After the first day of exams, we decided to go straight back to the dorm.

  "If the weather was cool and breezy this afternoon, it would be nice to go for a walk first. But it's really hot this afternoon, so we'd better go back to the dorm," Noa said before we decided to leave.

  After arriving at the dorm, I went straight to my dorm room.

  "I guess Irene isn't here yet, so whatever," I said.

  I decided to read the technique book I had, in case I found a useful technique I could use on the exam the next day. About 10-20 minutes into my reading, Irene arrived at my dorm.

  "I thought you were going for a walk with the others, Rid," Irene said.

  "No, Noa said it was really hot this afternoon, so they wanted to go straight home. They probably want to recover and prepare for the second day of exams tomorrow. Where have you been, Irene?" I asked.

  "I just bought groceries for lunch," Irene said.

  "You bought the ingredients with your own money?" I asked.

  "Yes," Irene said.

  "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to buy groceries? I could have bought them myself. You already made me food, so why did you have to buy the groceries?" I said.

  "It's okay, I don't know what I'm going to use the money I get from the academy for anyway," Irene said.

  "Still, I'll be the one buying the groceries in the future. You just have to let me know what you want to buy," I said.

  "Okay," Irene said.

  Then we got ready to make lunch. Even though Irene was cooking, I still prepared the necessary ingredients. I felt bad about Irene doing it herself, even though she offered to make me food. After lunch was ready, there was a knock on my dorm door.

  "Miss, the two of us are here to eat," said what sounded like Lily.

  Lily was always straightforward, unlike Leandra, who was a bit more reserved. They knew that Irene was usually in my dorm at lunchtime, so they knocked on my door.

  "Let me open it," Irene said.

  Irene walked to the door and opened it. A few moments later, the two guests came in.

  "Oh, there's Rid too. I thought you were hanging out with your friends, Rid," Lily said.

  "No, we decided to go straight home after the exam was over," I said.

  "Then I apologize for interrupting your date," Lily said.

  "It's okay, just relax," I said.

  Then the four of us started eating lunch.

  -

  After lunch.

  "According to Mr. Alan, tomorrow's second day's exam will be more difficult than today's. What do you think makes it more difficult, Rid?" Leandra asked.

  "Hmm, maybe it's the difference in the dolls' movements or the increase in their numbers tomorrow," I said.

  "I see. Looks like we need to practice, Lily. We have to pass this exam too," Leandra said.

  "Why don't we just ask Rid to train us? Just like Rid trained Miss," Lily said.

  "Hmm, me? I don't mind training you," I said.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "But we don't have anything to give you, Rid. Miss offered to cook you a meal in return for training her," Leandra said.

  "I don't expect anything in return. Besides, when Irene asked me to train her, I didn't ask for anything in return. Irene offered it herself. I wanted to refuse, but she insisted," I said.

  Irene just listened silently to our conversation.

  "Then please train us both just like you trained Miss," Leandra said.

  "Okay, but I don't know if my training method will suit you. I don't mean to discriminate, but we're different races, so it's possible my training method won't work for you, and maybe your race has a different training method," I said.

  "You have a point, but there's no harm in trying, right?" Leandra asked.

  "That's right, I don't think I'll mind your training method," Lily said.

  "Okay, then I'll wait for you guys tomorrow at 4:30 a.m. at the first-year training ground," I said.

  "Does it have to be that early, Rid?" Lily asked.

  "I'll also train Irene at that time, because it's still quiet at that time, because I don't want too many people to see me training you. Otherwise, they'll see me training you and ask to be trained too," I said.

  "Okay, I'll try to wake up at that time tomorrow morning," Lily said.

  The next morning, Leandra and Lily also came to the first-year training ground for training. When I told her that practice was at 4:30 a.m., Lily seemed reluctant to do so at that hour. But she still showed up, even though she looked incredibly sleepy.

  -

  Then the second day's exam began, and I was once again given the first turn.

  - Wood Creation Magic, Fighting Wooden Puppets -

  Mr. Alan and the four other staff members brought out the wooden puppets. This time, they brought out more than yesterday. After I counted them, there were 40 wooden puppets in front of me, and they were holding different weapons, just like yesterday.

  "Yesterday there were 20 wooden puppets, and now there are 40. Will the puppets' movements be different from yesterday too?" I thought.

  "The second day's exam begins!!!," said Mr. Alan.

  The wooden puppets immediately charged at me. The puppet with the bow also attacked me with its arrows, but I managed to dodge theirs.

  "They're a bit faster than before. The archer puppet already attacked me with its arrows," I thought.

  Then I launched a fire slash at the group of puppets.

  - Flame Sword Art, Great Flame Slash -

  The puppets hit by the slash burned and shattered, but not all of them were destroyed because they were scattered and not gathered in one spot. But that didn't matter to me, as I continued to launch my flame slash at them, even though I couldn't destroy them all in one attack. And finally, they were all destroyed.

  "Good job, Rid. It seems like the second day's exam wasn't a big deal for you. Then, next, Irene, please go," said Master Alan.

  Then we all successfully completed the second day's exam. Irene, the others, and I easily completed the second exam, although none of us managed to defeat all the enemies in one attack because the puppets were scattered in all directions. The other students also succeeded, although some of them nearly failed. They were now extremely exhausted and some were injured.

  "Congratulations on all successfully passing the second day's exam. I didn't expect you all to pass this second exam, I thought some of you would fail. You're truly amazing. Well, I'll see you tomorrow for the third day's exam. Prepare yourselves as best you can, because the third day's exam will be even more difficult than today's," said Mr. Alan.

  Again, Mr. Alan said something that made the students uneasy and nervous.

  -

  The next day, the third day's exam began. And once again, I was given the first turn to set an example for the other students.

  "Looks like I'll be given the first turn on the final day's exam, too. This is because I ranked first in the entrance exam, and now I'm the top student with the most points. It doesn't matter how many turns I have," I thought.

  This time, there were 60 wooden puppets in front of me, more than the previous days. Furthermore, they were spread out, so it seemed difficult to defeat them all with a single attack. Although I could use area magic, I didn't want to use that technique right now. Then the puppets began to attack me. I attacked them one by one. I used 'Great Flame Slash' towards the crowd. And finally, I successfully completed the third day's exam.

  "You even successfully completed the third day's exam, congratulations, Rid. You may proceed to the final exam tomorrow. Next..." said Mr. Alan.

  And finally, the third day's exam was over. Irene, my friends, and I successfully completed the third exam, and the other students did as well. However, some of them failed the third exam and could not proceed to the final exam tomorrow. They failed to destroy the 60 puppets within 2 minutes. Those who failed could only grieve and hang their heads in despair. Meanwhile, of the successful students, some were extremely tired and weak. It seemed they had run out of mana after defeating the 60 wooden puppets. The others and I took the initiative to help those who were already so weak.

  "Congratulations to those of you who successfully completed the third day's exam. For those of you who couldn't, please don't be discouraged. There are still three more exams to take. Please go home and rest today for the final exam tomorrow. Well, see you tomorrow," said Mr. Alan.

  We helped our classmates and took them to the infirmary on the second floor of the central building.

  -

  The next day, the final exam was underway.

  "Looks like you're not holding back this time, Rid. "Even with more wooden dummies than the previous day's test, you were still able to destroy them all with one attack," said Mr. Alan, shocked to see the many wooden dummies destroyed by fire.

  -To be continued