I Regress if the Villainess Dies! Chapter 23: Chapter 22 [Wisdom] and [Severity]

Read chapter 23 of I Regress if the Villainess Dies! by Yuzai_Rearu on NovelPedia.

Xian decided to hurry up after much deliberation. Not only because he knew most of the examinations anyways, but also because there’s a lot of benefits for clearing it all first. There’s also the skill windows he haven’t checked and the letter from the duke. Curiosity and impatience filled his head despite encountering a heroine he did not like. He could wait for Carmillia and carry her through the exams, but the last time he checked, she still did not trust him completely. Since many instructors were lurking around as monitors, she should be safe. It was fine though. Carmillia was not the only heroine he knew who had trust issues. Almost every single one had the same problem, and he could take his time dealing with it. Eventually, their trust would inevitably lean toward him. For now, he planned to draw as much attention as possible by getting first place. From the second examination onward, things would become a little more difficult than simply finding a way out. ‘Should I just check it now?’ Xian thought that utilizing his skills now might be a good idea. His level should be higher than most starting character, but his skills… He deliberated for a moment while facing the door toward the next examination. The academy always followed certain criteria when designing an exam. The grid maze earlier had been the hardest for entrants to complete, but for some people, they had the means to quickly figure it out and break through. It was actually the easiest and most favorable exam for players, since it did not require any investment in stats. They could simply break through if they remembered the pattern. ‘Alright, let’s take the first place.’ Doing so would place him as the first seat and grant him the position to retain the first years first seat. From this point onward, only three types of examinations could appear. One was a duel with a dummy to test the entrant's combat qualifications. Another was a literal written exam that asked questions on paper. Lastly, there was a simulated labyrinth filled with powerful monsters and a raid boss. The grid maze served as a prerequisite that needed to be cleared before it could appear. Xian hoped to fight a dummy for the fastest result. The maximum level of the dummy was set between four and eight, which most starting characters could manage to defeat as long as they are not alone. Meanwhile, he was level fourteen and could probably obliterate it. If a player focused on strength and agility, victory would come easily. The same applied to strength builds, though they would take slightly more damage. He pushed the towering door open and stepped into the examination grounds. As he breathed in, blue mist drifted outward and brushed gently against his body. Xian recognized it as a concentration of mana that dissipates upon contact with almost anything. He knew what that entailed. 'It’s the labyrinth, of course. Otherwise things wouldn’t be as interesting.' Xian wondered if those beings were watching and intentionally making things difficult for him. Then he thought about the grid maze, one of the best starts possible. In the end, he found it fair that the next exam turned out this way. Xian, knowing what lay ahead, decided to wait in the vicinity of the entrance while hiding himself. With Ruminaria’s tendency to charge headfirst into things, he doubted she would even sense his presence. 'Then we wait.' In the meantime, he decided to finally check his [Skill Window] and willed it to appear. Tackling the maze required teammates, or rather, meat shields. Taking Carmillia and some other random entrants with him would be ideal. 'But it wouldn’t be bad to team up with a familiar heroine too.' Xian licked his lips inadvertently, something he usually did not do. Perhaps it was the thrill he felt, or the anticipation. He recalled the intimate scenes of the heroines he had conquered. Now that the game had become reality, the possibilities for those kinds of rewards felt endless. On a regular game day, h