SWNOVELXO Chapter 105 - End of Month Evaluation (4)
Chapter 105. End of Month Evaluation (4)
Several cadets, upon seeing the notice, felt their expressions change with each passing moment.
These were the ones whose names appeared on the list of the lower ranks.
A cold voice of the man with glasses reached their ears.
“When those with zero points were expelled, did you feel relieved because you weren’t at zero?”
The man with glasses let out a sinister chuckle.
“But what can we do about this? From what I see, there isn’t much difference between those who were expelled earlier for having zero points and the ones listed here.”
As he said this, the man with glasses gestured towards the notice board.
From rank 201 to 232.
At the very top of the list, the score for 201st place was 150 points.
Given the state of the 201st, what could be expected from those below?
The 232nd rank had a mere 10 points.
The man with glasses then made an announcement.
“From this moment, the 32 individuals from rank 201 to 232 are expelled from the Cradle.”
“…?!”
A wave of shock swept through them once more.
“What are you all doing? If you want to catch up with the ones who left before you, you better start running now.”
At that mocking tone, the 32 individuals with pale faces hurriedly started to run.
Thus, out of the 300 members of the 50th batch, only 200 remained.
Looking at the remaining cadets, the man with glasses spoke.
“With this, the 50th batch has set another record: the most successful candidates, the most zero-point failures, and now the most expulsions. A triple crown… quite impressive.”
His words were laced with sarcasm, and no one dared to refute.
“Perhaps even among those of you left here, some are just lucky, especially the one in the 200th position.”
At this remark, one cadet flinched.
“Maybe you’re next.”
The cadet flinched even more, and his face turned ghostly pale.
After this large-scale expulsion, the man with glasses sought to change the atmosphere.
“Now, shall we begin the real announcement?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a Black Sword Corps member pulled out another piece of paper.
Rustle—
The paper that the Black Sword Corps member unfurled was just the size of a letter.
He started to pin it at the bottom of the central bulletin board.
A total of five sheets of paper were pinned up one after another.
However, the paper was so small that the names could not be seen unless one got closer.
As a few craned their necks to take a look, the man with glasses waved them away.
“Whatever’s written there is insignificant. If you want to check, do it later.”
Snap!
“Now, this is the most important.”
The man with glasses snapped his fingers, and again, a Black Sword Corps member unfolded another sheet of paper.
But this time, its size was extraordinary.
Flap—
The sheet, large enough to be mistaken for a small blanket, fluttered in the air.
The Black Sword Corps member pinned it over the list of the expelled members in the center of the bulletin board.
Thunk—
It covered the names of the expelled, as if erasing their existence.
The sheet, in its massive size, had names and scores written in large enough letters for anyone to see from a distance.
Only ten names were written on it.
Some thought to themselves upon seeing this.
‘It feels as if those ten are trampling over the remaining 190.’
Ten names were prominently displayed in the center.
Below them, the 190 names were listed in a neat row.
The difference in the size of the letters, the size of the sheets, and even the positions where they were pinned…
It was clear that the display was meant to symbolize the top ten names trampling over the remaining 190.
After the grades were posted, the man with glasses looked at the 50th batch and spoke.
“Additional points based on these scores will be deposited into your bank accounts. So, the top ten should open accounts… In the future, any additional points will be credited in the same way, so those aiming for the top ten should also open their accounts in advance.”
The man with glasses added with a sneer.
“Of course, those who will remain forever at the bottom don’t need to bother. It’d be a waste of time.”
With those words, the Black Sword Corps members left just as they had come, in a throng.
Even after the Black Sword Corps members had left, the remaining cadets of the 50th batch couldn’t easily shake off the shock of their first end-of-month evaluation.
They let out hollow laughs, as if in disbelief.
“Expulsion, huh.”
“So, the lower ranks will continue to be expelled like this?”
“Haha, damn it.”
The expulsion was a severe penalty for those in the lower ranks.
The resolute stance of the Black Sword Corps left no room for a second chance, causing fear among the cadets.
But what was even more terrifying was the realization that they would face this end-of-month evaluation every month from now on.
Because of this, the complexion of those currently at the bottom turned pale.
Meanwhile, those unsure whether they were in the lower ranks or not, and those who were curious about where their points had placed them, rushed to the bulletin board.
After all, they needed this information to prepare for the next end-of-month evaluation.
Though it was uncertain whether this information would be of any use in the next evaluation.
As more and more approached the bulletin board, the majority of the 50th batch soon gathered in front of it.
Only ten remained at a distance.
Those ten were the ones whose names were written large enough that they could see them from afar.
The top ten cadets showed various reactions.
Nellie Blanc let out a small sigh of relief.
‘Tenth place, barely made it.’
Eric Redman was furious.
‘What? Ninth place by just a thousand points!’
Schleiman Hans was elated.
‘Haha, I knew someone would get 50,000 points!’
Olga Moros was content with her score.
‘Seventh place… Not bad.’
Ivan Baskin showed no particular emotion.
‘Sixth place.’
Clarice Van couldn’t believe her rank.
‘…Even with 300,000 points, I’m only in fifth place?’
And then.
‘Ah…….’
Gunther Irons, in fourth place, seemed somewhat dazed.
But the ones showing the most intense reactions were different.
“Wow, I wasn’t going to care about the scores, but… this is infuriating?”
Arin, arms crossed, fumed.
“I’m hungry!”
Snort—
Poppy snorted in agreement, blowing out a strong puff of air.
Their names were boldly listed just above Gunther’s, tied for second place.
And their points were a staggering…
2nd place. Arin Helga / 1,000,000 points
2nd place. Bobby / 1,000,000 points
A million points.
Both had exactly the same score.
Considering Gunther in fourth place had 500,000 points, 1,000,000 points was indeed a tremendous amount.
It was natural for them to be angry after spending so many points and still being in second place, but there was another reason why they were so indignant.
“Agh, I’m so annoyed.”
“I’m hungry!”
The two who were fuming stared fixedly at the top of the score sheet.
There, an unsurprising name was firmly displayed.
1st place: Yuri Holland
And the points written next to it…
The points that had made Arin and Poppy so angry were none other than…
1,000,001 points
…exactly.
Just one point.
No, only one point.
Because of that, Arin and Poppy, who had wagered 1 million points, were pushed to joint second place.
While the two of them were fuming, they heard a deflating sound beside them.
“Pfft!”
As Poppy and Arin turned their heads, they saw Yuri, who had his mouth covered.
His eyes were curved like crescent moons.
It was a face that, no matter who looked, seemed to be holding back laughter.
“Puh…”
Even though he tried to suppress it by covering his mouth, eventually, his laughter burst out loudly.
“Puhahaha! Puhehehe!”
He laughed so freely that tears were almost welling up.
He clutched his stomach.
“No way, did you really bet 1 million points? I thought, ‘No way, no way,’ but you really did? Puhuhuhu!”
Yuri laughed heartily, pointing his finger at Arin and Poppy.
Arin’s face was filled with annoyance.
‘…Why is that?’
With his hair cut short, Yuri’s face was undeniably handsome.
But for some reason…
‘No matter how much I look, there isn’t a single attractive thing about him.’
Normally, if someone with a face like that acted this annoyingly, one might forgive them a little just because of their looks…
‘But when he mocks… it just makes me even more irritated.’
It made her even more annoyed, unlucky, and hateful.
She asked with a huff.
“Hey, how did you know?”
“What? Ah! How did I know you and Poppy would bet 1 million points?”
“Yeah.”
“Just.”
“Just?”
At the word ‘just,’ Arin’s irritation was about to flare up even more.
But Yuri’s explanation, which followed rapidly, quickly calmed her down.
“Yeah, just. I figured, given your personalities, you wouldn’t care much about the score, but at the same time, you wouldn’t think the points were that important either. So, overall, I thought you’d probably register about half of the points you had.”
“Huh…?”
“If we assume the 2.65 million points you got from me were your entire wealth, half of that would be 1.325 million points. Poppy would probably want to bet it all, but…!”
“…?!”
“With Arin sticking right next to Poppy, you’d probably say, ‘Hey, let’s just go with a clean 1 million points!’ completely ignoring any non-collusion or non-disclosure rules, and you’d both happily register 1 million points each…”
“…?!”
“…So I spent exactly 1 point more than that.”
As Yuri’s explanation, delivered without even taking a breath, sunk in, goosebumps rose on Arin and Poppy’s arms.
They cautiously moved away from Yuri, looking at him with fearful eyes.
“Hun-hungry?”
“You, you?! Did you… follow us?”
Arin’s voice trembled with shock.
And it was understandable since everything Yuri said was true.
Even the fact that Poppy had tried to bet 1.325 million points.
And also, that she had said, “Let’s go with 1 million points!”
It was all the plain truth.
“Follow you? No way, it’s just easy to figure out with a quick look.”
At his blunt tone, Arin and Poppy were at a loss for words.
At this point, all their anger had dissipated completely.
No, this wasn’t something to be angry about.
If he analyzed them this thoroughly and topped their points by just 1 to take first place, he deserved recognition and applause.
In fact, Poppy and Arin were already clapping.
Clap clap clap—
Feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, Yuri scratched the back of his head.
“Ah, come on, getting complimented like this makes me a little shy. Ehehe.”
“So, I was wondering, Yuri the fortune teller. When will I be able to get married?”
“Before asking about marriage, start by dating first, sister.”
“Hungry?”
While Yuri, Arin, and Poppy were bickering like this, a low voice intervened between them.
“Yuri Holland.”
At the sound of his name, Yuri turned his head.
“Hmm?”
There stood Gunther with a hardened expression.
Seeing the black-haired boy turn his head as if it was only natural that the name “Yuri Holland” was his, Gunther let out a small sigh.
“…Hah.”
With a complicated look in his eyes, he asked quietly.
“…Why are you here? How is it possible that you’re here?”
And to that question…
“Huh?”
Yuri tilted his head to the side immediately.
His expression openly showed that he had no idea what nonsense was being asked.