The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 112

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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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Chapter 112. Final Evaluation (2)
“Did you all find your Party members?”
“No, half of us are still spinning our wheels.”
“Ugh, this exam is going to be a disaster!”
“Argh! Why did Professor Lucas Kane stick me with this pathetic Party?!”
“It’s all the professor’s fault.”
“Shut your mouth!”
The day of the exam.
Before the final evaluation test details were even announced, the Classroom had descended into absolute chaos.
Some Candidates who had already assembled their Parties wore expressions of calm confidence.
Others wailed in despair at the sight of their ragtag Party compositions.
And still others mocked them mercilessly.
Standing before the monumental hurdle of the final evaluation, the Candidates were in such disarray it resembled a bustling marketplace.
“Silence.”
Professor Lucas Kane entered through the door and spoke in a low voice.
The Classroom fell silent instantly, as if doused with cold water.
“Judging by your expressions, you all seem quite nervous.”
Professor Lucas Kane swept his gaze across the Candidates and smiled wickedly.
He placed a large box he’d brought onto the podium and continued speaking.
“Knowing you’d be like this, I prepared a special homemade juice just for you all….”
“No, thank you!”
“We’re not nervous at all!”
The Candidates shook their heads frantically upon seeing the sticky green juice filling the box.
“Is that so? If you don’t want it, I suppose there’s nothing I can do.”
Professor Lucas Kane gazed at the juice in the box with an expression of genuine disappointment.
“Hmm. Still, it would be wasteful to simply discard juice I went out to the Back Mountain yesterday and personally ‘gathered’ the ingredients for. Since time is short, I’ll select just one person to drink it.”
“….”
At the mention of selecting just one person to drink the juice, all the Candidates’ eyes fixed upon a single Candidate.
The Candidate with a face full of freckles and a somewhat clumsy demeanor shook his head, his complexion turning ashen.
Professor Lucas Kane gazed at that Candidate and broke into a broad smile.
“Albert, you look quite nervous.”
“N-no! I’m really fine, Professor! I’m not nervous at all!”
“Hehe. I understand. You couldn’t find a Party, so you were randomly assigned to one, correct? When you’re randomly assigned to a Party like that, it’s only natural to feel more nervous than usual.”
“That’s not it! D-Dale was actually very kind in welcoming me…!”
“Dale? That bastard welcomed you kindly?”
Professor Lucas Kane’s gaze turned toward me.
He shook his head with a resolute expression and continued speaking.
“Nonsense. There’s no way Dale would ever welcome someone kindly.”
What?
What did I do?
“Anyway. If that hopeless bastard joined a Party, he’d be even more on edge.”
Lucas Kane’s lips curled into a smirk as he pulled a juice bottle from the box and approached Albert.
“Here, drink this health tonic in one go, Albert Candidate.”
“Hack! Gaaaah!”
Albert screamed and thrashed violently, but he couldn’t overcome Lucas Kane’s brute strength.
After Albert consumed Lucas Kane’s special protein juice and became “healthier” in the process.
“Now then, let me explain the final evaluation exam.”
The real topic of the day had begun.
“As you all know, this final evaluation is conducted by Party. Party assignments are already complete, so you’ve all confirmed your Party members, right?”
The Candidates nodded at Lucas Kane’s question.
“Of course, I don’t think every Candidate here got the Party they wanted. Some Parties may have received members they never wanted in the first place.”
At Lucas Kane’s words, deep sighs escaped from several Candidates.
“But that’s the same after graduation when you go out into the world.”
Lucas Kane swept his gaze across all the Candidates and continued.
“There will be times when your Party has no support class members at all, and conversely, times when you have no vanguard to lead the charge.”
Typically, when composing an ideal 5-person Party, you’d have 2-3 warrior-class members to lead the charge, 1-2 magic-class members to provide firepower support from the rear, and 1 support-class member to increase the Party’s sustainability.
But that was only what an “ideal” Party composition looked like—reality was different.
There were plenty of Parties composed entirely of 5 warrior-class members with no magic or support classes, and conversely, there were times when insane compositions formed with 3 or more support-class members in a single Party.
“Creating the ideal Party you desire is practically impossible.”
Lucas Kane spoke with a firm voice.
“Rather, you’ll face far more moments where you must work alongside Party members who don’t mesh with you at all.”
The Academy’s reluctance to actively intervene in Party composition stemmed from this very reason.
After graduation, you’d have to find your own Party in the outside world.
And in such cases, you’d most likely end up in a “non-ideal” Party.
“You’ll work with Party members below your level, and you’ll also have to work with Party members far above your level.”
“What matters isn’t who you partnered with—it’s realizing what you yourself can contribute to the Party.”
“Think deeply, strategize, and agonize. How can you prove your worth in this small world called a ‘Party’?”
Lucas Kane swept his gaze across the Candidates and spoke quietly.
“Because after you graduate from here, you won’t even have that opportunity.”
“….”
“….”
Silence descended over the Classroom.
The Candidates who had been complaining about their Party members swallowed hard.
I watched Lucas Kane, who had instantly transformed the atmosphere of the Classroom, and suppressed a smirk.
‘That man really does love showing off, doesn’t he.’
Of course, that didn’t mean Lucas Kane was wrong.
Just as he said, after graduation, most people were cast out without even having the chance to contemplate what role they could play in their Party.
‘The problem is that even if you contemplate, a role doesn’t materialize out of thin air.’
As I had in my previous life.
When the skill gap between Party members was too severe, sometimes no role was given at all.
‘At times like that, it’s really… ugh.’
My shoulders trembled as fragmented memories from my past life crept forward unbidden.
“Now then, I believe you’ve all grasped the fundamentals regarding the Party system, so let’s move forward to the next topic.”
Lucas Kane activated the magical device on the lecture podium.
Whirrrrr!
The device emitted light, projecting a massive holographic map into the air.
The map displayed the interior of an Ancient Ruins so vast it was difficult to take in at a glance.
“This examination will take place in a specially modified Ancient Ruins that was previously fully explored and surveyed.”
“Wow… this is, this is insane.”
“How massive is that thing, exactly?”
“We’re definitely going to get lost in there…?”
The Candidates stared at the holographic map of the Ruins with their mouths agape.
Lucas Kane glanced at the Candidates and suppressed an amused smile.
“Each Party will search for ‘secret spaces’ hidden throughout the Ruins, take an examination within those spaces, and collect as many tokens as possible—that is the content of this final evaluation.”
Naturally, the locations of the ‘secret spaces’ Lucas Kane mentioned were not marked on the map.
One Candidate raised his hand and asked.
“Do different tokens grant different point values?”
“An excellent question. As Morris suggests, the tokens obtainable from each secret space are divided into Gold, Silver, and Bronze grades.”
Lucas Kane manipulated the magical device, and four tokens of different colors materialized on the map.
The Candidates’ attention shifted to the fourth token that Lucas Kane had not yet explained.
“What’s that one…?”
“A ‘Diamond’ grade token—there’s only one in the entire Ruins. You experienced something similar during the midterm evaluation, so you should have a sense of what it entails.”
The Candidates nodded at Lucas Kane’s words.
“Any Party that obtains this Diamond token receives the highest score immediately, regardless of how many tokens they’ve collected. Of course, additional bonus points are awarded based on individual contribution, so obtaining the Diamond token doesn’t guarantee first place.”
At the professor’s explanation, several Candidates—those belonging to Parties above their own level—let out sighs of regret.
Lucas Kane looked at the Candidates and grinned wickedly.
“Oh, and the interior of the Ruins will be filled with guardian golems, various traps, and puzzles, so the process of finding the secret spaces won’t be boring.”
“….”
The Candidates’ expressions hardened as they absorbed the seemingly formidable examination content.
“They say the third-year final evaluation is where things really begin… and it truly is.”
“How are we supposed to find secret spaces in such a massive Ruins?”
“Guardian golems are one thing, but traps and puzzles? That’s too much.”
The Classroom grew noisy once again.
“Silence.”
Thud.
Lucas Kane lightly struck the podium, and the chaotic atmosphere in the Classroom settled.
“Are there any other questions regarding the final evaluation?”
“Um….”
A Candidate carefully raised his hand.
“You mentioned we’d take an examination upon entering the secret spaces… but what exactly is this examination? We won’t have to fight some high-ranked magical beast or anything like that, right?”
“Hoo. A fine question indeed.”
Lucas Kane nodded with evident satisfaction.
“Rest assured. There are no monsters within the secret space.”
“Phew.”
“Instead.”
Lucas Kane’s lips curled into a savage smile as he continued.
“You’ll find professors waiting for you instead of monsters.”
“…Pardon?”
“Professors waiting for us? What do you mean by that, sir?”
The Candidate Program members’ eyes widened at Lucas Kane’s next words.
“Exactly as I said.”
The stigma carved into Lucas Kane’s left chest blazed with light as mana poured forth.
“The professors will enter the secret space first and wait for you there….”
Screeeech, screeeeeech!
The iron lectern where Lucas Kane stood shrieked under the violent surge of mana.
“All you need to do is defeat us and win.”
“….”
“….”
A silence as heavy as death descended upon the Classroom.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Lucas Kane clenched his fist and grinned widely.
“If you come to my chamber, be prepared to have at least one limb broken.”

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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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