The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 56: Midterm Evaluation (1)

Click.

The door to the lecture hall opened, and a large man walked in with heavy steps.

The man, with a ferocious appearance reminiscent of a beast, Professor Lucas, stood at the podium and scanned the gathered cadets.

"Let's see... There are 253 third-year warriors in total. Is everyone here?"

"Yes. Everyone is present."

Yuren, the representative cadet of the Warrior Department, stood up and answered.

I clicked my tongue as I glanced around the lecture hall, packed with Warrior Department cadets.

‘Seeing it like this, the Warrior Department really has a lot of people.’

More than half of the 472 third-year cadets belonged to the Warrior Department, which specialized in close combat.

‘Of the remaining 219, half are in the Magic Department, and the rest are in the Support Department or other miscellaneous departments.’

The Support Department mainly consisted of clerics like Iris, who specialized in healing and blessings.

The other departments grouped together the irregular cadets who didn’t belong to the Warrior or Magic Departments.

“As you all know, tomorrow is the Warrior Department’s midterm evaluation day.”

“...”

At Professor Lucas’s words, tension appeared on the faces of the cadets gathered in the lecture hall.

The Warrior Department’s midterm evaluation.

While the final exam at the end of the semester involves forming parties regardless of department, the midterm evaluation is conducted separately for each Department.

The score ratio between the midterm and final exams was 30:70.

Although the final exam held more weight, the midterm could not be ignored by cadets whose futures as heroes depended on their overall ranking after graduation.

“The midterm evaluation will be based on the points you accumulate by hunting demonic beasts within a designated area.”

Professor Lucas placed his hand on a magical device on the podium.

Light emitted from the device, and a holographic map appeared in the air.

“There are three areas in total. A mountainous terrain with trees and forests, a desert terrain with sand and rocks, and a snowy terrain covered with ice and snow.”

The holographic map displayed the areas in green, yellow, and white.

“Hunting demonic beasts in these areas will earn you points based on their grade.”

“How many grades of demonic beasts are there?”

A cadet raised their hand and asked.

“Good question.”

Professor Lucas nodded and manipulated the magical device.

The holographic map changed into the shape of various demonic beasts.

“Regardless of species, three-eyed demonic beasts are worth 1 point, four-eyed ones are worth 3 points, and five-eyed ones are worth 10 points.”

At this, the lecture hall buzzed with excitement.

“Ugh…”

“There are five-eyed demonic beasts too?”

“I think I could manage up to four-eyed ones…”

“I’m going for quantity. Isn’t it better to sweep through the three-eyed ones?”

“Look at the point difference. You’d have to catch 10 three-eyed beasts to match one five-eyed one. It’s better to aim for the big ones.”

“How do you even hunt a five-eyed demonic beast?”

“Well… skillfully?”

“Ha! Only people like Yuren can hunt those! We should stick to quantity.”

While the cadets were arguing loudly about the best strategy...

“Silence.”

Boom.

Professor Lucas slammed his fist on the podium, and a chilling silence fell over the lecture hall.

“I haven’t finished explaining yet, so save your thinking for later.”

He pressed another button.

The hologram shifted into the shape of a massive horse.

A majestic horse with a glowing blue horn, muscular body, snow-white fur, and lightning crackling around it as it breathed.

And most notably—

Three pairs of red eyes covering its face.

Even though it was just a hologram, the demonic beast's overwhelming presence sent shivers down my spine.

“Six eyes?!”

“This is insane! A six-eyed demonic beast is something only active heroes can deal with!”

“Professor Lucas, you don’t expect us to hunt that thing, do you?”

The cadets looked at Professor Lucas with trembling eyes.

Lucas grinned as he looked down at the cadets from the podium.

“Do you think I would bother preparing this material if I didn’t expect you to hunt it?”

“That’s…”

The cadets exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to say.

“Well, I’m not saying just anyone can hunt it.”

Professor Lucas looked up at the hologram as he continued speaking.

“This demonic beast is a special mount trained by Professor Bianca from the Magic Department. It won’t attack unless you provoke it first.”

“Ah…”

“Whoever manages to break the bell hanging around its neck will automatically take first place in the midterm evaluation, regardless of the points they’ve accumulated.”

In other words, if someone could destroy the bell around the beast's neck, there would be no need to compete with others desperately hunting beasts in the designated areas.

“And whoever succeeds in breaking the bell will also receive an additional reward.”

“An additional reward…?”

“What kind of reward?”

“Heh, I’ll leave that as a surprise for later.”

Lucas grinned mischievously.

“But I’ll tell you this much—it’s something quite valuable.”

“Something valuable…”

Greed flickered in the eyes of the cadets.

If Professor Lucas himself described it as valuable, it certainly wasn’t an ordinary item.

On top of that, just breaking the bell would guarantee first place in the midterm evaluation, so it was impossible not to be tempted.

But only for a moment.

“Hmm.”

“No matter what, a six-eyed demonic beast…”

Staring at the creature’s six gleaming eyes, the cadets quickly returned to reality.

“If it won’t attack first, maybe we could sneak up and break the bell?”

“Do you think that’s easy? What if you accidentally hit its body instead of the bell? You’d end up in the intensive care unit.”

“Intensive care? You’d be lucky if that’s all…”

“Come on, it’s Professor Bianca’s mount. You won’t actually die, right?”

“Didn’t you hear? Every year, after the third year, a few cadets die during these exams. Last year, three died during the midterms!”

“What? Last year? The current fourth-years? The ones said to be the strongest since the academy’s founding…”

“Exactly. If three of those seniors died, what chance do we have?”

The cadets began murmuring anxiously again.

Professor Lucas’s voice, now lowered, echoed through the room.

“Silence.”

The magical force in his voice weighed down on the entire lecture hall.

Professor Lucas scanned the room before speaking again.

"As you've heard, unlike the previous exams, from the third-year midterm evaluation onward, there is a possibility of 'casualties.' Simply put, if you overestimate your abilities and act recklessly, you might end up dead."

“……”

Gulp.

The candidates swallowed hard, their faces filled with fear.

Watching them, Professor Lucas clicked his tongue.

"Candidate Albert."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Where are we?"

"Uh, well... we're in the Main Building, Lecture Room 1-A...."

"Not that. I’m asking, where are you all currently enrolled?"

"Oh... this is the Hero Academy!"

"Exactly. The Hero Academy."

Professor Lucas nodded solemnly.

"You’re not here to get good grades. You’re not here to secure a guaranteed future. Nor are you here for honor or personal gain."

"The reason you're spending four years in this academy is to learn how to survive as heroes."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"I'm not going to tell you not to be afraid. I'm also not going to tell you not to run away."

However,

"If you want to live as a hero, then think."

Think, and ponder deeply.

Consider, reflect, and reason.

"What you can do, what you need to learn, and how to survive."

Professor Lucas struck the blackboard with a sharp bang as he glanced around at the candidates.

"That's the purpose of this exam."

“……”

In the classroom filled with over 200 students, the second hand's ticking echoed loudly.

"Each candidate can choose the terrain where they want to start, so think carefully about which terrain will be most advantageous for you."

With those final words, Professor Lucas walked out of the classroom.

"Whew..."

"Man, Professor Lucas's presence is really something..."

Once Professor Lucas left, the silence in the classroom was replaced by a buzzing hum.

"So, if we can choose our starting point, where will you pick?"

"The mountainous terrain seems like the safest bet, right?"

"Hey, think for once, man. Everyone will probably pick the mountains, just like you. There’ll be too much competition! It’s better to pick the desert or the snowfields to reduce the number of competitors."

"But what if everyone else thinks the same and flocks there?"

"That’s…"

With just one day left until the midterm, the large-scale battle of wits among the candidates for good grades had already begun.

* * *

"Dale, where are you going to start?"

After class ended, Yuren approached me with quick steps.

"I'm planning to start in the mountains."

"The mountains? Hmm. Isn't there going to be too much competition there?"

"Well, it's still the easiest terrain to move around in."

But what I didn’t tell Yuren was this:

I didn’t choose the mountains simply because they were easy to move around in.

‘In truth, the snowfields are actually easier to traverse.’

Having wandered the continent of ice and snow for thousands of years in my previous life, I was far more comfortable in the snowfields.

Yet I chose to start in the mountains for one reason.

‘This time, I'm aiming for first place.’

The white horse, clad in blue lightning and sporting a horn.

The mountainous region was the first place where that monster was discovered in my previous life.

‘Back then, I didn’t even think of hunting it.’

But things are different now.

‘The rewards are tempting too.’

In my previous life, Yuren was the one who shattered the monster’s bell and claimed first place.

The special reward he received back then was a sword forged from the horn of the monster.

‘When you channel mana into it, the sword crackled and glowed with blue lightning.’

It wasn’t a legendary artifact that granted unparalleled power with a single weapon, but it was still a great sword, far superior to the basic iron sword I was using now.

‘Sorry, Yuren, but this time, I’ll be the one taking the sword.’

Besides, after graduation, Yuren was destined to inherit his family's legendary sword, Dawn, which had been passed down through generations of the Helios family.

He could spare this one.

"Dale, don’t tell me… you're planning to go after that monster?"

Did he catch on to my thoughts?

Yuren asked, his face stiff with concern.

"Yeah, that's the plan."

"......"

I answered casually, and Yuren shot me a sharp glare.

"No way."

Yuren bit his lip, looking uncharacteristically anxious.

"No matter how skilled you are, I won’t yield the top spot."

"Well, then you’ll just have to shatter the bell before I do."

"…Fine. See you tomorrow, Dale."

With that, Yuren turned and walked away.

"Hmm."

I tilted my head, watching Yuren’s retreating figure.

‘Who would’ve thought Yuren was so obsessed with grades during his candidate days?’

Maybe it was because he had always assumed he’d naturally be the top student.

Seeing him so focused on securing first place was strangely refreshing.

“Still, I’m not planning on giving it up easily.”

As I etched the image of the holographic unicorn into my mind, I made my way out of the classroom.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]