How to Survive as a Trash Extra Villain

Chapter 8

The Imperium Academy exams were extreme.

From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 12 hours to solve 1,000 questions across 20 subjects. No food, no water, no bathroom breaks. Naturally, no rest periods.

They say managing your condition is as crucial as studying.

However, if you submitted your exam early, you could leave immediately.

But the 1,000 questions were a notorious mix, spanning subjects and levels indiscriminately.

In short, it was designed to make cadets give up.

“Naturally, cheating, for any reason, is grounds for expulsion.”

For Martin, even failing to score high was grounds for expulsion.

“Let’s do this. No, even if I mess up, it’s fine. Please, Know-It-All, I’m counting on you.”

As I looked at the exam paper, Know-It-All seemed to quiver like a horse ready to charge.

Teacher Hectia, staring at the clock, announced loudly as the second and minute hands aligned:

“Begin.”

The sound of pens scratching filled the room. A heavy tension weighed down the air.

[Question 1: List the six schools and names of the runes used in the given magic circle.]

Question 1 confirmed. Magic circle identified. Intermediate magic Flame Buster from the Imperium Magic Tower School confirmed. Analyzing magic circle… Complete.

I wrote down the six runes that came to mind.

It felt like Know-It-All would solve everything instantly, but its low level meant it took time to process.

[Question 149: List the minimum required party size and rank for each stage of the Time Chaos Dungeon as specified by International Dungeon Law.]

Question 149 confirmed. International Dungeon Law confirmed. Time Chaos Dungeon stages are classified from Rank 1 to Rank 5 based on temporal distortion coefficients. Rank 1: 3 Iron Knights; Rank 2: 5 Bronze Knights; Rank 3: 8 Silver Knights; Rank 4: 13 Gold Knights; Rank 5: 20 Platinum Knights.

This was the world’s lore. It was also the founding purpose of the Imperium Academy. The Time Chaos Dungeon was eroding the world, and periodic raids were needed to reduce its temporal distortion.

You didn’t have to do it. It just hastened the apocalypse.

Gem Knights. In this world, whether swordsman or mage, everyone was a knight. Ranks were assigned based on skill, using gem tiers.

These questions felt like organizing the novel’s setting, which I found fun.

Error occurred. Required formula for calculation missing. Calculation halted.

But sometimes, my heart sank. Like when Know-It-All encountered a question it didn’t know.

I studied hard, but it wasn’t enough to cram everything. I’d nearly memorized the textbooks, but I hadn’t had time to cover external references or specialized books.

“Oh, the last question.”

I snapped out of it and realized I’d finished. How much time had passed?

“Only three hours?!”

The clock’s hour hand pointed to noon.

My writing speed was slower than Know-It-All’s solving speed. If it were just solving, I might’ve been home before 10 a.m.

I suppressed my urge to leave. I was dying to go home. Since familiars, partners, and pets were banned on exam day, I couldn’t bring Sebastian, leaving me utterly alone.

“I’ll tell Lilac I aced the exam and ask for a cheesecake. Maybe I’ll let Sebastian slobber all over his cheeks today.”

I neatly organized my exam papers, slipped them into the provided cover with the answer sheet, and walked to the teacher’s desk.

The sound of my footsteps. Teacher Hectia’s “What’s this?” expression. The rustle of hair and clothes as cadets looked up.

“Cadet Number 15, Martin von Targon Ulvhadin. I’ve submitted my exam. I’ll take my leave.”

“…Do as you please.”

Hectia snorted, likely thinking I’d given up. No need to correct her.

I grabbed my things and headed out.

The Imperium Academy’s beautiful garden looked even more stunning.

“Cheesecake. Delicious, healthy cheesecake.”

Humming to myself, I rounded a corner and bumped into a woman.

“Ow!”

“Ah!”

[Name: Hailey von Lua Etrande]

[Age: 24]

[Gender: Female]

Thud! We both stumbled back and fell.

“Who was that?”

White papers fluttered down like angel feathers, decorating the ground.

“Oh, no! No…!”

A woman with pink hair, looking like she might cry, reached for the scattering papers.

She seemed like a pink chick.

Her clothes were the uniform issued to Imperium Academy apprentice teachers.

She looked troubled, so I decided to help. I picked up a paper, and our hands overlapped.

“Ah!”

Hailey looked up at the cadet she’d bumped into.

I greeted her.

“Hello.”

“Oh, h-hello…”

[Name: Hailey von Lua Etrande]

[Age: 24]

[Gender: Female]

[Personality: Pure, Good, Orderly, Gentle]

[User Perception: Surprise, Embarrassment]

[Nature Magic Lv 7]

[Mana Cultivation Lv 7]

[Magic Proficiency Lv 5]

[Piano Lv 6]

[Cooking Lv 5]

[Martial Arts Lv 3]

I didn’t recognize her. Probably an extra. At least she was better than a villain like me.

I didn’t know what Nature Magic was, but reaching proficiency beyond comprehension meant she was highly skilled.

“Are you okay, cadet?”

“I’ll help you.”

“Oh? No, it’s fine.”

“Let’s pick them up.”

We silently gathered the snow-like papers. It took a while to collect the hundreds of sheets haphazardly.

The pink chick checked her watch, sighed in relief, and clutched the stack of documents.

“Thank you, cadet! You saved me!”

“I’m partly at fault for bumping into you.”

[User Perception: Gratitude, Admiration]

It was the first time I’d received such recognition at this school.

Hailey von Lua Etrande. I’d remember her name.

“But didn’t you have an exam?”

Minutes after meeting, Hailey grew curious about a cadet out at this hour.

“I finished and was leaving.”

“Finished…? Oh! Cadet! You can’t just guess on exams! Even if you don’t know, you have to try your best!”

“Uh… I did my best.”

“Don’t brush it off! I’m saying this for your sake!”

I could imagine the expression hidden behind the stack of papers.

“It’s fine. I really did well.”

“Cadet! If you keep that up, Santa Claus won’t bring you presents!”

She thought I was a child. Even for a staff member, treating a student like a kid might be grounds for disqualification.

“Winter’s far off. And Santa Claus doesn’t exist.”

“Don’t kill off living people! Santa Claus is very much alive! He even had a meeting with His Majesty last Christmas!”

I was floored. Santa Claus actually existed in this world? What kind of whimsical setting did Recola create?

“The 106th Santa Claus would scold you. You might find coal instead of gifts in your chimney!”

Hailey spoke as if telling a spooky ghost story.

Having such a carefree, joyful conversation… I couldn’t remember the last time.

It felt warm, like a bright spring day.

“Well… thanks to the coal, I’m staying warm this winter.”

“You don’t give an inch, cadet! Keep that up, and you’ll end up like… that person! Terrible personality! Terrible skills! Terrible reputation!”

There was someone else like that? That’s comforting.

“Who’s that?”

“Martin von Targon Ulvhadin!”

Oh… she meant me.

***

Under the noon sunlight in the academy’s garden, Hailey, the apprentice teacher who’d been helped by a cadet who seemed in need of reform, wandered around for a while afterward.

After the exam, while cadets went home, the academy’s teachers worked late into the night without rest. The same went for apprentices like her.

“Ugh, I want to become a full teacher soon…”

The pink chick—no, Hailey—placed a stack of documents on the faculty office desk.

She’d heard the Imperium Academy was as demanding as it was prestigious, but she hadn’t expected it to be this intense.

A 60cm stack of papers?

“Teacher Hailey.”

“Yes! Apprentice Hailey, present! What’s the matter, Head Teacher?”

“Good work. I’d love to let you rest, but I’m sorry—please head to the grading room to help. They’re short on hands.”

“Yes! I’ll go right now!”

The Imperium Academy’s grading room was a repurposed final bunker.

Built to withstand meteors or demon lord resurrections, it blocked all external cheating attempts.

‘Hehe, I’m recognized!’

Granting an apprentice access to the final bunker was rare. It was clear proof of trust.

Entering the grading room, she heard the busy rustle of grading teachers and piles of exam papers.

Hailey scurried to the first-year head teacher.

“Oh? Teacher Hailey. Did the third-year head teacher approve this?”

“Yes! I was ordered to assist in the grading room!”

“Hmm, then… I can’t assign you third-year papers. Teacher Hailey, are you confident with third-year exams?”

The Imperium Academy’s exams graded every detail of solutions and processes. Even simple questions could score from 0 to 10 based on the quality of the answer and solution.

This system worked because all graders were officially knight commander-level experts.

Among those monsters, the veterans handled third-year exams. An apprentice couldn’t dream of touching them.

“Uh… no…”

“Alright. There are first-year answer sheets over there. Grade those. There are some stellar cadets this time, so it’ll be fun. Like Elisha from Class A or Prince Kazaks from Class B.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

…She said, but the mountain of exam papers felt daunting.

Since higher-year papers were graded first, the first-year ones hadn’t been touched.

“Well… I have to do it.”

Her dream of becoming a full teacher and nurturing chick-like students gave Hailey the strength to push forward.

“Here’s the first exam paper.”

Submission order mattered. Beyond solutions and answers, early submission earned bonus points.

Strategic cadets solved what they knew and submitted early.

Inevitably, the pink chick recalled the cadet she met in the garden under the noon sun.

“That cadet must be one of those types. No, even so, that was too fast…”

Leaving a 12-hour exam in just 3 hours was practically giving up.

If graders deemed a test-taker’s behavior “deceptive,” they could deduct points.

“Let’s see… Submission time: 12:05 p.m. Just 3 hours and 5 minutes.”