Sylvia declared, “The exam has already begun.”
The sudden declaration caught even the A-Class students off guard, but surprisingly, the time for confusion was short.
This was a class with Professor Riyan as the instructor.
These students had enjoyed the honor of observing him up close for the past few months.
They remembered his accomplishments.
They remembered what he had achieved.
They remembered the groundbreaking steps he had taken.
Professor Riyan was a person who rejected the ordinary.
He always exceeded everyone’s expectations and was a genius professor who didn’t conform to the molds created by others.
“…Certainly. It would be unlike Professor Riyan to prepare a simple written exam that could be found anywhere.”
There was certainty in Ciel’s words.
Not only was he a part of A-Class, but he was also part of the swordsmanship lecture.
He had witnessed countless times how unique and creative the professor’s teaching methods were.
The words spoken by the delicate boy, so refined that he could easily be mistaken for a girl, caused everyone in A-Class to look troubled.
However, their concern wasn’t whether what he said was true or if Professor Riyan was just slacking off, and they had misinterpreted it.
It was already certain that this was some form of test.
They were simply pondering what its contents might be.
The answer wasn’t coming easily.
They had tried to analyze the note left by Professor Riyan, suspecting that there might be something hidden within it, but ultimately, their efforts had failed.
Unable to watch the situation any longer, the Empire’s second princess stepped forward.
“In this situation, how we handle it is certainly part of the test. I tried to refrain from intervening, but… He probably wanted us to cooperate rather than compete.”
She wasn’t suggesting they crush their opponents.
Rather, when necessary, they should cooperate and form healthy rivalries, even in the face of competition, so that everyone could grow together.
This was the ideal that Professor Riyan strived for, and that was why Sylvia, without hesitation, shared the information she had realized.
“Did everyone forget? He’s never been the type to give us the fish. He’s always taught us how to fish.”
She didn’t explain about the magic-enhanced practice guns.
Most of the lessons were self-study.
He had only taught them runes once.
Strict neglect.
To the unknowing, this might seem lazy.
But everyone here knew.
That neglect was born from love.
“If you’re my student, you can learn anything. If you’re my student, you can understand this much. If you’re my student, you can see through my true intentions.”
An endless trust in his students.
“He left the exam to us.”
In this current era, the meaning of exams had become distorted to a serious degree.
Exams were supposed to be a “means” to check what one had learned so far.
But now, everyone had come to regard receiving high grades as the “goal” of learning.
Therefore, the professor had revived its original intent.
“Just solving exam questions won’t be a sufficient evaluation. You should assess, with your own hands, the knowledge and strength you’ve accumulated over the past few months.”
That was what Professor Riyan must have said.
He entrusted the authority of the exam to his students.
He left the evaluation of themselves to them.
What tasks to assign.
How to evaluate the results of those tasks.
It was all up to them.
Logically, this was something that couldn’t happen.
And yet, that was why Professor Riyan’s trust felt even greater.
He must have believed that if they were his students, he could trust them with everything.
“Professor Riyan would probably accept if we just wrote our self-assessment scores on a blank sheet of paper, right?”
He couldn’t believe that his students would deceive him with lies.
He was someone who believed in them so fully, someone so honest.
And so, this evaluation was very simple.
Anyone could easily get a perfect score.
There was no need to stress over grades like other students in different classes.
However, even if an easy path existed.
Even if everyone could be happy by simply taking that easy path.
“There is no one among us who would choose the path of running away with their tail between their legs. Right?”
They couldn’t afford to disappoint their professor’s expectations.
No, they needed to exceed those expectations and truly amaze him this time.
“We are A-Class students. We are students of the class directly taught by him. Students taught by the best professor should naturally be the best students.”
It was only natural.
Whether they were taking the swordsmanship class or the magic class.
They had to achieve accomplishments that would overshadow everyone else. Because they were truly his disciples.
“As his students, let’s go shine his name!”
A girl shouted out loudly.
Sylvia nodded with satisfaction.
However, as with any great journey, the appearance of an antagonist who hinders the heroes was inevitable.
***
“Everyone! Please stop right here.”
A student from B-Class and a magic student.
Cassandra Meyril spread her arms wide to stop everyone.
“You’re all terribly mistaken. Professor Riyan has never given us such an exam!”
Much time had already passed.
If the practical exam prepared by Professor Scott of B-Class had ended, they should just be celebrating and having fun.
There was no reason to come into another class and cause trouble.
“I saw it through the crystal orb! Professor is currently receiving a massage from beastkin at the Fluffy Club!”
Cassandra boldly declared in front of everyone.
“If you truly care about the professor, you should take him out of there immediately. If he stays at the Fluffy Club, there’s a prophecy that he’ll be involved in some ‘complicated’ matters…”
However, no one paid her any attention.
“Who would take a prophecy like hers seriously?”
“Even if you were joking, at least make it more natural.”
There was no way someone like Professor Riyan, surrounded by suspicious beastkin at a shady shop, experiencing heaven-like sensations from their suspiciously soft hands, could possibly be true.
Meyril was from a relatively famous witch family, but it seemed that the next heir had tragically gone mad.
She was someone who couldn’t even recognize the greatness of Professor Riyan.
The students sent pitying glances at Cassandra as they left A-Class’s classroom.
She was left alone.
“Why doesn’t anyone believe me…?”
Prophets have always been persecuted in every era.
Only her tearful voice echoed sadly in the classroom.
***
The adventurer, Koll, regretted his foolishness.
He should never have stepped foot in a cursed land.
There was a reason why everyone avoided this place.
The Ninth, Paimon.
The creator of all monsters, the great evil.
A land devastated by the beasts he created.
Blinded by the lure of profit, he had accepted a request he should never have taken.
He had certainly pushed himself too far in an attempt to pamper his family, but because of that choice, his mother would lose her son.
No matter how many he killed, the monsters never seemed to stop coming.
Kill one, and two more would appear.
Kill two, and four more would follow.
Before long, he was surrounded by countless monsters.
“I’ll buy you some time up front. You all gather your strength.”
A small opening created by concentrating all firepower at once.
He had said this to his party and thrown himself into the fray, but the thief, the mage, and the cleric—all of them chose not to risk it and instead made a more assured choice.
They used the foolish warrior as a meat shield.
The others fled, leaving Koll behind.
Thud, thud.
The ground shook with the sound of massive footsteps.
A gigantic monster was closing in on him.
There was no energy left to escape.
All his mana, used up for physical enhancement, was gone.
The healing potions had been given to the mage, who would make better use of them than he would.
But who could he blame?
It was his own fault for being smitten by the mage’s face.
It was his own fault for chasing riches and jumping into this situation.
His parents, who couldn’t even ask for money to cover medical bills, had been the ones to bear the burden of his selfish dreams.
He had foolishly promised to take care of them, but his abilities were not enough to handle the outcome.
His own stupidity had caused all of this.
The footsteps grew louder.
The monster’s breath could almost be felt.
Koll sensed the impending end and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud.
Blood splattered everywhere.
But, for some reason, it wasn’t Koll’s blood.
The thick, blue blood of the monster.
The gigantic creature’s head was crushed by a chain mace.
Someone had slain the monster that had been about to kill him.
It had certainly been a situation where he should have been grateful for his salvation.
Yet, Koll’s face grew pale with fear.
If anything, his pallor deepened.
“How could I ever be negligent in following the will of the Heavenly Lord, who walks with four feet, not just two?”
A grotesque creature, its body soaked in blue blood and entrails, approached him.
It resembled a mix of a frog, a giant spider, and a tentacle monster, walking on four legs in an eerie, unnatural gait.
“I, Christianna, the most devoted servant of the Heavenly Lord, shall prove my faith to you fourfold as I dart across the battlefield like a wild dog!”
Its head spun rapidly 360 degrees.
The chain mace attached to its helmet sliced through enemies with ease.
With its wicked laughter, Koll’s limbs trembled.
[That thing could not possibly be human.]
Koll realized that he was facing something far more terrifying— a demon from the depths of hell.
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