Up until now, I've been like a blunt sword.
A blade with no edge.
A sword that can't cut its opponent.
But now, things are different.
I've sharpened my blade, and it stands keen and ready.
"The midterm exams are over."
This was my first midterm since becoming the student council president.
To be honest, since I hadn't been in this role for long before these midterms, the responsibilities hadn't really been much of a problem.
I was also serving as an assistant for Professor Gracie, but I was still in the learning phase, so there wasn’t much work to do.
Thus, I had ample time to study.
I felt like I studied harder for this exam than any other before.
Now as a second-year student, the volume of my studies and the complexity of the content had increased.
It was only natural that I worked harder than in my first year.
But the me of now is different.
I was a blade, sharpened to cut Evan.
A sword honed to perfection.
So, there should be nothing I couldn't cut...
No.
There shouldn't have been.
The next day.
[
Evan 2. Luna Railer 3. Rie Von Ristonia 4. Rudy Astria
...]
"Huh?"
I tilted my head.
"What??"
Something was off.
No, this was wrong.
How could this have happened?
I blinked several times in disbelief.
"Rudy... Are you okay?"
Luna, who sat next to me, asked with a concerned look.
"Ah, um... Yeah... I’m... I’m fine."
Surprisingly, I ranked lower than when I had deliberately tried to score below Evan.
It was ironic, I had been closer to Evan when I was a 'blunt sword'.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Of course, I knew Luna and Rie had studied diligently.
But seeing a rank lower than usual after promising myself the top spot was quite a blow.
As I gazed at my score sheet, disheartened, a voice called out.
"Hey! Luna! Professor Mcguire wants to see you!"
It was someone calling out to Luna.
"Oh, um... Rudy! I'll be right back! I promise I'll be quick!"
"It's okay... Take your time..."
"I'll be super quick! Wait for me in the student council room!"
Luna quickly dashed towards Professor Mcguire's office.
I watched Luna's retreating figure and slowly trudged to the student council room.
"Ah, senior."
A voice called out to me.
It was Yuni.
I looked at her with weary eyes.
Yuni's eyes seemed to question, "What's wrong with him?" before she spoke.
"Professor Gracie said she has something later and asked you to come."
"Oh... Is that so?"
I responded weakly.
Yuni tilted her head, puzzled.
"Why do you look so down?"
"It's just something that happened..."
"What is it?"
"It's just... something."
"What is it? Tell me!"
Yuni shook me lightly, trying to get an answer.
I sighed and shared my concerns about the exam results.
"Pffft! You're sulking over a low score? The mighty Rudy is upset about that?"
Yuni held her stomach and laughed as if she found the situation hilariously absurd.
On any other day, I would've snapped at such a petty taunt, but today, I just wasn't in the mood.
"So, what rank did you get? You're laughing, but where did you place?"
The Yuni I knew wasn't particularly sharp.
She often came across as naïve.
To put it nicely, she was straightforward, but sometimes seemed a tad clueless.
Also a little unpredictable.
That's the kind of person she was.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})“I ranked second.”
“...What?”
I stared at Yuni in disbelief.
“Second place.”
“...”
She claims to be 2nd.
The second seat of the first year.
This very girl.
I wanted to slam my fist on the ground and ask how that was even possible.
“Heh... And you, senior? What's your rank?"
With a mischievous grin, Yuni looked up at me, waiting for an answer.
“Ugh…”
Her question was like a dagger to the heart.
Though we're from different grades, I had nothing to say in return.
I was consistently the second seat during my first year as well.
In that aspect, I wasn't any better than her.
I sighed.
“Fine… Just go and tell Professor Gracie I'll be a bit late due to student council stuff.”
“Okay~!”
With a bright smile, Yuni walked off.
I then entered the student council room.
No one else was there.
It seemed I was the first to arrive.
"Ah..."
I slouched into a chair.
'I can't give up just because of this.'
The first midterm of the second year just ended.
But there were still many exams ahead.
The first semester of the second year wasn't over.
There were also the final exams, so there was still a chance to top the class.
However...
“The problem is, it’s almost impossible...”
Evan had nearly scored perfect marks.
But this time, I ranked fourth.
To surpass him, not only would I need to be perfect, but Evan would also need to slip.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Reaching the top in the usual way seemed almost out of reach.
I ran my fingers through my hair, then lifted my head.
"Guess I should process these documents..."
There was no point in pondering now.
I had to do what needed to be done.
I started sorting through the pile of papers on the desk.
While skimming through them, a particular document caught my eye.
"Northern... support..."
I recalled a lecture from Magical Beast Studies.
The monster attacks that happen every four years.
Reading the document, one detail stood out:
Students who volunteer for the Northern support will receive bonus points added to their academy grade.
My eyes widened.
A way to boost my grades.
There's always a way out, even in the direst situations.
And it seemed I had just found mine.
McDowell found himself in a damp, uncomfortably sticky, confined space.
It felt rather ironic that the Academy's renowned principal would be in such a place.
Nevertheless, he maneuvered with an air of familiarity.
From his vantage point, McDowell looked down.
Below him was a man with black hair — a man known as the leader of the Rebels.
In front of this leader lay a woman, covered in wounds, blood spilling from her mouth, suggesting she had been tortured.
She was still conscious.
"Hmm... She’s quite resilient,"
The leader of the Rebels mused, seated comfortably as he stroked his chin, observing the woman.
The bloodied woman was none other than Yeniel.
With a subtle nod from the leader, a burly man beside him fetched a red-hot iron.
"To think you've become a pawn of the nobility... How pitiful."
As the leader spoke, another man pressed the heated iron against Yeniel's back.
"AAARGHHH!!"
Yeniel let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Regret surged within McDowell, wishing he hadn't sent Yeniel back to The Rebels.
Concerned over her prolonged absence, McDowell had briefly visited the Rebel's hideout.
Yet, as soon as McDowell arrived, the Rebel leader, seemingly anticipating him, summoned Yeniel to his side.
And the torture began.
It was a trap.
Anyone could see that.
But why had this trap been set?
McDowell couldn't understand.
'Did he know I was coming?'
How did they find out that Yeniel was acting as a double agent?
There were many aspects that didn't add up.
Once the iron was removed from Yeniel's body, she gasped for air.
The leader, with an impassive gaze, pulled out a pocket watch from within his robes.
He sighed after glancing at it briefly.
"Perhaps slitting her throat will do..."
The leader mumbled as he stood up and drew his blade, slowly advancing towards Yeniel.
Letting out a sigh, McDowell extended his hand.
From his bracelet, a radiant light emerged, forming a golden staff in his hand.
The staff.
An instrument that enhanced a wizard's mana several folds.
If a swordsman's weapon was the sword, for a wizard, it was the staff.
Raising the staff above his head, McDowell intoned,
"Radiance."
Bright light shot from the staff's tip, striking the ground.
Kwaang!
The emitted light burst outwards in a blinding explosion.
Flash magic.
McDowell's signature spell.
A unique magic possessed almost exclusively by McDowell.
This magic was challenging to control, and each casting was massive in scale.
Hence, the mana consumed was significant, making it a spell not just anyone could wield.
The moment the light touched the ground, McDowell burst out from his concealed spot.
He quickly moved forward.
"Body Enhancement."
McDowell chanted.
A strong gust of dust rose from the light's explosion, and he dashed through it, heading straight for Yeniel.
The light began to consume everything, and McDowell tried to save Yeniel before it could reach her.
However, she was gone.
Yeniel, who had been lying on the ground, had disappeared.
"You finally show yourself."
To his side, a black-haired man holding a sword appeared – the Leader of the Rebels.
McDowell's expression hardened upon seeing him.
As the Leader prepared to swing his sword, McDowell quickly extended his staff.
"Lightning Shock."
ZZZZAP!
Lightning Shock was a basic spell of lightning magic.
However, McDowell's casting was far more powerful than most spells of its kind.
As the lightning was about to strike the Leader, an unexpected word escaped his lips.
"Barrier."
Zing!
The lightning was effortlessly deflected by the barrier that formed in front of the Leader.
With a swing of his sword, the leader dispelled the surrounding dust clouds, allowing McDowell to get a clear look at him.
A young man with jet-black hair.
In one hand, he wielded his sword, and in the other, he clutched a pocket watch.
"Tch…"
McDowell clicked his tongue.
He had assumed the man was a swordsman because of the sword, but he was a wizard.
And a highly skilled one at that…
McDowell glanced at the Leader's feet.
Yeniel lay there, pinned under the Leader's boot.
"Did the esteemed academy principal really think he could hide like a rat?"
He taunted with a smirk.
"I apologize for that. But could you lift your filthy foot? My daughter might find it uncomfortable."
The Leader, with a look of confusion, responded,
"...Daughter? Since when did Yeniel become your daughter?"
"Once they enter the academy, all students become like sons and daughters to me."
McDowell declared.
The Leader paused, seemingly taken aback by McDowell's statement, then burst into laughter.
McDowell, staring intently at the laughing Leader, spoke again.
"I asked you to move your foot. Should I cut off that leg?"
With a hint of amusement in his eyes, the Leader replied,
"Then, I suppose I'll have to cut off your arm in return."
McDowell pointed his staff forward.
In anticipation, the Leader pressed a button on the pocket watch he held and raised his sword.
"Let's see what you can do."
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