I finished training with Leo and started tidying up.

Since it was the weekend, I had plenty of time to train for a while.

‘It’s already… 6 o’clock.’

I can skip dinner and study until midnight. I grabbed the chain around my neck and pulled out the pendant.

“Lucas.”

Leo called out to me as I was about to leave the training ground.

“You know we have midterms tomorrow, right? Do well on the exam, and let’s meet here next week.”

“What if I beat you? Why are you cheering me on?”

“Try to beat me….”

Leo chuckled.

There was a reason for his relaxed attitude.

He’s never ranked below second place in our class.

And… even if I get perfect scores in all but one subject, I can’t reach the top tier. Leo knows that too.

In the magic practice subject, I can only get 30 points from basic attendance and substitute assignments. Fortunately, I was able to get medical leave; otherwise, I wouldn’t have received even those attendance points.

Anyway, I don’t have a strong desire to be at the top.

I just need a slight improvement to change my image.

‘Anything more is unnecessary.’

It would be a complete waste of time.

I returned to the dormitory, pushed aside the pile of clover that had somehow accumulated on my desk, and opened my textbooks.

I had already covered the essentials. Now, it was time to meticulously review everything to ensure there were no gaps in my memorization.

‘I never thought I’d be studying like this at my age….’

Luckily, I only had to review three subjects today. Suppressing the urge to bury my face in the book, I began to scan through the textbook. The clover next to me chewed its cud and asked,

“Lucas, if you don’t want to study, how about rock climbing?”

“No.”

What kind of suggestion is that…?

Ignoring Pai, I focused on studying.

After a while, I took Pai and went up to the rooftop to get some fresh air.

‘Everyone’s talking about midterms.’

All the students I passed by were discussing the exams. With college entrance on the line, everyone was on edge.

Of course, among the students here, there was also the matter of class pride. Since this was our dormitory, I occasionally overheard discussions about our class rankings.

“Lucas.”

Narce greeted me with a bright smile, patting my back.

She must have come up to the rooftop earlier. Her friends, looking a bit uncomfortable, gradually stepped back.

“You come up here too! This is the first time we’ve met here. How’s your studying going?”

“So-so. How about you?”

“It’s going well. Haha, my friends have high expectations of me. They’d be disappointed if I don’t make it into the special class.”

“No way you won’t make it.”

If you were at that level, you wouldn’t have been able to transfer here. Only students deemed prodigies by their respective schools were selected.

Narce laughed at my response and asked,

“What about you? It’d be great if you, Leo, and I could all get into the special class.”

“Well, don’t you know my grades? I was 48th in the last exam.”

“Don’t think about that. How do you feel now? Think you can make it?”

What a sharp guy.

I didn’t bother answering and just shrugged with a smile.

“Who knows.”

Thus, the day of the midterm exams arrived.

The professor who came in as the proctor handed out the test papers.

“The exam duration is 60 minutes. Write your name on the distributed test paper and answer sheet and wait for one minute. If any magic activation is detected, the entire exam will be voided.”

It was an annoying announcement. Well, the last part was somewhat new.

At the sound of the bell marking the start of the exam, I lifted my hands off my lap and picked up my pen.

* * *

“Oh, I’m going crazy. What if I flunk again this time?”

“Hey, the ranking announcement is in two minutes!”

“Hurry and go in! Let me know at the lounge later.”

Friday evening, the last day of exams.

The dormitory was buzzing with the announcement of grades. I came down from the rooftop and entered my room.

‘It’s almost midnight.’

Grades are announced on the same day as the end of the exams.

Of course, the rankings released now are preliminary, but there’s usually little change after adjustments.

I pulled out the grade report I received when I first enrolled.

At midnight, the school’s linked magic will update this record.

I slowly flipped through the pages until I reached the last section where the rankings were listed. My previous rankings were laid out.

[1st Year Fall Midterm] [50/50] [100/100]

[1st Year Fall Final] [50/50] [99/99]

[1st Year Spring Midterm] [49/49] [100/100]

[1st Year Spring Final] [48/49] [98/99]

‘Pathetic.’

The numbers in the first column were my ranks within the second section of the Magic Department, and the numbers in the second column were my ranks within the entire Magic Department.

Except for the most recent exam, I had been at the bottom of the class every time.

The clock tower chimed in the distance.

2nd Year Fall Midterm.

Blue letters began to appear below the last ranking.

I held my breath and clenched my fist.

The blue ink quickly soaked into the paper.

[2nd Year Fall Midterm]

The ink paused for a moment before spreading rapidly to the next space.

I squinted at the paper.

Thud—

The movement stopped, and the paper dried completely.

[2nd Year Fall Midterm] [6/50] [10/100]

‘…Phew.’

It’s over.

6th in my class, 10th in the entire Magic Department.

I’m satisfied with this. Not more, not less—this is exactly the level I wanted.

I turned the page to check the scores for each subject.

‘As expected.’

The Basic Magic Practice subject alone scored 30 points.

Out of ten subjects, I scored 100 in seven.

The remaining two subjects scored 97 and 95, respectively.

‘An average of 92.2 points.’

6th in my class, 10th overall. This means there are only four students ahead of me from the first section.

‘The first section fell a bit this time.’

I don’t know about the class average, but I don’t care.

It’s just something the students worry about; I have no feelings toward the first section.

‘Anyway….’

The first exam here is over.

With a mix of comfort and unease, I lay down on the bed.

From now on, many things will change.

From minor details to my safety.

Surely, this news will reach my brother’s ears, and he will take action.

Unlike the relatively peaceful time I’ve had so far, aside from the occasional annoying reaction from others, I can’t predict what will happen next.

At that moment, a flash of light appeared on the pile of clover on my desk. Pai, emerging from thin air, leapt and ran to the bed.

“Lucas!”

“It’s been a week. Narce wants to know your rank?”

“Yeah!”

“Don’t tell her.”

I sent Pai back to Narce with a smile.

Pai returned less than a minute later, appearing before me once again.

“She’s asking why!”

“Tell her I messed up.”

“She said that would be a lie~!”

“Good insight.”

I simply replied and sent Pai back to Narce’s room.

* * *

“What’s our class average?!”

“So far, 32 people have submitted, and it’s at 57.1.”

“Guys, hurry up and submit your scores! Can’t we even manage this? It’s not that hard. Just write down your scores without your names and hand them in!”

There’s always someone like this.

The Monday after exams ended, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I entered the classroom to the sound of loud prompting.

Of course, no one would ask me. They probably already estimated my score and included it in their calculations.

Curious, I approached the guy and spoke to him.

“Let me see the paper.”

“……”

Although I didn’t speak in a harsh tone, the classroom fell silent in an instant.

The student, who had been yelling loudly, awkwardly turned to his friends, bit his upper lip lightly, and handed me the paper.

I didn’t need to look long. From the top row, it was clear who the two zeros belonged to.

One belonged to a student who had been absent for a long time. There’s one person who hasn’t been coming to school properly since the end of the first year. And the other one…

‘Must be me.’

It was just laughable.

They didn’t even include the substitute assignment points.

Well, they wouldn’t know about someone else’s substitute assignment scores.

I returned the paper with a gentle smile, trying to ease the suddenly tense atmosphere.

“You calculated me as zero?”

“…What’s your score?”

“If it’s not my score, why would I ask?”

“Well, I wrote it that way… but, I mean, up until last year… never mind. If you tell me your score, I’ll write it down as it is.”

“Forget it. Just leave it as is.”

With that, the guy cautiously took the paper and backed away, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

At that moment, someone burst through the classroom door.

“Hey, I asked the professor, and our average is 59.1.”

“What?! What about Class 1?”

“Should I go snoop around?”

“Oh, I’ll go too.”

The previously frozen atmosphere came back to life. The students began talking noisily among themselves.

“So how many of us are going to the special class?”

“Why are you so interested when you’re not going?”

“You can’t see the big picture. This is all about pride,.”

“Yulia and Leonard are definitely going, and Narce too, right? Narce! What’s your rank?”

“I’m not telling.”

Narce glanced at me with a mischievous smile and mimicked my words.

At that moment, a student’s eyes lit up, and he shouted.

“Guys, I think… I think I can get in this time!”

‘Hmm?’

It was the student I had once stopped to ask for directions.

His name was… Melvin, right?

“What’s your rank?”

“Ninth overall…!”

“Wow, you barely made it in.”

“Congratulations! So we already have four in the special class? How many more haven’t come to school? We just need five more, right?”

I rested my chin on my hand and listened to their conversation.

In the first exam, we had six, and they had four.

After that, it flipped to three-seven and four-six, an irrelevant detail.

‘I think we should be competing with the students who made it to the special class, not with Class 1.’

I quickly gave up on the thought.

At this rate… it’s really just because the class was split into two.

Just then, the guys who had gone to the other class came running back, shouting.

“Hey, guys! 58.4!”

“What’s that, the other class’s average?”

“Yeah.”

The students cheered over something quite pointless.

Looking around, I spotted a few more students who seemed to share my thoughts.

But no matter what, we couldn’t beat the forty students. The classroom continued buzzing with grade discussions.

“Class 1 also has four people in the special class already? And they still have eleven more to come.”

“What? Seven minutes until homeroom? How irresponsible.”

“What if one of them ranks in the top ten?”

“……”

One student laughed loudly, then realized that Class 1 still had a better chance and his face stiffened.

Luckily, one of our students ranked within the top ten of the department, so the atmosphere didn’t remain gloomy.

“So we have five people? Please, let Class 1 lose this time….”

“No, get a grip. We’re not competing with the other class; we’re competing with our classmates going to the special class.”

“Everyone from our class is here now. Give up. Just having half is something.”

Each student threw in a word.

A sensible comment was quickly buried as it didn’t suit the students’ tastes.

Then, the professor opened the door and entered.

As the students hurriedly found their seats, the classroom finally quieted down.

“You all seem very curious about the results. I thought my office would explode this morning. You’re in your second year, you shouldn’t be acting like first-years anymore. I don’t need to elaborate, right?”

“Yes.”

“If you continue behaving like this, I will deduct points for attitude.”

The professor threatened while opening the file he had brought.

“Everyone received their individual grade reports upon admission. The rankings were announced at midnight, so I assume you’ve all checked them.”

The professor flipped through the grade reports and then took out a thin envelope from the file.

“First, I’ll hand out the consent forms for the special class. Those whose names are called, come forward to receive them. Yulia, Leonard.”

Without even looking at the writing on the envelopes, the professor called out names.

These students always competed for the first and second ranks in our class, so there was no need to double-check. The sound of applause sharply pricked my ears.

It was only on the third turn that the professor lifted his glasses and read the name.

“Narce.”

Narce high-fived her friends before stepping forward. As before, the classmates clapped and congratulated her.

“Thank you.”

“I’m glad you’ve kept up well since coming to the Empire just a month ago. Next, Hildegard.”

After some pleasantries, he received the envelope and returned to his seat.

“Melvin.”

At the call, Melvin hurriedly got up and rushed forward.

“This is your first time making it into the special class? Your hard work is evident. Congratulations.”

“Th-Thank you…! I’ll do my best!”

“I look forward to it.”

The professor smiled gently.

Passionate, isn’t he…? I chuckled at the student’s excited tone.

His genuine emotions were so palpable that the dwindling applause grew louder again.

“Lastly….”

As Melvin returned to his seat, the professor began to speak but then rummaged through the desk. He overturned the file and pulled out the last remaining envelope. Several students, noticing this, widened their eyes.

“What, there’s one more?”

“Isn’t there no one else who could make it…?”

The professor raised an eyebrow silently as he checked the grade report and then called out the name.

“Lucas.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep