On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 304

—————

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

—————

First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed Episode 304
Something feels like it’s going wrong.
The final evaluation had concluded.
Blue Team controlled 4 districts.
White Team controlled 4 districts.
It was a draw.
In one sense, the White Team had blocked the Blue Team’s reversal; in another, the Blue Team had pressed forward relentlessly to the end.
But victory or defeat was not what mattered.
The result was a draw, after all.
“Everyone did well. With this, I’ll conclude the final evaluation. Clean up the magical beast corpses and we’ll leave this place.”
“Teacher! Couldn’t we have one more match? A draw feels unfair!”
“That’s right! If Quantus hadn’t been restrained—”
There was some backlash from the Blue Team, but Ziel quickly suppressed it.
“You fell into the White Team’s strategy.”
“….”
“The final evaluation ends here. The result is a draw. That doesn’t mean your individual evaluations change.”
Ziel announced the evaluation results.
“First, I’ll announce the three students who recorded the best performance in the final evaluation. Student Yurio Harmatan, Student Maris Sopen, and Student Ann Peshwa.”
“Oh!”
“They’re all from the White Team!”
The Blue Team trembled with anger, their hands shaking.
But they had no choice but to accept it.
The reason the Blue Team, despite their superior overall strength, had to settle for a draw was because of those three.
Maris led the strategy of cutting off the waist and held out exceptionally well for a very long time.
Yurio issued timely commands and led the entire White Team.
Finally, Ann achieved the feat of restraining Quantus until nearly the very end—something only she could have done.
So in the end, one could say the White Team, having employed multiple strategies and tactics well even in an unfavorable situation, had the slight edge.
But this was a final evaluation conducted with both team and individual assessments simultaneously.
Even if they unexpectedly achieved a draw, an individual’s outstanding performance couldn’t be diminished.
“Quantus, you failed.”
“What? I was just trying to have a proper match!”
“That’s exactly why—why are you trying to have a match in the final evaluation, and one-on-one at that….”
Except for unusual cases like Quantus.
Ziel agreed with this assessment.
“Next, Student Delev Kundel and Student Celia Rihart. You led the Blue Team and fought brilliantly on the front lines.”
“Still, we made it into the top five….”
“It’s a shame, though.”
The two accepted their defeat nonetheless.
Their attitude seemed to have changed somewhat since they’d conceded the Swordsmanship Tournament victory to Yurio.
Their competitive spirit remained, but they seemed to have learned a little about how to accept defeat.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a defeat, but they could all sense how clearly they’d fallen behind in strategy and tactics.
“Furthermore, I will now conduct team-by-team feedback for this final evaluation.”
This aspect became abundantly clear in Ziel’s subsequent feedback.
“First, the Blue Team.”
I’d expected an assessment stating they hadn’t secured an objective advantage in overall power.
“You were too slow in quantifying your full power. You should have employed a strategy more similar to the White Team’s approach.”
“Pardon? We’re not ahead in terms of overall strength?”
Like Delev’s question, the Blue Team was clearly superior to the White Team by any measure.
But there was a subtle flaw in that assessment.
“If you only look at the top-tier students, that’s true. Delev Kundel, Celia Rihart, Quantus Hofel—you certainly have more of them. But when you factor in the average ability of the other students, you’re actually slightly behind.”
“Ah.”
Ziel had felt the same way initially.
But observing the students’ growth rates during the actual final evaluation revealed the opposite.
The students were growing even as they were being evaluated.
Of course, only Ziel could observe all these students in real time and accurately track their growth.
“If you’d thought more deeply rather than charging blindly forward, you would have achieved better results.”
That was certainly true.
The Blue Team’s failure to secure many occupied territories early on became the reason they couldn’t establish dominance despite having more top-tier students.
“And Quantus Hofel.”
“Yes!”
“Ann Peshwa is your weakness. Overcome it.”
It was a characteristically astute observation from Ziel.
The Blue Team harbored no further resentment.
They knew it was pointless to dwell on what had already passed, and pointing it out to Quantus wouldn’t help much anyway.
“Understood, sir. Next time I’ll win the match!”
He clearly hadn’t grasped the point.
But Ziel responded to even that answer with indifference.
“If you’re going to continue fighting, win within five seconds.”
“Ah!”
“Otherwise, Ann Peshwa will remain your weakness. I know you very well. I know nearly everything about you.”
Depending on how one heard it, those words were certainly open to misinterpretation, and Quantus trembled.
“She’s grasped all my weaknesses…”
Certainly, if not for Ann, Quantus would have won long ago without becoming so obsessed with the match.
“Yeah, Ann really does get under Quantus’s skin.”
“Whenever Ann says anything, Quantus gets all riled up.”
“Quantus is definitely weak to Ann.”
The Blue Team nodded in agreement.
If only it weren’t for Ann!
Conversely, Ann felt quite pleased with herself.
“Ann, you did half the work.”
“Well done. Our White Team hero.”
“If you’re going to be on the same team as Quantus next time, let me know. I’ll transfer there myself.”
Together, they formed a formidable combination.
Should they become opponents, neither could claim victory.
“However, the Blue Team’s breakthrough capability was exceptional. They maximized individual abilities, so I awarded high marks in that regard. Their determination to seize territory was also evaluated favorably. That concludes my assessment.”
Ziel didn’t forget to offer praise.
“Now I’ll begin the White Team’s feedback.”
Celia from the Blue Team tilted her head in confusion.
‘They performed well. Is there something to criticize?’
From Ziel’s perspective, there wasn’t.
There were certainly things they did well.
But feedback meant delivering both praise and criticism simultaneously, just as he’d done moments before.
“The White Team demonstrated tactical flexibility. Your judgment to recognize the objective disadvantage and isolate Quantus, their primary force, was sound. Your strategic retreat that conceded the Central District while securing practical gains was excellent.”
Just when it seemed like pure praise—
“However, your excessive reliance on strategy caused you to overlook variables. Before the final evaluation, I explicitly mentioned the existence of magical beasts, yet you gave this no consideration.”
A sharp critique followed.
“If the magical beasts hadn’t intervened, you would have lost the 5th District.”
Ziel remained coldly analytical.
“Strategy and tactics buy time and create variables. But what supports them is individual military strength. Had you concentrated on the 5th District from the beginning, the results would have been better.”
The entire White Team could accept this assessment.
While Maris and Yurio had performed brilliantly, they needed to consider their relative weakness in individual combat power.
And according to Teacher Ziel’s words, they should have recognized beforehand that the average power was slightly superior and acted more boldly.
Of course, had they known this earlier, the outcome would have been different.
Ultimately, all these evaluations served both to prove and to teach.
“Everyone worked hard. This concludes the final evaluation feedback.”
Regardless of the results, the long-awaited sense of liberation arrived.
“Finally, this semester is over!”
“Vacation! I’m finally going home!”
“I’m going to the restaurant! The Unlimited Table!”
“Right! If I get some coins this time, I can exchange them for cards!”
There was naturally still one more order of business.
“Next, we’ll proceed with the distribution of Praise Coins and Cards.”
Most students could receive coins based on their final evaluation results.
“These are Praise Coins…!”
“They’re really beautiful.”
“So five of these equals one card, right?”
The exchange took place immediately.
Students holding Praise Cards—effectively vouchers for the Unlimited Table—were overjoyed.
Some were thrilled to finally visit the legendary restaurant, while others had even rescheduled their return to their family homes.
“By the way, are there students who still have Praise Cards left? We should use Teacher Ziel’s voucher at least once.”
“I bet they’ve already spent all their Praise Cards on the Unlimited Dining Table.”
“Could this be Teacher’s scheme? I heard that last time when he followed Celia shopping, he came back looking completely drained.”
Ziel nodded at the plausible speculation, his expression showing genuine interest.
‘Now that I think about it, there was also the effect of discouraging people from using the free pass.’
The ‘price’ of the free pass was a whopping five Praise Cards!
From the current perspective, it meant having to resist the generous and magnificent food of the Unlimited Dining Table for that amount.
A plausible logic—if you weren’t confident you’d use it wisely, it was better to spend it on the Unlimited Dining Table instead.
“I have three cards. I’m going to collect two more and use the pass.”
Delev Kundel was at least accumulating them steadily.
Even Delev had already spent two cards on the Unlimited Dining Table, and though he was desperately restraining himself now, he was still struggling.
“Now for the last matter. Before you leave, I’ll announce the grade-level valedictorian.”
At that moment, the students’ chatter ceased as all eyes turned to one place.
The grade-level valedictorian!
Finally, the most important announcement they’d been waiting for had arrived.
“The Second Year First Semester grade-level valedictorian is Student Yurio Harmatan. Congratulations.”
“Ooooooh!”
“As expected! Yurio! That first semester was no joke!”
“Definitely!”
Yurio.
Swordsmanship Tournament Youth Division champion.
And his outstanding performance in practical training, the Exchange Tournament, various events, and this final evaluation.
Plus his growth rate.
It had been a semester where everything was excellent.
“I… I…”
Due to his nature, he stood there bewildered until Karen patted his back repeatedly, finally helping him to his feet.
“The valedictorian receives a scholarship and dormitory fee exemption. That concludes the announcements.”
The runner-up announced next was Delev Kundel.
Celia Rihart unfortunately fell to third place.
However, neither of them dwelled on disappointment or made excuses any longer.
‘Next semester, it’s definitely going to be me.’
‘I lost to Delev? Next time, it’s absolutely me!’
Instead, they ignited their fighting spirit.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
“Teacher! Why isn’t it me!”
“Because it isn’t.”
Nod.
“You’re fifth, Student Quantus Hopel.”
“Why is that!”
“Because you’re fifth.”
Nod.
Quantus had placed fifth.
“Fifth is already quite high….”
If not for his performance during the practical training and the Exchange Tournament, his ranking would have been even lower.
His raw skill was good, but the problem lay in other aspects that were difficult to expect unless he became a leader.
“That concludes the rankings. I won’t be announcing the remaining positions. During the break, everyone should inspect your weak points and focus on physical conditioning.”
“Yes!”
With that, the Sword School’s Second Years’ first semester came to an end.
The Swordsmanship Tournament, practical training, the Exchange Tournament, and the final evaluation.
All those schedules were completed, and at last, the break period had arrived.
“After cleaning up the Ruins, we’ll return to the Academy.”
“Yes!”
Dead silence fell over the Ruins after the Academy’s Sword School Second Years departed.
What happened afterward was purely coincidence.
A few hours after the students left.
A man who had received some order entered the Ruins.
‘Damn it, once every six months would be enough, but why am I being told to go check in just two months….’
That order too was coincidence.
You could call it the whim of someone higher up.
So he’d received this sudden order to visit ‘Experimental Area C’ and found himself here.
It was merely a difference of a few hours.
And the sight that greeted him was….
“Wh, what in the….”
It was completely different from what he’d seen just two months ago.
The magical beasts that should have been moving about normally or disappeared after being consumed by ‘Subject Zero’ now remained only as corpses.
And that wasn’t all.
Footprints were scattered everywhere.
And on top of that….
“This is insane.”
The Central Clock Tower, where Subject Zero slept and where all the research materials were kept, had burned down and collapsed entirely.
In that moment, the man recalled something.
It was a story from years ago.
But once he’d heard it, he could never forget it.
Because it was something his predecessor had experienced.
‘C, could it be that he’s come to this place again….’
Years ago.
Someone had come to these Ruins.
They detected the intruder and rushed to attack.
But they all died.
In an instant.
‘As many as forty of them.’
The predecessor was the first to discover those corpses.
While relaying that account, he added that he had experienced extreme fear.
Forty people had died.
That villain had slipped away leisurely, leaving no traces behind.
However, the test subject remained untouched.
After that, the Village nearly closed, but practical considerations—the inability to relocate the test subject—kept it operational.
Yet the fear persisted.
They reinforced magical measures to make the Entrance impossible to find.
But it had been breached.
Upon entering, all the magical beasts lay dead, and the Clock Tower had burned and collapsed.
“….”
The Man’s body began to tremble.
‘Something… seems to be going wrong….’

—————

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

—————