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The second-year final exam is a bit different from the first year.
The written and practical exams for each subject are the same.
But after that, there's an inter-departmental sparring tournament.
The sparring tournament is a random tournament-style event, with a 64-team bracket featuring 63 teams of 3 people each.
Both team formation and bracket arrangement are completely random.
Second-year auditorium.
The entire second-year class is gathered, standing in long lines for the drawing.
A large container in front of the auditorium contains balls with numbers from 0 to 63 written on them.
There are three balls each for numbers 1 to 63, and one ball with the number 0.
The three people who draw the same number form a team.
Bellum, who was standing in line, fiddled with his fingers for a long time before asking.
"There are 188 of us in the second year, right? But if there are 63 teams of 3, doesn't that mean one person is left out?"
Liber replied.
"That's why there's a ball with the number 0. The person who draws the 0 ball joins one of the 63 teams."
"What? Then isn't the 4-person team that includes the person who drew 0 advantageous?"
"The team composition is completely random, but the professors decide which team the person who drew 0 will join. They'll probably put them on the team deemed the weakest."
"Ah... then it's fair."
Karin, who was listening to Bellum and Liber's conversation, scoffed.
"Fair? What is? What if Davian draws the 0? Then that team is guaranteed to win, right? If Davian draws the 0, the weakest team immediately becomes a championship contender."
Bellum's mouth dropped open.
"Ah...?"
Unlike Bellum, who had a dazed expression, Liber calmly continued to explain.
"The probability of that happening is only 1 out of 188. About 0.5 percent? And Karin, even if Davian doesn't draw the 0 ball, wouldn't the group whose number Davian draws win anyway?"
"I guess. Then why even bother having a tournament if Davian's team is going to win anyway?"
"The evaluation isn't based solely on the tournament ranking. They said the scoring points are more about how well you work together and how you maximize your individual abilities."
As Liber said.
Tournament ranking doesn't directly translate to grades.
The professors watch the tournament matches and evaluate each student in various ways.
However, that doesn't mean that the ranking is completely irrelevant.
All members of the winning team receive a perfect score in the tournament sparring evaluation.
The 9 members of the 3 teams that reach the semi-finals (excluding the winning team) receive 10 bonus points.
The 12 members of the 4 teams that reach the quarter-finals receive 5 bonus points.
The 24 members of the 8 teams that reach the round of 16 receive 3 bonus points.
And the 92 members of the 31 teams that lose in the first round receive a penalty of 3 points.
This time, Luna, who was looking at the bracket, asked.
"Then is it advantageous to draw the 63 ball? That means you get a bye in the first round."
A pyramid-shaped bracket symbolizing the tournament was drawn on a large chart on the wall.
The bracket structure was simple.
From the left, there's Team 1, Team 2, Team 3, Team 4, and so on.
That means Team 1 faces Team 2, and Team 3 faces Team 4.
And the team that draws the last 63 ball gets a bye.
Liber answered again.
"Not necessarily. Team 63 will face a proven team that has already won once in the round of 32, and that's their first match. If they lose badly there, they'll have fewer opportunities than others to receive good individual evaluations from the professors."
"Ah... I see? It's difficult."
Bonita, who had been listening, interjected.
"Just show your skills."
Latia chimed in.
"Just do your best."
Bellum looped his arm around Luna's and pouted.
"You guys are in the top tier, so you can say things like that. For those of us in the middle to lower ranks, drawing numbers is really important!"
This time, Nubes asked.
"What's the probability that one of you will end up on the same team as me?"
Liber answered immediately.
"About 22 percent."
"That's higher than I thought?"
"Of course. Excluding you, Nubes, there are 2 remaining team members, so if you exclude the 0 ball, it's simple to calculate the probability that our 7 will draw the same number as you out of 63 balls..."
"Even if you say it like that, I don't understand..."
Bellum asked.
"Then what's the probability that only the three of us will be in the same group?"
"1 percent."
"Huh? It's even lower even though one more person is added?"
"That's just how probability works."
"It's difficult."
In the meantime, many students drew balls with numbers, and the names of the students were continuously written on the large bracket hanging on the wall.
Bellum, who was standing at the front of Davian's group, was up next.
Bellum reached into the large container and took out a small ball.
The teaching assistant in charge of the drawing announced loudly.
"Bellum Amandria, Team 7!"
A 1 percent probability.
A probability that might happen once in 100 attempts.
The Gray Bear Exploration Team succeeded in breaking through that probability.
That evening.
Dormitory lounge.
Bellum shouted.
"I envy you! You three are guaranteed to get perfect scores in this tournament sparring evaluation, right?"
A few hours earlier.
Luna drew number 62 first.
Then Nubes also drew 62.
And finally, Davian drew 62 as well.
Otherwise, Latia and Karin became a team.
Bellum, Liber, and Bonita were all scattered.
"And what about Latia and Karin's team? Who can beat those two if they're on the same team? What's more, the remaining one is Martin, the undisputed ace of the Martial Arts Department. No one will be able to approach Latia and Karin while Martin is holding the line."
Bellum smiled brightly, as if he hadn't been jealous at all.
"Oh! So Davian, Luna, and Nubes' team will face Latia and Karin's team in the finals?"
Bonita replied in a cold voice.
"I'm going to make it to the finals."
"Ah! That's right, there's Bonita too! Bonita should be able to break through Martin and approach Latia and Karin."
Bonita stared at Bellum intently.
"Bellum. You don't know how to read the bracket, do you?"
"Huh? Yeah?"
It's not that he doesn't know how to read it.
Even Bellum knows that you can trace it backwards like climbing a ladder from the bottom.
He just hadn't looked at it closely.
"The team I'll be facing in the finals isn't Latia and Karin's team. It's the team with Davian, Luna, and Nubes."
"Ah, is that so? Where?"
"Round of 16. That is, if we both don't get eliminated."
"Hey, there's no way you guys will get eliminated, right?"
At that time.
"Ah!"
"What's wrong, Luna?"
"Come to think of it, Nubes, Davian, and I are Team 62, right? So if we win in the round of 64... we'll face Team 63, who got a bye?"
Liber replied.
"That's right. That's why I said it's not necessarily a good thing to be Team 63 and get a bye."
"I see..."
The team that draws number 63 advances to the round of 32 without fighting in the first match.
As a result, they meet Davian's group in the round of 32.
Taking this into account, the faculty placed the student who drew 0 on Team 63.
The next day.
The tournament was held simultaneously in 8 arenas.
A total of 8 matches were held per arena, and the round of 64 of the tournament sparring evaluation was completed in just one day.
The 8th arena was an outdoor stage.
A low hill where psychokinetic magic practice is usually conducted.
The 7th match in the 8th arena began.
Team 61 Evan Brooks, Bastian Deegan, Perrendo Aaron vs. Team 62 Davian Naone, Nubes Arbo, Luna Pueri.
Davian looked at the three people across from him.
Two Swordsmanship Department students and one Martial Arts Department student.
Not that he's looking down on these guys.
Honestly, he's more than enough on his own.
No, he's more than capable.
Judging from the level of the three opponents, they're all above average.
It's a pity that they met Davian in the first match, but they're not untalented students.
And as always.
Davian believes that live sparring is the best training.
"Luna, Nubes. You're not going to slack off just because you're on the same team as me, are you?"
Nubes banged on his large shield with his long sword.
"What are you talking about! Slack off?"
"M-me too. I'm on a team with Davian, but I don't intend to just rely on Davian to win."
Davian nodded, satisfied.
"Then you two do it."
Nubes, startled, turned to look behind him.
"What?"
"I said you two do it. You can do it, right?"
"W-we can?"
"Well, since it's an evaluation, I'm not just going to play around either. I'll support you. Support. Long-range attack support. I've already told the professor in charge of the evaluation. And they've allowed me to do that."
Nubes looked back at the three Team 61 students standing in front of him.
"We have a support mage on our team, but don't expect that to be you, Davian, and fight?"
"You have to show the professors your skills too. You happen to be the strongest tank and the strongest healer combined. You know that test scores aren't everything, right? How the professors think about you on a regular basis is also important."
Hahaha!
When Davian used the word "strongest,"
Nubes laughed loudly.
And Luna lowered her head.
Nubes approached and patted Luna on the shoulder with his hand as big as a pot lid.
"Don't be scared, Luna. You're the best healer in the second year, aren't you?"
"W-well, I am..."
"Let's pretend Davian isn't here. I'm counting on you, Luna."
"Are you sure? Nubes."
"Of course! With the strongest healer, Luna Pueri, behind me, the strongest tank, Nubes Arbo, has nothing to fear!"
Davian looked at the two of them.
It's good to be confident.
But anything in excess is never good.
10 minutes later.
"Hah, hah. I can't do it."
Nubes, whose clothes were torn in various places, revealing his bronze, muscular skin, panted heavily.
His clothes were torn, but there were no visible wounds yet.
This was because Luna was stubbornly sticking close and continuously casting healing magic.
While Luna was focused on healing Nubes, she didn't forget to turn her head from time to time to check if Davian was safe.
'Because it's Davian, nothing bad will happen, but you never know. A healer has to look after everyone participating in the battle.'
Nubes also turned his head to look at Davian whenever he had a chance.
A look that said, "Am I doing well right now?"
Each time, Davian would nod lightly.
"Davian is casting attack magic from the back from time to time, but it's impossible to fight three people alone. What should we do, Luna?"
"Well, I don't know. But you can do it, Nubes. You're doing a good job of holding out against the three of them right now."
"I can't win by just holding out. This is troublesome..."
What was troublesome.
Wasn't just Nubes.
Team 61's Bastian Deegan was also breathing roughly.
"What kind of monster is that guy?"
"I know. No matter how hard we push him, he doesn't budge."
"Luna, who's sticking close, is even more of a problem. No matter how much we wound Nubes, he recovers quickly. I didn't know this, but why is Luna's stamina so good, even though she's small? Are the magic department kids originally that strong?"
There was something that the three members of Team 61 didn't know.
Nubes and Luna had already eaten 16 of the highest-grade elixirs made from the Hydra's regenerative stem.
An elixir that increases stamina by 10% on a compounding basis each time it's eaten.
Having eaten it 16 times.
Their stamina has increased 4.6 times compared to the beginning.
They've also been doing continuous stamina training in the meantime, so it's practically increased by more than 5 times.
"Luna, I'm going again!"
"Okay!"
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