A True Genius Worries

by Sophia Schmidt

  as a carpet. Using its partners distraction, he waited for an opportunity to make its move.

  As soon as the students' formation loosened up, he struck at their weak spot, Visen, knocking

  him out with a single hit of its tusks. Lith yelled to warn his teammates, but everyone was

  already locked in battle.

  A Professor appeared rescuing Visen, and from that point it all spiralled out of control. In the

  academy's environment, Lith could barely exert half of his real power, and now that amount

  was halved again.

  His body was devoid of strength, his mind out of focus, still replaying the conversation with

  Scarlett. But most of all, he lacked motivation.

  He was sick and tired of pulling most of the weight of the team by himself.

  "It's my fault, I made everything too easy for them for too long. I attack, defend, heal,

  provide the meals, hunt and cook! At this point, they could as well shove a broom up my a*s,

  so that I can wipe the floor for them when walking.

  If they want some experience, fine by me. But I'm done baby-sitting!" ¨C

  Lith was lost when a lightning left him temporarily stunned, allowing Sentar to strike his back.

  Termyn and M'Rook teamed up, taking apart Belia's armour like a tuna can, while Sentar kept

  Phloria busy.

  M'Rook managed to bite her exposed neck, but stopped its fangs before doing any damage.

  After that, the three magical beasts disappeared as fast as they had come. The exercise was

  over.

  Being the last one standing, Phloria was filled with regret and frustration. There were so many

  things that she had overlooked, too many mistakes she could have avoided with a more

  proper planning.

  She finally realized her arrogance, always relying on Lith's apparently infinite tricks to keep

  the group afloat whenever something outside her plans happened. She should have given it

  more thought and less wishful thinking.

  By putting so much burden on a single unit, any group was bound to crumble as soon as the

  key member was unable to keep up. When Professor Thorman appeared to take her back at

  the White Griffon, Phloria was still looking back at those last three days in hindsight.

  They had made so many mistakes, her plans were actually so full of holes, that she couldn't

  believe they had managed to last for that long.

  Chapter 85 Results

  When Lith regained his senses, he was back in the Main Hall at the ground floor of the

  academy. While getting up slowly, trying to shake off the lingering effects of the hit at the

  back of his head, he noticed that the Hall was filling up quickly.

  There were lots of Warp Steps opened. Some were being left active, allowing students from

  the fourth floor of the White Griffon to reach the Hall.

  Most of the Warp Steps, though, were used by Professors going to and fro the forest, bringing

  back the students one by one.

  "I guess that the third day marked the moment when the magical beasts stopped holding

  back."

  "Yeah." Solus said, glad to feel the safety of the castle walls all around them.

  "Honestly, I am kind of surprised that so many people managed to survive this long. Not to

  brag, but I was sure our group would be the one lasting longer."

  "I didn't." Lith replied. "There are too many variables to consider, like who had been warned

  beforehand by a relative, hence coming fully prepared, or how much time they spent outside.

  Not to mention that maybe some groups were just lucky, being comprised of people that

  were actually able to cooperate, instead of needing someone that guided them step by step."

  ¨C

  Judging from the expressions of his schoolmates, no one had any idea what they were waiting

  for, or why they had been summoned back into the Hall. While he was still looking around,

  Lith noticed that his team had gathered around him.

  "Seems you were right." Visen said. "There wasn't much I could learn by getting my a*s

  handed to me."

  "You should have understood that teamwork is vital, but being able to stand for yourself is

  equally important." Trasque rebuked him.

  "I mean, seriously? Why so few of you have used first magic during the whole exercise? The

  Headmaster will not let me hear the end of this. He is even considering to have you all retake

  the whole class from the beginning with a different teacher!"

  "Well¡" Visen tried to be as considerate as possible toward the Professor.

  "First magic is good, but what could I have possibly achieved with it? I was trying to help my

  companions, they needed my arrays."

  Trasque glared at him, clenching his fists.

  "Well, for example you could have blinded the Cingy, so that when you attempted to dodge, it

  would haven't been able to intercept you. A failed array can be re-done, a fallen member

  cannot be resurrected. Next time, instead of playing the hero, consider the bigger picture."

  Among those who heard him, most took Trasque's words to heart. Aside from conjuring water

  to drink, very few of them had ever considered using first magic, deeming it useless.

  Remembering how she had used first magic to more easily slay the Clackers, Phloria stood

  straight as an arrow. Lith, on the other hand, could not stop rejoicing at the idea of getting rid

  of those blockheads once and for all.

  When all the students were assembled, the Headmasters stepped forward.

  "First of all, allow me to welcome every one of you back. That said, I have bad news and good

  news. The bad news, is that contrary to what many could believe, this was still a mock exam.

  Hence no matter if you lasted one hour, one day or three, you all get zero points."

  Linjos took a pause, letting the groans and curses to die out before resuming his speech.

  "This was your last wake-up call, from now on you are on your own."

  This time, Linjos didn't keep still while talking, he walked among the various groups, like a

  general inspecting his troops.

  "You should have learned that your name, status and bloodline aren't going to protect you

  from an enemy, no matter how important you consider yourself. It's not only in the

  wilderness that such things hold no value, but also in the whole world.

  Do you really expect for everyone to respect or fear a feeble thing like a name? When you are

  outside the safety of your home, no one will ask you to introduce yourself before attacking.

  You should also have realized that petty behaviours create resentment. Many groups

  crumbled from the start, either due to past grudges or simply because some of you were

  deemed untrustworthy.

  Last, but not least, it seems that many of you didn't understand the nature of this test. It was

  meant to show you a glimpse of what a real battle is, to allow you to fraternize and overcome

  your differences.

  You were supposed to help and teach each other, not to barely lump together because you

  were said so." Linjos stared at several students, that seemed to shrink under his gaze.

  "The week deadline was just a pretext, I never expected that some of you would the gall to

  hole up, hiding the whole time. This isn't a law school, what could you possibly learn from

  bending the rules?

  The exercise is worth zero points, but such attitude cannot be tolerated. Any open violation of

  the rules will be punished by deducting points.

  As for the good news,
points will be awarded to those that according to their possibilities,

  helped their teammates. While the points' deduction is individual, those gained by all team

  members will be pooled and divided equally among those that cooperated.

  Otherwise it would be unfair toward those that sacrificed themselves during the first day, or

  that fell because of someone else's mistake. Also, I didn't lie when I told you it would last

  seven days.

  For the remaining four, you have no classes, you are free to rest, go home or self-study. It's up

  to you to decide. I hope that you will make good use of this time to think about this

  experience and learn from you mistakes. Dismissed."

  After saying goodbye to his ex-teammates, Lith jumped in the nearest Warp Steps, walking

  double time towards his room. He and his bathroom had some serious catch up to do.

  No matter how Visen had made the makeshift outhouse comfortable, it couldn't compare

  with a real toilet. Lith could finally use Invigoration, getting his strength back and relieving his

  sore muscles.

  He spent the next half an hour taking a long hot tub bath, while conjuring several ice mirrors

  to get rid of the few facial hairs that haunted is still childish visage and cutting his hair with air

  magic.

  "Seems I was right about this exercise." Solus said while helping him with his cut. Without

  her help, Lith would have looked like an IRS clerk on a Monday morning.

  "Did you have any doubt?" Lith replied, still wondering after all those years what was wrong

  with the haircut he had back on Earth.

  "It's a system devised to teach stuck-up, conceited kids respect and discipline. Once you

  understand its goal, the rest comes easy. With a brain like yours, cracking the code was easy

  like connecting the dots numbered from 1 to 7." ¨C

  Solus would have liked to get praised more, but Lith's stomach kept grumbling loudly more

  and more often.

  With a heavy heart, Lith dressed up. He would have much preferred to sleep for the next 24

  hours, but hunger was still one of the things that scared him the most. He needed to eat and

  re stock.

  He was already headed toward the canteen when Solus stopped him.

  "Aren't you forgetting something?"

  "My pants are on and I have yet to plagiarize and sell underwear. So my answer is no."

  "Your friends from the Healer class, silly. It's the perfect moment to get together and bond a

  little. After the mock exam, you surely have many things to share with each other."

  "Please, have mercy. I'm so tired already, maybe next time." Lith cringed at the idea.

  "I'm here only to hoard knowledge and connections." Solus said while making her best Lith's

  brooding tone impression. "I have no time to waste, I need valuable pawns once I become an

  adult again." ¨C

  Arguing with himself was beyond stupid, so he went to their rooms to invite them to an early

  dinner.

  When it was Friya's turn, she had just finished washing herself too. Her cheeks where still rosy

  from the hot water. That coupled with the sweet smell of her skin and hair made Lith dizzy for

  a second.

  "Stupid body. Whenever it decides to grow, it will always be too late."

  "Come on, she is so pretty." Solus still wanted her school romance, even if just as a spectator.

  "What's wrong with a fling?"

  "She is a kid and I am old enough to be her father. Everything is wrong with that!" ¨C

  Once at the canteen, no one actually spoke for a while. They were all too focused on eating

  the first proper meal in days. Only after the second serving they began to share their stories.

  "So, how long did you manage to last?" Lith asked hiding his sour mood behind a radiant

  smile.

  "My group was one of the last returning to the castle." Yurial didn't miss the opportunity to

  show off.

  "Everyone agreed making me the leader¡"

  "Lucky b*stard." "Poser." "Smartass." He ignored the crossfire of name-calling. Yurial was

  aware of the power his father's status granted to him, so he accepted their envy with class.

  "¡ hence I managed to quickly make them assume a defensive formation. When the beasts

  arrived, they found us prepared. The worst part was standing watch at night in turns, sleeping

  in the open and eating grass and fruits all the time."

  "Yeah." Friya agreed. "The lack of food and the dirt were terrible. My group was comical, we

  had two skilled hunters, but none knew how butcher the preys.

  The smell of blood lured so many animals that we had to throw the game away and look for

  another place where to sleep. In the end we didn't find any, so when the we got attacked

  during the second day after a sleepless night, we lost two members at once.

  After escaping by skin of our teeth, we surrendered the next morning. We failed at making a

  decent camp again, and with no sleep at all we were barely standing when the sun rose. What

  about you, Quylla?"

  She was grinning from ear to ear.

  "It was awesome! Best two days of my life." Her answer caught everyone by surprise.

  "Care to explain?" Lith asked.

  "Sure! First, you have to understand that everyone was pissed at me, since I'm the top of the

  healing class."

  "One of the top students." The other three remarked as one.

  "Sure, whatever." It didn't escape their notice that Quylla seemed much more confident and

  fierier than before.

  "Since they knew being second rate at best, they started to call me 'just a healer' and ordered

  me to 'not be in the way'. So, when the attack happened, I did as they told me and ran like the

  wind on my own.

  When the others managed to catch up with me, after being forced running away, I learned

  that our self-proclaimed leader had been pummelled by a Sym, a monkey type magical beast.

  They started calling me a coward, and trying to put the blame of the defeat on me. At that

  point, knowing that we were being watched, I gave them a solid piece of my mind.

  I told them that for all I cared we could fail from day one, and that I had no intention of letting

  them treat me like trash for a second longer. Things quickly escalated, and when one of them

  tried to hit me, Professor Vastor appeared, beating the cr*p out of all of them!"

  Chapter 86 Results 2

  Quylla stopped talking, laughing her as* off at the memory, while tears of joy rolled out her

  eyes.

  "He is quite fast for someone his size, you know." She said as soon as he managed to catch

  her breath.

  "He beat mercilessly the one that assaulted me and those that did nothing but watch as well.

  He then made clear that if they attempted something funny again, he would get them

  expelled. After that, my teammates and I reached an agreement.

  I would help them, but only at the condition that I would not take watch at night and get the

  first choice about food. We didn't last long, but I had the time of my life, ordering them

  around.

  So, when I got back at the castle, the first thing I did was getting a Ballot!"

  Quylla took out the black sphere from her cuffs, slamming it on the table, drawing all the eyes

  on her.

  "The feeling of freedom is intoxicating, Friya, you should get one too. I don't see why a smart

  girl like you has to endure morons all day long.

  What about you, Lith?"

  "We
lasted until the afternoon of the third day, everything went fine." Lith cut his report

  short, it was time to get something back from his investment.

  "During the exercise, I noticed that I cannot make full use of the potions without a weapon."

  "You brought potions along?" Yurial was incredulous.

  "Yes, I did. I bought them as soon as I got some spare points. I needed to get used to their

  effects, before using them in actual combat. I tested how long they lasted, their potency and

  how strong I could hit or get hit before injuring myself.

  Nothing special, it's just the same thing we all did with the academy's uniform."

  Judging from their blank stares, they had no idea what he was talking about.

  "You do know that the uniform protects us, right?"

  They nodded.

  "And you didn't feel the need to check how it works? How much punishment it can take

  before ripping? What kind of blows you can take head on and what to dodge?"

  Silence befell again.

  "Well, between this and the potions, I'd say you just got yourself some homework to do

  during the next days." Lith said smiling encouragingly to them.

  "Don't worry for the uniform, it can self-repair from small damages."

  "Thanks for your advice." Friya said. "What were you saying about a weapon?"

  "That even if I had it, I lack the proper training. Friya, your second specialization is Mage

  Knight. What weapon do you use?"

  "Wow, I mentioned it to you only once and you actually remembered. I use a rapier. It's a

  quick and nimble sword, that easily pierces through an armour's joints, but it's not good for

  blocking heavy hits or cutting the enemy.

  According to my mentor, with my build it's the weapon that suits me the best."

  "Can you teach me the basics of swordsmanship?" Lith asked. "Having an enhanced strength

  is of limited use without a proper tool. Right now, when enemies come too close, I can only

  resort to first magic. I need more options."

  "Maybe I can help too." Everybody turned to the unexpected guest.

  "Mind if I join?" Phloria asked. "I didn't get the chance to thank you earlier."

  "Not you again." - He inwardly sighed.

  "Not at all." Like a perfect gentleman, Lith stood up welcoming the newcomer. For a split