Chapter 39: Final Exams

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As we continued our days with classes, studying, and the research club, half a month had quietly passed. And now, we were finally approaching the day of the final exams.

First was the written exam on the first day. It wasn’t particularly challenging if you had reviewed the material covered in the semester. Thanks to diligently studying until now, I felt confident that I hadn’t missed anything.

But the real challenge lay ahead—the practical exam on the second day. The tension in the air was palpable, and I found myself getting sweaty palms even though I wasn’t the one taking the exam.

We gathered with the entire first-year class in the schoolyard, waiting. Soon, a teacher stepped up onto the platform and raised his voice.

“I’m Hynberelle, the teacher in charge of the first-year Class C. I’ll be overseeing the practical exam. Nice to meet you all!”

He was a male teacher with short reddish-brown hair, and he had the appearance of a passionate teacher straight out of a picture book.

Hynberelle-sensei proceeded to explain the details of the practical exam.

“The task assigned to all of you for this practical exam is ‘Traversing the Untamed Wilderness.'”

Everyone reacted with confusion. It wasn’t as straightforward as “Defeat this monster” or “Retrieve this item,” so naturally, our interest was piqued.

“In simple terms, you just need to make it through the designated forest. There’s no need to retrieve or defeat anything. As long as you reach the target location from the starting point within the time limit, the exam will be considered complete.”

Just make it through the designated forest. When put that way, it seemed like a straightforward exam. Pita Jia-senpai had mentioned that the previous year’s exam was a game of “tag” where the students had to catch a fleeing teacher. If I recall correctly, she referred to it as a test where the teacher played the role of a fugitive.

In that case, this year’s exam could be seen as a game of “chase”? No, since the emphasis is on traversing the forest and not on racing against time, it could be likened to a game of “exploration.”

Why did the exam content end up like this?

“Lately, the country has been focusing on exploring untamed regions, and the school wishes to instill the basics of that into the students. That’s why the exam has been designed this way,” Hynberelle-sensei explained.

As one of the responsibilities of national magicians, exploring untamed regions was included. Untouched territories were home to ferocious magical beasts and unknown disasters, so restricted areas were established to limit entry. However, these untamed regions were also said to contain special medicinal herbs and undiscovered materials, which prompted magicians to venture into these unexplored lands.

It seemed that the importance of exploring untamed regions had been emphasized recently, which led to the content of the final exam reflecting that. In other words, the exam aimed to test our ability to traverse uncharted territories.

“The exam will take place in the ‘Nichi Shirazu Forest,’ located to the northwest of the capital city. The dense trees are covered with leaves that provide high shade, making the forest constantly dark, as if it were midnight,” Hynberelle-sensei explained.

The students naturally turned their gaze toward the northwest. After clearing his throat to regain their attention, Hynberelle-sensei continued his explanation.

“Not only is there no source of light, but there are also no clear paths. It’s a place that’s extremely easy to get lost in, and there are many troublesome magical beasts roaming around. Don’t expect to easily navigate through the forest,” he warned.

Then, Hynberelle-sensei picked up a simple box placed beside him and showed it to the students.

“The starting point is on the east side of the forest, and you’ll need to aim for the west side as your destination. All first-year students will start together, so it’s essential to spread out at the starting point. The specific starting points will be determined by drawing lots. There is no difference in the distance to the destination, and there are no advantages or disadvantages based on the points. It’s fair in that aspect, so rest assured.”

The allocation of starting points through a lottery seemed necessary considering the number of students. If everyone freely entered the forest, it wouldn’t be fair. If, for example, close friends ended up starting together, it would create an overwhelmingly advantageous situation for those who had formed such groups.

Although Hynberelle-sensei couldn’t peer into our thoughts, he added another remark.

“Well, it’s possible to join up with another student inside, but I have to be honest—it’s not very practical.”

After hearing that, I thought, “Indeed.” Trying to meet up with someone in the easily disorienting forest would be quite challenging. The starting points were determined by lottery, and even if you managed to meet up with someone, there wouldn’t be much advantage. In the end, the exam’s objective was simply reaching the goal, so the only advantage would be the smoother dispatch of magical beasts.

Using effort to meet up with others might be better spent on making progress toward the goal.

“By the way, the use of teleportation magic to move through the forest or directly aim for the destination is prohibited. Well, we’ve set up a barrier with magic cast by the instructors to prevent that kind of cheating,” Hynberelle-sensei added.

The exam was about exploring the challenging forest and making it through. If teleportation magic were allowed, it wouldn’t be much of an exam. Well, teleportation magic wasn’t that convenient to begin with, as it required a high level of magical power to cover long distances. Even national magicians had their hands full just teleporting from one end of a town to another.

There were teleportation spells that allowed you to travel to a previously visited location or recorded coordinates, making it feasible to cover long distances effortlessly. However, they didn’t seem useful for this exam. Moreover, a barrier had been set up to prevent teleportation magic.

But…

“Can I use ‘that magic’?” I murmured to myself.

Just as I uttered those words, Hynberelle-sensei’s voice rang out again.

“Well, just like during the entrance exam, any injuries or accidents during the test are your responsibility. If you feel inadequate, it’s better to immediately leave the forest and forfeit,” Hynberelle-sensei reminded us.

It seemed that everyone was already aware of that, as no one showed any signs of hesitation or fear.

“Well, that’s all for the brief explanation. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask the accompanying instructors on your way to the test site. They should be able to answer within their capacity,” Hynberelle-sensei concluded.

With that, the explanation of the practical exam in the schoolyard came to an end, and we divided into our respective classes to make our way towards the Nichi Shirazu Forest.

After a two-hour ride in a carriage through the grasslands, we arrived at the Nichi Shirazu Forest, which would serve as the test site.

Even though we were still outside the forest, we could already feel the darkness and dampness that pervaded its interior.

The forest itself extended widely, its overall scope elusive.

As soon as we arrived at the entrance, we held a lottery to determine the starting points.

The lottery was conducted simply by drawing lots.

Inside the box held by Hynberelle-sensei were pieces of paper with numbers written on them, and those numbers determined our starting points.

Once all the first-year students finished the drawing, we each received a compass for the exam, and the practical portion of the final exam was about to begin.

“Now, everyone, head towards your designated starting points,” Hynberelle-sensei instructed.

Students with lottery numbers below 150 headed to the north side of the entrance, while those with higher numbers went to the south.

The Nichi Shirazu Forest was quite vast, and it was a challenge just to reach the starting points.

Well, it was to be expected, considering that all the first-year students were taking the exam in the same location.

Along the way, amidst the crowd of students, I caught a glimpse of familiar blue hair.

“Ah, Mil!”

I ran over, and Mil’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Sachi-san, you’re over here too?”

“What a coincidence. Could it be that our starting points are very close?”

I looked at the paper Mil was holding, and it had the number ‘260’ written on it.

As for the paper I held, it had the number ‘247’.

Among the hundreds of first-year students, it was unexpected that our starting points would differ by only a dozen or so.

“Oh, this must be the power of my Luck stat at 999…”

“Does that really have anything to do with it?”

While it’s hard to say for sure, it’s hard to deny that it’s fortunate to have such close starting points. With this, I can quickly meet up with Mil and work together to reach the destination.

Although we were told that it’s not realistic to meet up with other students, if our starting points are this close, we should be able to meet up easily.

“When the test starts, I’ll head towards where Mil is right away. I’m not sure what the inside of the forest will be like, but I’ll try to make sure Mil stays put…”

“…”

I spoke as if it was natural for us to cooperate, but Mil had a complicated expression and hesitantly shook her head.

“No, please let me do this one on my own.”

“Huh?”

“For this test, I want to try and overcome it on my own.”

Mil’s unexpected response tightened her expression as if she had made a life-or-death decision.