A sword struck from above is blocked by an opposing team member who arrives before he knows it.
Kaang!!
“Tch.”
Senna, holding her tongue in regret, quickly turned her sword and stabbed the fallen Nocturne in the heart.
At the same time, the clothes he was wearing light up and Nocturne disappears from the battlefield.
“Holy sh*t!!”
Nocturne, who was pushed out of the barrier, cursed repeatedly, pounded the ground with his fist, and returned to the waiting room.
The red-hot face and bloodshot eyes are full of anger.
The judges sighed when they saw that.
“This is the shortest elimination. “It would be a shame considering my skills.”
It seemed like he was worried about Nocturne, but it was the president who looked rather disappointed.
“But since I showed something in that short moment, my score won’t be very low.”
“I guess so.”
She turned her gaze back to the battlefield.
The results of the two teams’ games were obvious even without looking at them.
The loss of the Nocturne team was lopsided as Nocturne was eliminated.
Needless to say, the judges’ reviews were full of scathing criticism, and the reviews of Nocturne, who were eliminated first, were the most generous.
“Cadet Sena.”
“yes.”
“It was great.”
For the first time, praise came out of Professor Essien’s mouth.
“If it’s an attack, it’s an attack, if it’s a defense, it’s defense, situational judgment, strategy, even that confidence. “Everything was impressive.”
“thank you!!”
She bows down with an emotional expression on her face.
The reason for this is that there has not been a single cadet whom Professor Essien has praised. At best, there was some passing praise, but Senna was the first to receive such perfect praise.
“I look forward to the next test as well.”
After her short and intense review, the next review continued.
There wasn’t a single harsh review about her. Ren also praised her swordsmanship and moved on to the next team.
This time, it is a match between teams including Evan and Naomi.
Two of the four people receiving the most attention in this graduation exam overlapped again this time.
“What about a wizard cadet named Naomi?”
“hmm… “It just belongs to the genius category.”
President Liana shrugged her shoulders as if she had nothing else to say.
The game started and Ren understood what she was saying.
Simple magic skills that don’t really need to be explained.
This skill is enough to reach the beginning of the 4-star level. It’s not at the level of an academy cadet.
Evan Marshall also showed excellent swordsmanship. However, unlike Naomi, he led the team surprisingly well and established a proper strategy, defeating Naomi’s team in one go.
The match was won by Team Evan.
Since then, several games have ended and the first day of exams has come to an end.
After a day’s rest, there will be a second test the next day.
That night.
Nocturne, who could not bear his anger at the daytime game, summoned Senna separately in the middle of the night.
Normally, Sena would have avoided his call, but this time, for some reason, she confidently came out to the garden and faced Nocturne.
“Why did you call me?”
“under! Look how confident you are just because you won once. “I just got lucky.”
Sena laughs at Nocturne’s words. Nocturne’s face turned red as he saw that.
“now… “Are you laughing at me?”
“When did I?”
“… … This bastard. “How dare you bring up the subject of a commoner’s babble!”
“What are you doing when you lose to a commoner? “Are you no longer a nobleman, who used to talk nonsense about how nobles who lose to commoners are not real nobles?”
Nocturne was even more embarrassed when Sena’s attitude, who had not been able to pray in front of him until yesterday, changed overnight.
If it was to this extent, I would have been completely discouraged and had to crawl around, but that wasn’t the case at all.
“You really went crazy because you wanted to die.”
“What should I do? Will it stick?”
Instead, Sena is provoking him as if he wants her to attack him.
Seeing Senna like that, Nocturne’s mind seemed to go cold.
‘What on earth?’
Something was strange. I don’t know exactly what happened, but Nocturne forced down the emotions boiling inside.
‘There are still exams left. If I get hurt here, it’s my loss.’
That was when he gritted his teeth and was about to go back.
“What is it doing now?”
Before you know it, Ren Argen appears and glares at the two with an angry face.
“Judge Len Arzen?”
“Nocturne, did you call Cadet Sena to seek revenge for your defeat earlier?”
“No, that’s not it!”
“Do you think I didn’t see you harassing Cadet Sena yesterday?”
Nocturne was startled by those words and was unable to respond.
“Tell me. “Did you call Cadet Sena, or did Cadet Sena call you?”
“… … “I called.”
He gritted his teeth. Anyone can see that it was right that he called it out of revenge.
“Nocturne, this is a warning. “I’ll just look at it this once.”
“… … sorry.”
Nocturne, who had no room for excuses, bowed his head and returned.
“Are you okay?”
“yes. thank you.”
“Why are you on such bad terms with Nocturne?”
In response to Ren’s question, Sena purrs her lips as if hesitating.
“Nocturne isn’t the only one who calls commoners, right?”
Although the atmosphere inside the academy is said to have become much purified now, there was still a gap between nobles and commoners.
And discrimination due to that gap is the basic foundation.
Nocturne seemed to be a bit harsh among them, but there was still no reason to be on bad terms with only Nocturne.
“… … “My younger brother also joined the academy.”
“… … “You came?”
“Because it’s not there now. “I committed suicide.”
Ren’s brow twitched.
“Why?”
“A gang of nobles harassed my younger brother just because he was a commoner. “It was okay because I was good at swordsmanship, but he wasn’t my younger brother.”
“It must be difficult for a commoner without talent to enter the academy, right?”
“My younger brother was smart. But he entered the swordsmanship department because he wanted to go to the battlefield with me.”
“… … Were you bullied for saying you couldn’t do it?”
“yes. “I died after constantly being tormented like that.”
You may not want to say it out loud, but Sena’s voice is so carefree and monotonous.
Now it feels like I have liberated everything.
“The owner of that noble gang is that Nocturne. “My brother died and Nocturne started arguing with me.”
“… … “Why?”
“Because it’s your fault that your younger brother died. As her older sister, I probably don’t want to see that either. “Because I will be the proof of my mistakes.”
If what Senna said was true, Nocturne could not simply be seen as an aristocratic supremacist.
‘It was trash.’
The appearances that Ren saw were all just masks. In reality, he was a guy who did such trash without hesitation.
“I can’t forgive.”
“What if you can’t? “What are you going to do?”
“… … .”
She cannot answer and closes her mouth.
Originally, I would have thought it was just something I said out of anger, but not now.
Ren looked into Sena’s eyes. The pupils were shaking shallowly.
“Listen carefully, Cadet Sena.”
“yes.”
“If you do the same thing as Nocturne, you become the same person.”
“… … .”
“think carefully. “Whatever thoughts you have right now, think about them carefully and several times.”
“… … all right.”
Ren said that and went back.
* * *
After a day of rest, the technical skills test began the next day.
This test is about demonstrating your most powerful skills or magic.
Those were tests that the judges looked at and evaluated.
Unlike the first day’s exam, this exam was completed quickly.
Nocturne, who worked hard to make up for the score from the first test, took 1st place, Evan took 2nd place, Naomi took 3rd place, and Senna took 4th place.
And so the third test, the coping skills test, began the next day.
The coping ability test involves fighting against randomly assigned assistants.
This time too, things went similar to the second test.
The one who received the highest score was Nocturne, second place was Naomi, third place was Evan, and Sena was sixth.
Senna received all kinds of harsh criticism for failing to show proper capabilities in the second and third tests compared to the abilities shown in the first test.
And two days later, the final test, a 1:1 duel test.
This exam will be held among cadets of similar rank.
Order based on the total score of tests 1, 2, and 3.
1st and 2nd place were, of course, Evan and Naomi, 3rd place was Sena, and 4th place was Nocturne.
Nocturne, who was eliminated too quickly in the first match and was pushed down to 4th place even though he came in 1st place in the 2nd and 3rd exams, suppresses his frustration and glares at Sena on the other side.
‘thank god. ‘I’ll make you regret not being able to get to first or second place.’
Luckily, the rankings overlapped, giving me a chance to get revenge on Senna.
The more he thought about the defeat in the first test, the more Nocturne’s confidence seemed to have died because he felt that Senna’s skills were superior to his, but after seeing Sena’s second and third performances, that thought completely disappeared.
‘As expected, I was lucky.’
Sena warms up by twirling her sword.
Nocturne swung the large ax several times and reexamined his body.
‘It is perfect.’
The body is in excellent condition. In this situation, there is absolutely no way I would lose to Senna in a 1:1 match.
Moreover, unlike the first test, this test involves fighting with your own weapon.
There were no variables.
“The order of play starts with the lowest ranked cadets. Cadets, please wait.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Following the instructions, the cadets entered the audience.
The final exam, held in a large amphitheater, is called the finale of the graduation exam, so other cadets can also watch the game from the stands.
The stands filled up in an instant.
There were so many cadets who wanted to see the skills of the cadets who would soon graduate.
“Let the exam begin!”
When the professor in charge of refereeing announced the start, the game began with the lowest ranked cadets.
If you do not exceed a certain score on this graduation exam, you will not be able to graduate.
In fact, the cadets who compete first have a very low probability of passing the graduation exam.
Nevertheless, the level of the game was quite good.
“The quality of the academy cadets is outstanding.”
The president responds with a satisfied expression to Ren’s praise.
“It’s still not enough. “This level has been achieved before.”
When Ren nods, Liana looks at Ren intently and says.
“If Sir Ren comes as our professor, I think our level could rise quickly.”
“… … “The game is starting.”
Ren pretended not to hear and changed the topic.
“This is the game we’ve been waiting for.”
The president also turns his head at his words.
As Ren said, this was the match all the judges were waiting for.
The showdown between Nocturne and Senna.
When the two faced each other in the first test, didn’t Senna achieve an overwhelming victory, breaking everyone’s expectations?
However, Nocturne took first place in the second and third tests.
Which of the two will win this time?
This match was more of a topic among cadets than the first and second place matches.
Because it was also a match between nobles and commoners.
The commoners cheered for Senna, and the nobles cheered for Nocturne.
Two people take a stance while standing on the playing field.
Ren watched the game with more concentration than ever.
The two people faced each other with serious expressions.
Unlike Nocturne’s confident expression, Sena’s expression looks somewhat complex.
“Tsk, why? “Are you scared because you’re going to join us officially like this?”
“… … gibberish.”
“Don’t think you’ll be lucky forever.”
She ignored Nocturne’s provocation and grasped her sword tightly.
Bleep!!
The game has begun.
Two people running at each other at the same time.
Kaaang!!
The sword and ax collide, creating a strong metallic sound.
“Ugh… !”
A scene quite similar to the first game.
But the result was completely different from then.
As soon as Senna’s posture, pushed by power, collapsed, Nocturne’s one-sided offensive began.
Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang!
“hahahaha!! okay! “This is you!”
Nocturne swings an ax while mocking Senna.
Sena barely manages to dodge the attack and tries to dodge it, but she has no time to counterattack, so her expression distorts.
Sighs of disappointment came from the audience and judges’ seats, who had been expecting a close match between the two.
Among them, only Ren quietly watches the game with a serious expression.
Kang! Kang! Kaang!!
Senna is pushed backwards by the ax’s energy wave.
Nocturne, who jumped to the ground towards her, smashed his ax to shatter the floor and took the initiative again.
Wow!!
Senna holds on with her arms trembling with the sword caught in the handle and blade of the axe.
Nocturne bursts into laughter in a situation where they are close to each other.
“Commoner bastard. Surrender. Didn’t your younger brother end up like that because he was being rude and being rude? “You guys need to know your topic.”
“… … this… “You bastard!!”
Her face distorts and she forces the sword out and digs into her body.
Suddenly!! Wow!!
After receiving a deep cut on one arm, she escapes from the spot and slightly cuts Nocturne’s side, letting out a harsh breath.
Exclamations poured out from the audience.
The professor who was in charge of refereeing hurriedly glanced at Sena, but stopped the game, saying she was okay.
“Crazy, are you going to do that just because you’re going to cut me a little bit?”
“Shut up, this is where the real start begins.”
She gritted her teeth and fiddled with the ring on her left finger.