TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun

Illustrations: Here

"Ouch..."

My arm and hand throbbed.

The rebound was now spreading throughout my body.

This is why I should've taken it easy....

"No working out for me."

I couldn't imagine doing any strenuous activity for at least two or three days.

Maybe a gentle run, but definitely no lifting.

-Please wait a moment... Maintenance is required. The next student in line, please stand by.

As the announcement ended, a few teachers approached the scarecrow.

They planned to switch out the scarecrow whose face I'd bashed in.

Ignoring them, I walked back to the crowd.

I saw Luna and Rie, their faces shocked.

"You said you were number one, right?"

"Rudy...!"

At my words, Luna beamed and shouted my name.

"You're incredible, Rudy!"

Luna wasn't upset about losing.

She was just happy for me.

But Rie looked rather annoyed.

"Where'd you learn that weird technique?"

At Rie's question, I smirked and answered,

"It's all thanks to dark magic."

"You're saying it's dark magic? Your body is hurt again, is that what dark magic is? Let me look."

Rie grumbled, examining my arm.

My veins stood out, colored in a strange light.

"Why are you hurting yourself for first place?"

"It meant something to me."

Despite the pain, I felt content.

With a score like mine, only someone like Astina could beat me.

There wasn't a first-year student who could top me now.

Then, the announcer's voice filled the air.

-Student number 85, please step forward and stand by! We'll resume the assessment shortly.

Hearing that, I turned to Rie and Luna.

"I have one more test left. I'll go and take that."

"Alright! Be safe!"

"I have my test too."

Leaving Rie and Luna behind, I went to take my test.

After finishing the test, I returned to the center.

-Student Riku, you've earned 220 points.

"Ugh"

"Riku! Good job!"

Rie was gone, so Luna and I watched the assessment.

"How did you score almost 10,000 points?"

Riku asked, walking over to us.

"Effort."

She gave me a suspicious look.

So we were slowly moving towards the end.

Yet no one had surpassed my score, not even Rie's.

I watched the rest of the assessment, feeling relaxed.

Student number 102, Locke Lucarion, please step forward.

At that, Locke's name was called, and he walked from the crowd towards the center.

As Locke stepped forward, I focused my attention on him.

Locke was someone worth watching.

He played a significant role in the story, a potential ally when needed.

To make the most of him, I had to understand his strengths.

And I was curious.

Both Rie and Luna had progressed quicker than in the original story.

I wondered if Locke, being around them, had accelerated his growth too.

Locke gripped his sword, took his stance, and began to speak.

"Locke Lucarion, I'll start"

"Locke Lucarion!!!! Go for the gold!!!!!!"

A muscular man suddenly yelled from behind.

It was Jackson Pumpkin, a Swordsmanship Department professor.

He cheered for Locke like a dad rooting for his kid at a sports match.

What's he up to?

I wondered as Locke looked at Jackson, seemingly puzzled as well.

Noticing the vein popping on Locke's forehead, he looked really irritated.

"Locke Lucarion... Let's get started."

Gritting his teeth, Locke said to start again.

He started to walk towards the scarecrow, sword in hand.

"Uh.?"

Typically, the students would charge the scarecrow, their swords glowing with power.

But Locke was just strolling up to the scarecrow, making Professor Jackson tense.

"Locke!!! You brat!!! Run!!!"

-Professor Jackson, we're in the middle of an assessment.

As Jackson yelled, the announcer reined him in.

"No, this is not acceptable!!!"

-Professor Jackson!

Locke kept walking until he reached the scarecrow.

He glanced at Jackson and smirked.

"This kid!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Poke.

With a treacherous smile, Locke jabbed the scarecrow with the tip of his sword.

-Uh.

The crowd stared, speechless at the scene and Jackson's outburst.

-Locke Lucarion. That's 1 point

"Locke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Jackson's anguished cry echoed around the field.

"Haha."

I chuckled awkwardly, watching Jackson turn pale.

Even if Locke didn't do well here, Rie would still include him in the joint practical with the first and second years.

Locke's score was just a bit low

After Locke, it was Evan's turn.

Evan was last.

-Lastly, student Evan, please come to the center.

"Whew!"

Evan walked onto the field, taking a deep breath, his sword in hand.

"Hmm?"

I tilted my head at his choice.

As far as I knew, Evan didn't wield a sword for this test.

Evan's sword was a tool to block magic.

His primary attack was magic, the sword was just a defensive tool.

So why did he bring a sword?

There was no reason for that.

"Evan, begin."

With that, Evan dashed towards the scarecrow, sword in hand.

He ran like a seasoned warrior.

A faint aura of mana encased his blade.

"What is that."

It wasn't a sword aura.

It was something altogether different.

Evan continued his charge.

As he neared the scarecrow, his sword swiped through the air.

It was a cleanly executed horizontal slash.

Then..

"It's sliced."

The scarecrow was perfectly bisected along the path of his sword.

Cut as smoothly as a radish.

I leapt to my feet in surprise.

"Why does he already have."

It was clear what it was.

Andrei's sword.

A sword capable of severing mana.

A sword that projected its own mana to cut through an opponent's.

However, this description was somewhat inaccurate.

The sword could sever materialized magic.

It severed materialized magic with its own mana.

That was its power.

But there was a drawback.

The sword was unable to sever unmaterialized magic.

It could cut through elemental magic like fire or water, but telekinetic magic, unmaterialized, remained untouched.

However, Evan had later overcome this limitation.

Magic that sliced through the intangible, unmaterialized magic.

He had developed this magic himself.

The theory was easy enough to explain.

In essence, it was about materializing intangible magic.

But any fledgling wizard would understand the complex and near-impossible nature of such a feat.

Though this magic was dependent on Andrei's sword, it was undeniably incredible.

How is he using it already?

To use that magic, Evan experimented on the scarecrow in the training field for hundreds of hours.

To have acquired it already, and to be using it now..

What could have brought about such a change..

Was it because of before when I punched a hole into the scarecrow?

Did he train to destroy it as well?

But this brought about new concerns.

If he'd learned this technique now, it would cause issues during the combined first and second-year practical.

It was a technique he shouldn't have learned yet.

Silence.

The field fell quiet.

-That Student Evan..

The announcer's voice cut through the silence.

What followed was even more shocking.

-0You score 0 points.

"What?"

Evan, seemingly in disbelief, questioned the announcer.

-That It's a 0 point, right?

Ah?

Hearing that, something clicked.

The scarecrow contained both magic that quantified impact and enhancement magic.

Yet when Evan severed the magic, it seemed he had inadvertently destroyed the magic that quantified the impact.

-That Please hold. We will discuss with the assessing professor and re-announce the score.

Following the announcer's pause.

-We will now announce the score of student Evan.

-Student Evan's score is 0 points.

-We have decided to award 0 points, judging a lack of understanding of the assessment. So, we will not include it in the ranking. However

-The purpose of this assessment is to display superior skills, and we acknowledge there was a flaw in the assessment. Therefore, we will grant you the maximum score.

"What."

I listened to the announcer's words with a sense of disbelief.

So, was I first?

Or, was I second?

It seemed I wasn't alone in my confusion.

The other students were also murmuring amongst themselves.

I recalled a wizard-themed movie where a certain dormitory was suddenly stripped of their first-place status.

Was this a case of being stripped of the top spot?

I sat in my seat, feeling oddly deflated.

Even though I had achieved first place in the assessment, the bitter feeling lingered.

No, it wasn't merely Evan being granted first place in the assessment, but more so the ambiguity of the results that left a bad taste in my mouth.

While I was lost in thought, the students around me began to gradually disperse.

"Rudy, aren't you leaving?"

Luna tilted her head and asked me.

"Ah, I'm staying to watch the second-grade assessment."

The first-grade assessment had ended, but the second-grade assessment was still to come.

Yet, everyone else was leaving.

There were a few reasons for this.

Firstly, the capabilities of the second graders were widely recognized.

Having spent over a year at the academy, their skills were well known.

So, there was no need to watch them again.

Additionally, it was a given that Astina would secure first place.

Given this predictable outcome, many lost interest and left.

Most likely, those who remained were eager to see just how remarkable Astina's abilities were.

"You're staying to see Astina's assessment?"

"Well, I want to see Astina's assessment, but there's someone else I want to watch."

-First up, student Borval. Please approach the center.

After all, I needed to observe the performance of someone who shared the same teacher as me.

Borval, with a colossal ax slung over his shoulder, made his way onto the field.