Beyond Phantasia

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Total Score: 60/100

Lucien Crow: 60

Gallagher Evans : 0

Lacey Muck: 0

Charles Fourtin : 0

Wilburt Whonow: 0

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“That was it? We totaled on sixty?”

Instructor Weak and Instructor Cefin walked into the room.

“Well done, Lucien. You should be very proud of yourself,” Instructor Weak said. “You’ve really put on a show for us!”

“Sigh. That doesn’t even qualify us for the top five, Instructor,” I replied. “How are the other two doing?”

“They’ll be fine. After all, it’s just a simulation, but we have the medical team checking on them,” Instructor Cefin chimed in. “Now, there’s another score you need to see. Take a look.”

He showed me a screen.

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Individual Score Ranking

1st Lucien Crow: 60

2nd Novian Songstar: 56

3rd Elara Von Castille: 49

4th Kaeygo Jarchaku: 41

5th Aurelia Olorona: 35

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“Are you for real right now?” I asked.

"Yes, Lucien. The score doesn’t lie. You've shown us something amazing today! Your sheer grit and determination were spectacular!" Instructor Weak cheered.

"This...I can't even express." I said.

"No need, just do your best during the midterms," Instructor Cefin said. "You've already shown me enough that has exceeded my expectations. I believe your rank will increase."

"Thank you. But, what about Gallagher?"

I completely forgot about that monstrosity.

“U-unhand me! Do you know who I am?” Gallagher yelled as he was being dragged away by some of the school staff.

“He’ll be taken care of through our correctional facility,” Cefin said.

“Mind if I talk to him for a second?” I asked. “I need to ask him why.”

The instructors exchanged glances before nodding. The staff brought Gallagher over to me.

“H-hey, 4000, tell them it was me who did all the work! You know I helped the te—!”

Pow! Crack! A fist collided with Gallagher's nose.

“Ah…ah…! Ahh! M-my nose!” Gallagher screamed. “It’s broken!”

“Next time you approach me, it’s on sight,” I said.

It was immature of me, but he really deserved it.

“Mr. Lucien!” Instructor Weak called out.

“It was a…high-five?”

Instructor Cefin could only shake his head in disappointment.

<><><><><>

Novian’s POV

I was met with both scorn and admiration as I left. The nobles had been bested by a disgraced baron, but this is exactly what I wanted: challenges. The only way to improve is through hard work and combat, and what’s better than facing a group of arrogant nobles wanting to fight you?

“Nice job, Novy!” Iris cheered. “First place is totally secured.”

“Thanks, Iris. Having Kaeygo in there definitely made the simulation easier,” I replied. “You better do well too.”

“You know I’m not really a combatant, right? That’s totally not my thing,” Iris said with a grin. “But tell you what, I’ll take down at least ten just for you.”

“Sure.” I laughed.

“Well done, Songstar.”

I turned my attention to the princess.

“Thank you, Elara.”

“It’s a given that you’d score that high, even without using technomancy,” she said with a determined smile. “But don’t think I’ll go down without a fight either.”

“I’ll be looking forward to your performance.”

Time passed, and soon it was Iris’s and Elara’s turn in the simulation. I watched their performance, and as expected, they worked exceedingly well together, along with Aurelia.

[5 Minutes Completed! Calculating score…]

“Did you see that, Novy? I got ten just like I promised!” Iris cheered. “You owe me lunch for that!”

“Sure, sure. We can go right after,” I replied, turning my head to Elara. “Good job, Elara. That was close.”

She looked at me with determination.

“Next time, I’ll top your score, but thank you,” she said.

“Can we get lunch now? I’m like sure we can leave early,” Iris said.

“Final batch, batch five — you're up!” Instructor Weak called out.

“Wait. Let’s watch this one,” I said. “Don’t you want to see how he does?”

“Why would I care about him?” Iris scoffed. “He’s a jerk…but fine. I wouldn’t mind watching him fail.”

“Care to join the watch party, Elara?” I asked.

She glanced at the participants and nodded.

I guess we more or less had the same idea.

Notably, there were many more students observing this batch compared to the others, especially the girls.

“I can’t believe he’s ranked 4000. That’s such a waste!” one female classmate exclaimed.

“I know, right! He’s so hot. Do you think if I asked him out, he’d say yes?” another replied.

“Girl, stop. You’ll be a laughing stock if someone catches you with someone that low of a rank. But, then again, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Hey, Iris,” I said.

“Hm? What’s up, Novy?” she replied.

“Do you think I’m more attractive than him? Be completely honest with me,” I asked, pointing to the purple-eyed boy on the screen.

“I mean you are super handsome!” Iris said.

“But am I more handsome than him? Be real with me.”

“Um… you’re definitely handsome, but…but I really don’t want to say it…”

“Hah… You don’t have to, I already know the answer.”

Lucien was a different breed when it came to his appearance, but was the gap really that huge between us? Why am I getting so insecure about this?

“Hey, Elara,” I called out.

“Yes, Songstar. He may be extremely weak, but his looks are not. You should be satisfied with second place,” she replied, giving me a thumbs up.

Is she mocking me?

Maybe I need to ask someone else.

[Begin!]

Forgetting my previous thoughts, I turned my head to the screen.

“Interesting.”

“You noticed it too, didn't you Songstar?” Elara asked.

“Yes, why is he carrying so many weapons?”

The screen showed the group in the midst of an argument. Gallagher struggled with the minigun, causing a slight smirk from Elara. However, as I refocused on the screen, it appeared that they were now in a state of panic as one of their teammates was taken.

Pop! Lucien killed a bot. It seemed like he was giving orders of some sort. The group was running while Lucien was killing off the bots.

“He’s surprisingly adept at shooting,” I commented to Elara.

“Agreed,” she replied.

The scene continued, showing the group failing to provide any cover fire for Lucien. He quickly adapted, switching to a rifle while maintaining his impressive accuracy. Additionally, he used the knives to effectively stall the bots. They continued on their way as Lucien cleared a path out.

“That scumbag!” Iris yelled out.

Gallagher had taken one of his own members and thrown him off a high point, leaving Lucien alone in the middle of the field. This caused a commotion among the students; nobles snickered while the common folk protested. The instructors had to step in and assure us that they would take appropriate action.

I could see the sober looks on Iris, Elara, and everyone else. It seemed like this would be the end, or so we thought. Lucien swapped to the shotgun he was carrying and began blasting through the bots. The recoil seemed to take a toll on him, but he persisted. We thought it would end when he ran out of ammo, but he continued to surprise us. With his other arm, he ran forward, pressing on until he reached Gallagher’s minigun.

“That’s impossible. He won’t be able to lift it,” Elara said.

That's what I thought too, but isn't he full of surprises? He picked it up with an intense look of determination on his face, as if his life depended on it. This shocked everyone. Elara was speechless, as no one in our grade could compete with her in terms of raw strength.

“Samatha, take a picture! Look how drenched he is!” a female student called out.

“Eeeeeee! I think I’m gonna faint!” another one yelled.

[5 Minutes Completed! Calculating score…]

Everyone quieted down and waited for the score.

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Total Score: 60/100

Lucien Crow: 60

Gallagher Evans : 0

Lacey Muck: 0

Charles Fourtin : 0

Wilburt Whonow: 0

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“They didn’t place, but…” I said, looking at the next screen. “He beat in the individual scoring.”

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Individual Score Ranking

1st Lucien Crow: 60

2nd Novian Songstar: 56

3rd Elara Von Castille: 49

4th Kaeygo Jarchaku: 41

5th Aurelia Olorona: 35

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I looked at the screen, and there he was, staring into the sky.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

A vein appeared on my forehead.

Is it really the time to take pictures of him?

“Novy…” Iris patted my back. “Lunch will be on me this time.”

“Thanks Iris…” I replied, staring at the screen.

I-I...need to work harder, or else I won’t be able to accomplish my goal.