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The exam period at Ivecar was a considerable source of stress not only for students but also for teachers.

It was because of the exam questions.

“I trust that everyone has thoroughly prepared the exam questions. As this marks the end of the semester and is the most important task for the students, let’s give it a bit more effort!”

The Principal left after giving some words of encouragement.

It was not the Principal but rather the deans of each department who oversaw the midterm exams.

All the exam questions set by the teachers required approval from the deans, and only approved questions could officially be used for the midterm exams.

This was possible because most exams consisted of written essay responses and practical questions similar to skill tests.

“Last year, we let some leniency pass for the exam questions, but not this year. If you don’t submit exam questions appropriate for your respective classes, they will not be approved, so be aware of that.”

The deans couldn’t help but be sensitive about the exam questions as well.

If the questions were too easy, they would lack discernibility and fail to satisfy the students.

Simply receiving good scores on the exams was not enough.

While some students greatly preferred exams with easy difficulties, others would immediately complain to their parents if the exams were too easy.

It wouldn’t end with just students’ complaints. If parents protested that easy questions were being asked at Ivecar, an academy renowned as one of the best, the academy would have no excuse.

Many parents would complain, saying there was no need to send their children to an academy just for such exams, so Ivecar had to put in great effort for the midterm exam preparations.

Therefore, under the supervision of the deans, teachers had to set exam questions with appropriate difficulties and receive approval.

If they failed to get approval, they had to come up with new questions.

And if they couldn’t get the dean’s approval by the exam date?

They would be immediately dismissed from their teaching position.

Such cases weren’t frequent, but they did happen.

It wasn’t just about getting the dean’s approval, though.

Would they compromise to get approval and set questions with appropriate difficulties? Or would they insist on higher difficulties to match the students’ levels?

The entire process of contemplating this gap was the difficulty teachers faced with midterm exams.

“I hope to pass on the first try this time.”

“The deans must find it tough as well, having to be so meticulous.”

The deans didn’t reject questions because they disliked them.

Considering the academy’s standards and potential complaints from parents, it was inevitable for the deans to preemptively reject questions to protect the teachers and the academy.

“The new teachers are the real problem.”

“Even I got rejected nearly a dozen times when I was a new teacher. I remember staying up for several nights.”

While experienced teachers could pass within a few tries, teachers without a good sense of exam difficulty had a harder time.

“Teacher Ciron.”

“Yes!”

However, there were exceptions.

Ciron Ramsdale, who would have been the top teacher if not for Ethan, confidently submitted his exam questions to the Knight Department Dean and passed without issue.

“Approved. As expected, since you were a student until recently, you have an excellent grasp of setting appropriate difficulties.”

The other teachers looked at Ciron with envious and admiring gazes.

“Teacher Ethan is getting a lot of attention, but Teacher Ciron also entered with grades comparable to the top teacher.”

“And he’s an Ivecar alumnus.”

It was understandable that Ciron drew attention since new teachers rarely passed on the first try.

Ciron Ramsdale proudly looked at the midterm exam questions he had set.

‘This time, I should give a tip to the social gathering members.’

Until now, he had only been receiving from Ethan.

But now, it seemed he could return the favor. He was the first among the new teachers to pass.

As Ciron hurriedly walked, he noticed Iris.

“Teacher Iris!”

“With that beaming smile, did you perhaps pass the midterm exam question approval?”

“Is it that obvious? Hahaha! But I was an Ivecar student until recently, so I know the appropriate difficulty levels and what kinds of questions to ask.”

Ciron said with a cheerful laugh.

“This time, it’s my turn to help the social gathering, isn’t it? I should quickly let the other teachers know the appropriate difficulty level for this exam!”

Ciron tried to share a tip with Iris.

But Iris shook her head.

“I also passed the exam questions.”

“What?”

Surely there couldn’t be another new teacher besides himself who had finished setting the exam questions this quickly.

He was briefly surprised but soon regained his composure.

Well, the bloodline of an Archmage couldn’t be underestimated.

If not for Ethan, those two would have drawn attention as his rivals.

“Oh? What are you two doing here?”

“Teacher Nadia.”

The cheerful expression returned to Ciron’s face as he opened his mouth. But Iris spoke first.

“Teacher Nadia, you must be struggling with setting the midterm exam questions, right? I heard if you fail to pass, you could get dismissed from your teaching position. I passed, you know. The social gathering’s great, but what’s the point? I’ll give you a tip!”

“Ah, no, I’ll give you a tip, Teacher Nadia.”

“Ah, huh? But I also passed…”

They couldn’t believe that Teacher Nadia was also passed.

His fellow new teachers were indeed impressive. While Ethan overshadowed them, they were no pushovers either.

But there was still a chance.

“What about Teacher Ethan!”

“He’s teaching two classes, so he must not have passed yet, right?”

Until now, they had only been receiving help. This time, they were determined to provide assistance.

“Ah, but I asked, and he already passed both classes? Apparently, he was the fastest among the teachers. Then it was Teacher Claudie.”

“Ah, no, the fastest?”

“He’s teaching two classes, right? And even Teacher Claudie was second? Doesn’t he teach three classes?”

It was unbelievable.

Just when had those two prepared their exam questions to have passed already?

Nadia clarified their doubts.

“I heard Teacher Claudie submitted ten midterm exam questions? He asked them to just pick three good ones. He’s really a great teacher. The Magic Department Dean must have felt pressured since he subtly hinted that he expects the same from us.”

Even though they were in the same Magic Department, Iris hadn’t caught on at all.

“Then when did you pass, Teacher Nadia?”

“I was the fifth in the entire department.”

“……”

“……”

It didn’t seem like the right time for their little rivalry game.

-Wow, I only thought of Hang Woo as a god with an aggressive disposition. But defense? I’ll learn Hang Woo’s defensive skills from [Only subscribed to the right gods]’s subscription review.

-[Only subscribed to the right gods] is a god…!

-I already knew about the saying “the best defense is a good offense”, but I didn’t know Hang Woo had skills like that. I’ll learn them properly.

-Thanks to [Only subscribed to the right gods], I’ll get Hang Woo’s defensive skills. This seems extremely easy compared to Hang Woo’s Counter-Radiance though.

-Not knowing about this Supreme Resilience skill until now, I’ve wasted half my life.

-I won a fight against twelve wives using Supreme Resilience. Thank you.

“Hahaha-!”

Hang Woo let out a hearty laugh.

Not long after granting the premium subscriber position as requested, the distinctive subscription review from the [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber was posted.

The subscription review systematically covered what one could gain by subscribing to Hang Woo, centered around Supreme Resilience.

“So this is it. That famous one! Yes, the taste of success, is it?”

Hang Woo looked at the flood of comments under the subscription review written by [Only subscribed to the right gods].

As expected, others still didn’t understand the true essence of the power that Hang Woo pursued.

However, after reading the subscription review, the subscribers realized that the essence of Hang Woo’s power wasn’t just offense, but also encompassed defense.

They were surprised once again that Hang Woo, who they had thought possessed only offensive skills, also had skills that could be utilized in various ways.

“Hmm, that’s right. There is no god as versatile as me when it comes to combat.”

Hang Woo read through the comments proudly.

“Oh?”

While checking, he came across the final part of the premium subscriber’s subscription review.

“Merchandise!”

It stated that if there was merchandise, there would be no hesitation in subscribing to Hang Woo.

“Not bad. As expected of a great subscriber. They really understand how [New World] operates.”

A precious subscriber had given him advice, so why hesitate?

Hang Woo immediately began working on merchandise production.

Having passed all the midterm exam question approvals, Ethan planned to train in his office while the students were taking their exams.

This time, he had learned Hang Woo’s Counter-Radiance.

To train in Counter-Radiance, he had to push his body to its limits.

“There are various ways to push your body to its limits, but basically, my body reaches its limit quite quickly.”

Ethan’s physical body was exceptionally frail due to Extinction.

“For me, Counter-Radiance might actually be easier to train in.”

To compensate for his frailty, he had been continuously raising his stamina stat.

Thanks to that, his stamina had increased considerably, but he likely had the lowest stamina among [New World] subscribers.

‘The stronger your body becomes as your stamina increases.’

In other words, it would be difficult to build proficiency in Counter-Radiance with an already strong body.

If one’s body is robust, it would be harder to push it to its limits.

“I might have the easiest time.”

Compared to them, Ethan could relatively easily push his body to its limits. Ethan looked at the exercise equipment in one corner of his office.

“Through physical training.”

He then placed a barbell on his trapezius muscles. It was the squat exercise he had his students do in the Understanding the Sword Path class. After getting into position with his feet shoulder-width apart, he slowly lowered himself.

He felt the force entering his thighs, and on the way up, he pushed through with his hips, properly executing the hip drive.

After performing a single textbook squat, he felt a reaction in his thighs.

“Adding more weight.”

Ethan gradually increased the weight on the barbell as he continued squatting. After warming up, it was time for the main sets.

“Huff!”

For the main sets, he performed 10 squats with a weight of up to 200 kilograms. It felt like his thighs were burning.

A weight completely unsuitable for his frail body. Of course, he had used Giant’s Strength, but for pure physical training, he didn’t use any mana at all.

“This is it.”

Ethan added even more weight.

After increasing the weight to his limit, he then performed squats while using Counter-Radiance.

An immense weight that caused the bar on his shoulders to bend was loaded.

Ethan used Counter-Radiance with all his might as he performed the squats.

“Ugh!”

The tremendous weight made Ethan feel like his thighs were going to snap.

One, two, three.

As he continuously repeated the squats, his body gradually approached its limit.

-The Unfading Stamina trait is activated.

‘Oh no.’

For now, it wasn’t a welcome trait activation.

But Ethan didn’t care and pushed his body to its limit again.

‘I can’t do this anymore.’

But he had to. One more time.

As Ethan stood up after one more squat, the notification he had been waiting for popped up.

-Your body is pushed to its limit!

-Counter-Radiance proficiency increases!

“…This is it!”

A method to increase Counter-Radiance proficiency while also physically training his body.

“This is the answer.”

Ethan continued the squats.

With each repetition, his entire body felt stimulated. His body quickly fatigued, and his Counter-Radiance proficiency was steadily increasing as well.

“Is physical training the only way to increase Counter-Radiance proficiency?”

If so, it was worth trying other methods.

He put down the barbell and generated needles.

Then, he used the Five Elements Acupuncture Technique to stack buffs.

“Ugh.”

Over time, the debuff from overusing the Five Elements Acupuncture Technique set in.

Ethan picked up the barbell again, though with less weight than before.

“Counter-Radiance.”

Shaaaaaack-.

Immense power settled into his body, and Ethan used that power to perform squats.

“Huff.”

He nearly fell and got crushed by the barbell. But he managed to complete one with great difficulty.

-Counter-Radiance proficiency increases!

“So this is how it is?”

He had found two methods.

“Being frail is helping me in many ways.”

Ethan smiled wryly as he grabbed a dumbbell.

“I should build Counter-Radiance proficiency up to 5 percent.”

Just as he was about to resume training, there was a knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Teacher Ethan, are you in?”

A familiar voice.

“Come in, Teacher Claudie.”

Claudie Hyde opened the door and entered.

Author's Thoughts

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