WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 18: Is This All?

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The Freshman Welcome Test.

It had existed in the original work too.

‘It was the first episode set at the academy.’

After the tutorial, it was a stage meant to let players get a feel for the game's controls.

An episode designed to let users experience some satisfying hits.

To keep the difficulty low, players were set to spar with students from lower-ranked classes.

Players were generally assigned to Class A at best, or Class C at worst.

They would face cadets from classes roughly two ranks below the class they had been assigned to.

‘Looking back on it, it was a thoroughly vicious event...’

The academy arranged matches whose outcomes were decided from the beginning.

A demonstration of the gap between classes.

In front of the other cadets, no less.

The lower-ranked students got crushed, then knocked down again.

It was a mechanism for humiliation, one that ground their hearts beneath its heel.

There was only one reason to put them through such a harsh event.

‘To encourage competition.’

Conflict between classes.

The lower-ranked students were looked down on accordingly, while the higher-ranked students received treatment to match.

As a result, the lower-ranked students struggled to raise their ranks somehow, while the higher-ranked students fought to hold on to their positions.

In short, it motivated them.

Mockery, contempt, inferiority complexes... all of it fueled their desire to improve.

Whether that motivation was positive or negative was beside the point.

‘And if they broke under it...’

Then that was all they amounted to.

If they lacked what it took to endure even this environment, the academy judged that they had never been going to make it anyway.

It was an extremely harsh educational philosophy.

Teach them brutally, so they would grow without breaking.

That was why Grandia Academy's methods often felt so cruel.

‘I suppose that’s what makes it an elite academy.’

It was as though the academy were making a declaration.

Only those who could endure this much deserved to be recognized as members of Grandia Academy.

Apparently, quite a few cadets applied to withdraw after only one semester.

Most were students from the lower-ranked classes.

‘Their treatment really is awful.’

This test alone proved it.

Still, it was an academy-sanctioned event, so they could not openly ignore it.

Class E in particular had no right to refuse, since most of its members were commoners.

If they wanted to earn a Grandia diploma, they would have to grit their teeth for the next three years.

“Ah, we're here.”

I arrived at the test site right on time.

I had decided to play along for the moment.

The test site was near the A Main Building.

‘It's huge.’

It was like a massive indoor gymnasium.

Though calling it a gymnasium hardly did its size justice.

It was large enough to fit several football fields side by side, with room to spare.

“Then... shall we stop here?”

Screech.

The rickshaw came to a stop.

As I calmly got out, the Bread Shuttles pulling the cart shook out their hands as well.

After wiping away their sweat, the kids each headed into the test site.

I followed behind them.

Carmilla seemed to wriggle in admiration from inside my uniform pocket.

[It looked large from outside, but the interior is magnificent as well.]

‘It isn't called the best on the continent for nothing. Every facility is state-of-the-art.’

The sparring grounds had been built on a similarly grand scale.

Rows of spectator seats lined the edges.

It looked as though several circular arenas had been joined together.

While several tests took place at once, the other students appeared to watch from the stands.

[It seems the test has already begun.]

‘We arrived a little late.’

[Did your turn not pass already?]

‘I'm last in line. There's still about thirty minutes before my turn.’

[That is fortunate.]

‘Shall we sit in the waiting area for now? I want to watch the other students' tests too.’

I headed toward the waiting area.

It was where students about to take the test sat.

At the moment, cadets from Classes E and C were waiting there.

When I appeared with the Bread Shuttles, the nearby students turned their attention toward us.

- Huh...? Isn't that him? The top student of Class E?

- The top student of Class E... Ah, the one who became top student with every stat at E-rank?

- Was his name Viktor? I thought he'd run away, but he actually showed up?

The students whispered.

I checked their uniform name tags. They were all Class C cadets.

It seemed they had heard plenty about me.

- Isn't he pathetic? He's going to get completely humiliated today!

- Seriously, how can someone with an overall E-rank be the top student of a class?

- If trash like that can be top student, how bad must the students below him be?

- Tsk, tsk... What a bunch of worthless losers.

All sorts of noise jabbed at my ears.

Their words were full of hostility and mockery.

[Hmph... They do not seem to view you kindly.]

‘They can't help it.’

If Class E was a gathering of failures, I was the leader of that gathering.

On top of that, I was top student despite having every stat at E-rank.

There were probably plenty of things to talk shit about.

And Class C was two ranks above us.

They were probably already smiling as they thought about how to toy with me.

- He can probably hear all that. Is he pretending not to care out of pride?

- Right? He isn't even acting bothered. He seems kind of arrogant too...

- Oh my, let's not be too mean, everyone. He's about to get stomped into a mess anyway.

- Hehe, should we?

Regardless, I took a seat.

The Bread Shuttles filled the seats beside me.

“......”

Every one of them had their teeth clenched.

Their tightly balled fists trembled.

But there was nothing they could do.

All they could do was sit quietly and pretend they had not heard anything.

‘Everyone's going to break their teeth.’

I quietly looked away.

My gaze settled on the sparring grounds, where a test was in progress.

“......”

Without a word, I began watching.

Every spar was similar.

A Class C cadet against a Class E cadet.

There was too much of a gap for them to exchange even a few decent blows.

One side gleefully stomped noobs, while the other was thoroughly swept aside.

- Oh, this one seems to be holding out pretty well?

- Pfft... Can't you see? Sylphi is only using one hand.

- Oh, you're right. She's completely toying with them, while the other side is the only one getting worked up?

Mockery.

It was the same in the next match, and the one after that.

Class E students fell, and Class C students laughed at them.

I stared at the sparring grounds with cold eyes.

‘Seriously...’

There was no academy crazier than this one.

When I saw it as a game, I had simply accepted it as part of the setting...

- Oh my, look at them struggling.

- Ahaha! They're being held up and dangling there. What is this? They're even crying?

- That's what happens when people beneath the standard enroll here...

This was...

The more I watched, the tighter my brow furrowed.

‘This isn't very pleasant.’

[I feel the same.]

Class E was treated especially harshly compared to the other classes.

Not only because of their abilities, but because most of its members were commoners.

The others did not even feel the need to watch their words around commoners.

[Are humans always like this?]

‘Who knows?’

Humans.

The kind of nature that could not bear to live without looking down on, belittling, and trampling others.

The kind that could not live without pushing someone down and basking in its own superiority...

‘That's what humans are. We're different from other races with stronger bonds of solidarity.’

[Are you like that as well, Viktor?]

‘Maybe. I'm human too, after all.’

[The Human Realm is full of things that become harder to understand the more I experience it...]

Before long, my turn was right around the corner.

The last test before mine.

‘Luyan.’

Luyan Jestar.

Class E's second-ranked student.

If it were not for me, he would have been the top student.

He was also one of the Bread Shuttles who pulled my rickshaw.

Well... unlike the others, he had an especially sharp edge to him.

‘His opponent is...’

Luyan's opponent was, naturally, Class C's second-ranked student.

Luyan was tossed around throughout the spar.

Though he tried to counterattack, his magic could not reach his opponent.

All he could do was stagger around as a laughingstock.

- Oh my, is that because he's second-ranked? He's particularly persistent.

- He keeps getting back up. Doesn't he know where he stands...?

He struggled desperately, but in the end, he did not land a single successful attack.

Luyan was forced to retire after being mocked the entire time.

He came down from the sparring grounds utterly exhausted.

His steps wavered, perhaps because he had suffered mana exhaustion.

“......”

Even when people nearby tried to support him, he only shook them off.

Blood trickled from his tightly bitten lip.

Apparently, even that sight was amusing to those Class C bastards.

As I watched him receive nothing but ridicule, I slowly rose from my seat.

“......”

The surroundings were quiet.

More precisely, only Class E's waiting area was quiet.

The students looked exhausted in both body and mind, their faces utterly drained.

They just wanted this humiliating time to end as soon as possible.

“Ahem.”

Just as I thought.

This sort of thing left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Luyan.”

“......”

“You worked hard.”

Pat, pat.

His eyes looked as though they might shatter at any moment.

As I passed him, I gently patted his shoulder.

“Get some rest for a moment.”

My Bread Shuttle Number One.

Luyan only stared blankly at me.

His expression asked why I was suddenly acting like this.

“Hehe. You shouldn't mess with someone else's Bread Shuttles.”

That was what I thought.

My Bread Shuttles.

I'm the only one allowed to order these guys around.

Whether I flick their foreheads or make them buy bread, those are privileges reserved for me alone.

‘Class E itself belongs to me.’

Who the hell do they think they are, messing with them as they please?

Scratching the edge of my mask, I walked down toward the sparring grounds.

[41st Match]

- Viktor (Top Student of Class E)

- Shariel Labriell (Top Student of Class C)

My opponent was already waiting on the other side.

The girl who had been enthusiastically talking shit about my Class E friends since earlier.

An unpleasant character who appeared from time to time in the original work.

‘Shariel.’

Despite her pretty face, she was rotten to the core.

I stood quietly across from Shariel.

Without saying anything.

I only ran a hand over my mask.

“Hmph...”

“......”

It was a wide circular arena.

Shariel looked completely relaxed.

She must have believed the flow of the match was in her favor.

Smiling sweetly, she tossed out a few light provocations.

“Oh my, you're the person everyone's talking about? The unprecedented person who became top student of a class with an overall E-rank.”

“I didn't know I was that famous.”

“Of course you're famous. There's no one at the academy who doesn't know you... Pfft.”

“......”

Mockery.

More stares poured down from the stands.

I simply smiled without saying anything else.

Hoping that smile reached them through my mask.

“Aren't you getting worried? About how badly you'll embarrass yourself.”

“Well, perhaps I am a little worried.”

“Would you like to forfeit? If you crawl on all fours in front of the entire student body, I might be willing to go easy on you.”

“My classmates did their best, so I should do my best too. You never know who'll win until the contest begins, do you?”

“Is that so? Hehe.”

Shariel smiled ominously.

Her eyes were cold with cruelty.

Whoosh!

Red flames, as crimson as her hair, wrapped around her outstretched hand.

The fire gathered into a single form and became a bow.

She drew its scarlet string and looked my way.

“Don't regret this. I clearly gave you a chance to give up.”

A fiercely burning arrow.

As she finished aiming, an instructor's voice rang out.

《Cadets, wait in your respective positions.》

《The test will proceed in the form of a spar. It will end when one opponent is subdued or incapacitated.》

《The test will also end if either side declares forfeit.》

The air in the stands fell still.

Like an audience holding its breath just before the highlight.

<Ready.>

The instructor calmly gave the signal.

The next word ignited the quiet scene.

<Begin.>

Kwooooo!

The instant the instructor's lips moved, a massive pillar of fire rose from the center of the sparring grounds.

Roaring flames.

The scarlet vortex slowly wrapped around the circular arena.

The red-haired girl stood amid the blowing wind.

At the end of her fully drawn string, a single arrow flashed.

Shariel whispered with a sneer.

“Then... let's not drag this out. I'll finish you in one blow.”

Though she stood quite far away, the heat reached me clearly.

A stray spark landed on my cheek.

That tiny fragment alone told me one thing.

‘She's strong.’

As expected of Class C's top student.

Shariel was strong.

The air felt hot enough to roast me, and the structure of her carefully woven mana was precise.

The murmuring in the stands, which had briefly died down, came alive again.

- Huh... A top student really is a top student? I can feel that power all the way from the stands.

- Isn't that dangerous? There's no way some Class E nobody can block that.

- Isn't he going to get hurt?

Voices that seemed to warn of danger.

Yet even then, I only stood tall.

“Just go down quietly!”

With a shrill shout, her fingers released the string.

The unleashed fire demon shot toward me with savage force.

The arrow left a long tail behind it.

It swallowed the sparring grounds whole.

Screeeeech!

A violent crack tore through the air.

Just as everyone's eyes focused on the flaming flower, I took one step forward and raised a finger.

“Well now.”

My mask was smiling.

My finger touched it.

The next moment.

Shhhhhk!

The charging flames disappeared.

Shariel froze in shock.

“W-what...?”

The arrow had not been intercepted or missed.

It had simply vanished.

The flower that had filled the space did not leave behind even a trace of heat.

With the scene erased before their eyes, the spectators could only stare blankly at me.

“Hm.”

“......”

I looked at her.

At the red-haired girl stricken with panic.

“You said you'd finish it in one blow...”

A brief provocation.

A cold, cheerful smile hung on my lips.

My mask did the same, its mouth splitting grotesquely all the way to its ears.

“Is this all?”

The calm words rang clearly through the sparring grounds.

The next moment.

The spectators' reactions turned upside down.

Footnotes:

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