Infinite Mage

Chapter 110: End-of-Term Report Card (1)

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"Yeah. How about you guys? You must be dying now that the school break is over, huh?"

Nade's face quickly turned gloomy.josei

"I'm going crazy. I have to score above 80 in all subjects in the remaining time, and it’s killing me."

"Haha! You could even get promoted this time.

The only way to move up from Class Five to Class Four was to score above 80 in all subjects. It is not an average of 80, but in each subject, it is extremely challenging.

"Of course. Isn't that what every student naturally aims for?"

"Right, that's true. Well, I'll give it my best shot."

Nade looked dumbfounded, having expected words of encouragement. But Alpheas's teaching philosophy was firm. Students aren't racehorses. Left in the meadow, they'll come to realize their worth on their own.

"Should we help you?"

Shirone, rolling up his sleeves, offered to help with the weeding.

"Haha, I can't let you steal the only pleasure of an old man. I'll handle the weeds; you kids do what you enjoy."

Disappointment flickered in Nade's eyes. His plan to escape reality, even momentarily, by weeding was thwarted.

"Okay. Then take care, sir"

As Shirone and his group headed back to the dorms, worry clouded their faces. The same was true for other students. The school had been unsettled since Arcane's attack, making it hard to focus on studies as before.

Frustrated, Nade burst out.

"Ah, this is maddening. I need to study. Study! I just can't concentrate."

"It's normal to be unable to focus on anything else after a big blowout. It was the same after the presentation."

At Yiruki's words, Shirone sighed deeply.

"Still, it's better than my situation. I have twice as many subjects to raise above 80 compared to you guys. I'm not sure if it's possible."

"My only advantage is in math. I'm zero in humanities. So, in that sense, Nade's in the best position."

"What are you talking about? I don't particularly excel in any subject. You and Shirone are sure to top in practicals, but I can't, so I'm at the biggest disadvantage."

For Class Five, the practical exam focused more on the utilization of Spirit Zone than magic. Shirone with his Immortal Function and Yiruki with Savant Syndrome could excel in any practical, whereas Nade had to compete with a regular Spirit Zone like other students.

"My head’s starting to hurt with all these thoughts. Let's just take a break today and start tomorrow?"

At Nade's suggestion, they neither agreed nor disagreed. Even the usually diligent Shirone kept silent, indicating that their motivation had waned.

"Hey, guys, look over there..."

Shirone pointed towards the central park, and Nade and Yiruki's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? How are they here?"

Canis and Arin were walking around the school grounds. As they made eye contact with Shirone's group, they walked over. Canis raised his hand in recognition.

"Hey there. Are classes over already? The facilities and environment seem fine, but they seem to coddle the kids too much."

"You! What the hell are you planning?"

Nade blocked their path. Although he knew they were released without charges from Thadd, he thought their connection had ended. Or at least, it should have. So why were they strolling around the school?

Shirone asked,

"What's going on? Do you have some business at the school?"

Canis just looked at Shirone, the person he was most concerned about at the school. More than Alpheas or the teachers, Shirone was significant. He was the first to defeat him. If he couldn't surpass Shirone, getting stronger would be pointless.

"Listen carefully. If we face off again, the outcome will be the opposite of last time."

Before Shirone could respond, Nade retorted.

"You're still not in your right mind. You're a decade away from beating Shirone."

"You seem to be a decade short of being my match."

Nade's expression soured. The emotions from when Shirone was battling for his life resurfaced, and a murderous intent flickered in his mind. Yiruki, not wanting unnecessary trouble, intervened.

"Enough. What's important is why are you here?"

"Why come here?I’m just touring the place I'm going to be staying at."

"What?"

Shirone's group was taken aback by this unexpected revelation.

"Exactly as I said. This magic academy or whatever, I thought it'd be good to experience it."

Nade, rolling up his sleeves, snapped back.

"There are limits to underestimating a magic academy! Who would accept someone like you?"

Canis raised a finger and pointed out.

"Senior."

"What?"

"Call me senior. I checked, and you guys are in Class Five. I'm in Class Four."

Shirone's group was dumbfounded. Most likely, Alpheas had admitted the two of them. However, being admitted directly into Class Four was rare, though not unheard of.

"Why so surprised? We are disciples of an Archmage. We've learned all the basics of magic. Treating us the same as you leisurely folks is the real joke."

Shirone's group, irritated, remained silent. Considering the magic they had honed for over ten years with Arcane, being placed in Class Four indeed seemed undervalued.

"So, from now on, I expect you to address me respectfully as 'senior'."

"That's ridiculous! You're starting next semester, right? By then, we’ll also have advanced to Class Four!"

"Really? Your grades were surprisingly bad. Honestly, I was disappointed. To have struggled against such inept students."

The first thing Canis had investigated at the school was Shirone and his friends' grades and social relationships. Contrary to his expectation of them being top contenders, they were mid-ranked in Class Five, which was shocking.

However, no one in the advanced class underestimated them. The consensus was that they could rise to the top at any moment, a sentiment Canis had heard ad nauseam.

As Shirone's group bit their lips in frustration, Canis turned away with a satisfied look.

"Anyway, do your best. If you come in as juniors, I'll take good care of you. Hahaha!"

As Canis walked away, his shadow stretched towards Shirone's group, and Harvest raised both arms, showing the middle finger with both hands. The trio trembled with barely contained rage.

Shirone broke the heavy silence.

"Cancel the plan to rest today."

"Yeah. Canis as a senior? I'd rather quit school than endure that."

"Pfft, why quit? We should advance and show him up."

The three were solely focused on advancing. But how? The end-of-term evaluation was a different league of challenge. A summation of a long half-year, starting something now wouldn't guarantee success.

"I've been thinking about something..."

Shirone spoke with a serious tone.

"My chance of advancing, at best, was around 30 percent. And that's if I studied my hardest."

While not a mathematical analysis like Yiruki's, Shirone's insight was highly credible, so his friends believed his estimation. Nade's expression darkened again.

"Honestly, I bragged, but now that I think about it, it's not easy. If Shirone is at 30 percent, maybe I'm around 50 percent? Yiruki might be around 60 percent."

"No. I'm about 58.7 percent. Of course, advancement mainly depends on end-term grades, but honestly, I haven't attended a single class."

The trio sighed in unison. If things continued this way, they would have to bow their heads to Canis and Arin from next semester.

"So, I have an idea... What about this?"

At Shirone's suggestion, Nade looked up with bright eyes.

"What is it? Do you have a good plan?"

"Studying the way we've been doing won't cut it; our chances are too low. We need a new strategy."

Yiruki asked,

"Change our approach? But how?"

"My 30 percent chance is based on diligent studying. But if we focus solely on the exams, we could increase our chances to over 50 percent. For you, it might even reach 70 or 80 percent."

"Hmm. Focusing on exams? I get it. Specialize and concentrate, right?"

"Exactly. We only need to score above 80. No need to waste time on subjects we're good at. And we can ignore parts of the curriculum not likely to be on the exam. We can categorize the sixteen subjects into four areas: humanities, mathematics, sciences, and practicals."

Shirone counted off on his fingers as he explained.

"Fortunately, at least one area should be easy for each of us. And, importantly, our areas don't overlap. I'm humanities, Yiruki's mathematics, and Nade's sciences. Practicals are something we can't help each other with."

Yiruki nodded, understanding.

"So, you're proposing a study group. We skip areas we're strong in and help each other with weaknesses, right?"

"Exactly. If we focus on just getting over 80 in the exams, our chances will rise significantly. We might push it to 50 percent."

Yiruki's lips curled up in a smile. Seeing Shirone this desperate, it must have irked him to have Canis and Arin as seniors.

Either way, it was a good idea. And if all three could advance simultaneously, there couldn't be a better outcome.

"I'm in. Let's head to the study hall right now and start planning. What do you say?"

"Let's do it!"

The determined trio rushed off to Estas.

Shirone dedicated himself to studying day and night.

He knew the importance of managing time. An hour might fly by unnoticed for some, but for those who divided it into ten-minute segments, it felt substantial.

Shirone divided all his time until the end-of-term exams into one-hour blocks. Keeping time always in mind was his strategy to prevent it from slipping away.

He aimed for efficiency in targeting the exams.

Rather than understanding the material, he focused on mastering types of problems, analyzing the intention behind the questions and the methods to solve them. In this regard, the study group was effective. They filled in each other's gaps, allowing Shirone to raise his mock exam average to above 70.

However, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Once they started studying, it became clear that their weaknesses in certain subjects weren't due to laziness but a genuine lack of aptitude.

Especially Yiruki, whose disparity between humanities and mathematics was stark. Frantically solving problems Shirone had set, Yiruki put down his pen after just 30 minutes.

"Done."

"Let me see."

Shirone checked each of Yiruki's answers. His hands trembled as he realized why humanities teachers grimaced at the sight of Yiruki.

Shirone pointed at the test paper in disbelief.

"Hey, how does 'You eat pasta, I will eat pasta.' make any sense? I explained the use of auxiliary verbs to you."

"Why doesn't it make sense? You eat pasta! I will eat pasta! Perfectly clear. Emphasizing each as an independent subject."

"Uh? Oh, that..."

Shirone was momentarily flustered, finding the explanation plausible. But he quickly regained composure and yelled.

"That's not it! Language isn't math. It's a tool for expression, not for proving! So, you need to read between the lines, not separate the sentences!"

"Damn it, what's all that? Math is the best!"

"Shut up! I know you're being stubborn! You know it's weird, too, right?"

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