Chapter 15. Dekan Dropped the Act

The atmosphere inside the demon classroom was suffocating.

It almost rivaled the exam hall of my high school from my past life.

I didn’t rush to start writing. Instead, I quietly observed. A few suspected challengers were showing signs of anxiety, while others weren’t worried at all.

If even I couldn’t solve these problems, that meant the way to clear this exam wasn’t academic ability.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense—it’d be a dead end for most.

The real method was obvious. The challengers had to cheat answers from the demon students.

After all, these questions weren’t for humans. They were made for demons.

The proctors’ patrol patterns were fairly regular.

The first proctor circled the room about once every 50 seconds, pausing on the podium for 10 seconds.

The second proctor circled about once every 40 seconds, stopping in the back of the classroom for 5 seconds.

Margin of error: one to two seconds.

From my seat, roughly once every three minutes, a blind spot formed where neither proctor could see. It lasted about two or three seconds.

That was the chance to exchange information or sneak a peek.

But clearing it that way would be torture.

You might not finish copying in time, and demon students wouldn’t just obediently let you.

It would probably take cooperation between challengers.

I glanced at my “good teammate.”

On my left, Cornelia’s small hands were trembling so badly I thought she’d snap her pen in half.

Her despair was palpable even through the air.

She hadn’t analyzed the mechanics at all.

She didn’t even realize how impossible the questions were.

She thought everyone else could do them, and she was the only one who couldn’t.

Cornelia took a deep breath and gently set her pen down.

Looked like she had given up.

Then she clenched her fists.

Judging from her expression…

Was she planning to fight her way out?

My face stiffened.

If Cornelia went berserk, even if she could take down those two proctors, the Academy would unleash endless demons to hunt us down.

Thankfully, before moving, she glanced at me.

It seemed to have become a habit.

When faced with a learning problem, she always looked at me.

That was the tiny bit of tacit understanding we’d built up in our short time together.

I let out a sigh of relief. Good—she didn’t act rashly.

I gave her a look to reassure her.

She caught my meaning, gave a subtle nod, and looked calmer.

I was thankful. We really had a knack for communicating without words.

But relying on Cornelia was out of the question.

Not only did I have to pass myself, I had to carry her through, too.

I rubbed my temples.

One thought crossed my mind: maybe I could just take down the two proctors outright.

But the risk was too great. I had to confirm the mechanics first.

In truth, this exam had to end quickly.

Of the three mission goals, the “explore 50% of the Academy” looked simplest but was likely the hardest.

It showed only 1% completed so far—probably just this classroom.

That meant we might need to cover 10,000 square meters in twelve hours.

Corridors and empty rooms would be fine, but what if other classrooms also had “forced games” like this exam?

If every room was this brutal, the mission would be impossible.

This told me the difficulty varied wildly—sometimes quick clears, sometimes long, punishing ones.

If this exam consumed the full 2.5 hours, we’d start at a disadvantage.

Me…

I hadn’t wanted to use cheats.

But for Cornelia’s safety and my own survival, I decided it was time to drop the act.

Because I was a cheater.

“Master, help me!” I called out in my mind.

“…Where is this?”

The voice was drowsy, as if just waking. Gentle, no trace of irritation.

“I’m inside a Shadow World. It’s an exam. I need to answer questions. Please help me!”

“…”

There was silence for a moment.

“Question one, answer C.”

“Question two, answer A.”

…

“Question sixteen, in order: slavery, tolerance, attraction, ※※※※, inferiority, masochism, suffering, desolation, mental collapse, thought erosion…”

I scribbled furiously.

To others, I must’ve looked like I was copying an answer key, not even thinking.

For nearly ten minutes, I filled in answers nonstop.

“Thanks, Master. Go back to sleep.”

“Stay safe. I can’t stay awake for long.”

My teacher left me with that, then fell back into slumber.

I exhaled deeply.

Thank goodness she knew how to solve these.

There was only one reason I could bring my teacher into the Shadow World:

She was in my deck.

Exams?

You think that’s hard?

I had a private tutor in my pocket.

I checked the timer, then watched the proctors.

The next blind spot would come in a few dozen seconds.

I waited calmly, then gave Cornelia a signal to be ready.

Three.

Two.

One.

Now.

In a flash, I slid my completed exam onto Cornelia’s desk and pulled hers over.

At the same time, I mouthed: “Hand in. Wait.”

She should submit and wait outside.

Meanwhile, I grabbed her empty paper and started writing again.

Cornelia looked stunned at the filled exam in front of her.

Such kindness?

She had never felt such relief in an exam before.

......

The broadcast hall was packed, people even standing in the aisles.

Everyone wanted to see the first battle of the Knight Academy’s two infamous freshmen.

When word spread that we’d been thrown into a Rank Four Shadow World, students rushed from their classrooms to watch. Teachers, too.

“What is Dekan doing? He can’t just scribble randomly! He’ll kill Cornelia!”

“Didn’t he analyze the mechanics?”

“Clearly not. Newbies miss these details.”

“Two dumb warrior types in a brain-test scenario—what a nightmare.”

“If you brute-force it, even professors from the Alchemy Academy would need hours of research to answer those questions.”

“What a waste. First time in a Shadow World and they hit Rank Four—it’s over.”

“Damn, Cornelia just submitted! Is he sacrificing his teammate to test the system?”

Some students, less clear on the mechanics, speculated nervously.

From what they’d seen, Dekan wasn’t stupid—he was cunning.

But what he was doing looked insane.

“Damn it, that guy must be a priest from the Resurrection Church!”

One student clutched his head in despair, others shouted in anger.

Even some teachers covered their faces with a sigh.

They were certain Cornelia had triggered the proctor’s slaughter mode.

All they could do was pray she escaped alive.

But the next second—

The broadcast hall erupted in gasps.

Voices rose like boiling water. Even people outside could hear the uproar.

“Eh?”

“What happened?”

“Cornelia submitted… and passed?!”

“We misjudged him?”

“Why the hell does he know the answers?!”

“Could he actually be a demon?!”

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