Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Living as a Hero's Brother**

**Chapter 14: Departmental Exam (7)**

"Is this even possible?"

One week later.

After the written exam ended, Benjamin, who was checking the students' test papers, was at a loss for words.

This year's Command Department exam was quite challenging.

The Cursed Goblin Dungeon, which was in a speed-run format, was one aspect, and the written exam questions were also based on dungeons that were difficult to understand with ordinary human knowledge.

Indeed, many students found such written exams challenging, and some even failed to solve all the problems.

In particular, Benjamin expected that Austin would face significant difficulties in this exam.

The reason was that this written exam was not just about solving how to clear a dungeon.

Understanding the characteristics of dungeons.

The Cursed Goblin Dungeon was relatively easy among dungeons.

The reason was that it operated based on physical laws.

However, among the dungeons discovered by humanity so far, there were those that ignored even these physical laws.

For example, an ice storm could rage under the scorching sun in a desert, or a desert where not a single blade of grass could grow could stretch in the harsh Arctic.

In extreme cases, the time axis could collapse due to massive magical energy flows, causing one to fall into an ancient era.

This was a problem that arose because simply having excellent command skills was not enough to clear a dungeon.

Various phenomena occur in dungeons, and an excellent commander must maintain composure and find solutions even in such situations.

However, to understand these phenomena, one needed a fundamental understanding of magical energy, which inevitably required the ability to manipulate it.

Austin, however, could not manipulate such magical energy.

The same went for Shane.

Although Shane was a 2nd Circle Mage, his affinity and sensitivity to magical energy were still lacking.

Naturally, Benjamin expected that both would struggle with this exam.

However, the scene before him boldly contradicted Benjamin's expectations.

"This is tough, really tough. I've never seen this theory from this perspective before."

"Even if we say it's correct, isn't it a bit of a stretch?"

"No, no, it's a bit of a stretch to draw such a conclusion. Just looking at it theoretically, considering the magical energy pattern of the Mezaya Great Forest, it's not impossible, right?"

"I agree. According to Austin's logic, the phenomenon of the 'unyielding swamp' also makes sense."

"Rather than just thinking about the density of particles, predicting the magical energy that changes the properties of particles. Yes, I think it's possible."

"If the properties of particles change due to magical energy rather than gravitational energy and particle density, the theory of the unyielding swamp fits perfectly!"

The people in front of Benjamin were various experts who had gathered to review the submitted exam papers.

Mages from the Magic Tower, scholars, and veteran adventure guild leaders.

These diverse experts were discussing the answers to the exam questions submitted by Austin.

"Unbelievable..."

These were all prominent figures in their respective fields.

That such people were so passionately discussing the answers to problems set by a boy who hadn't even reached adulthood was astonishing.

Of course, they weren't unable to understand the 'unyielding swamp' phenomenon mentioned in Austin's exam paper.

However, the number of dungeons in the world was vast, and the phenomena occurring in them were beyond the comprehension of ordinary human knowledge.

In contrast, the experts were speechless when it came to Shane's exam paper.

"This is..."

"It's difficult."

"Did he submit a Magic Tower-level thesis as an exam paper?"

"Is this really what he solved in just a week?"

Shane's exam paper was densely filled with text, and five additional pages were attached.

"So, while he solved other problems normally, he put this much effort into this one."

"Indeed... We can't even prove if this theory is correct."

The chief mage of the Magic Tower finally threw in the towel, and his surrender in the theoretical aspect was enough to make others frown.

"Professor Benjamin. No matter what, this problem... will require more time."

"Is that so?"

Benjamin, now speechless with disbelief, nodded.

"Since he solved all the other problems normally, there should be no problem with his passing. We'll just have to announce the rankings a bit later."

"Thank you. If you give us a week, we'll provide an answer to this problem."

With that, Benjamin carefully handed Shane's exam paper to a mage from the Magic Tower.

One of the five major cradles that humanity is currently struggling to explore, the Mezaya Great Forest, where the location of the lecture changes daily due to the massive amount of rain, had its secrets solved in an academy written exam.

* * *

Three days later, the list of successful candidates was announced.

This led to confusion among the students.

"Why was the announcement of the results delayed?"

This question led to various rumors, and the answer was soon revealed.

"Because of one student's answer?"

The identity of the person behind the rumor was not clearly known.

Speculative rumors were circulating, and it was hard for the students to believe that Shane had produced such results.

Meanwhile, Dylara stood in front of the school bulletin board to check the list of successful candidates.

Beside her was Austin, with his usual gloomy face.

"Wow~ Austin, you really passed?"

"Uh, yeah. It wasn't, wasn't that hard."

"Ha ha... Not hard? I heard this year's Command Department exam was a complete hell. Only about 20 people passed."

"..."

Austin scratched his head, embarrassed, and Dylara looked at him proudly.

The relationship between Dylara and Austin was not unusual.

Dylara, who was ostracized by society for being a different race, and Austin, who was disowned by his family, quickly became friends by recognizing each other's abilities.

"Still, it's a relief, man. Since you passed, I can join your command."

"Me? With your skills, aren't other people already keeping an eye on you?"

"Really, they probably are, man."

Austin's words made Dylara smile bitterly.

Initially, it was doubtful if there was a Command Department student who would use a different race like himself.

The only one who came to mind was Polon, but joining his gang wouldn't end well.

'Or am I just being too greedy given my situation?'

Click.

Dylara habitually clenched her teeth, finding it hard to adapt to this human world.

At least, such things didn't happen when the Captain was around...

"Sorry, just ignore what I said."

Dylara said this and shrugged.

Thinking about it, if he joined Austin's command, it might make it harder for Austin to recruit other students due to Dylara being a different race.

It was such a hassle that Dylara was about to give up when...

"Well, the world has more interesting people than I thought. Maybe someone will recognize someone like you."

Austin's small voice from behind stopped Dylara in her tracks.

"What, what did you say just now?"

"Uh, what? Ah, nothing, nothing."

When Dylara turned around, Austin had his usual gloomy face and was mumbling with a stupid smile.

Strange, he didn't stutter just now.

Due to the noise from the students around her, Dylara didn't hear clearly and moved on without much thought.

"Ah! There's Klein!"

"There's Shane beside him."

"Right. Come to think of it, that idiot Shane also passed the Command Department exam?"

"I heard his score was better than Klein's."

At that moment, Dylara involuntarily turned her head towards the conversation of other students nearby.

Klein.

In the academy, where envy and jealousy ran rampant, he was a genius among geniuses, making such feelings seem trivial.

I heard he cleared the dungeon with a fairly average score in the practical exam of the Command Department.

'If I could join someone like him, it would be easy...'

However, Klein was already the most popular student in the academy.

I was the least popular among the unpopular.

Just approaching Klein and talking to him would likely result in threats from his followers, making Dylara look tired even before she started.

On the other hand, Shane was a person who had recently started to generate strange rumors in the academy.

Most surprisingly to Dylara, he had outperformed Austin in the practical exam of the Command Department.

Among the students, he was highly evaluated for outperforming Lintberg J. Anais, the daughter of the former Judgment Guild leader.

I heard his personality still didn't mix well with others...

'Well, maybe it would be easier to take orders from that person.'

At least, his personality of treating humans and different races equally without discrimination would be the same.

'Sigh, how did I end up in this situation?'

While thinking this, Dylara suddenly stopped.

Was it because of the thoughts she just had, or did Shane's gaze seem to be directed at her?

No, it wasn't just a feeling; it was actually directed at her, and he was walking towards her.

Klein followed behind him.

It was unusual for Shane, who rarely focused on people, to focus on one person for so long.

Dylara tilted her head at the gaze, being sensitive to people's gazes due to her past experiences.

From Shane's gaze, she felt a faint sense of sympathy...?

What is it? Does he know me?

Just as she thought this,

"Did you prepare well for the exam?"

Austin, standing behind her, answered instead of Dylara.

Shane's gaze had shifted from Dylara to Austin.

"Yes, yes. Did you, did you do well on the exam, Mr. Shane?"

"Pretty well. You can expect it."

"It will, it will be interesting."

Austin said this, and Shane's gaze shifted back to Dylara.

When it shifted again, there was no trace of the sympathy from before, just his usual indifferent expression.

"This is Dylara Meyer. She, she's a fifth-year student like us."

"Is that so."

When Dylara, who was standing there awkwardly, suddenly introduced herself, she looked at Austin with a bewildered expression.

"Ah... Dylara from the Magic Department. I, I think I've seen you a few times in class. Right?"

"I remember you."

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah."

"..."

Dylara found it hard to face Shane's expression, which showed no emotion at all.

Meanwhile, Klein looked at Shane with a moved expression.

"Brother... You finally have a friend."

It sounded like he said that.

What does he mean?

While thinking this, Shane turned and walked away without a word.

Klein followed, leaving a cryptic message with a charming smile to Austin and Dylara.

"Hey, hey. Austin. Why did you suddenly introduce me to that guy?"

"Uh, what? Ah... Just? Dylara, you, you don't know anyone else here, do you?"

"Damn. That's a harsh blow."

"Still, it won't, won't hurt to know each other."

"Ah~ Is that so?"

Dylara was momentarily taken aback but thought it was a minor incident and moved on.

It was more important to worry about her schedule for the day than this meaningless incident.

"I need to go to a tutoring session..."

* * *

Shane walked down the corridor, recalling the past.

He didn't particularly want to remember, but seeing the face of someone he had seen while in the organization naturally brought back memories.

It was a time filled with many troubles.

Even among the Seven Sins, it was rare for the leaders to get along well.

Especially, Shane and the Third Leader could never get along.

After all, how could Shane, who represented envy, and Dylara, who represented pride, coexist?

They were the ultimate opposites.

Dylara, the traitor to humanity, was like water and oil to the Shane of the previous life.

Their mutual hatred was clear, but ironically, they knew each other's intentions best.

One day, Dylara muttered while sipping a drink that wouldn't even get her drunk, on top of Shane's castle.

Seeing the Dylara of that time and the Dylara of now, it was natural for these memories to come to mind.

Shane, lost in these thoughts, stood in front of a massive door.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, it's the academy's artifact storage."

The artifact storage.

It wasn't a place with particularly significant items, so there was no urgent need to come here.

However, a certain event from this period came to mind when he saw Dylara, leading him to visit this place.

'I thought more preparation time was needed, but time doesn't allow it.'

In the early part of the fifth year.

At that time, Dylara had disappeared from the academy without a trace, a small incident that quickly died down.