Chapter 18
The Freshman Welcoming Exam.
An event that had existed in the original story as well.
‘It was the first episode to take place at the academy.’
After the tutorial, it was a stage where you could get a light feel for the game's controls.
An episode designed to let users experience satisfying, hard-hitting combat.
The premise was that you would duel students from the lower-ranked classes to keep the difficulty easy.
Players were generally assigned to Class A at the highest or Class C at the lowest.
In general, they would duel cadets from a class two tiers below the one they had been assigned to.
‘Looking back now, it was nothing short of a vicious event···.’
It arranged matchups whose results had been decided from the outset.
It showed the gap between the classes.
And that was in front of the other cadets watching.
The lower-ranked students were smashed and knocked down again and again.
A device for humiliating them. Their hearts were trampled little by little.
There was only one reason for putting them through such a harsh event.
‘To encourage competition.’
Conflict between classes.
The lower-ranked students were disregarded accordingly, while the upper-ranked students were treated accordingly.
Thus, the lower-ranked students tried by any means to raise their rankings, while the upper-ranked students tried to hold on to their positions.
In a word, it was meant to provoke them.
Mockery, contempt, an inferiority complex··· all of it stimulated their desire to improve.
Regardless of whether that stimulation was positive or negative.
‘And if their spirits were broken···.’
They would simply conclude that it had only been that much.
If they lacked even the capacity to endure an environment like this, they must have been people who would never have made it in the first place.
An utterly extreme educational philosophy.
Teach them harshly, and raise them so that they would not break.
That was why Grandia Academy's methods often felt cruel.
‘It must be an elite academy.’
It seemed almost like a declaration.
As if to say that only by enduring this much could one be acknowledged as a member of Grandia Academy.
In fact, it was said that quite a few cadets applied to withdraw after only one semester.
Most of them were students from the lower-ranked classes.
‘The treatment isn't exactly great.’
This exam alone demonstrated as much.
Even so, it was a schedule set by the academy, so one could not openly ignore it.
Class E in particular, whose members were mostly commoners, had no right of refusal.
If they wanted to graduate from Grandia and receive its diploma, they would have to grit their teeth for the next three years.
“Ah, we've arrived.”
I arrived at the examination site right on time as well.
I had decided to play along with it for the time being.
The examination site was located near the A Main Building.
‘It's huge.’
Could it be called a gigantic indoor gymnasium?
Of course, it was far too enormous to be called merely a gymnasium.
It was large enough to hold several soccer stadiums side by side, with room to spare.
“Then··· shall we stop here?”
Screech-.
The rickshaw came to a halt.
As we quietly got out, the Shuttles who had been pulling the carriage wiped their hands.
They wiped away their dripping sweat, and the children each entered the examination site.
I followed behind them.
Carmilla wriggled around in my uniform pocket as though she were marveling at the sight.
[It looked large from outside, but the inside is magnificent as well.]
‘It is not called the best on the continent for nothing. All the facilities are state-of-the-art as well, are they not?’
The dueling arena was likewise built on a vast scale.
Rows of spectator seats were packed tightly around the edges.
It looked almost as though several circular arenas had been joined together.
It seemed that while several examinations were being held, the other students would watch from the stands.
[It seems the examination has already begun.]
‘We arrived a little late.’
[Has your turn not already passed?]
‘My match is last. There are still about thirty minutes before my turn.’
[That is a relief.]
‘Shall we sit in the waiting seats for now? I would like to watch the other students' examinations as well.’
I moved forward.
The waiting seats.
They were where the students about to take their examinations sat.
At present, cadets from Classes E and C were waiting there.
When I appeared alongside the bread shuttles, the surrounding students' gazes focused on us.
-Huh···? Isn't that him? The top student of Class E?
-The top student of Class E··· Ah, the one who supposedly became top student with E-rank in every stat?
-Was his name Victor? I thought he'd run away, but he actually showed up?
The students whispered among themselves.
Looking at their uniform name tags, they were all cadets from Class C.
They seemed to have heard plenty about my reputation.
-Poor thing, what are we going to do with him? He's going to get thoroughly humiliated today~!
-Oh dear, how can someone with an overall E rank be the top student of a class?
-If trash like that can become top student, what must the students below him be like?
-Tsk tsk··· People who aren't even up to standard.
Various bits of noise pricked at my ears.
The contents of their conversations were filled with hostility and mockery.
[Hmm··· They do not seem particularly well-disposed toward you.]
‘Can't blame them.’
If Class E was a gathering of underachievers, then I was the head of that gathering.
On top of that, I was a top student with the blemish of having E rank in every stat.
There must have been plenty for them to chew on.
And Class C was a class two full tiers above this one.
They must have been itching to think about how they could toy with me.
-Heh heh··· He can hear all of that, can't he? Is he trying to put on airs and act proud?
-Exactly~ He's not even pretending to care! He seems a little arrogant too···.
-Oh my, oh my, let's not be so mean, everyone. He's about to be trampled into a mess anyway.
-Hehehe, shall we?
Regardless, I took my seat.
The bread shuttles filled the seats as well.
““······.””
Every one of them was gritting their teeth.
Their tightly clenched fists trembled.
But there was nothing they could do.
They could only sit quietly in their seats and pretend not to hear.
‘Their teeth are going to break.’
I quietly shifted my gaze.
It landed on the dueling arena, where an examination was in full swing.
“······.”
I began watching without a word.
The duels were all similar.
A duel between a cadet from Class C and a cadet from Class E.
The gap was too great for them to even put on a convincing match.
One side gleefully bullied the weaker student, while the other was swept away miserably.
-Oh, this one seems to be holding out pretty well?
-Pfft··· Can't you see? Silfi is using only one hand.
-Oh, you're right? He's completely toying with him, and only the other side is getting worked up?
Mockery.
It was repeated in the next match, and the one after that.
The Class E students fell, while the Class C students laughed at them.
I watched the dueling arena with cold eyes.
‘Seriously···.’
Seen this way, there was no academy more insane than this one.
When I saw it in the game, I had simply thought it was some setting and moved on···.
-Oh my, look at him flailing around over there.
-Ahahaha! He's dangling there, clinging on—what? Is he even crying?
-Exactly. Why did people so far below the standard even enroll···.
This.
The more I watched, the more my brow furrowed.
‘This is··· not exactly pleasant.’
[I feel the same way.]
Compared to the other classes in particular, Class E was treated exceptionally poorly.
In addition to the issue of ability, most of its members were commoners.
They did not even feel the need to choose their words.
[Are humans all like this?]
‘Well···.’
Humans.
That nature of theirs that could not bear to live without ignoring, belittling, and trampling on others.
Unable to live unless they pushed someone else down and basked in their own superiority···.
‘That's just what humans are. We are different from the other races, whose bonds of solidarity are so strong.’
[Is Victor like that as well?]
‘Perhaps. In any case, I am human too.’
[The more I experience the human world, the more difficult it seems, as though it were filled with nothing but hardship···.]
Before I knew it, my turn was just around the corner.
The final examination before my match.
‘Luyan, huh.’
Luyan Zestar.
The second-ranked student of Class E.
Had I not been there, he would have been the one to take first place.
He was also one of the bread shuttles who pulled my rickshaw.
Well··· unlike the others, he did have an especially sharp air about him.
‘His opponent···.’
Luyan's opponent was, naturally, the second-ranked student of Class C.
The poor guy was being struck this way and that throughout the duel.
He tried to mount a counterattack, but Luyan's magic could not reach his opponent.
He could only stagger around as an object of ridicule.
-Oh my, is he really the second-ranked student? He's especially persistent.
-He's forcing himself back to his feet? Does he not understand reality···?
He struggled desperately, but in the end, he failed to land even a single attack.
Luyan was ultimately knocked out after being mocked for the entire match.
He came down from the dueling arena utterly exhausted.
His steps wavered, perhaps because he had run out of mana.
“······.”
Even when those around him tried to support him, he merely shook them off.
Blood flowed from his tightly bitten lips.
Even that appearance seemed funny to the Class C bastards.
Watching him receive nothing but ridicule, I quietly rose from my seat.
““······.””
The surroundings were quiet.
Strictly speaking, only the Class E waiting seats were quiet.
The eyes of the children, each exhausted in body and spirit, were utterly lifeless.
They seemed to be hoping this humiliating time would end as soon as possible.
“Ahem.”
Indeed.
I did not like this very much.
“Mr. Luyan.”
“······.”
“You did well.”
Tap, tap-.
His eyes looked as though they might break at any moment.
I passed him, lightly patting him on the shoulder.
“Take a moment to rest.”
My bread shuttle No. 1.
Luyan merely stared blankly in my direction.
His eyes seemed to ask why I was suddenly acting like this.
“Heh heh, you shouldn't touch someone else's bread shuttle.”
That was what I thought.
My bread shuttles.
Only I was allowed to make use of them.
Whether I gave them a flick on the forehead or sent them out to buy bread, all of it was a privilege granted only to me.
‘Class E itself belongs to me.’
How dare they touch them and act like this.
I scratched the edge of my mask and headed down toward the dueling arena.
[41st Match]
-Victor (Top Student, Class E)
-Sharien Lavriel (Top Student, Class C)
My opponent was already waiting on the other side.
The one who had been diligently chewing apart the Class E students from earlier.
An unlikeable character who had made occasional appearances in the original story as well.
‘Sharien.’
Unlike her pretty face, the girl was black-hearted inside.
I quietly stood facing Sharien.
Without saying a word.
I merely stroked my mask.
“Hmm···.”
“······.”
The broad, circular arena.
Sharien's demeanor was utterly relaxed.
Naturally, she believed the momentum was on her side.
The girl smiled sweetly and tossed out a few light provocations.
“Oh my, you must be that person everyone has been talking about. The unprecedented individual who took first place in a class with an overall E rank.”
“This is the first I've heard that I was so famous.”
“Of course you're famous. To the point that there isn't a single person at the academy who doesn't know you··· Pfft.”
“······.”
Mockery.
More gazes poured down from the stands.
I merely smiled without saying anything in particular.
Hoping that the smile would reach her even from beyond the mask.
“Aren't you getting worried? About what kind of humiliation you're going to suffer.”
“I'm not sure. I suppose I am a little worried.”
“Would you like to forfeit? If you crawl on all fours in front of the entire student body, I might let you off.”
“My classmates did their best, so I should do my best as well. You can't know who is stronger until you measure them against each other, can you?”
“Is that so? Ohoho.”
The girl laughed ominously.
Her eyes were cruelly devoid of warmth.
“What a shame. To throw away the opportunity I went to the trouble of giving you.”
Fwoosh-!
As she said that, flames as red as her hair coiled around the hand she extended.
The fire, which had gathered into a single shape, became a bow.
The girl pulled back its brilliant red string and stared at me.
“Don't regret it. I definitely gave you the chance to give up.”
A flaming arrow burned fiercely.
As she finished taking aim, the assistant's voice soon rang out.
《Students, remain at your respective positions.》
《The examination will be conducted in the form of a duel and will end when one opponent is subdued or rendered unable to fight.》
《Additionally, the examination will end if either side declares forfeiture.》
The air in the stands settled.
Like spectators holding their breath just before the highlight.
<Prepare.>
The assistant recited the signal plainly.
The next word detonated the quiet scene.
<Begin.>
Whoooosh-!
At the same time as the assistant's lips moved, a massive pillar of fire rose from the center of the arena.
Blazing flames.
The brilliant-red vortex slowly wrapped around the circular arena.
The red-haired girl stood amid the swirling wind.
At the end of the fully drawn string, an arrow gleamed.
Sharien whispered with a cold sneer.
“Then··· let's finish this in one shot instead of dragging it out.”
Despite the considerable distance between us, the heat reached me with startling clarity.
A stray spark suddenly leaped out and touched my cheek.
Even from that fragment, I could tell one thing.
‘She's strong.’
So she really was the top student of Class C.
Sharien was strong.
The air seemed hot enough to roast me at any moment, and her mana structure was woven with precision.
The murmuring from the stands, which had briefly died down, began again.
-Huh··· Is the top student really the top student? The force is reaching all the way to the stands.
-Isn't that dangerous? That's not something some lowly Class E student can handle!
-Is someone going to get hurt?
The background voices seemed to warn of danger.
Yet even then, I merely stood upright.
“Go down obediently!”
Along with her shrill cry, her fingers released the string.
The fire demon, freed from its leash, shot forward ferociously.
The arrow left behind a long tail.
It swallowed the training ground whole.
Ssshwiii-!
A burst of sound savagely tore through the air.
Just as everyone's attention focused on the flaming flower.
I took one step forward and extended a single finger.
“I'm not sure.”
The mask was smiling.
My finger touched it.
The next moment.
Fshaaa-!
The flames rushing toward me disappeared.
Sharien was left utterly bewildered.
“W-what, what···?”
It was not that the arrow had been intercepted or missed.
It had literally vanished.
The flower that had filled the space left not even a trace of heat behind.
It was as though the scene itself had been erased, and the spectators stared blankly only at me.
“Hmm.”
“······.”
I looked at her.
At the red-haired girl whose face was colored with bewilderment.
“You said you would finish it in one shot···.”
A short provocation.
A cold, beaming smile hung at the corner of my mouth.
The mask was the same, its corners stretching grotesquely all the way to its ears.
“Is that all?”
A gentle yet distinct resonance filled the training ground.
The next moment.
The spectators' reaction was turned completely upside down.