"Fortunately. Thanks to their confusion with the artifacts, we were able to end this relatively easily."
Carlo's true strength lay in his storm-like cascade of lightning rain and his equally fast blinks.
His signature double casting, which allowed him to strike and retreat in lightning-fast battles, was the proven combat style that had made him the top student in the Magic Department.
If Luina hadn't quickly defeated Allia, the outcome might have been reversed.
"No matter how I think about it, using artifacts feels somewhat cowardly..."
"If it were an issue, the teaching assistants would have intervened."
"That's true, I suppose."
Luina nodded reluctantly.
"Anyway, thanks to you, we won."
"But it's impressive how you kept your eyes only on Allia even as that magic was falling."
"Didn't you tell me to do so?"
"Though it's odd coming from me, was there really that level of trust between us?"
In the long run, they needed to become more than that, but for now, they were merely bound by money.
"I thought that once we became partners, I should trust you."
Of course, it wasn't just that. Through their sparring, Gerhard had already proven himself once. So she thought he must have some method.
She just didn't know it would involve artifacts.
"You're quite the knight. So where to next?"
"North, of course. But first, we should recover our strength somewhere safe."
"I have potions. Lots of them."
The two slowly made their way north.
Not far from them, someone was watching.
"...Unexpected."
Professor Grad of the Knight Department showed surprise in his eyes.
Between Carlo and Gerhard, and between Luina and Allia.
Grad had thought Carlo would have the higher win rate in the former, and Luina in the latter. After all, ranks at the Academy weren't earned by being good at poker.
Rank was a clear difference in level. Fourth place was better than tenth, and first place was better than second.
He had naturally assumed Carlo would take down Gerhard first and then pressure Luina to secure victory, but...
"Artifacts, huh."
Grad scratched his chin.
He didn't particularly think artifacts were wrong. This exercise was meant to simulate real combat, and he'd planned to allow just about anything as long as it wasn't truly malicious.
However, he hadn't considered the possibility that someone would actually use artifacts.
"That's a Goldenheim for you. If you have money for that, why not drop a few more coin purses at my house?"
Regardless, using metal to neutralize lightning magic wasn't a bad method.
"Is this Professor Rosalia's style?"
It was her approach—using the characteristics of magic or elements to extract maximum efficiency with minimal investment.
"Interesting."
He smiled.
***
Grooowl—
The northern mountains weren't just filled with rocks and trees.
Goblins, kobolds, gnolls, orcs, trolls, and even ogres. It was a place teeming with monsters that lived in the mountains and forests.
While the professors had intentionally pushed students into the southern part of the northern region, leading to student confrontations first, once they moved beyond that area, they began encountering the real inhabitants.
With a scream, a wound was carved into the troll's chest. However, it regenerated almost too quickly to notice.
"Cut its head off in one strike!"
"I know that!"
Luina twisted her body in mid-air. The troll's crude club swept through empty space. A deep scar was etched into the ground.
At that moment, the earth beneath the troll rose up. The creature's balance was disrupted and it fell, and Luina's sword sliced through its neck.
She shook the blood from her sword and regulated her breathing.
"Are you tired?"
"I'm fine."
Gerhard chanted a spell. A light cleaning magic washed away the blood spatters on Luina's armor and face.
But that wasn't all. Some mana seeped into the troll's corpse, twisting it like wringing a rag.
"...Do you really need to do that?"
"Troll blood is one of the important ingredients for making potions."
"I know that, but is someone of your status really concerned with such trivial matters?"
Gerhard answered as he took out an empty glass bottle from his extra-dimensional space.
"Money is money, no matter how small."
"That's why people say you're too greedy."
"Well, I recruited you, so it's a profitable business."
"..."
After putting the blood-filled glass bottle back into his extra-dimensional space, Gerhard changed the subject.
"I'm done. Let's go."
"Yes."
Gerhard and Luina steadily moved north, and the exercise time had already reached its final day.
"Was it seven or eight that we took down?"
"Eight pairs. I'm looking forward to the bonus points."
"You're completely obsessed with grades."
"I have a reason why I must become top-ranked."
He knew. That she aimed to become a Royal Knight.
Not everyone was like this, but most Royal Knights were Academy top students.
So being the top student in the Knight Department was often treated as the minimum requirement for becoming a Royal Knight.
Chatting like this as they moved forward, they managed to reach the vicinity of their destination with an hour left until exactly 12 noon.
Gerhard and Luina minimized their presence.
"Can you sense them?"
"Quite a lot."
At least twenty, conservatively.
They had treated all students they encountered as bonus points while heading north, but it seemed some students hadn't done the same, as there were groups of two or more.
A precarious peace was maintained as everyone watched each other cautiously.
"I can see how this will play out. We get penalized if we're too early or too late."
"A conflict will likely break out when the time comes."
It would be easier to clear them all and proceed, but they were all Academy students. If they united against the two of them, it would be Gerhard and Luina who would be eliminated.
So they decided to wait until the time was right, until a commotion broke out.
After all, it was clear this peace would soon be broken.
The unexpected happened after about 30 minutes.
"It's Almon!"
"His Highness Rudger is with him!"
The shouts came from the west.
Gerhard and Luina turned their heads. And they could see why they had appeared so confidently.
"The numbers..."
"Did they gather all the students from the beginning?"
"They must have fought some battles. There are faint traces of combat on their armor and swords."
They must have dealt with some opponents while keeping others alive to join their side.
It was an action taken with the expectation that most students would be hiding near the destination.
"As expected of a prince..."