Chapter 14

As I made my way to the practical exam venue, I thought about Kai.

At the start of the story, Kai (when controlled by us players) was supposed to have an initial magic capacity of 8000, which was the lowest in his grade.

The plot follows the classic story of entering the lowest class, gradually reconciling with the troublesome classmates, and growing together in unity.

However, that premise fell apart in this moment.

It meant the story would crumble.

Well… since Kai is a commoner, he might be forced into the lowest class regardless of his performance.

But there should be some kind of change.

I would prefer if Kai were not a reincarnator and simply became strong because this world is real.

But if he is a reincarnator, it would be troublesome. If he’s become that strong, he must definitely know the story. If so, I’d really like to know his goals.

“Well, thinking about it now will only lead to a dead end…”

Since I don’t know, I’ll just clear the tasks in front of me for now.

I refocused and quickly headed to the venue.

“———Next, number 2000. Please step onto the combat stage.”

“…Yes.”

The practical exam had progressed quickly, with most candidates defeated in a single blow, and soon it was Kai’s turn.

Kai, who was called, responded with a slightly lethargic tone and ascended to the combat stage, very different from his in-game personality.

By the way, Hera had overwhelmed the examiners as if they were mere children, and I had a standard average battle and lost.

However, Kai seemed to be expected by both the other candidates and the examiners, which made me very dissatisfied.

Despite the fact that the exam was about to start, Kai remained lethargic and didn’t even prepare his weapon. Normally, as the protagonist, Kai should be using some kind of weapon.

“……Number 2000, are you not going to use a weapon?”

The professor of spirit magic, Rood, frowned and admonished Kai.

However, Kai answered with a bothersome attitude.

“You don’t need a weapon to deal with someone like you.”

“What!?”

“!?”

What’s going on with Kai, the protagonist…!?

He’s not supposed to be like this!

The suspicion that Kai might be a reincarnator grew stronger.

In fact, he is definitely not the Kai I know but an actual reincarnator who knows the game, just like me.

What’s worse is that he might know my face.

The story involving Shin was in a paid DLC, so a casual player who didn’t buy it probably wouldn’t recognize me, but someone equal to or slightly below me would definitely know.

All I can do is pray that he doesn’t know.

“……Hmph… If you keep being arrogant, you’ll eventually face consequences.”

Rood, being a chosen examiner, restrained his anger and only gave a warning.

However, Kai completely ignored Rood’s kindness and maintained an attitude as if saying “just hurry up.”

Realizing that further discussion was pointless, Rood took up his sword and summoned an advanced fire spirit.

“Then let’s begin.”

Rood enveloped his sword with flames and charged.

As expected of an examiner, his speed was impressive.

Rood continued to wield his sword with no sense of awkwardness.

However—

“———Slow. So slow that it makes me yawn. Is this it, examiner?”

Guh…!?

Kai avoided Rood’s attack with minimal movement and knocked him out with a swift strike.

Such an unexpected sight left both the candidates and the examiners dumbfounded.

However, I, Hera, and the other top candidates sent cold glances at Kai.

The reason was simple: Kai didn’t understand the purpose of this practical exam.

It’s not just about being strong.

The practical exam is meant for the academy to learn about the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses and to determine which class suits them best.

Therefore, in such cases, instead of ending the match quickly, it is necessary to continue the combat for a bit longer.

Because he completely failed to understand that, we viewed him with disapproval.

Moreover, it’s a match against a spirit mage, but he doesn’t use spirits.

Use your spirits.

However, Kai, oblivious to our gazes, left the combat stage, leaving the unconscious examiner behind.

In response, Doban and other examiners stepped onto the stage and took Rood to the medical room.

After Rood left the combat stage, Doban admonished Kai.

“Candidate number 2000, while I have many things to say, it is not appropriate to leave the stage without attending to the person you knocked out.”

“He fainted because he was weak. There’s no point in helping weaklings.”

“!? That’s not what I meant…”

Doban was saying something quite reasonable, but it didn’t reach Kai at all.

Unable to find the right words next, Doban was interrupted by someone else.

“———What is your intention in enrolling in this academy? From your current behavior, it seems fundamentally unsuitable for this academy.”

“……Huh?”

It was Hera.

She glared at Kai with an unmistakable displeasure.

As expected of Hera—no, this is bad.

I prepared myself in case of an emergency.

Moving here would be serious, but I couldn’t let Hera get hurt.

I had a mask just in case, so if things got really dangerous, I’d put it on and get out.

However, contrary to my expectations, Kai briefly shot an impolite glance at Hela and, without using any force, simply disappeared somewhere.

“……Someday, I will definitely make you my slave…”

He muttered in a voice so low that no one could hear.

As I watched Kai, I tried to suppress the anger bubbling inside me and remained calm.

Stay calm… It’s still too early to make contact with him here.

He hasn’t harmed Hela yet…

“……The most ominous element is the protagonist…”

As expected of a dark game world. I lightly looked up at the sky.