Became a Traitor in an Academy

Know Your Place

“Aaaaargh!!”

With the girl’s scream, the ground of the field was overturned, scattering rock fragments and dust everywhere.

As the dust settled, the field was gone, replaced by what looked like the aftermath of a landslide, with a girl in the center breathing heavily.

The ram-like horns on her head were glowing gold. How fitting for a heroine. She won’t hold back the protagonist.

I made that assessment in my mind.

“Area Control Ability Assessment. Lapis, 75 points. The destructive power is flawless but… points deducted for inability to distinguish between friend and foe, and potential for collateral damage. Well done, please return to your seat. Next student.”

The student called Lapis muttered nervously, but I watched with interest since no one failed from the first test. After all, anything was more interesting than Jin-hyeon.

Jin-hyeon, that guy easily passed with just magical reinforcement. He showed a little in the later suppression ability test, but even that little easily got him high marks.

Damn talented bastard. I got pissed off all over again. How can you not get angry seeing someone casually pass a test that others have to squeeze out every bit of their magic and ability for, while not even being particularly enthusiastic about it.

“That Lapis girl is really strong, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. Wielding earth and rocks like they’re part of her body… she’ll definitely make it big if she becomes a hero.”

The game protagonists were evaluating each student’s performance like this. Not mostly, but entirely positive reviews.

What’s even the point of evaluating if it’s going to be like this. While hiding my incomprehension, I watched the field repair itself.

They said some complex technology was applied so it restores itself when damaged. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how we could destroy a field they pour so much money into.

Well, that’s what she and I came here to figure out.

Since we needed to maintain our Class A position to do that, I quietly watched Min-ho take the test.

“20 seconds…? A student?”

More accurately, I tried to watch. But it wasn’t easy. Even with my motion vision, I could barely keep up with his movements.

Well, the protagonist has to be fast. In the original development he moderately hid his strength, but perhaps due to the twisted development, he was now going all out.

He could move this fast thanks to his ability ‘Speed Boost’. You might ask how it’s different from acceleration, but depending on how it’s used, it could be a much better ability than acceleration or other speed-type abilities.

Unlike acceleration which requires moving your legs to benefit from it, he could literally achieve maximum speed even while standing still.

It could be called telekinesis limited only to himself.

If telekinetics grab and throw objects, you could say he throws his own body.

That’s why his ability wasn’t neutralized even when he was restrained.

Of course, it wasn’t without drawbacks. Things like his reaction speed not being able to keep up past a certain point, making it impossible to exceed the speed of sound. Though later he overcame that and crossed the sound barrier like walking into his own room.

“Area Control Ability Assessment. Yong Min-ho… 96 points. You subdued numerous villains in a short time but… civilian casualties could occur even in that brief moment. However, excellent work. Even professionals would find it hard to match. Well done. Last student.”

“Did he just finish in less than 5 minutes…? What is he…? Is he really a student?” Instead of analysis, Yeonhwa just kept repeating how this couldn’t be possible.

My turn, huh. Originally I planned to do just enough, but after seeing that, I couldn’t just let it slide.

Partly because I was inspired seeing the protagonist try so hard, and partly because I didn’t want to score lower than Jin-hyeon of all people.

“…You were amazing. I could barely see your afterimages.”

I said “you did well” to Min-ho as he came up breathing heavily. Though he thanked me, he still looked at me somewhat strangely.

…Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have spoken up?

Leaving Min-ho behind, I stood before Justitia And synthesized various things inside my body. Just things that would help with the test right now.

My body, kneaded with hormones and drugs, was overflowing with power. The usual drowsy feeling disappeared, and I felt like I could do anything right now.

…Of course, that was just how it felt. I don’t know what substance it was, but anyway, it was a side effect. Excessive euphoria.

Besides that, various other side effects would come rushing in, but I could patch those up with counteracting substances when the time came.

“…First event. 1km run. Start!”

The moment she finished speaking, I burst forward. And while strengthening my body with magic, I ran as fast as I possibly could.

“One minute. This year’s freshmen are remarkable. Take a brief rest-“

“I’ll go straight to the next one.”

I planned to finish everything I could do physically before the drug wore off. Justitia looked concerned that I was overdoing it, but-

This was a test where you had to overdo it.

“If that’s what you want, very well. Let’s move on to the strength test.”

I couldn’t get through the following courses as quickly as Min-ho. But I could do everything faster and better than Jin-hyeon.

Before I knew it, all the physical tests were finished, leaving only the courses that evaluated ability alone.

Then there’s no need to maintain it anymore. The moment I synthesized the counteracting substances, my physically enhanced abilities instantly dropped.

Along with it came all the pain and fatigue I had been postponing or ignoring with the drug’s effects. Ugh, I’m dying.

Still, it’s nothing compared to ending up just with pain and drowsiness. Normally, using drugs to this extent would have even ability users collapsing while foaming at the mouth.

It’s only because it’s me that it ends at this level.

I stood before the training dummy with a body that felt like it had aged several years in an instant. What was it, personal suppression ability assessment?

Other kids were crushing, uprooting, throwing, smashing, burying in the ground, and tearing with shadows, but I couldn’t make such attacks.

However, I wasn’t particularly worried. I just had to cover the mannequin’s face with my palm and spray high-concentration carbon monoxide. There was no need to physically tear it apart, any attack that would make a human die or collapse was okay.

Though they called it suppression, it was essentially a test to see how effective you were against a single target. Without particularly considering whether the target lived or died.

In that aspect, my ability was worth 100 points.

“Personal Suppression Ability Assessment, Blanca. 100 points. You quickly subdued only the target with pinpoint accuracy without collateral damage. Perfect.”

Justitia smiled with satisfaction. Then she called for the last course, saying we were almost done.

From the ground of the wide field, steel mannequins suddenly sprouted up like the ones we just saw. And among these mannequins, some had blue circles drawn on their heads. A test where you had to neutralize the mannequins while avoiding damage to those marked with blue circles. That was the Area Control Ability Assessment.

“This is the last one. Give it your all until the end.”

As usual, I synthesized anesthetic in my body. At a concentration that no human could withstand, though it might leave mild side effects depending on the person.

And I sprayed it from my whole body in the form of smoke.

The instantly erupted smoke enveloped all the mannequins, and rose with such force that even Justitia watching from above flinched momentarily – before stopping just before invading the spectator seats. The smoke indiscriminately swallowed everything, whether blue-circled or regular mannequins. And while navigating through the smoke, I selectively sprayed awakening agents on only those marked with blue circles. After the smoke cleared, Justitia finished grading and announced my score.

“…Area Control Ability Assessment. Blanca, 100 points. You subdued everyone in range without giving them a chance to respond. Though friend-foe identification wasn’t possible, you selected and healed only civilians on the spot. Remarkable. Perfect.”

This much should at least suppress Jin-hyeon’s spirit. Wonder if Min-ho will see me differently too? With such thoughts, I returned to my seat.

And somehow I realized that the way students looked at me had changed from before.

“Is she… that one?”

“Must be. Though I didn’t see it myself… rumors say she knocked out all the other applicants by herself…”

And it wasn’t because of the performance I just showed, but because of the performance I put on during the entrance exam.

Ah well, I’ve been found out. Ahaha.

The teacher left the classroom saying we were free to either go home after lunch or just go home. The first day’s classes ended like this.

I hope no one gets moved to a lower class. With such hopes, I was on my way out after having lunch with Yeonhwa.

In the distance, I saw someone familiar surrounded by several people. It was Blanca and Class A students. Why were they there?

The question didn’t last long, as I soon realized they were in the middle of an argument and approached with Yeonhwa.

“So why is it my fault? It’s you weaklings’ fault, isn’t it? How can you have so much to say when you collapsed because you were weak?”

“Is that something a Hero Department student should say?! Do you know how many people worried because of you!”

“Yeah, I thought I was definitely failing, and thought my life was over until the notice came…!”

“I wondered why smoke was suddenly spreading and thought it was an event… it was you? Do you know how dirty my pants got because of you?!”

“I don’t know at all, and I don’t want to know.”

The students were raising their voices, apparently very angry at Blanca, while she responded to them indifferently.

I could understand why they were fighting. After seeing her ability during the test, some students got very angry realizing it was her.

“Jin-hyeon? Are you thinking of getting involved…? I, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“Yeah. That’s not just. And she’s a friend.”

Though Yeonhwa tried to stop me, I had to go. That’s what my idol would have done.

I stepped in before the argument got worse, taking Blanca’s side.

“The examiner said it, didn’t they? As long as you’re not harming others, using abilities to gain advantage isn’t against the rules. She just followed that.”

“That doesn’t mean you can knock out all the other applicants! And if you didn’t experience it directly, why are you butting in?!”

“Because it’s not just.”

At that response, both Blanca and the Class A students protesting against her fell silent.

“What do you mean butting in, we’re friends! And if there was really a problem, Blanca wouldn’t have been able to set foot in the academy!”

Before I knew it, Yeonhwa had also stepped up to defend Blanca. The students who had been aggressively confronting Blanca couldn’t say anything more, just frowning without further complaints.

“…See you later.”

“Whatever.”

Once she was no longer alone, the students left.

“It’s okay now, Blanca.”

I tried to reassure her with those words, but her expression looked even colder than before.

“…Thanks for the help, but don’t interfere. This isn’t your problem.”

She seemed to have a lot to say. But Blanca just said that and left.