I Became an Extra Without Growth in the Academy

Time flew by as midterms approached.

Since the invitation to the Royal Palace was after the midterms, I let my guard down and time slid by faster than I could believe.

In the meantime, nothing particularly huge had happened.

Seria still clung to my side, unwilling to part, so much so that she practically dragged me to the Student Council Building to study together, even though neither of us truly needed to study.

Actually, Seria didn’t seem to be interested in studying either, as she just ended up goofing around and was chased away by Alkiné.

Speaking of Alkiné, nothing much was happening in the Student Council.

Midterms? The Student Council wasn’t exactly the type to worry about that. Here, even if you can’t study, you can just bluff your way through.

However, when Seria dragged me in, I still felt that the atmosphere wasn’t great.

Normally, there should be three or four people hanging out inside the Student Council Building, but Alkiné sat there alone, and she seemed quite lonely, as she welcomed us with enthusiasm when we dropped by.

I could’ve left it empty, but seeing her always there looking lonesome made me visit her every chance I got.

Lilith, on the other hand, had a habit of heading straight to the library or returning to the dormitory right after her lectures, so we didn’t really cross paths much.

I heard she was immersed in her studies to boost her theoretical scores, but it didn’t seem to be yielding results. I sneakily peeked at her quiz score today, which was 45 points.

That was definitely an improvement over the 20 points she got before… but still, studying that hard for just 45 points? A bit disheartening, right?

“Hey! Did you see that?”

“What?”

“You just peeked at my score!”

“That’s not true! I didn’t see your 45 points.”

“You… come here!!”

Thanks to that, I ended up having an unplanned game of tag with Lilith, but somehow, she was much faster than before.

Did she secretly train while pretending to study? Because if that wasn’t it, it didn’t make sense that her score slightly improved while her physical abilities spiked.

But I didn’t dare bring it up, fearing the aftermath of teasing her could bring.

Our protagonist, Artes, was consistently working out, and he grew much quicker than expected. His strength stats visibly increased, making him look robust.

Surprisingly, he seemed to enjoy growing stronger and began various training regimens, which only accelerated his already fast growth.

Looking at him, I thought that after the midterms, he would be ready to move up to the intermediate class, so I felt I might not need to help him out anymore.

[Artes: If I finish training today, do you buy me dinner?]

…He still seemed to need help financially, though.

Still, I felt somewhat relieved to see the story heading back on track as it was supposed to.

So how long was left until the midterms?

3… 2… 1…

“Alright, everyone seated? Passing out the test papers?”

Now’s the time.

The exam began, but the atmosphere wasn’t particularly tense.

Here, midterms only had level-ups without any demotions.

As for the final exams, if you flop and had poor midterm scores, that’s when demotion could happen. So no one was overly stressed during the midterms.

In fact, the midterms for first years were conducted on a smaller scale.

In second year where the curriculum is standardized, all students take integrated exams. But in the first year where each professor handles everything, students from the beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes take individual exams.

So the atmosphere during the exam wasn’t much different from the quiz we had recently.

“Well then, keep track of the time and do your best.”

At Reina’s words, the sound of paper rustling echoed.

As mentioned, this exam was solely for our advanced class.

So this advanced class test was entirely crafted by Professor Reina… Wow, she really cranked up the difficulty.

– Describe the characteristics and countermeasures against the Blood Sprite.

Did she even teach us about this during class? If a nonsensical creature like that was mentioned, I wouldn’t have missed it.

She probably didn’t directly tell us; she likely designed it to be inferred.

She may have provided separate inputs on specifics like the Grim Reaper, Blood Kobold, and Natural Sprite, and the question might require us to apply that knowledge, right?

I don’t follow along in lectures well, but that seems likely.

It makes sense; a creature associated with death and blood, even demon kinds shiver at, shouldn’t be taught in first-year classes. So naturally, it must be an application question.

Of course, there were plenty of memorization questions beyond application.

– Goblins are graded based on the population of higher goblins existing within their tribe. Describe the minimum conditions for reaching the third-highest rank.

Roughly like this.

Let’s see… to reach the third-highest rank, that would be 110 Hobgoblins, 41 Shamans, and 3 Lords. And more than 30% of those Shamans must be trained individuals.

If you try to merely memorize it, you might get it wrong or, if by luck you get it right, might end up only getting partial points.

Not to mention, there were quite a few tricky memorization questions and even trap questions added in, so those who just skimmed may face disappointing results.

I surely don’t remember it being this tough when I was a beginner professor… Maybe the perfect collaboration between Seria and me, who always scored full marks on quizzes, had a big influence.

Still, even if it was difficult, it remained exceedingly easy for me. I finished my exam and had enough time left, so I even took a short nap with my head down on the desk.

The reactions after the theory exam were quite entertaining.

Despite how much they studied, by the practical questions, everyone looked like they’d been drained, and even if they managed to solve the practical questions, the twisted memorization and trap questions would’ve taxed their mental stamina throughout the exam.

With the baseline difficulty being high, no one would expect to score well.

Watching my comrades suffer, Seria approached to speak.

“Rudion. Do you think you did well?”

“Well, I managed. How about you? It felt quite different from what we learned in class.”

“It was confusing at times, but it was manageable. Ah, but that question was tricky… Do you remember question 17?”

“What was it?”

“It was the one describing various creatures and choosing a different one, stating the reason why.”

“Oh, wasn’t that the Ice Golem? I remember that its components are different.”

“Right? Phew… thank goodness.”

While Seria and I were checking answers, Lilith interjected.

“…Oh crap. I selected a different one.”

“What did you choose?”

“Frozen Hound.”

“You just picked that because you thought it was a beast by itself.”

“…That was too accurate, it’s infuriating.”

There were a few traps in that question, but did she really fall for a trap that only the most foolish would?

I wouldn’t expect much from Lilith’s scores.

With that vibe, we went through several theoretical exams, starting from Understanding Creatures to Magic Theory Basics, History of Magic, and Geography of Survival.

Even though it was only the first semester of first year, thanks to Professor Reina putting in extensive efforts, the questions had considerable difficulty.

As a result, students got wiped out in real time, and judging by the increasingly dark expressions, it seemed everyone had given up on getting good grades.

“Sigh…”

I heard a sigh from Lilith at the back. She was already thrilled at the thought of teasing the grading.

After this unexpectedly tough exam concluded, Reina, while checking the test papers, muttered to herself.

“Looks like everyone didn’t study as much as I thought…”

No, Professor, that’s just the average.

At least now that she knows the reality, the difficulty should normalize for the final exam.

In the end, everyone except for me and Seria tanked in the theory exam, and now the test transitioned to practical skills.

Since we needed to make up for the points lost in theory through practical, everyone was looking eager and pumped.

“I’m not good with using my brain normally. I excel in physical tests.”

Among them, the one most full of enthusiasm was Lilith. Being able to finally showcase her growth through training was only natural.

Anyway, everyone moved together to the Training Ground for the practical exam.

As soon as we arrived, Professor Reina stepped forward to give us a brief explanation about the exam once more.

The practical exam was divided into two parts… one was a test prepared by the professor, and the other was a duel… As I listened to the same instructions I’d heard ad nauseam before the exam, I felt myself getting bored.

I guess Reina knew that, as she abruptly cut herself off and just dove right into the exam.

“Okay, enough! You all know the drill? Let’s just start?”

Bam-!

Reina pulled something out from her robe, and a figure stood there dumbfounded.

It was the Lich Knight we had captured before.

But unlike back then when it was rampaging, now it stood there motionless, though no one found that strange.

Everyone knew that monsters turn into mere puppets during the capture process.

They said that after resulting in countless casualties during experiments to keep them from becoming puppets, the development of capture technology has stagnated.

But even if it would become a puppet, once captured, as long as the magic stone’s power lasts, it can be freely stored or released, hence why they are utilized in various tests and training.

“Alright, one by one, come up and attack.”

That’s exactly what we were witnessing right now.

“Woah, what’s that?”

“Death Knight?”

With the appearance of the Lich Knight, student reactions diverged.

It was because the Lich Knight looked no different from the Death Knight.

A Death Knight that is resistant to physical attacks but weak to magic. Upon recalling this, the mages began to feel they had an advantage and got all hyped.

But fear not! For this guy is a Lich Knight who’ll beat everyone equally, mages or warriors!

“Can I go first?”

“Sure, you all can decide the order yourself.”

Oblivious to all this, a mage confidently stepped forward to cast a spell.

The mage casts Fireball!

Pssssht!

Looks like the effect is weak…

“Uhh…?”

“Hmmm, you confused the Death Knight with the Lich Knight and acted recklessly. That’s a deduction.”

Buzz!

Reina’s activity of knocking down grades!

The effect was impressive!

“No way….”

“…It wasn’t a Death Knight after all.”

“Wow, that could’ve ended badly if I’d gone first.”

With one student’s grade plummeting, the practical test finally got underway.

Ah, Seria, Lilith, and I got pushed back to the last spots, as they didn’t want the scarecrow we prepared to get significantly damaged.

And then I realized.

I had no means to inflict damage on that thing.

…Well, it looks like I’m going to bomb this practical.

All I could do was fidget with the hilt of the short sword strapped to my waist until my turn came.

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