"It consists of two parts. First, the Ranking Battle—a unified competition for all third-year students."
"The tournament will randomly generate arenas with various environments. Which environment you encounter depends entirely on your luck."
"If you lose due to bad luck with the environment, don’t complain. Luck is a crucial power for everyone—and of course, it’s even better if you have the strength to ignore luck altogether."
With that, Grisa waved his wand again.
The projection screen flickered once more, showing canyons, mountain peaks, and students rushing forward through treacherous terrain.
"The second part is the Challenge Trial."
"The Challenge Trial features stages testing attack, defense, speed, and reaction skills. You must overcome each one and reach the finish line."
"The faster you reach the finish line, the higher your score—but if you arrive too late, your grade will be disastrous......"
"Like the theoretical exam, these two parts of the individual practical assessment will be weighted to calculate your final practical score."
"They are a comprehensive test of your ability to survive in real combat—you’d better take them seriously."
After explaining the individual practical exam, Grisa flipped the projection screen again.
The image shifted to a vast forest.
"This is your final assessment: the Team Tournament."
The screen zoomed in, eventually revealing the full view of a tree.
The tree looked ordinary, but something glinted in the sunlight at its treetop.
As the image zoomed in further, the students in the classroom finally saw clearly—it was a Magic Crystal no bigger than a thumb.
"These are custom-made Magic Crystals from Manacos, designed specifically for this exam—and they are the objective of your Team Tournament."
"The academy will cordon off a large area in the Monster Great Forest and scatter these Magic Crystals throughout."
"Once your team enters the forest, you must collect as many of these crystals as possible. Each crystal represents one point, and your final Team Tournament score will be based on the number you collect."
"I need to warn you of two things——"
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Grisa said in a tone laced with warning,
"First, the most dangerous things in the forest are not the monsters—but the other students who aren’t on your team."
"The academy places no restrictions on your methods or tactics in this competition; only the final result matters. That’s why several students die in it every year."
"Second,"
"The mana fluctuations of the Magic Crystals change every year. So it’s impossible to cheat by buying crystals from previous years on the black market—don’t entertain naive ideas."
"......"
Grisa waved his wand once more,
and the projection screen vanished into thin air.
"That’s everything you need to face before graduation. Go back and prepare well."
"Class dismissed!"
......
"Why has Professor Grisa always been like this for three years? I’m starting to think he has a permanent poker face—I’ve never seen him smile once!"
In a dessert shop, Miko Kedar couldn’t help but complain about Grisa.
Hearing this, Alicia Serions came to his defense:
"Miko, Professor Grisa is probably just naturally reserved. He’s not actually that cold-hearted."
"Ugh, I know—but he’s caught and punished me for making mistakes so many times that just seeing his face makes me feel like he’s about to kill someone!"
"......"
Don’t describe him like a murderer......
After mentally sighing, Hulim Heyerar set down her sweet tea and looked at Miko seriously.
"Let’s put Professor Grisa aside for a moment, Miko——"
"Are you confident about the theoretical exam?"
"......"
Miko fell silent.
After a long pause, she buried her head in her hands in agony.
"Ah, Hulim! I’d finally managed to forget about it—don’t remind me!"
Hulim: "......"
"You don’t need to worry that much, do you?"
Alicia comforted her,
"You don’t have any special requirements for your graduation grades, right?"
"So no matter how you do on the theoretical exam, as long as it doesn’t prevent you from graduating, it’s fine."
Miko froze, then suddenly realized.
"That’s right!"
"I don’t need excellent grades to graduate—why am I stressing about the theoretical exam?"
"Yeah! I’ll just do what I normally do and let the theoretical exam take care of itself~!"
With that, Miko picked up the pastry in front of her and began eating heartily.
I hope she doesn’t end up failing to graduate......
Watching Miko brush off her worries, Hulim couldn’t help but think.
Still, she knew Miko wasn’t completely clueless about theory—even if she wasn’t good at it.
So she let go of her concerns.
......
......
As time passed,
the atmosphere at Manacos Magic Academy grew lively. With graduation season approaching, many third-year students who’d been away returned to the academy. With no more classes, most wandered aimlessly around the campus.
And in this atmosphere, the final graduation exam arrived......
Ding!
As the bell rang,
the last theoretical exam came to an end.
The third-year students who’d finished the exam filed out of the testing hall one after another.
"Phew! It’s finally all over!"
Miko stretched in relief.
"These past few days have been brutal!"
Hearing her, Hulim couldn’t help but ask:
"Miko, you did answer the questions properly, right? You didn’t fall asleep as soon as the exam started?"
"Of course not! Although......"
"I did have a tiny urge to sleep at first, but you guys talked me out of it. So I took it seriously—sort of~!"
That should be fine. Even if Miko wasn’t good at theoretical exams, she wasn’t completely clueless.
"Alright!" Miko stretched her arms and legs, said with a relaxed grin, "The headache-inducing exams are over! Now it’s time for my specialty! Watch me blow everyone’s minds~!"
Hulim had no doubts about Miko’s confidence.
After all, she’d made it to the top 100 in the Royal Martial Tournament a year ago—and her strength was only greater now.
Manacos had many prodigies, but very few could match Miko’s level......
......
