Chapter 49
The final-exam notice was delivered straight to the door of our dorm room.
Thanks to that, we could spread a large sheet of paper out in the room and look at it together.
[The Herbology final exam will be held jointly with the Magical Biology final exam on the mountain beyond the eastern forest of Reinhardt.
The mountain range known as the Haila Mountains is specially managed by Reinhardt, and because it is rich in natural mana, many herbs grow there.
The key is to properly distinguish poisonous herbs from medicinal herbs there and gather as many as possible within the 8-hour time limit.
You may get a high score by gathering lots of herbs, but be careful: submitting poisonous herbs will result in a very large penalty.
The herbs you collect will be sorted out by the examiners, and you may take all the herbs except the poisonous ones.
Below is the point chart for herbs and poisonous herbs.
There are also three areas at the test site: Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C.
Zone A requires 4-rank skill, while Zones B and C require 2-rank and 1-rank skill, respectively.
If your skill is insufficient, be careful not to enter Zone A, which also serves as the third-years' exam area.
In the third-years' exam area, unlike the first-years', robbing is allowed.
If you have the ability and the eye for it to dig up valuable herbs without being caught by the third-years, please give it a try.
Professor Silariel will also participate as a special supervisor for this exam.
Don't be surprised if you encounter spirits.
The exam date is...].
"Wow, the day after tomorrow."
Of course, they'd been saying it throughout class.
That the exam would be held on the back mountain, and that it would take place fairly soon compared with the other exams.
Along with the explanation that the wider gap between exams was meant to give students time to recover.
But I hadn't expected it to be this serious.
"It's being held together with the Magical Biology final exam."
Ever since the Kacterian practicum, we had kept memorizing the appearances of magical creatures.
We also went into the eastern forest or visited the School Market to see the creatures in person.
"So avoiding the creatures or dealing with them properly probably counts toward the score too."
"That's not a problem."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you see it during the Kacterian practicum?"
"Yumia, magical creatures aren't all that small... wait, don't tell me?"
Aris had also realized by now that what I said wasn't completely absurd.
"Then that's fine."
And so we looked at the bottom of the notice.
Beneath the notice was a long list of herbs and poisonous herbs, along with their point distribution.
There was something unusual about the chart, though.
"I'll have to be careful not to pick any poisonous herbs..."
"Yeah."
The penalty for submitting a poisonous herb once was extremely large.
No matter how many herbs you gathered and turned in, two poisonous roots would make it all pointless.
But this was a good opportunity.
It wasn't that I avoided the school's back mountain because I didn't know it.
It was a chance to stock up on elixir and potion ingredients!
"Easy money!"
"Huh? What do you mean...?"
The exam itself wasn't important anymore.
"Let's make a plan first."
I ran simulations in my head.
Aris also pulled out her notebook and started making a plan.
"First, we sweep through Zone C... then in Zone B, gather the herbs we know..."
"Aren't you thinking about Zone A?"
"Huh? Didn't you say there'd be upperclassmen in Zone A?"
That wasn't a problem.
What mattered more was the herbs in Zone A.
There were elixir ingredients there, and you could even make intermediate mana potions.
If I could make a big haul here, I could solve both my money problems and potion problems at once.
"Phew... still, at least it's an exam."
"Why?"
"If it were something like a mission, it would've been even more dangerous."
Why is she worrying about whether I'm in danger?
Then I looked at the map enclosed with the notice.
For now, with Aris, who's comparable to an A-rank healer, I don't have to worry about injuries.
From the last duel, she seemed skilled enough to take care of herself.
Then I can head to Zone A without worrying, right?
So I looked back at the notice.
There was more text below.
[The exam will be conducted in pairs of two. Pairings will be determined by lottery on the day of the exam.]
...?
Aris's eyes were on it too.
"Good luck...?"
Aris looked quite relieved.
* * *
"So... why am I on the same team as you?"
"I don't want this either, you bastard."
Robert shook his head and looked at me.
As soon as we drew lots, the magic in them activated, and everyone got their one-day partner.
"Just don't drag me down."
"You should be worrying that you'll be the one dragging me down. Don't worry and just let me carry you."
I'll show you just how busted the inventory is.
I'm going straight to Zone A.
"You're going to Zone A, right?"
Robert seemed to read my mind immediately.
As expected of another ambitious bastard, we spoke the same language.
"Of course."
From what the students were saying, this also doubled as an event to support students while counting as an exam.
Naturally, if that was the case, the bigger prize would be helping the third-years, who were taking the more advanced classes.
"I won't stop you, but do you have a method? It'd be a problem if you hadn't prepared anything, especially with herbs and poisonous herbs."
"I've already got countermeasures for everything. Don't worry."
We headed to the starting line where the first-years were gathered.
The route to the back mountain was to cross the eastern forest and go out through the eastern gate.
The gate was bustling with students who had come since morning to take the exam.
"This is the east gate...! It's huge..."
"Where is the professor?"
"Run straight to the center of Zone C! Pick everything up first, and check later whether it's poisonous, got it?"
Some students were babbling nervously, while others calmly worked out their countermeasures.
Amid all the different reactions,
[The exam will now begin. Countdown starting.]
"I-it's starting!!"
"Get ready!!"
The professor's voice, strengthened by magic, rang in our ears.
[5...4...3...2...1, go!]
"Casting enchantment, Haste!"
Robert chanted a spell and ran after me.
Our plan was simple.
Zone A was quite high up, so we'd use enhancement magic and run there.
Then we'd max out the Observation Eye and gather everything we saw.
[Red Demon Sprout (R)]
[Formstone (C)]
[Weed (-)]
"Sweep it all up!!"
Even so, if I ran at full speed, it was hard for Robert to keep up, let alone match my pace.
So I just gathered it all myself.
We sprinted like that for about ten minutes.
"Huff... huff... khhhaaaagh..."
"Uuyaaagh..."
We reached the very end of Zone B, right before Zone A.
"L-let's get some water."
Robert grabbed onto a branch and spoke in a dying voice.
"No need. Here..."
I opened a sports drink, handed it over, and drank one myself too, pouring it down my dry throat.
The sports drink I'd chilled in advance flowed down my throat.
"Aah... I feel alive again..."
"When did you even prepare this? No. Is this some kind of unique magic?"
Robert said, looking at the plastic bottle disappearing from my hand.
Ah, right. He didn't know about this.
Still, it didn't matter.
"Phew. Just think of it however you like."
After catching our breath a little, we started separating the herbs from the poisonous herbs.
"This one's an herb, this one's poisonous. This one is an herb, too."
Robert separated them and tossed the poisonous herbs behind him.
Then he grabbed one herb and rummaged through his bag.
"Hurry up."
"Hey, you have to soak this in reagent to know..."
"That isn't necessary."
[Blue Thistle Grass (R)]
A thistle-like grass that glows blue at night.
It has no medicinal effect whatsoever and is a poisonous herb.
I realized that the Observation Eye could also selectively provide only the information I wanted.
"It's poisonous. Just toss it."
I threw it far away.
Blue thistle grass was actually a herb worth quite a lot of points, so that was a shame.
As we were almost done sorting everything,
"Hey, why'd you throw that away?"
"It's a famous poisonous herb. You didn't know that?"
[Red Moss (R)]
A moss that grows in mana-rich environments.
For someone with Hundred-Poison Immunity (R), it causes no real harm and slightly boosts mana.
"I can eat it."
Robert shouted in alarm, but I remained calm.
"W-what are you doing! Hurry and get an antidote..."
"I said it's fine."
I slipped the sack containing only herbs into my inventory and crossed the boundary into Zone A.
* * *
When I was still fine after some time had passed, Robert shrugged in disbelief.
"I'm really starting to wonder what you are. Even if you're immune, you swallowed an entire poisonous herb and still acted like nothing happened."
"It's nothing, I told you."
It stings a little in my stomach and that's it.
Compared to that, jamming seething dragon's blood straight into my eyes is a thousand times more painful.
"Ah, here it is."
Seeing the sprout sticking out a little, I immediately dug around it.
A puff of dirt rose, and a plump, hemp-like plant revealed its body.
[Fresh Mandragora (SR-)]
If you dry this, it becomes dried mandragora, which serves as the core of mana potions.
One of these could make ten bottles of mana potion.
Zone A really was on a different level, even down to the mana density.
"How can you tell that right away? I can't even see it."
Robert asked in confusion.
"There's probably no one who can do as well in a forest as I can."
Because of my nature affinity, magical creatures didn't get in my way at all.
The Observation Eye displays the herbs' information for me.
"I don't mind, but I wonder if I should compensate you separately later. It wouldn't do to just keep taking things like this."
In fact, Robert hadn't done anything except cast buffs.
"As long as you hand over all the herbs, I don't really care."
But if you're taking the herbs, I'll put everything in my inventory and run.
Though with Robert's wealth, there'd be no need for that.
I don't forgive anyone who touches my ingredients.
Just then, a fierce voice stopped us.
"You there, stop."
"Huh?"
When we turned around, three third-years were snickering at us.
"Hey there, underclassmen."
The student who seemed to be their leader lifted his wand with an expression like he was doing us a favor.
"It's dangerous here. We'll escort you back to the first-year area."
"Ah, and of course, leave the herbs behind. Mwahaha!"
Robert looked flustered.
"W-when did you get here?"
"When, you ask? We've successfully completed the second-year curriculum. Something like suppressing our presence isn't difficult."
Robert shouted at the ones snickering at him.
"J-just a moment! Upperclassmen, let's make a deal!"
But the upperclassmen didn't seem to have any intention of doing so.
As expected of a merchant's scion, he's trying to find a way out even in this situation.
But Robert was mistaken about one thing.
"Yeah, let's make a deal."
I raised my wand and smiled coldly.
Natural mana swirled and rotated around me.
"Upperclassmen. I'll spare your lives, so leave everything you have and go."
We were the ones doing the robbing.