A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 98

The ultimate goal of the Midterm Exam is to survive until only one team remains.

Even if the trials took unexpected turns, the ultimate goal itself never changed.

No matter how much chaos I caused in the game, how many incidents occurred, or even if I swallowed an Artifact, it was the same.

In fact, the situation became even more entertaining after consuming the Artifact. No one had an advantage, and everyone had to survive on their own.

Our team must eliminate all other teams before the Artifact in my stomach dissolves completely.

Other teams must endure using various tactics until our team and others are eliminated.

So, what should I do right now? It’s simple.

“Aaaaargh!”

Grab people and throw them out of the Mana Field.

The moment I consumed the Artifact, the Mana Field became very limited, and stepping outside it meant immediate elimination.

Timing it, it seems you only need to be outside for about three seconds to be eliminated. That’s why everyone is desperate not to get caught by me.

“He’s throwing people like a ball? How strong is he?!”

“Shut up and just endure!”

Once you’re caught, being thrown out of the Mana Field is guaranteed. Because of this, other teams decided to focus on endurance rather than fighting.

The ultimate goal hasn’t changed, but the theme has shifted from survival to a game of tag.

Originally, teams were supposed to eliminate each other, but it seems they’ve agreed to deal with me first.

“Hey! Stay right there! Or who knows what will happen to your team!”

“Y-You coward…!”

But perhaps because they were too focused on this game of tag, I made the mistake of not paying attention to Grace’s side.

The person holding Grace hostage was none other than Antonio, someone who would stop at nothing to win.

To counter this, I had assigned Lee Yeonju as her bodyguard, but she was engaged in combat with another individual.

It seemed Antonio’s side had at least two members.

‘If I revealed my full abilities, I could protect her easily, but…’

Given the circumstances, there’s no choice. Just avoiding elimination is enough.

I looked at Antonio, who had a dagger pointed at Grace’s neck, and then surveyed the surroundings.

Perhaps thinking that stalling for a moment was enough, everyone froze in place, merely watching the situation unfold.

“Mr. Sivar! I’m fine, so hurry and deal with the other teams…!”

No. That’s not necessary.

I lowered my body slightly, adjusted my stance, and then sprang forward like a coiled spring.

Antonio was visibly startled as I charged without a word. His wide-open eyes said it all.

The moment his hand moved, I immediately reached out and grabbed the dagger with ease.

Crunch!

With a squeeze, the dagger crumpled like paper in my hand. Without giving him a chance to react, I grabbed his face.

My hands were so large that it was possible to cover Antonio’s entire face with one hand.

“Aargh! W-What is this…?!”

Before he could even shout “Let go!” I hurled Antonio out of the Mana Field.

Since he had the audacity to take Grace hostage, I threw him much harder than I did with the other teams.

Boom!

Antonio ended up crashing into a distant house. Whether he was severely injured or not was none of my concern.

I dusted off my hands lightly and turned to Grace, who looked utterly dumbfounded. Her sharp gaze had softened into an expression of bewilderment.

“Are you okay?”

“…Huh? Y-Yes! I-I’m fine! Th-Thank you.”

“Good.”

After receiving Grace’s gratitude, I glanced over at Lee Yeonju. She, too, had pretended to be at a disadvantage before using the Mana Field to eliminate her opponent.

With Antonio’s team eliminated, there weren’t many people left. I scanned the surroundings.

The last ones remaining were Luna and Kara. Elvin had been eliminated due to a Mana Field issue.

[The Artifact has been damaged! It’s at a dangerous level!]

I heard the warning sound of the Artifact from within my stomach. As soon as I heard it, I checked my bracelet.

[Artifact: 20%]

I had been so focused on eliminating the other teams that I hadn’t paid much attention, and now it was at a very dangerous level.

The digestion seemed to accelerate as time passed. By my rough calculation, there were about 1 minute and 30 seconds left.

‘Then I can’t afford to waste any more time.’

If I delayed any longer, I might actually get eliminated. Of course, it wouldn’t matter much if I did.

Still, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Getting eliminated for such a ridiculous reason felt absurd.

I chose Kara as my first target. The moment she saw me charging, she moved to the side.

Meanwhile, Luna was simply observing. Once she realized I was targeting Kara, she seemed slightly relieved.

But that was her mistake. I spun around and switched targets.

“Huh?”

Luna’s eyes widened the moment our gazes met. She was clearly startled when I changed my target.

Even if she hadn’t anticipated it, standing still was her mistake. Her cluelessness remained unchanged.

I reached out to grab Luna’s wrist. Or rather, I tried to.

“Ugh…!”

That was until Luna, with a resigned expression, decided to cling to me.

She even dropped her weapon and latched onto me. From a distance, it might look like we were embracing.

Squeeze!

As if the hug wasn’t surprising enough, she took it a step further.

She clasped her hands behind my back as if to ensure she wouldn’t let go, and even buried her face in my chest.

While the position might cause misunderstandings, given the situation, it was clearly a tactic to endure.

“Let go.”

“No! I won’t!”

When I tried to forcibly pry her off, Luna clung even tighter. It seemed her plan was to hold on until I got eliminated.

But I had no intention of staying still. All I had to do was push her off entirely.

“Here we go!”

Grab!

That was until someone climbed onto my back. I almost lost my balance and fell forward.

“The Mana Field moves based on your position, right? Then all I have to do is cling to you like this!”

It was Kara. Seeing Luna’s actions, she must have realized something and latched onto my back.

The soft sensation pressing against me from both the front and back was distracting, but there were more urgent matters to address.

When I tried to remove Luna from the front, Kara pulled me back and interfered. When I tried to deal with Kara, Luna got in the way.

“P-Please get off me quickly!”

“Nngh…!”

In the end, Grace and Lee Yeonju, unable to bear watching any longer, struggled to pry the two of them off me.

I would have preferred to use magic or a dagger to attack, but since they were acquaintances, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

The only thing I could do was enhance my body with Mana. But due to the basic difference in physical ability, it was futile.

“I-It’s better for you to get off before I use magic.”

“Go ahead. I can endure it. A little injury won’t matter.”

Kara didn’t care. If anything, the more I resisted, the tighter her grip became.

The tighter her grip, the more vividly I felt the soft sensation. I couldn’t help but suspect she was doing this on purpose.

‘No way.’

I tried my best to shake them off. Honestly, it wouldn’t be too hard to throw the two of them off.

I once got ambushed by wolves while living in the wilderness. I really thought I was going to die back then.

Anyway, escaping this situation was simple. I just had to jump high into the sky.

Or I could release Mana to forcefully shake them off. These two methods were the most effective.

Squeeze!

The problem was that Luna clung to me like a cicada on an old tree. She had even wrapped her legs around me.

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t find the words. How badly did she want to win to resort to such childish tactics?

I wanted to release my Mana, but doing so would cause significant harm to the others.

Stretch—

“Eeeek…”

Out of spite, I grabbed her cheek and stretched it. Her cheek stretched like mochi.

Regardless of whether her pretty face got ruined, Luna stubbornly clung to me. It must have hurt quite a bit, but she endured it well.

“Let go.”

“Nooo······”

Truly persistent, so persistent. While pulling Luna’s cheeks this way and that, I decided to take action.

First, I used my free arm to forcibly untangle the legs wrapped around my torso.

Tight!

“No. Wait.”

But she jumped back and clung to me again. In the end, a frustrated groan escaped my lips.

To make matters worse, Kara, who was behind me, clung to me as if she was piggybacking. Her two arms wrapped tightly around my neck.

“Hold on, Luna! If this keeps up, she’ll be eliminated!”

“Got it!”

“Hurry up and let go!”

“Ugh! What kind of strength······!”

When I found myself stuck, unable to do anything against this unexpected tactic(?), I made a decision.

I felt a little sorry for Luna, but I could always buy her new clothes later. With that thought, I quickly moved.

Tight!

First, I forcefully pushed Luna, who was clinging to me, away. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t overpower my strength.

As a result, Luna was gradually pushed back, creating some space.

I inserted my arm into that space to prevent her from clinging again.

Whoosh!

“Mmph?!”

Next, I used the arm I had inserted into the space to grab Luna’s face.

Unlike Antonio, I didn’t grab her entire face but only held the area around her mouth, making her lips pout like a fish.

Seeing her pretty face get distorted today was oddly amusing. Without delay, I grabbed the legs that had been wrapped around my torso.

Swoosh!

“Aaaah!”

Once I removed everything, the next step was simple. All I had to do was throw Luna out of the Mana Field.

She let out a shrill scream as she flew out of the Mana Field. Since I deliberately flipped her body while throwing her, her elimination was inevitable.

Now, the only one left was Kara, who was clinging to my back. I reached out to Kara, who was hanging onto me like a backpack.

“If you stay still, I’ll buy you some candy.”

Pause—

At that moment, I heard Kara whisper in my ear. Her voice was subtle yet enticing.

“Once today’s trial ends, the Headmaster will scold you severely. He might even ask the Saint to make sure you can’t eat candy anymore.”

“W-What are you talking about······?”

As Kara’s not-quite-a-temptation began, Grace looked flabbergasted. Her expression said, “Do you really think that’ll work?”

“So, I’ll cover for you. I’ll even buy you candy while I’m at it. How about that?”

“Really?”

Yep. It works.

Trials and whatever else didn’t matter to me right now. Sweet food, especially candy, was far more important.

More importantly, Kara didn’t say she would lend me money. She clearly said she would buy it for me.

Refusing food offered by someone as frugal—no, stingy—as her would be unwise.

Besides, once this trial ended, Rod was going to scold me anyway. Covering for me wouldn’t be an easy decision.

“Mr. Sivar! How could you fall for that?!”

“It means I know Mr. Sivar better than you do.”

“C-Candy for me too······!”

Beeeeep!

Before Grace could say anything more, a strange sound pierced my ears.

“Hic.”

At the same time, a light burp escaped my mouth. A sign that what I had eaten earlier had been digested.

And as expected.

[The Artifact has been destroyed. The owner and their team are automatically eliminated.]

[The trial has ended. Students, thank you for your efforts.]

The Artifact inside my stomach had been fully digested. If not for Kara’s temptation, our team would have won.

Even as the announcement played, Kara didn’t get off my back. Instead, she kneaded my cheek with a satisfied tone in her voice.

“So cute, so cute. I didn’t think you’d actually consider it.”

“You’ll buy it for me?”

I tilted my head up to meet Kara’s gaze. Her face, adorned with her signature refreshing smile, stood out.

At my question, Kara chuckled softly and nodded in response.

“Of course. If you want it, just let me know. I’ll buy you everything. And this time, I won’t do it secretly; I’ll buy it openly.”

“Oh.”

Well, I’d be grateful for that. As I pursed my lips in delight, Kara laughed.

Grace, who had been watching us the whole time, let out a small sigh and muttered under her breath.

“······This was my mistake. I should have told Mr. Sivar earlier.”

“Told me what?”

“That if you followed my instructions, I’d buy you not only candy but also cake.”

“······Do you really call that a mistake?”

“There’s a saying in the East. If you know yourself and know your enemy, you’ll win every battle. My mistake was not understanding my team.”

“··· ···”

The tumultuous trial had finally come to an end.

[Faith Increases!]

Chaos seemed satisfied enough with the outcome.