episode_0020

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=============== 1st Place in the School

Name: Lucius Han

Total Score: 500 / 500

=============== 2nd Place in the School

Name: Uriel Mercia

Total Score: 458 / 500

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The moment they saw my report card.

Wide-eyed students let out short gasps of astonishment.

“Wow, our puppy is ranked first in the school?! Is that for real?!”

“This… must be a dream! Our brother as the top student in the school! That can’t be true!”

I proudly nodded my head and said, “Well, did you see clearly? This is a piece of cake for me.”

At that moment, the colorful eyes of the students twinkled mischievously.

“Brother, did you by any chance steal the answer sheet?”

“The exam questions were extremely difficult… How on earth did you manage this, Lucius?”

“How could a puppy… defeat a human? It’s unbelievable!”

As the students looked at me with faces expressing disbelief, an announcement message echoed through the school.

And that broadcast clearly stated to all students who the school’s top student was.

[Announcement: The ‘written exam’ for the first-year students has concluded. All freshmen are requested to check their personal records in the ‘Archive.’ The next session will be the ‘Magic Level Measurement Exam,’ which will take place in the Assembly Hall. Additionally, it is announced that the school’s top student is ‘Lucius Han.’ The second-place student is ‘Uriel Mercia’… ]

The fact that my name was mentioned even in the broadcast.

It was akin to confirming that there were no errors or anomalies in this round of grades.

Without a doubt, everyone raised their hands in unison and started cheering.

“Hooray! Our puppy is the top student in the school!”

“As expected, our puppy pulled it off!”

“This is unbelievable… Does that make me the younger sister of the top student?!”

Amidst the lively cheers, we each held hands and headed to the Assembly Hall to undergo the Magic Level Measurement Test.

* * *

As the student representative, the celestial exchange student who had taken the student oath during orientation.

Uriel Mercia stood fuming in front of Sabriel Mercia, her eyebrows furrowed.

“How could this happen…?! Why was I pushed down to 2nd place?”

Sabriel was a professor of healing arts at the academy and also Uriel’s sister.

She comforted her sulking sister, patting her back gently as she wore a slightly wrinkled expression.

“It’s okay, getting 2nd place is still great! Why are you so disappointed?”

But Uriel couldn’t easily come to terms with it.

For someone who had always been first, getting second place was a bitter experience.

“Did you say Lucius Han?! Hmph, let’s wait and see who comes out on top!”

After slamming the door of the infirmary behind her, Sabriel, watching Uriel leave, smiled faintly and nodded her head.

“The Headmaster’s words were right. Someone finally appeared who could surpass Uriel.”

Recently, the newly appointed Headmaster of the academy, Serin, had proposed a wager to Sabriel, claiming that someone would emerge who could defeat Uriel.

“If the bet is won, one of the Celestial Vision Blessings will be… handed over to the person who defeats Uriel…? Why did he ask specifically for the ‘Restore Blood’ blessing that immunizes against vascular damage…?”

A wager that even risked the position of the academy’s Headmaster.

Because the offer was so tempting, Sabriel, despite knowing how valuable the Celestial Vision Blessings were to the Mercia family, had no choice but to agree to the bet.

So today, the disappointment was not just Uriel’s alone.

If only Uriel had managed to secure the top spot… Today, the position of Headmaster of the academy would have been hers.

“Hoo hoo hoot, the headmaster is quite suspicious in many ways.”

In a reckless gamble, the headmaster spoke with an unusual level of confidence about the rewards that were necessary for him. He probably wouldn’t have even realized the existence of blessing scrolls like ‘Restore Blood’ in the library without using the family archive search system.

“How do you know our family’s library better than I, a member of the family?”

Gabriel pondered lingering questions in his mind as he swiftly wrote down what to include in the letter starting with ‘Dear Brother…’

This was because her elder brother was the current head of the Mercia Family, one of the four major bloodlines in the celestial realm.

—

After completing various special quests and receiving 35 rewards, along with the original 20 stat points, I had a total of 55 stat points.

Before measuring magical power, I pondered how to increase my stat points.

I decided to evenly distribute the points across all attributes.

Although I had 3 stat points left at the end, I thought it would be best to leave them for now to maintain a clean balance.

—

[Lucius]’s Ability Information

– Combat: Ordinary Academy Student (★)

– Health Points: 310 / 310

– Mana: 150 / 150

– Mana Regeneration Rate: 0.25%

– Stat Points: ✙ 3

– Comprehensive Abilities: [Endurance Lv.14], [Strength Lv.14], [Agility Lv.14], [Magic Lv.14]

– Immutable Abilities: [Internal Energy Lv.1], [Mental Lv.1], [Art Lv.1], [Life Lv.1], [Appearance Lv.1], [Luck Lv.10]

[ Skill Information]

[ Status Information]

—

Firstly, in the measured magical power test, I received an F grade.

In truth, I wasn’t wrong.

If you look for F grades among freshmen, about half of them will fall into this category. This is because freshmen, like me, tend to have low baseline levels.

However, some freshmen show promise from their first year.

Just like in the case of the campus sensation, ‘Alisha von Stein.’

“What… B grade?! There’s a student who already got a B grade among the freshmen in the first year?”

Of course, it was just barely a B grade.

What if it were Lirlys? If I hadn’t merged with Ayoung, I would have easily surpassed B+.

“Ahaha! Lucius! Have you seen this? In terms of magical power alone, this mommy outshines Lucius by far. Work harder!”

“Mm.”

I knew from the start.

Compared to Alisha, my character didn’t have particularly high magical power in the early stages.

On the other hand, the magical power Alisha von Stein possessed was top-tier in the entire school. It was natural to compare.

It was somewhat disheartening. I had to keep this fact a secret.

“Still, being able to secure the top spot was all thanks to me. Without knowing whose merit it was.”

It wasn’t bad that Alisha von Stein took the top spot in the school. Because as soon as it was revealed that she was the top in magical power, the collective obedience towards me increased.

[Collective Obedience towards You in the ‘Arpen Academy World’ Increases by +5.]

The reason the obedience towards me increased as soon as her magical power value was revealed was that on the first day, Alisha had warned all the freshmen in the academy that if they wanted to mess with me, they had to defeat her first.

As a result, the collective obedience towards me in the ‘Arpen Academy World’ is currently at -69.

It’s still a low figure to freely roam around this academy characterized by the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest.

Nevertheless, starting from the second day, this wasn’t a bad beginning.

The figure I could achieve on the second day in Hell Knight mode was twice as high as usual.

“How did everyone fare?”

Pretending not to know, she asked inwardly. Choa probably got an F grade, and Ryona must have received around a C grade?

First, with a delighted expression, it was Ryona who brightened up.

“I got a C grade!”

“Sob… sob….”

On the other hand, looking bewildered without even being able to speak, was it Choa?

Of course, she must have gotten an F.

“Don’t worry, Choa. You still scored over 80 in the written test, right…?”

“Y-yes. But my magical power…”

Trembling lips, Choa swallowed her fear.

The reason was obvious.

In this world, ‘magical power’ was the most outstanding quality in battle. Unlike users, NPC magical power couldn’t be increased with stat points.

Therefore, heroines with low magical power always lived with an inexplicable sense of inferiority towards those with high magical power.

Of course, Choa.

If you encounter a specific awakening opportunity, your magical power will immediately rise to Grade A.

But that would mean my demise.

I definitely want to avoid that.

“Don’t worry! Even with low magical power, if you score well on the ‘Hurdle Stage Test,’ you can get assigned to a good dorm.”

“Then, can I stay in the same dorm as my brother…? Hmph! Don’t get any ideas. I’m asking because I want to avoid the same dorm as him.”

“Hehe, well. Since Arisha and I both achieved top scores, we’re confirmed for a dorm used by B-rank hunters or higher. As for you, Choa… you’ll need to work even harder.”

I gently bent my knees and patted Choa’s head.

Choa’s cheeks flushed instantly, and she exclaimed in embarrassment.

Interestingly, her words conveyed the opposite of her true feelings.

“Ugh… Who said I need to work harder?! So, are you planning to mess up the test on purpose then?!”

– I can’t stand seeing Arisha unni hogging a room all to herself!

I pointed in the direction of the classroom we needed to go to, smiling mischievously at Choa who was frowning.

Instantly, the two young girls’ eyes lit up as they looked at me.

“Come on, let’s do well in the next Hurdle Stage Test as a team!”

“Got it! Just trust me, our puppy!”

“Well, to get assigned to B-rank, I feel like I need to work a bit harder, don’t you think?”

Additionally, Choa’s reddened cheeks seemed as if they had been heated by a stove.

[Seeing your charming smile, Choa’s heart fluttered intensely for a moment. Affection level increased by 5.]

However, at that moment, another message popped up.

[The emotional state of ‘Uriel Mercia,’ the second-ranked student, has changed to ‘You’re the first person to bring such shame upon me.’]

[Uriel’s subservience has decreased by -10.]

===============

▼ After receiving advice from her sister, ‘Uriel Mercia’ thinks about the protagonist, while ‘Sabriel Mercia’ offers warm advice to Uriel…!