TRPM 291

chapter 291

I moved to the Association branch, which had been designated as the testing site for the final exams.

… It wasn’t even a college entrance exam, just a regular final exam, yet for some reason the Association branch was chosen as the venue.

“I heard that during the last midterms, a student tried to cheat using their awakened ability and got caught.”

Because of that, this time the finals were scheduled to be taken simultaneously by every specialized high school for Awakeners across the country. To prevent cheating, not only high schools but also nearby elementary and middle schools, as well as Association branches and guild buildings, had been converted into temporary exam sites.

“…This didn’t happen before my regression…”

Sure, cheating was nothing new—students always overestimated themselves—but moving the exam out of school classrooms and into places like Association branches was definitely a first for me.

“Isn’t this a bit much for just a final exam?”
“My thoughts exactly.”

I had that conversation with Elena in front of the Association branch.

Among my classmates, the only one assigned to this branch with me was Elena. Everyone else had been scattered across other test sites. In fact, even Elena and I were in the same building but would still end up in different rooms.

As I thought that, I looked around.

“Lots of familiar faces… but plenty I don’t recognize too.”

Some were from my school but different classes, while others weren’t from my school at all—but I knew them from the Academy in my previous life, so it felt like I knew them unilaterally.

“Ah, even upperclassmen are here. Well, makes sense. It’s not just our grade taking these exams.”

After checking things over, I went to the guideboard posted in the lobby to see where my exam room was.

“Let’s see… Dungeon Management Department conference room? Oh right, that’s the department that records dungeon locations in the app when they appear and verifies them after they’re cleared, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t a very large department… so the conference room probably wasn’t big either.

“Shall we meet back here after the exam?”
“Yeah, let’s do that. The test ends at 12:30, so we can grab lunch afterward.”

Elena said that and headed off toward her assigned room.

I also went toward the Dungeon Management conference room I had checked earlier.

“…Yep, pretty small.”

Still, it had been set up with desks and chairs for the exam. Only three of them, though.

“…Wait, what?”

The room was small, sure, but only three students assigned here? Looking around…

“…”

The other conference rooms seemed similar. Some had as few as three people, others maybe six.

What on earth were they thinking, assigning rooms like this? Sure, it would definitely prevent cheating, but wouldn’t they need far more proctors to control so many tiny exam rooms?

“…The education office must know what they’re doing.”

If they’d gone to the trouble of preparing things like this, it must have been feasible. With that, I sat at my assigned seat—of course, seating was prearranged.

“Oooh…!”

As I was resting, the door opened and a foreign boy walked in. His eyes lit up when he saw me.

“You’re the Artist, right?! I can’t believe I’m in the same room as you!”
“…”

I knew who he was. His face had literally been on the news yesterday.

“…The Druid.”
“Yes! I’m Oliver, a Druid!”

A Druid from Australia who controlled kangaroos. The disciple of the Druid who had protected Sydney.

“If I remember right, he’s only a year older than me.”

Since he naturalized in Korea, of course he’d enroll in a Korean specialized high school for Awakeners. And since these finals were being held jointly for all such schools, it wasn’t strange he was here.

“Wow… of all things, I have to take the exam with celebrities like this?”

Another foreign student, a young woman, had entered quietly at some point and was staring at us in surprise.

“…Huh?”

I recognized her too.

“And you are…?”
“Not many people know me. But Artist, you know who I am, don’t you?”

When Oliver asked, she instead turned the question to me.

“The Shadow Sorceress.”
“Yes, that’s me. But please, just call me Violet from now on.”

She had once been one of the elite operatives stationed at the organization’s lunar outpost. Unlike the others, she had been kidnapped and turned into an experimental subject before becoming elite to survive. Since her crimes weren’t severe, the Night Eagle Guild had taken her under protection.

She had even participated in the recent operation against the supremacists. I had assumed she was an adult.

“You’re a high schooler?”
“I hadn’t been attending school before, but now I’m in my third year.”

I nodded at her answer.

After that, the room grew quieter. Unlike me, Oliver and Violet were nervous about the exam and had pulled out textbooks and notes to skim through.

“Well, they’ve only been in Korea a short while.”

Though to be fair, even Korean-born students often cracked open their books before tests.

Still…

“I think I get why they assigned us like this.”

I was a first-year. Oliver was a second-year. Violet was a third-year.

Since we were in different grades, we’d all be taking different tests. Naturally, it was impossible to copy from each other. Other exam rooms were probably assigned the same way—students from different grades together, or if in the same grade, seated far apart.

“Just how bad was that cheating attempt during midterms that they went to this length?”

I was genuinely curious.

Clunk.

As I was waiting for the exam to start, the door opened. And this time, I saw more familiar faces.

“You’re all here already?”
“…Why am I supervising an exam…?”
“…So sleepy…”

Shin Han-ji, director of Seoul High Academy.
Shin Chae-gun, guildmaster of Night Eagle.
Song Eun-ji, guildmaster of Cleaner Guild.

“…What the—?”
“Uh…”
“Guildmaster?”

Oliver, Violet, and I couldn’t help but gape. These were all either Aura Masters or Archmages. And they were here to proctor our exam?

“Strange to see us here? Simply put, it’s because without proctors of our caliber, cheating would be impossible to prevent.”

Of course, it wasn’t as if the three of us would definitely cheat…

“Student Geon-woo, stronger than any of us here. Student Oliver, controlling kangaroos in real time. Student Violet, with stealth abilities that even skilled Awakeners can’t detect.”

Director Shin Han-ji explained calmly.

“To monitor whether the three of you cheat, it requires at least people on our level.”

She added that in places where other top talents like Archmage Ha-eun were taking exams, similarly strong proctors had been dispatched.

“…I see.”

It felt like overkill, but if Director Shin Han-ji had judged this necessary, she must have had her reasons. Still…

“…Th-these are… such important people…”
“Guildmaster… is seriously going to watch me take a test…?”

Oliver looked like he was reliving trauma—he trembled as if remembering the time he’d lost control of his kangaroos under pressure from high-ranking figures. Violet seemed crushed at the thought of taking an exam under the gaze of her own guildmaster.

“At this rate, they won’t be able to concentrate on the test.”
“True enough.”

Director Shin Han-ji turned to Song Eun-ji.

“…You want me to do it?”
“Shall I, then?”
“No, no… I’ll do it. Sigh…”

Song Eun-ji sighed and cast her magic.

“…If I recall correctly, her specialty is…”

Illusion magic. Magic that deceives the senses. And…

“…There. Until the exam ends, you’ll all perceive us as ordinary proctors.”

Her illusions were strong enough not only to create visions but to temporarily alter memory itself—as long as the target was weaker than her.

“Good. Now we can rest—”
“We still have to proctor.”
“…Right. Sigh…”

I knew Song Eun-ji as someone chronically lazy, but in front of Director Shin Han-ji, she clearly couldn’t slack off.

“Well, considering their ages, Song Eun-ji must have been just a student when Han-ji was already director…”

“…Student Geon-woo?”
“Yes?”
“You shouldn’t mention a lady’s age, you know?”
“…”

I hadn’t said it out loud. Just thought it.

“That’s right—Director Shin Han-ji has always had a knack for reading people.”

It wasn’t magic or psychic powers, just her uncanny ability to read unconscious body language and microexpressions.

When we were in Japan, she’d even used it to see right through Yeon Mirae and Arthur.

[(You two haven’t had much experience with this kind of bluff, have you? Take it as a lesson and be more careful next time.)]
[(When I mentioned the name ‘Artist,’ you subconsciously flexed your arm. If you want to hide something or lie in the future, watch out for little giveaways like that.)]

She had seen through them entirely just from a glance and a twitch of muscle. That was how she discovered that I was Artist.

“…Hmm.”

Still, it annoyed me to just sit there and take it. Maybe I should tease her a little.

“Sorry. I’ll be more careful in the future, Director Shinmal—”

Before I could finish,

Clap!

Director Shin Han-ji instantly cast Haste at maximum output, rushed forward, and clamped a hand over my mouth.

“…Student Geon-woo…? Don’t you think that joke went a little too far?”

She was sweating bullets, desperately silencing me.

Well, that made sense…

“I was about to say her real name, after all.”

That is—

“Director Shinmal-ttong.”