Chapter 100

The 11 commoner students looked up at the roof of the building with dazed expressions.

The upperclassmen's dormitory building had a total of 8 floors.

And the person who had spoken a moment ago was sitting on the roof.

The distance was so great that they couldn't even see their face clearly.

Did they hear the low conversation from that distance and speak?

Moreover, the voice had sounded as if it were spoken right next to them.

"No way..."

The commoner students, saying it was impossible, diligently looked around.

But there was no one around.

And the voice was heard once more.

"You're first-years, right? The girl in the middle is Joy Lixiodor."

"......!"

The commoner students were finally surprised, realizing that what they were seeing was not an illusion.

The stranger was really hearing their voices and speaking from that position.

And what's more, the voice sounded as clear as if it were spoken right next to them.

The person on the roof chuckled as they watched them in surprise.

And the next moment.

Whoosh-

They grabbed the railing and threw themselves off the roof.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa?!"

"She's, she's falling!"

The surprised commoner students screamed in terror.

But the person who had jumped landed as if they were stepping down a single stair, completely unfazed.

Thud-thud-thud-

The person, holding a bag of snacks, walked towards the commoner students.

She, who appeared to be an upperclassman, was wearing the uniform of the academy's sports team, the Rancross team.

She was quite tall for a woman and had red hair similar to Joy's, giving off the impression of a good-natured person.

And...

Upperclassman... Rancross team... and red hair...?

As the three clues came together, the commoner students' eyes widened one by one, and they gasped in surprise.

No way.

"Kylie... Penrose...?"

Paul unconsciously muttered the name in his head.

Then he was startled and covered his mouth with both hands.

To think that he, a commoner, had called the name of the next head of the great Penrose family without any honorifics.

And right in front of her!

Paul shrank back in tension.

But contrary to his worries, Kylie gave a cool smile.

"Oh- A commoner underclassman knows me, that's surprising. Want some of this?"

As she said that, she offered Paul a snack from her bag.

Paul was dazed for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and took the snack.

"Th-thank you!"

At Kylie's incredibly cheerful reaction, the other commoner students, including Joy, relaxed.

But their startled hearts had not yet calmed down.

Of all people, Kylie Penrose.

The next head of the famous Penrose family and the grandniece of the Dowager Empress.

Moreover, she was the captain of the academy team for Rancross, the empire's most popular sport.

It would be stranger for an academy student not to know her.

And yet, Kylie acted as if it was amazing that her commoner underclassmen knew her and cheerfully shared her snacks.

It was a surprisingly down-to-earth attitude for her fame and position.

When they came to their senses, the commoner students were each holding a snack that Kylie had given them.

In the sudden and absurd situation, they were all bewildered and just looked at each other.

In the end, Joy mustered up her courage and asked Kylie.

"Um, but... what did you mean when you said you'd help us earlier..."

"Ah, right. I forgot. You guys were looking for a place to practice for tomorrow's duel exam, right?"

"Yes."

"The Rancross practice field is empty, want to practice there?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. We don't have training during the exam period, so no one is using it."

"Is, is that really okay?"

"Yep. You need permission from a team official, but since I'm a team official, there's no problem."

At the unexpected offer, Joy and the commoner students couldn't hide their joy.

The spacious Rancross practice field was more than enough for all the commoner students to practice.

Kylie's words felt like a ray of light seen in the darkness.

Joy looked at Kylie as if she couldn't believe it.

"If you do that for us... we'd be really grateful. Thank you."

Although she didn't show an emotional expression, she conveyed her immense gratitude through her eyes.

Although she was very wary of the upper class, this time she didn't even ask any questions.

Preparing for the duel exam was such an important issue that such questions could be saved for later.

"Ahaha- It's nice to see you accept it so coolly. Alright. Then follow me."

Kylie laughed heartily and led the way.

The commoner students followed behind, feeling both nervous and excited.

And they really did arrive at the practice field.

The field managers were puzzled by the sudden appearance of the commoner students, but when they saw Kylie in front of them, they shook their heads as if they couldn't be helped.

It meant that she often did such eccentric things.

After letting the commoner students into the field and asking the managers to let them practice to their heart's content, Kylie went back.

And the remaining commoner students stared at her retreating back with expressions that still couldn't believe it.

"Are we... really allowed to practice here?"

"She talked to the managers, so it should be fine, right?"

"But why did she help us? The other upperclassmen were just being territorial."

Once the bewilderment subsided, the commoner students were filled with a fundamental question.

But they didn't dwell on the question for long.

At Joy's words, 'Let's think about that later and focus on preparing for the exam for now,' everyone put their idle thoughts behind them and began to practice dueling.

And Kylie glanced back at the now boisterous practice field and gave a meaningful smile.

* * *

The next day.

The first-year students headed to the First Magic Training Hall to take the final exam of their midterms.

Fred and his two assistants were already there, and all the preparations for the exam, including the dueling stage, were complete.

The 'Mana Manipulation Practice' exam accounted for a whopping 30% of the final grade, the largest portion among the midterm subjects.

The students nervously fiddled with their wands.

30% of the final grade would be decided in an instant by a single duel.

Even a slight mistake could completely ruin their final grade.

The students took deep breaths and stretched, each trying to relieve their tension in their own way.

And among the tense students, two people's eyes met.

It was Eddie and Derrick.

"......"

The two stared at each other for a moment and then turned their heads away.

There was nothing to be gained by continuing to look at each other.

Derrick, in particular, couldn't hide his hardening expression after his eyes met Eddie's.

When Jeremy asked him why his complexion had suddenly darkened, Derrick just mumbled that he wasn't feeling well.

'Ah, damn it, why am I like this.'

He actually wasn't feeling well.

It was because of the mana he had absorbed through the Magician's Vow.

His mana circle was constantly unstable because he couldn't handle the absorbed mana, and because of that, his heart was racing all day, he felt nauseous, and he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Naturally, he hadn't been able to prepare for the duel exam at all.

Instead, he was all set to fail the exam to Eddie's great satisfaction.

Grind-

A grinding sound escaped from between Derrick's teeth.

He was angry that he had to fail the midterms because he was being threatened by Eddie.

And more than that, his pride was wounded by the fact that he couldn't handle the mana he had absorbed from Eddie at all.

No matter how great Eddie was, he was also the grandson of an elder magician.

How could there be such a difference in their mana levels?

'I felt it since the entrance ceremony, but he's an unpredictable madman.'

It was also strange that the only demand he made after getting a hold of his weakness was to fail the midterms.

He must have some other ulterior motive.

But wondering about it now would only give him a headache, and nothing would change.

So Derrick just sighed and looked towards the front where the matchmaking draw had begun.

The students took turns drawing slips of paper with names written on them from a box.

And when a match was made, the assistants called out the names.

"Next."

"Paul Milligan - Bona Riora."

"Next."

"Jeremy Conwell - Alisa Volkan."

"Next."

"Joy Lixiodor - Russel Morrison."

As the draw progressed, a few interesting matches were made.

The students' eyes sparkled with interest as they looked at the completed bracket.

And then it was Eddie's turn.

As Eddie went out to draw a slip, the murmuring instantly ceased.

Everyone's attention was focused on who Eddie would be dueling.

Eddie drew a slip and handed it to Fred's assistant.

The assistant flinched for a very brief moment, then called out the names of Eddie and his duel opponent.

"Eddie Summerson - Alexein Dickens."

Gasps of surprise could be heard from here and there.

The murmuring that had briefly stopped grew louder again, and sounds of chuckling and saying 'big match' could be heard from all over.

Eddie and Alexein's names were written side by side on the blackboard.

Eddie calmly returned to his seat.

And Alexein quietly clenched his wand as he looked at his name written on the blackboard.

He could feel numerous gazes glancing at him.

Alexein was filled with anger at the reactions of pity and ridicule.

But he couldn't glare back and say 'what are you looking at' as he usually did.

Because even he thought there was no hope in this match.

'Why did I have to get matched with that bastard of all people!'

Alexein, annoyed, quietly muttered a curse.

And Derrick glanced at Alexein and swallowed a laugh inwardly.

But it wasn't a laugh of ridicule, but one of shared misery.

Alexein was going to fail the duel exam just as much as he was.

That thought brought a little comfort to his heart.

So Derrick reached out his hand to pat Alexein's shoulder.

But just before his hand reached Alexein's shoulder, Derrick's name was called.

"Marcel Kirhausen - Derrick Jenkins."

Along with Marcel's name.

"What?"

Derrick, who had inadvertently asked out loud at the unexpected result.

He quickly raised his head and looked forward.

Marcel was really standing there holding a slip of paper.

His name was also being written on the blackboard.

It was too strange to be a coincidence.

But he couldn't put his finger on exactly what was strange.

Derrick looked back at Eddie.

But Eddie didn't even glance at Derrick.

'Is it just... a coincidence?'

His brow furrowed with unease.

But that was no reason to break this promise.

That time, that bastard Eddie had clearly-

'Yeah. He said to lose no matter who the opponent is. Even that bastard wouldn't have known it would be Marcel. It must be a coincidence.'

Thinking so, Derrick shook off his idle thoughts.

All he had to do was lose according to the terms of the vow.

There was no need to think about anything else.

Marcel returned to his seat as soon as his duel opponent was decided.

Eddie watched Marcel's retreating back for a moment and then exchanged glances with Fred.

A confirmation of the plan exchanged through their gazes.

Marcel's duel exam was the final act Eddie would perform in tune with the Kirhausens.

Eddie rolled his wand in his hand as he thought about the situation that would unfold after the exam.

And a short while later, the final match was decided, and the duel exam finally began.

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