How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 156

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (156)

“….”

Pushed back?

Me?

Certainly, if score adjustments were applied like this, the team that received the most difficult field would have a higher base score than ours from the start.

I handled the given field perfectly. And Lucas did the same.

If both were perfect, then their side with the higher base score would….

“Oh my, did our prince’s pride get hurt~? It was almost perfect but ended up disappointing~”

“Why would Leo’s pride be hurt? Elias, what did you say?”

“….”

Leo spoke quietly.

“…No. Pride getting hurt.”

Leo’s eyes turned toward the right broadcast screen.

The image of Lucas lightly embracing his teammates was displayed on screen. At the same time, Julia’s gaze met the broadcast camera.

“My victory.”

Bavaria’s victory in securing him first.

Julia wouldn’t know that fact, but it’s better she doesn’t. If she knew, she wouldn’t try to slowly seep in like now but would charge forward aggressively.

Even though I didn’t have the choice at the beginning, now that we’re already friends, it’s different.

I won’t let Baden take him away.

“….”

Elias, who had been looking at Leo as if dumbfounded, grinned mischievously.

“How boring. I was trying to tease you a bit, but you’re not thinking about the exam?”

“Even if I’m pushed back, it’s still bonus point territory anyway.”

“Why haven’t you changed since you were six years old. I should tell your mother~”

What is he saying….

Since Team 1 friends brought up rankings anyway, there was no need to respond to Elias’s words.

Beep―

[26 minutes 37 seconds.]

[Exam concluded.]

Three minutes after Team 6’s exam ended, Team 5 also finished their exam.

Team 5 students seemed to think they finished early, their faces full of smiles.

‘They probably never imagined that Team 6, without a fire ability user, would finish earlier.’

Students sitting nearby let out awkward laughs and worried.

“Ah, what are they going to do.”

“I know….”

Still, it didn’t take long for them to grasp reality.

Team 6 students waited in the exam hall until Team 5 finished, then returned here together.

“Hahaha! Ah, look at their faces.”

Elias laughed while hitting empty chairs.

Team 5 students were entering this place with bewildered faces.

Since Team 6 had come out first and was waiting for them, it was natural.

On the other hand, Team 6 had a harmonious atmosphere despite being a completely mismatched team composition.

[Thank you for your hard work taking the exam. The announcement of successful candidates will be made shortly, so please take your seats and wait.]

“Ah, what place did we get. My heart is beating so fast.”

“First place.”

“But Karst was too powerful.”

“Ah, exactly….”

Team 1 students conversed behind us.

Since Elias was starting to grin from ear to ear again, Leo quickly changed the subject.

“We’re going straight to the arts festival after this ends, right?”

“Ah, to watch the play? I am going, but I have to go see a professor briefly after this ends, so we’ll meet….”

“What did you do this time?!”

“Hey~ I’m the victim again this time. If Luca hadn’t warned me, I almost couldn’t take today’s exam.”

Almost couldn’t take the exam?

But since Lucas’s name came up, I couldn’t ask deeply.

“Anyway, that’s not something to worry about today. Listen carefully. Luca told us not to come to the performance hall today, right?”

“Why did he say not to come?”

“How would I know. But if he says not to come, shouldn’t we definitely go~? Let’s drag our whole class along.”

There must be a reason, but he’s just barging in recklessly….

“Ah, come to think of it, why was the arts festival moved up? Someone asked me to find out.”

“Why would it be moved up. Otherwise we’d have to play a week before the 3rd exam, and everyone would be too busy preparing for exams to participate in the arts festival.”

Actually, the real reason is different.

Since half would be eliminated here today, an event was needed to divert the attention of those who failed.

Document elimination candidates accepted reality since they were eliminated so quickly and didn’t say much, but 1st round elimination candidates who had tasted success are still complaining.

Moreover, since the 2nd round involved team movement, team conflicts intensified, so there was a need to quickly divert attention.

‘The Drama Club and orchestra did send threatening letters that weren’t quite threats… but wouldn’t about a week be fine?’

Would students really cram for something like this? It was incomprehensible to Leo’s way of thinking.

Then, the professor’s voice came through amplification magic again.

[We will now announce the successful candidates. First, before announcing individual successful candidates, we will announce the teams receiving bonus points.]

The professor paused once, then called out teams.

[4th place, Team 5. 3rd place, 8th Team.]

“Waaaah!”

“Ah, we’re 3rd place? I knew we’d be pushed back by one as expected.”

Even while saying that, Elias wore a satisfied smile.

[2nd place, Team 1.]

“…Huh?!”

Unlike before, the gymnasium was quiet.

Only belatedly did applause and cheers ring out.

Team 1 students who had been sitting dazed suddenly jumped up from their seats.

“What, we’re 2nd place?!”

“No way…! No matter what, weren’t we the ones who did everything by the book from start to finish?!”

“….”

While the students couldn’t accept reality, Leo remained seated in silence.

2nd place.

I really was pushed back.

Since they received a more challenging field, one could think Team 6 had luck on their side, but if I had faced two rampagers at once in Zugspitze….

I too would have ordered them to split in two, like Team 5 did, and like Julia did.

‘It’s an acceptable result.’

This is rightfully me being pushed back.

Of course, as much as I’m lacking, Bavaria needs talent all the more.

* * *

‘What’s with him.’

Scary, isn’t he?

I avoided looking at Team 1’s waiting area on the opposite side. I couldn’t tell if he was looking at Cheringen or me, but Leo had been glaring this way continuously.

Still, there was someone trembling behind me, so I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about other teams.

“W-w-we haven’t been called yet… don’t tell me…!”

“Ah, just stay still…! I can hear twice as loud!”

“….”

Both Melvin and Philip whispered with pale faces.

‘What are these guys thinking.’

“Team 1 in second place.”

Cheringen muttered beside me with a faint smile.

‘Still, this one catches on to situations quickly.’

Then, the Professor looked toward where we were and opened his mouth.

[First place, Team 6.]

“…!”

“Waaaaah―!”

The cheers pierced my eardrums.

I stood up from my seat and briefly hugged the students once more.

‘They evaluated us better than I thought.’

We beat the strong first place contender.

If it were individual matches, it would have been difficult to beat Leo.

To think I could beat my teacher, even as a team – it’s quite moving.

“It’s thanks to you, Lucas.”

Cheringen said to me with a smile.

“Not really.”

“Guys, you really worked hard… I really thought I was going to freeze to death, but we came down alive… and even got bonus points…”

Philip was almost crying.

I thought this guy had no ambition since his academic scores were terrible, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

[From first to fourth place will equally receive 10 bonus points. Now we will announce the individual passing results.]

“…W-wait. This isn’t the end?”

“Ah, just because a team gets bonus points doesn’t mean all team members pass. I’m curious how our team did.”

Philip groaned at Cheringen’s relaxed words.

[The highest score among those who passed is 100 points, the lowest is 63 points. Those who passed, please come down to the first floor. 24th place, 63 points. Victoria Behrmann.]

A student from Team 8 ran down to the center of the arena.

Soon, 19 people’s rankings were called.

During that time, only Cheringen remained beside me.

Cheringen still smiled with a calm face, not seeming nervous at all.

“All our team friends are advancing to the third round. I hope we meet again on the next team.”

“Yeah.”

First, almost no one was selected from teams that didn’t receive bonus points.

Only one or two students with useful unique abilities from each team were called down.

As expected, bonus points were a major factor determining pass or fail.

‘Now it’s fifth place.’

[Fifth place, 90 points. Elias Hohenzollern.]

“What! Why am I only 90 points?! It should be higher!”

“Well, you protected the ruins first…”

“Aha~”

I could hear Elias and Leo’s conversation from the first floor.

Still, there’s no reason to be disappointed.

90 points after wasting half the practice period is quite good.

Just a few days ago he was talking about dropping out, and now he’s confidently ranked fifth – that’s already successful.

[Fourth place, 97 points. Julia Cheringen.]

“Waaaaah—!”

“Ah, I’m fourth place. I should get ready, Lucas.”

Cheringen said that with a smile and stood up from his seat.

‘I thought it would be higher, how unexpected.’

[Third place, 98 points. Narke Farnese.]

From the other side of the stands, Narke smiled and went down to the arena.

As we get to higher rankings, it’s nice to hear my friends’ names called.

I could see the friends who went down to the arena secretly gesturing to me behind the Professor’s back.

[Second place.]

‘Now I’ll be called too.’

[None.]

“…?!”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, all the students in the stands turned their eyes toward me.

Even though the noise from the students grew louder, the Professor paid no attention and called first place.

[First place, 100 points. Leonard Wittelsbach.]

“What?”

“Lucas is…?”

My eyes met with Leo as he stood up from his seat.

Though he was acting expressionless, I could feel his momentary confusion at me not being called.

The students who passed began looking back and forth between the Professor and me as if bewildered.

[That makes 23 people, right?]

There should be 24 people who passed.

Otherwise, how would they group into four teams of six each in the third round?

The Professor looked around at the 23 who passed, then raised his head.

[It’s a tie for first place. 100 points, Lucas Ascanien.]

“….”

“…Waaaaah―!”

I unconsciously let out the breath I had been holding.

‘…Are you kidding me…’

My heart almost dropped.

Couldn’t you call me all at once?

More than that, 100 points.

I never expected it.

Getting 100 points on practical exams at this school isn’t common.

‘I was evaluated better than I thought.’

“Luca~!”

“Be quiet, Elias.”

Another student beside him, not Leo, scolded him.

As I went down to the arena, I felt the lights shining hot above my head.

I responded to Cheringen’s eye contact and stood next to Leo.

Seeing that I had arrived at my position, the Professor opened his mouth.

[While the principle is to avoid creating the same rank when possible, by unanimous decision of the professors from the First Education Institute and 2nd Education Institute, an exception was made for this 2nd Year second selection.]

The Professor looked toward Leo and spoke.

[Student Leonard Wittelsbach of Team 1 was awarded the highest score for accurately knowing what should be prioritized most in a complex field and efficiently leading his teammates.]

“Thank you.”

[And student Lucas Ascanien of Team 6 was awarded the highest score for quickly utilizing his knowledge and information in crisis situations. This was the most difficult test among the four exams, and accordingly, no teams in the 3rd Year and 1st Year tests conducted at the same time solved this field correctly.]

The Professor looked back and forth between Leo and me as he continued.

[Both students showed the best performance in their respective fields. Congratulations on first place.]

As I smiled while managing my expression, someone extended their hand from beside me.

“…Huh?”

Elias’s surprised voice could be heard from the end.

No, it wasn’t just Elias. All the friends standing in the front row looked this way with confused eyes.

Leo was extending his hand expressionlessly.

“….”

It’s not like he doesn’t know we shouldn’t act familiar in front of other students.

Seeing that his expression contained no emotion at all, it seems that guy is also acting.

‘…This guy is dangerously…’

How dare he get the same rank as me—is he saying let’s have a proper match?

Probably not.

This Antagonist has been raising the training intensity as if he’s made an enemy, so my thoughts keep jumping like this whenever I deal with him.

Of course, there must be a reason for suddenly doing things he’s never done before.

‘I should skip training for a while.’

Who knows what kind of trouble might spark next.

I simply shook hands and finished the greeting.

[Now the 24 people here will be divided into 4 teams of 6 each to advance to the 3rd round. Only six people will be eliminated from this group, so you can feel much more at ease, right?]

“…”

At ease my ass…

Though I can’t say that out loud.

Everyone here will be aiming for Team 1.

Isn’t this essentially a test where the goal is to rank in the top 6 out of 24 people?

As expected, no one answered.

The Professor smiled as if he understood and opened his mouth.

[Well then, I’ll now announce the 3rd round teams.]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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