Chapter 37: End of Semester Evaluation (2)

The end-of-term practical evaluation day had arrived before I knew it.

Current time: 8 a.m.
I was standing on the uninhabited artificial island of Orte, waiting for the exam to begin alongside my fellow S-Class students.

The uninhabited artificial island Orte—just in terms of scale, it was even larger than the entire Academy campus. It was big enough to be considered an entire ecosystem of its own.

It also happened to be Principal Stella’s private property, a veritable treasure trove teeming with rare potion ingredients, monsters, and sacred artifacts.

It was a strategically utilized site for research into monsters’ weaknesses, ecological patterns, and group behavior.

Although technically Stella’s personal villa, its vast size meant that it was often used as a training ground for Academy cadets like this.

“Stop dawdling and gather up over here!”

Once the students arrived on the island, we all underwent a full belongings check and followed Louise’s directions.

For the duration of the exam, the only permitted “item” was a healthy body.

Of course, that restriction meant absolutely nothing to me.
I already knew every single survival strategy like the back of my hand.
Even if I hadn’t expected to visit Orte during the end-of-term exams, I was prepared.

“Listen up. This is the final explanation of the test format. I’ll only say it once more.”

At Louise’s voice, all the students turned their eyes toward her.
Their gazes were a mix of emotions—unease, tension, anticipation. Louise simply smirked and continued.

“You’ll need to survive on this island for five days and hunt down monsters. You’ll earn points based on the grade of each creature you defeat, and your ranking will be determined by your total points. Battles between cadets are permitted, and if you defeat another student, their current points will be added to your own. So I advise you to choose your every move carefully.”

You either hunt monsters, or if that’s too much trouble, you steal points from others.

In other words, what Louise meant was this:

Stay on guard at all times so you don’t exhaust yourself hunting monsters and end up getting stabbed in the back.
That’s the heart of this exam.

“Each zone on the island is equipped with an Observer. If you try any funny business, you’ll be disqualified on the spot—no discussion.”

I idly cleaned out my ear while half-listening to her and took stock of my current condition.

I was in perfect shape. Unless a professor personally stepped in, there was no way I was failing this exam.
The only real threat was the demon lurking at the far end of the island with their monster horde.

But even that’s manageable.
Worst-case scenario, I’ll just take a nap and let [Sleepwalking (EX)] handle it.

The survival test officially began with a signal blast, and the students scattered in all directions from the starting point.

Some rushed to form alliances, others roamed solo, and a few just quietly tailed weaker cadets—everyone set off into the depths of Orte with their own strategy.

And here I was… utterly dumbfounded.

The reason?
The four S-Class classmates glued to my back like parasites:

George Arrote from the Holy Empire, Crown Prince Van Beornar, Saintess Odette, and Aisha Rustichel.

I could see right through their thoughts like glass.

I ignored them all and continued on my way.

“Was it this way?”

No matter how much of a veteran I was, navigating these paths in person was worlds apart from staring at a monitor.

Especially since most of the terrain was rugged mountain trails, walking alone drained a lot of stamina.

Sure, I could coat myself in mana and breeze through it, but it was smarter to conserve my energy for now.
No telling when things might go sideways.

“What am I gonna do about them…”

The four of them still tailing me.

But—I didn’t bother shaking them off.

It wouldn’t be impossible to shake them off by force, but the cost-to-benefit ratio just doesn’t add up.
Besides, they’ve already made up their minds about who or what I am, and they’re clearly not interested in hearing any explanations.
No matter what I say or do, they’ll just interpret it however they want.

Anyway, I’m planning to hole up in the cave for the first three days.
By then, they’ll probably get tired of waiting and head off on their own to earn points.

That’s when I’ll start moving in earnest.
Of course, if anyone dares attack me before that, I’ll crush them without mercy.

“Haa…”

I paused to steady my breathing and checked the time.
Thankfully, there was still plenty left.

Combat between students wouldn’t officially begin until five hours after the exam started.
Until then, I just needed to pick a spot and hunker down.

I’d already planned out exactly how I’d be spending those three days.
There was something I’d always dreamed of doing while playing the game.

That was…

“Time for some camping?”

Might as well enjoy a little healing time for once.

Artificial Island Orte – Observation Control Room.

“What the hell? Is this for real?”
“What? What happened?”

Proctor Akatin had his gaze fixed on a single student.

Luke Richter.
A so-called ‘youngest-ever Sage’ from a commoner background, spreading a ridiculous reputation that frankly annoyed Akatin.

At first, he’d started observing Luke to find something to criticize.
But the longer he watched, the more he was left dumbfounded.

“How long has it been since the exam started, and he’s already…?”

Ten minutes.
It had only been ten minutes since the exam began, and Luke Richter had already taken down four monsters at once.

Sure, for a skilled mage, defeating four monsters wasn’t technically impossible.
But still—ten minutes?

“Wow… The speed at which he cast those spells is just unreal.”
“Oh, you’re talking about Luke Richter?”
“Yeah. Honestly, I thought all that Sage talk was overblown, but he’s the real deal.”
“Don’t try to understand Luke Richter.”

Senior professor Oz chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

“There’ve been two demon invasions so far, and he handled both of them by himself.”
“A first-year… took down demons?”
“Yep. It’s insane, right? He’s completely outside the bounds of normal understanding. Trying to make sense of him just gives you a headache.”
“That’s… unbelievable…”

Even for an outlier, demons?

An ancient calamity like that—taken down by a student?

Honestly, Akatin couldn’t believe what Oz was saying.
The rumors had to be exaggerated or distorted—there was no way.
Talent alone couldn’t account for that kind of feat.

“……”

Akatin narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the video feed from the Observer.
Oz watched him and gave a helpless shrug.

The monster currently facing off against Luke Richter was called Ephios—
a high-grade monster infamous under the alias “Chimera.”

A monster with eyeballs embedded all over its body—Ephios was notoriously difficult for any individual to take down.

Thanks to its trait of constantly attempting regeneration whenever the opportunity arose, it couldn’t be subdued without overwhelming firepower. The fact that Luke Richter had ventured into the deepest part of a cave swarming with monsters was already baffling, but now he was actually getting into position to take the thing down?

Akatin scoffed in disbelief as he watched.

And then—in the briefest of moments.

In that fleeting instant, Luke Richter’s figure vanished.

“…Huh?”

Behind the monster’s head, Luke suddenly emerged—ripping through the air itself.

A spell flared into existence midair, then disappeared in an instant as a compressed beam of white mana obliterated the monster.

“What the actual—?!”
“And I told you not to try understanding it.”
“How is that even a student?!”
“He’s a Sage, remember?”

Akatin stood there, mouth agape, at a complete loss for words.
Oz gave him a sympathetic glance and patted his shoulder lightly.

The monster was gone—without a trace.
But Luke Richter’s antics didn’t end there.

As he began murmuring something under his breath, a massive tear formed in the air—and out of that spatial rift, all sorts of items began spilling onto the ground.

“…What even is all that?”

A small table.
A folding chair.
Assorted food supplies.
A mana-powered portable stove.
A sleeping bag…

Sure, this was a survival exam, but this?

“This is… camping?!”

There was no way—no way he’d dragged himself that deep into the island just to camp, right?

Akatin was overwhelmed by a wave of cognitive dissonance.

More than anything else—wasn’t that spatial storage?

Did an entrant just use a 6-star space-type spell?

That rendered the whole pre-exam item check completely meaningless.
But still, it wasn’t technically against the rules either.
So they couldn’t even call him out for violating regulations.

“What kind of insane—”

Akatin muttered in exasperation.
Oz, watching the man struggle to process the absurdity, held back a chuckle.

“Must be tough for the other S-Class kids, huh?”
“…You’re telling me.”

Even the instructors were at their wits’ end—so what must it be like for his fellow classmates, who had to witness everything up close?
Honestly, Luke Richter wasn’t some Sage.

He was a full-blown natural disaster unleashed upon the Academy.

Oz gave Akatin’s shoulder another pat and offered a word of comfort.

“Let’s just leave Luke Richter alone and check in on the other students.”
“Yeah… fine, whatever.”

It wasn’t like they needed to keep watching him.
It’s not like he was going to cause a major incident or anything…

…right?