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Chapter 53
Heran’s gaze landed carelessly on Adrian’s face, which was flushed red and melting like wax.
“Why are you so out of it today? Are you sick or something?”
“I don’t know. It’s hot.”
Adrian’s reply made Heran look puzzled.
“You think this weather is hot?”
“Yeah… it’s so hot I’m going crazy.”
“It’s still spring.”
“Spring, midsummer, whatever! I’m burning up here!”
Adrian, who had been giving half-hearted answers, eventually frowned in irritation at the repeated questions.
Jaeylin, the only one who knew the real cause of Adrian’s strange condition, stepped in to explain.
She didn’t want unnecessary conflict to break out between Adrian and the teammates who misunderstood his attitude.
“Uh… Adrian’s magic seems to have a problem. He’s been saying he’s hot all the time since a little while ago.”
Heran suddenly reached out toward Adrian’s forehead. Adrian’s eyes sharpened instantly at the intrusive touch into his personal space.
“What the hell?”
“Just wait. Hold still.”
Healing-type mana spread from Heran’s hand, sweeping through Adrian’s body.
The unpleasant sensation of someone else’s mana rummaging freely inside him made Adrian frown.
Heran’s mana seeped everywhere within Adrian, but the heat he felt did not change in the slightest.
After a while, Heran finally removed his hand and shook his head.
“It’s a mana mutation. Nothing I can do.”
“You wanna die? If you mess around in someone else’s body, you’d better fix it back to normal at least!”
“Oops, sorryyy.”
Heran exaggeratedly bowed his head, muttering in a tone completely devoid of genuine regret, no matter how much Adrian snapped.
“Then won’t that cause problems during the exam? How are we supposed to enter the test hall with him staggering like that?”
Iliana showed no interest at all in Adrian’s suffering, worrying only about the upcoming exam.
Adrian never expected his teammates to worry about him, but Iliana openly caring only about the test made him laugh bitterly.
“I don’t know. How should I know?”
Lionel, who had already experienced mana mutation, answered Iliana’s question.
“With mana mutation, you usually suffer for two weeks to a month. You should be fine by the time the exam comes.”
“Two weeks? How am I supposed to last two weeks like this?”
Adrian couldn’t believe Lionel’s words. He could barely endure it now—two weeks was unthinkable.
“The minimum is two weeks. Looking at you now, it might last longer. Maybe about a month?”
“What? You mean I have to stay like this for a month?”
“There’s no cure for mana mutation. Your mana has grown too fast and tangled up. The only thing you can do is endure it until it resets.”
Adrian’s face twisted at Lionel’s answer.
“Damn it. Of all things, why this? Screw my life.”
“The exam won’t be affected, but having Adrian as leader might be tough. Better if Lionel just takes the lead. Don’t you agree?”
Nathan looked around at the others. Nobody seemed particularly concerned about Adrian’s pain.
Lionel at least lowered his brows and gave a sympathetic smile, but it was only surface-level.
Normally, Adrian would have barked back, telling him to wipe that fake expression off his face, or raged about being laughed at while in pain. But today he didn’t even have the strength.
He just pressed his burning cheeks against the cold marble desk, exhaling hot breaths.
“So all you care about is the exam. Whether I drop dead or not, huh? If I can’t take the test, you’ll kill me yourselves?”
At Adrian’s sarcasm, Heran replied without batting an eye.
“Adrian, is that what you wanted? Aww, baby, are you hurting bad?”
“God, stop. That’s disgusting.”
Adrian grimaced, frowning.
“You should’ve been tougher. What, you want us to worry about you?”
Iliana smirked, mocking him as well.
“Forget it. I’d rather die than be sick like this.”
“You’re an important asset to the team, that’s why. Don’t take it personally.”
At Lionel’s mediation, Adrian weakly waved a hand and buried his face in the desk again.
Deciding enough opinions had been exchanged, Lionel stepped up to organize things.
“Then, is it okay if I take over as team leader this time?”
Iliana was the first to shrug and agree.
“Of course.”
The others also agreed to Lionel being leader.
Thus, Lionel became the leader for the mock class’s final exam.
“Alright then. I’ll take care of things until the exam is over.”
Once the leader was decided, Lionel immediately began the meeting. Already familiar with the exam contents, he spoke fluidly about what needed to be discussed.
“First, everyone needs to know that in this final exam, not all team members can enter the arena together.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Nathan, flipping through the assignment sheet, was startled. Lionel was right.
“What the—so we don’t enter as a group, but get dropped in six random separate locations?”
“Exactly. So at the start, survival depends only on individual ability. They want to test not only teamwork but also whether you can survive alone when isolated.”
“Ugh. The Academy professors really can’t stand to see us relax, can they?”
Iliana sighed loudly, grumbling.
“The first big hurdle is making sure the non-combat team members survive the opening phase, while regrouping quickly and efficiently.”
Nathan raised a question at Lionel’s words.
“If we’re dropped in different places, does that mean we can use the community this time? In the midterms, it was restricted.”
“Yes. Like you said, this time we can use the community. Otherwise, we’d never even find each other.”
“True. Without it, we might never meet up until the hologram arena ends.”
Nathan nodded in agreement.
“So, the drop points are random across the entire arena?”
Heran asked, but Lionel shook his head.
“No. It’s random among portals located at the Red Swamp and the mouth of the Tigris River. For me, Adrian, Nathan, and Iliana—combat types—it shouldn’t be a big problem. Jaeylin might have trouble regrouping, though. Heran, you’ll manage, right?”
“If it’s just the Red Swamp and Tigris River, the monsters aren’t that high-level. I should be able to hold out until I regroup.”
In fact, healing majors didn’t even need to take mock battle classes.
Heran was an exception. Aiming to become a front-line battle healer, he had chosen this class. He could handle most low-level monsters alone.
“What about you, Jaeylin? Think you can manage?”
Lionel’s gaze turned to her.
“Uh, I…”
Jaeylin trailed off. She didn’t know how to answer.
She had no idea what monsters appeared at the Red Swamp or Tigris River, or what the terrain was like. Even if she did, what difference would it make? Whenever a monster stood in front of her, her whole body froze and her mind went blank.
At that moment, Iliana let out a playful whistle.
“From what I saw when you blasted that Kelastine during midterms, I’d say you’ll be fine. Don’t you think?”
Jaeylin’s face flushed at the sudden compliment.
“Th-that was just because everything lined up perfectly… and the Kelastine wasn’t even attacking me, so I had time to draw the schematics.”
“So it’s tough for you to deal with a monster right in front of you? Even weak ones?”
“Y-yeah. If it’s right there, it’s hard to focus, so drawing is… um, difficult.”
“Hm. What about setting up a barrier to hold out until one of us arrives? Can you manage that much?”
Nathan, who had fought alongside her in the midterms and knew her abilities somewhat, asked.
Jaeylin shook her head.
“I-I don’t have that much mana. Maintaining a defensive barrier would be too much.”
“Ah, right. I forgot about your mana capacity.”
Nathan scratched the back of his head sheepishly, as if just remembering.
“We’ll need to think more about this part. For now, Jaeylin, study the terrain and monsters that appear in those areas. The rest of you already know enough, so analyze the team’s abilities and suggest monsters we’d be better off facing.”
Everyone nodded in agreement—except Adrian, who looked completely spaced out.
“That’s all for today.”
As Lionel wrapped up the meeting, Adrian finally lifted his head.
“Meeting’s over?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’m leaving.”
Before Lionel could even finish, Adrian leapt up and stormed out of the classroom.
His speed was unbelievable for someone who had been slumped over the whole time.
“Is he really sick? He’s moving fast enough.”
Iliana stared at the classroom door he disappeared through, lips twisted in disbelief.
One by one, Iliana, Heran, Nathan, and Lionel left, until Jaeylin too slowly gathered her belongings.
Her movements were far more sluggish than usual.
