Chapter 69

Comprehensive Tactical Exam.

The official course title was [Comprehensive Tactical Practice Training], but among students, it was simply referred to by that name in daily conversations.

It was the most “real-combat-oriented” subject among the many classes taken by students in the Tactical Combat Department.

It was also the subject that corporate scouts referred to most frequently when evaluating students’ capabilities.

– "Isabella scored well on the written exam, but there are doubts about her practical ability."

– "No doubt about it. The team Ava belongs to will show outstanding performance in this exam."

– "Tsk. No one’s really standing out. If that kid Lucas hadn’t died during the last Titan incident... He had potential."

From the spectator stands in the training facility, scouts were watching the students’ exam with hawk-like focus.

A significant number of high-level security officers in the megacorps were Academy graduates.

In other words, the Tactical Combat Department was, to the corporations, like a basket filled to the brim with candies labeled “talent,” and because of that, individuals with keen eyes were stationed under the Academy's jurisdiction to scout them.

And among those students, there was one who had all the scouts' attention at once.

That student was none other than Iri Elisbell.

– "She was handpicked by the Crown Prince himself."

– "I’ve reviewed the data from the last [Showcase]. She’s a very promising card."

– "Even during the Titan incident, the Crown Prince personally went out to rescue her."

– "I wonder how much stronger she’s become since then?"

She was already a scholarship student affiliated with the Stingray Corporation, so trying to recruit her into their own factions was practically a lost cause. However, because of her ties to Chairman Aaron Stingray, she remained at the center of attention.

Naturally, the other students weren’t exactly thrilled about the situation.

Since they all needed to attract the scouts’ attention to gain corporate sponsorship, it was only natural that they weren’t happy about someone who had already earned the title of Stingray’s Special Scholar monopolizing all the attention.

Perhaps that’s why—

"Hey, Elisbell."

"What?"

"Don’t step forward until I say so."

Her teammate for the test, assigned as part of a three-person squad.

‘Rodriguez’, who was teamed up with Iri, spoke to her curtly. He was an Adaptee in the ‘Gunblade’ class, using a sword as his main weapon and a pistol as a secondary.

Since he was assigned the leader role for this team, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to give such orders—but Iri could clearly see his true intention: He wanted to stand out.

So she asked anyway.

"Why?"

"Because I said so. Just do as you're told."

His tone was grating.

But she was no longer someone who got riled up over things like that. She could understand his desire to draw corporate attention, so she simply shrugged and replied, "Alright."

"You too, Sophia."

"And what if I don't? Just stick to the plan we practiced."

"What did you say? I’m the leader of this team!"

Sophia, their other teammate, shot back at him in an equally blunt tone. For a moment, it looked like a fight might break out between the two.

[We will now begin the midterm exam for Comprehensive Tactical Practice Training. Examinees, please move to your assigned positions and standby.]

The announcement came just in time to prevent their quarrel from escalating.

Sophia and Rodriguez glared at each other briefly, then scoffed and moved to their designated spots.

"Haa…"

Watching them, Iri let out a deep sigh.

"Can we even win this?"

To speak of the result first—they did win.

But to be brutally honest, not a single one of her teammates was helpful.

Here’s how the battle went.

First, as soon as the battle began, ‘Gunblade’ Rodriguez disregarded their pre-established strategy and charged in recklessly.

– "What the hell is that idiot doing! Is he seriously trying to stand out?!"

With their team leader acting like that, there was no way their prior tactics would be executed properly.

– "Shit, that bastard’s surrounded! I’ll try to do something!"

– "W-Wait! Don’t—!"

As Rodriguez fell into danger, Sophia jumped into the fray as well, trying to salvage the worsening situation.

The result? The worst possible outcome.

[Robert Rodriguez: Death Confirmed.]

[Sophia Lee: Death Confirmed.]

"What the hell are you guys doing?!"

Before Iri could even react, the other two had been taken out by the opposing team. All the plans and strategies they had prepared together were rendered meaningless in an instant.

Still, just because it was now a 3-on-1 didn’t mean she could accept defeat.

‘I’ll just have to do it myself…’

Iri pulled her shield close to her body and used nearby cover to move out of the enemy’s attack range.

– "Polen’s the only one left!"

– "We saw her last class, right? Half-hearted ranged attacks won’t work on her! Corner her and hit all at once!"

The opposing team, wary of Iri’s exceptional evasion skills, began to slowly complete their encirclement. They cut off her escape routes and began narrowing the space she could maneuver in.

But Iri didn’t stay still.

She was adept at reading the enemy’s intent and presence, and just before the encirclement completed, she caught the brief moment of hesitation in their minds.

Boom!

She kicked off the ground hard enough to shatter it. When it came to pure specs, she was among the Academy’s elite.

Her unexpected counterattack was more than enough to throw the enemy team into disarray.

– "Ghh…!"

A momentary lapse in focus.

Iri pierced through the gap like a blade and appeared right in front of the enemy.

No—

It would be more accurate to say that she was already there.

A distance close enough to touch.

In less than a second, Iri created the foundation for a comeback. She braced her shield on her shoulder and thrust it upward, shoving it into her opponent.

Of course, the enemy wasn’t slow to respond.

Though momentarily flustered, the delay was minimal. An error so small—less than 0.5 seconds—that it was almost negligible.

He stomped down with his foot to block Iri’s shield flying in from below.

BOOOOM—!

The clash of the two Adaptees’ strength sent a shockwave rippling out around them.

Even without using a Strength Enhancement Module, their collision—far beyond human limits—tore through the air and shredded the surroundings.

At a glance, it looked like he had blocked her well.

But Iri was a wild dog.

She retained every bit of her feral instincts, and through those instincts, she knew exactly how to widen an opponent’s opening.

And then—a crack.

Forcefully, she tore open an opening. Like ripping through armor with fangs, she ruthlessly shredded the opponent’s vulnerabilities.

Iri didn’t stop her assault.

Until the rest of the enemy team could join in, she relentlessly exploited even the smallest instability caused by their delayed response.

Attack, attack, and attack again.

With Iri’s relentless blows pressing in without rest, the opponent’s reaction gradually slowed. A single crack widened steadily, and Iri continued gaining the upper hand.

And then, at some point—

– "Huff…!"

The flow of battle had completely shifted in Iri’s favor. Although reinforcements from the enemy side finally arrived, it was too late to restore their already collapsing coordination.

[Martin Kim, Death Confirmed]

Iri swiftly took down one opponent, then used [Thousand Pound Weight] to throw the second target off balance.

– "Damn it!"

Ratatatatatatatatat!

They fired in retaliation—either to counterattack or to buy even a moment to regain footing. But it was already well known that buying time with ranged attacks was meaningless against her.

– "Aaaaargh!"

[Lucy Martinez, Death Confirmed]

Before anyone realized it, the 3:1 had become a 1:1.

The battle situation was already decided, and there was nothing more to see. When Iri turned around, the last remaining opponent began backing away in fear, and Iri stomped the ground once more.

Shhhk!

The one trying to flee was dragged helplessly before Iri by the force of [Thousand Pound Weight]. Iri lightly slammed her shield down to finish the job.

[Asagi Hanae, Death Confirmed]

"Whew…"

Iri caught her breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Just like that, her one-woman show came to a brilliant end.

Several days had passed since the end of the entire exam.

While I was processing another stack of paperwork in the office, Iri requested a meeting.

The moment I gave my permission, she practically burst into the office and immediately exploded in frustration.

"This is ridiculous! We clearly won!"

She gave no context, but I already knew exactly what she was upset about.

It had to be the result of the last test, the [Comprehensive Tactical Practice Training].

"Calm yourself."

"B-But this is…!"

She didn’t raise her voice any further, but her trailing words still showed she couldn’t accept it.

Despite leading her team to victory all on her own after her teammates sabotaged the operation, Iri’s score was unfortunately not that good.

Here’s why:

– Failed to prevent discord among teammates.

– The team collapsed before any strategy could be evaluated.

It was originally a 3-on-3 battle.

Evaluation criteria included not just the win/loss result, but teamwork, strategy, tactical coordination, and more.

But Iri’s team had fallen apart without showing any strategy or coordination, leaving Iri to fight alone. So she inevitably lost points in several areas.

She had received a perfect score in the ‘Individual Combat Strength’ category, but due to deductions in other sections, her overall grade ended up middling.

"Isn’t there something that can be done?"

"Don’t make unreasonable demands."

If you’re asking whether it’s possible—yes, technically it is. But of course, there’d be more to lose than gain, so I wouldn’t step in.

Besides, I trust the instructor who graded the exam.

Even knowing Iri was a Stingray Special Scholar, he still gave her that score—meaning his grading was guided by firm principles and standards.

‘Her total rank is 60th in the year. That’s more than enough.’

Honestly, I would have been satisfied if she had ranked around the average of 190th. But she scored 130 ranks higher—how could I not be pleased?

[Event: First Semester Midterms – Year 1]

The event has concluded.

[Contribution Rate]

Iri Elisbell (Rank 60): 99%

Miyu (Rank 1): 96%

Silence (Fail): 0%

Rewards have been distributed.

Iri Elisbell: +800P

Miyu: +1500P

Silence: +0P

Despite not being able to keep a close eye on my kids during this exam period, we still pulled in a total of 2300P. That was a more than satisfying result.

But that’s that.

Right now, it was time to be a bit stern.

"I’ve reviewed the footage of your exam through our scouts. You’ve definitely grown proficient with [Thousand Pound Weight]. Your effort shows."

"Th-Thank you."

"Hm. In terms of combat ability, there’s nothing to criticize. But why did you receive such a score? You already know the reason, don’t you?"

"…Because of the discord with my teammates."

"Exactly. Your teammates lost control, and you failed to stop them. That’s why you received heavy deductions in the teamwork category."

Then I asked her again.

"Then why couldn’t you stop them?"

"There wasn’t time to stop them."

"That’s not the correct answer."

I stood up from my seat.

And, standing right in front of Iri, I looked down at her as I continued.

"You didn’t fail to stop them because there wasn’t enough time. And certainly not because you weren’t the team leader."

"Then what was it?"

"The weight of your words."

I locked eyes with Iri.

The moment our gazes met, I could see her subconsciously gulp.

"There are three key elements to persuading others: ‘logic,’ ‘emotion,’ and ‘speaker.’ Do you understand what that means?"

"U-Uh, no."

"First, logic. Does your statement contain reasoning strong enough to convince your audience? If you spout nonsense, people will ignore you."

"That makes sense."

"Next is emotion. Even if you lack logic, you can persuade others if you move them emotionally. It means appealing to their feelings."

"Ahh…"

"And lastly, the speaker."

I paused for a moment.

Once I confirmed that Iri was fully focused on my words, I resumed speaking.

"Who says it. Even if the same logic and same emotions are conveyed, the weight of the words changes completely depending on whether it's spoken by a leader or a criminal. So, among the three elements, which do you think is the most important?"

"Logic?"

"No. It's the speaker."

I shook my head.

"The public is foolish. They’re more easily persuaded by emotion than logic, and even more by who is speaking than by emotion. Sometimes, even if that person says nothing at all, the public waits for and respects their opinion."

"…"

Iri furrowed her brows slightly and fell into thought.

She was probably starting to realize the point of what I was saying.

"Then let me ask again. Why couldn’t you stop your teammates? What were you lacking?"

"All three. And… I…"

"Because you're from the Fallen Sector."

I answered for her, seeing how hard it was for her to say it aloud. Iri bit her lip in frustration.

"Then it’s something I can’t help, isn’t it? I can’t change where I was born…"

"True. But you can change everything else."

"Everything else?"

"Your strength."

I replied without hesitation.

"Wealth, authority, power—whatever works. Increase your strength and let others recognize it naturally. Once they see something overwhelming in you, they’ll start paying attention to your words."

After saying that,

I turned my gaze away from Iri.

Only then did she let out a small breath, as if her tension had finally eased. And at the same time, she let out a sigh, as if something had just clicked.

"Ah…"

"Do you understand what I’m saying?"

I chuckled, and Iri nodded, looking a bit embarrassed.

"A-A little, maybe?"

"Then that’s good."

There was an old joke I once heard.

Person A said they wanted a tank.

Person B told them to just get a loan and buy one.

A replied that even with a loan, they couldn’t possibly pay back that kind of money.

To that, B answered:

‘But you have a tank—why would you pay it back?’

That’s just how it is.

Before overwhelming power, all must bow their heads. The reason everyone in the city submits to me is because I possess that level of strength and wealth.

So there’s no reason Iri can’t do the same.

If I just give her a little help along the way, she’ll soon grow into a fine ‘leader’. The day she surpasses both the original story and my expectations isn’t far off.

"That’s enough nagging for now."

With a sigh, I wrapped up my lecture and placed my hand on Iri’s head.

"Once again, good work. The abilities you showed in this midterm far exceeded my expectations."

"…Huh."

I could see the corners of Iri’s mouth subtly lift. It was the kind of smile that slipped out involuntarily while trying to hold it in.

Feeling satisfied with that sight, I grabbed the suit coat hanging on the rack and put it on.

"Now get ready to head out."

"Huh? W-Where are we going all of a sudden?"

"Hard work deserves a reward, doesn’t it?"

Saying that, I smiled faintly.

"We're going shopping."

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