316
As the exam period approached, students became increasingly busy.
Chen Sia looked at the Glory Dormitory base in front of her eyes while muttering.
“…There seems to be something lacking. What exactly is missing from our base?”
At Chen Sia’s muttering, Chloe, who had her arms crossed, began to seriously ponder.
Not just Chloe.
Magic Department students constructing defense towers at the base were also deeply contemplative.
Eventually, the Magic Department students spoke in unison.
“Firepower?”
“By adding more firepower here, what are you trying to achieve? The purpose of the base is defense. We should focus more on defensive power.”
Chen Sia let out a small sigh.
While doing so, she looked at Leo.
“Lord Leo, does anything seem lacking from your point of view?”
“This should be enough.”
At Leo’s words, Chen Sia looked at the Glory base.
“Based on my judgment, it seems possible to infiltrate this.”
“There’s no one among our year with infiltration abilities like yours, so this should suffice.”
“That makes sense indeed.”
Chen Sia nodded in agreement.
As she listened to their conversation, Chloe gathered the Glory students.
“All preparations are now complete.”
Turning to Leo, Chloe said,
“Leo, as soon as it starts, attack the Noble’s base with the kids. I’ll attack the Harmony base with Chen Sia.”
Chloe then looked at Iliana.
“Iliana, you will defend the base with the kids.”
Upon hearing this, Iliana pouted her lips.
“I also want to attack with the Class Leader.”
At Iliana’s whining tone, Chen Sia smiled faintly.
“Miss Iliana will certainly launch a reckless attack. I think defending the base would be better.”
“Urgh.”
Iliana let out a groan, seemingly at a loss for words.
Seeing this, the Glory students burst into laughter.
“Anyway, the decisive day is in three days. Rest well until then and manage your condition properly.”
As Chloe spoke with a smile, complaints trickled through from various directions.
“How can anyone rest properly when there’s a written exam?”
“Yeah! Do you know how hard it is to manage your condition?”
Faced with the complaints from the same dormitory members, Chloe tilted her head.
“Preparing for the written exam is something you should do gradually while preparing for the practical exam, isn’t it?”
At her words, Chen Sia smiled faintly.
“That’s something only you, Chloe could do. Normal people can’t do that.”
“…You managed it, didn’t you, Chen Sia?”
Iliana said with an exasperated expression.
At Iliana’s words, Chen Sia smiled brightly.
“Because I only slept for about thirty minutes each day. I was trained to be able to do that.”
“…Your ability not to make sense is terrifying, Chloe. But you’re just plain scary.”
Iliana shook her head.
“But if it’s about studying, I can certainly help you.”
“Ooh!”
“Miss Chloe!”
“Ice Goddess! Ice Queen! Ice Witch!”
“Who said witch just now!”
With a red face, Chloe squawked.
Lumeran was filled with people.
Rina, the principal of Lumeran, pressed her temples, looking at the audience-packed stands as if she had a headache.
“Why does the board make me do things like this when I’m originally part of the Shadows and not favored by power-holders?”
To Rina’s annoyed muttering, Yura, who usually assisted her, concurred.
“That’s what I mean. Why was I tasked with this!”
Yura, who usually wore revealing attire for convenience, was dressed exceptionally neatly and ladylike today.
Seeing such Yura, Ren said,
“Senior Yura, when you keep your mouth shut, you look quite formidable, don’t you?”
“Why the ‘keep your mouth shut’ part?”
“Do you really not know? Let me explain it to you in a way that Senior Yura would understa….”
Yura gripped Ren’s collar as veins popped on her forehead.
Seeing this, the external guests who approached to greet them panicked and ran away.
Amidst all this, Rina laughed,
“Because of those two, people I don’t want to see don’t come. It’s beneficial.”
At this, Ain sighed deeply.
“Principal, you need to stop those two from behaving disgracefully and start managing them better.”
“What’s wrong with just watching?”
Ain pressed his brows tightly.
‘Times like these make me miss Principal Kalyan who has passed away.’
Though Kalyan Principal often shirked duties and dumped responsibilities on professors, during official events, he never failed to command with presence.
Principal Rina, despite being more diligent than Kalyan, disliked public events.
Seeing this, Rina smirked.
“Don’t overthink it, Professor Ain.”
Rina smirked again,
“Everyone already knows I’m part of the Shadows. External guests probably don’t want to socialize with someone associated with such a group anyway. After all, there aren’t many power-holders who don’t have a dark past.”
For generations, the Shadows have been tasked not only with the execution of traitors but also with eradicating shadowy and illicit elements within the world.
Some Shadows even make assassination their profession.
Hence, the power-holders instinctively avoid the Shadows strongly.
“Anyway, should we say that the exam results of the first-year students show no major surprises?”
Looking at the first year students who were receiving cheers from the audience after their practical combat exams, Rina leaned her cheek on her palm.
This year’s midterm exams for the combat department involved clearing a labyrinth dungeon, not a Hero Dungeon but one crafted by professors. The team with the fastest breakout time from the labyrinth received the highest score.
“Aina and Beyd, they’re indeed worthy of being Principal Kalyan’s great-granddaughter, aren’t they?”
Narrowing her eyes, Rina looked at Aina standing on the training ground.
“Did she top the Knight Department exam too?”
“Yes, so they say.”
“She narrowly outperformed Habidden.”
“Hmm. What about the other departments?”
At Rina’s question, Ain reported,
“There were no major changes. In the Summon Department, Shasha claimed the top place in the familiar race and topped overall. In the Magic Department, Juen achieved first place in the magical battle segment.”
“Hmm.”
Rina stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“How about Leo Flove’s mentee?”
“In Luke Eldar’s case, his performance in the written exams was in the mid-upper tier but his practical exams place him at the bottom in everything.”
“Should we say that’s predictable?”
“Predictable result. However….”
“However?”
“There hasn’t been any growth compared to the beginning of the semester.”
“Huh? I heard he worked hard?”
“Harder than anyone.”
Rina wore an expression of amusement.
“I see, the Student Council President did something, then? Can we expect good results in the final exams?”
As Rina nodded, she subtly checked her watch.
“Alright, you all should go prepare.”
“Yes, understood.”
Ain bowed his head, looked at the professors still quarreling and spoke with a chilling voice.
“Come on, you fools.”
“Who are you calling a fool now!”
“Senior Ain, let me explain to you what a fool is in a way yo….”
“Shut up.”
Seeing Ain grab the back of the necks of the junior professors and dragging them off, Rina shook her head.
‘Professor Ain is going to age quickly.’
In the Noble House’s base, Abad gathered the dormitory students and said,
“According to Kal’s information, Glory’s Chloe and Chen Sia will attack the Harmony Base, and Leo will attack ours. And because I deemed it necessary, I shared this information with Celia.”
“Is that even necessary?”
When Teid asked in surprise, Abad answered,
“We’ve entered into a non-aggression pact with Harmony. Hence, until we destroy Glory’s base, mutual attacks are impossible. So, I believe we should consolidate all our core forces and attack Glory’s base.”
Eliza was filing her nails.
“Anyway, it will be hard to destroy the base since the dormitory population is divided.”
“You’re right. Chloe probably designed a strategy to quickly deploy core forces and secure k*ll points.”
“…Does that mean Glory didn’t select a King among the dormitory leaders?”
“No, they probably did.”
“Isn’t that too risky?”
“A strong person is less likely to d*e quickly. They probably selected a strong individual as King to surprise their opponent. The problem is which among the three is the King….”
Abad stroked his chin.
“Kal, what do you think?”
At Abad’s question, Kal scratched his head.
“Hmm, were I Chloe, I would have chosen Leo as the King, wouldn’t you?”
“Why?”
“He’s the most trustworthy.”
“…Indeed, if it’s Leo Flove, his mobility is good, allowing him to swiftly disengage on the battlefield.”
Eliza narrowed her eyes.
“Should we target Leo Flove?”
“No. Leo has good mobility. Of course, I can catch him in the air, Duran on the ground, and Eliza in the water can keep up with Leo’s mobility.”
Abad narrowed his eyes.
“Leo has high mobility in the air, on the ground, and underwater without discrimination. Trying rashly would result in our losses only getting bigger.”
Abad shook his head.
“Rather, let’s solidly destroy their base.”
Abad spread out a map.
“Probably Celia is also thinking the same way. We’ll attack the front of the Glory base with our core forces. And Emio, lead the kids and stealthily head to the rear of the Glory base.”
Celia looked at the students.
“Once we go to the rear of the Glory base, we’ll likely encounter Noble’s detachment. If their side sticks to their word, don’t fight. Work together in attacking. Of course, it’s hard to dismantle the base all at once. But if we can deal a significant blow to it, the Glory students won’t be able to actively participate in the battle.”
“Though non-aggression… strangely, we now have a sort of alliance.”
At Nella’s muttering, Celia wore a serious expression.
“When we take the advantageous ground against Glory, our relationship with Noble will immediately transition into battle. Thus, you must not be complacent just because of this alliance.”
While the strategy meeting was concluding,
Piiiiiiiiii! Pwoong!
Signal flares shot up across Lumeria Lake.
Seeing this, Celia said,
“Alright, let’s move!”
With that, the second-year students began to move.
Emio led the Noble students towards the rear of the island where Glory’s base was located.
“Great weather, huh.”
Emio smirked.
The whole lake area was enveloped in mist.
Perfect environment for moving quietly.
Just then, a presence was felt from afar.
The Noble students wore wary expressions.
“Harmony?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Emio.”
“Ah, it’s Nella.”
Emio frowned.
“Abad trusted their commander for this plan. Looks like Celia Zerdinger and Abad have found a common understanding despite their past bickering.”
“They’ve known each other since they were kids.”
Nella smirked with her usual lethargic smile.
“Let’s work well together to bring down Glory. We’ll take the lead, so please follow.”
As Emio stepped forward,
“Why does she want to take the lead? Does she think she’s the leader?”
A Harmony student muttered disdainfully. At this, Nella chuckled.
“Soldiers always consider who makes the first claim to conquest as the most important, right?”
Shrugging, Nella followed after leading the Harmony students at the back.
Emio, leading at the front, muttered to himself.
‘Stick to their plan, huh. Irritating as hell. It’s an exam with many strategic elements. Given that, I thought this would be my chance to shine, being the heir of a military family.’
This wasn’t a problem till now.
The problem is…
‘Why did they choose that Kal as their strategist?’
Moreover, Kal accurately foresaw their opponent’s attack routes.
This fact bothered him even more.
‘Doesn’t it feel like that commoner is going to shine perfectly?’
Just when he wanted Kal’s intelligence to be wrong more than anything else,
Shaahaaaaaa!
A presence was sensed from the front.
Upon feeling this, Emio smirked internally, celebrating.
“Looks like that Kal guy made a mistake.”
“What?”
“It’s the Glory bastards.”
Upon hearing Emio’s words, the Noble students hurriedly prepared for battle.
Following that, the Harmony students also prepared for combat.
“This is getting interesting. Let’s see which guys have shown up.”
Just as Emio was activating his mana,
“Let’s sweep them away.”
Emio quickly began casting his spell, but the opponent finished their incantation faster.
Whoosh!
Moreover, the power was as forceful as the magic Emio was preparing.
Emio, who had been relaxed, eyes wide with shock,
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang!
“Wha-?!”
The flames of the powerful magical assault evaporated the mist, engulfing Emio.
Caught off guard by the sudden sneak attack, Emio quickly attempted to defend.
Whoosh!
But the flames were faster than his attempt.
Whoosh!
Struck by the flames, Emio received a d*ath sentence and returned.
“One must not let their guard down.”
Nella groaned upon seeing who stepped into view after the fog cleared.
“Leo?”
“Why is he here?”
“Did we receive false information?”
Leo, who was supposed to attack Noble, appeared at the rear.
The mist enveloped Leo once more.
“Detect movements!”
“How many of the Glory brats have come to intercept?”
“I can’t sense anything!”
“Could it be….”
The Harmony and Noble students displayed bewildered expressions.
“Alone?”
“Correct answer.”
Wooowoo! Whoosh!
Upon seeing the soaring flames, the students’ faces stiffened.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang!
A massive fiery upsurge burst forth.
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
