Chapter 21 :

I finished training with Leo and tidied up the area.

Since it was the weekend and I had plenty of time all day, I trained for a bit.

‘It’s… six already.’

Skipping dinner, I could go back and study until midnight. I grabbed the necklace cord and pulled out the pendant.

“Lukas.”

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

“You know the midterms are tomorrow, right? Do well on the test, and let’s meet here again next week.”

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

“Then beat me….”

Leo let out a snort and laughed.

There was a reason for that relaxed reaction.

The guy had never fallen below second place in our class division.

And… even if I scored perfect marks in every subject except one, reaching the top tier would be impossible for me. Leo knew that too.

In the practical magic subject, I could only earn 30 points total—combining the basic attendance score and the substitute assignment score. At least I’d managed to get it recorded as an illness-related absence; otherwise, I would’ve lost even the attendance points.

I don’t have any desire to become top-ranked anyway.

All I need is the minimum improvement necessary to overturn my image.

‘Anything more than that is actually unnecessary.’

It would be a complete waste of time.

I returned to the dormitory, shoved Pai—who had somehow piled a heap of grass on my desk—to the side, and opened my textbook.

I’d already finished the core material. Since the real differentiation would come from the minor details, it was time for one final thorough read from start to finish to see if there was anything I hadn’t fully memorized.

‘I never thought I’d still be stuck doing this damn school studying at my age….’

Thankfully, I only had three subjects to cover today. Suppressing the urge to bury my face in the book, I skimmed through the textbook. Pai, pushed off to the side, chewed noisily on the grass and asked,

“Lukas, if you don’t feel like studying, want to go rock climbing?”

“No.”

What kind of suggestion was that, anyway…?

I let Pai’s words go in one ear and out the other and focused on studying.

After studying for a while, I took Pai with me up to the rooftop to get some fresh air.

‘Everyone’s only talking about midterms.’

Every student I passed while moving around was talking about exams. Since college entrance was on the line, it was only natural for everyone to be sensitive.

Of course, for the students here, there was also the pointless pride of class divisions at stake. Since this was the dormitory for our department, I occasionally overheard talk about the divisions within our year.

“Lukas.”

Narke widened her eyes in delight and lightly thumped my back.

It looked like she had already come up to the rooftop. The friends behind her awkwardly began to retreat.

“So you come up here too! This is the first time we’ve met here. How is it—studying going well?”

“So-so. What about you?”

“It’s going well. Haha, my friends are putting way too much expectation on me. If I don’t make the special class, they’ll all be disappointed.”

“There’s no way you won’t.”

At that level, you wouldn’t even be able to come here as an exchange student. Only students recognized as prodigies by their schools were selected.

At my reply, Narke smiled and asked,

“What about you? It’d be nice if you, Leo, and I all ended up in the special class together.”

“Well, you know my grades, right? I was 48th on the last exam.”

“That doesn’t count. How about now—do you think you’ll make it?”

Sharp bastard.

I didn’t bother answering, just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

“Who knows.”

And so, the day of the midterm arrived.

The professor acting as the proctor handed out the test papers.

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

The same tiresome announcement as always. Well—actually, the last part was a bit new.

At the sound of the bell signaling the start of the exam, I lifted my hands from my knees and picked up my pen.

***

“Ah, I’m going to lose my mind. What if I dropped again this time?”

“Hey, two minutes until the rankings are announced!”

“Hurry and get inside! Come out to the lounge later and tell us!”

Friday evening, the day the final exam ended.

The dormitory was noisy with grade announcements. I came down from the rooftop and entered my room.

‘It’s almost midnight.’

The rankings are announced today, the same day the exams end.

Of course, these are the rankings before any grade corrections, but changes after this are extremely rare.

I took out the grade record sheet that I had received upon enrollment.

At midnight, the magic linked by the school would inscribe the results here.

I slowly flipped through from the first page, then stopped at the ranking record section on the last page. My past rankings were listed there.

[First Year, Fall Semester Midterm] [50/50] [100/100]

[First Year, Fall Semester Final] [50/50] [99/99]

[First Year, Spring Semester Midterm] [49/49] [100/100]

[First Year, Spring Semester Final] [48/49] [98/99]

‘That’s miserable.’

The numbers in the front brackets are my rank within Magic Department Class Division 2, which Luka belongs to. The numbers in the back brackets are my rank within the entire Magic Department.

Except for the most recent exam, I’d recorded dead last every single time.

Far away, the bell from the clock tower rang.

Second Year, Fall Semester Midterm.

Bright blue letters began to appear beneath the last ranking.

I swallowed my breath and clenched my fist.

Blue ink seeped rapidly into the paper.

[Second Year, Fall Semester Midterm]

When it reached the end of the blank space, the ink paused briefly, then spread sideways again in an instant.

I stared at the paper with furrowed brows.

Tap—

The movement stopped, and the paper completely dried.

[Second Year, Fall Semester Midterm] [6/50] [10/100]

‘…Whew.’

It’s over.

6th in the class, 10th in the Magic Department overall.

This is enough. No more, no less—this was exactly the level I wanted.

I flipped the paper forward to check the scores for each subject.

‘As expected.’

The basic practical magic subject alone was 30 points.

Out of ten total subjects, seven were perfect scores.

The remaining two were 97 and 95 points, respectively.

‘Average: 92.2 points.’

Given that I’m 6th in Division 2 and 10th overall, that means there are only four people ahead of me in Division 1.

‘Looks like Division 1 slipped a bit this time.’

Not sure what the class averages look like, though.

Even so, I feel nothing in particular.

That’s something only students care about. I have no feelings toward Division 1 at all.

‘Anyway….’

My first exam here is over.

I lay down on the bed with a feeling that was both relaxed and somehow heavy.

From now on, many things will change.

From trivial matters, to my safety itself.

This news will definitely reach my older brother’s ears, and he will take action.

Unlike the comfortable days until now—aside from the occasional annoying reactions from others—I can’t predict what will happen next.

At that moment, a flash of light burst from the pile of grass scraps on my desk. Pai appeared out of thin air and leapt toward the bed.

“Lukas!”

“It’s been a week. Did Narke ask about my rank?”

“Yeah!”

“Tell her I’m not saying.”

Smiling, I sent Pai back to Narke.

Less than a minute later, Pai reappeared in front of me.

“She asked why?!”

“Because I messed up.”

“She said that would obviously be a lie~!”

“Good insight.”

I answered briefly and sent Pai back to Narke’s room once again.

***

“What’s our class average?!”

“So far, 32 people have turned theirs in—57.1.”

“Guys, hurry up and write yours and submit it! Can’t we even manage this? It’s not hard! You don’t need to write your name, just put your score on the paper!”

There are always people like this.

The Monday after the exams ended, as soon as I entered the classroom, I let out a dry chuckle at the booming nagging voices echoing inside.

They weren’t going to ask me anyway. They probably just guessed my score and included it in their calculations on their own.

Out of sudden curiosity, I spoke to the guy.

“Give me the paper.”

“……”

I hadn’t spoken harshly—just in a normal tone—but the classroom fell silent in an instant.

The student who had been shouting loudly until just moments ago awkwardly turned his head toward his friends, lightly bit his upper lip, and handed the paper to me.

There was no need to examine it for long. From the very top line, two unmistakable zeroes were written down.

One belonged to a long-term absentee. There was someone who hadn’t properly attended school since the end of the first year. And the other one was…

‘Mine, I guess.’

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Didn’t even include my substitute assignment score, huh?

Well, no way these guys would know someone else’s substitute assignment score.

With a gentle smile meant to soothe the suddenly chilled atmosphere, I handed the paper back.

“You calculated it as zero?”

“…Your score?”

“If it wasn’t my score, why would I ask?”

“Ah, I mean… I did write it that way, but… until last year you were—no, no, never mind. If you tell me your score, I’ll write it down exactly.”

“It’s fine. Just leave it as it is.”

At that, he carefully took hold of the edge of the paper, shot me a sideways glance, and backed away.

Just then, someone kicked the classroom door open and burst in.

“Hey! I asked the professor—our average is 59.1!”

“What?! What about Class Division 1?”

“Should we go spy on them?”

“Oh, I’m coming too.”

The frozen atmosphere came back to life. The students started chattering loudly among themselves again.

“So how many from our class are going to the special class?”

“You’re not getting in—why do you care so much?”

“No, you’re short-sighted. Every single one of these things affects our pride.”

“Yulia and Leonard are definitely in, and Narke will be too, right? Narke! What rank are you?”

“I’m not telling.”

Narke glanced in my direction with a mischievous expression and copied what I’d said earlier.

At that moment, one student shouted, eyes sparkling.

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

‘Hm?’

It was the student I’d stopped before to ask for directions.

His name was… Melvin.

“What rank?”

“Ninth overall…!”

“Wow, you barely squeezed in before the door closed.”

“Congrats! That makes four of us already in the special class? How many people haven’t come yet? We just need five more, right?”

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

On the first exam, it was 6 for us and 4 for them.

After that, we got overtaken and went back and forth between 3:7 and 4:6—completely pointless talk.

‘…If you ask me, instead of competing with Class Division 1, shouldn’t we be competing with the people who already made it into the special class?’

I quickly abandoned the thought.

At this point… it was really just because the classes were split into only two divisions.

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

“Hey, guys! 58.4!”

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

“Yeah.”

The students cheered over something incredibly trivial.

When I turned my head, I spotted about five or six other students who seemed to be thinking the same way I was.

Even so, there was no beating forty people. The classroom continued buzzing with talk about grades.

“They say Class Division 1 already has four people confirmed for the special class. But thirteen of them still haven’t shown up.”

“What? There are only seven minutes until morning assembly? Look at that lack of diligence.”

“What if one of them ends up being top ten in the department?”

“……”

One student snickered, then stiffened as he realized that they actually had more remaining possibilities than we did.

Fortunately, before the mood could sink, another student from our division showed up with a top-ten departmental ranking, reviving the atmosphere.

“So we’ve got five? Please let Class Division 1 get completely crushed like this….”

“No, get a grip. We’re not competing with the other class—we’re competing with the people in our own class who are going to the special class.”

“All our class members are here now, and there’s no one else. Just give it up. Being evenly split is already good enough.”

Each student tossed out a comment of their own.

A few sensible remarks surfaced in between, but they were quickly buried since they didn’t suit the students’ tastes.

Just then, the professor opened the door and walked in.

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

“Looks like you’re all curious about the results. My office was about to explode this morning. You’re second-year students—there’s no excuse for still acting like first-years. I don’t need to say more, do I?”

“Yes.”

“If this behavior continues, I will deduct attitude score points.”

After the warning, the professor opened the file he had brought.

“You were all given your personal grade record sheets at enrollment. The rankings were announced at midnight, so I assume you’ve all checked them.”

The professor flipped through the records, then took out thin envelopes from inside the file.

“I’ll start by distributing the special class admission consent forms. When your name is called, come forward to receive it. Yulia, Leonard.”

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

Since they were the students who always competed for first and second place in the class, there was no need to verify anything anymore. The applause stabbed sharply at my ears.

Only at the third name did the professor lift his glasses and read carefully.

“Narke.”

Narke high-fived her friends and walked to the front. As before, her classmates applauded in congratulations.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve only been in the Empire for a month, but I’m pleased to see you keeping up so well. Next—Hildegard.”

After exchanging brief pleasantries, she took the envelope and returned to her seat.

“Melvin.”

At that, Melvin scrambled up from his seat and rushed forward.

“This is your first time entering the special class, correct? Your efforts clearly show. Congratulations.”

“Th-thank you…! I’ll work hard!”

“I look forward to it.”

The professor smiled gently.

So full of passion…. I let out a small chuckle at the student’s overwhelmed tone.

His emotions were so obvious that the applause, which had been gradually dying down, swelled again.

“And finally….”

As Melvin returned to his seat, the professor opened his mouth to speak, then rummaged through the desk. He flipped the file over and pulled out the last remaining envelope. Several students’ eyes widened at the sight.

“What, there’s one more?”

“Is there really anyone left here who could make it…?”

The professor silently raised one eyebrow, checked the grade record sheet, and then called out a name.

“Lukas.”