Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 95 (Part 2):
“You came?”
Alea raised her eyebrows slightly and greeted.
If Asuka is a dog, Alea is a cat. Helmut had felt that the distance between them had subtly narrowed over time.
But that’s just a little bit.
There was a wall between them. Neither Helmut nor Alea were the type to break down that wall.
There were reasons for that. For both Alea and Helmut.
Alea was not at the level of an archmage, but she was an excellent magician. She might even earn the title of an archmage someday.
The archmage Antiol sensed the seed of darkness in Helmut. If that’s the case, Alea might sense it someday too.
Before she could sense it, Helmut had to say goodbye to Alea.
If they weren’t roommates, they would have erased each other’s existence. So this was the product of a remarkable coincidence.
Alea cast a glance at Helmut. A smile touched her lips.
“Midterms are coming up. Are you confident in taking the top spot in the swordsmanship department?”
The scale of the question itself was different. She wasn’t asking if he was confident in doing well on the exam; she was asking if he could take the top spot. As if it were a given.
Of course, it was a given to Alea. She had been confident in taking the top spot in the magic department this time too.
“In the practical exam.”
“You’re not confident in the written exam?”
“I didn’t get a perfect score on the transfer exam, did I?”
It meant that things didn’t always go his way. Alea tilted her head.
“Isn’t the written exam easier? You can make mistakes in the practical, you know.”
Actions can lead to mistakes, but knowledge cannot be wrong. That was Alea’s logic.
The premise of that logic was that he knew the answers to the exam questions.
Unlike Sian, Alea looked relaxed as the midterm approached.
Sian didn’t even bring up the question of whether Alea was studying well for the exam.
‘Studying for exams? I don’t really need to do that. It’s all in my head already,’ Helmut thought, expecting an unlucky response like that.
In reality, Alea seemed to spend every day holed up in the lab or the dorm not because of exams but for some other reason. Perhaps, it was similar to why Helmut was often in the training grounds—it had become a part of their daily routine.
People like them didn’t need to disrupt their routines just because exams were looming.
“You haven’t taken many classes that are worth taking a written exam for.”
Until the second year of the Swordsmanship Department at Greta Academy, the curriculum focused on basic training. It was about honing one’s fundamentals and conditioning the body. Consequently, there were only two theoretical subjects: ‘History of Swordsmanship’ and ‘Fundamental Training Theory,’ along with two general education courses.
As a transfer student, Helmut faced a disadvantage in choosing general education courses. Greta Academy allowed students to select general education courses based on their academic performance. Those with higher grades got the first pick of the courses they wanted.
Having entered through a transfer exam, Helmut had the lowest priority for course selection. Thus, one of the general education courses he semi-compulsorily chose was ‘History of the Continent.’ It wasn’t a big deal since it somewhat matched the content of the transfer exam. The only issue was that the class was exceptionally boring, with an elderly professor delivering the lectures in a slow and monotonous tone. Helmut almost felt like slamming his head on the desk.
He deeply realized that Alea was an excellent teacher.
The other course wasn’t as dull, thankfully. It was called ‘Understanding Magic,’ and the content was interesting, but it was a subject that the Swordsmanship Department students tended to avoid.
In fact, students from other departments weren’t too keen on it either because it inevitably led to intense competition due to its grading system.
Alea raised an eyebrow.
“Many magicians will probably take ‘Understanding Magic’. The name itself is a subject that is advantageous to magicians. Some people avoid it because they expect the competition to be fierce, but there are also people who think it will be advantageous to them.
First of all, the professor of that class has a very good reputation, so the class is worth taking.”
He felt like there were a lot of magicians in the class.
Initially, due to his friendship with Alea, there were quite a few students who tried to strike up a conversation with Helmut. However, when Helmut coldly ignored them, that soon dwindled.
General education class time was not long, and Helmut did not feel the need to mingle with other department students who approached with curiosity.
His interactions with swordsmanship Department students were primarily to maintain his academy life. After all, he wasn’t particularly sociable by nature.
“That class… I’ve studied, but can’t I just take the exam moderately?”
“You won’t even make it to the top if you don’t write perfect answers. If you go too easy, even the middle will be tough. It’s a subjective essay exam.”
Rather than assigning grades based on overall performance, some exams evaluated specific criteria in detail.
Even if there is an excess class, there is no shortage of time.
“General education classes are low in the total score.”
“But the swordsmanship Department practical exams don’t determine rankings in a tournament style. They score each section separately. So, even if you were in the top grade for the practical part, if another student is the same, the written exam will make the difference.”
“So… that means excelling in the practical won’t make you valedictorian?”
“Exactly. And to put it another way, you could have lower grades than Asuka.”
Asuka had received the highest grade in every section of the practical exams for four consecutive times last year. He was penalized, which affected his score negatively, leading to him not being able to attend the class and eventually failing the written exam. He ended up at the bottom of the class in the comprehensive rankings.
Helmut’s expression changed. He felt a slight sense of crisis.
‘That’s… quite unacceptable.’
Losing to Asuka was an incredibly unpleasant thought.
Alea, who noticed Helmut’s reaction, said with a hint of amusement, “Maybe that will change that guy’s attitude.”