Chapter 176 40.1 - A test

Chapter 176 40.1 - A test

The courtyard outside the academy echoed with the grumbles and yawns of students, all wearing various shades of disheveled uniforms. The early morning sun cast long shadows as they reluctantly assembled.

As the group grew, one by one, students arrived with tousled hair and bleary eyes. Some carried steaming cups of coffee, attempting to combat the persistent lethargy that clung to them. A particularly disgruntled student, Tessa, couldn't resist voicing her discontent.

"Why do we always need to gather this early?" she muttered, her voice laden with the weariness that still clung to her.

A nearby student, Aaron, yawned in agreement. "Right, I wish I knew that too."

A third voice, belonging to the ever-cynical Jake, chimed in, "Well, it is probably because they want to teach us how to be disciplined."

"Ho? We have a smart-ass here, huh?" mocked another student, Sarah, shooting Jake a teasing grin.

"What—"

"Bastard, do you think we don't know what? We just want to complain because we couldn't sleep enough," interrupted Mike, another student who shared the sentiment.

"Yeah. Of course, we know this is the right thing to do; it is just we hate it," added Lily, a normally cheerful student who seemed equally affected by the early hour.

The courtyard buzzed with grumbles and agreements, a collective sigh of discontent rising from the group.

Just as the disgruntled chorus reached its peak, a hushed silence fell over the courtyard as the students noticed a figure approaching.

Eleanor, the stern instructor known for her unwavering dedication to discipline, emerged from the shadows.

She walked with purpose, her gaze sweeping across the assembly of tired faces. The students straightened, attempting to shake off their morning grogginess and assume a semblance of alertness.

"Tch."

However, in the end, none of them could escape from the stern eyes of their insatiable professor.

"And these kids are supposed to be the saviors of the world," Eleanor grumbled as she took her position in front of them, her gaze continuing to assess everyone, one by one.

'But, there are still good ones in the batch.'

With the semester going forward and the cadets being tested every time, she now had enough data to assess most of the students. novE/lb)In

Unsurprisingly, those from renowned families had already done well, and even then, some of them still surprised her.

Especially the blue-haired kid smiling in front of the rows.

Ethan Hartley.

He had already become the topic of the talk in the academy and in the Hunter Community, but as the professor who had been grading Ethan's notes from the start, she knew a lot better than everyone else how talented he was.

'That kid has that natural talent in him.'

When she was a student, she was also one of those 'natural' talents since she could feel a lot better than her peers all the time. Thus, she knew when she saw another monster.

According to her observations, Ethan's talent didn't lie in how good he was with mana or spear. It was his talent regarding combat.

Whenever he was against a strong enemy, even if he was overwhelmed, he had the possibility of winning.

'As if he was bound to overcome hardship.'

It was a weird feeling to see. The kid got stronger whenever he encountered someone strong. The more he fought, the stronger he got.

The more he fell into the pit, the stronger his desire to overcome it became, and that itself was a talent that was hard to come by.

'Adding this to his lineage...'

A monster that could never be stopped was about to be created, and she was witnessing it.

'But, to think the first event would not be a game event.'

In the game, there weren't any events where we would explore the forest and look for mana formulas.

'Well, I guess that would be boring.'

In any case, it was obvious that the game wouldn't be able to cover all the tests or practical lessons in the academy, so it wasn't a hassle.

'The thing is....'

"Hello."

I was matched with two people that I would have expected.

"..."

The glaring girl and the timid girl.

'Certainly an impressive line-up.'

It was quite understandable that I had ended up with Irina since she was a high-ranker, and I still ranked low. But, I couldn't quite understand Sylvie.

'I thought the academy would look after her.'

I was expecting things regarding Sylvie to change, but I wasn't expecting her to be on the same team as me.

'I also refuse to believe that they put this girl as the high-ranker that would protect Sylvie.'

There was no way the academy thought Irina was a good choice to protect Sylvie from anything that would come her way.

If they really thought about that....Then, I have nothing to say.

In any case, now here we were.

"Great. How did I end up with him?" Irina mumbled to herself, the annoyance evident in her voice. Even then, she made sure I could hear her.

She seemed particularly in a bad mood today, as she was different from the time when she was on the train.

Not that I cared much.

"It is not like I wanted to be in the same team as you either." I also didn't back off and retorted back. I had been training the whole night and forgot the time, and I was quite sleepless right now, so I was also not in a good mood.

"Oh? Really?"

"Really."

"Then, I guess I will go alone then."

"....Are you stupid?"

"Hah?"

"If you could go alone, why do you think they put us in a team? Did you forget what happened in the first dungeon?"

".....I didn't."

"Then?"

"Tch.....I know...."

Just as I was bickering with Irina as usual, suddenly, I heard a sound coming from the side.

"S-Seriously, can we, um, focus on the a-a-assignment?"