Ch.52Midterm Exam (2)

Even with shield technology, when students fight each other, it’s normal for a rib or two to break.

That’s why virtual reality was developed.

When you wear the gear, an avatar identical to yourself is created, and you duel there.

It could be considered a type of game.

Since the technology of this era is so advanced, there don’t seem to be any issues with conducting duels in the virtual world.

Zernya inserted her card into the slot and put on the gear.

[Reading card information.]

[Unique identifier: Zernya von Adelbein]

[Number of cards inserted: 1]

[Evaluation subjects: Zernya von Adelbein – Eidel von Rheinland]

“Adelbein versus Rheinland.”

“A truly magnificent matchup.”

Students began gathering around us in small groups, eager for a spectacle.

“What’s going on? Is something happening?”

I sighed inwardly and put on my gear, following Zernya.

As soon as we entered virtual reality, Zernya drew her sword and growled at me.

“I don’t care about written exams anymore. Prepare to be defeated right here.”

There’s one question that needs to be addressed.

Why is Zernya, who has been avoiding dueling with me all this time, suddenly so eager now?

To put it simply, it’s because the midterm written exam results just came out.

1st place: me.

2nd place: Zernya.

3rd place: Seti.

The Adelbein princess sandwiched between the Rheinland siblings—quite the picture.

Now Zernya faces the crisis of being permanently labeled as second-best if she doesn’t apply her hexagonal talent to practical skills.

Naturally, her pride won’t allow that.

“Damn, why did I get that question wrong…”

“Hm? What did you say?”

“Never mind. Just draw your weapon, will you?”

“As you command.”

I pulled out my sword (Callipers) from subspace.

Even if I select a different weapon from the hologram menu, it always defaults to Callipers. That’s Cartesia’s will.

Virtual reality is actually the perfect space for Descartes’ Forces to infiltrate. They’re famous for the “brain in a vat” concept, after all.

The sensations here feel indistinguishable from reality. I might lose myself if I’m not careful.

Let’s see. The outer god should be giving me a quest around now.

“…”

“What are you doing? I’m ready.”

Strange. Cartesia is quiet.

It’s actually more unsettling without a quest. It feels like a professor who’s been ignoring your lab contact messages for a week.

“What’s that? Is that supposed to be a Plasma Sword? You’re really funny.”

Zernya raised her eyebrows and chin.

“If you’re going to mess around, you’d better quit now. I won’t go easy on you.”

“I’m not messing around.”

“Idiot.”

[Beginning practical evaluation.]

[The first to leave the ring or lose all three shields will be defeated.]

[Also, the time limit is 5 minutes—]

“I know that, so can we start a little faster?”

[…]

Soon the countdown began.

3, 2, 1.

As soon as it hit 0, Zernya rushed forward like a flash of light.

She approached within striking distance and delivered a thin slash.

She’s fast, but I can still track her with my eyes. I’ve learned a lot under Instructor Isaac.

‘Your style is similar to an ordinary person’s. Following the manual is an easy path to walk. Of course, that’s different from talent.’

The path everyone walks. A path where you fall behind quickly unless you work diligently. I’ve been steadily walking that correct path.

‘The most important thing in swordsmanship is confidence in your ability. Believe in yourself. Even when fighting someone with superior skills, you can definitely win.’

I can do this. If I just maintain proper breathing, I can handle this.

Clack!

I pulled back just before the sword reached my neck. Zernya’s expression twisted.

But she didn’t stop her attack. When one move failed, she immediately transitioned to the next.

It’s like combining basic forms into a sequence. Her movements have no delay due to her proficiency. Therefore, there’s no opening to exploit.

I need to stay defensive for a while.

“…!”

Zernya’s sword strikes doubled in speed. It’s like watching a professor’s video lecture at 2x speed.

[Shield damaged.]

[Remaining Aether Shields: 2]

Damn it.

[Shield damaged.]

[Remaining Aether Shields: 1]

I can’t hold out!

This isn’t working. I started swinging my Callipers too.

Clang! The Aether spat flames. The ionized blade slid with enough force to break through her guard.

“Finally decided to fight back?”

Her sword speed increased even more. What she showed earlier wasn’t her full power.

I dodge some strikes and deflect others. Now that my body is warmed up, moving feels easier than before. Zernya’s eyebrow twitched.

Rustila has much more talent than me but was defeated multiple times. Yet I adapted quickly after just a month of training with the instructor.

Is it the core muscles I’ve been developing that are helping me?

No, it could be that Rustila’s teaching style didn’t match me. Rustila’s swordsmanship wasn’t something an ordinary person could handle.

This moment really drove home the importance of fundamentals.

The more composed I appeared, the more Zernya’s smile faded. Time had already passed the three-minute mark.

“It’s over.”

Oh no. One mistake and I’ve been pushed to the edge of the ring.

Perhaps I can’t overcome the difference in detail after all—

“Get out of the ring.”

‘It’s not over until it’s over. Remember that.’

I twisted my upper body with maximum skill.

I changed direction without stepping on the edge of the line. Like a spinning top, I completely reversed my body’s axis.

“…!”

Soon Zernya’s sword cut through empty air. Her body lurched forward due to momentum.

This is my chance. I can’t miss it.

Just as I was about to strike down with my Callipers with all my might—

[Sudden Quest Assigned]

[— Lose the match.]

The quest window updated.

I had intended to aim for her head, but instantly changed the trajectory of my hand to create a deliberate miss. Goosebumps rose from my wrist to the nape of my neck.

In that moment of hesitation, Zernya quickly regained her stance and moved into my blind spot.

What happened next was predictable.

A swift strike coming from the lower left.

[Shield damaged.]

[Remaining Aether Shields: 0]

As my shield shattered, my left arm was cleanly severed.

***

“What? Adelbein won.”

“How boring.”

“I guess Rheinland is only good at studying after all…”

Zernya frowned as she removed her gear.

She had won, but didn’t feel good about it at all.

Turning her head, Zernya spoke to Eidel, who was absentmindedly stroking his left arm.

“Did you go easy on me?”

Eidel grinned and shrugged.

“What a shame. I thought I was going to win when you were about to go out of bounds.”

Ah, I see. That’s why she let her guard down and stopped attacking at the end.

Zernya’s body is more flexible than others realize, allowing her to change angles even when her center of gravity is shifted forward.

“…”

But that doesn’t explain everything.

If it had been her, she would have finished it decisively. And the same goes for Eidel. This wasn’t reality but virtual reality, so there was no reason to hold back.

Could he have lost on purpose?

She secretly followed Eidel as he got up and left.

Eidel was talking with someone named James or whatever.

“Why did you go easy on her?”

“I have a policy of not hitting women.”

“Even in virtual reality?”

“The sensations are the same. I almost screamed when my arm got cut off earlier.”

“Oh my.”

Eidel shrugged.

Zernya stopped walking, dumbfounded.

“…”

The process doesn’t matter. What’s important is that she decisively defeated the top student from the entrance exam.

If she continues to win like this, she’ll secure first place. It’s only a matter of time before she tramples over Eidel.

Now she just needs to find about four more opponents to fight. Of course, she’ll accept challenges from those willing. That would be advantageous for her score.

She looked around for worthy opponents.

Every person she saw was a bug, bug, bug.

No matter how much she looked, she couldn’t find a worthy match.

Eventually, she changed her stance to wait until the end and pick off someone on a winning streak.

After that, there were some fools who challenged Zernya, but after defeating a few of them, they naturally stopped coming.

However, there was one persistent insect who kept coming back despite being shown an overwhelming difference in skill.

As Zernya sat on a bench eating blueberries, five tickets flew toward her.

“Three times.”

Zernya’s gaze shifted sideways.

“Right?”

There stood Rustila.

***

I was thoroughly defeated by Zernya, but there was no real loss.

It was what you’d call an ambush quest.

The outer god sometimes issues quests at critical moments to distract people.

For example, let’s say I’m developing a graviton bomb.

Just as I’m about to detect gravitons, a quest like “Destroy the detector within 100 seconds” appears, and I have to do it.

Of course, such terrible things don’t happen if you contract with a constellation. The constellation acts as a self-regulating force to some extent.

But wait, I’ve already contracted with an outer god? Was forced to?

Oh? The constellation can’t intervene?

I’m essentially mortgaged to Cartesia.

This seemed to be a test to make me aware of that fact.

It was truly a dog’s life, but I don’t regret it because the risk of failing the quest would have been greater. I could even say my split-second decision was good.

“Phew.”

As I was sighing in relief, a boy wearing sunglasses approached.

“You got thrashed like a dog.”

“Welton, is that you?”

“You’re calling me by name? The young lord Rheinland? Wow, what an honor.”

If there’s anyone I’d like to remain friends with for a long time, it’s him.

The reason for this thought is simple.

I’m going to have him research condensed matter—specifically, strongly correlated systems.

The more research colleagues, the better. Preferably those in my circle.

For that to happen, he needs to be on friendly terms with me to some extent.

While I was graciously letting Welton’s not-quite-jokes slide, red-haired Mathers held out a card in front of me.

“Hey. You need to fight me too.”

“I just got thrashed, cut me some slack.”

Even as I said this, I got to my feet.

I still need to maintain my top position. To pass the family head position to Seti, I first need to become the head myself.

“Beating you down will make me feel a bit better.”

“Fine, let’s fight.”

“No holding back.”

In virtual reality, Mathers chose a massive cleaver as his weapon. Plasma was flowing in a crescent shape.

I, on the other hand, chose Callipers again. Sparks like lightning randomly shot out between the outer jaws.

The size and discharge were quite substantial. Mathers narrowed his eyes and asked.

“You… change that weapon to something else.”

“Scared?”

“I’m warning you, I won’t go down easily. It’s not too late to choose a weapon you can use seriously…”

“Scaaaared?”

“You little—”

Match start. Mathers immediately charged at me. He aimed straight for my neck with as much hatred as he had for rich kids.

He’s not bad, but clearly slower than Zernya.