"Alright. How have you been, guys? It must be dreadful now that the school vacation is over..."
Neid's face quickly turned gloomy.
"I think I'm going crazy. I have to score over 80 in all the subjects for the remaining period, it's terrifying."
"Hahaha! Why don't you take this opportunity to get a promotion?"
The only way to move from Class Five to Class Four was to score 80 or above in all subjects. The difficulty level was extreme as it wasn't an average of 80.
"Of course. Isn't it obvious for a student?"
"Indeed, it is. Well, do your best."
Neid, who was expecting words of encouragement, put on a perplexed expression. However, Alpeas' educational policy was firm. A student isn't a racehorse. If they were left in the pasture, they would naturally realize their own worth.
"Shall we help you?"
Shirone rolled up his sleeves and approached to help pull out the weeds.
"Haha, you shouldn't steal an old man's only joy. I'll pull out the weeds, you guys do whatever you want."
Neid's eyes showed a hint of disappointment. The idea of trying to escape from reality for a bit using pulling weeds as an excuse was in vain.
"Alright then. Take care."
While Shirone and his group headed back to their room, their faces were full of concern. The same was the case with the other students. The academy was still in chaos following Arcane's attack, and it wasn't easy to focus on studying like before.
Frustrated, Neid burst into a fit of rage.
"Ah. I'm going crazy. I have to study. Study! Study! I just can't concentrate."
"It's normal not to be able to concentrate on anything else after exploding once. It was the same after the presentation ended."
Shirone let out a deep sigh at Iruki's words.
"But you're better off than me. I have double the number of subjects to get above 80 than you guys. I'm not sure if it's even possible."
"The only advantage I have is math. The humanities department is a complete disaster. In that subject, Neid is the most advanced."
"What are you talking about? I don't have any strong subject. You and Shirone can easily excel in practical skills, but I can't, so I'm at the biggest disadvantage."
In the Class Five practical test, the main evaluation was the operation of the Spiritual Zone more than magic. If it's Shirone's Immortal Function or Eruki's Wise Syndrome, it's possible to have a higher rank in any practical skill. On the other hand, Neid was in the same position as other students, competing with the same Spiritual Zone.
"The more I think about it, the more my head hurts. Should we take a break today and start fresh from tomorrow?"
Neid's suggestion was neither affirmed nor denied. Seeing that even the exemplary student Shirone kept his mouth shut, it seemed their motivation had waned.
"Huh? Guys, over there..."
When Shirone pointed towards Central Park, Neid and Eruki turned their heads, their eyes widening.
"What? How come they're here?"
Kanis and Arin walked through the academy. Making eye contact with Shirone's group, they walked toward them. Kanis waved as if recognizing them.
"Hello. Are you finished with classes? The facilities and atmosphere are nice, but it seems they handle the kids with too much care."
"You! What the hell are you up to?"
Neid blocked their path. Of course, they found out from Thad that the two had been released without charges, but they thought that would be the end of it. No, it had to have ended there. So why were they strolling around the academy?
"What happened? What business do you have in the academy?"
Kanis looked at Shirone without answering. The person he cared most about in the academy was Shirone, not Alpeas or the professors. Shirone was the first person who had defeated him. If he couldn't defeat Shirone, no matter how strong he became, he would still be in a dead-end.
"Listen well. If we compete again, the result will be the exact opposite of last time."
Neid responded before Shirone could answer.
"This kid still hasn't come to his senses. Beating Shirone arrives a decade too early."
"You're the one who would need at least a decade to challenge me."
Neid's expression wrinkled. Memories of the time when Shirone was in a life-or-death situation resurfaced, sending a shiver down his spine. Then Eruki, not wanting to cause any unnecessary commotion, intervened.
"Enough. Regardless of the rest, why are you here?"
"Why are we here? We're here to inspect the place where we'll be living from now on."
"What?"
Shirone's eyes widened at the unexpected words.
"Just as I said. I thought it would be good to experience what a magic academy is like."
Neid rolled up his sleeves and retorted.
"You might disdain a magic academy, but show some respect! Who would accept someone like you?"
Kanis raised a finger and pointed.
"Call me 'Senior.'"
"What?"
"Call me senior. From what I've deduced, you're in Class Five. I am in Class Four."
Shirone and the others were dumbfounded. Perhaps it was Alpeas who accepted them. But being admitted as Class Four right after admission was unusual, though not unheard of.
"Why are you so surprised? We're disciples of an Archmage. We've learned all the fundamentals of magic. It's quite amusing to be treated the same as slackers like you."
Shirone and the others kept quiet as they grumbled. Considering the magic they had perfected while living with Arcane for over ten years, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they had a Class Four level.
"So, make sure to respectfully call us 'elders' from now on."
"How funny! Aren't you not going to attend from next semester anyway? By then, we will have also advanced to Class Four!"
"Really? Surprisingly, do you have poor grades? To be honest, I'm disappointed. I never imagined I'd lose to such bad students."
The first thing Kanis investigated in the academy were Shirone's grades and their relationships with other students. It was a shock to him when he found out they were in the fifth class, not even among the top students.
But no one from the advanced class ignored them. They had heard so many times about the assessment that they could ascend at any moment if they tried, it seemed like they were going to get clogged ears.
When Shirone's group didn't answer and simply gritted their teeth, Kanis turned away with a satisfied expression.
"Well then, do your best. If you come as juniors, we will treat you kindly. Hahaha!"
As Kanis's shadow lengthened toward Shirone's group, Havist raised both arms and flipped the bird. The three about to explode trembled.
Shirone broke the heavy silence.
"Let's cancel our day off today."
"Yes. Kanis is in the last year... I'd rather leave the academy than accept it."
"Haha, why leave it? We should advance and put him in his place."
The only thing on the minds of the three was advancement. But how? The end-of-semester evaluation was a completely different dimension from breaking through a tough situation. It was a comprehensive assessment of a long semester. Even if they started something right now, they couldn't guarantee success.
"I've thought about this before..."
Shirone pondered the words with a serious expression.
"My probability of advancing was around 30%. That's if I study as much as I can."
Though not a mathematical analysis like Eruki's, Shirone's insight was also very reliable, and his friends believed his words to be true. Then Neid's face darkened again.
"Frankly, although I boasted big, it's not an easy task when I think about it. If Shirone is around 30 percent, maybe I'm around 50 percent? Eruki is probably around 60 percent."
"No. I'm around 58.7 percent. Of course, the promotion is mainly based on the end-of-semester grades, but to be honest, I haven't attended a single class."
The three sighed. At this rate,
they would probably have to bow their heads to Kanis and Arin from next semester.
"So, what do you think about this...?"
Neid looked with bright eyes at Shirone's suggestion.
"What? Do you have a good idea?"
"Actually, if we study as we've done so far, the chances of success are too low. So, I think we need to revise our strategy."
Eruki questioned.
"Do you mean changing the method? But how?"
"When I said 30%, I was assuming I would study a lot. But if I don't focus on studying but on the exam, I think I can get over 50%. That means, for you guys, it could be 70%, maybe even 80%."
"Hmm. Focusing on the exam? I see. Choose and concentrate, right?"
"Yes. After all, we only need to score over 80 points. There's no need to invest time in subjects we're good at. And there's no need to study content not covered in the exam. If we broadly classify the sixteen subjects, they can be divided into four categories: humanities, mathematics, sciences, and practicals."
Shirone continued explaining, pointing one by one with his fingers.
"Fortunately, we can easily pass at least one category each. And most importantly, our categories don't overlap. I'm from humanities, Eruki from mathematics, and Neid from sciences. Practical is a part we can't help each other with."
Eruki nodded as if understanding.
"Then, you mean to create a study group. There's no need to study the areas each excels in, so shall we use that time to compensate for each other's weaknesses?"
"Exactly. If we can devise crucial ways to score over 80 in the exams, our chances will increase significantly. I think with this, we can increase them to at least 50%."
Eruki's lips curled upwards. Seeing Shirone so desperate showed how much he disliked having Kanis and Arin as last-year students.
Anyway, it was a good idea. Besides, there was no better result than the three of them advancing at the same time.
"I agree. Then, let's go to the research group meeting right away and start planning this. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good!"
The three boys, burning with fighting spirit, ran toward Istas."
***
Shirone devoted himself to studying day and night.
Knowing how to manage time is essential. For someone unaware, an hour might pass in the blink of an eye, but for someone who breaks an hour into ten-minute increments, it can be a long time.
Shirone divided all the time remaining until the end-of-semester exams into one-hour units. The strategy aimed to prevent time leakage by always keeping a sense of time in mind.
He focused on the exam with the great efficiency he had acquired.
Rather than understanding the process, he conquered the type of problem and analyzed the intent behind the question and the solution process. In this regard, the study group was effective. Thanks to each other's support, Shirone was also able to raise the average score of the practice exam to over 70 points.
Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Once they started studying, they realized that the reason certain subjects were weak wasn't laziness, but truly the lack of talent.
Specifically, the gap between humanities and mathematics was too significant for Eruki. While frantically solving the questionnaire that Shirone had created himself, Eruki put down the pen and stretched after only 30 minutes.
"It's done."
"Let me see."
Shirone pointed to each of the problems Eruki had solved. As he checked the answers, his hand trembled. It seemed he understood why humanities teachers would cringe just by looking at Eruki's face.
Pointing at the test paper with a ridiculous expression, Shirone said, "Hey, what sense does 'You eat pasta, I will eat pasta' make? I explained the use of auxiliary particles, didn't I?"
"Why doesn't it make sense? 'You eat pasta! I will eat pasta!' It's perfect, isn't it? It emphasizes that each is an independent subject."
"Huh? Oh, that...."
Feeling that it made sense, Shirone momentarily became nervous. But soon, he regained composure and exclaimed, "That's not it. Language isn't mathematics. It's not a tool for proof; it's a tool for expression! Therefore, you should read between the lines, not separate the phrases!"
"Damn it, what on earth is that? Mathematics is the best!"
"Quiet! I know you're being stubborn! Honestly, doesn't it seem odd to you too?"