‘After that…’

It seemed like he hadn’t shown much else.

He did demonstrate unexplainable teleportation magic during their one-on-one consultation disguised as a duel, but…

‘He couldn’t use any other magic.’

She wondered if he had the same constitution as the first Emperor, but without being able to use other magic, such a constitution wouldn’t mean much.

Of course, even being able to use teleportation magic was a significant advantage, but still.

‘What… can he show us?’

“I hope so. By the way, those guys are getting too far ahead.”

“Ah.”

Kassis had already turned his attention back to the screen, muttering with a hint of amusement.

On one of the three split screens showing the third-years, their representatives continued to perform impressively.

The two moved forward like fish in water immediately after warping to the dungeon.

They were expertly navigating the dungeon, which had barely changed in structure from last year’s competition.

On screen, Verthe Bernstein fearlessly breathed fire forward.

An action she would never take if there might be a reflection barrier ahead.

But the two advanced with confidence that no such trap existed, using fire to remove obstacles.

Like Elaine Sinclair, Verthe was from one of the Six Great Families, the Bernstein family.

True to the Bernstein family’s signature “blue flames,” her fire burned blue, filling the screen.

“I told them to take it easy.”

*grin*

Kassis smiled with satisfaction as he watched his students.

Amillion envied Kassis Sinclair.

She wanted to smile like that too.

To watch her students perform well in front of everyone without any worries.

‘Ryuyeong needs to show something…’

Meanwhile, the first-years finally appeared in the dungeon, following the third-years.

Once again, the first-years had warped to the third test location before the second-years.

They had plenty of time, as the second-years hadn’t even reached halfway through the obstacle course.

‘Please do well. Not the others. Ryuyeong, especially you.’

Amillion swallowed her words and watched the screen with desperate eyes.

On screen, Ryuyeong still wore a smile full of confidence.