Iron Blooded Hound

The final exam of the midterms had begun.

Students and golems faced each other in a large, circular arena.

On the opposite side of the arena, the professor stood alone.

The student's opponent, the golem, copies the professor's movements.

Whiz-pop!

Clank... thunk!

When the professor swings his right arm, the golem swings its right arm, and when the professor leaps, the golem leaps.

The professor has to control his "avatar" golem from a distance to take on the student, but in this case, the sense of distance becomes a handicap.

Then it was time for the real thing, and the students on the stage faced off against the golem.

The students had to use all their strength against the golem, which mimicked the professor's body movements.

Meanwhile, the attack test was divided into sections based on the order of the attendance list, with a specific professor in charge of sections A through B and one professor facing about a hundred students.

Naturally, with different professors controlling the golems, the golems' fighting styles would also vary.

A professor with a generally gentle personality moves the golem in a defensive manner, while a professor with an impatient and aggressive personality uses the golem offensively.

Therefore, students had to memorize where their name was located in the attendance list and identify their professor in advance to study his or her fighting style.

This was a test designed by the academy's first principal, who believed that education is more effective when you know and analyze the person who will teach you before you learn.

Meanwhile.

"Iyab!"

Tudor, who was being tested for the first time, was holding a spear and fighting hard.

...Pow!

The tip of the spear exploded with a powerful aura.

If it was a real man-to-man duel, no matter how strong the professor was, he wouldn't have been able to unleash such a lively attack.

But the opponent was a golem, and the real professor was moving safely at a distance.

So, without hesitation, Tudor plunged his spear into it.

Boom, boom, boom!

The golem, which was radiating magic, was knocked back by Tudor's aura.

However.

[Not yet].

A familiar voice spoke from the golem's mouth.

Professor Morg Banshee. The Academy's leading candidate for Vice Principal.

Even though he was on the far side of the training grounds, he knew exactly how far away Tudor was.

Chaaaah!

The golem snaps its fingers, forming a bond, and thorny vines grow around Tudor's body.

"Huh!"

Tudor ducks his head.

[The vines are fake].

The golem, controlled by Professor Banshee, immediately throws a giant punch.

Tudor barely twisted his waist to avoid it.

[The first is also fake.]

There was no way to avoid the sole of the golem's foot as it launched a back kick.

...Pow!

Tudor was knocked off his feet.

The golem's shadow casts an eerie shadow over Tudor, who is covered in dirt and thrown out of the field.

The click of Professor Banshee's tongue comes through the golem's mouth.

[Did you think that because I'm a mage, I wouldn't use my fists and feet?]

"Ugh... Yeah."

The purpose of a battle is to win. Just because you're a mage doesn't mean you have to use magic to win. You have to use whatever you have to win. Whether that be fists, kicks, teeth, or whatever,.

"Thank you for your teaching."

Professor Banshee was a hated human being, but he was a great teacher.

Tudor bowed politely and exited the arena.

-Ring!

<Scores are tallied.

Tudor's score was then displayed in a magical status window.

<Cadet Don Quixote La Mancha Tudor, Class A-001, Cold Warrior>.

<Professor: Morg Banshee>

Effective hits: 12 (1 point each)

Effective dodges: 20 times (1 point each)

Effective Defense: 3 (1 point each)

Critical hits: 0 (10 points each)

Total Score: 35 points

A total score of 35 points. By far the highest score of any first-year student.

"Good!"

Tudor threw his hands in the air and called out in triumph.

He succeeded in delivering 12 effective hits to the golem controlled by Professor Banshee, successfully evaded the golem's attacks 20 times, and properly blocked the golem's attacks 3 times.

I didn't manage to land a critical hit against the skillfully maneuvered Banshee's golem, but it didn't matter.

Professors, masters of combat, would never allow a critical hit against a student.

Tudor nodded to Dolores, the student council president, who was watching from a distance.

It helped that Dolores had given him a heads-up on the fighting style of Professor Banshee, who was now in charge of Tudor.

Though he hadn't expected to use his feet at the end,.

"At least you scored better than those triplets from Baskerville."

Tudor smirked as he looked to the other side of the arena.

There, he could see three people standing arm-in-arm: Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro.

Highbro had a score of 34, Midbro and Lowbro both had a score of 33, and they were in first and second place until Tudor showed up.

Tudor taunted the triplets with a nasty look.

"Hey, how's that for being a dick to your friends?"

But.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Somehow, the Baskerville triplets didn't respond to Tudor's taunt.

They just stood there, like carved wooden chickens.

Tudor, who had just taunted his dumbfounded classmates, stuck his tongue back in his cheek.

"What is it with them, always picking fights, and now they won't take a fight at all?"

Tudor wasn't sure why the Baskervilles' triplets had suddenly become like that, but he thought it was a good thing.

Tudor's taunt fell on the wrong person.

"Damn, I'm pissed at that Tudor asshole!"

Bianca, stomping her foot at Tudor.

<Cadet 'Usher Poe Bianca', Class B-001, Cold Warriors>.

<Professor in charge: Morg Banshee>

Effective hits: 7 (1 point each)

Effective dodges: 24 times (1 point each)

Effective Defense: 0 (1 point each)

Critical hits: 0 (10 points each)

Total score: 31 points

Bianca is an archer, which puts her at a disadvantage in 1v1s like this.

Especially against a golem that knows no pain.

"Ahhh, I can't believe I lost to Tudor! It's all because of the weird test structure. It's disadvantageous for archers; the balance stinks!"

"You know, I don't remember you mentioning balance once when you were raking in the points on the defense exam."

"Why would you bring up the defense exam if you had nothing to say?"

"Of course you're bringing it up, so you don't have anything to say."

Tudor and Bianca started fussing over the scores again.

And then I said,.

"Uhahahaha! How's that, you foolish things?"

Grenouille, the second in charge of the Hot Class, finished the test with a victorious smile.

<Cadet Grenouille Des Leviathans, Class A-001, Hot Mage>.

<Professor: Morg Banshee>

Effective hits: 11 (1 point each)

Effective dodges: 22 times (1 point each)

Effective Defense: 2 (1 point each)

Critical hits: 0 (10 points each)

Total score: 35 points

He finished the exam with the same score as Tudor, the head of the Cold Class.

Apparently, his original advisor, Professor Banshee, became the one in charge of the exam, and he scored better than expected.

In other words, he was pretty lucky.

Grenouille looked over at Tudor, who was cheered on by his fellow Cold Class.

"Is this a tie? I think you and I will have almost the same midterm scores, right?"

"Don't rub it in, we broke the class record on the defense test."

"Our individual scores were tie, and let's not forget that I have a higher written score than you!"

Tudor smirked at Grenouille's arrogance, as if he wasn't worth the trouble.

"I don't know what you're talking about. The Cold Class hasn't released the final weapon for the attack test yet."

"What? Isn't the final weapon yours or Bianca's? You're tied with me, and Bianca's dead."

"What!? Who wants to die? I'm going to tear that gloomy bastard up and put it on top of my porridge... ... !?"

Grenouille's answer made Bianca behind him jump, but she was quickly silenced by Tudor's urging.

Tudor smirked and looked at Grenouille.

"1:1 strongest. Even in a one-on-one fight against a golem, there's someone much stronger than me."

"...!"

Grenouille's expression hardened at that.

Yes, even the arrogant Grenouille was wary of Tudor and Bianca.

In fact, there was someone even more threatening than Tudor and Bianca.

Sancho Barataria of the Class A Cold Warriors.

Tudor exclaimed triumphantly.

"Sancho is a northern warrior who can beat a bear with his bare hands without a handful of mana! Moreover, if it were an attack test with unlimited mana and unlimited number of kills, what would the result be? "It will be on a different level from when Naphtali was doing it!"

At that, Grenouille and the other Hot Class students grunted and averted their gazes.

They admit it.

Of all the students in both the cold and Hot Class, it was Sancho who was expected to score the highest on the attack test.

"Sancho must be number one in the Cold Warrior Class, right?"

"That's right. Have you seen his size? His fist is bigger than my head."

"Doesn't he just rip apart golems with his strength?"

"Maybe he'll set an all-time record for individual scores."

All the students were chattering the same thing.

But.

What happened next sent all the students, cold and hot, into a panic.

...thud!

Sancho, covered in blood, fell helplessly to his knees.

On top of him, a status window reflected the cold reality.

<Cadet 'Sancho Barataria', Class A-172 of the Cold Warriors>.

<Professor: Sady>

-Effective hits: 8 (1 point each)

-Effective dodges: 9 (1 point each)

-Effective Defense: 0 (1 point each)

-Critical hits: 0 (10 points each)

=Total score: 17 points

That's a ridiculous score.

He only managed to land 8 effective hits and 9 dodges.

He even had zero effective defenses, meaning he was hit by almost every attack.

A score of 17 is not even mediocre.

It was truly a shock that Sancho, who can score high scores in the late 30s, barely received this score.

Even worse, Sancho collapsed in a heap as soon as he finished the test.

The gaping wounds and dripping blood made the atmosphere in the testing room even more gruesome.

"Sancho!"

Dolores rushed over to the injured junior.

Dolores helped Sancho stagger to his feet and heal him.

Soon, a crowd of students gathered around Sancho and Dolores.

At the front of the line was their roommate and best friend, Tudor.

"Hey, Sancho, are you okay?"

" ... The president heal me, so I'm fine."

Sancho's deep sigh shows his self-destruction for failing the exam.

I also feel sorry for not being able to establish the prestige of Cold Warrior Class.

"...."

A vein appeared on Dolores' forehead.

She patted Sancho on the back a few times, then stood up and glared at the professor standing on the other side of the arena.

The pilot of the golem that had been in charge of Sancho just moments ago.

"Hohoho- boring."

It's a laugh that seems to tickle, but underneath it all, there's a deep sense of extreme boredom and pessimism.

Sady de Sade, aka Ms. Sady.

A young female professor who was considered the worst disgrace of the Colloseo Academy.

__________________________

__________________________

"? Don't forget to Rate this novel and add it to your library! ????"

Follow current novℯls on f(r)eewebnov𝒆l