Chapter 25
In the end, Team Seven was the group name decided on, and the documents were submitted.
Simon observed the other students in ss A while the students who had decided on a group were exchanging talks in a rxed mood.
Simons group was the 7th group, meaning that 28 students had already formed a group. Thepetition among the remaining students was fierce and bloody.
Now, there were only a few students who were moving individually. The students mostly gathered the rest of the group members after forming 2-3 people.
Wouldn''t it be better if we just merged? Youre two, and were two so
Two of you are Poison aspirants. Why do we have to join a dogshit group?
Woah, theyre terrible. What the hell is thatbination of two Jet-cks?
If you made a group with your friends or close people, this was a problem.
They got to know each other quickly because they had the same field of interest or major they wanted to pursue, but it was bad to stick together with the same major aspirants in a group ss.
The Beginner Dark Magic ss evaluated a whopping eight subjects.
When having different majors for all four members of the group wouldnt be enough, it was a huge loss if they had ovepping majors. Those who still couldn''t make a group usually had that problem.
Ill save only one person from your group.
A blonde female student walked up with an arrogant expression on her face and raised her finger. She had already found two members.
Get lost!
If you hadnt taken Lucy, wed already be a four!
A female student stepped forward as the other group members growled displeased faces.
L-Leader?
Im sorry, everyone.
She said it even without looking back.
Im an aspirant of Hemomancy. Its fine, right, since it doesnt ovep?
Wee! Youre quick-witted after all. Assistant teacher! Well submit!
The leader, who made the group herself, left and became the fourth person in the other group.
The remaining students trembled with anger, feeling the sense of betrayal.
Thats cruel.
This was what happened during the student protection period.
Simon seemed to vaguely understand why only three hundred could survive out of a thousand.
Theres no time to worry about others, Simon.
Said Rick.
If we dont move forward relentlessly, we too will be eliminated. And elimination in Kizen means farewell.
I dont even find them that pitiful.
Meilyn put her fingers together and blew on them.
Lack of effort,ck of preparation, andck of skills. Its been four days since they came to Kizen, and what have they been doing? If their grades werecking, they couldve tried looking for other ways to find groups.
Rick and Meilyn seemed used to this kind of atmosphere.
Finally, the 30 minutes that Jane said had passed.
A total of eight people remained. They feuded in groups of 2, 3, and 3, and in the end, no one was able toplete the group.
For those students who havent decided on a group, pleasee forward.
Jane randomly created two groups.
Group 15: Jet-ck, Jet-ck, Poison, Combat Magic
Group 16: Jet-ck, Jet-ck, Jet-ck, Combat Magic.
There were rtively many Mechanics of Jet-ck aspirants because, as it was apulsory subject, other aspirants also had rtively high grades in Jet-ck.
Because of this, the demand for Mechanics of Jet-ck students in the market plummeted, and they ended up remaining till the end.
The students who had been called to the tform sank their heads with hardened expressions, and some students who had formed a group already sneered at them.
Woah, three Jet-cks on Group 16? Is that for real?
Pfft, I dont think Ill see them next week.
Theyll be doomed if theres even one problem about Curses.
At the sounds of other students sneering, the 15th and 16th groups became even more depressed and hunched their shoulders.
After choosing the leaders, Jane looked at them and said in a quiet voice,
Are you frustrated?
The students nodded slightly. Some even shed small tears.
Theres no rule that your end will still be off because your start was slightly off. Remember this frustration now and try harder. Even if youre Jet-ck aspirants, divide yourselves up and study other subjects to raise your average grade. Then youll see the light.
The students nodded their heads with a desperate faces.
Then Ill make a major announcement first. Next week, after the student protection period ends, we n to conduct a group performance assessment in the first ss of Beginner Dark Magic next week.
Hushed exmations could be heard from around the room.
The performance assessment was a test that was directly reflected in grades. This was the real deal.
Then Ill exin the contents of the performance assessment.
When she gave the signal, her assistant triggered the mana projector. A picture of a certainrge monster appeared in front of the students, projected with light.
This is!
It was a monster that even Simon knew.
A Cyclops.
A medium-sized one-eyed monster with monstrous power. It was a monster that lived mainly in the mountains of the western part of the continent and reigned as king there.
Yes, your next opponent will be the Cyclops.
The students mouths opened wide.
Arent we skipping too much?
Ill exin the rules. You and your groupmates must enter the underground dungeon in Kizen and work together to defeat the Cyclops.
Sounds of relief could be heard at the fact that at least theyre going in with the group members.
But only one student will directly encounter Cyclops. The other three can stand in a set position to support your groupmate or weaken the monster. You arent allowed to attack directly with dark magic.
mor.
The three in the set position couldnt use offensive dark magic. Then it couldnt be said that it waspletely a 4:1.
* * *
* * *
Jane continued her exnation.
Youre obviously allowed to use disruptive skills such as Exhaust, Bind, and Blind. Therefore, well allow the injuries of monsters out of that kind of judgment. Bleeding of Hemomancy and Poisoning of Poisonous Alchemy are also allowed. Of course, attacks by summons are allowed too.
However, you arent allowed to use direct offensive magic such as Smite of Combat magic or Blood Arrow of Hemomancy. Youll know the exact standard when you receive the handouts distributed by the assistant teachers after ss.
The students nodded with serious faces.
The one student will wear powerful defensive magic under the participation of Kizens safety guard. The grading criteria are the sess or failure of the Cyclops hunting, hunting speed, stability, teamwork, creativity, and the perfection of dark magic used.
She continued after looking around the students, who went silent.
Youre going to have to push your skills to the limit this week to face the Cyclops. Instead of taking ss carelessly, make it your own and use it for the performance assessment. Thats all. Any questions?
Countless hands rose from all over the ce. Jane pointed at the student in front of her first.
Im Jamie Victoria! W-We arent dealing with a real Cyclops, right? I heard that Kizen also has a virtual battle simtion system, so with that!
Its a fresh, living Cyclops just caught from the western part of the continent.
Coldly asserted Jane.
Youll have to sign a life waiver before you take the performance assessment.
With that statement, Jamies face darkened rapidly.
Still, its probably weaker than a Cyclops youd meet in the wild because of the curse and potion treatment for capturing. Next question.
Im Scott Snyder! You mentioned that the hunting of the Cyclops is also a criteria for grading, but what happens if we cant hunt them?
Failure to Hunt is the lowest score independent of the other criteria. If there are other failed groups, youllpete with them based on criteria to determine the ranking.
A deep silence dropped in the ssroom.
There are three cases in which the Failure to Hunt judgment is made. First, when an entering member bes incapable ofbat. Second, a professor or safety guard judges thatbat is no longer possible. Third, if at least one of the group members raises their hand and deres that youre giving up the test. Next question.
The students raised their hands in session and asked questions. Jane answered all of them smoothly.
In fact, the parts that the students were curious about were mostly simr, so after five more questions, all of the other students raised hands were down.
I believe that ss A has two more Beginner Dark Magic sses left this week. Each group will have time to present their Cyclops hunting strategy in the first ss. As Jamie said earlier, in the second ss, well have time to adjust and tune our sense of action through a virtual battle with a Cyclops. And the third ss will be the real fight.
The words real fight'' created a tense atmosphere in the ssroom. Jane looked at her wristwatch.
For the rest of the time, youll be able to discuss the Cyclops hunting strategy with your members. First of all, decide the group member to battle the Cyclops and prepare a way that draws 100% of the strength of the other three support members. Ill be here if you have any questions.
Jane sat down on the chair as she had finished speaking. The assistants pped their hands.
Now, students, please begin!
As if waiting for it, mors broke loose from everywhere. Rick and Meilyn also leaned towards the table with their eyes shining.
As expected from Professor Jane, A real fight with a monster as soon as the protection period is over? So intense.
Said Rick. Meilyn had a twinkle in her eyes too.
I like it though. My heart is just racing! Now Im starting to feel like Im in Kizen.
Simon looked around once and said,
Lets also make a n already. Is there anyone who wants to be the participant?
Meilyn raised her hand. Rick, who was sitting next to her, cried out as he got hit, but her eyes were shining like she didnt notice.
Me! Ill do it!
Are you confident?
Im the strongest one here. Of course I should be the one to do it.
Rick stroked his cheek and nced at Meilyn,
Hey, hey! This isnt something that you can decide that simply. You have to approach it strategically! In my opinion, this performance assessment is so advantageous to the team with Combat Magic aspirants. Its as if theyre trying to support Combat Magic.
I agree too.
Camibarez quietly agreed with Ricks statement.
The attacks of Cyclopes are heavy, making it difficult to block it with defensive dark magic, and it also consumes a lot of jet-ck. Dodging would be best.
Simon slightly turned his head to look at how other groups were doing.
Like they had the same thoughts, he could see the Combat Magic aspirants, who struggled to find a group, confidently bringing out their opinions. Most of the groups with Combat Magic aspirants seemed to make them the entering member.
Nope. I beg to differ.
Meilyn returned to her calm face again and folded her arms.
Did you forget it already? Only the entering member can attack the Cyclops directly. What are the methods of attack for the Combat Magic aspirants right now? Beating them randomly with Jet-ck reinforced fists? How can you use that to hunt the thick-skinned Cyclops?
Ah!
Yeah, that is a problem.
As Camibarez and Simon agreed, Meilyn smirked and leaned back on her chair.
Then do you have a means of hunting the Cyclops, Meilyn?
Of course, Cami.
She smiled confidently and spread her palms out.
A magic circle was drawn on the palm of her hand before ck mes zed and rose up. Camibarez eximed,
Dark re of jet-ck elemental magic! Is this enough?
Amazing! Being able to use this magic already!
Rick was displeased with Meilyn acting arrogantly, but he had to acknowledge the Dark re.
Then, Ill exin my n.
Meilyn stopped the ck me and said while leaning forward,
Ill burn the Cyclops with Dark re, and the three of you just go with cursing! If you guys keep stacking the exhaust curse to slow the Cyclops, I can cleanly burn it to ashes!
Rick crossed his arms and clicked his tongue.
With that n, youll be able to shine, but werepletely useless, arent we? You, whos in charge of Curses, is set as the person entering, and you want us to only use curses like a machine behind you?
Then what could be a better n than this? Tell me.
Rick was speechless because he couldnt think of one right away, but he twisted the direction and attacked.
To begin with, that ns prerequisite is that you can cast Dark re while dodging the Cyclops attacks. Can you really dodge it?
Why couldnt I dodge it?
From what I saw, your physical strength was pretty damn poor. When we were running in Combat Magic, you were on the very end while huffing and puffing, and Professor Hong Feng had to help you because you couldnt even jump over the valley properly.
This time, Meilyn blushed.
T-Thats true, but! No! Shouldnt you, who is in charge of the cursing, make sure to not let there be a chance of me being attacked in the first ce? If I get beaten, your curses are just bad!
Curses arent our specialty to begin with!
As Meilyn and Rick were fighting like cats and dogs, Camibarez, who was caught in the middle, moved her head as she was flustered.
Bam!
The two flinched and turned their heads.
Simon, who hit the desk with his hand, had a serious expression on his face.
Then lets do it this way.