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“We finally made it through.”

“Yes!”

The teachers’ cheers could be heard.

With the exam questions finalized, the midterm exam period had officially begun.

But this midterm seemed different.

In previous semesters, the midterm period would create a sudden studious atmosphere as students scrambled to cram at the last minute.

However, this semester was different.

“There are no slackers trying to wing it this time. What’s going on?”

“Those kids are the ones taking Teacher Ethan’s classes, right? From the first lesson until now, they probably haven’t neglected studying while keeping up.”

“Shouldn’t we be relieved then? Why are they studying so hard?”

“I don’t know. Did he say he was making the midterms extremely difficult?”

This time, everyone kept their mouths shut.

It made sense.

Now that everyone at the academy wanted to take Ethan’s classes next semester, they had to do well on these midterms to increase their chances of registration.

Just 50 spots.

Everyone was studying and training like madmen to secure one of those places.

The same was true for the Magic Department’s Potion Manufacturing class.

“If we can’t get meaningful midterm scores…”

“The teacher might not teach Potion Manufacturing anymore.”

“This was originally Teacher Hassen Rittle’s class after all. Teacher Ethan might have just temporarily subbed in.”

Everyone was anxious.

They feared that if they messed up the midterms, a disappointed Ethan might give up teaching the Magic Department class.

Since Ethan was originally a Knight Department teacher, that fear only grew.

“We haven’t learned everything yet!”

“There’s still so much more for you to teach us! Ughh!”

A rumor had spread among the students that if they failed the midterms, Ethan might abandon the Potion Manufacturing class in disappointment.

“Don’t worry. He’ll definitely keep teaching. Teacher Ethan is a very responsible teacher!”

The Magic Department students steeled their resolve and dove into exam prep.

Then, on the long-awaited midterm exam day.

The Potion Manufacturing exam was scheduled before the Understanding the Sword Path exam.

“Phew, phew.”

The students taking the Potion Manufacturing class had gathered in the lecture hall.

Today was the first day of midterms. How much time had they spent studying for this day?

They had studied every possible topic that could be covered. Unlike other classes, Ethan’s class had no textbook, so all the questions would surely be about the brüle.

In other words, essay questions would dominate.

Creak.

The lecture hall door opened at that moment.

“Judging by those dark circles, you all studied through the night. Since you’ve all prepared so diligently, your hard work should pay off on this exam.” fr𝐞𝐞𝚠e𝗯𝗻ovel.c𝐨m

In Ethan’s hands were sheets of parchment.

Ethan handed those parchments to Yerica, who had entered with him as a teaching assistant. Yerica then lightly tossed them upward and used magic to distribute individual exam papers to each student.

“The exam consists of three essay questions. You may use any materials you’ve brought. This will be an open-book exam.”

An open-book exam.

Most exams at Ivecar Academy were open-book by default.

One might think it would be easy since they could simply look up and write down the answers. But in reality, open-book exams were much harder.

It was as if the instructor was challenging them: ‘If you can find it, then find it and write it down.’

“Cheating is allowed.”

Then Ethan made a shocking statement.

“As long as you don’t get caught by me. You can cheat as long as you don’t get caught.”

But none of the students had any intention of cheating.

They all knew well how Ethan had conducted his Understanding the Sword Path lessons in the Swordsmanship Department.

Teacher Ethan has sharp eyes.

There were no students brave enough to try to deceive those eyes and cheat.

Ethan sat down and observed the students.

Only the sounds of students working on the exam questions filled the lecture hall.

‘Three essay questions. I asked about applications of the brüle. If they focused in class, it should be solvable.’

Two hours was ample time. Enough to properly assess their abilities.

‘I’m looking forward to some interesting answers.’

***

At that moment, in the Principal’s office.

The heads of each department reported on the exams being held that day.

“Principal, here are the details.”

“Let me review them right away. Which classes have exams starting today, and who are the teachers?”

“First, there’s Teacher Ciron Ramsdale, and…”

The deans listed the teachers scheduled for exams that day.

The Principal reviewed the exam contents prepared by each teacher as the deans reported.

“Hmm, they set quite challenging questions. They managed an appropriate difficulty level for this exam too. The deans must have worked hard reviewing the questions.”

The Principal flipped through the parchments, praising the deans’ efforts.

Then he paused on one parchment.

“Teacher Ethan’s Potion Manufacturing exam is also today.”

-Ethan Whiskers [Potion Manufacturing] Exam Questions.

The Principal held the exam questions Ethan had prepared for the Potion Manufacturing class.

“You’ll also find his Understanding the Sword Path exam questions next to it.”

The two deans had marveled at the exam questions from each department.

“Truly befitting a Swordsmanship Department teacher.”

“And truly befitting a Magic Department teacher as well.”

For a moment, the two deans made eye contact.

“He is clearly a Knight Department teacher, Magic Department Dean.”

“Yet he is also teaching our department’s class, Knight Department Dean.”

As the two deans sized each other up, the Principal carefully read through the parchments.

“By structuring the questions this way, you can clearly distinguish between students who fully understood the lessons, those who only partially understood, and those who merely grasped the surface level. The score distribution is perfect. The best part is his intention to bring up even the struggling students. Rather than giving them zero points, he awards partial points of at least one point. That’s great.”

The Principal marveled.

Ethan’s exam questions showed consideration for the students.

While other teachers simply divided answers into right or wrong, Ethan deliberately allowed for multiple answers and awarded partial scores accordingly.

“In many ways, Teacher Ethan seems to value providing opportunities. No wonder the students are so devoted to him.”

At the Principal’s words, the bickering deans nodded in unison.

The deans were well aware.

At this elite Ivecar Academy teeming with exceptional individuals, average abilities simply couldn’t stand out.

Those who couldn’t stand out were denied opportunities.

That’s why even students who struggled to gain admission often ended up dropping out.

Ethan’s exam gave those students a chance too, allowing them to earn at least partial points instead of zero.

It was an exam brimming with such thoughtfulness.

The Principal smiled contentedly as he reviewed Ethan’s exam and moved on to the next.

“Hmm, Teacher Claudie has an exam today too?”

Claudie’s exams were always excellent, cleverly designed to be truly enjoyable to solve.

“Huh?”

But something seemed different from his usual approach. Up until now, Claudie’s questions were designed to brutally cull the students.

Either right or wrong.

Only the precisely correct answer would earn points.

But this time was different.

It was clearly structured to award partial points.

To give the struggling students a chance, just once.

A chance for them to catch up, even if just once.

“Has he been influenced…?”

The Principal quickly realized whose influence this was.

He wouldn’t have expected to see this side of Claudie.

But this wasn’t a bad thing. It addressed a shortcoming in Instructor Claudie’s approach.

“Teacher Ethan really is our blessing.”

“A blessing for our Knight Department. Hahaha.”

“But also a blessing for the Magic Department as a teacher.”

Regardless, the Principal smiled. With this, Ivecar could advance to new heights.

***

After the midterm exams.

Ethan separately called for Mason.

Mason trusted Ethan’s plan to recruit Roanna.

He didn’t know Roanna was that strong, but he was disappointed they couldn’t compete against her.

Still, if the Sky Swordmage themselves evaluated him, he wanted to receive the highest score possible.

So he had studied through the night for today’s exam and was able to solve the questions based on what he had learned.

He expected to score very close to a perfect score.

“You called for me, Teacher.”

“Nothing major, just something to give you. And I also wanted to discuss the interdepartmental exchange. Sorry for calling you during the exam period.”

“Not at all!”

“Here, take this.”

“…What is this?”

What Ethan handed over was a sheet of parchment.

“It’s a comprehensive evaluation of you.”

“…”

Mason quickly read through the parchment.

As Ethan said, it was filled with an evaluation of himself.

[Mason Yeld]

-Observed since his freshman year, Mason Yeld employs a domineering swordsmanship style that allows him to control situations.

However, he seems to have barely experienced defeat. There is much to learn from losing. If I could teach him that aspect…

The parchment contained a detailed evaluation of Mason, just as Ethan said.

What swordsmanship style he used.

The strengths and weaknesses of that style.

It included details one could only know by closely observing Mason.

“Huh? Teacher, this…”

But the contents dated back to Mason’s freshman year.

“I didn’t write this.”

“Pardon?”

“After we won the representative selection tournament, Teacher Claudie visited my office. Since we won that match, he told me to make sure we definitely won the interdepartmental exchange too as the Swordsmanship Department representatives. And he gave me this, saying it would help.”

“Teacher Claudie…”

Mason suddenly recalled what Max had said about Claudie not being as cold-blooded as he thought.

Mason’s fingers trembled.

“And he also offered to provide further assistance.”

Thump. Thump.

The sound of footsteps approached.

The person who entered the spacious training hall was someone Mason never expected.

Claudie Hyde was entering the training hall.

“I’ve decided to help you achieve victory in the interdepartmental exchange. As an instructor of the Swordsmanship Department, it’s only natural.”

Ethan immediately sensed his discomfort.

‘Not his preference.’

Ethan had read the comprehensive student evaluation he had written.

The level of detail was astonishing, demonstrating his ability to conduct such thorough evaluations despite his busy teaching schedule.

He had sincerely intended to make Mason his student.

But circumstances didn’t align, leading to this situation.

“So.”

Claudie looked at Mason.

“Did you do well on the exam, Mason Yeld?”

“…Yes, Teacher.”

Mason smiled and responded to Claudie.

Author's Thoughts

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