Reincarnated as the Chapter 57: The Maze Test

Chapter 57: The Maze Test

The exam ti ended, and the professor collected the papers.

As he organized them and placed them into his bag, he spoke, "I’ll try to grade these as quickly as possible, so you can expect to see your scores in our next session." With those words, he left the hall.

anwhile, I prayed inwardly for flas to consu those cursed papers—and everyone who designed that exam.

The mont the professor left, the others looked at one another and began asking questions about how they’d done on the test.

From my seat, I saw Izel boasting in front of Valia and Leona, while Garon and Kyle remained indifferent as usual.

At the front, Elliot looked pleased with his performance as he chatted with Ivan and Jin.

Great. Everyone did well—except ...

In any case, it was too early for them to celebrate. We still had other exams today, and thankfully, I was confident I’d do well this ti.

...

Next, we had the history and geography test. Unlike mathematics, I understood the questions and managed to form solid answers.

[If you continue heading north, beyond all known regions, what will you find?]

I didn’t think much before writing the answer on the paper: "The Abyss."

Ti passed, my hand continuing to move as I wrote answers one after another until the allotted ti ended and the professor collected the papers.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, watching the professor leave the hall with the papers in hand. "I’ll get at least a B."

With that final test, the long day ca to an end.

Before allowing us to leave, one of the professors briefed us on the practical exam that would take place in three days.

In short, we would take the test in teams of four. In addition, the entire first year would be participating at the sa ti, aning we’d be facing students from other classes as well.

To maintain balance, the academy distributed the mbers of my class across different teams, so no two students from the sa class would end up in the sa group.

They said the teams were ford randomly, and that we’d receive a ssage with our team mbers and their contact information. We were free to et up during these days to train together and improve our teamwork.

As for the test itself, it would involve clearing a maze filled with Rank 1 and Rank 2 monsters.

The winning team would be the one to reach the center first and kill the final monster there. In addition, you couldn’t skip or run away from the monsters in the maze—you needed to accumulate a certain number of points before reaching the center. Otherwise, the mont you stepped into that area, you’d be teleported back to the starting point.

Anyway, I lay on my bed staring at my phone—specifically, checking who my team mbers were.

"Mira... Kaya... Adam." I read their nas one by one.

I even found myself already added to a group chat made specifically for our team. I scrolled through the ssages the others had sent.

[Hello, everyone.]

[Oh, it’s you, Kaya. I’m glad you’re my teammate.] —Mira

[Hello, ladies. I’m really happy to have two lovely ladies on my team.]

[Emoji]

[Emoji]

[Anyway, who’s the fourth person?] —Mira

[I don’t know. I haven’t checked the data the academy sent yet.] —Adam

[Kaya, do you know who it is?]

[Yes...]

[Then say it. Why are you being quiet?]

[...It’s that person from the banquet—the one who got first place, Caius.] —Kaya

[.....] —Mira

[.....] —Adam

[It’s not that bad, guys. Whether we like it or not, he’s very strong... and he’ll have to work with us if he wants to keep his position.] —Kaya

[You’re right... we shouldn’t be pessimistic so quickly.]

[So, should we et tomorrow morning?] —Adam

[Of course. Where do you want to et, everyone?] —Mira

[Anywhere you want.] —Adam

[Then let’s et at a certain café. I’ll send a ssage with the location and ti so the other person can see it later.]

[We’ll et at 7 a.m.

Location: ....

Caius Astroweild, if you read this, I hope you co and cooperate with us.]

So much pointless chatter.

I turned off my phone and placed it on the table, pushing the conversation I’d just read to the back of my mind.

There were more important things than a group of children like them.

For example, the Red Eye had found the item I wanted and already sent it in a package that would arrive in two days.

And of course, I’d sent him the money... my beautiful money.

In addition, I only had 30 dium Essence Stones left after consuming 420 to reach the Advanced sub-rank.

After so thought, I decided not to use them. I might need them later, and they wouldn’t give

any noticeable boost in power anyway.

Now, having reached the peak of Rank 2, I’d need at least 1,500 dium Essence Stones to break through to Rank 3.

After all, the higher the rank, the wider the gap.

...

I stood in my private training hall, which had been reduced to complete chaos.

The floor was shattered, fragnts scattered everywhere, and deep scratches were visible even on the solid walls.

I held two swords as I moved at high speed, sweat soaking my entire body.

Elliot was busy training with his team, so I spent this ti training alone... well, not entirely.

Eight training dummies surrounded , each one programd to the highest difficulty available.

Essence flowed through my body faster and more efficiently than ever before. At the sa ti, I tilted my body precisely, narrowly avoiding a punch from one of the dummies.

Without wasting ti, my hand moved as I stabbed the essence-coated sword into the dummy’s shoulder joint. With a bit of force, the dummy’s arm fell to the ground.

At the sa ti, two dummies closed in on

from the sides. Essence moved and ford a layer around my legs as I delivered a kick to the chest of the dummy whose arm I’d severed.

The solid tal deford, and the dummy was sent flying to the far end of the hall, crashing into the wall with a thunderous sound.

I didn’t stop.

With my perception covering the entire area, I felt the position of every dummy and their precise movents.

I danced among them, dodging their attacks while targeting the weakest points in their solid bodies. Ti passed as I imrsed myself in the battle.

Every hit I took made my bones tremble—sotis even crack... but I didn’t stop.

In the end, all eight dummies were reduced to piles of tallic scrap.

I stood there, essence circulating through my body as it healed my worst injuries.

Three days passed like this, until the day of the exam finally arrived.