Transmigrated as an Extra: Awakening of The Ex‐Class'-Chapter 74 : Exam part 2

The professor collected the exams, his critical gaze scanning the classroom. I’d grown accustomed to this situation for some time, to the way he evaluated each of us, but I didn’t care. This time, I was confident in my answers. Before, when I’d just come into this world, I lacked information and felt like every word I said could betray my inexperience. But now... now everything was different. I had knowledge, I had learned, and my answers, though not perfect, were clear and precise. There was no doubt in my mind. The next exam, as always, was just around the corner, but I wasn’t worried anymore.

I was deep in these thoughts when Erwing’s voice brought me out of my trance.

"Cyan, how do you think it went?" Erwing asked, his smile as wide as ever. Beside him, Amelia, Aziel, and Cynthia seemed to be curiously waiting for the answer.

At that precise moment, I couldn’t help but notice how their faces—Amelia, the young lady from an elite guild, arrogant and charming, was no longer the same over time. Not only had she changed physically, with her longer hair and more mature demeanor, but there was something else, something that worried me, but I wasn’t sure what it was.

My mind returned to the present.

"Fine, I guess," I replied with a slight smile. My tone was indifferent, but it was a half-truth. Although I wasn’t unsure of my answers, the thought that the exam might have contained some trick or surprise haunted me.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but notice how the three girls looked more radiant; they now had the demeanor of a lady. Just at that moment, the sound of the classroom door brought us out of our little bubble. History teacher Jason Clark walked in with a firm stride, his traditional stack of papers in his arms, as if he were carrying the burden of absolute truth. On his face, a grimace that could have been a smile, but it only looked like a grimace of tiredness.

He was a tall, stern-looking man with a scar running across his face from left to right. He wore a dark-hued cloak, as if the mere presence of the light damaged his atmosphere. There was something in his gaze that said he couldn’t stand incompetence, and I knew it all too well, for the History exam had been difficult, with questions that challenged even the seniors.

As I walked toward his desk, the stack of papers seemed to sway dangerously. Somehow, it made me think of the dungeon, where the ancestors recorded their solitude in forbidden tomes, unreachable to ordinary students. Here, however, those papers contained only our answers, our grades. But who could know what else lay behind those answers?

I leaned back in my seat for a moment, sighing inwardly. I knew this day would be long, much longer than I had imagined. But the thought that the teacher, in his impassive manner, might have hidden something else in his exams, something we weren’t yet prepared for, made me fear a little more for what was to come.

***

The tests ended faster than I thought they would, as if all the tension that the students had gone through had dissipated at once. The results would soon be announced on the academy’s board, and although I didn’t expect to be the first, my goal was clear: at least to be among the top ten. The competition was fierce, but I had prepared the best I could.

Just at that moment, the notification from the system appeared, like a spring that brought me out of my thoughts.

Tring!

I didn’t hesitate for a second. With a command in my mind I moved the interface quickly, and as soon as I touched the notification, I went straight to the mission section. It was already a habit, something automatic. The system never sits still always had something to offer, and point missions had become commonplace since last year. Sometimes they were simple challenges, other times, they were tests that tested our limit. But they all had one thing in common: they always strengthened my skills. Somehow, I had managed to pass them all, though I knew it still wasn’t enough.

●『- [Mission]

* Occupy one of the top 10 places, and demonstrate the sovereignty of a king.

[1st place = 10,000 points

[2nd place = 9,000 points

3rd place = 8,000 points

.....

.....

[10th place = 1000

It was the same mission as always: reward for the best. I wish I knew the pattern by which these missions were activated. But as I read the numbers, I couldn’t help but smile. I had already achieved my objectives; I felt the mission was over, at least in theory. But at the same time, a small uncertainty settled in my chest. What if something hadn’t gone as expected? "No, you shouldn’t think like that," I told myself.

With a fleeting smile, I stopped thinking about the topic and headed to the bulletin board, waiting to see the results that would be posted. My heart was beating slightly faster than usual, even though I tried to calm myself down. Missions always lit a spark in me; the pressure was there, but I forced myself to believe it didn’t matter that much. After all, mission points weren’t everything. However, once in front of the board, I found myself searching for my name at the top of the list, where usually the first few places got most of the attention.

I looked, once, twice... but... uh... I couldn’t find it.

Confused, I looked further down the list. Maybe I hadn’t thought about the test in enough detail, but my name wasn’t listed anywhere. The pit in my stomach grew. What was going on? What had gone wrong? I asked myself, my thoughts racing.

I stood there for a few seconds, feeling like something wasn’t right, until suddenly, a voice called out from behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Hey, brat."

I turned quickly at the voice that was calling, but I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t know if my mind was playing tricks on me due to the bewilderment of the exam or if I had really heard something, but before I could process it, the voice sounded again, this time closer.