Unlike the technical exam, where separate seating had been prepared for special-admission students, the practical exam had to be watched mixed in among the general audience.
Fortunately, thanks to Miss Eleonore’s consideration, I was able to get a seat near the professors’ section.
‘The view’s good.’
I could see the entire examination ground at a glance without even standing up.
At this distance, even if something happened during Senior Lena’s exam, I wouldn’t have to force myself to hold back.
‘And she has the elixir I gave her, too.’
I thought back to the expression Senior Lena had made that morning when she received the elixir.
She had looked as delighted as a child. It was a good opportunity to learn that a face that was already cute could become even cuter.
Just as I was feeling satisfied by that fact, the only downside of this seat spoke to me.
“Wow, the view really is good. It’s the perfect seat for watching the results, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
I kept my attitude as indifferent as possible and looked straight ahead.
It was meant to show that I had no desire to talk to him any further, but Ramsey kept speaking to me as though my wishes didn’t matter.
‘As soon as Senior Lena’s exam is over, I’m getting out of here as fast as I can.’
I repeated only answers like “Yes,” “No,” and “I’m not sure” to Ramsey while keeping my gaze fixed on the examination ground.
The current applicant was only somewhat better than an ordinary soldier, but he was passed simply for holding out well against a current student.
‘At that level, Senior Lena can definitely pass.’
No, beyond that, she might even pass with overwhelming skill.
‘Let’s see. Senior Lena’s turn is in three more rounds, right?’
At this rate, I’d be able to escape this guy soon enough.
Trying my best not to be conscious of the seat beside me, I focused on the examination ground again.
Soon, one student failed and another passed, and then it was Senior Lena’s turn.
Senior Lena seemed a little nervous, but she wasn’t stiff with tension.
It was the perfect state to take an exam in.
Just when I thought I could finally relax, the examiner called out a new name.
“Since some time has passed, we will switch the sparring opponent. Second-year Ragnar. Come up.”
The moment those words ended, a man radiating a murderous aura climbed up from the opposite side.
His tall stature, the large scar on his face, and the two rods he held instead of a sword.
Just from his appearance alone, I could tell he wasn’t an ordinary student, but more than that, an unpleasant scent was wafting from him.
‘It is divine power, but it’s neither war nor justice.’
He was too ferocious to belong to the Church of War, and too bloodthirsty to belong to the Church of Justice.
An aura like raging flames that burned not only everything around him, but even himself.
Among the Churches of the Six Great Gods, there was only one place that gave off that kind of energy.
‘The Church of Violence.’
A religion of battle maniacs who believed the strong were forgiven no matter what they did.
The moment I realized that, my blood ran cold.
No matter how much the Church of Violence was one of the Churches of the Six Great Gods, they were sending out a worshiper of an evil god as a sparring opponent? If the academy was sane, there was no way that would happen.
Perhaps the audience had sensed something strange as well, because murmurs began to spread through the stands.
But there was one person, one person who had been chattering noisily until now, who said nothing at all.
I turned my head and looked at Ramsey. He said nothing, merely smiling as usual.
As if to say he knew nothing about it.
That behavior, if anything, gave me certainty.
‘Should I stop this?’
If this exam was a trap prepared by Joshua or Ramsey, Senior Lena might be in danger.
But if I stepped in carelessly,
‘Everything Senior Lena has built up until now could collapse.’
While I was thinking, the signal announcing the start of the sparring match rang out from the examination ground.
And what followed was not a sparring match, but “violence.”
Boom—!
With an explosion, Senior Lena’s body flew through the air.
The strike had landed the instant the whistle announcing the start sounded.
Senior Lena failed to react and took the attack directly.
She seemed flustered for a moment, but immediately tried to rotate her body in midair and regain her posture.
However, her opponent did not allow her to recover.
Leaping up like a beast, he swung his rod down from above.
The target of the two rods was her shoulder. If they landed properly, they had enough force to shatter it on the spot.
Thankfully, Senior Lena barely managed to block them, but perhaps because the impact was heavy, I could see the sunset glow surrounding her shortsword grow much fainter.
Seeing that, her opponent grinned and swung his short rods rapidly.
It was less an attack against a person than a beating meant for disobedient livestock. Each time a blow landed, screams seemed to burst from Senior Lena’s joints.
‘This is dangerous.’
This isn’t an exam.
I stood up with a hardened expression.
Right now, her opponent was fighting with the sincere intent to break Senior Lena.
At this rate, even if she passed, it would be difficult for her to live normally afterward.
Even if Joshua attacked me for this, it was better than letting Senior Lena be ruined.
Just as I was about to jump down into the examination ground—
“Don’t interfere!”
Senior Lena’s voice rang out loudly.
I stopped moving and looked at her.
The next blow left her body covered in bruises, but her golden eyes were, if anything, blazing brighter than before. Seeing her resolve in those eyes, I had no choice but to sit back down.
As if satisfied by that fact, the corner of her mouth rose slightly.
Then her sword began to move.
At first, it was only a feeble resistance. The faint sunset glow scattered each time it touched her opponent’s rods, shattering into pieces in midair.
Even so, she did not give up.
The speed of her sword gradually increased, and parrying her opponent’s short rods began to look natural.
It was a change too drastic to be explained as simply having gotten used to it.
‘Did she break through a wall?’
As if to give me certainty, a brilliant sunset glow spread in all directions from Senior Lena’s shortsword.
Beyond simply infusing mana into it, a sharp aura overlaid the blade.
A stage beyond releasing mana—the stage of controlling it.
Squire-class.
She had just taken one step up onto that staircase.
Ramsey seemed to have noticed it as well, his narrow eyes widening as he stared at her.
“How in the world is something like that possible?”
The smile he had always worn until now had vanished from his face.
“Even if her realm rose in the middle of combat, the pain should make it impossible for her to keep fighting.”
The moment I heard his words, one thought flashed through my mind.
‘The elixir.’
In the game, its effect had simply been to reduce the probability of suffering internal injuries.
But now, having reached a new realm, she was using the medicinal power to protect her own blood vessels.
‘I really can’t beat you, Senior.’
No longer worried, I watched over her.
The sparring match was slowly heading toward its end.
Ragnar still held the advantage, but it was no longer possible for him to trample Senior Lena the way he had before, now that she had reached the same realm.
If he wanted to break his opponent, he would have to be prepared to be broken himself.
Once things reached that point, her opponent had no choice but to declare Senior Lena’s passing.
“You pass, Kurdan woman. That was amusing.”
The moment Senior Lena received the declaration that she had passed, I hurriedly ran out to the examination ground.
Her entire body was covered in bruises, but she looked at me and smiled brightly.
“Ashen, I passed.”
With those words, Senior Lena collapsed on the spot.
I caught her as she fell and smiled back at her.
‘You did well, Senior.’
Listening to her breathing from where she was carried on my back, I made my way toward the lodging.
**
Immediately after the exam ended, Senior Lena couldn’t even walk properly.
In the past, if she had suffered injuries like these, it would have taken her quite a while to recover, but now she had ascended to a new realm.
With mana overflowing throughout her entire body, her recovery had improved as well.
After two days, Senior Lena was able to walk on her own.
After five days, most of the bruises left on her body had disappeared.
While she was resting, perhaps because she was worried about whether she had passed, Senior Lena would often ask me questions before falling asleep.
“Ashen, I really passed, right?”
“Of course, Senior. I guarantee it. No matter what happens, you’ll pass.”
Only after hearing my answer would she fall asleep with a peaceful expression.
Watching her, I hoped the announcement of the results would come as soon as possible.
At last, after a week had passed, I heard that the academy’s list of successful applicants had been posted, so I went with Senior Lena to check it.
“Come on, hurry, Ashen.”
I smiled as I watched Senior Lena move quickly ahead.
When the exam ended, there hadn’t been a single part of her body that wasn’t injured, but now she seemed to have completely recovered her energy.
And so, in front of the academy’s main gate.
We were able to see the list of successful applicants written on a large bulletin board.
“It’s there! It’s there!”
Senior Lena, having found her own name, cheered excitedly.
Looking at the bulletin board, I saw her name in seventeenth place.
Applicant Number: 37 / Name: Lena / Theory: 75 points (Pass) / Technical: 71 points (Pass) / Practical: 98 points (Pass)
‘The theory and technical exams were close calls, but she got an incredibly high score on the practical.’
Should I say it was a score very much like her? Thinking that, I looked over the bulletin board a little more.
On the board were named NPCs from the game, as well as students I was seeing for the first time.
Among them, the one who stood out most was the student in first place.
Applicant Number: 76 / Name: Theodora / Theory: 100 points (Pass) / Technical: 100 points (Pass) / Practical: 100 points (Pass)
‘Is this a score that’s even possible in reality?’
Even in the game, this was a number that only a player could achieve by seriously putting in effort.
And yet there was someone in reality who had received a score like this.
Just as I was reeling from that fact, a familiar voice reached my ears.
“We meet again.”
When I turned my head, I saw a woman who looked like a perfect prince.
A neat men’s uniform, a longsword at her waist, silver hair tied down in a single line, and jewel-like violet eyes.
“Karin?”
“Please call me Theodora for now. That is the name I officially use.”
Her attitude was mechanical, completely different from when we had met before.
She looked like an entirely different person from the one I had seen at the herb shop yesterday.
‘Which one of the two is her real self?’
Just as a strange doubt arose in me, a man approached Theodora’s side.
“Wow, you walk fast, Hero. I almost lost you.”
“I apologize. I failed to take you into consideration.”
Theodora conversed familiarly with Ramsey.
Seeing that, the scattered pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place one by one.
‘Overwhelming grades, a perfect attitude, affiliation with the temple, and an inhuman appearance.’
There was only one character like that in the game.
‘The player character.’
“I would like to speak with you a little more, but there are too many people here. Then, I will see you next time.”
Leaving those words behind, Theodora walked away from me.
I watched her back as she disappeared into the crowd.
It seemed academy life was going to turn out more interesting than I had expected.