Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 1.5 [Dr Yukimura]

- Part 3

The time for our exam was up. My hand ached incredibly badly as it was 2 hours long, and we had to write the entire time.

We learnt the hard way that we had to leave the exam hall in absolute silence, as three students were disqualified by talking while leaving the hall. C Class students, Kamuro Hokyou and Esumi Chirie, and a B Class student, Daita Hachirou.

All the classes had suffered a disqualification somehow. 1 in A Class, B Class and D Class, 2 in C Class and E Class. That's 7 disqualifications already on the first exam... this school was unforgivably cutthroat.

The school revelation indicated it, but the midterms cemented just how hard we'd have to work in order to climb to the top.

Since we were being dismissed in rows, my row got dismissed fifth. I gulped as I made my way out past the hall and into the long corridor, entering the general reception.

Students flocked around in groups and some slumped to the floor. People were lively chatting, so this was a safe zone...

I breathed an audible sigh of relief and leaned against the wall, also exhausted. Even though the midterms were low-stakes, the air in that exam hall was overwhelming. I felt like I was suffocating while doing that extremely difficult exam.

As I took a break leaning against the wall, I observed my surroundings. Everyone was talking to their friends about the exam or making their way back to the school. Most of them complained about how hard the test was, for good reason too.

That wasn't a normal midterm... I've never had to take a midterm so difficult before. It felt more like a finals-level paper, which further strengthened my theory that the results didn't matter, and it was the preparation each class took that would affect the S System. I wondered if any A Class students found it difficult.

Yukina was talking to her friends about the exam. I decided to wait for them to stop bothering her so I could talk to her about it.

"Takanori-san, how was it?"

Coming up to me was the bright-eyed Kawaguchi Masaru. Even though Kawaguchi wasn't very good at academics, he seemed more calm than our surroundings.

"It was fine."

"You didn't have difficulty?"

Kawaguchi was sincerely perplexed. Maybe he did find it hard, but didn't express it openly.

"It was relatively tricky, but I made it through."

"Same. That Japanese midterm was so bad! I didn't know how to answer half the questions. I gave it my best though, so let's hope it pays off!"

He was as optimistic as ever.

"Yeah. Like you, I also tried my best."

"So, what do you think happened to that dummy Jun then?"

Mitsuba was probably sitting in E Class with Kouji as Chabashira-sensei lectured them. That's the image I got in my head.

"No clue."

"Want to head back then? If I stay in this exam hall for any longer, I might suffocate!"

Slowly, Kawaguchi's frustrations were leaking out.

"If you want. I'm gonna stay here."

"Seriously? You're actually waiting for someone?"

Kawaguchi looked surprised, probably because I was a "big 3 loner" to him.

"I wouldn't say waiting... but, yeah. I need to talk to someone."

"Well, alright then. See ya around, Takanori-san!"