Chapter 281

I was almost pushed into participating in a performance because of Kara, but I vehemently refused, and that settled it.

If I were going out by myself, that would be one thing, but I don’t like doing it this way. Unless Kara was going too, then maybe I’d consider it.

“Let’s take Kara along. Then I’ll go.”

“If I’m going out, I’d rather just commit suicide.”

Kara firmly rejected the idea of participating in the performance. I mean, knowing her personality, she would definitely hate it.

Even if I were to join, there wouldn’t be much to do anyway. I’d just be dancing at best, and that would be way too uninteresting.

Unless there was some decent music, ultimately singing is the only answer for performances.

‘Even that song has to be sung a cappella, right?’

Unless I’m beatboxing myself, it’s highly likely that most of it would be performed without accompaniment.

If you think about it, bards in this world are closer to singer-songwriters. They’re multi-talented musicians who sing and compose alone.

But as Antonio said, there are cases where some get famous just for their looks. Most people come just to see their faces.

‘Anyway, I’m definitely not going to participate, so whatever.’

What if I did? I’d be beatboxing while trying to pull off a Billie Jean routine.

It’s a funny thought, but I’m just expressing my resolute determination not to participate.

Above all, what’s important right now isn’t the performance, but the final exam. I can check out the examination ground where the final will be held during afternoon training.

“This is where the exam will take place.”

“It’s much bigger than I thought!”

“It really looks like a cave.”

The examination ground closely resembled an actual cave for the sake of realism. Especially the entrance was something out of the ordinary.

Inside, there were torches, so it won’t be pitch black, but still, the visibility will be quite limited.

In other words, it means that what’s inside can’t see very far either. If they can pull this off, it would be quite impressive.

“As I mentioned in the morning, each person will get two chances. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to thoroughly check things out.”

“By the way, sharing information is fine too. Just to reiterate, this exam is to narrow the gap between theory and practice.”

After Malboro, Yeonhwa added her explanation. It’s all about minimizing the gap between theory and practice.

So, if we share information but the practice derived from the theory is flawed, it’s pointless.

In fact, there’s a high risk of sharing incorrect information. Wrong info can ruin the theory.

So, it’s better to handle it on your own. After all, the practice is based on the theory.

“The order will be based on the seating arrangement. Once everyone has checked around, you can immediately set up your theory.”

With that, the first person went into the cave. For the record, this wasn’t going to be conducted like an actual exam.

So, it’s about figuring out where the enemies are positioned, where useful items are, and what the landscape is like, etc.

This just means you’ll be taking note of these things. Of course, this could make the practice difficult, so they’ll notify us with alerts.

When someone approaches nearby, they might switch to alert mode, or they could get completely discovered and chaos ensues.

Swish—

That made me curious, so I quietly raised my hand.

The professors were all taken aback when I raised my hand. They even glanced at each other.

Is it really that surprising that I raised my hand? I wonder how I’m regarded among the professors.

“Ahem. Sivar student? Do you have a question?”

After a brief confusion, Yeonhwa asked me with a lovely voice. All the other students turned their gazes toward me.

I slowly lowered my hand and voiced what I wanted to ask.

“Can we finish quickly?”

“Yes, but your score will be based on how efficiently you finish it.”

“What if it’s both fast and efficient?”

“Then essentially that’s a 100 points. But it’s better to adjust so that others have a fair chance to attempt it.”

So, they were saying to avoid making a complete mess of things. I nodded in agreement.

If that’s the case, I already had something in mind. Setting up the theory in a way that others can easily follow.

To do that, I need to closely observe the situation inside, and since we’re given two chances, that should be sufficient.

“Are you planning to just charge in recklessly again this time?”

After the questions and responses, Kara asked me. Most people would probably be like Kara.

But not this time. I shook my head and spoke up.

“No. I want to do it efficiently.”

“Efficiently?”

“Yeah. That’s how it should be.”

If I keep rushing headlong, my skills won’t improve. It’s like my body’s so fit that I’m not using my head.

Kara seemed to understand what I meant and let it slide. Just then, a student who went in first emerged from the cave.

That student wore a complex expression as they looked at the professor. It was like they had a lot to say but decided against it.

“Professor.”

“Speak up.”

“Uh… it’s not that.”

Is it really that difficult? Or is it vague?

I’d be fine with it being difficult, but ambiguous is the real issue.

How should I put it? Ambiguity often leads to frustration.

After that, other students went in one after another, but most had similar reactions. They were clearly confused about whether it was easy or hard.

“Huff… this doesn’t seem easy at all.”

“Is it hard?”

“Not so much hard as there’s just too much to think about. So much that I don’t know where to start.”

At that moment, Kara offered a fitting explanation. There are so many methods that it’s hard to know which to pick.

This means that the variables will increase. If there are too many variables, it’ll be a headache to apply the theory.

‘Should I just blitz in and finish it?’

Seeing something once is better than hearing about it a hundred times, I thought with curiosity as I entered the examination ground.

As mentioned earlier, the examination ground resembled an overall cave, and even though there were torches, the visibility was still quite narrow.

Still, darkness wasn’t a problem for me at all. Thanks to that, I could move my feet without any issues.

‘There’s poison here… and the floor has laid crossbows? Is that an oil jar?’

I can see why Kara said there are too many variables. There are so many weapons around.

Not only that, but there are crossbowmen positioned at certain terrain features, and strange objects popping up in odd places, and so on.

With this setup, just the visible things are enough to give me a headache. I examined these carefully.

‘If I go up there… hrm…’

After two careful observations, I found something.

‘…I think I can finish this easily?’

I found the efficiency.

*****

After surveying the exam ground, it was time for theory. All students were writing their theories on paper.

Some people were writing smoothly, but most of the students had troubled expressions in various ways.

And it makes sense, as there were way too many variables inside the examination ground. One wrong move could lead to too many dangerous moments.

‘Should I remove the oil jar or throw it?’

Kara was among those who were deep in thought.

Given her experience, she couldn’t help but have a lot on her mind. That was just her nature.

Then a thought crossed my mind. How will Sivar, who seems simple yet clever, present the theory?

At that moment, I noticed Sivar busily writing his theory next to me. Unlike others, he seemed to be writing without any blocks.

‘Has he already thought it through?’

It’s especially intriguing since it’s Sivar. Kara kept glancing at his paper.

His surprisingly neat and beautiful handwriting was always impressive, regardless of who taught him, they must have taught him well.

“?”

Then Sivar seemed to sense her gaze and turned his head. Kara hurriedly looked away.

She felt like she was caught cheating. Of course, cheating doesn’t hold much meaning in this exam, so peeking is fine.

For that matter, you could also base your practice on someone else’s theory. Still, it felt conscience-pricking.

‘If I still perform worse than Sivar…’

I’m not dismissing Sivar. As a seasoned warrior, my pride wouldn’t allow it.

I could slack off, but there’s a limit to that. Kara racked her brain to write down her theory.

Thanks to that, she came up with a pretty decent method, but it didn’t sit well with her. I wonder if it’ll actually hold up.

“Are you done?”

Around the time I finished writing my theory, Sivar asked from next to me.

Kara turned to look at Sivar. He had already set down his pencil without her realizing it.

But something felt off. Unlike her tightly packed paper, Sivar’s paper had several blank spaces.

“…What’s this? Did you even write anything?”

“Yeah. Want to take a look?”

“Is it okay?”

“Yep.”

Kara hesitated for a moment but then checked Sivar’s written theory.

Though her conscience pricked her a bit, she couldn’t help but be curious.

Once she finished reading what Sivar had written…

“…What?! Is this even possible?”

“Yeah. It seems possible.”

“No. I feel like only you can do this?”

Kara couldn’t help but be taken aback by the absurdity of the theory that seemed possible only for Sivar.

The theory itself seemed decent enough. But the issue was how ‘fast’ it was.

Just by looking at the sentences, the speed jumps out at you, so you can only imagine how it actually is. Even memorizing it would barely be sufficient.

“No, others can do it too. I swear.”

“I really don’t think so…”

Even with Sivar confidently asserting it, Kara couldn’t shake off her doubts.

This was inevitable, given just how vast the skill gap was between Sivar and others.

If the skill gap were manageable, it would be fine, but he’s someone who couldn’t win even if everyone ganged up on him.

Naturally, the standards of the theory he created would also be extremely high.

“If it’s possible then?”

“Huh?”

“What does it mean if it’s possible?”

In the midst of Kara’s contemplation, Sivar spoke up. He was being a bit prideful.

It’s rare for Sivar to show such pride. Kara showed a slight frown but then couldn’t help but chuckle.

That meant he was confident in his theory. She waved his theory paper with confidence as she replied.

“If someone else does this? You know that performance I mentioned? I’ll go out there and sing. Okay?”

“Are you serious?”

“If not, you have to go out and perform.”

“Um…”

Reverse proposal got Sivar’s eyes rolling. It seemed he had reservations about that.

But soon, he caught sight of someone and nodded in agreement.

“Sure. I’ll do it.”

“Great.”

Kara smiled inwardly. It seems I’ll get to see Sivar sing…

“Karaas.”

“Huh? Why are you calling me?”

“I need you to do this.”

“…?”

But that’s strange. Why ask Karaas of all people?

Moreover, Karaas nodded after glancing at the theory that Sivar provided. Implying that it’s possible.

“It seems doable. The theory is a bit ridiculous, though.”

“So, you can’t do it?”

“I can do it.”

And thus, the game of hot potato began.

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