My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 108

“Ugh!!!”

– Kkang!

“Yah!”

– Sacak!

“Fireball!”

– Pong!

“…Hmm.”

…Hmm.

Umm…? It might be a bit… um… a bad expression, but this all seemed pretty lame.

I mean, judging by how everyone else was calmly observing the practical exam, it clearly wasn’t at a problem level, but it looked problematic to me.

Ella was right; it was indeed strange for 13-year-olds to show something amazing. No, that’s actually what was normal…

“…Ha.”

I’ve really learned a lot since I was little just to enter the academy, but seeing it now… I’m starting to wonder if it was really worth it.

It felt like a high schooler jumped into a fight between elementary and middle schoolers…?

There wasn’t much difference from the written exam, where they only showed low-level magic. Most of the freshmen battling the targets in the practical exam could barely cast low-level magic.

And there were some who fought with weapons, whether they couldn’t or just didn’t use magic…

…It was a strongly dissonant situation in various ways.

“Ella.”

“Yes, what’s up?”

“…I suddenly want to go get some water.”

“Are you nervous or something… no… Umm…”

…Of course, I wasn’t the only one surprised.

Ella, who had been sticking close to me, was indeed shocked by the amount of studying I had done compared to the other academy freshmen.

Umm… I thought that was normal. I really had been learning that way since I was little.

“Is it okay if I quickly grab some water? Our turn isn’t up yet anyway…”

“That should be fine…?”

“Okay, then I’ll be right back.”

…I moved away from my spot.

There were just too many people, and personally, my head was spinning a bit… so it wasn’t easy to just watch the exam.

“…Sigh.”

I’d thought that all nobles studied difficult things from a young age, and that’s how it was.

But now that I think about it… no matter how much of a noble brat they are, that just doesn’t cut it.

It wasn’t just a level of hearing myths or stories; it was knowing exactly what happened in that imperial year and what the context, outcomes, and effects of that incident were. I learned it all in incredible detail.

For instance, when I was in elementary school, it was just a basic explanation that an incident had occurred.

In high school, I studied how that incident led to the growth of civic consciousness and how certain classes collapsed and affected later events. It felt like that level of detail…

“…I heard that high-grade magic is taught in the upper years of the academy.”

…Yeah, Ashley did say that too.

At the time, I just took it as given, but thinking about it now… it made sense.

You master intermediate magic in the first and second years and then learn high-grade magic in the third year; that feels like the process…

So… um…

“…Upgrading the dormitory room should be easy.”

I decided to think positively.

I had already studied; there was no need to hide what I had done or act like some cool loser protagonist, right?

After all, William sent me to the academy to make connections with kids from good families.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Isn’t it much better to be a beautiful noble lady from a wealthy family with top-tier academy grades than a pretty face who can’t study and comes from a nouveau riche family…?

Or not…?

“Umm.”

I don’t know.

Anyway, after taking a little break to get some water, I returned to the exam hall.

Well… the monsters they were testing on were really no big deal.

No, calling them monsters might be a stretch… they were more like… something akin to mannequins made of magical energy?

I think I heard they were artificial magical life forms operating through magic stones embedded in their foreheads.

“Yah!”

The monsters the academy freshmen were facing looked vaguely like mannequins.

I wasn’t sure if it was right to call that a monster, but I just went with it.

So, in the end, it was improved creatures made from magic…?

“……..”

Anyway, I was in the middle of fighting that.

Of course, it didn’t seem too difficult.

“Looks like our turn is approaching faster than expected.”

“That’s because some freshmen gave up a little while ago.”

“Oh, I see.”

“They’re all avoiding it because they think fighting is scary and the monster looks scary.”

“Uh…”

…Hmm.

“That’s understandable.”

Yeah, I decided to leave it at that. There was no need to ask why they felt that way or if they found it that scary.

Besides, with a face that has no eyes, nose, mouth, or ears…

It looked just like a mannequin, with joints and nothing else…?

“Um… Ella.”

“What’s up?”

“How much magic have you learned lately?”

“Hehe… I learned intermediate magic up to one before entering the academy!”

“Oh, wow… that’s impressive. I thought you only knew low-level magic before.”

“Hehe, it’s thanks to me working hard!”

As I chatted with Ella to kill some time, our turn finally came, and we headed down to our respective testing areas.

*

“Hmm…”

What’s the right way to do this?

As I headed toward my testing area after parting from Ella, I found myself pondering a bit.

In my opinion, I was much stronger in written and practical tests compared to the other academy freshmen, so showing off high-grade magic seemed a bit excessive.

It’s not like I was hiding my power as a noble’s daughter; that felt like it would attract too much attention…

“…….”

Anyway, since I had already received a high score on the written test, I figured that low or intermediate magic would be enough to get a decent score.

There was no need to use the strongest magic, right?

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

With that in mind, I decided not to use any overly strong magic.

– Clop, clop…

I entered the testing area and just picked up a suitable wooden sword.

I hadn’t really used a sword like this before, but I had learned how.

“Do I start now?”

“If you attack first, the opponent will begin to move.”

“Oh, I see.”

After hearing the staff’s explanation, I decided to start the practical exam as it was.

There was no need to take it slow; I just wanted to finish quickly and get out.

[Low-level Magic: Ignition]

– Hwaryeok!

“Oh.”

As I set the mannequin aflame, it began to move as the staff mentioned, switching from a stationary posture to one as if it was approaching me.

I’m not sure how it’s structured, but it’s fascinating.

– Thud, thud, thud, thud.

“Oh…”

The mannequin engulfed in flames moved toward me slowly.

…But what am I supposed to do with that?

It seemed to be taking damage, yet it was entirely indifferent to the fire on its body as it walked toward me.

Well… if I hit it a few more times, it should just collapse like the other freshmen, right?

[Low-level Magic: Mana Bullet]

“Whoa!”

I held the mana bullet formed in my palm and threw it at the mannequin.

I could use intermediate magic, but I just wanted to see the mannequin’s reaction.

– Kwoong!

“It did try to dodge.”

It got hit by the low-level magic mana bullet I threw, but surprisingly, it attempted to dodge.

“…Hmm.”

In reality, the practical exam was less about fighting a monster and more like hitting a slightly mobile target.

I had already seen the exams of other students, but doing it myself made it even less engaging.

I just wanted to finish quickly.

[Intermediate Magic: Sharpener]

I hadn’t used this magic much, but I decided to give it a try.

The mannequin didn’t look particularly strong, and I hadn’t held a sword like this in a while.

– Swoosh…

As the magic circle appeared on my hand, I enchanted the blade of the wooden sword.

Immediately, the effect of the intermediate magic, sharpener, awakened. It gave the sword a unique blue wave-like effect made of mana.

“Hah…!”

With the magically enhanced wooden sword in hand, I charged at the mannequin.

The flames that had started from ignition had long since extinguished, and the mannequin still approached me slowly.

Having watched the other students’ exams, I realized that it was just about dealing heavy damage for this exam.

– Thud, thud, thud.

“I’m coming!”

I dashed toward the mannequin, which was also moving toward me.

When I got close to the mannequin, it swung a punch at me, but I was much faster.

No, it was more accurate to say that the mannequin was slow.

– Swoosh!

As it swung its punch, I took advantage of the opening and slashed at the mannequin’s abdomen.

And then I immediately heard a sound that felt like something cutting through.

Did that just happen…?

“…Huh.”

“Test concluded.”

“…Huh?”

…No.

Wait.

Why…?

I used magic to make the wooden sword sharper, but my strength wasn’t that immense.

And I distinctly heard other academy freshmen hit the mannequins with their swords, which produced a solid metallic sound…?

“Why exactly…”

…I didn’t comprehend the situation at first.

Why did it split in half…?

“Freshman number 91? Your practical exam is finished. You may leave now.”

“Uh… Yes, thank you.”

“The wooden sword you used should be placed back in its original position.”

“…Okay.”

…I was slightly surprised by the situation, which was entirely different from my expectations, but I followed the academy instructor’s instructions.

Just as I had watched the practical exams of other freshmen, I was sure they had seen mine too.

This feels… like my original plan has taken a turn.

But since I took the exam normally, well, it was quite normal… even if I did slice the mannequin, it shouldn’t be too weird.

I thought it would probably be fine; hopefully.