Chapter 3: Class Placement Exam Part 2

It was truly a scene of utter chaos.

Of course, the students eliminated here didn’t actually die; they simply awakened from the illusion.

After all, the stage itself was nothing more than a product of incredibly realistic illusion magic.

Still, when one considered the fact that such a large number of people had been thrown into this illusion, it was clear that the Archmage was truly something else.

“Hmm.”

The strong hunted down the ones in hiding and attacked them, while the weak joined forces to fight back against the strong.

Some formed teams, only to betray and backstab each other moments later.

Amidst the chaos of such a battlefield, I alone remained at peace.

I openly roamed the area, and while the students cast occasional glances my way, no one dared to harm me.

The key was composure.

Even if spells and sword energy flew past me from all directions, it was important not to so much as blink.

Scribble, scribble.

And I had to put on a show.

I calmly organized a recipe for braised short ribs in the notebook I had prepared in advance.

The students probably thought it was all part of my individual evaluation.

Just in case anyone tried to peek, I had even written it in Korean.

Even if they saw it, they’d likely think it was some sort of code.

The students continued their battles while subtly watching me.

Of course, among the more perceptive ones, there were a few who grew suspicious of me.

“Hmm, something’s not right…”

One of them was the same rabbit beastkin girl wearing a witch’s hat who had harassed me with her crying antics a few days ago.

It was Ariel Ether.

But if I showed any sign of panic over something like this, I’d only look like a guilty thief twitching at their own crime.

What I needed was a head-on approach.

“To be so distracted in the middle of a fight…”

Scribble, scribble.

I immediately moved on to writing down the kimchi stew recipe.

Without avoiding Ariel’s suspicious gaze, I instead looked straight at her and continued writing.

I spoke quietly, but at this distance, she must’ve gotten the message.

If you don’t want your evaluation ruined, then you’d better keep fighting each other to the death.

Realizing my intent, Ariel flinched and quickly turned back to face off with the other students.

Could there be a more perfect plan than this?

Just in case someone figured out something was off about me, it was crucial that I slipped as far as possible outside their awareness.

However…

“Hmm…?”

Completely fooling everyone was proving to be difficult.

Before I knew it, Princess Lobelia had started watching me.

I kept writing as calmly as possible, trying to pass off her gaze.

“Your Highness! That examiner’s super strict. Just looking at them gets you points deducted, seriously.”

“Really?”

“But they’ve been standing still for a while now. Is something wrong?”

“It’s just… no matter how hard I look, I can’t find Johan Damus anywhere. He’s hidden himself pretty well.”

“…Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him either. Maybe he got eliminated right at the beginning?”

“I thought the same at first, but now… I’m not so sure.”

As expected, the princess had caught on.

There wasn’t any particular problem. At first glance, it might’ve looked like my plan to do absolutely nothing had already collapsed, but once I ended up in Class F, every moment was bound to become special anyway.

The plan to stay unnoticed was all about timing, after all.

Even if I briefly stood out at the beginning, as long as I stayed quiet afterward, people’s attention would naturally fade away.

Rather than being stuck in Class F, where all the drama and incidents would happen, it was actually better to shine just a little in the beginning like this.

That was clear from the fact that I got caught after staying quiet for a whole year.

So I needed to choose and focus wisely.

“Hmm?”

Flash!

While I was trying to organize my thoughts, my vision suddenly flickered again.

It looked like the exam had ended.

As expected of a place filled with elites. Everything wrapped up quickly and efficiently.

“Well then, with this…”

Midterm grades.

Since I had survived, I would fall somewhere between an A and a C. But since I hadn’t done anything, it’d more likely be between a B and a D.

Considering how I planned to tank the future evaluations from here on out…

In the end, I should be able to finish somewhere between a C and an E.

That was one burden off my shoulders.

***

After the group survival exam ended,

Having finished the written exam with good grades, I only had the final 1-on-1 duel exam left.

“Oh! Oracle. We finally meet.”

“Ah, shi— I mean. Your Highness. I’m not an Oracle.”

“Right, right. Johan Damus. I just got confused for a moment, didn’t I? And that word you said to me starting with ‘shi’—I must’ve misheard that too.”

“…Of course.”

“Alright then, let’s call it even. We both made a mistake.”

This damned mouth of mine.

I really needed to be more careful.

Spending so much time alone must’ve messed with my personality.

Yeah, loneliness has a way of eating people alive…

“By the way, how did you survive the survival exam? With your grades, it couldn’t have been easy.”

“……”

So it really wasn’t a coincidence that she was watching me back then?

“It seems you had a pretty decent method, something only you could’ve pulled off. A method I never would’ve thought of.”

“I was just lucky, that’s all.”

“Aha! So you were so lucky that every spell missed you, and every sword and spear just happened to avoid you! In that case, I have no choice but to accept it.”

“……”

Turns out Her Highness is sharper than I thought. And nastier, too.

This is our main character?

Or maybe she’s the main character because she’s got that kind of personality?

“Well then, looks like it’s my turn now. I’ll be off. Oracle, I hope you get a good score too.”

“Yes… I’ll do my best.”

Lobelia gave a hearty laugh and walked off toward the stage.

She was stepping up to take on one of the three tests in the class placement exam. The “duel”.

A duel.

The concept behind the exam was simple.

Based on the first-year students’ grades, they would face either an upperclassman or a lowerclassman in a duel.

The tricky part? They weren’t fighting peers. The matchups were between grades.

If a lowerclassman defeated an upperclassman, they’d score between an A and a C.

If an upperclassman lost to a lowerclassman, they’d receive a grade between E and F.

If an upperclassman beat a lowerclassman, their grade would fall between B and D, depending on how they performed in the duel.

In my case, I’d be going up against a lowerclassman, and no matter how things went, I’d probably end up with something between a C and an E.

After all, I did survive the survival exam and likely scored an A on the written portion. That should be more than enough.

For reference, Class S was reserved only for those who earned A grades across the board and stood out in every exam.

If memory serves me right, there were about seven of them.

They were basically public enemy number one. The kind of students outsiders would drool over and then want to eliminate immediately.

Ugh, just imagining it was terrifying.

I was just happy to have made it through all this madness.

“The winner! Second-year student Lobelia Vicious von Miltonia!”

As I waited for my turn, I caught a glimpse of Lobelia smashing a third-year student’s skull with her fist.

Why did it sound like a bomb went off every time she threw a punch?

The scene was nothing short of brutal.

“Next! Second-year student Johan Damus!”

Just as I was starting to think it was about time, my turn finally came.

So, who would be the one to decide my final placement exam score?

“My name is Dietrich, senior. I look forward to our match.”

“Uh… r-right. I’m Johan Damus.”

Pitch-black hair.

Sparkling blue eyes.

He had the kind of look that wouldn’t be out of place on a protagonist.

This year’s undisputed standout among the freshmen.

One of the playable characters in the game Promotion Tale, aside from the protagonist Lobelia.

…What the hell.

The future Swordmaster was standing there, gripping a menacing blade and glaring straight at me.

Why am I up against him?

No—whatever.

Meeting someone tied to the main story in the exam wasn’t necessarily a problem. Honestly, I felt like I’d get wrecked no matter who I faced.

Still, there was one thing…

One thing that worried me…

“…Senior, you’re a noble, aren’t you?”

The clueless brat was probably imagining who knows what about me and that was the real issue. I had no way of knowing what was going on in his head.

Hey, don’t do that.

Don’t grip your sword like that and speak in such a tense voice.

Being a noble doesn’t automatically make someone special. That’s a bad stereotype.

Sure, noble students were generally better than commoners.

They eat well, get proper early education, and come from families that pass down talent through blood. Naturally, they have the edge.

There was a clear, visible wall between commoners and nobles.

But for me? That wall doesn’t exist.

What good was eating well and receiving a structured head start in education if you don’t have the talent to back it up?

Against someone who’s been hardened through real combat, you don’t stand a chance.

“I’m coming in now.”

“Huh—?”

Clang!

A blade came slicing toward my neck before I could even blink.

Wait—this crazy bastard?!

A sharp pain surged up from the hand gripping my sword.

One strike, and I nearly flunked the test right there.

Not that I expected to win, but come on; I at least wanted to show that I tried.

“Hup!”

I swung with everything I had.

To me, it was a desperate counterattack, but Dietrich blocked it like it was nothing.

The way he parried my blow so fluidly like flowing water made it painfully clear just how big the gap between us was.

At this point, even Dietrich must’ve realized I was a total amateur—

Clang!

That stinging pain shot through my hand again.

Wait, what the hell? He hit harder than before!

***

Dietrich was a commoner. Or more accurately, an orphan who’d grown up on the back alleys.

The only reason someone like him made it into the Cradle was because he had the right friend.

A fellow back-alley native, but far wiser than Dietrich. Kult.

With his wisdom, Kult diagnosed and treated a noblewoman’s long-standing illness. And in return, he was adopted as her son.

And when he became an adopted son, he brought Dietrich with him as a servant, giving him the chance to learn the sword.

“Dietrich, you have talent. Think of this as a debt. Pay it back later.”

Dietrich, who would’ve otherwise lived and died in the back alleys, quickly stood out once he began learning the sword.

Strength and skill that didn’t falter even against grown men.

Thanks to that, he was able to enter the Cradle as a scholarship student.

Behind every cause and effect was Kult’s help. It was Kult who gave Dietrich the opportunity and recognized his talent.

That was why Dietrich believed Kult’s words.

– Dietrich, if you ever go up against a noble, you’ll need to give it everything you’ve got.

– Why?

– That’s because…

Clang!

The clash of metal snapped Dietrich out of his thoughts.

The class placement exam.

His opponent was a noble. And an upperclassman at that.

He’d expected to face an upperclassman; entering as a scholarship student, it was inevitable.

What he hadn’t expected was that his opponent would be a noble.

In their first clash, he saw the noble barely manage to block his sword.

It was clearly the movement of a novice.

And yet…

There was a surprising amount of weight behind that strike.

Of course, by Dietrich’s standards, it was nothing impressive.

Had his opponent not been a noble, he would’ve thought of him as just another clumsy beginner.

However…

– Nobles generally don’t go all out against commoners.

Kult had told him that.

Students born into nobility rarely gave it their all from the start.

It was an act of looking down on commoners, but also a matter of pride and appearances.

If a noble went all out against a commoner, who would see that as honorable?

That was why Kult said the first strike would be less than thirty percent of their full strength.

They would gradually ramp it up from there, slowly increasing the pressure.

So this is thirty percent.

A noble was a noble, after all.

For a blow with this much force to be just thirty percent. It was a force that a commoner student would need to go all-out to produce.

If he hadn’t heard Kult’s warning, Dietrich might’ve been completely fooled.

– So Dietrich, if it turns into a drawn-out fight, you’ll be at a disadvantage. Nobles have been consuming all kinds of rare medicines since they were young, so the total amount of mana they have is on a different level.

If this was only thirty percent, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. If the opponent started drawing out his full strength, he might actually lose.

In that case…

I’ll go all out from the beginning and take him down in a single strike!

Dietrich converted all his mana into sword energy and swung at Johan.

“Wha…?”

Johan Damus.

He was in a crisis of a lifetime.