“You really can tell everyone thinks differently in situations like this.”
Inside the small structure built near the mountain sat Harold, the professor in charge of Department of Magic Class Three, along with Neo and Laird, professors responsible for the Department of Magic practical lessons.
Several rectangular crystal magical tools much larger than the ones floating above the mountain rested atop the table before them. Connected to the crystal magical tools suspended overhead, they displayed the students currently running around inside the mountain in real time.
The professors carefully observed the students’ conditions with hawk-like eyes, recording anything unusual onto a list as they monitored them.
“When there are students with aggressive personalities, there are also students who act cautiously.”
At Laird’s words, the other two nodded.
A wide variety of students could be seen across the crystal magical tools. Just as Laird had said, there were students who had no hesitation in searching for and killing monsters, while others focused more on observing their surroundings and acting carefully rather than subjugating monsters. Their behavior patterns were essentially split into two large categories.
Those who chose the former method would have a major advantage early on because they could accumulate high scores quickly, but there was also a high possibility they would fail to distribute their stamina properly and lose effectiveness toward the latter half. Moreover, if they neglected to observe the surrounding terrain and circumstances, there was also the possibility of being attacked by monsters instead.
Those who chose the latter method benefited from stable stamina management and a significantly lower risk of being attacked by monsters, but the downside was that it was difficult to build up a large score.
Still, neither method was the correct answer.
After all, what kind of mage the students would eventually become was something they had to decide for themselves. As long as this test could provide the students with even a little practical experience, that alone was enough.
“Still, Chester really is amazing.”
When Neo pointed toward one of the crystal magical tools, the other two also turned their gazes there.
The Chester reflected on the surface had already reached the deepest region of the mountain and had just discovered a Grade 3 monster.
The students had been told that Grade 3 monsters were extremely few in number and scattered throughout the mountain, but in reality, the Grade 3 monsters were positioned in the innermost areas of the mountain.
That was to give opportunities only to students who intentionally aimed for Grade 3 monsters.
If students who merely intended to steadily build points without that determination happened to encounter relatively high-ranking monsters, the risk of accidents would rise.
In other words, Chester had intentionally heightened his senses from the very beginning and moved deep into the mountain with the goal of targeting Grade 3 monsters.
Around the time the professors’ attention fully focused on Chester, the battle began.
The Grade 3 monster he was currently facing was a bird-type monster with flight capabilities, making it a particularly troublesome creature. On top of that, being capable of attacking from the air increased its offensive power even further.
At first, Chester also seemed to struggle because of that. He moved swiftly between the trees, fully occupied with properly blocking and defending against the monster’s attacks raining down from above with the weapon he had been given.
But soon, as though he had realized something, he sharply veered to the right before lightly leaping onto a tree and thrusting his sword straight ahead.
Sparks burst around the blade, and a sharp blue bolt of lightning shot forward in the same direction as the sword.
Right at that moment, the monster changed its flight trajectory, and Chester’s attack struck it directly.
That monster had a fixed pattern whenever it altered its flight path midair.
After blocking several of the monster’s attacks, Chester had noticed the pattern and launched his attack in advance toward the spot the monster would next reach.
The monster’s eyes rolled back from the electric shock, and it plummeted straight to the ground. Chester lightly jumped down from the tree as well before briefly stabbing the corpse with his sword to inject his magic into it.
“……How many points does Chester have now?”
“With that monster included, he’s already at 150 points.”
“Shouldn’t we at least get his autograph before he becomes too important?”
The professors burst into laughter at Neo’s joke.
“He’s certainly exceptional both in combat sense and ability. On top of that, his personal drive is excellent as well, so there’s really nothing to criticize.”
“If we’re talking about it that way, then I guess this student would be the version of Chester without the drive.”
Laird pointed toward another area.
There was Ruite, diligently hunting only Grade 5 monsters.
“Hmm…… Ruite is definitely highly skilled when it comes to magic itself. He also seems to think very quickly in combat.”
Neo recalled the spar Ruite and Chester had during the previous practical lesson. Ruite’s reflexes had been excellent, to the point it almost felt as though he unconsciously grasped which areas to target and what kind of posture and positioning each attack would create.
“Honestly, I’ve been a professor for years, but all kinds of students just keep appearing endlessly.”
And entirely unaware that the professors were watching him while having such a conversation, Ruite was currently delighted after killing another Grade 4 monster.
Fortunately, he had encountered quite a lot of monsters, so there had not been much hindering him from steadily accumulating points. In this test, subjugating monsters was one issue, but finding monsters to subjugate was also a task in itself.
Quite a few Grade 4 and Grade 5 monsters became frightened and hid themselves, after all.
It’d be nice if a few more Grade 4s showed up ahead.
Thinking that, he continued moving when he sensed a presence nearby.
It was not the presence of a monster.
Ruite stepped two paces backward from the path he had been walking. Then he stretched his head toward the path branching off to the right.
A familiar back came into view.
Ruite approached the classmate with deep orange hair tied into twin braids and plopped down beside her.
“Ah! You scared me!”
“Rona, what are you doing here?”
“Ruite! You startled me.”
Apparently she had truly been surprised, because Rona breathed heavily while clutching her chest.
“Did you think I was a monster?”
“Yes.”
Now relieved, Rona answered curtly before lowering her head back toward the ground. Ruite’s gaze naturally followed hers.
“……Rona, no matter how I look at it, this isn’t a monster.”
There bloomed a flower with quite an unusual appearance.
“Who wouldn’t know that? I wasn’t observing monsters. I was observing this plant.”
“Just asking in case, but you haven’t forgotten we’re in the middle of a test right now, have you?”
“Of course not.”
When Rona coolly nodded, Ruite scratched his cheek with an awkward expression. He already knew she was unusual, but he felt it all over again.
“So what’s this thing called?”
At that single question, Rona’s eyes sparkled.
Her eyes shining brightly, she began enthusiastically listing the plant’s name and characteristics in detail. None of it really entered his ears, but Ruite diligently nodded along anyway.
“But Rona, is it really okay for you to be doing this? It’s not technically against the rules of the test, but…… if you don’t build up points, your grades are going to become a problem.”
“I’ll probably get nearly perfect scores on the theory exams, so even if I mess up a little during the practical, I can cover for it. Besides, I’ve already earned a decent amount of points.”
Now that he thought about it, several small monster corpses were scattered around her. She had probably subjugated them in advance before starting to observe the plant.
“There are lots of plants growing in lands where monsters live that you can’t see in human territory.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Normally we can’t enter this mountain, right? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this test day?”
Rona pulled out a small notebook and pen from her clothes before beginning to sketch the flower in front of her while meticulously writing down her observations and thoughts. Perhaps because her expression looked so genuinely happy, Ruite found himself smiling faintly as well.
Well, if she likes it, then third parties don’t really have the right to complain.
“So? Are you planning to spend the rest of the time searching for plants?”
“Yeah. I’m thinking of heading a little deeper inside now.”
“Uh…… do you really have to?”
Ruite cast his gaze into the distance.
Though faint, the magic of monsters felt slightly denser deeper within the mountain. That was why Ruite himself had intentionally planned not to head that way.
“What are you going to do if you run into a Grade 3? You’re not skilled enough to subjugate one properly.”
“Wow, you’re unnecessarily honest. I’m going to be as careful as possible not to encounter one. Besides, Professor Harold said so himself. Grade 3 monsters won’t chase us once we get a certain distance away.”
“That’s true.”
If they had not put such measures in place, the risk of accidents would probably become too high.
“Well then, good luck.”
“You too, Ruite. If I discover any unusual plants, I’ll tell you about them later, so look forward to it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Though you really don’t need to specifically report them to me.”
But before those words could properly reach her, Rona energetically started walking forward. Watching her head toward the inner regions driven solely by curiosity felt rather impressive.
She’ll really be okay, right?
But for some reason, an anxiety with neither basis nor explanation kept pricking at the back of his neck.
“Rona!”
Unable to help himself, Ruite ran after her and caught up again.
“What?”
“I’m coming too. Now that I think about it, you’re slow at running anyway.”
“So you’re going to act as my bodyguard or something? Are you interested in me?”
“No. Even if the world were ending tomorrow, that would never happen.”
When Ruite waved his hand without even a single second of hesitation, Rona burst into loud laughter, saying that was exactly what she wanted to hear.
“Anyway, I’ve already subjugated most of the monsters around here and was planning to move elsewhere. I’ll kill any monsters we encounter while heading deeper inside.”
“So you weren’t planning to follow me around for free after all. Fine then. I’ll give you all the points. I don’t particularly need them.”
“Okay.”
When Rona held out her palm, Ruite lightly smacked it with a high five.