Chapter 27
“Ugh, how…”
Kane murmured, looking at the screen in disbelief.
In one corner of the classroom, the year-level competition was being broadcast live.
On the screen, Ryu could be seen smiling broadly, evidently pleased after completing the second trial. His face filled the entire screen.
“Wow, incredible.”
“As expected of Sinclair…”
The freshman team, led by the commoner Ryu, had been doing remarkably well in the competition so far.
They started off strong by finishing the first test almost at the same time as the third-year team.
Naturally, everyone expected the third-years to reach the obstacle course first.
But immediately afterward, the freshmen appeared on the screen with virtually no time difference, causing a stir throughout the building.
It was a big surprise since everyone expected the second-years to show up after the third-years—not the first-years.
The freshmen watching were, understandably, thrilled and cheering for their peers. Even Agnes and Marie, standing beside Kane, couldn’t help but get excited.
Kane, however, could not join in the excitement of the freshmen team’s success.
In fact, seeing Ryu’s face, steadily progressing through the trials, was enough to stir an intense frustration within him.
He’s only gotten this far by sheer luck, thanks to having Elaine Sinclair, the unprecedentedly talented second-ranked freshman, on his team.
Kane was irritated by Ryu’s utter lack of guilt or any sense of obligation toward his teammates.
“Ugh.”
The fact that Ryu had yet to prove himself at all only fueled Kane’s anger further.
Whatever he may have done in the first test, he had done nothing but run in the obstacle course.
Kane could not fathom why everyone was cheering for a talentless commoner.
“At this rate, they’ll start the dungeon exploration before the second-years even get a chance!”
“Wow… Are they really going to come in second?”
Bam—
Unable to contain his frustration, Kane slammed his desk, plunging the room into sudden silence.
In the S-Class classroom, which originally held seven students, only Kane, Agnes, and Marie were present.
As a result, Kane’s actions were essentially dictating the mood of the entire room, making it impossible for Agnes and Marie to openly celebrate their classmates’ achievements.
“Ahem.”
“…But the third-year seniors are incredible! Only two of them entered, but they’re already exploring the dungeon.”
Agnes and Marie continued their conversation, consciously trying to ignore Kane. They shifted the topic to the impressive third-year students.
In truth, the two third-years were indeed showing outstanding skill. Just as expected, they had cleared the first and second trials with ease and were moving forward without hesitation.
As if they already had the dungeon’s layout memorized, the two moved confidently and swiftly. Garrett Iskaea, the top student of the third-year class, and Verte Bernstein, the second-ranked, were widely recognized across the academy.
When the competition lineup was announced, many were surprised that only two third-years would be competing. But once everyone heard it was those two, the reaction shifted to one of understanding.
Agnes and Marie stifled their excitement and continued to support their classmates in silence, bearing Kane’s disapproving glances.
Looks like we’re backing the wrong person… They both thought the same thing.
***
“Haha…”
Amilion let out an involuntary laugh.
Whispers—
“As expected of Sinclair.”
“To think she’s already this skilled.”
“For a first-year to show such strength…”
Listening to the surrounding professors’ comments, Amilion couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.
Not only had her students finished the first test faster than the second-years, but they also quickly cleared the obstacle course, ahead of even the second-years.
Watching her students, the freshman representatives, waiting at the finish line to be warped to the third trial in the dungeon, Amilion could barely contain her delight.
They were performing far beyond her expectations.
Of course, it could be said that the competition was just beginning, but it was still impressive. The collective admiration of all the professors gathered there was evidence enough.
The only problem is…
As a homeroom professor, seeing her students performing well and keeping up with their seniors was gratifying for Amilion.
However, the issue was that, at this rate, the purpose of this year-level competition could end up feeling meaningless.
The sole reason for splitting this competition into three parts and moving the schedule forward was to evaluate if the commoner Ryu was truly worthy of his top freshman status.
So far, Ryu’s contributions in the second trial had been negligible. Elaine Sinclair, the powerhouse that she was, had single-handedly handled everything.
This left Amilion with mixed feelings—pride for her students, but a gnawing worry.
If the dungeon exploration follows the same trend of emphasizing only Sinclair’s achievements, then…
“Hoo.”
Amilion let out a sigh, already feeling a headache coming on just thinking about what might happen in that case.
“Let’s hope we get to see the top freshman show his skills in the dungeon exploration, at least.”
“…Professor Sinclair.”
Because, of course, she was already facing this type of questioning.
“My sister has improved greatly, though I think Professor Amilion’s guidance played no small part, even in such a short time.”
“Oh no, what could I, a mage, possibly teach Elaine, who’s a knight? She’s simply excellent on her own, as you’d expect from a Sinclair.”
Amilion felt uncomfortable with Cassis Sinclair standing beside her, suddenly no longer just a fellow professor but now the older brother of her student. To his credit, he had never explicitly asked her to take special care of Elaine.
“Haha. By the way, I suppose we’ll need to see some action from this year’s top student, Ryu, wasn’t it? That would put everyone’s doubts to rest.”
“…”
Amilion couldn’t think of a proper reply to Cassis’s pointed comment. He’d struck right at the heart of the issue.
Although this competition’s purpose wasn’t announced, every professor present knew the goal.
That’s why Cassis could address it so directly. Likely, every professor watching the broadcast was thinking the same thing: the top freshman, commoner Ryu, needed to show his worth.
“That would ease some of Professor Amilion’s concerns too, wouldn’t it?”
“…We’ll just have to see. The real competition is just about to begin.”
Amilion masked her anxiety as she replied to Cassis.
From what she’d seen of Ryu, he was indeed a student with potential—enough to achieve a record-breaking score in Golem Hit with mana-charged punches and spatial movement magic alone. And beyond that…
Beyond that…
She had to admit he hadn’t shown much else since then.
He’d demonstrated an unexplainable form of teleportation magic during a one-on-one sparring session disguised as a consultation. But other than that, he hadn’t shown any other magic.
Perhaps he shares the same constitution as His Majesty the First Emperor… Amilion had once thought, but without the ability to use other spells, such a comparison felt meaningless.
Of course, even knowing one teleportation spell was an impressive advantage in itself, but still…
What could he possibly show…
“Well, we’ll see,” she replied.
Cassis had already turned his attention back to the screen with a grin.
Of the three video feeds, the third-years’ feed continued to display their prowess.
The two third-year representatives moved forward confidently, having practically memorized the dungeon’s layout from last year’s competition.
In the video, Verte Bernstein surged forward, sending flames through the obstacles with practiced precision.
She had the confidence to unleash her flame attacks with full force, certain that there were no reflective barriers ahead.
Like Elaine Sinclair, Verte Bernstein was from one of the Six Great Houses, the Bernstein family, known for their Blue Flame.
True to her heritage, Verte’s flames filled the screen with their striking blue light.
“Take it easy,” Cassis murmured, clearly pleased with his students’ performance.
Amilion felt a tinge of envy toward Cassis Sinclair. She wanted to be able to smile like that—proud and worry-free, watching her own students shine in front of everyone.
Ryu needs to show something…
Just then, the first-year team appeared in the dungeon, following closely behind the third-years.
Once again, the first-years had arrived at the third trial before the second-years, who were still barely halfway through the obstacle course.
Please do well. Not just anyone, Ryu, especially you.
Amilion held her breath, her eyes fixed on the screen, hoping fervently.
Ryu appeared on screen, still smiling.
—
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