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Chapter 113: Final Evaluation (3)

“We’re done for…”

“No, seriously, how are we supposed to fight and win against the professors?”

“Can’t we just give up on the exam?”

In front of the warp that leads inside the ruins.

The candidates, grouped by party, looked as if they were heading to a funeral, even before the test had begun.

“Alright, everyone, enough chit-chat.”

Professor Lucas glanced at the candidates and continued speaking.

“When I say fight and win, I really mean you just need to hold out for a while. We’ll give you the token as long as you manage that much, so don’t worry too much.”

“Th-Then, can we just run away instead of fighting?!”

“Of course, you can. But.”

Professor Lucas glanced down at the trembling candidate\'s thighs with a smirk.

“That’s only if you can keep running after your legs are broken.”

“……”

“Hahaha! I’m just kidding! Go on, get into the warp!”

Like livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse, the candidates trudged towards the warp.

“We should get going too.”

I gestured toward the warp and looked back at my party.

Unlike their usual candidate uniforms, the party members were dressed in practical gear for actual combat.

Iris in her white priestess robe, adorned with holy relics.

Camilla in her thin metal armor, with a long claymore strapped to her back.

And Yurina—formerly Yuren—wearing a leather armor for ease of movement, with a sword made from a unicorn\'s horn hanging at her waist.

‘Wow, just looking at them makes me feel secure.’

A healer, a paladin, a swordswoman.

And me, an all-rounder who can handle both close combat and ranged magic.

It was an ideal combination, something you wouldn’t expect from the crude environment of a hero academy.

“Uh, um! Everyone, le-let’s do our best!”

Well, except for one person.

“Of course, I might hold everyone back… but I’ll do whatever I can!”

Albert gripped the hilt of his sword and trembled from head to toe.

I walked over to the visibly nervous Albert and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry so much, just relax. Didn’t Professor Lucas just say it? It’s not about who’s in your party.”

“Th-thanks, Dale.”

Albert gave me a slightly more relaxed smile, nodding his head repeatedly.

“…That’s unexpected.”

Camilla crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, looking at me suspiciously.

“What’s unexpected?”

“I’m just surprised that you’re capable of being kind to others.”

“…What kind of person do you think I am?”

Well, to be fair, Camilla’s assessment wasn’t entirely wrong.

I’m generally not the type to be kind to others.

But.

‘Looking at Albert reminds me of my old self.’

Seeing him shrinking back, worried that he might make a mistake and get scolded for being in a party that’s beyond his abilities—it was like looking at the old me.

‘Back then, no one ever said a kind word to me.’

Maybe it’s just some half-hearted sympathy.

But at least, I didn’t want anyone to experience the same horrible memories I had.

“I’ll do my best to find something I can contribute!”

Albert clenched his fists and shouted with determination.

I chuckled and turned around.

There stood the rest of my party, waiting for me.

‘In the past, I used to be the one following behind.’

But now, it’s different.

“Let’s go.”

I took the lead, stepping into the warp gate.

* * *

A flash of blackened vision.

My sight flipped as I felt a floating sensation, as if my body were lifted off the ground.

“Ugh…”

“…This feeling never gets easier to deal with.”

Camilla and Iris, having finished the warp, held their heads and grimaced.

The experience of warping affected everyone differently, much like motion sickness.

In extreme cases.

“Urgh, ughhh!”

People like Albert ended up vomiting.

“You okay?”

“Ugh… S-sorry.”

“Here, drink some water. It’ll help you feel better.”

“…Dale.”

Albert accepted the canteen I offered him, his eyes watering.

“Just like the map showed, this place is enormous.”

Yurina was surveying the surroundings with her hand always near her sword hilt.

Just as she said, the ruins where the final evaluation was taking place were on a scale that couldn’t even be compared to the \'Cave of Red Tears\' we had explored before.

“It feels like we’ve stepped into an underground labyrinth.”

Iris, now recovered from the warp\'s aftereffects, slowly looked around beside me.

The towering rock formations, like spires, in the vast underground space made it feel as though we’d entered a giant subterranean maze, just as she had described.

“So, where do we go now?”

Camilla looked around at the party members and asked.

“Give me a moment. Let’s first figure out where we are.”

I turned on my Hero Watch.

Bzzz.

A holographic map appeared, projected in midair, identical to the one Professor Lucas had shown us in the classroom.

A yellow dot indicated our party’s current location on the map.

‘We’re slightly to the northwest of the center.’

Not a bad starting point.

After all, our goal was at the ‘northernmost’ point.

‘The last time a diamond-grade token was found was at the northern end of the ruins.’

Of course, the future had been constantly changing, so I couldn’t rely on my past life’s knowledge completely, but it was still worth investigating.

“Let’s move slowly and start by exploring the outskirts of the ruins.”

“You’re planning to investigate from the outer edge and move inward?”

“That’s the idea.”

It didn’t matter where we started; we’d eventually have to search the entire ruins to find the ‘hidden chamber.’

“Our target this time is, of course… the ‘diamond-grade’ token, right?”

Yuren turned towards me with a sly smile.

He must have remembered the time we competed over the unicorn during the midterm evaluation.

I stifled a small laugh and nodded.

“Of course.”

“Great. I’m in!”

Yuren nodded confidently, his expression full of determination.

I couldn’t help but smile wryly as I watched Yuren clench his fists, brimming with enthusiasm.

‘Now that his family issues are resolved, I thought he wouldn’t care as much about grades.’

Just as I was thinking that maybe I underestimated him—

“If our party gets first place this time… Dale, you can finally get out of that low rank, right?”

Yuren came up to me with sparkling eyes, grabbing my hands tightly.

“I’ll definitely make sure you get first place, Dale!”

“......”

Suddenly, Yuren... no, Yurina’s words from before flashed through my mind.

-You’re my sun now.

She had said that with a radiant smile.

As I recalled that moment, a faint chuckle escaped me.

‘...I really did underestimate things.’

Who would’ve thought Yurina’s motivation was to make me first place?

‘Well, at least she’s not obsessively trying to be first place like before.’

I looked at Yuren, who was still holding my hands and smiling brightly, and let out a quiet laugh.

Everything in moderation won’t cause harm, after all.

Besides, it’s only natural for cadets to strive for good grades.

“…That insolent brat.”

Then, a small voice grumbled beside me.

When I turned my head, I saw Iris pouting, her cheeks puffed out, as she yanked my hand out of Yuren’s grasp.

“I’ll also do whatever it takes to help you get first place, Dale!”

“Oh, uh, thanks, Iris.”

“Even if it means selling out the Seven Gods!”

“No.”

How could a saintess talk about selling the gods?

“Haa.”

Camilla massaged her temples, as if nursing a headache.

“…Let’s stop the farce and get moving.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I let go of Iris’s hand (Iris shot a sharp glare at Camilla for a moment), and we headed north, following the map.

‘If I remember correctly, there’s supposed to be a hidden space around here.’

Of course, I’d only heard vague rumors about the location in my previous life, so I didn’t know the exact spot since I hadn’t seen it for myself.

“Hey, Dale. Look over there.”

Yuren pointed between two towering cliffs.

“That… looks like smoke, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

Just as he said, black smoke was rising beyond the cliffs.

“Let’s check it out.”

“Yeah!”

When we reached the source of the smoke, what we saw was—

[Ch, Chizzz. Chizzzzz.]

[Error, Error.]

A valley littered with the smashed remains of dozens of guardian golems.

“H-hiii! Wh-what the hell is this?!”

Albert, seeing the scene before us, collapsed to the ground in shock.

While the rest of the party didn’t have as extreme a reaction as Albert, they were visibly shaken.

“Aren’t those the guardian golems the professor mentioned?”

“Y-yeah, I think so.”

“There must be dozens of them… Who the hell destroyed all of these golems?”

The party members furrowed their brows as they looked at the scattered remains of golems around the valley.

“......”

I, too, narrowed my eyes as I surveyed the debris.

‘There are no signs of a battle.’

Unless someone destroyed dozens of golems in the blink of an eye, it made no sense for there to be only the remains of golems without any other traces of combat.

‘It’s impossible for us to destroy this many golems without leaving a single mark.’

Which means—

Someone intentionally moved the golem remains here.

‘No way a cadet would pull off something like this.’

That leaves one possibility.

“Stay here for a moment.”

“O-okay.”

“Cover your ears.”

“…Huh?”

Leaving the puzzled party members behind, I moved to the center of the valley, where the golem debris was most concentrated.

“Hoo.”

I took a deep breath, gathering my mana.

I spread my hands wide, then clapped them together with all my strength.

Berald’s Martial Arts.

Thunderous Strike.

BOOOOM!

With a deafening roar, the golem remains scattered in all directions.

And in the spot where the debris had been blown away, there it was.

“Bingo.”

The entrance to a hidden chamber.