A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 48

Chapter 48   Final Exam Begins

“Since everyone is participating, I think there’s no problem sticking to the plan we previously decided on, but let’s go over it one more time. Basically, the battle will be like the mock battle we did before. Moriya will act as the wall, and I will take them down. Sahara, you’re supporting Moriya, but this time it’s not just about fighting. Sahara, once you assess the situation, can you handle scouting here?”

The exam venue this time is set in a place with an atmosphere like a local city’s office district, with several buildings scattered around. It’s not quite a concrete jungle, but there are still plenty of places to hide, making it easy for ambushes.

However, in my case, it’s easier to move in such an environment. After all, I’ve got ‘hands’ that I can freely extend and move around as much as I like. Like something out of an anime, I can move three-dimensionally.

“Well, somewhat. But compared to the pros, my skills are still lacking.”

Even though I can move around freely using my ability, I haven’t been specifically trained as a scout. No matter what, there will be things I miss or mistakes in handling situations.

“Even if your ability isn’t perfect, just having someone on alert is still better than nothing. It’s better than doing nothing at all, wouldn’t you agree?”

Her tone… She’s not wrong about what she’s saying, and I doubt she means anything by it, but it’s probably due to her upbringing. It sounded pretty condescending to me.

“So, I’ll be on scouting and skirmishing, Moriya will be the front line, and Kujou will take out the enemy from the rear. That work for everyone?”

Both Kujou and Moriya nodded in agreement. The rough strategy was settled, but there was still one problem left. And that is…

“Hey, hey! What about me? What’s going to happen to me? Am I just going to be watching the whole time?”

This one’s the issue.

Rinrin’s power is undeniably impressive in terms of a single strike. But conversely, there’s nothing else she can do beyond that one strike. Actually, it’s not that there’s no other use, it’s more like she can’t do anything at all…

It was fine in the last mock battle since there was only one enemy. But this time, we’re not just done after taking down one opponent. After using her power once, Rinrin becomes useless for a while, making her hard to manage.

“…Rinrin, you can only use magic once, right? And it takes about twenty minutes before you can use it again?”

“Yeah, about twenty minutes if I’m lucky. But if that’s the case, I can’t really go all out.”

“This time, the exam will be about how many monsters we can defeat. Since it’s close to real combat, there might be some large monsters. In fact, there are signs suggesting as much. So as planned, please save your strength for when we face one of those.”

Well, that makes sense. Rather than using Rinrin against the small fry we can handle just fine on our own, it’s better to save her ‘finishing move’ for emergencies. Kujou might have to bear a bit more burden since we’ll be down an attacker, but there’s no helping it.

“Hmm… I guess that’s just how it is. But, like, it’s the whole ‘the star appears last’ sort of thing, right?”

“Yes, that’s a good way to think of it.”

Personally, I’d prefer not to end up in a situation where that ‘star’ has to make an appearance.

That said, Kujou’s gotten pretty used to dealing with Rinrin. She was thrown off at first, but now she can handle Rinrin’s antics pretty smoothly.

“Alright, let’s go take them down already!”

“No, I’m asking you to stay back even if we do encounter monsters.”

“Plus, the exam hasn’t even started yet.”

Even though Kujou’s gotten used to her, dealing with Rinrin is still a hassle, no matter how you slice it.

“–––Now, we will begin the mid-term practical exam for the first semester. In this exam, you are to hunt as many monsters as you can that appear in this ruined area. For each monster you defeat, you must bring back the designated body part for collection. You can bring them here, but if you take them to one of the designated collection points around the area, you will earn points.”

Unlike the mock battle, the defeated monsters will remain as physical objects, and by collecting and reporting their body parts, you’ll earn points. However, there’s one issue with this rule—point stealing.

If you don’t bring the parts to the teacher at the collection point, you won’t earn any points. In other words, you could be attacked by other students, and they could steal your points without even defeating the monsters.

The academy is surely aware of this, but they’re likely including it as part of the exam. In real combat, you wouldn’t just worry about monsters but also the possibility of being attacked by demons or other enemies.

“Alright, everyone, get ready. We’ll start in ten minutes. You’re free to move around as long as you stay within the test area.”

With that explanation, we were dismissed. Several teams began moving to different locations to avoid overlapping with others for prey.

“Brother.”

“Hm? Oh, Inori. What’s up?”

As several teams started moving, Inori approached me. Is she fine leaving her team behind?

“The exam’s about to start, and my team is going to move, so I just wanted to say a quick hello.”

“I see. Well, you probably don’t need me to say this, but be careful.”

“I know, I know. But shouldn’t you be the one to be careful? If you get hurt, I’ll come rushing over.”

“Please don’t. This is an exam, and in a place like this, getting hurt is a real possibility.”

If she rushes over at the first sign of injury like she used to, I wouldn’t be able to continue the exam. The moment I got injured, the whole test would be over. That would be a disaster.

“Inori-chan, we’re about to leave…”

“Oh, right! Sorry! I’m coming now.”

One of Inori’s female teammates called out to her, and Inori gave her an apologetic smile.

“Seems like you’re getting along with your team.”

“Yeah, they’re my friends, after all.”

“I see. That’s good. I’m glad things are going well.”

According to Inori, all her other teammates are from Class B. It seems they judged her to be strong enough to fit in with them.

That’s fine and all, but I was a bit worried that there might be a barrier because of the different classes. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case, so I’m relieved.

“Alright, good luck with the exam.”

“You too, brother. I’ve said it a million times, but be careful not to get hurt.”

They’re doing their best on their end, so I should also be careful not to cause any unnecessary worry by avoiding injuries as much as possible.

“So, what about us? Should we move?”

After seeing Inori off, I asked Kujou, but she quietly shook her head.

“No, we should be fine staying here.”

“Really? Everyone else is moving.”

“That’s true. However, since we don’t know where the enemies are or what kind they are, moving could be pointless. While increasing our distance from others might make hunting easier, it could also lead to us being surrounded by enemies. Let’s start from here, and if things are manageable, we can move further in.”

“You’re right. This exam is going to take nearly the whole day, so there’s no need to rush.”

As Moriya mentioned, this exam is a long one, lasting almost an entire day. With that much time, there’s no reason to worry too much about an early start.

“Our goal is to maintain a steady pace rather than rush for results. That way, we’ll be able to defeat more enemies in the end.”

In a marathon, it’s better to keep a steady pace rather than sprinting at full speed halfway through. I guess combat is the same way.

“Still, a full day feels really long. Well, since it’s an actual combat exam, it makes sense, I guess.”

If the purpose was just to test combat skills, a simulated battle like the one we had earlier would’ve been enough.

“From seven in the morning until five in the evening. That’s super long~.”

“It seems first-years only have to deal with this, but second-years apparently have multi-day exams where they stay overnight. That sounds tough.”

“Well, I understand why it’s necessary. If we can’t operate over multiple days while fighting, then our range of action would be extremely limited.”

We students of ‘Karat’ will inevitably have to fight monsters in the future. There will be times when someone reports, “I saw a monster around here, but now I don’t know where it is,” or cases where we’re tasked with “culling monsters in an area because their numbers have gotten too high.”

In those situations, it won’t be something that can be resolved in a day. We’ll need to be able to keep fighting for several days.

“However, that’s something we’ll need to think about when we’re second-years. For now, let’s focus on what’s in front of us.”

That’s true. We can worry about that when we’re in our second year. For now, I should just concentrate on this exam.

“Yeah, you’re right. So, when the exam starts, we’ll head straight ahead, right?”

“Exactly. We’ll proceed while staying alert, but I’d like to get a sense of the types and number of monsters that appear in the shallower areas first.”

“Got it. –––Looks like it’s about to start.”

When I glanced over at the teachers, they suddenly began to move busily.

“Now, the exam will begin. The footage from this test will be sent to various clans and upper management, so depending on your results, you may be scouted. Do your best.”

The voice was broadcast through a loudspeaker, likely delivering the same message to the other areas as well.

“Fufun! With my flashy skills, I’m going to make a big impact and stand out!”

“Just to be sure, you remember the plan, right? Don’t recklessly use your skills.”

“I got it! But if the situation looks good, it’s okay to use them, right?”

Does she really understand?

Kujou seemed to share the same doubt, furrowing her brows. After a moment, she let out a small sigh and spoke.

“…Well, fine. Even though it’s an exam, it wouldn’t be good if you had no chance to shine at all due to the team’s strategy.”

Well… I guess that’s true. This is an exam after all. If she’s just standing by the whole time, it could affect her evaluation. Even though the number of monsters defeated counts toward the score, it’s not like they’re not watching the students themselves.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m not planning on doing anything reckless. I’ll be careful and make a big impact at just the right moment!”

“I’m seriously worried about that.”

“Now I’m starting to feel the same way.”

As we exchanged these uneasy words, a siren echoed through the area, signaling the start of the final exam before summer break.