CHAPTER 67 - ACT 1 (4)

“So what are everyone's strengths? We kind of need to figure these things out if we don’t want to fail.”

Those were the words Soren spoke as their team sat awkwardly in the waiting room.

Due to the size of the labyrinth and the total number of teams, only a limited number were allowed in at a time.

While those students were inside the labyrinth, everyone else would be waiting outside for their turn.

Soren’s group were scheduled to go in last, along with both Alex’s group and Amelia alone.

There were a total of 375 students participating in the exam, which left three students without a group after everything was sorted, those being the top students from each department.

Those three students wouldn’t be placed in a group; instead, they would be sent into the exam alone.

It might have seemed unfair, but those who held the status of rank 1 were truly monsters, as was evident through Amelia.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that Soren was entering at the same time as the main characters was yet to be seen; after all, he still needed to make his plan work.

“My speciality is defensive magic. I can use some intermediate magic too, but it drains my mana fast, so I’d rather hold off unless necessary.”

“Swordsmanship, not much else. I can use mana enhancement, but it only lasts for a couple of hits, then I’m out.”

Soren nodded at Felix and Yuli’s words, then turned towards Lyra, who had yet to respond.

“Why are you looking at me? You haven’t said anything either?” Lyra said with a hostile gaze.

“Fine, my speciality is moving while casting. I’m decent with an axe, but don’t know many techniques. Finally, I can use some divine power, but not much.”

Yuli’s tongue clicked as he listened to Soren’s explanation of his abilities, the envy in his eyes apparent.

“So, Lyra, what about you? I know you’re upset that you’re the only girl, but since you’re a priest, we need you here, and if you don’t help, we’ve got no chance.”

Soren’s words, while slightly exaggerated, were honest.

Without the support of a decent priest, their entire team could fall apart fast.

Be it [Heal], [Divine Barrier], or even [Minor Blessing], all skills located under the divine power branch were a must-have for any team making its way through a labyrinth.

“...I don’t really have a speciality,” Lyra muttered, leaving Soren with a slightly awkward expression.

“Well… can you at least tell us your abilities? Even if you don’t have a speciality, you must at least be a decent priest to make it into class D.”

“I can do all of the basics, that’s about it though.”

“So you can use [Heal], [Detox], [Divine Barrier] and [Minor Blessing], right?”

Lyra nodded in response.

“Then that’s all we need,” Soren said, causing Lyra’s head to snap towards him in surprise. “If you look at our team composition, our best student is a defensive mage, and our second-best is a priest. With a composition like this, even if our frontliners are slightly lacking, we should be fine.”

Soren’s words were the truth.

The difficulty of the labyrinth, while high enough to be a challenge for students of all classes, was designed to be beatable by every group if they put in the effort.

Soren turned his attention back towards the other two team members.

“Next, we need to decide roles and positions. Any ideas?”

Felix was the only one to speak up.

“That’s easy, isn’t it? Lyra and I will be in the middle, then one of you will be on each side of us.”

Soren rolled his eyes at Felix’s words.

“Obviously, but what I was asking was who goes where.”

“Yo, Yuli?” Felix turned towards Yuli and spoke casually, causing Yuli’s eyebrow to twitch slightly.

“What is it?”

“What’s your experience? Have you ever fought outside of the academy?”

“No, but what’s your point?”

Without bothering to answer, Felix turned back towards Soren with a grin on his face.

“There you have it, you’ll be taking the lead, little hedgehog.”

‘This guy…’

Soren understood what Felix was trying to say.

Soren had experience in real, life-or-death battles, unlike Yuli, making him a much better frontliner, even if his abilities were slightly weaker.

‘But couldn’t he have explained it better?’ Soren thought as he let out a sigh.

“I get what you mean, so let's go with that. Sorry, Yuli, but you get it, right?”

“Whatever,” Yuli said curtly as he turned his head away.

* ••✦ ♡ ✦•••

A few hours of awkward silence, occasionally broken by Felix and Soren talking, had passed.

During those hours, not much of note had occurred; Yuli remained in an agitated state, while Lyra kept her guard up the entire time.

There was only a single thing that had happened that was even worth mentioning.

Soren turned his gaze to his side; there, hovering in the air, was a silver window displaying text.

Although he had fully expected it to appear, given the pattern of quests he had received thus far, that didn’t make him pleased to see it.

.

▶ Main Quest: First Steps (3) ◀

[Details: Successfully complete the final exam.]

[Difficulty: A]

[Reward: Unique Skill Awakening, 300 Points.]

[Penalty: Death.]

.

It was the first time he had received a quest with such a harsh punishment, but given what was about to take place, it made complete sense.

‘Let’s just be glad there’s a reward.’

With the subject of the quest being to complete the exam, it could have easily given him a penalty and nothing else, since either way, he would have no choice but to complete it if he wanted to survive.

Still, fortunately, he had been offered a reward, and a substantial one at that.

[Group 3, please prepare to enter the labyrinth.]

‘It’s time.’ Soren thought to himself as he audibly gulped.

Today was the day; if Soren failed, then he had no idea how things would go afterwards, but he could only assume that it wouldn’t be a positive outcome for himself.

He went back over his goals in his mind as he pulled Bloodrop and Labrys from his inventory, clipping the earrings in and tightening his grip on the handaxe.

Soren noticed the people around him giving him curious glances at two relics he had equipped, but he paid them no mind.

“Is everyone ready?” He asked as he turned to his team, receiving a nod from each member in return.

‘It’s lucky that I’m the frontliner.’

Ordinarily, Soren would have avoided such a significant role, as it meant being at the forefront of the team, in other words, its leader.

However, right now he was happy about it; if not for that, it would have been impossible to give instructions to his team as the lowest-ranked member.

After thoroughly stretching his body, the person in charge spoke once more.

[Group 3, you will now be entering the labyrinth. Please stand in front of one of the doors and wait until we grant permission for you to enter.]

As Soren’s team took their place before one of the doors, he felt a tug on his sleeve.

Turning around, he saw Lyra wearing an anxious expression.

“Is something wrong?” Soren asked.

“I-It’s… Nothing.”

The grip holding the sleeve of his cloak weakened, and Lyra took a few steps back with her head facing the ground.

Soren wanted to say something, knowing full well that if she held things in, it would only affect their results.

But just as he was about to speak, a voice echoed throughout the area once more.

[As all teams are now in place, you may open the door before you when you are ready. I wish you all luck.]

Click

Teams rushed to open the door before them as fast as they could, knowing that if they stood there for even a second longer, they would only be wasting time that they could spend upping their scores.

“I- Uh, let’s go, I guess.”

Unable to ask now that the situation had changed, Soren instead opened the door with an awkward smile.

As each member passed through the doorway, their mouths hung open, slack-jawed.

They had just been standing in an empty field, not far from the academy, and yet after passing through a single door, their surroundings had entirely changed.

Before them lay a stone-brick corridor, wide enough to accommodate at least seven people standing in a line, the moss and cracks lending the environment an aged appearance.

“Wow.”

Soren couldn’t help but let out an exclamation of awe.

He knew how powerful a figure the principal of Stellaris Academy was, but seeing it in person created a completely different feeling.

Tap tap

He walked over to the wall and tapped on it with his handaxe, curious as to how Dorothy had put all of this together.

“What are you doing?” Yuli asked, scoffing at Soren’s innocent appearance.

“Oh, sorry. I was just surprised.” Soren took a step back from the wall with a sheepish grin before directing his gaze towards the long corridor set out before them. “Should we start?”

“Tch, can this guy really lead us?”

Although Yuli grumbled, he still got into formation with the rest of the team.

Once all preparations were complete, they finally set off.

The final exam had begun.

————「❤︎」————

Author's Note - I added a 'Temporary Character Design' chapter that has picrews of each important character to give a general idea of how each character looks :)