Chapter 55: Chapter 54
The day after, the first weekly competition was held. The prize for first place was a Dark Green Mana Stone, and a reasonably big one too. The second and third places had similar stones but of smaller size.
The competition regarded Mana Control. It was fitting to be the first competition as the whole semester exam actually came down to this single skill. Those who were proficient in control over Mana could breakthrough easily and obtain good achievement on top of it.
'They sure try their best in this academy in trying to inspire competition, huh. Any occasion is good to start some form of competitive event… Well, it's reasonable for education in a world like this one to give a lot of weight to competitiveness.
Being able to educate a generation of competitive youngsters will achieve great results. Individual might is more important than cooperation most of the time in these conditions.
Stretching it a little, this could be brought down to the theory of evolution of societies. Societies that can groom competitive youngsters, even if highly uncooperative, are more likely to survive than those that promote cooperation and collectivism. Over long periods this will result in the former type of society being the dominant one.'
As Vince lost himself in his thoughts, the competition was about to start. As usual, they were summoned to the Arena, where there was enough space to host all the students from the different classes.
The Cultivation teacher from Vince's class, Kris Ware, was the one who would host this competition.
"Good morning, everyone. I'll be the overseer of this competition. It's pretty simple how it works. You'll all be given a Black Mana Stone, and it'll be a competition to whom will be able to absorb it first. After I finish the countdown, you can start. And, once you are done, you are to raise your hand immediately.
That said, we will start distributing the Stones now. Don't dare to start before I say so, or else I'll give you last place by default."
The students were all standing up in the Arena, making a gigantic grid. Some assistants started going row by row and distributed the Mana Stones.
Upon receiving his Mana Stone, Vince stared at the void.
'What should I do? I'm on the brink of breaking through; thus, if I were to absorb any more Mana now, I'd actually be forced to breakthrough. And I also can't use up enough Mana in time to make enough space…
Well, I'd prefer avoiding using Mana Stones to cultivate anyway. So… well, I can only bet on that.'
Right beside him was Estelle, who had also received her Stone. Noticing his gaze, she stared back with a fiery look.
'This lass clearly wants to compete… sadly, I won't be able to comply.'
Thus, Vince simply turned his head towards the teacher as if he hadn't noticed.
Seeing him seemingly ignore her, Estelle pouted a little before moving her gaze towards the teacher as well.
Once everyone had received their Mana Stone, the teacher began counting down, and once he was over, everyone hurriedly started absorbing the Mana inside their Mana Stones.
'Well, since I mustn't absorb it, I can only disperse it in the surroundings. Luckily, with so many people moving Mana so close together, it will be hard even for the teacher to realise that I'm dispersing it completely.'
Vince started dispersing the Mana within the Mana Stone, but that was no easy process. It indeed was much more challenging than absorbing it. He also had to make sure to disperse it in a way that no one would notice.
Like the other students, Vince had his face gradually become redder, and sweat drops formed all over his forehead.
'Should I slow down a little?'
As he was thinking that, Estelle raised her hand, where there wasn't a Mana Stone remaining anymore, but just shattered fragments that had turned grey.
'No need, apparently.'
Not much later, Vince also raised his hand, and much like Estelle, only grey stone fragments remained.
He then glanced at Estelle, who replied by sticking her tongue out.
Only after a few minutes did a third person raise their hand. It was none other than the Prince. He thought he was first, but as soon as he actually looked around him, he saw two hands already raised.
Just a few seconds later, another hand shot up, then another and another. Within fifteen minutes, all students had their hands raised.
"Very well. Since we are done, we will now go distributing the rewards."
The same assistants who had previously given the Black Mana Stones now distributed the prizes. Once they were done, they made the students go their way.
Once outside, Estelle immediately approached Vince with a smug. She then showed off her Mana Stone and compared it to Vince's. It was roughly twice as big.
But Vince then said something that completely caught her off-guard.
"Do you want my Mana Stone as well? I'll give it to you."
She stood on the spot, slightly dazed. She didn't know what to reply.
"I think you need it more than I do. You have higher cultivation; thus, it will be harder for you to do well in this time's exam. I won't have nearly as much trouble as you."
"Eeeh… are you sure?"
"You have achieved a Yellow Core, didn't you? While considering efficiency, it would indeed be better for me to use it, I don't need it as much as you do. If not relying on resources, how will you be able to reach first place?"
"But…"
"Don't worry about me. I'll do great even without them."
'Just accept it already. I literally have no use for them!'
"I have a better idea! Let's give both of our Mana Stones to the others from our party."
Vince was slightly taken aback at her statement. He couldn't understand why she would refuse his Mana Stone. As he was pondering, Estelle stuck out her index finger and pointed at him.
She was just at the right distance to slightly graze his nose while doing so.
"If I beat you while using Mana Stones, I will feel like I didn't actually win! I have to surpass you while fighting fairly!"
'This lass…'
"Fine, let's look for the others."
After a while, the whole party had grouped.
"Arty, take my Mana Stone! It will be better if you use it!"
Artemisia was taken aback at Estelle's sudden proposal. But after thinking a little, she courteously refused.
"Don't worry about me. I did well in the last test, and have no need for it. Give it to one of the others instead if you really want to give it away."
Estelle thus turned to Gero and gave it to him before he could even refuse. There was no way she'd give it to that red-haired girl!
Thus Vince was the one to give his to Nicole instead. She wanted to argue and stop him from doing so, but Vince flat out ignored her. In the end, she could only accept it.
In the afternoon, they still had lessons even though it was the day of the weekly competition. After classes, as always, they met and went through hellish training.
***
As the next weekly competition was approaching, Vince attempted his breakthrough once more. Like last time, the soft glow of the moon permeated through the window right beside him.
As he interacted with the Mana around him, a soft light emitted from his core. This time it wasn't enough to illuminate outside, though, as the stars were bright. It wasn't a dark night like last time.
Suddenly, the light inside the room died down.
'Success! Finally, I'm Noon Stage with a Yellow Core. From now on, breakthroughs will prove to be much more challenging… But I won't give up on achievement. I have no clue what the future awaits me. There's no need to rush now. Even if I go as fast as possible, I doubt I can match the speed of those who grew up in better environments.
Resources are the main requirement for fast cultivation, after all. And I'm very lacking in that aspect. I should bet on quality over speed.'
The next day they held a competition once again. To Vince's surprise, they weren't summoned to the Arena. Instead, they had a theory exam within their classes.
"Welcome, everyone. This week's competition will be a theoretical one. You will all be given a history test and ranked based on your score. In the event of a tie in score, the tiebreaker will be the time taken to turn the paper in."
It was a history test. It was truly unexpected.
'I thought they only gave weight to subjects strictly related to cultivation… Maybe this is also a way to tell everyone that they should put in the effort in every subject, not just those we think are important.
And maybe it's also a way to give a chance to those who aren't that talented in cultivation, which in turn will put pressure on those who are to do even better.'
Even though the test had started already, he was still pondering. Sometimes someone would take a peek at him, just to be taken aback by the fact that he wasn't writing anything.
Many had different thoughts.
'Could it be that he panicked and is unable to write anything?'
'Oh how amusing, the legendary theory ace isn't capable of even answering one question!'
'If even he can't answer, I shouldn't be worried over the fact that I can't either, right? After all, he is the best in theoretical subjects.'
In less than five minutes, he answered each and every question. He proceeded to give the sheet to the teacher before even half of the allotted time had passed.
'Well, enough with the over-thinking. I am known to be good in theory so let's just ace this test.'
He then returned to his seat while everyone stared daggers at him.
'All of this competition is already showing its effects. I'm curious to see how those kids will be once they leave this academy.'
The second to turn in his test was Theo Von Macht. It was considerably later but still far from the deadline. Then came all the other students.
Estelle was among the last few, just minutes before the deadline.
The teacher then proceeded to check all of the tests and evaluate them. He then sent the results elsewhere so the complete leaderboard could be arranged.
After a while, someone brought the teacher a sealed envelope. The teacher proceeded to shout out loud at each student's position, skipping all those that weren't in his class. Being the top class, most of them were in the top 100. Only a few dropped out of it, and not by much.
And, as many expected but nobody wanted to happen, Vince was first. With a perfect score.
But to the surprise of most, there were three other perfect scores. Theo Von Macht, in second place, some guy that wasn't even from their class, in third place, and finally, Estelle Von Sideria in fourth place.
But suddenly, someone broke the silence that had ensued.
"I'm sure! He cheated! Vince Von Sideria cheated! For the first ten minutes, he wrote nothing, then, out of the blue, in just five minutes, he answered all of the questions!"
As Vince was about to stand up to explain himself, someone else stood up for him.
Estelle shot up and was the one who replied.
"Do you have any evidence to prove what you are saying? Or is it just some baseless accusation? He might have just been pondering on the answers just to write them down in the last moment!"
"He should prove his innocence instead! I propose to ask him questions, and he has to answer in front of everybody to prove that he knows them!"
Someone else stood up and agreed with the former's opinion.
"I concur! If he is really good enough to ace all theoretical exams for a semester straight, he should have no trouble just answering some questions, right?"
One after another, many others jumped on the boat, whether they really thought Vince had cheated or not.
'Wow, to think some musclehead kids could be sharp enough to concoct a scheme at this age! The first three or four that spoke up were clearly in cahoots. Or maybe just one of them came up with the idea on the spot, and his friends followed him blindly without understanding what he was doing.
The idea is something along the lines of trying to get me to lose credibility and face. Even if I didn't cheat, this event will surely stain my reputation. While, if I did really cheat, they would only be gaining more as my score would be annulled, and they all would climb up one place.
Meanwhile, as their doubt is appropriate, no matter the result, they won't be considered in the wrong whether I actually cheated or not. As long as they don't ask for an official trial, it doesn't matter whether they have any proof or not.
While, if more people stand up from the crowd, following their steps, there won't be an actual accuser anymore. Nobody will remember who actually started this. It will turn into a trial where the accuser is everyone.
This way, even if it turns into an official trial, there won't be anybody responsible for it. After all, even if their reasoning is appropriate, they cannot drag the academy in without solid evidence. Otherwise, they would make a fool of themselves and might even incur punishment.
But, if it's not a person who's doubting the legitimacy of my result, but the whole class, the academy won't have any choice but to intervene and conduct a proper investigation, no matter if someone asks for an official trial or not.
So, on the surface, it looks like they won't suffer any backlash no matter the outcome of their scheme. They probably feel as if there's a sturdy and insurmountable wall protecting them.
But, too bad, I know the perfect counter!'
Vince thus stood up and signalled for everyone to quiet down.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone