I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 102. End-of-Month Evaluation (1)

It was early dawn, the time when everyone was deeply asleep.

Under the dim light of a small lantern, a pale hand moved busily, writing a letter.

Scratch- Scratch-.

The sound of a pen nib scratching against paper echoed sharply through the silence.

Click-.

After finishing the letter, the pale hand picked up a small bottle placed nearby.

Inside was a yellow liquid.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the white hand evenly sprinkled the yellow liquid over the freshly written letter.

Then, instead of bringing the letter closer to the lantern, something surprising happened.

Rustle-.

As the yellow liquid dried, the letters on the paper began to disappear one by one.

“[…Please check the enclosed document.]”

The very last line vanished completely.

Rustle-.

The pale hand inserted another sheet of paper over the letter and started to roll them together.

The letter, rolled thin, was soon placed inside a small cylinder, about the size of a pinky finger.

The hand moved swiftly, sealing the cylinder meticulously with wax.

Checking multiple times to ensure there was not even the slightest gap, the hand carefully spread the wax and allowed it to harden.

After completing all the work, the pale hand picked up what was now either a cylinder or a lump of wax.

The owner of the white hand then left the lantern’s side and stepped outside the door.

After a few steps, the owner of the pale hand met someone who had just rubbed their eyes and come out.

“Ugh… Where are you going?”

“For some fresh air.”

The owner of the pale hand said this and set off lightly down the path.

After leaving the building, the owner of the pale hand walked through the forest and arrived at the lakeside.

Rustle-.

He strolled quietly along the white sandy beach.

Under the soft moonlight, his leisurely steps looked like someone enjoying a nighttime stroll.

The place he arrived at was a small pond hidden behind a large rock.

A pond created by the lake water that had flowed into the island.

The white hand tapped the water’s surface with a gentle patting and made strange noises with his mouth.

“Choo-choo.”

As if calling something.

And soon after, a small head poked out above the pond.

-Kurung?

Black eyes and a round, puppy-like head.

And a coat of brownish fur.

The creature was none other than a seal.

-Kwoong!

The seal that emerged above the pond blinked joyfully at the owner of the pale hand.

The white hand gently patted the seal’s head.

-Gurung-gurung.

The seal, enjoying the touch, had a pleasant expression.

After petting the seal for quite a while, the pale hand took out the wax lump he had prepared.

He carefully tied it around the seal’s chest, ensuring it would not come loose.

“Take care of it this time as well.”

As he spoke and lightly tapped the seal’s nose, it squinted its eyes and immediately dived underwater.

The seal swam through the channel connected to the pond and went out to the lake.

Swoosh-.

It jumped up over the lake’s surface once as a farewell and then dived deep, not resurfacing.

After confirming that the seal had surely left, the owner of the pale hand left the pond as well.

Swish- Swish-.

He continued to walk along the sandy beach instead of returning.

Like a person with something on his mind.

Like someone who had been on a very long walk.

He spent time this way until he finally left the lake as dawn was breaking.

This event occurred on January 30th.

The day after Goetz visited.

Yuri, after having a rare meal with Theresia, left the crack.

He was heading to the Colosseum.

The Colosseum housed almost all the facilities of the Cradle.

Because of that, the place to register points for the end-of-month evaluation was also within the Colosseum.

According to what Theresia had told him, it was called the [Evaluation Office], and the first and second-year evaluation offices were located at the North Gate.

When he arrived at the evaluation office, quite a few people were already gathered.

Among them, the largest group consisted of the 50th Cadet Class, who were crowded in front of a bulletin board.

Yuri naturally headed in that direction as well.

A large, yellowed notice that had been hanging there for a long time was affixed to the bulletin board.

Yuri squeezed into the crowd and began to read the notice posted on the board.

All the rules pertained to the end-of-month evaluation.

Points used for the end-of-month evaluation are non-refundable.
*However, from 1st to 10th place, an additional 1% to 10% of the registered points will be awarded based on rank.

Points for evaluation can only be registered from the 1st to the day before the last day of each month.
*Failure to register will result in a score of 0.

The evaluation will be conducted based on the accumulated points for the month, which can only be confirmed through the final ranking announcement on the last day of the month.
*Accumulated points of others cannot be checked, and cadets are prohibited from disclosing them. Violation of this rule will result in corresponding penalties.

*Anyone caught attempting or leading a collusion for point registration will face severe punishment.

*The final ranking will be announced on the central bulletin board on the north side on the last day of the month.

*Announcement time is 12 PM for first-year students, and 5 PM for second-year students.

*Failure to attend the announcement will result in any disadvantages being borne by the absentee.

Lower-ranked cadets in the end-of-month evaluation will face penalties, which may vary depending on the situation of the Cradle.
It was quite a considerate notice, unusual for the Cradle.

However, to Yuri, this considerate notice seemed like a last meal given to those on death row.

This was because he knew that the range of penalties included “expulsion.”

On the other hand, many cadets, unaware of the exact scope of penalties, didn’t seem particularly anxious.

Ignoring those cadets, Yuri’s attention was drawn to the clause starting with ‘Accumulated points of others cannot be checked.’

He smiled as he read it.

“Interesting.”

The implication of that clause was simple.

Until the final announcement of the end-of-month evaluation on the last day, no one would know who registered how many points.

Yuri described it this way:

“It’s not an end-of-month evaluation; it’s an end-of-month guessing game.”

If one could guess how many points others were registering, it would be possible to secure a spot in the rankings with a smaller amount of points.

With good insight, a difference of just 1 point could dramatically change the rankings.

Yuri had a rough idea why the Cradle had chosen this method.

“To recover points.”

Those with a keen sense would certainly use the set rules to their advantage.

But no matter how well it was utilized, it would not be easy.

Though it was termed a guessing game, in reality, it was a high-level intelligence battle.

He needed to figure out how many points the other cadets had.

Furthermore, he had to assess their tendencies.

It was a task that required meticulously gauging everything and predicting how many points a competitor might register.

How many people could accomplish this?

And there was a much easier way than this troublesome method—crushing them with points.

Making sure that no one else could surpass him.

Or overwhelming anyone who tried to climb up with an enormous amount of points.

If one had enough points, they could easily claim first place.

Especially for Yuri, who had more points than the total points of all fifty cadets combined, it was an incredibly easy task.

But Yuri wasn’t particularly inclined to take that approach.

‘That’s exactly what the Cradle wants.’

What the Cradle desired wasn’t for the cadets to win by a narrow margin through a battle of wits.

What they wanted was to push the cadets into registering as many points as possible through competition.

That’s why the point registration was kept strictly confidential.

And if the competition got heated and points were wasted recklessly…

‘They’ll run out of points to use in the special sale shop opening soon.’

Yuri thought about this as he looked around.

The faces of the fiftieth group, pondering how many points to wager, appeared too calm.

‘They still don’t know about the special sale.’

For now, they still believed that the most valuable items they could buy with points were 1,000-point rations or a few basic necessities.

That’s why.

They didn’t know how to use their points more valuably.

They didn’t know that they should save as many points as possible during this end-of-month evaluation.

That’s why they looked so calm.

By next month, they would probably be different.

Would they register points to raise their rank and avoid the penalty of expulsion in the end-of-month evaluation?

Or would they save their points for the special sale, where they could obtain rare items?

They’d be tearing their hair out over that dilemma.

Of course, none of this concerned Yuri, who was flush with points.

He was already the overwhelming first place in terms of points alone.

That was a given, so Yuri had only one thing to worry about.

‘How much should I register to secure first place with the minimum points?’

Pondering this, Yuri casually moved along.

‘In any case, the second place is definitely Poppy and Arin.’

If he could predict how many points they would register, he could take first place with the minimum points.

‘Aren’t they here yet?’

He glanced around, searching for Arin and Poppy.

But, as the saying goes, you can never find a cure when you need it.

Those who usually appeared out of nowhere were nowhere to be seen today.

While scanning his surroundings, Yuri noticed something else instead of Poppy and Arin.

‘That is…?’

Yuri moved his steps.

He arrived at a place set up on one side of the Ability Evaluation Center—the [Hall of Fame].

Yuri’s eyes widened at the sight.

‘Is that… gold?’

Several letters and numbers were engraved on a large gold plaque.

Yuri quickly skimmed through the description written underneath it.

‘Let’s see, so this is a list of the top 100 scorers in history, compiled from the cumulative monthly evaluations of the graduates over five years?’

Above the explanation, the ranking, name, number of times they ranked first in the monthly evaluations, and finally, the total accumulated points over the five years were magnificently inscribed.

Yuri began reading the names from the bottom up.

Though each of the names engraved from the 100th position onwards belonged to very famous individuals, Yuri didn’t recognize any of them.

After reading for quite a while, Yuri finally found a familiar name.

10th / 6th Class / Ralph Schnell / 1st Place 60 times / 98,193,954

“Oh? The old bear did quite well, didn’t he?”

Mucci’s grandfather.

At the appearance of the name of the so-called “Old Bear,” a cheerful smile appeared on Yuri’s face.

Yuri’s gaze continued upward.

It was only after scanning much further up that he found another somewhat familiar surname.

3rd / 15th Class / May Winchester / 1st Place 60 times / 230,000,000

‘Winchester? Is it that Winchester?’

Yuri recalled what Johan had mentioned before.

[“That child’s aunt consulted me about it. About how to lift the curse that plagues her niece.”]

Could it be that the aunt Johan referred to back then was this May Winchester?

As soon as that thought arose, Yuri brushed it aside and looked further up.

And at the top of the Hall of Fame.

There was a familiar name occupying the first position.

1st / 2nd Class / Johan Redner / 1st Place 60 times

Johan’s name occupied the spot so confidently, as if it was rightfully his.

However, Yuri had somewhat expected it.

‘Since the Old Man’s name didn’t show up anywhere from the 100th to the 2nd, it was obvious he’d be in 1st place…’

What Yuri hadn’t expected, though, was Johan’s score.

Staring at Johan’s score accumulated over five years for a long time, Yuri finally muttered a few words.

“Ha… That perverted old man.”