Chapter 12

I ended up in a cozy standoff, alone with the monster.

And that, with everyone watching, no less.

‘Just why!’

Boiling with resentment, I screamed inwardly at the top of my lungs.

So, the full story goes like this.

“I am Benjamin, the homeroom professor of Class F. My subject is Monstrology.”

He dragged us straight to the training hall on our first meeting and continued speaking quickly.

“However, from now on, there is only one thing you need to know about me.”

“……”

“I do not drag the weak along. Only the strong who are worthy of it will be able to keep up with my class.”

Benjamin swept his sharp gaze over us. At that, the Class F students’ spirits instantly deflated.

‘Ah, I remember now.’

This Professor Benjamin was an extreme ‘might-makes-right’ type.

He had the title of academy professor, but he wouldn’t even glance at those lacking in ability. He was the kind of professor who showed favoritism and taught only the capable students who met his standards.

Because of that, Theodore—the weakest in Class F—couldn’t even properly follow his classes and was abandoned. That was the setting.

‘He only paid attention to Theodore after he had grown.’

It meant that unless you developed to that extent, you couldn’t receive his attention.

If the person who had received his favoritism before Theodore was the top entrant Eleanor Sutton, that said it all.

‘Ah, he’s a character I really disliked…’

But for me, who needed to become valedictorian, each professor’s evaluation was absolutely critical. Whether I liked it or not.

I had no choice but to resolve myself to do my best to earn the homeroom professor’s attention.

But that resolve shattered into pieces with a single word from him.

“So, I plan to check right now how much skill you all have.”

Oh, I’m about to get attention in a different way?

I briefly recalled my arrows that dodged every target I shot at. Perhaps I could captivate his gaze with my astonishing evasion technique.

“You’ve all taken the combat support test, right? I will generate fake monsters through the same illusion magic circle as that. You will defeat the monster in groups.”

…Wait a minute.

So you’re going to run this like a real exam starting on entrance ceremony day?

‘Please give some warning before springing these things on us…!’

So I could at least prepare something on my end.

At the very least, prepare mentally!

Regardless, the homeroom professor began dividing us into groups at random. He roughly split us by class into groups of four or five, totaling eight groups.

And our Group 6 was…

“I-I’m Liam. My awakened class is warrior!”

“Ah, hello. I’m Jack, awakened as a rogue.”

The two boys in the same group introduced themselves, carefully avoiding my gaze.

‘How do I keep getting tangled up with these guys.’

They were at the center of the group that had been gossiping about me earlier.

Well, it wasn’t like I was particularly uncomfortable about it.

When I gave a rough nod and introduced myself, the boys seemed to realize I wasn’t that upset and raised their voices.

“A monster? I’ll block it all!”

“I’ll be the one to slay it, so just hold on a bit, Liam!”

“Haha!”

“Um, I awakened as a healer…”

A girl who was about to introduce herself last in our group spoke timidly, but her voice was buried by the two boys’ booming voices.

Meanwhile, the homeroom professor announced the start of this surprise test.

“Those judged incapacitated will be ejected outside the magic circle. Let’s start with Group 1.”

Group 1, consisting of five members, stood inside the magic circle with rather confident steps. They must have thought they’d be fine since they had experience taking the combat support test.

But the confidence drained the moment the monster sprang out.

“A-A giant bird…!”

It was a rank 3 monster, an Iron Giant Bird.

For reference, the monsters we faced in the entrance exam were at most rank 4 or 5. Those could be handled by knights through coordinated attacks even without awakened individuals.

But from rank 3 onward, it was a different story.

Rank 3 monsters couldn’t be faced unless you were an awakened individual with some degree of training—and the problem was that none of us had that level of skill.

If someone did, they’d have been assigned to an advanced class from the start!

“Kyaaak—!”

The Iron Giant Bird let out a long, terrible cry and violently flapped both wings, which were covered in steel instead of feathers.

At that, not just Group 1 but also the kids watching from outside the magic circle flinched and shrank back.

The result was obvious.

Two students were sent flying out of the magic circle by the bird’s talons right away, followed by another student who was struck by its hard wings.

Finally, the test ended quickly as two more students were bitten by its beak.

The homeroom professor, watching this, clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, pitiful.”

Even so, he didn’t stop the test.

And so Group 2, Group 3, Group 4…

In the end, with Groups 1 through 5 all wiped out, our turn finally came.

“Group 6!”

Our group entered the magic circle with faces like death.

A plan? There wasn’t one.

There was no time to make one, and even the monsters each group faced were randomized every time.

‘As long as there’s one more dealer besides me, we’ll manage somehow.’

I first drew my weapon. Lucy’s pure white bow appeared on the first day of school.

Soon the magic circle activated.

“Grrrr…”

A beast-type monster that looked like a half-dog, half-rhinoceros.

‘A single-horned hound!’

I remembered it clearly because it was a monster the protagonist fought in the original.

Of course, that one was also a rank 3 monster. Damn it.

I gripped my weapon tighter.

That huge monster looked like it could charge at me at any moment.

“I-I’ll block it!”

Liam, who had spat out a line that was extremely extra-like, stepped forward with his shield. Perhaps provoked by the sound, the monster barked menacingly and lowered its stance.

‘It’s charging!’

I dodged the single-horned hound as it lowered its horn and charged at us. The other students did the same.

But Liam, who had volunteered as our shield, was the exception.

“Come on!”

Kwabang—!

Just one collision.

But with that single blow, Liam was sent flying outside the magic circle.

‘Holy crap.’

Seeing it live, we all froze like a paused screen.

Having lost our main tank in an instant, our group was left with just two dealers and a healer.

“Woof woof—!”

There was no time to stand around.

Seeing it immediately searching for its next prey, I bit my lip hard. And I moved quickly to avoid being caught by the monster.

Perhaps because there were still many prey left, the monster didn’t charge at just one person like before.

It seemed to be testing us.

‘I have to land a hit while there are still people left!’

I recklessly shot arrows. Since I couldn’t trust my accuracy, I intended to overwhelm it with sheer volume.

Even amid this haphazard barrage, the monster kept closing in on me.

“Agh! Don’t come closer—!”

How can I not hit a single shot?

I was now skeptical of even shooting the bow at all.

Meanwhile, Jack, awakened as a rogue, managed to close in near the monster.

‘This is my chance!’

Jack swung his dagger hard at the monster’s head. The monster, which had been approaching me, could only react a beat late—

‘Th-This is crazy!’

Swish.

The single-horned hound turned its head, bit Jack’s dagger, and flung him away. The healer girl who happened to be next to Jack got swept up too, and both were ejected outside the magic circle simultaneously.

What the hell…

“Grrrr!”

And so I was left alone.

The single-horned hound looked at me as if it was my turn now, dripping saliva.

‘A weakness—there was definitely a weakness…!’

The protagonist faced it after already becoming strong, so he just dealt with it without worrying about weak points. But there was definitely a passing mention of its weakness.

‘Please, remember anything!’

The monster was already right in front of me.

Is this the end? Even knowing it was a fake monster, fear washed over me.

The single-horned hound opened its mouth wide as if about to bite me in one gulp.

Then, a passage from the original text flashed through my mind.

[…shouted.
“Lower your stance and aim for the inside of its mouth! The single-horned hound’s tongue root—”
Before his words could even finish, Theodore sliced the single-horned hound exactly in half.
“What?”
“N-Never mind. Do as you please.”
Theodore, with an incomprehensible expression…]

Tongue root!

Almost instinctively, I activated the Sharpshooter skill and created an arrow in my right hand.

Then, with my other hand, I grabbed the monster’s wide-open lower jaw and drove the arrow down hard.

“Kraaaah—!”

The monster let out an ear-piercing scream.

Thanks to the Sharpshooter skill, the critical hit landed properly, and the monster twisted in agony.

‘Ugh!’

If I let go now, it’s over.

In the single-horned hound’s final thrashing, my body shook wildly along with it. But I held onto the arrow and clung on desperately.

And finally.

The single-horned hound, after its last struggle, collapsed with a thud.

The ‘illusion’ magic circle has been deactivated.

As the monster fell, the magic circle naturally deactivated.

After confirming the system message, I finally sank down to the floor. My legs had no strength left.

“Hah, hah…”

A heavy silence hung over the training hall.

Only my breathing filled the air.

In this strange silence, the homeroom professor opened his mouth.

“…Excellent.”

It was praise.