On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 435

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed — Episode 435
The Storm Transfer Exam (3)
Joshua Rihart’s heart was pounding.
He’d visited the year before for the Inter-Academy Exchange, but this time he felt even more nervous.
‘A real transfer exam, then.’
His younger sister Celia came to mind.
She’d no doubt come charging at him like a shot, ready to knock him senseless.
The girl was as predictable as they came.
But imagining the shock on Celia’s face when she later discovered the real reason filled him with an almost giddy pleasure.
“Joshua, you’re really taking this exam? You’re allowed to?”
At his friend’s question, Joshua gave a casual shrug.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“…Because you’re Rihart.”
“So? My sister’s also Rihart, and she’s a third-year here.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Joshua understood it too.
By the time you reached fifth year, you learned about politics and competing interests.
An academy’s reputation hinged on the pedigree of its students—the more members from powerful families, the greater the academy’s influence grew in turn.
“If you transfer here, everyone’s going to lose their minds.”
“It’ll be fine. Nothing like that’s going to happen.”
“What are you even talking about?”
In that regard, drawing so many Telvir Academy students to Edelwein with just Ziel’s name alone was remarkable.
In reality, the facilities at Telvir and Edelwein were nearly identical.
Some facilities were actually significantly better at Telvir.
The real gap lay mainly in the Magic Department—Telvir had little more than the name, while Edelwein had at least built a proper framework and secured a substantial number of students.
All things considered, Joshua was a fifth-year who was doing perfectly well at Telvir, so there was no reason to burden himself with political complications and transfer to Edelwein.
“Have you told your father?”
“He probably doesn’t know yet.”
“…You know, sometimes I look at you and think you’re completely hopeless.”
“You’re only just realizing that now?”
Joshua was chuckling when it happened.
“Hey! You idiot!”
A voice rang out.
The voice he’d been waiting for.
“Celia!”
“What are you doing here all of a sudden!”
“Excuse me? ‘Brother’? Ugh—”
Whack!
Joshua’s waist bent backward from the impact.
It was a powerful strike.
“Wait, you’ve gotten… stronger?”
“Do you want to die? Studying at the academy together? In the same grade, no less?”
“Hey, I have feelings too.”
“No, shut up. Is this serious? You really submitted a transfer exam application?”
“Would I have come all the way here with hardly any of the semester left if I hadn’t?”
“…Wow.”
His friend beside him quietly slipped away. He’d seen Celia a few times when they were younger, but there was no way this was an appropriate moment to smile and say hello.
“Are you insane? You were doing fine at Telvir—why leave?”
“You really think I’m going to pass?”
“Hey, that’s—”
Celia’s fist trembled slightly.
It wasn’t that she disagreed, but it was awkward to praise a blood relative like that either—a real dilemma.
“Listen. I’ve got my reasons for all this.”
“What, you’re planning to dramatically fail at the end? Is that supposed to be cool?”
“Half right, though.”
“What?”
“We’ve got to gather in the Auditorium right away—your third-year group’s Auditorium, I heard.”
“Hey, wait! Joshua!”
Celia’s call scattered uselessly into the air.
Left alone, Celia released a long sigh.
“You punk…….”
Still, the fact that she kept calling him that without fail showed they were a reasonably close pair of siblings.
But not today.
“Should I kill him today……? No, maybe tomorrow? I have to kill him sometime…….”
Even Delev, who’d been approaching to pick a fight with her, flinched and retreated at the sight of her muttering.
‘If I touch her now, I’m dead.’
Joshuah Rihart’s transfer exam application.
What kind of ripples it might cause—no one could say.
“Boss, Celia’s brother applied to transfer, didn’t he?”
“I’m aware.”
“Will it be all right?”
“You’re asking me the same question as Professor Emeric Kent. Is there any reason it wouldn’t be?”
“……There isn’t one for you, boss.”
“Then that settles it. We’ll begin the exam.”
Ziel paid it no mind at all.
Whoever the applicant was mattered nothing to him.
He would simply evaluate and assess the transfer candidates according to regulations, pass those who qualified.
And fail those who did not.
Transfer applicants were beginning to gather in the Auditorium one by one.
It wasn’t only the transfer applicants.
A considerable number of Third Year students had come out of curiosity, since transfer applicants were applying for their grade level.
If it had been a day or two before the semester started, nearly every Third Year would have crowded in.
“Hmm. How many do you think will pass? Five? Six?”
“Hard to say. If we’re going by Third Year standards and assume they’re roughly Fifth Year level……then maybe exactly that amount, like Professor Idel said?”
Not just students but professors as well had come to watch with keen interest.
Even Magic Department professors were present.
“Professor Emeric, your Magic Department doesn’t have any transfer applicants?”
“We don’t, actually. I suppose we should consider ourselves fortunate—no competitors.”
The reason so many eyes were fixed here was simple: it was unprecedented.
A transfer.
Edelwein and Telvir hadn’t had much exchange to begin with, nor had society directly compared the two in a way that fostered competition.
There was only one reason transfer applicants existed at all.
Because of him standing there—Teacher Ziel.
His reputation had already been high, but now that he’d become Family Head of the Steelheart Family, his name had risen even higher!
“But I heard Teacher Ziel continues to work here?”
“He does. I honestly can’t figure out why. If he’s already received a territory, there’d surely be mountains of work waiting there…….”
People didn’t know.
They didn’t know that Ziel was preparing everything for the complete automation of his territory.
“Teacher! I heard that during the break, Maris and Renoa worked as instructors in your territory!”
“That’s correct, Quantus Hopel.”
“Then would it be all right if I served as instructor for this transfer exam!”
“Go ahead.”
“Yes!”
And there was Quantus, seizing the instructor position through sheer audacity.
The other Third Year students who saw this clapped their palms with their fists in mock regret.
“I should’ve spoken first!”
“Quantus always…….”
Of course, since Quantus had volunteered of his own accord, he wouldn’t receive things like Praise Cards.
“But didn’t he get even bigger on the sides? How much muscle did he build over the break?”
“No idea. Ann didn’t seem to hold back this time.”
“Wait, didn’t Ann not return to her family this time? I heard she stuck around at first but then seemed to slack off so much she ended up going back home after all.”
“They all went to Teacher’s territory, right? I’m jealous. I should’ve stayed.”
In any case, the exam began.
“The exam will proceed in two rounds. First, we’ll conduct round one. Everyone follow Quantus Hopel, the test instructor, and move out.”
“Transfer applicants! Follow me!”
Quantus stepped forward with impressive confidence, his sheer size making everyone flinch.
“He’s doing well.”
“Quantus is good at simple things like that, boss. Just like Kelvin.”
“Me, me! Very bo, very complicated person!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kelvin was bickering with Gilbert again today.
It truly felt like the beginning of a new semester.
The difference from other semesters was the presence of transfer candidates.
“Everyone, put on the sandbags and Mana Blocking Bracelets being distributed!”
Quantus was overflowing with energy today. He was always like this, but today it seemed even more pronounced because he’d been given supervision duty.
The critical issue was that Ann, the supervising controller, still hadn’t returned from her family estate.
“If Ann had been here, I would’ve managed Quantus and gotten to it first…”
“This is ridiculous…”
Meanwhile.
“What is this?”
“Sandbags?”
“Mana… Blocking Bracelet?”
The transfer applicants who had received the equipment and heard the rules fell into profound shock.
“This maze’s total length is approximately twenty kilometers! If you get lost, it only grows longer! From now on, you’ll wear these two items and run endlessly seeking the exit!”
First Round.
Physical Fitness Test.
And the maze—difficult as mere navigation already was—was far from their only adversary.
“Make sure you skillfully evade all the enemies and traps that appear throughout!”
In short: efficiency.
What could have been divided into four separate rounds—first through fourth—had been compressed into two rounds at once.
The first round would measure stamina, trap navigation, and combat evaluation all at once!
It was pure Ziel.
“…What is this.”
Even Joshuah, who’d been so confident, was thrown off this time.
If he’d known it would be like this, he should’ve played around more during last year’s Festa before heading back.
As it was, he’d lost in the end anyway, never getting to truly enjoy himself before they all returned to Telvir together.
Of course, even if he’d watched from here, the outcome would’ve been the same.
Quantus had completely restructured everything!
“Do you think we can pass that?”
“I’m not sure… it seems possible, I guess.”
Even the Third Years lacked confidence—the difficulty was that severe!
But Ziel was merciless.
“Then, we begin.”
As expected, the transfer applicants faced an ordeal from the very start.
“Is this the right way?”
“Mark it first. Here, scratch something in. Or maybe plant something?”
“We don’t have anything to plant. I think scratching marks on the stone wall is the way to go…”
Getting lost in the paths was inevitable.
“Ugghhhhh!”
“Why won’t it open!”
“All together, push! One, two, three!”
They struggled before doors enchanted with such force that only tremendous strength barely budged them.
“This bracelet—I can’t use my Mana, I’m going insane! What is this thing?”
“No, my Mana won’t come at all. Is this really a test? A trial, more like!”
The applicants, experiencing Mana Blocking for the first time, had no idea what to do.
“Hey, hey! What is that?”
“A… magical beast? Right? It’s a magical beast! Everyone, run!”
A magical beast suddenly appeared, scattering them in panic across different directions until they became separated.
“Insane, what is this? Is everyone at Edelwein insane? Why are there magical beasts appearing!”
“You’re supposed to fight that, right? Right? Seriously, why didn’t they just let us bring our swords!”
Complaints erupted from various directions, but all they could do was press forward!
It was they who suffered the loss, not Ziel or Edelwein Academy.
Meanwhile, Ziel stood atop the maze wall alongside Gilbert and Kelvin, selecting dropouts.
Specifically, those who appeared unable to continue the test or who were pleading to be extracted.
“Applicant number three, disqualified.”
“Applicant number ten, disqualified. Come out and receive medical treatment.”
Injuries had occurred, surprisingly.
Some suffered muscle pain from exhaustion causing them to exert excessive force, or minor Mana reversal.
Kelvin and Gilbert joined the emergency treatment line.
“J-Just hold still. That, it’s a muscle issue.”
“……Who are you?”
“Almost… Master-level.”
“What?”
The first round didn’t take long.
It became clear almost at once that the magical beast was an illusion, and by continuing to mark and erase the path they’d traveled, finding the exit proved equally swift.
But a considerable number of students failed to advance.
Out of fifty, a full thirty had been eliminated.
Most struggled with physical exhaustion from the mana blocking, while some complained of muscle soreness and fear.
“Nearly as many dropped out as I expected.”
Ziel surveyed the successful candidates with the air of one whose predictions had proven accurate.
Joshua was among them.
‘There’s something… off about this exam.’
A face caught between unease and bewilderment!
The successful candidates felt joy, yet simultaneously they couldn’t escape a fresh wave of dread.
“If the first round was like this…… what’s the second round going to be?”
“I can’t even imagine……”
Their fears proved warranted.
What Ziel announced next exceeded anything they could have predicted.
“The second round is a sparring match against me.”
Ziel delivered the instruction immediately.
“We move now.”
Sparring against the Empire’s hero?
While the others stood stunned and speechless, Joshua’s thoughts crystallized.
‘My entire plan is falling apart.’
This…
Would anyone even pass?

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