Chapter 59
“Ugh!? What is this wind!?”
“Who’s using wind elemental magic right in the middle of the school…”
“W-What just passed by!?”
I moved through the students shuffling around according to their schedules.
Since upperclassmen had classes too, there were quite a lot of students on the streets.
I barely managed to dodge them all.
If I collided with anyone while moving at high speed, I might have to pull Aris out and have her use Heal.
[Riding the Wind]
I rode the wind on the way to the exam hall.
“Huff, haah…”
With my agility this high, long-distance travel still drained more stamina than I expected.
I was only a little winded, but I couldn’t help moving even a bit more sluggishly.
‘I should invest in endurance later too.’
Of course, thanks to that, I arrived at the exam hall with time to spare.
“Here, Aris.”
“Mm, thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“That space is surprisingly cozy once you get used to it.”
Hm.
I was surprised she liked the inside of my inventory.
Come to think of it, even Kakterarian had gone into my inventory without much resistance or complaint.
Aris looked back at me with a bright smile.
She was carrying some pretty heavy equipment in her hands.
“Shall we go in for now!”
We sat in our assigned seats.
Then I took out the iron cauldron and the equipment I’d prepared.
Looking at the stage, I saw Isabel wearing a blue robe.
She was checking something with the teaching assistants in a serious expression.
‘I wonder how old Isabel is.’
She looked unmistakably like she was in her twenties, roughly in the same age range as Karnarov, who could only be called middle-aged at best.
I started to think Karnarov might have a serious case of looking much older than his age.
After checking the clock, Isabel looked our way and lit up.
“All right, look here! I’ll walk you through the entire Potion Studies final exam process!”
She said, pointing toward the teaching assistants.
“Go get your written and practical exam papers from these teaching assistants! It doesn’t matter whether you take the written exam or the practical exam first, but cheating is strictly prohibited!”
I lined up and received the written exam, the practical exam sheet, and the ingredients.
Potion Studies exams really are by the book, huh.
Sliced dried mandrake.
And pure natural mana.
These were the basic ingredients for making a low-grade potion.
There were five sets, each with ingredients for different problems, but the basics were the same.
‘This’ll be easy again.’
I decided to start with the written test.
[Written Exam (25 points)]
[Describe the pros and cons of the following herb combination, and everything you know about sublimation and repulsion. (5 points, 2 items.)]
[Sky Lake horn powder, dried mandrake]
‘Since these are ingredients for stamina potions and mana potions, it’s only natural that they repel each other…’
Aris’s words came to mind.
‘Yumia, those two will repel each other and disappear, but if you succeed in fusing them with mana, a healing effect occurs.’
It wasn’t just about restoring stamina; it was a pretty important detail that it also triggered an immediate healing effect.
Hm.
Since they gave us a few details to use, it was convenient not having to wonder whether there was anything else.
‘Maybe that’s because she’s a professor who’s kind to students.’
I looked at Isabel.
“Hm? Do you have a question or something?”
“No.”
The other four questions were similar.
They were a little more detailed, and had a few sub-items under each major problem, but they were more manageable than I’d expected.
It was the opposite of when Karnarov had wrecked the math final.
It looked like I’d get a perfect score without much trouble.
‘Now let’s try the practical.’
Then I turned the first page of the manual.
I expected it to greet me with friendly questions, just like Isabel’s easygoing smile, but…
…What the hell is this!?
I was brutally betrayed.
[Practical Exam (75 points)]
[1. Lower-mid-grade beginner potion (47% implementation rate, 0.1% margin of error), implement the following additional effects.]
1. Mana surge (5 points)
2. Minor stamina recovery (5 points)
3. Implementation rate 47% (5 points, 1 point deducted for every 0.1 percent of error.)
Four more conditions like that were written below.
Unless you could preserve the traits of each herb without killing them off, there was no way to satisfy those conditions.
A problem much harder than making a top-grade product.
‘…No wonder it felt easy.’
I’d forgotten that Isabel was the kind of person who did the same sorts of things as Karnarov.
A kind Karnarov was better than the unkind Karnarov (the default), but…
‘Sigh, can’t be helped.’
I’ll have to do it.
* * *
Five potion bottles sat in front of me.
I collected them and submitted them to Isabel.
“Good work. It wasn’t too hard, was it?”
As soon as I submitted the potions, Isabel handed them to a teaching assistant and asked.
“It was insanely difficult.”
“Ahaha, I figured as much.”
Isabel gave an awkward laugh.
“But for something you say was that hard, the color looks good. You must have practiced a lot.”
Potion bottles that started out deep blue and glowed brighter toward the back.
The last one held quite a lot of mana, with a starlit shimmer.
“I end up using potions a lot.”
“…Hm? What would you be using potions for…?”
Isabel looked puzzled.
“I have my reasons.”
“Ugh, I’m screwed! How am I supposed to meet those conditions!?”
“I somehow managed to meet only condition number 1. No matter what I did, I couldn’t figure out the implementation rate.”
As they left the exam hall, the students’ screams rang out.
“How was it for you, Yumia?”
“So-so. I managed to preserve all the properties.”
“…Pardon?”
“Hm?”
“Linia said she only managed to preserve conditions 1 and 3… you did all of them?”
“It was doable.”
As I kept at it, the properties all came out fine.
“…At this rate, maybe the top student could change this time?”
“Really?”
I thought it over carefully.
“For first-years, A+ counts as 4.5 points, and they total up all the scores to determine the ranking.”
“Huh?”
“For example, if you only took Herbology and Potion Studies and got A+ in both, the two 4.5s would add up to a total of 9 points.”
“…So it wasn’t an average?”
Since I’d gone to college, I naturally assumed they’d average the scores.
“Apparently, averaging starts from second year.”
…That’s a pretty annoying system.
“This is going to come down to Professor Karnarov’s exam! If you do really well, even the top spot could…”
“Haha, Aris, that’s impossible.”
I said with a laugh.
“What?”
“I botched Imperial History.”
“…Whaaat? We studied together, didn’t we!?”
“Turns out the scope was different.”
To be honest, I only studied the myths of the Stellan Empire.
I didn’t do anything beyond that because it was a hassle.
I’m the type who, even in games, just reads the worldbuilding explanation and skips the rest.
“Why didn’t you study that!”
Aris shook me back and forth.
“Eeh, even if you say that, as long as I don’t get kicked out of Dorm A, I’m fine.”
“If you put it that way, I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Yeah. Even if I became top student, it wouldn’t mean much.
Honestly, the only reason I was working hard on Karnarov’s exam was pride.
‘I won’t be at Karnarov’s mercy anymore…!’
The [Magic Combat] course was obviously Karnarov’s responsibility, and there would be a ridiculous amount to do.
If I got a B+ in Magic Combat and didn’t have to retake it, that meant I’d have a huge amount of free time.
The school gives the overall top student a really big reward at the end of the semester, you know?
…Hm?
“They’d probably let you get at least one thing you want, Yumia… I’d hate for it to go to waste.”
Aris sounded disappointed.
…Hmm.
“How big of a reward are we talking about?”
“The previous top student got a scholarship in gold. I heard they were a commoner… I guess it changes depending on the professors’ discretion.”
“What?”
“If it’s within reason, there have even been cases of directly attending faculty meetings and slightly revising the school rules…”
…A gold-scale reward is no joke.
If they can change the school rules, that means almost anything is on the table.
Should I drag in a LAN cable and set up a transmission tower?
Or maybe I could ask for a private training room.
The training room’s ceiling is already pretty high.
It’s about six or seven floors, but honestly, even two floors would cut down the trouble of climbing it.
And better facilities would be a bonus.
“…I can’t give up here.”
“As expected of Yumia! So there is a way?”
This time, I’d somehow steal a minute from Karnarov.
If I held out for one minute and got an A+, the [Magic Combat] score would be added to my total.
Then the points I lost in Imperial History would come right back in full.
I might even edge out Linia and take first place.
Hm.
* * *
“But seriously, how am I supposed to endure that?”
Just surviving 30 seconds would already be torture.
Karnarov’s basic attack-magic technique is top tier.
Of course, I might be able to catch up to his technique somehow…
“But what am I supposed to do after that?”
Karnarov, who used martial arts, basic attack magic powered by his own mana without any limit, and basic defense magic.
I didn’t know how good Karnarov was at martial arts.
But the fact that it was specifically mentioned meant it was at least not something I could ignore.
‘Of course, since he’s a mage, it probably isn’t that high a level.’
And then, the crucial final five seconds.
Karnarov at full power.
Adrian had said he was 'very strong for a human.'
‘…Does that even make sense?’
“Sigh, I’ll just have to try it.”
The place I ended up going to was the school market.
[Swordmilia Trading Company]
“Give me all the swords and shields.”
If I was going to do this properly, I had to use every card I had.