Chapter 110 – 32. Additional Assessment and Dungeon Night (1)
The Colosseum, where the power evaluation is in full swing.
In the center, there was a large magic engineering equipment with a lot of hemp stones attached. Dozens of artificial gates were installed around it.
And one side of the evaluation field. Several instructors from the reserve platoon were having a conversation.
“Four hours have passed. Will there be someone who has completed the evaluation soon?”
“Shouldn’t there be more? The graduate student who made the evaluation dungeon said that. No matter how fast it will take five hours.”
To that, Instructor Meters replied.
“No. There are quite a lot of talented cadets in this jockey. It won’t be until 5 hours. After a while, one or two might come out of the gate.”
Instructor Meters thought. Especially Rosette and Chloe. Both of them are great He is one of the best in the history of the Pantheon, with excellent magic and alchemy, and a good sense of battle.
‘Of course, Rosette is ahead of me right now.’
In fact, Chloe was beaten a lot by Rosette during the school opening ceremony. It was treated as a draw for some reason, but in reality, Rosette won.
Total natural mana. Based on that, it is possible for Rosette to recklessly pour out high-fire attack magic.
And with the witch’s unique air combat, it is not restricted by terrain or height. Chloe fought hard, but the opponent was not good.
‘But if it’s this evaluation, I don’t know.’
A few days ago. Late at night, Instructor Meters stopped by the Colosseum to check the level of completion of the evaluation dungeon.
I saw an interesting scene there.
The graduate students working all night were different from usual.
‘A very expensive mincho tea at tea time. It’s an expensive late-night snack like this.’
Those guys said it was a midnight snack they bought with their own money, but it was nonsense. Because the wallet situation of graduate students couldn’t have been so good.
After asking a little more, I came up with a familiar name.
The daughter of the Marquis of Aitern. So Chloe. It seemed that Chloe had served a late-night snack to the graduate students. There was absolutely no way that clever Chloe did it without any purpose.
‘I must have dug up information about this evaluation dungeon.’
And Meters praised Chloe inwardly. If it was the Pantheon’s theory test, he would be very disgraced. This evaluation is the work of the reserve platoon.
What the reserve platoon members do is battle against the Witchbeast. In other words, it is said that if you are not careful, you will go to the battlefield where your throat will fly away.
‘It’s not that the political party feeds us. It’s not like we can fight by turning that fair corpse into an undead.’
Black magic was illegal in the Empire. Anyway, information warfare is essential on such a battlefield. Finding out that prior information is, of course, an individual’s skill.
Also, no matter how much information you have about a dungeon, in the end you are the one who conquers it. If you don’t have basic skills, that information is like a piece of toilet paper.
So Meters was secretly looking forward to who would come out on top. Of course, even if Chloe had that information, it didn’t change that Rosette had the upper hand.
‘However, Rosette is a genius witch. Because the desperate side is lacking.’
Not lazy though. It is not the style to push yourself until you exceed your limits.
If Chloe wins this time, it might stimulate Rosette as well. So, if the two of them improved their skills, it would be fun for Meters.
“Then who will be in third place? After all, it’s a riff for the battle group, right?”
“Lipra. Probably so, right? As a representative cadet of the combat order, he seems to have good skills.”
Riff. A public prosecutor. It is a mana swordsman who is currently in the third tier. Of course, Meters knew him too.
‘There have been rumors about him as a talented cadet since his first year.’
Of course, Rosette and Chloe were less famous because they stood out so much. Moreover, including support cadets like healers, Princess Lilia loses her presence.
However, the results of the recent reserve platoon mission were not bad. When I saw the report after the mission, it was because I was able to slay the Witchbeast in a very standard way.
‘But it’s too stereotypical. No fun There is no surprise.’
So, the cadet that came to mind in Instructor Meters’ head was actually different. He said.
“Surprisingly, another cadet might finish third. For example, Count Julian.”
“Yulian? That idiot… No, he’s that count? I know that Instructor Meters and the Count are close friends. Aren’t you thinking too highly of him though?”
One of the instructors said curiously. The other instructors also agreed.
“He’s the heir to the noble Margrave Wilhelm… But wasn’t Reinhardt’s blood so poor in combat? I’ve been obsessed with weird art since I was in first grade…”
“Hmm. What a strange art. The world of art is free and open. Even for people like me who do art with demon corpses.”
“Oh. I made a mistake without even realizing it. Anyway, that Count Julian was in third place. You are saying something unexpected.”
However, another instructor refuted the instructor’s words.
“No. It’s not that Instructor Meters’ words are completely unreliable. It is said that the crazy count has changed since he became a sophomore. The combat training is also coming out steadily. Above all, the report on the mission in Nevers, which became a hot topic a while ago. I heard that Count Yulian succeeded in that mission as well.”
“The Nevers Mansion is where that unusual gate came from. But didn’t he say that on that mission he paired up with Chloe? If so, with the success of the marquise’s daughter…”
Meters immediately denied that.
“It is not. According to the report, it was recorded that Count Julian stopped the dungeon boss’s breath. Not only bosses, but also other beasts and monsters.”
“Hmm. If it was the daughter of the Marquis of Aitern. As befits the heir to the giant trading company, his head rotation is unique. Didn’t he take care of everything himself and deliberately give the credit to Count Julian? In order to look good on the front line.”
That won’t be either. Meters is a highly skilled instructor of the Combat Order, with whom he is personally acquainted. He heard from Darren. Unexpectedly, Count Yulian already knew how to use the Lion Heart Sword.
It was also said that he showed an amazing appearance during training, overwhelming the other cadets in the combat group.
‘Ceremonial swordsmanship of the famous White Night Knights. And to meet Instructor Darren’s strict standards. If I imitate it clumsily, it’s rather counterproductive.’
However, it seems that Darren’s standards were completely met by Yulian.
Because I am a teacher who never talks empty words. And he told himself that deep down he might have better potential than Riff.
Moreover, after confirming the mission report of the Nevers estate he showed me. Darren seemed more confident in his assessment. That tough guy.
The instructors’ conversation continued.
“Well, unexpectedly, Instructor Meters may be right. Anyway, Reinhardt is Reinhardt. The Count is the grandson of the great Prince Wilhelm and the real son of Saint Agnes. Isn’t there a saying that blood cannot be deceived?”
“That’s it, though. The performance I showed last year was so much lower than I expected. But if Instructor Meters thinks so. Is there any room for thought?”
“Ugh. Come to think of it, Count Yulian is listening to lectures from various sects. Even among other professors, his name has been going up and down often lately. Are you really saying he’s changed?”
Like that, there was an argument going back and forth between the instructors. Everyone seemed to be in disbelief. But. It won’t be easy to change that bitch image of last year overnight.
Meters applauded and hit them with his hands to calm them down.
“Now. What. Whether that’s true or not, you’ll know if you watch the stars of this evaluation. Rather, isn’t this the end of power evaluation? We also end up stealing salaries.”
“Instructor Meters is right. Cadets who have not retired will have to undergo additional evaluations immediately. We should prepare soon.”
After the small talk, the instructors tried to move. Right then.
A cadet came out of the artificial gate. Seeing that, the instructors became quiet for an instant. Suddenly, an instructor shouted.
“That cadet…! Well… Instructor Meters was right. I am Count Julian!”
“Is that true? If you retired and came out of the gate first…”
“I don’t think so. See You look completely fine, don’t you?”
“So, are you saying that Count Yulian really won first place?”
All the instructors looked at Instructor Meters with amazement. It was as if he wanted an explanation. However, even Meters was taken aback.
‘For a moment. He thought it was possible if he was in third place. No. 1?’
Meters looked at Yulian’s expression. He looked nonchalant, as if he wasn’t surprised at all that he had won first place. He calmly raised his hand and shouted to the instructors.
“Julian von Reinhardt. The power evaluation dungeon has been cleared!”
And he showed the dungeon core he was holding in one hand. The artificial core that created the gate for this test. It was clear evidence of dungeon raiding.
The instructors were astonished once again.
***
Power evaluation completed successfully. 1st place as I had aimed for. The Undead Knight, who was the dungeon boss, was actually nothing special.
‘According to the genealogy, rather than the boss. Because the process of getting there was important.’
Various boss buffs that increase difficulty. I came after dealing with all the tricky subordinates in charge of that buff.
Even the boss, the undead knight, was only a slightly stronger type 3 beast.
‘And because I had midnight sun.’
The more he cuts down the monsters and beasts, the more Reinhardt’s blood rises. As long as he maintained that sense, he used it until midnight, the fifth night.
The undead knight didn’t react at all to the attack. The result is 1st place like now. The expressions of the instructors who saw me coming out of the gate were very good to see.
Even Instructor Meters, who was always carefree, couldn’t hide his bewildered expression. He came up to me and said
“Countess Yuli? Are you okay? Aren’t you sick anywhere? It must have been a disgusting dungeon.”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Instructor Meters.”
“Uh… I see. You suffered once. And you can do it in half as usual. Anyway, why don’t you wait nearby for now? The other cadets haven’t come out yet.”
“I will.”
And Instructor Meters hinted at me slightly.
“Count. But in fact, this power evaluation. Now is not the end. As soon as two more people come out behind the Count, we have to conduct an additional evaluation. Please rest for a while.”
“Additional evaluation?”
Of course I already knew. The artificial dungeon I just cleared is definitely not the end of this power evaluation. But pretending not to know, I listened to his explanation.
“It is a kind of self-denial training, so to speak. Because I properly drained my strength in this evaluation dungeon. We’ll group them into groups of 3 in the order in which they cleared the dungeon, and throw them into a separate artificial dungeon once more. That too is a higher grade dungeon than the current type 3. Isn’t that a very useful training method? It can also be evaluated.”
If he was not feeling well immediately after leaving the current gate, he could have given up further evaluation.
However, this does not apply to cadets aiming for platoon commanders. If you don’t get that evaluation, even if you passed the previous dungeon within 10th place, you won’t be awarded the platoon leader’s qualifications and insignia.
“Anyway, it’s a dungeon where the cadets are deliberately thrown in to make them suffer. It’s going to be hard. What would you like?”
Of course, it was a question not worth pondering at all.
“Of course I will.”
“Hoo. Countess Yuli. Interesting. Countess Yuli in first year was fun too. Your eyes have changed a lot since then. No way…”
Meters whispered in his ear with a smirk.
“Did you even know the taste of women during winter vacation? A man also needs to know a woman to become a real adult. Countess Yuli. In fact, he had no sex experience for a fool. I knew everything.”
I was stoked by his words. In fact, there were quite a few reasons why I became stronger. More than that, it seems that Julian was surprisingly sympathetic.
‘Well, Eirin was a virgin too.’
However, even at the promiscuous party that he and Fabian had enjoyed, he didn’t know if he hadn’t done it to the end. It’s surprising that Meters knows that fact.
I answered calmly.
“It could be. I’m not some obscene evil demon. I just trained hard.”
Meters instructor tapped my shoulder vigorously.
“As expected, Count Yuli. He is also the one who shared art theory with me. Awesome!”
Sharing the theory of art with this insane instructor who performs performance art with the corpse of a demon… After all, the art world of the original owner of my body was also unique.
While chatting with Instructor Meters like that. Another cadet came out the gate. As expected, Chloe. And she had one more cadet with her by a very narrow margin. It was a rosette.
“This. The young lady of the Marquis is in second place. I’m sorry. If it wasn’t for Countess Yuli, I’d be number one.”
It was as he said. Chloe, uncharacteristic of her, raised her hands up after confirming that she had won over Rosette. However, when he saw me arriving first, his expression became subtle.
“Anyway, three people came out. I’ll have to start further evaluation soon. Oh And Countess Yuli. Extra evaluation dungeon, very dirty. I’ll explain one more time. Clearing is not the goal.”
He put on a smirk.
“A type 2 dungeon. And I’m going to throw the cadets’ sacred powers into the gate with them tied up. Try to survive until the appointed time. Oh Like a type 2 dungeon, there is also a night there. Be careful.”
It was as far as I knew. Of course, my best record in Demon King’s Slaughter was 5th, so I entered an easier place than the additional dungeon that Meters said.
Soon after, Rosette and Chloe came out. Following the instructor’s instructions, the three entered a new dungeon.
