I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City-Chapter 148: The First Day of the Practical Exam

“Uwaaa──!!! It’s over! Freedom! It’s freedom!!!”

As soon as the written exam ended, Noah jumped up and stretched.

For a roar of a tiger dominating the snowfield, it was loud, but the situation was far from impressive.

“Noah. You’ve worked hard today.”

“More! More! Praise me more!”

Noah, begging for compliments from Ichinose, who was a whole head shorter than her, caught Rohan’s attention.

Rohan smiled contentedly and began organizing his writing tools.

“Hmmm...”

Rohan felt pretty confident about this written exam.

With Ichinose’s full support and his own actual hard work, he had studied diligently.

And with the curriculum reform, the scope of theory had been reduced.

The questions to distinguish the top scorers still required deep understanding, but the amount of memorization ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) required had significantly decreased compared to the midterms.

That made things much easier for Rohan and Noah.

Though Rohan wasn’t sure about the rankings, he was confident that his score would definitely improve from last time.

‘At least if the score goes up, I’ll be happy.’

More than anything, Orion Academy was focused on training specialists for combat.

Since the scope of theory had been reduced, it didn’t mean there would be trivial questions to distinguish students. If many students get full marks, they could clearly separate the rankings in the practical exam.

“Rohan. You’ve worked hard. How was the exam?”

“A lot of it was what you gave me hints on. Thanks to that, I think my score will be good. Ichinose, are you getting full marks as usual?”

“Well, who knows? If luck is on my side, maybe.”

Though she said that, her smile showed she was confident.

“And Noah?”

“She’s on the phone with her parents. She seemed satisfied with how much she was able to answer on the written exam.”

That was a good thing. Rohan finished preparing to return to the dorm, reflecting on that thought.

Ichinose, quietly aware of his actions, spoke up.

“Rohan.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m curious if you’re going to collect all the bells in the practical exam tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll do the same. Noah too.”

“Then it’s a competition.”

Looking at Rohan’s question earlier when Juyeon explained the practical exam, it was clear what his goal was.

It was a good opportunity, and the girls would definitely try to challenge Juyeon. But now, their mindset was different.

Ichinose, as well as Noah, were probably motivated by Rohan.

“Competition... I like it. I won’t lose.”

Rohan smiled at the girl who had her eyes closed, feeling pleased with her confident attitude.

The first day of the practical exam had begun.

The first-year students gathered not in the classroom but on the academy grounds, warming up and preparing.

‘Didn’t the second-years go to a completely different location?’

Rohan checked the harness tied to his Flame Judgment Sword and his gun holster as he glanced at the time.

The exam would run from 9 AM to 5 PM, and meal times were free.

There wasn’t much time left before 9 AM.

“Phew!”

Rohan spun his shoulders, warming up, when Ichinose approached, holding her Arachne. freёwebnoѵel.com

Today, Ichinose wasn’t wearing the academy uniform but her usual training clothes. She seemed to have focused on comfort for her movements.

“How’s your body feeling?”

“I’m good. How about you, Rohan?”

Rohan nodded and looked around.

“I don’t see Noah?”

“She’s over there.”

Ichinose pointed her slender finger toward a direction, and Rohan’s gaze followed.

Among the bustling students, the tiger girl was stuffing her face with burgers. The packaging was piled up beside her, and it was hard to tell how many she had eaten.

“Is she really eating that much before the exam...?”

“Noah can eat to her heart’s content and still move right after.”

“Won’t her stomach hurt from that much?”

“I asked her about that before. She said she’s never felt uncomfortable or had any pain, even after running full speed right after eating. Since then, I’ve stopped stopping her. It’s her own way of managing her condition.”

“Wow...”

Even though she was Seolho Grandmaster’s daughter, it was still unbelievable.

What kind of physique does she have? It was simply awe-inspiring.

Other beastkin students were also watching Noah curiously.

“...Rohan. I actually have something to tell you.”

“I’m listening. Feel free to say it.”

“I just got a call from my mother. She asked me to tell you, as well as herself, to be careful.”

“Me?”

Rohan was about to ask how her mother was doing, but he couldn’t hide his confusion after hearing that.

Ichinose nodded gravely, sensing the seriousness.

“There have been cases of people who were dragged into the Monolith twice among the dungeon survivors. Like you, Rohan. They haven’t returned yet, though.”

“Not just one person, but people...?”

“Yes. Not one, but two. The odds are insane.”

“Hmmm...”

“A hypothesis has been raised after looking at the situation with you and this incident. It’s believed that anyone who has been to a dungeon even once is more likely to get caught up in the Monolith again...”

Rohan had never heard of this before, nor had he seen it in the settings.

It could just be an unbelievable coincidence or maybe this hypothesis was correct.

The Monolith couldn’t be avoided just by being cautious, but if he fell into the dungeon again, maybe it would provide a good excuse.

“Be sure to thank her. I’ll be careful.”

“Got it.”

“Oh! Since Shion and Clara also went into the dungeon with me, do you think it’s okay if I tell them too?”

“Don’t worry. My mother said she’d call them separately.”

“...?”

Rohan was taken aback for a moment.

Was Shion and Clara that close to Ichinose’s mother? How did they have her number?

Just as he was wondering, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

─ The Orion Academy practical exam is about to begin.

“I’ll be going now. I was going to walk with you, but... it’s a competition.”

“Good luck.”

Ichinose, as she walked away, looked back to watch the students moving toward their respective locations.

Most of them seemed to be heading toward Marcel’s direction, aiming for the bell with the lowest points first.

‘For now, I guess I’ll just follow the flow.’

There should be enough time to look around during the three days.

Rohan followed behind the students moving toward their designated locations.

A male instructor could be seen sitting in a chair on the wide grounds.

His experienced eyes and well-groomed beard were impressive.

Instructor Marcel, who had as many bells as there were first-year students, had a box full of yellow bells placed in front of him.

Marcel specialized in healing and antidotes.

He could have easily lived a comfortable life with his precious skills, being treated wherever he went. However, he had volunteered to participate in the suppression of dimensional rifts and led the charge in monster extermination, proving himself as a veteran.

Students who struggled to apply their skills, which were considered suitable for rear support, to combat were said to learn from Marcel.

‘What’s the exam about?’

Rohan observed students lying around, groaning and complaining of dizziness, possibly due to something related to the exam.

Pushing through the bustling students, he saw a thick line drawn on the ground. Beyond the line, a translucent space created by Marcel’s magic rippled.

“Just come in and take the bell,” Marcel instructed again.

‘There’s something going on here.’

Seeing the students around him complaining of dizziness, Rohan suspected that something would happen once they stepped into this area.

At the same time, Rohan felt a bit of regret.

What had been set up here would have to be retrieved later.

‘Well, I guess this place isn’t useful for now.’

It was a concern he had. The exam was different than he expected.

Looking back at Juyeon’s explanation, he had anticipated that there would be instructors who tested the students in ways other than combat and distributed bells.

Additionally, there was the rule that unnecessary destruction or harm to other students was not allowed.

Because of this, the preparations he had made earlier, coming out early in the morning, had their limits, and they didn’t give him complete satisfaction.

‘...It’s a good thing the instructors aren’t sharing information.’

The instructors were spread out across the large academy grounds and couldn’t be seen by one another with the naked eye.

Even if sounds were heard, they would only be able to guess the situation or the weapons being used, at best. There was a possibility that they would just think it was a student’s ability.

Perfectly guessing anything with certainty wasn’t possible.

What was prepared in advance always became a new variable.

Thinking that, Rohan took a step forward and entered the space. The students who had been observing the situation all focused their attention on him.

Voom──!!!

The vibrations shook his entire body. It felt like his body had turned into a phone.

Rohan smiled at the strange sensation he was experiencing for the first time.

‘Interesting.’

It was a bizarre place.

His magic wrapped around his body, so the vibrations didn’t affect him.

However, the vibrations continued, creating an irregular flow that tried to break down the magic surrounding his body.

‘So this is why they were all lying down, complaining of dizziness.’

This test was about controlling the magic properly.

It was simple but effective and required considerable skill to control.

Rohan walked confidently toward Instructor Marcel.

Marcel raised his head from his chair and looked at Rohan.

“You’re Rohan, the one who’s been to the dungeon twice.”

“That’s right. Is it okay if I take a bell?”

“Of course. Your magic control is clean. You pass.”

Rohan took the bell Marcel handed him and walked away.

Afterward, Rohan decided to find a spot with fewer people.

The extremes were clear.

Because the exam had just started, students had gathered around Marcel, the instructor with the easiest test, as well as around Juyeon, the instructor with the hardest one. Was it because there was only one bell?

Although the other groups weren’t small, there was definitely a noticeable difference in numbers.

“Ah! Rohan!”

Instructor Carrot waved her hand as Rohan approached, clearly happy to see him.

Rohan passed by a student who had just been kicked flying.

His gaze stayed fixed on the silver bell hanging at Instructor Carrot’s waist.

Rohan bowed slightly and immediately got to the point.

“Instructor, how should I approach the exam?”

“Show me an attack or action that would impress me. But be warned, if you attack, I’ll kick you with my foot!”

Her rabbit ears perked up and she swiftly swung her foot through the air.

She wasn’t using magic, but her kicks were fast enough that they couldn’t be seen.

“This is simple, but I like it.”

Rohan smiled, clearly pleased with the exam’s content.

Looking around, he saw that the other students were giving enough space for the test. A student who had been kicked was already being helped away by their friends.

“Right? No matter what anyone says, simplicity is the best!”

“Exactly.”

Rohan casually pulled out his pistol, skillfully reached into his magazine pouch, and, while observing the instructor standing in her designated spot, subtly manipulated a small device.

It happened in an instant.

A very brief moment.

Kiiing!

The ground cracked open, and hot light poured out in strands.

With a loud explosion, the ground where Instructor Carrot had been standing flipped over.

Kwahhh───!!!