Chapter 188: Cheating?
On the notice board, Fian’s name still sat firmly at the very top. He hadn’t dropped once, leading by a wide margin over the second-ranked participant.
"That Fian must have cheated. He’s bound to get caught and dragged out any minute now."
"Yeah, what an idiot, trying to cheat on the Gyakarta Academy entrance test of all things."
"Him and everyone involved are going to be blacklisted for life."
The crowd spoke as though it were already fact, spouting their accusations with confidence.
Gara and Madha’s expressions darkened.
The fishfolk woman sitting beside them noticed it. She quietly stood and slipped away without a word.
Gara didn’t even realize she was gone. His blood boiled at the shameless accusations around him. Just because they didn’t come from some famous family, everyone immediately assumed cheating?
Unable to hold back, Gara raised his voice. "Just because everyone else is weak, the moment someone stronger shows up, you all cry foul and call it cheating? Isn’t that the logic of losers?"
The words weak and losers struck the crowd like a slap. They were the family members of the other participants. Instantly, their faces twisted in offense.
"What do you know, boy?!" roared a massive green-skinned man. "The others aren’t weak! We of the Gromstone family are the strongest orcs! That Fian is the one cheating!"
"What proof do you have?" Gara shot back casually.
"His absurdly high points—that’s proof enough!" the orc bellowed.
"Puha—HAHAHAHA!" Gara doubled over laughing, clutching his stomach before wiping tears from his eyes. "Those points come straight from the Intai birds controlled by Academy staff. Are you saying they’re the ones cheating?"
The orc’s already huge eyes widened further, and his hulking frame swelled with rage. Around them, whispers rose—none of them in Gara’s favor, though.
Madha instinctively stepped in front of him. "Sir, instead of labeling a participant a cheater, shouldn’t you be confirming the truth with the exam committee first?"
Gara tilted his head, studying Madha’s back. Was he about to end the argument without fanning the flames further?
Madha continued firmly, "You’ve been saying the staff would arrest him if he cheated. Yet an hour has already passed. At this point, your words sound like you’re doubting the Academy staff themselves."
His voice was deep, the last words pressed with weight. Several people immediately fell silent.
Oddly enough, Madha’s serious tone carried far more intimidation than Gara’s blunt mockery, even though they’d both said the same thing. Perhaps it was the aura of a guard still radiating from him.
Behind him, Gara gave a faint smile. He hadn’t expected Madha to defend Fian. Their relationship wasn’t exactly good, but at least Madha still knew right from wrong.
"Don’t spout nonsense, boy!" the green orc barked, trying to cow him with sheer volume.
But Madha didn’t flinch in the slightest.
"Gentlemen!"
A sharp yet graceful voice cut through the tension. An elegant woman in a brown robe—clearly a staff member— approached gracefully, gazing at the candidates’ companions.
The fishfolk woman followed from behind her, then returned to her place, sitting next to Gara.
He didn’t get the chance to ask where she had gone, because the staff member began to speak.
"Those found guilty of cheating were already expelled earlier. Their names will now vanish from the notice board as well."
The Academy staff turned toward the notice board, and all eyes followed.
One by one, several names began to vanish—including Aldi Gromstone.
"No! Impossible! Aldi would never cheat!" the same green-skinned man who had shouted at Gara earlier roared in denial.
The staff member’s gaze sharpened, her aura pressing down so heavily that the orc’s knees nearly buckled. He fell silent at once, then stomped away furiously.
"Oops. Guess we know who the real cheater was," Gara muttered, his voice dripping with mockery.
The orc could only glare, his jaw tight, before storming off without another word. A few others—whose families had also been exposed—quickly followed suit.
Those who remained kept their attention on the notice board. Even after the staff member left, the name at the very top remained unchanged: Fian.
"He didn’t cheat? Then who is this Fian?"
"Could he be some hidden genius?"
"Maybe he was trained by mysterious Liners?"
Speculation rippled through the crowd. But now, no one dared question Fian’s legitimacy.
Madha sat back down, glancing at Gara, whose scowl hadn’t softened.
"What is it?" he asked.
"People are always like that," Gara said, voice carrying loud enough for everyone to hear. "They spout whatever they want, and once proven wrong, they just change their tune as if they never said a word."
Everyone heard him clearly, but not a single person dared talk back—not with the woman seated calmly beside Gara, the same one who had appeared earlier with the staff.
Madha pulled a small leaf fan from his cloth bag and began fanning Gara. "Ever heard the saying? Only the strong can admit their mistakes. Anyone else? Just losers. That’s what’s happening here."
The words struck like a challenge. Heads that had been pretending not to listen now whipped toward Madha. Several faces twisted with anger.
Meanwhile, Gara chuckled softly, nodding in agreement.
The woman beside him blinked, staring at the two men with surprise and admiration. They were fearless.
Her gaze then returned to the notice board—only for her to suddenly jolt upright. "My sister! That’s my sister in second place!"
Her joyful cry made Gara look up. Sure enough, the name Andine Karina now shone at rank two.
"Congratulations to you and your sister," Gara said sincerely.
The woman nodded enthusiastically. "I never thought she’d climb all the way to second! Earlier, I met some mermaids who told me the others had already been eliminated—Andine was the only one left."
"Mermaid?" Gara turned to study her more carefully. He had thought she was just some kind of fish-woman, but no—she actually was a mermaid.
"Yes, I’m a mermaid. My name’s Aneline Karina, by the way. Just call me Anel." She offered her hand. Gara shook it, and so did Madha.
"Nice to meet you, Anel. I’m Gara, and this is Madha. Humans."
"Humans?" Anel’s eyes widened. "Then Fian... he’s human too?"
"He’s an elf," Gara corrected with a shake of his head.
"An elf?" Anel’s expression brightened. "What a coincidence! I heard from another mermaid that Andine was saved by an elf and two human-like figures when a Fire Bat attacked."
At once, Gara thought of Fian, Orman, and Yuvika. Could it be them? Was that the reason Anel’s sister had managed to climb to second place—because she’d joined Fian’s team?
It was only a hunch. Gara kept it to himself and simply replied, "What a coincidence, indeed."
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