The next morning, ignoring the impact his little concert had caused yesterday, as well as the countless gazes directed at him from around the classroom, Knox carried on as though nothing had happened while life at Kizen gradually returned to its usual rhythm.
Of course, there had been one rather troublesome incident after the broadcast. Serene had suddenly barged into the clubroom, loudly protesting about why she hadn't been invited to listen to the performance in person when she had already told Knox that she wanted to join the Light Music Club.
Fortunately, Cyrene had already returned to Knox's badge by then. What followed was the usual routine, with Lorain and Serene quickly falling into another round of bickering while Knox could only watch from the side.
In the end, Serene somehow emerged victorious from the whole ordeal and officially secured herself a place in the Light Music Club.
Remembering everything that had happened, Knox rested his chin on one hand before quietly letting out a sigh.
...Another day of school life.
"Did everyone have a good break?" Professor Jane asked with her usual calm smile.
"Yes, Professor!"
The students answered in unison.
It was their first Elementary Black Magic class after quite some time. Knox sat together with Claudia, Cindy, and Merida as usual, quietly listening to Jane's lecture.
After waiting for the classroom to settle down, Jane gently placed the documents in her hands onto the podium.
"This week," she began, "we have several announcements."
The moment those words left her mouth, the atmosphere inside the classroom noticeably shifted.
Everyone knew that whenever Professor Jane started a lesson like that, it usually meant something important was about to follow. Conversations immediately died down as dozens of students instinctively sat a little straighter, quietly waiting for the next sentence.
"First..."
Jane glanced around the room before continuing.
"Your midterm examination results have been finalized."
A chorus of groans immediately echoed throughout the classroom.
Claudia unconsciously straightened her back, while Cindy instantly grabbed both sides of her head as though she had already seen her tragic future. Even Merida's usual sleepy expression completely disappeared, replaced by rare seriousness as she stared toward the podium without blinking.
The reaction wasn't limited to Group 8.
Simon also became visibly tense, Rick dramatically slammed his forehead onto the table, and Meilyn quietly tapped her fingers against her desk, unable to hide her anticipation. Beside her, Camibarez's bat-like wings nervously fluttered behind her back, making it painfully obvious how anxious she was about the results.
Ignoring the various reactions around the classroom, Jane calmly continued.
"Your scores, along with your current rankings, will be distributed shortly. As a reminder, these rankings are based solely on your written examination results. Practical evaluations and performance assessments are not included."
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the teaching assistants began moving around the classroom with neatly stacked envelopes.
One by one, they called each student's name before handing over a sealed envelope containing their examination results.
"Knox Aznable?"
"Here~" Knox casually raised one hand before walking over to receive his envelope.
The teaching assistant handed it over with a small smile.
Over the years, she had seen countless reactions whenever students received their examination results. Some accepted the envelope with confidence, others with visible nervousness, while a few looked as though they had just been handed their own death sentence.
Knox, however, was different.
Even now, he accepted the envelope with the same easygoing smile he always wore, without the slightest hint of tension.
...Well, I suppose that's only natural.
The assistant could only smile helplessly before moving on to the next student.
Returning to his seat, Knox opened the envelope and pulled out the neatly folded report inside.
For many students, the single sheet of paper in his hand carried a weight comparable to a death sentence.
For Knox, however, it was simply another report card.
[Knox Aznable]
Katarology (Curse): 100
Darkness Dynamics: 100
Summonology: 100
Spiritology (Necromancy): 100
Haematology: 100
Toxicology (Poison): 100
Magical Combat (Matu): 100
Defense Against Holiness: 100
Overall Average: 100 (Rank: 1st)
Before Knox could even react...
"Whoa! What kind of monster scores is this?!" Cindy's voice suddenly echoed throughout the classroom. "Perfect scores again?!"
Knox instinctively turned toward his left.
Sure enough, Cindy was already staring at his report card with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.
"As expected of you, Knox," Claudia said with a helpless smile. "I feel like I burned every single brain cell I had preparing for these exams... and it still wasn't enough to catch up with you."
Merida didn't say anything. She simply reached over, lightly patted Knox on the shoulder, and gave him a sincere thumbs-up.
"...Hm."
That one small gesture alone was enough for Knox to understand what she meant.
Unfortunately, Cindy's voice had been loud enough for practically the entire classroom to hear.
Not only the first-year students, but even the teaching assistants and Professor Jane glanced toward Knox's seat.
Seeing the perfect score, Jane merely smiled before quietly shaking her head. The teaching assistants reacted much the same way. At this point, none of them found it particularly surprising anymore.
The rest of the classroom, however, didn't share that opinion.
Several students who had been happily celebrating their own results only moments earlier slowly lowered their report cards after hearing Cindy's shout.
Some slumped over their desks. Others stared blankly into space. A few even looked as though their souls had quietly left their bodies.
Without intending to, Cindy had just unleashed a devastating round of friendly fire upon the entire class.
If this had been an online game, Cindy would've probably been reported by the entire lobby and kicked out of the room for excessive friendly fire.
After letting the classroom recover for a bit, Knox leaned over and took a quick look at the report cards of the other three members of Group 8.
The results immediately brought a smile to his face.
Thanks to the study sessions they had held over the past few months, all three of them had improved significantly compared to before. Claudia's scores had become even more stable, while the biggest surprise naturally belonged to the resident lazy duo.
Cindy and Merida.
The two of them stared at their report cards for quite a while before looking at each other.
Both of them felt that their current scores could even be framed and hung proudly on the wall!
After celebrating their surprisingly good scores, Knox, Claudia, Cindy, and Merida continued chatting among themselves. Their conversation gradually died down, however, as they happened to overhear the discussion coming from Group 7's table nearby.
Simon lowered his gaze to the score sheet in his hands.
Overall Average: 65.375 (Rank: 458th)
"Wow!" His eyes widened in pleasant surprise. The result had turned out far better than he had expected.
Back during Professor Jane's first written test, his average score had barely reached thirty-seven. Now, after months of studying, it had climbed all the way to sixty-five. Nearly thirty points.
At Kizen, where every classroom was filled with talented students from across the continent, achieving a stable mid-tier ranking through written examinations alone was already an accomplishment worth celebrating.
A small smile naturally formed on Simon's face. His efforts hadn't been in vain. Even without years of prior knowledge like many of his classmates, he had proven to himself that he could still keep up.
Almost at the same time, he looked up and found Meilyn staring back at him with an unusually determined expression.
"So..." she asked while forcing a calm smile, "what did you get in Summonology?"
"You first."
"...Ugh." Meilyn immediately puffed out her cheeks.
"Come on! I asked you first!"
Rick, who had quietly leaned over to peek at Simon's score sheet, suddenly let out an impressed whistle.
"Ooh~"
"Simon, you really studied hard! You're no longer an easy opponent for Meilyn."
"Stop changing the subject!" Meilyn protested before looking back at Simon. "Now tell me your score!"
Simon could only smile bitterly. "...Eighty-seven."
"..." Meilyn's expression immediately became complicated.
There was frustration. There was relief. And somehow, there was also a faint smile.
Seeing her reaction, Simon began feeling nervous instead.
"I already told you mine. So hurry up."
"...Sigh."
Like someone reluctantly revealing the final card in a poker match, Meilyn slowly placed her score sheet onto the table.
"I lost....eighty-five."
"Wooooow!" Camibarez immediately let out an excited cheer before tightly grabbing Simon's hand.
"Congratulations, Simon!! Now you get to stay at Kizen with us!"
"T-Thank you, Cami..."
Watching the two celebrate, Meilyn quietly smiled to herself. From the very beginning, she had never truly intended to chase Simon out of Kizen over their little bet.
Besides, Summonology had simply happened to be her weakest subject.
In every other written examination, she had once again scored above ninety, allowing her overall average to remain exceptionally high.
Overall Average: 92.00 (Rank: 2nd)
But, even with an average of ninety-two, she still wasn't ranked first.
"Kizen really is terrifying..."
Meilyn let out a long sigh as she looked at the ranking once more.
Simon smiled and tried to comfort her.
"Still, second place out of the entire first year is already incredible."
"Eh? Not really." Meilyn casually waved her hand.
"Written exams don't carry that much weight at Kizen. Duel Evaluations, practical exams, mission evaluations... those are worth much more. Once the practical scores are added, all those monster students will probably push me right out of the top ten."
She paused for a moment before letting out another helpless sigh.
"Especially when our batch has a monster among monsters...or more accurately, a devil."
As she finished speaking, Meilyn instinctively turned her head toward Knox's table.
Almost as if by coincidence, Knox and the others also happened to look in their direction.
Their eyes met. Then, with the same bright, easygoing smile he always wore, Knox casually waved a hand.
"Wow, congratulations, Meilyn! Rank two!"
"...Urgh!" Meilyn immediately clutched her chest.
Although Knox's smile remained as sunny as ever, those congratulatory words somehow felt like a merciless slap from reality itself.
Then, after Meilyn managed to recover enough, she immediately launched her counterattack.
"You! Don't be so smug! Just you wait!" Meilyn said as she pointed a finger at Knox.
"Haha, don't worry, Meilyn." Knox smiled as brightly as ever. "This humble me will, of course, wait for you~"
He paused for a brief moment before adding with a sly grin, "Of course... I'll be waiting in front of you~"
"!!!"
'Meilyn used Hiss! on Knox.'
'It's not very effective...'
Watching the exchange, everyone around them couldn't help but think of the same image.
It was as if a blue cat was hissing at a fluffy fox.
Whether the cat punched the fox or not, the fluffy fox wouldn't feel a thing. Instead, it would simply grin back and tease the cat even more. Worse still, even if the cat chose not to attack at all, the fluffy fox would still find a way to mock it anyway.
In other words...
Today's Result: Knox's Victory.
Then, suddenly, a voice broke the confrontation between the blue cat and the white fox.
"Attention."
As the classroom buzzed with students comparing their scores, Professor Jane's calm voice immediately silenced everyone.
"Now you have a clearer idea of where you currently stand," she said as her gaze swept across the classroom. "To those of you at the top, congratulations. However, don't become complacent. Continue aiming even higher. As for those who are still in the lower ranks, don't be discouraged. There's still plenty of time to improve, so keep working hard."
She briefly paused before continuing.
"We're only halfway through the first semester."
"Yes, Professor!"
"This week overlaps with the mission period, so there won't be any major events. I hope all of you will use this opportunity wisely. Prepare yourselves for the upcoming Duel Evaluation, strengthen your weaknesses, and continue polishing your own fighting styles."
A faint smile slowly appeared on Jane's face.
"After all...that's the only way you'll survive the next performance evaluation."
Her ominous remark instantly tightened the atmosphere inside the classroom.
Seeing the students' expressions become noticeably more serious, Jane looked toward one of the teaching assistants standing nearby.
"Assistant, are the Duel Evaluation matchups ready?"
"Yes, Professor. They've just been finalized."
The assistant immediately handed over a stack of documents.
Naturally, countless eyes followed the papers.
Among all the regular evaluations held at Kizen, Duel Evaluations were undoubtedly one of the most anticipated events. After all, there was nothing students enjoyed watching more than seeing fellow Kizen students clash in one-on-one battles.
"Following the Midterm Examination, the Island Survival Assessment, and the Mission Evaluation..."
Jane lightly raised the document in her hand.
"It's finally time for another Duel Evaluation."
A wave of excitement immediately spread throughout the classroom.
"Unlike your first Duel Evaluation, things will be very different this time. The days when you entered the arena without understanding your own strengths or even knowing which black magic suited you best are already behind you. By now, each of you should have begun developing your own combat style."
Hearing those words, Knox silently nodded in agreement.
Those days of fumbling through battles with little understanding of one's own abilities had long since passed. Whether friend or foe, everyone had undoubtedly prepared one or two trump cards by now, and the gap between students was gradually becoming smaller.
Especially for someone like Knox.
As a member of one of Kizen's top squads, he would inevitably continue facing the academy's strongest students.
In fact, somewhere inside the classroom, more than a few students were already praying to every god they could think of...
Just please...
Don't let Knox be my opponent!
Meanwhile, the person in question remained completely oblivious.
I wonder who my opponent will be this time...
One by one, the teaching assistants distributed the Duel Evaluation matchups.
Knox accepted his paper, but before he even had the chance to unfold it, a familiar voice from Group 7 suddenly caught his attention.
"Simon! Who's your oppo... Oh."
Rick clicked his tongue. Beside him, Meilyn's expression also became noticeably more complicated.
"...This isn't going to be easy."
Class A - Simon Polentia vs. Class M - Malcolm Randolph
While Group 7 was already beginning to worry about Simon's upcoming match, another voice suddenly cut through the conversation.
"This is crazy! Isn't this another huge match for you, Knox?!" Cindy exclaimed.
Even Merida, who was usually the quietest among them, couldn't help joining in.
"Knox..." She looked at him with an unusually serious expression. "...Be honest. Did you offend Kizen?"
Hearing Cindy's and Merida's reactions, not only Group 7 but almost everyone in the classroom instinctively turned toward Knox.
Their curiosity was immediately piqued.
Just who had been matched against him this time?
Judging by the expressions on Cindy's and Merida's faces, It had to be someone extraordinary.
Knox finally lowered his eyes toward the paper in his hand.
Class A - Knox Aznable vs. Class A - Hector Moore