NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
“Wow, there are four teams?”
Amanda, the professor, looked a bit flustered, probably because she didn’t expect so many applicants, but she called the representatives forward.
I wondered why Rin and Tana were there, but even Sen and May seemed determined to have me on their team.
‘First, I need to avoid being on the same team as Rin.’
After contemplating Rin becoming the owner of the army, I came to the conclusion that I should maintain a situation as similar as possible to my past life.
I needed to know exactly why things had changed.
So while keeping the situation close to my past life, I needed a certain distance.
If she had become the owner of the army out of her own will or gained similar power, I was prepared to decisively take her down.
‘That’s why I suggested cutting ties on purpose.’
If I were there during academy life, something different could happen, but if I wasn’t, I couldn’t keep an eye on her.
In such a contradictory situation, I ultimately chose to sever ties with the two childhood friends.
I thought that having just one more person in the academy wouldn’t change much.
“…….”
Rin kept staring at me intensely.
Her gaze was like that of a hunting dog, refusing to let go, and it made me unconsciously look away.
“Is it okay for me to choose a team?”
When I raised my hand and asked, Amanda looked back at me with a ridiculous expression.
“Can you?”
“……”
This woman, despite looking mature, had a tendency to enjoy teasing people.
“Alright, since we don’t have much time, shall we decide with rock-paper-scissors?”
What a complete mess.
Sen reached out with excitement, and May and Tana didn’t mind either, but Rin was different.
“Professor, can we reduce the points a bit and just take Daniel?”
The other students began to murmur at Rin’s bombshell statement. Her team started questioning her about what she meant, but she ignored them and looked at Amanda.
Unlike the other students who were intimidated by Rin’s momentum, Amanda shook her head.
“Of course not. Acting so selfishly without even telling your teammates is out of the question.”
“……”
Rin bit her lip and extended her hand.
I let out a sigh of relief internally as I fixed my gaze on the rock-paper-scissors match among the four girls.
“Ah…”
May managed to win against everyone with just one rock and was staring blankly at her hand, showing an odd reaction.
Sen and Tana turned away with disappointment but Rin continued to look at me, clenching her fist, as she returned to her team.
“Well then, Daniel will join Team 16. We’ll also randomly draw opponents, so those who are drawing, come forward.”
I thought May might be going out in Team 16, but another kid with glasses suddenly declared he wanted to make the pick instead.
With strange gazes from my teammates, I approached May.
“Hey.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Why?”
I aimed to ask why she picked me, but suddenly the surrounding students focused on May’s voice, making her blush as she quickly collected herself to ask.
“What, um, why…”
“Why is what I should be asking. Why did you pick me?”
“W-Well, just because…”
What’s with her?
I frowned and pressed her to speak honestly, and she, almost close to crying, looked down at her shoes and continued.
“I-I met Elise in the first exam and got eliminated right away… So I need the points.”
“Ah.”
“Uh, yesterday I… even brought my aunt with me…”
She must have found it hard to say anything more, clenching her mouth shut. In short, she thought I was someone essential for her in this additional test because she had already experienced my skills firsthand.
‘She’s more rational than I expected.’
Even after what happened yesterday, she picked me for her own grades. So she must have looked so unhappy after choosing me.
‘Well, that’s actually a good thing.’
If yesterday’s enemy becomes today’s friend, it only happens when the enemy submits, and that’s exactly what’s happening now.
Now that May and her aunt, the dean, had become cards I could use at the academy, it would be inconvenient for May to fall below the passing mark for many reasons.
“Well, I need points too, so I’ll definitely win this exam.”
The scoring was limited since it wasn’t in a tournament format, just team vs. team, but that was still something.
She seemed a bit relieved by my words, nodding. It was strange seeing someone who was so lively just the day before now act so deflated.
Already, our teammates were whispering that May was acting strange.
As the drawing started, I shifted my gaze and noticed the male student who went to draw for our side didn’t look too well.
It was a drawing format where teams with the same ribbon color fought each other.
The male student held a yellow ribbon, and the team with the same color was…
“Then Team 1 will fight Team 16. I’ll give each team about 30 minutes to familiarize themselves with the rules and practice teamwork.”
Amanda spoke indifferently.
Team 1 was made up of Ares, Hayun, and Eve, all powerhouses.
“Hey, you little brat!”
Suddenly, May, who had been curled up like a hamster, shouted and charged at the male student.
‘Yeah, her personality isn’t going anywhere.’
There was a commotion as May grabbed the male student by the hair, but anyway, our team immediately went to a corner to start strategy discussions.
“I’m done for.”
No, was that strategy discussion or just complaining?
A slightly chubby male student sighed and spoke, and the others seemed to share the same sentiment, nodding their heads in despair.
“Done for? We haven’t even started yet!”
May spoke up confidently, but perhaps having similar thoughts, she didn’t argue back too fiercely.
‘Huh.’
I didn’t jump into the conversation and just observed the students. There were no particularly famous names among the students, but that didn’t mean they were lacking.
‘They all have similar skills; there’s no standout student.’
On average, our team might have an advantage. If each team member fought one-on-one, it was pretty much assured we would win.
Regardless of how strong Ares or Hayun was, the maximum points they could secure was just 2.
But this team battle was obviously not like that.
King’s Game.
The student designated as king would wear a band on their wrist; if the opposing team took it away, that was the end of the game.
From this perspective, it seemed unnecessary to even face the enemy directly, but…
“Most likely, Ares or Hayun will be the king, right?”
The male student who had just drawn rubbed his head, which had been grabbed, as he spoke while the team fell into a gloomy silence.
“Are you going to just sigh like that?”
Eventually, feeling frustrated, I intervened.
“We need to come up with a plan to win instead of complaining about losing before we even start!”
“Now you’ve come, and there’s even a score penalty.”
“Right, what were you thinking bringing him, anyway?”
The other students were subtly pressuring May and me without actually criticizing her.
“Are you saying you don’t intend to win?”
“How can we win?”
The female student yelled, and other students began to blame me. They were either venting frustrations over their perceived defeat or comforting themselves, saying that they didn’t need to get worked up over an additional test.
They were making all kinds of ruckus, so I sighed and said,
“Then May will be our king. We’ll fight them, and you guys just bring some popcorn to watch, you idiots.”
“Huh?”
Surprised that I suddenly called her, May looked at me in confusion while the other students started hurling insults at me.
*
“Are you really going to do this?”
“Yeah.”
In the empty stadium, the students from Team 1 were casually stretching and talking among themselves, paying no attention to us.
I saw Eve, who was surprisingly chatting with Ares and Hayun.
‘The king is Ares.’
I focused on the blue band wrapped around Ares’s wrist and drew out my wooden sword.
“Huh, it feels lighter than I thought.”
It was lighter than the swords I used before, but I didn’t expect much from a training wooden sword anyway.
Our team members were still whispering about me while subtly bickering among themselves.
They seemed to have given up on the exam.
It wasn’t an issue if this was a proper test, but since this was just the additional second test, they didn’t seem to care too much.
“Phew.”
May, standing right next to me, was catching her breath while swinging the wooden sword erratically. Her form was a mess.
“What are you doing?”
I looked at her in disbelief, and she seemed embarrassed, hiding the wooden sword and trying to defend herself.
“W-Well, I usually rely on magic, but using magic is prohibited in this exam…”
“Put down the wooden sword. Don’t plan on doing anything for this test.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll handle everything, taking care of you, so just stay still.”
“……”
“And if you’re going to speak casually, do it properly. Don’t mix formal and informal speech; it’s annoying.”
“Y-Yes… I mean, no! Sure!”
Did she choose to speak casually?
Well, I guess her pride wouldn’t allow her to speak formally.
“But, can you really keep me safe all alone? Should I say something to the others?”
“Just no. They won’t get a single point this time.”
What would you give to those who have already given up, despite someone willing to spoon-feed them the answers?
The professors from all five groups were watching the exam, so if they had any sense, they wouldn’t grant points to those who had already given up.
“It’s actually easier when I’m alone.”
Yeah, it was definitely more comfortable when there was nothing annoying beside me.
The Sherpa wandering in the Forest of the Demon Realm.
As I mentioned before, I shed the guise of human and became a magical beast to traverse that place, but of course, they would attack anyone intruding their territory or if they were hungry.
In such a place, my role was to lead people while gathering materials from magical beasts or helping gather herbs.
So what would happen if I took people into the Forest of the Demon Realm and a magical beast attacked?
I would never let my customers fight or get hurt.
If they knew how many people I had protected from the venomous creatures of the Forest of the Demon Realm during my years as a Sherpa, they would be astonished.
“But now I’m just asked to protect one kid from a bunch of brats.”
To be honest.
It was hard to hide the smile that kept escaping because I found it ridiculous.