Chapter 22: Restrictions [1]

’I almost got stabbed in the neck. That crazy guy. I’m sure he was going to use his martial arts skills…’

It’s fortunate that I abstained at the right time.

If I had dragged on any longer, the test would have been a disaster, and my entire body would have been shattered.

There was not much time left for the power to last.

Since it was my first time using it, it didn’t last even five minutes, contrary to my expectations.

From the beginning, the goal was not to win the match but to lose moderately, so winning or losing didn’t matter.

Of course, Sadin himself would not have wanted this type of victory, but it didn’t matter to me.

’He’ll probably try his best to kill me from now on.’

But thanks to that, I was able to obtain advanced information that wasn’t in the plan.

The fact that the ’Duke Rundel,’ who holds the highest power in the empire, is Dantalian’s contractor—this alone was enough.

It would also earn Frey Caligo’s favor, so it was killing two birds with one stone.

I sat down in the nearby waiting area and tried to ignore the gazes pouring in, lost in thought.

’Now, only the final exam is left. If I can just pass this exam without any problems, I should be able to get into the university without any issues.’

Unless I failed the final exam, I probably wouldn’t fail overall. But there was something holding me back a little.

The theme of this exam was collaboration rather than individual performance—that is, it was a group exam.

Four people had to form a group and carry out a given mission.

A horrible test that brought back nightmares of group projects.

Since no one knew what criteria were used to select team members, we just had to pray that good ones were chosen.

I felt a little tired from the back-to-back exams, but my physical condition was fine.

This was because the instructor in charge of treatment had cleaned up my body while I waited for the next test.

After some time, the instructor who seemed to be in charge of the final exam came up to the stage.

“Attention.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to her. She overwhelmed the crowd with just one word.

“Hello, everyone. I am Bella Trey, the proctor for this exam.”

Hair as red as the sun, a large scar across her cheek, and strong muscles unusual for a woman—

The Red Lion, Bella Trey. One of the most distinguished knights within the Academy.

“I will now briefly explain this test.”

Her explanation was very simple.

Team up with your assigned team members and head to the testing site, the ’Forbidden Forest.’ Each group must return with the items assigned to them.

“That’s it. Anyone with questions, please raise your hand.”

A significant number of people expressed dissatisfaction with the extremely unfriendly explanation.

One of Sadin’s followers raised his hand and asked a question.

As expected from a high-ranking noble, his attitude was quite arrogant.

“I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“Is it okay for me to simply return with the items you gave me?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t this too easy for the final exam?”

“That’s not for you to decide. Go ahead and pee your pants.”

A remark that seemed blatantly dismissive. The face of the person who asked the question distorted unpleasantly.

When he heard snickering from nearby, he looked around and grumbled,

“I remembered the faces of all the guys who just laughed.”

With those words, the surroundings became quiet in an instant.

No matter how much the Academy pursued equality, an invisible class system still existed.

“I have a question.”

“So.”

This time, the one who raised her hand was Charlotte Mage, the younger sister of the warrior party’s magician, Lin Mage.

She looked at the supervisor with her characteristically haughty and arrogant eyes.

“Does it matter what type of prohibition it is?”

“It doesn’t matter. But all crew members must wear the same everyone in the group must follow the same prohibition.”

It was an answer that contained a lot. Charlotte nodded as if she understood.

“The Forbidden Forest is a magical space created by the Chairman himself. All the beings that appear there may seem to have real bodies, but they are merely illusions, so there is absolutely no threat to life. Also, all the tests will be monitored by supervisors, so you can take them with confidence.”

To put it simply, it was all an illusion, so don’t worry.

“That’s it. If there are no more questions, I will now announce the groups.”

The announcement of the groups began.

The names of groups one through nine were called in order, but my name had not yet been called.

An ominous feeling began to creep in.

“I’ll announce the last group. Test number 10, Frey Caligo.”

Frey Caligo shouted loudly,

“Yes!”

“Exam number 66, that’s it.”

A man with black hair tied up to his waist answered quietly,

“Yes.”

Judging from the lack of a surname, he seemed to be a commoner. It was a face I was seeing for the first time.

“Test number 400, Charlotte Mage.”

“….”

She just nodded her head as if she was dissatisfied.

“Exam number 444, Zaile Sieghardt.”

I raised my hand.

“Yes.”

“You guys are the last group.”

It was fortunate that I wasn’t in the same group as Sadin and his followers, but this group… this group was a problem in its own right.

From far away, Charlotte’s voice could be heard, full of annoyance.

“What? You want me to be in the same group as those lowly commoners!”

The road ahead already seemed bleak.

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