“They’re in the sa year as ?”
Arthur let out a disbelieving laugh as he watched Lucy and Frey sparring.
Among everyone present, there wasn’t a single person who wasn’t amazed by their duel. The battle moved so quickly that it was almost impossible for the spectators to keep up, and there was an undeniable power in the exchange that held everyone’s attention.
However, not everyone ca to the sa conclusion when watching them.
Most of the students were simply awestruck by the talent on display, but Arthur was different.
He wasn’t on the sa level as Lucy and Frey, but he wasn’t so far below them that he couldn’t understand the techniques they were using.
His eyes, wide in amazent, saw the finer details of their fight that others might miss.
At so point, Frey’s sword had begun to glow with a faint blue hue.
An aura?
It was undoubtedly either aura or sothing very close to it. An aura, at her age?
Most warriors train their entire lives, and even then, many can’t grasp the concept of aura by the ti they’re nearing thirty. And yet, here was Frey, reaching for it on sheer talent alone.
Incredible. When did she grow so much?
When Frey Kent first entered the academy, she was already a prodigy, but nothing like this. Back then, Arthur had thought she was soone he could catch up to if he worked hard enough.
But now?
What could have happened to make her so strong so quickly?
And Frey wasn’t the only surprising one.
Lucy was just as remarkable.
She was parrying Frey’s aura-infused sword as if it were nothing.
No, simply saying she was parrying it would be inaccurate.
Lucy was actually pushing Frey back, overpowering her. Despite Frey putting everything she had into her sword swings, Lucy’s shield rendered her efforts useless.
How was such a thing even possible?
The gap between soone who could wield aura and soone who couldn’t was imnse.
It was said that a single knight with aura could face a hundred soldiers alone.
No matter how talented Lucy was, she should have been powerless against Frey’s aura.
But Lucy was different. Even without knowing how to wield aura, she was suppressing soone who could.
Perhaps it was related to the divine magic she often used, sothing that allowed her to close the gap, but even that explanation didn’t make much sense.
What had seed like an intense, drawn-out battle ca to an abrupt end.
Lucy blocked Frey’s sword with her shield, charged in, and grabbed Frey by the collar before slamming her into the ground.
Well, not quite into the ground—Lucy had stopped just short, letting Frey down gently. But the result would have been clear if Lucy hadn’t held back.
In the end, Lucy was the victor in their all-out sparring match.
So that’s the monster I have to beat if I want to win.
To surpass a genius who had reached this level in just over a year?
Arthur had never believed there was anything he couldn’t do.
Whatever the task, whether it required physical or ntal prowess, he had always been able to achieve his goals.
But for the first ti, Arthur was struck with the thought that sothing might actually be impossible for him.
The wall known as Lucy Alrn was far too high for him to even dream of overcoming.
It’s difficult. Too difficult.
How could he ever surpass soone who, after accomplishing sothing extraordinary, stood there with a blank expression, as if it was nothing?
And after that, how could he ever answer the question that made him feel like he was pitying himself?
Is it even possible?
A few minutes after Lucy and Frey’s duel ended, Anton called out the nas of the next pair.
“Jackal Burrow and rrill Baynes.”
Both were considered talents who would one day lead the kingdom.
Their duel was undoubtedly high-level, but neither Arthur nor the others watching seed impressed. Even the participants themselves looked dissatisfied.
After the fierce battle between Lucy and Frey, their duel felt lackluster in comparison.
“Lady Alrn, the final exam results are out.”
Already?!
It was a weekend morning, and I was stretching before starting my usual training when Joy’s words froze in place.
Wait a second. Weren’t the results supposed to take longer to co out?!
Why are the academy professors so eager to crush the hopes of students by handing out their disappointing grades so early? Why not take it easy and live life a little more slowly?!
“Shall we go check them out?” Joy suggested.
I couldn’t respond imdiately.
To be honest, I didn’t want to see my results.
Because I knew they’d be bad.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t studied. I’d done my best to prepare for the final exams and worked hard during the tests.
Seriously! If I’d studied this hard back in my school days, I could’ve made it into a university next to Gwanak Mountain!
But just because you work hard doesn’t an the results will always be good.
Based on my guess, my grades would be sowhere in the middle, or maybe a little above average.
For soone who had placed first in the midterms, that would be a pretty embarrassing result.
I wasn’t eager to see how far I’d fallen.
I also didn’t want to hear other people whispering about when they saw my scores.
And, more importantly, if I went to check my grades, Joy and Arthur would definitely tease about it!
I didn’t want to voluntarily turn myself into their next target of mockery!
‘...Can’t I do it later?’
With the old man’s nagging, which was more like a threat, I had no choice but to accept Joy’s suggestion.
Ugh. I really don’t want to see my na at the bottom of the list.
“Lady Kent, are you not coming?” Joy asked Frey, who had been stretching with .
I already knew what she was going to say.
She had no interest in grades, not even a little. She was the type to...
“Yeah, I’ll co.”
Huh? I had fully expected Frey to refuse, but she didn’t.
Surprisingly, she followed along without hesitation.
What’s with her all of a sudden?
I didn’t know why, but the three of us made our way to the academy’s plaza.
There was already a large crowd gathered.
Wow. Look at all these people. It’s so early in the morning, and they’re all here already.
Normally, I’d have to think about how to get through the crowd, but that wasn’t an issue for anymore.
Our presence itself was a free pass.
‘Hey, guys.’
“Hey, losers.”
The mont I spoke, all eyes in the vicinity turned toward .
Standing in front was Lucy Alrn, the crazy woman who insulted everyone she ca across, no matter who they were.
Beside was Joy Patrane, the Lady of the Duke’s household and the one who commanded the attention of the other noble ladies. She looked like a villainess straight out of a novel.
And Frey... well, Frey was just Frey.
With us three together, the crowd naturally parted.
At first, I used to feel hurt seeing people panic around , but I’ve gotten used to it by now.
Honestly, I kind of like it. No matter where I go, problems solve themselves as soon as I show up.
When we reached the results board, I imdiately started searching for my na in the middle of the list.
Based on my guess, I should be sowhere around here.
But as I scanned the nas, I furrowed my brows.
Huh? Where’s my na?
Did I miss it?
Puzzled, I looked again, but it was still nowhere to be found.
What?! Did I do worse than I thought? Did I ss up the written exam so badly that I couldn’t make up for it with the practicals?!
Oh no. This is bad.
Being in the lower ranks would be a disaster.
If I fail and get held back, it’ll be a catastrophe.
As I continued searching down the list, I spotted Frey’s na first.
Wait, my score is lower than Frey’s?! Was I dumber than her?!
“Oh, it looks like I failed to beat the Third Prince this ti. Strange, I was sure my score was higher during the preliminary grading,” Joy remarked.
Joy failed to beat Arthur?
Then that ans Arthur is first this ti. Just like in the ga.
Things seem to be going back to how they originally were without any outside interference.
“At least Lady Alrn managed to secure the top spot again,” Joy added.
...Wait, what? I’m first?
What kind of nonsense is that? I guessed so many answers on the test.
Joy, are you ssing with ? Are you going to laugh and say, “Did you really believe that? Gotcha!” and then hit with a Joy Kick?
Are you trying to relieve all the pent-up frustration you’ve been holding onto?
Fine. That idea is kind of cute, so I’ll humor you for now.
I let out an exasperated laugh and lifted my head to check.
Lucy Alrn.
Arthur Soladin.
Joy Patrane.
Jackal Burrow.
...
I froze when I saw my na at the top of the list.
Huh? Why is my na there?
Is this so kind of elaborate prank? Did the academy professors team up to ss with ?
No. That doesn’t make any sense.
So, what is this? A dream? It must be a dream...
No, it’s not like I’ve been having dreams lately. Not with the old man running ragged every night.
“Grandpa, what’s going on here?!”
“But how?!”
How in the world did I get first place?! This doesn’t make any sense!
Okay, I’ll admit, I did almost perfectly in the practical exams.
And sure, I probably scored high in subjects like Dungeon Studies, where my ga knowledge ca in handy.
But what about the other subjects where I got destroyed?! How did I end up in first place?!
I guessed on half the questions in those exams!
Wait. So, you’re telling that every ti I guessed, I miraculously hit the right answers?
...Oh wow! All hail the god of dice!
Even though I didn’t specifically pray for this, the god of dice has blessed with this amazing stroke of luck!
Thank you! Thank you so much!
While I was silently offering my gratitude to the infinitely superior god of dice, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Grandpa, so you knew my results from the start, didn’t you?”
“...So why didn’t you tell ?”
So you kept quiet just so you could enjoy watching go from despair to joy?
Grandpa, are you so kind of pervert? You were just sitting back, grinning to yourself as I suffered?
This seriously makes want to declare mutually assured destruction.
There’s got to be sothing worse than latrine duty that I can make Grandpa do.
“Lucy Alrn.”
I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard soone call my na.
Arthur had approached without noticing.
His expression wasn’t great.
And why would it be? He had probably put in even more effort than Joy, who had scored higher in the practicals thanks to what I taught her.
Despite all that, he lost to again. Of course, he’d be upset.
Hmm. How should I console him?
Actually, am I even capable of consoling anyone?
Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut. That might be the best option.
“I need to talk to you,” Arthur said.
“What is it?”
“What is it, ‘pathetic prince who just got stomped by again’?”
“Ugh.”
Yeah. Keeping my mouth shut is definitely the best approach. I’m terrible at comforting people.
After a few more awkward coughs, Arthur finally managed to speak.
“Teach how to get stronger.”
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