Chapter 25: These bi*ches are more aggressive...

“All you have to do is get to the point where the red flag is planted.”

With a short command, Professor Leonard began measuring time. Under the pouring gazes, Becky sets off.

Without any hesitation, she unleashed her ice element. Quickly running up the stairs made of blue crystals, Becky climbed up the wall.

‘Her utilization has significantly increased.’

Having reached a high point, she connected walls with ice. Soon, a straight path toward the red flag was created.

By utilizing elemental magic to effectively eliminate the constraint of the 'maze,' Becky had no obstacles left. She swiftly sprinted toward the red flag.

I turned my gaze toward Professor Leonard.

‘Isn’t it too simple?’

It was just as he explained.

It was overly simplistic for a practical exercise, with more flaws than merits. By exposing her own strategy to others, Becky might as well have revealed everything.

Meanwhile, Professor Leonard was simply standing still, watching Becky running with all her might. 

'What is he trying to evaluate with such a trivial exercise?'

At that moment, when such doubts aroused in my mind.

“Start!”

Leonard's shout became a signal, and the situation instantly changed. The walls of previously uniform height began fluctuating, rising and falling at different levels. Additional walls emerged, transforming the maze into something akin to a labyrinth.

“Ugh!”

The ice that connected the walls shattered, and Becky fell to the ground. But the hardships didn't end there.

Mana-woven arrows of non-elemental magic, fireballs, ice spears... Various magic attacks from the second-year students surged toward Becky. She clung to the walls like a sticker, using them as cover.

"Uh? Uh, wait a minute!"

Becky widened her eyes and looked up at Professor Leonard. However, all she received in return was a scolding.

"Even if you're ambushed in a real battle, will you just stand there, dazed? Adapt! and Deal with it!"

With a bewildered expression, Becky swallowed a dry gulp. Looking at the scene, I nodded my head.

‘So, this was intentional.’

The red flag and time measurement were just illusions. The essence of this practice evaluation lies in demonstrating how flexible one could be in unexpected situations.

It felt quite well-structured.

The ability to immediately demonstrate magic in unforeseen circumstances was truly the measure of one's true skills.

It didn't matter if she didn't reach the flag. The key to this evaluation was how well she could showcase her abilities.

'How much can she prove herself?'

A wide ice barrier spread toward the empty space. Its intensity and width were excellent compared to the mock battles.

‘Why are you thinking about blocking?’

The moment she attempted to block all the attacks and resolve the situation, she was already doomed.

-Bang! 

- Crash!

The onslaught of attacks was blocked by Becky's ice barrier. However, that was all. Devoting all her energy to defense, Becky now couldn't move an inch from her position.

“Stop!”

At Professor Leonard's shout, the fluctuating walls returned to their original height. The manifestation of magic from the second-year students also ceased.

"Evaluation over. Go inside. I took into account that you were the first one in this test."

While Becky returned to her spot, she didn't utter a word.

It was only natural. The practice evaluation that seemed to be solved by the maze alone concealed additional constraints that were beyond imagination.

"This year's first-year students are quite underwhelming."

"Isn't it easier compared to our time?"

The second-year students chatted among themselves. Their expressions were bright.

It wasn't their evaluation, they could comfortably unleash their magic, and the target was just the easy first-year students. To them, this time was nothing more than a light amusement.

The problem was that their banter was heard as it was by the students standing below.

Professor Leonard did not impose any sanctions, as if the surrounding gaze and whispers were also counted as part of the ‘unexpected situation’.

"Now, everyone knows what kind of evaluation it is, right? Next, Carol Romeen."

◈◈◈

The members of Group 5, to which Becky belonged, were called out one by one.

"That's enough, I don't need to see anymore."

"Huh?"

The students felt a sense of despair at the much quicker conclusion than expected. It was an expression as if they had just been sentenced to death.

"That's enough, go inside."

“Yes….”

After the last member of the group was called out, unsurprisingly, they received criticism. Not a single student had reached the red flag yet.

“Group 5 should abstain from this.”

"All three of them are like this. They can only play the role of supporting the others."

Blatant criticism poured in from the second-year students, but there was nothing Becky's group could do to resist.

When my turn came, I briefly contemplated how to respond. My mana capacity was not the same as my previous life, it was limited, so I had to find a solution beyond my best effort.

A move that could be called a 'miracle.'

Of course, I already had something in mind.

So, I had no worries, concerns, or anything of the sort.

"Now it's Group 11's turn. Let's begin."

“Wait a minute.”

There was an intervening voice, and Leonard, who was about to proceed with the practice evaluation, turned his gaze toward the entrance of the training ground. I instinctively followed his gaze.

The sight of a large cone hat had now become familiar to me. Violet, dressed in a robe, stood at the entrance with a tired expression.

“Professor Violet?”

"Professor Leonard, come out for a moment."

“I am currently in the middle of a practice evaluation.”

"Come out. There's something important to discuss regarding a transfer student."

Reluctantly, Professor Leonard nodded and addressed the students.

“You guys, take a break and wait. Of course, no one is allowed to leave the training ground.”

The moment Professor Leonard disappeared from the training ground, sighs could be heard from all around.

“What should we do….”

“When I entered the training ground, I ran into another group, and their expressions weren't good either. They might be feeling the same way."

The members of Group 5 engaged in a serious conversation with grave expressions. Becky couldn't join the conversation and just rolled her eyes around, but at one point, our eyes met beautifully.

"Hey, Flan."

The voice calling me had no strength. Becky spoke with an expression that seemed like she would cry if poked.

“… ecause of you, I was the first one being evaluated. What are you going to do?”

"If it were a different order, would it have been any different?"

"Well... I guess not. It's too much. I have nothing to say when you put it that way."

Becky let out a deep sigh and nodded her head. Then, she looked up at me with a pitiful gaze.

"You sold me out. At least give me some feedback. What do you think I should have done?"

I reluctantly opened Trivia's memo page. In the case of this feedback, explaining it verbally would be difficult for both the explainer and the listener.

“Look, Becky.”

I drew three spells on the page with my fingertips.

In order, mana arrow, fireball, ice spear. These were some of the attacks that the second-year students had unleashed on Becky.

"What you should pay attention to is the circuit responsible for the destruction. How do you think the mana amount ratio looks to you?"

"Uh... It's not the amount I thought? Can it still be cast with such a small amount?"

"That's exactly what you should focus on. These spells emphasize output and appearance, so their destructive power is not particularly high. Trying to defend against them was a mistake. You should have found a way to ignore and counter them."

"Ah~!"

Becky looked at me with a face full of admiration. Her gloomy expression from after the evaluation suddenly brightened up.

Excitedly, she spoke eloquently.

"So this is what they mean by 'knowledge is power'... I didn't know what kind of attacks were coming at me, so I just blindly tried to block them."

"That's right. They were sloppy attacks."

But it was at that moment.

"Hey, you there."

A voice interjected from above. When I checked, two or three second-year students were looking down at us with displeased gazes.

“You bastard, what are you so arrogant about?”

"Senior’s magic focused on output and appearance, it’s sloppy... Are you confident about it?"

“It’s his turn soon anyway. Let’s see.”

-Tsk 

I bit my tongue and covered the trivia. Looking down on someone didn't suit my temperament, so I decided to ignore it for now.

What he said was not wrong. Yes, my turn would come soon anyway.

Professor Leonard's absence turned out to be longer than expected.

Becky quietly watched her group members engage in a serious conversation, and suddenly someone tapped my shoulder.

No, more accurately, they were trying to touch me, but I evaded it. I still disliked physical contact with others.

"What was that? How did you dodge it?"

With bangs partially covering his eyes and an eye torn slightly to the side, I already knew the name of this cat-like face person.

“Martin Luke.”

"Oh, right. So you know the names of your group members?"

Martin smiled. Which looked more like a smirk than a smile.

"What's the matter?"

"We should greet each other as group members. Oh, by the way, congratulations on winning yesterday. You got lucky, didn't you?"

His cocky demeanor was annoying. Even though he saw Aria cheating and me winning, he still had the audacity to act cocky. I asked him.

"Did you doze off during the mock battle?"

“I saw everything. You were lucky, right? Aria cheated so you won by default."

Thanks to Aria's barrier, it seemed that he had only watched the latter part of battle.

"Luck, huh..."

Unknowingly, I burst into laughter.

No matter how I thought about it, Martin had better luck than me. If it had been him against me, he would have been crushed without a trace.

"We exchanged greetings. Are we done here?"

“Wow~ Are you always talking that way? I was just trying to say let's get along as group members. I don't understand why you're taking it so seriously."

Martin, who had been spinning around with a big smile, suddenly leaned closer and whispered.

"Flan, what about your practical evaluation today? Do you have any plans?"

"I do."

"Oh~ Really? I'm confident too, you know."

He was forcefully trying to continue the conversation that wouldn't flow. In the end, I narrowed my eyes and asked him.

"What's your main point?"

"Ahaha, the main point, you say. I'm just talking about this and that."

He was still laughing. As he lowered his voice even more, he whispered.

"Flan, are you by any chance interested in Trixie?"

"...Are you crazy?"

"Ahahaha, I knew it, right? You're interested in Becky."

Having said that, Martin looked at me while licking his lips. Apparently, now he would finally get to the main point.

"I'm interested in Trixie, you know. I want to get to know her better."

It was a story that didn't arouse much interest. However, Martin was fervent about it.

"If I do well in today's practical evaluation, ask Trixie to praise me. After all, the three of us are in the same group, right?"

I closed my eyes silently.

I began to contemplate my tasks. Training, Agora board, club activities, healing magic books... Martin's annoying words were still not over.

"I actually have quite a few connections in the Department of Magic. I'll introduce you to some girls later. Hey, honestly, this isn't even a difficult request. Let's help each other, okay?"

I ignored him and checked the blue light in Trivia.

[ ▶ I solved all three! ]

[ ▶ Please give me the next lesson! Hehe ]

“Are you listening to me? Aren’t you ignoring me now?”

I closed Trivia and nodded vaguely.

"Did everyone rest well? We will now resume the practical evaluation."

At that moment, Professor Leonard returned to the training ground.

However, he didn't return alone. He was accompanied by Trixie von Fritz.

The professor asked Trixie.

"You said you had something important. It wasn't an illness, was it?"

"No, I'm not sick."

“Are you in a state where you can get a practical evaluation? Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Trixie stood beside us with her usual expressionless face. Martin couldn't hide his excitement as he rapidly moved his mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey. Did you hear what I said clearly? Compliments should be subtle. Natural. Got it?"

After finishing his sentence, Martin glanced at Trixie with a sticky gaze.

Trixie von Fritz possessed an elegance and allure that couldn't be associated with her age. Even if one only observed her current appearance, it was evident.

Although she had an extremely cold expression, her curves, which couldn't be concealed even by the academy uniform, were exceptionally appealing to men.

"Hey, watch me closely. You know, these bi*ches are even more aggressive. They cling to you and make a fuss."

“…… “

"You should have some determination too. If I sleep with her, I'll definitely spill all the details to you. Huh? How about sleeping with Becky? Are you already getting interested?" 

I felt like slapping his cheek. But even that felt like a waste of effort, so I stopped myself.

"Group 11, begin. Martin Luke."

Upon Professor Leonard's call, Martin turned around several times and stepped forward.

Seeing Trixie standing next to him, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Trixie was completely engrossed in her Trivia and showed no interest in Martin as a life form. 

As Martin stepped forward, he took several deep breaths.

"If you're ready, let's begin."

“Yes!”

Martin, who spat out a fierce reply, dashed forward energetically.

He skillfully evaded the attacks coming at him by utilizing the wind element. However, his focus on appearances was evident, and his eyebrows furrowed. His movements seemed nothing more than a waste of effort, and his magic manifestation clearly showed his consciousness of the audience...

Magic performed to impress others was nothing but futile. As my interest waned within just ten seconds, I finally took out Trivia and opened it up.

[ ▷ Let's move on to the next one then. ]

[ ▷ If you master this much, you can solve the problems on the Agora board. ]

Until it was my turn, I had to entertain the customers.

But suddenly, I heard a sound in my ear. 

-Hmhmhm...

It was a snorting sound.

Surprisingly, Trixie was humming. Our eyes naturally met in the air.

"...You."

When our eyes met, her expression quickly regained its cold temperature. She opened her mouth with a chilling tone.

"Don't look at me. No, don't even open your eyes."

I had no intention of doing so. I turned my attention back to my Trivia.

[ ▶ I love it so much !ㅅ!  ]

As always, the customer's response was insanely fast.

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