Chapter 44: Failing Successfully During Practical Test
She directed her ability so that it was barely there.
It looked like the flickering light of a dying candle. People didn’t know that it took a lot more effort to manage it from completely going out of her control and bursting out than actually directing it to leak a tiny drop.
Let’s get this done quickly, she thought.
Sweat was already visible on her forehead, breath ragged. It really looked like she was struggling to use her guiding ability.
Finally, a small sphere of light the size of a bead appeared. Aisha’s eyes revealed some joy in them. Though her heart couldn’t help but curse because the size of the light might be smaller than average, its color was brighter.
Fortunately, no one seemed to notice it.
The light floated in the air, wobbling a bit before it touched the sample’s surface. Her classmates watched on with bated breath, silently cheering for this guide who produced such a tiny light to succeed.
And under their focused gazes, the light faded before it could do more than graze the miasma inside.
"Haaa...."
She let her hand drop, feigning exhaustion, and looked up at Zeke with an expression carefully arranged to seem apologetic.
"That’s as much as I can manage."
The two of them stared at each other. Then, without waiting for him to analyze or announce the result of her demonstration, Aisha walked toward her seat.
A beat of silence passed.
Then disappointment spread throughout the room the moment she sat down. Aisha expected them to speak about her performance with ridicule and disdain. Yet what she heard was nothing like that.
"Aw, that’s it?"
"Well, she did her best for a D-rank."
"That light is so little. Looks like the Sparkflies my pet chased around last night!"
Vesper twisted around in his seat and gave her a thumbs-up. "Hey, it’s fine! Nobody expects much from Class 7-D, anyway. At least you tried."
Sabel rolled her eyes at him but didn’t argue. "He’s right. Don’t let it get to you."
"Thank you," Aisha said politely while smiling at them.
Sabel leaned toward Kane once Aisha sat down, keeping her voice low. "See what I told you? You’re just being too suspicious. She’s just a D-rank."
Kane didn’t answer right away. He was still staring at Aisha’s profile, brows drawn together, replaying the scene from the cafeteria in his head. He’d been so sure of what he saw that day, the way Vesper had calmed down under Aisha’s single touch.
But now, watching her fumble through something this simple, he didn’t know if he had just been too wary of her.
Maybe he really had imagined it.
He said nothing more and turned his attention back to the front of the room.
Their new instructor hadn’t said a word after Aisha demonstrated in front of the class. After a short while, he lifted his head and started to call the next students to demonstrate as if nothing had happened.
It took half an hour for the other students to perform the test. A few barely passed, while most of them failed and went back to their seats without saying a word.
"Sabel."
Sabel walked up with more confidence than the other students in her class. For a D-rank sentinel, her performance was far more excellent than that of the other students.
The miasma was pushed back, and she disintegrated half of it with a burst of raw psychic power. But the moment the other half of it started to fight back, Sabel realized her strength had already drained.
But it was too late. The miasma started to mend itself quickly and reformed to attack her.
Zeke stepped in and sealed it before it could touch her. While keeping it contained, he said, "When fighting against a corrupted monster, learn how to control your psychic energy. You have to guess how much you have to tap your power and use it against an appropriate opponent. Too much is problematic. Too little is dangerous. You must use the right amount and save enough to escape a deadly attack."
Zeke commented a bit more on her performance before telling her to go back.
Vesper went next, eager to demonstrate the power of an A-rank sentinel as he started to use his psychic energy.
His psychic power was perfect for a melee fight. He formed his hand into a blade-like shape before lifting it above his head.
Then, he struck down.
But he overestimated himself.
He channeled far more force than necessary for his strike, and the entire sample detonated in a small cloud of dust, sending several nearby students leaning back and ducking for cover. The miasma inside it quickly spread into web-like links about to feed on these poor students.
"The instruction is to neutralize it, not release it to harm your fellow students."
With a wave of his hand, the scattered remains of the corrupted monster stopped in mid-air before being drawn back to the container. Zeke didn’t show a change in his expression as the miasma completely surrendered to him.
He told Vesper, "Sit down."
Vesper looked crestfallen as he headed back to his seat.
Behind him, Zeke stared at him more thoughtfully compared to his evaluation. Although it was a failure, he was impressed by how Vesper made use of his psychic power, turning his hand into a blade.
Kane’s turn came last in their group. He approached his instructor calmly. Once he was in front of everyone, he produced a steady stream of guiding energy, his fingers trembling and his head aching just using his power.
Fortunately, he listened attentively and learned to control his guiding power.
Finally, the miasma inside the container drew back until it hid in a corner where guiding energy didn’t reach it.
He continued pouring his energy into it, hoping to purify it. The miasma sizzled inside the container, its size reduced slightly, but just as he wanted to use more of his energy, Zeke sealed the corrupted monster.
"That’s enough," he said. "Go back to your seat and wipe the blood from your nose."
That’s when Kane realized he was bleeding. Focusing his mind to control his guiding energy was extremely hard.
Zeke checked his student information. For a D-rank guide, he did quite well. Average, but still much better than the rest of the class. By using the failures of his classmates, he was able to guide properly.
However, he was still far from getting into the military or the Association’s passing rate if that was where he wanted to go.
By the time the last student in the room finished their turn, the bell had long since rung, but no one dared leave early with the instructor still watching.
It was the first time they were given attention from an instructor without looking at them with disdain and dismissing their talents just because they came from this class.
After receiving their evaluation grade through their terminal, a mix of surprise and joy appeared on their faces.
Contrary to how strict he looked and spoke, Zeke, their new instructor, was quite lenient and didn’t give them an unfair and low grade.
"I got a C+," Sabel murmured, staring dazedly at her terminal.
Similarly to her, Kane’s expression looked pleased. He received an A.
On the other hand, Vesper looked at his terminal with a dark expression.
"F..." Vesper whispered, voice shaking. "What the fuck? Why do you all get higher grades than me?"
Kane rolled his eyes. "It’s because you didn’t follow the instructor’s instructions. Do you think we study just to blow things up?"
Vesper inhaled sharply, unable to retort.
He turned to Aisha, who hadn’t said a word, and nudged her. "What about you?"
Aisha glanced at her result before replying, "D."
Vesper: "... Ah."
Now, he felt bad for asking.
’Guruuu...’
Aisha heard her spiritual beast speak to her in her mind. It was showing its disdain for her acting skill earlier during her demonstration. She smiled lightly.
Now thinking about it, she hadn’t given it a name yet. The arrival of the furry spiritual beast disrupted it.
Since it likes to bite and eat things...
’Nibbles, don’t laugh.’
’Guru!’
Aisha felt it squirm. It seems like it quite likes its name.
Once their class ended, Aisha gathered her things quickly, keeping her head down. She slipped toward the door with the rest of the crowd. She’d somehow survived the class without exposing anything or drawing more attention to herself.
She was almost at the door when Zeke’s voice cut through the noise behind her.
"Miss Novalis."
Aisha stopped.
"Stay after class," he said. "I’d like a word with you."