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While having breakfast at the cafeteria, I could sense a different atmosphere among the students compared to usual.

“The semester exams are incredibly important. I heard that if you fail three or more subjects in one semester, you’ll be expelled without exception. This applies to freshmen as well.”

“Really? That’s pretty strict.”

At Esca’s explanation, Kaen shrugged and went back to eating.

Whether it was Kaen or Rigon, they seemed unfazed by the exam day. Vaion was the same.

On the other hand, even a glance at Esca revealed her full state of tension, as she left more than half of her food untouched, seemingly with little appetite.

“Are you not going to finish your meal? Don’t you need to eat well, Esca?”

“No, I feel like it’ll just upset my stomach for no reason.”

After finishing our meal, we immediately headed to the classroom.

The semester exams were scheduled to take place over a total of three days, and I heard that the exam formats varied greatly depending on the subjects.

It was announced that the first test of the day, Magic Theory, would be held in a traditional classroom.

“Please sit with some distance between each other.”

As soon as the time came, the teaching assistant entered the room and addressed the students.

It seemed that the exam would be supervised by a teaching assistant rather than a professor.

Since Magic Theory was primarily a written subject, the exam was also written.

I thought the exam format would be in groups since we had been studying in groups, but it turned out to be an individual exam.

And here I thought I could rely on others.

Unfortunately, the Magic Theory exam would solely depend on my individual abilities.

Well, as long as I avoid getting a failing grade, it shouldn’t matter, but… I hope I wouldn’t actually fail. I had worked hard, after all.

As Esca mentioned earlier, Elphon’s regulations were quite strict. If one failed three or more subjects, they were expelled without any leniency.

Still, I didn’t worry much.

Magic Theory was my weakest subject, but at least I managed to do average in other subjects.

Surely, even if I fail this test, they wouldn’t kick me out. Probably.

“We will begin the exam.”

As the assistant professor spoke, the sound of students simultaneously unfolding their exam papers echoed.

Amidst the ensuing silence, I calmly unfolded my own exam paper.

The exam went surprisingly smoothly.

I quickly skipped any difficult problems and started with the ones I could solve, and before I knew it, I had completed about one-third of the exam.

Until the time was up, I successfully managed to solve a few more problems and finished the exam.

There were indeed some problems I couldn’t even touch, but overall, I was quite satisfied with how it went, even better than expected.

The previous study session definitely helped a lot. Without it, I might not have even completed half of the exam.

“Oh, I totally messed up.”

“Why is it so difficult? They said it would only cover what we learned in class.”

“Yeah, seriously. Did they really intend for us to solve the last problem?”

After the exam, the classroom filled with students’ complaints and sighs.

As I stood up from my seat, I happened to see Lea passing by, so I called out to her.

“Hey, Lea.”

“…?”

“Many of the things you taught me last time appeared a lot in the exam.”

“So what?”

“Just wanted to say thank you. I did okay, thanks to you.”

In response to my expression of gratitude, she simply scoffed and continued on her way. What a bad personality.

I approached Kaen and asked, “Hey, how did it go? Did you do well?”

“Decently. I managed to solve everything except for three questions,” Kaen replied.

Compared to me, Kaen was generally better at theoretical studies.

I considered asking Esca as well, but gave up when I saw her expression.

“Esca, how about you?”

“Oh, just… you know,” Esca responded vaguely.

But instead of me, Kaen promptly asked the question.

Kaen wasn’t particularly perceptive in such matters.

I swiftly changed the topic of conversation and left the classroom with both of them.

After a short break, it was time for the next exam.

***

The Magic Theory, which I was most worried about, went smoothly, and I did reasonably well in other subjects too.

Lea demonstrated overwhelming skill in most practical exams, as expected, and Kaen did quite well, too.

It was the last day of the semester exams, spanning three days.

The final exam subject was none other than combat.

“Ha, exams are finally over.”

“But what kind of test is it that you have to take it in the basement, leaving the training grounds behind? Was there a training ground in the basement?”

“I heard from a senior that if it’s Professor Rokel’s exam, we should really be prepared.”

I heard a group of students chattering around me as I made my way to the exam venue.

The exam venue for the combat exam was not the usual training grounds where classes were held, but rather the underground area of Elphon, a different section from where we had our Monster Exploration class.

I was quite curious about what kind of exam it would be since we were going to do it underground.

Moreover, the announcement mentioned that it would be a joint exam with the Swordsmanship Department, just like during the joint combat class, which piqued my curiosity even further.

“I don’t suppose it’s going to be a normal duel, is it? Rigon.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The swordsmanship class taking the joint test was none other than Rigon’s Henrietta class, so we were all traveling together.

While listening to the voices of Rigon and Kaen chatting, I looked around the surrounding stone walls.

How extensive is this underground area?

After passing through a dim underground passage, we arrived at the examination venue, which was a spacious common area.

There, the assistant professors, who had been waiting, first arranged the students into two groups.

Kaen, Esca, and Vaion were in the same group as me, while Rigon ended up in a different group.

Observing the scene, I pondered. Could this be some kind of team battle? A combat between individuals?

After dividing all the students, they began distributing something. It was bracelets.

“Please wear the bracelets on your wrists. The professors will be here soon to explain the examination format.”

Bracelets out of nowhere?

“What’s this? I can feel mana.”

Kaen murmured as she examined the bracelet she received.

As she said, the bracelets were not mere objects, but magical devices. I still didn’t know their purpose.

And since the bracelets had different colors for each opposing group, they seemed to serve the purpose of distinguishing teams.

Anyway, as instructed, we wore the bracelets and waited. Soon, Professor Rokel and the professor from the Swordsmanship Department arrived.

After the assistant professors finished the final headcount, Professor Rokel amplified his voice with magic and began speaking.

“This place was originally designed for a specific purpose in Elphon’s early days, but has been left abandoned without any specific use. The personal combat examination for this semester will take place here. I will now explain the examination format.”

The professor shifted his gaze toward the assistant professors.

Upon seeing that, one of the assistant professors stepped forward and handed a bracelet to each of the two professors, just like us.

Professor Rokel wore the bracelet on his wrist as he continued speaking.

“This cavity is the center of the underground space, and as you can see, there are four passages running east, west, south, and north. The path you have traveled to this point is the eastern passage.”

“……”

“The test is simple. When the test begins, myself and Professor Gaon of the Swordsmanship Department here will move to the ends of the south and north passageways, respectively. You will divide into teams according to the colors of the bracelets you have just been handed, and you will attempt to take the bracelets from either me or Professor Gaon.”

…Huh?

The students murmured in response.

It was a natural reaction. Taking the bracelet from the professors seemed absurd.

“Of course, there will be conditions and constraints within reasonable limits, so rest assured. And as I mentioned, you are not individuals but teams. You can use any means and methods available. If you manage to obtain the professor’s bracelet and make it to the common area located at the end of the western passage, regardless of your contribution, you will be guaranteed a grade of B+ or higher.”

“……!”

The professor’s final words caused another uproar among the students.

“Besides taking the professor’s bracelet, it is also possible to take bracelets from other participants. Taking the opponent’s bracelet and moving to the western passage is another way to avoid failure. Of course, the test is relative, so the more bracelets you steal, the higher your grade will be. Anyone who has not earned a single bracelet by the end of the test, or is eliminated by losing a bracelet, will fail, no exceptions.”

The exam would last for a total of two hours. If a team was eliminated, the test would end immediately.

And there was only one team that could obtain the professor’s bracelet and secure their scores.

Even if they acquired both bracelets, only the team that reached the western passage first would receive the benefits.

Why is the exam so intense?

Stealing each other’s bracelets. I never thought the exam would be like this.

In any case, the rules of the exam explained by Professor Rokel were roughly as described.

“There are no restrictions beyond what I have explained. Now, do your best.”

Professor Rokel finished his explanation with those words and left the seat as he had announced, just as Professor Gaon.

“I will begin the exam in 5 minutes. Until then, combat is prohibited, and movement is allowed,” said one of the assistant professors to the students who were standing awkwardly.

The assistant professors then started dispersing magical objects shaped like balls throughout the corridors. They were probably observation spells meant to monitor the progress of the exam.

Meanwhile, bewildered students began to keep their distance while observing the opposing team.

“Ha,” I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

This interpersonal combat exam was completely different from the practical subjects we had seen so far.

To think they would make fresh-faced newcomers like us take such a test, essentially a real team battle.

“It could be fun, but it’s a shame that Rigon and us are on different teams. It would have been nice if we were all on the same team,” Kaen said, looking at Rigon standing on the opposing team.

Amidst the awkward silence, the muttering of someone from the same team was heard.

“Is this insane? Why are those two stuck on the same team?”

It was clear who they were referring to—Rigon and Lea.

Even I found it strange that the two top-ranking students were paired together on the same team.

On the other hand, it seemed like there were more high-ranking students on this side, but…

“Would you all listen to me for a moment?!”

At that moment, someone shouted loudly.

He was a student from my team, and naturally, everyone’s attention turned to him.

“There’s no point in fighting each other right now. That’s exactly what the professors want. Didn’t you all hear? If they take away your bracelets, you’re immediately eliminated. Even if the team wins, there could be many people who receive failing grades. Does everyone agree with this?”

“…”

“However, if we obtain the professor’s bracelet, at least one team can avoid failing. And there’s no rule that says the two teams can’t join forces to confront the professor. Isn’t that right, Assistant Professor?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

One of the assistant professors nearby nodded in agreement, wearing an expression of interest.

“Did everyone hear that? So let’s first unite and take the professors’ bracelets. It will be easy if everyone works together. The professors probably won’t expect all the students from both teams to converge at once, right? Let’s easily secure the professors’ bracelets, and then we can decide whether to fight. What do you think?”

It was a reasonably tidy situation summary.

As he said, the benefits that can be obtained through students fighting amongst themselves were fewer than taking the professors’ bracelets.

So, the opinion was to unite and obtain the professors’ bracelets first, and postpone the fight for later.

The students generally seemed agreeable. They likely also had a psychological desire to avoid fights, if possible.

Next, the students’ gaze naturally turned towards two individuals—Lea and Rigon.

Lea furrowed her brows in response to the focused attention and spoke.

“Why are you all looking at me? I was planning to snatch the professors’ bracelets anyway, so do whatever you want.”

She took the lead and briskly walked towards the northern corridor, the direction Professor Rokel had moved towards.

Observing her back, Rigon spoke quietly.

“Shall we go with that plan for now? Let’s all go.”

And so, the decision was made.

The students from both teams started moving together towards the northern corridor where Professor Rokel was located.