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“I’m told you were looking for me.”

“Ah, you’re here! Stella, come sit here.”

Upon arriving at the faculty room, both Teacher Amelia and the Chairman were looking at me.

The teacher smiled and gestured for me to sit next to her.

Even the Vice Principal… What did I do wrong? If it’s about that missing person’s case, it should be over by now… Hesitant, I sat down, and Chairman Valderon opened his mouth.

“It’s the first time we’re seeing each other’s faces like this.”

“Hello, Chairman.”

“Chairman? No need to address me so formally.”

Then what should I call you, Chairman? Valderon?

His face had a dignified yet fierce expression, marked by a long scar crossing it, giving off an intimidating aura that rivals even my master. Is this the bloodline of the Hero from ages past?

It seems my master had a warm demeanor, quite the opposite.

“Rockpelikan, or rather your master, is quite healthy.”

“Yes, I received contact through the crystal ball, and he sounded fine.”

“When your master was here, it was absolute chaos. How could those Demon Races just barge in as if they owned the place?”

Isn’t that the truth? They must have had poor management for the barrier to be so disregarded.

Honestly, it was worth getting angry about, but putting that aside…

“Um… is there a specific reason why I’m here?”

“Well… I apologize, but the reason I called you here is that I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

The words coming from Valderon’s mouth were a request I never imagined.

“It’s about the exam happening today… could you take on the role of proctor?”

“…What?”

Suddenly, what does this mean? He wants me to be the proctor for the midterm exam?

“What does that even mean…?”

“I’ll explain.”

According to Teacher Amelia, this midterm test is about gathering Mana Droplets in teams of three while protecting their droplets from the proctor. And they want me to be that proctor.

“I don’t quite understand…”

I’m a student, aren’t I? I didn’t step into the academy as an assistant professor, so why am I being asked… no, requested to do this?

“Then how am I supposed to take the exam?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get a perfect score.”

“What does that even mean…?”

“To explain the circumstances… it’s a bit complicated… Did you hear about Ariel? It’s about the upcoming invasion.”

“Ah, yes, I heard that the demons are going to invade soon.”

“Right, and so the academy is in preparation for that.”

…So you’re planning to work the fresh new students like grad students?

“…And then?”

I looked at the teacher with a dissatisfied expression, and she quickly corrected herself upon noticing.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand, it’s not like that; it’s also for your own good.”

“For my own good?”

“Yes, you know, your abilities are already beyond that of a standard academy freshman.”

“…Yes.”

That’s not wrong; even among the gems gathered in Class A, there isn’t anyone stronger than me.

To put it bluntly, I’m confident I wouldn’t lose even if all the freshmen came at me.

“The Empire is trying to form a hero party to respond to the demons as quickly as possible, and the only one who can effectively fill the role of Mage in that hero party is you.”

“…But it’s not confirmed yet.”

Hero party… that’s a term I don’t want to hear. Being forced to stick together, sharing bonds, and in the end… Regardless of my feelings about it, a party does seem necessary.

I couldn’t handle that masked guy on my own, and who knows how many times I might face similar situations in the future.

“So… you want me to observe the exam with my own eyes? To see if there are suitable candidates for the hero party?”

“Exactly, I’d like you to experience firsthand the abilities of potential candidates you’ll be forming a party with.”

That’s a tough request… But it does make sense. It’s like giving me the option to select comrades for future adventures.

“I understand. I will evaluate whether there are suitable candidates for the hero party.”

*

“Ha ha ha…”

I can’t believe it took this turn.

This situation feels oddly familiar because…

‘The boss of the midterm exam event in the original story is Stella.’

In the game Eternal Fantasy, it’s rare for Stella, fitting the title of “fake heroine,” to appear prominently in events.

When she does show up, it’s usually when learning skills or when sacrificing herself.

Information about her in the original story is scant.

Despite that, she’s a character who frequently competes for the top spots in popularity polls because…

‘She’s overwhelmingly strong.’

Of course, the biggest reason is her pretty face, but even in the game, the few battle scenes featuring Stella seem meticulously crafted by the producers. They put in so much effort that the difficulty becomes ridiculously high. It’s practically impossible to win.

The only way to beat her is to avoid her attacks, buy time, or grind levels to take her down with sheer numbers.

In fact, it’s said that even that allowance is generous according to game settings.

Even someone like me, who has played extensively, took quite some time to manage to win on my first try.

“This time I’d hoped to breeze through, but…”

After all, why do I have to take on this assistant professor role today of all days?

Everything that should be easy has turned difficult, and yet the original events keep their course.

No matter how much they twist the source material, Stella isn’t going to cut me a break.

Her personality is one that takes responsibility for everything she’s assigned and doesn’t do things half-heartedly, so she might end up focusing on me instead.

“Stella is the one who’s supposed to snatch the droplets…?”

“What nonsense is this…?”

Shia and Serena were also in disbelief, unable to accept the reality before them.

The students from Class A showed similar reactions.

Seeing their expressions, students from other classes began to whisper among themselves.

“Why are they acting like that?”

“Even if she is the pupil of the Master of the Golden Tower, can one person really take us all on?”

“What are the professors thinking? Are they underestimating us?”

Well, of course, they would. They have no idea what went down during the previous practice duel.

Facing that overwhelming power would quickly wipe those comments from their minds.

At that moment, Stella shook five bells before speaking.

“I have five bells too, so if you want to take them from me, feel free to try at any time. And we’ll start when you open your eyes and team up with the two in front of you.”

As she raised her staff, the ground gleamed and began to shine.

The ground was illuminated with letters that looked like they were scrawled with some special characters.

“Huh…?”

“Wait, look at your feet!”

-Kwaaaah!

The spatial magic known as Teleportation, which is known to be usable only by a select few among the five levels of magic.

‘She can use that level of magic too?’

The blue glowing letters on the ground grew increasingly bright, and one by one, they began to disappear.

“Serena… is this…?”

“Yeah… it looks like it’s about to start.”

As one by one disappeared and only a few remained, in the midst of that chaotic scene—

“Good luck, Nova!”

Stella said with a bright smile as her last words.

To her, I chuckled softly and said nonchalantly.

“Sure, give it your best shot.”

If she thought I’d be scared of this quest just because I’ve cleared it a few times, she was greatly mistaken.

“I’ll see you later, Stella.”

-Fwaaaah!!

With those words, my vision transformed into a complete white.

*

“…I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

Somehow, I found myself deep within the forest, just past the edge, amongst towering trees.

How could she send me flying to another place without me even realizing how many people surrounded me? What can she not do?

Ah, she can’t cook. Putting aside random thoughts, I focused on the two people in front of me.

‘Alright, just as expected.’

“Ugh… of all people, I’m teamed up with you…”

One of them was the vampire from the Three Great Clans, Lucid Vladimir, and the other was—

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“…Well, nice to meet you, Siel.”

Once again, she’s from one of the Three Great Clans, and my reliable skill guide… No, she’s the descendant of the Snow Woman, Siel.

Given that she’s a major heroine in the original story, both of them are more than adequate candidates for teammates.

“Nice to meet you, Lucid.”

I offered my hand, but Lucid turned her head away with disdain and walked to the side.

“Please don’t call me by my name so casually.”

“…Sorry.”

Well, I suppose it’s impossible to become friends right now, but I have to seize this opportunity to solve the Lucid mission.

That way, I could acquire her unique skill, Super Regeneration.

Even after getting half her body blown off by the masked guy last time, she was able to recover, which speaks to her amazing healing ability.

True to her name as a vampire, Lucid hardly ever dies, but…

Of course, there are weaknesses. She is especially weak against silver weapons as legends say, and if her heart is completely destroyed, she will die. But other than that, she can regenerate countless times.

“Ah… and I happen to have left blood transfusion packs with Anubis…”

Perhaps due to the high density of mana or because of me, Lucid was becoming more agitated.

Watching her suck blood from a transfusion pack, Siel asked her.

“Is that human blood?”

Though her expression was blank, it was clear. The tension emanating from her suggested that she could draw her sword at any moment, and chaos could break out at any time.

“Huh? Do you think I’m a bloodthirsty monster or something? It’s animal blood! Chicken blood!”

“Oh, I see… Sorry.”

Siel immediately apologized, deflating the tension.

Lucid, who uses blood as a weapon, often suffers from anemia.

The way to get her to transfuse from me is…

‘To dispose of the remaining transfusion packs.’

I’m really sorry, but it seems I have to drag you into my plans.

 

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