Disclaimer: Do not own anything related which includes the characters of Negima.

Rated T. Rating may go up. You have been warned.

Chapter 10: Exploring Library Island Part IV + A Test

At the sound of the screams, Negi rushed in the direction of the screams, disregarding the pain he was feeling in his back. Konoka followed him, but she couldn't keep up with him for the towel was restraining her movement. However, she did manage to catch up to him when he stopped. She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw the huge statue golem terrorizing her fellow classmates.

"Kyaaah! Negi-sensei! Help me!" Makie screamed for help as she was held by the golem in his hand.

"Makie-chan!" Konoka screamed in worry.

"Sasaki-san!" Negi screamed as well. He clenched his fists in anger. "How dare you pick on my students! I won't forgive you even if you are a statue!"

"Negi-kun..." Konoka looked at him in awe.

"Konoka-san...it's best if you get dressed while I deal with this guy. We're going to leave this place." Negi told her, looking at her over his shoulder and smiling. Konoka gaped at him for a few seconds before smiling and nodding back.

"Alright!" She replied and took off to get her clothes. Negi turned back to the statue and glared at him.

"Negi-sensei!" Makie cried out.

"Don't worry Sasaki-san! I'll save you!" Negi yelled as Makie blushed at his determination.

"But what do we do Negi-degorazu!" Kaede asked as she, Ku-Fei, Yue and Asuna all looked at him.

"Well, the first thing I suggest is you girls putting your clothes on, after all it will probably restrain your movements if you decide to help me." He told the girls as they looked at what they were wearing. Some blushed and others, mainly Kaede and Yue, chuckled in embarrassment, and nodded their heads.

"Hohohoho! You think you could take me on your own and save this girl! You really are underestimating me! None of you are getting out of here alive! Just give up! It takes three days to get through the maze and back!" The golem spoke.

"Eh!" Makie looked at him in shock.

"Normally yes, it would take that long." Negi started.

"Huh?" The golem wasn't anticipating Negi to act so calmly.

"We could just use that secret entrance behind the waterfall." Negi smirked as the golem was surprised that he found out about that passageway.

"W-What! What are you talking about! There is no such thing!" The golem tried tricking him.

"Stop trying to trick me cause it won't work. You see, when all the girls were sleeping, I took the liberty of exploring this place and that's when I found that secret passageway! Now, let go of Sasaki-san!" Negi pointed a finger at the golem who took a step back in shock. The golem quickly regained his composure.

"Hohohoho! So what! Just because you found that passageway doesn't mean you will escape so easily!" The golem told him.

"Negi-sensei!" Negi turned around to see Yue and the others returning, this time with their clothes on.

"Everyone!" Negi exclaimed with a wide smile.

"I even brought Makie-san's clothes-aru!" Ku-Fei showed Makie's clothing to Negi. He nodded his head.

"Well then! Now, let's defeat this guy and head back to Mahora Academy!" Negi exclaimed.

"Right!" They all cheered.

"As well as take the End of the Term exams!" He added.

"R-Right..." They responded in disappointment. Negi couldn't help but chuckle before returning to his serious self.

"Hohohoho! Let's see you what you all got!" The golem said.

"Help me!" Makie screamed.

Yue then noticed something around the golem's neck and her eyes widened when she saw the magic book that they were all looking for. "Hey everyone! Look! On the the golem's neck! It's the book of meru-whatever!" They all looked at where Yue pointed and indeed lied the book of Meru-whatever.

'I see...when that golem fell the book must have fallen down with him!' Negi deducted.

"Listen! We're taking that book! Makie-san! Ku-Fei-san! Kaede-san!" Yue told them.

"Okay! All set!" Kaede and Ku-Fei both gave a thumb up in agreement.

"I'll show you the power of a member of the Chinese Martial Arts Research Society!" Ku-Fei proudly yelled as she deliver a blow to the golem's leg and then put all her weight on her legs to put more force into her kick that caused the golem to open his hand, freeing Makie.

"Kyaah!" Makie screamed as she fell. Kaede immediately jumped toward Makie to grab her in the air.

"Yo!" Kaede greeted Makie.

"Yah!" Makie shouted after wards as she used her ribbon to grab the book of Meru-whatever.

"Ah! The book!" The golem shouted as he watched helplessly as the girls stole the book from him.

"Good work girls! Now quick! Head toward the waterfall! There is a secret passageway that we can use to escape from this place! I'll stall him!" Negi told them as they nodded their heads and ran toward the waterfall. Negi stayed in his spot and waited for the girls to disappear from sight before he started to chant a magic spell.

The golem noticed this and panicked. "Ah, wait just a minute..." The golem pleaded, but Negi was able to finish his chant and the next thing the golem knew, the books were thrown at him. "Ah!" The golem put his arms up to cover himself from the books. Using this, Negi ran after his students. The golem watched Negi run away and just as he was about to lose sight of him, he realized that the books stopped coming at him. Taking this as a sign to go after them, he did just that.

The girls managed to find the exit that Negi mentioned and opened the door. "W-What is this!" Asuna exclaimed in shock as in front of them was a large stone wall with a plaque in the center of it. On the plaque was a question that read,

English

Question No. 1

What is the past tense of read?

"EEEEEHHHHH! What!" Makie screamed in shock.

"Why the hell is it asking that!" Asuna exclaimed as Yue read the question to them.

"Hmm? Oh! I know the answer to this one-aru!" Ku-Fei told them.

"Eh? You do!" Makie asked.

"The answer is READ!" She called out and the wall lowered itself to reveal a long passageway that was very narrow.

"Woah! Good job, Ku-Fei-san!" Asuna congratulated the Chinese student.

"Quick! Go through the door!" Negi shouted as the girls turned to him.

"Negi-kun!" Konoka screamed back, relieved that he was safe.

"Alright! Let's go!" Asuna told the others and they nodded their heads and ran down the passageway.

Negi was right behind the girls as the golem saw that they found the emergency exit and clenched his stone fists.

"Hey, Ku-Fei-san...don't tell me...it's because of the book that you knew the answer?" Makie asked.

"I did get smarter just by holding it-aru!" She answered.

When the group arrived at the end of the passageway, they were met with a large spiral staircase that went up and up with no end to it in sight. "Uwah! What is this!" Asuna exclaimed in shock as she looked up.

"A spiral staircase!" Konoka answered her. "Can we even climb this!"

"Well, we have no choice! Let's go!" Negi told the girls and they nodded. The girls and Negi started to run up the spiral staircase.

"Eeeeehhhh...this is harder than training at the club!" Makie commented.

Just then, the wall beneath the girls broke and to their shock, the golem from earlier appeared. "That persistent statue is still chasing us!" Asuna yelled in annoyance.

"It's futile! You'd better give that book back!" The golem demanded as the group stopped in front of another wall with another question on it.

"Bleh! We're never gonna give it back-aru!" Ku-Fei teased the golem as she and Makie, pulled their eyelids down and stuck their tongues out.

"Ah! Another wall with a question!" Asuna exclaimed with a sweat dropped. "And this time it's math!"

"It says..."

Question 2:

What is the value of X in the diagram below?

"Ayah! It's coming!" Konoka told the others.

"Hmm? X=46 degrees..." Kaede suddenly said. The wall lowered itself to open their path.

"It opened! It looks like you were right!" Asuna exclaimed happily.

'Even Kaede-san...that book...' Negi narrowed his eyes at the book that Kaede was holding.

"Let's go!" Asuna yelled as they did just that. The girls continued running up the staircase, as well as answering the different questions that were blocking their path as the golem continuously followed them.

"Good job girls! Even Asuna and Makie managed to answer the questions correctly!" Negi complimented and teased his students.

"Sorry for being so dumb!" They both shouted in annoyance.

"Au!" Yue screamed as she tripped and fell down causing everyone to stop.

"Yue-san!" They shouted.

"I...I caught my foot on that tree root..." Yue said.

"Are you okay, Yue-san?" Negi asked the petite girl. To his surprise, she showed him the book. "Huh?"

"P-Please go ahead without me, Negi-sensei...As long as you have this book, we'll be out of the lowest ranking..." She told him.

"Don't be foolish, Yue-san!" Negi yelled at her softly. "We are all getting out of here together!" With that said, he turned around and knelt down, motioning her to get on his back. "Here, I'll carry you!" Yue face turned beet red at his offer and she took up his offer. She climbed up on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted himself up and put his hands on her legs to hold her in place. "Alright, let's go..." He took a step forward when the pain in his back occurred again. 'Damn...' Negi cursed mentally, falling to his knee.

"Negi-sensei, are you okay!" Yue asked as he chuckled.

"Y-Yeah...I'm fine..." He lied and stood up once more. The pain returned but he decided to endure it for the sake of his student. "A-Alright...let's continue..." Negi told the others who looked at him in worry before nodding their heads and continued running up the stairs.

Konoka looked behind her at Negi and saw that he was trying his hardest to not show any signs of him being in pain. She frowned. 'Negi-kun...'

The group continued running up the stairs, answering each question correctly while doing so.

"Hey look!" Makie exclaimed as she pointed toward an elevator.

"It's an elevator-degorazu!" Kaede grinned.

"We can finally go back to the surface!" Asuna exclaimed happily.

"Everyone! Hurry up and get in!" Negi told the girls as Yue got off Negi's back, her face still red and ran toward the elevator with the others.

"Alright! We made it!" Asuna exclaimed as all of them entered the elevator, their path to freedom at their grasp.

"Okay! Let's head for the surface!" Konoka cheered as the others did the same.

Notice: Overload! This elevator is over the limit capacity!

"Huh?" They all were shocked.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Makie, Ku-Fei and Asuna yelled.

"No! We must have ate too much over the last two days!" Ku-Fei stated.

"Makie-san! How much do you weigh right now?" Yue asked as Makie turned red from embarrassment.

"D-Don't ask me! What about Asuna and Nagase-san!" Makie defended herself.

"It got the space, but not the power, huh..." Konoka commented.

Just then, the golem jumped one level tot heirs, surprising the girls.

"Waah! It's back!" Makie screamed.

"You will not get away!" The golem shouted.

"W-What do we do!" Ku-Fei asked.

Negi gritted his teeth. He sighed before he exited the elevator.

"Ah, Negi-kun?" Konoka asked watching Negi leave the elevator.

Weight under the limit! Press up or down buttons to activate the elevator!

"W-What?" Asuna asked, listening to the voice of the elevator.

"You guys head up first." Negi told his students.

"Huh! But Neg-sensei! You said that we are all going to escape from this place together!" Yue shouted.

"Don't worry! As your teacher, your safety comes first!" Negi told them, smiling. "I'll be right behind you!" He pressed the up button and the elevator door began closing.

"Negi-sensei!"

"Negi-bozu!"

Negi-sensei-aru!"

"Negi!"

"Negi-sensei!"

"Negi-kun!" Konoka shouted watching as the door was closing with each passing second. Negi looked over at the girls over his shoulder and smiled at them.

"Good luck on your tests! I know you will all do great!" Negi told them. "Oh and one more thing! He said before reaching inside and taking the book from them. "You won't need this because I have full trust in you!"

"Negi-kun!" Konoka cried out as the elevator door closed and started to lift them up.

Negi turned his head around toward the golem. "Now then, don't you think you're going a little too far with this, Konoemon-san?" Negi narrowed his eyes at the golem who began to panic.

"W-What! I don't know what your talking about!" The golem lied making Negi sigh.

"Very well then." He started to chant a magic spell.

"Ah! Wait a minute...!" The golem tried to stop him. However, the golem wasn't able to as the spell Negi used caused the golem to start cracking and then crumbled to pieces.

"Sorry about that Konoemon-san..." Negi scratched the back of his head. He looked at the book in his hand and smiled. "Using such things..." Negi then tossed the book down the tower. "Now then, how do I get myself out of here?"

When the elevator carrying the Baka Rangers plus Konoka arrived at the top, the girls immediately sprinted toward Mahora Academy.

"We have ten minutes before the exams are going to start! We're going to be late!" Asuna shouted.

"It's okay! As long as we are able to finish the test in time and get good grades on it, we can still prevent Negi-sensei from losing his job!" Yue replied.

Konoka could only worry about Negi. She wondered if he was okay? However, knowing about the fact that he was a mage eased her mind, but it still worried her. 'Negi-kun...'

When the girls arrived at the Academy, they ran inside, looking for their class. When they did, they opened the door alarming the others inside.

'About time they get here...' Ayaka thought in annoyance. 'Huh? Where's Negi-sensei?'

"You girls are late!" The teacher that was assigned to class 2-A narrowed his eyes at them and crossed his arms.

"S-Sorry about that..." Asuna apologized, scratching her cheek.

"Sorry won't cut it...there is a room for those who decide to come late to take the exam. Go there!" The teacher told them, handing them a piece of paper that had the classroom number for the room where they were going to take the exam.

"H-Hai..."

And so...the girls all began taking the test. The knowledge they gained through their experience at Library Island all in their minds. After an excruciating 3 hours, the test finally ended. Now, it was time to wait for the results.

"Man, that test was such a pain..." Asuna groaned rubbing her shoulders.

"Hopefully we all got good grades so that Negi-sensei can stay as our teacher..." Makie frowned.

"I'm sure we did great-degorazu!" Kaede encouraged them.

"Yeah!" Ku-Fei added excitedly.

Yue only nodded in agreement as she took a sip of her juice box.

Konoka on the other hand had a hard time taking the test. She knew she did pretty well on it, but she couldn't stop worrying about Negi. Was he okay? Where is he now? All those questions were floating around in her mind. She frowned. She felt tightness in her chest for some strange reason and she didn't know why. When the girls separated, leaving only Asuna and Konoka together, the two made their way toward their dorm room.

When they arrived, they noticed the door was unlocked. Opening it, they were shocked to see a sleeping Negi on the couch with a hand on his forehead. Konoka immediately became relieved to see him. "Boy, he must be tired. It's good to see that he is alright." Asuna whispered to Konoka as she nodded her head. "I guess he's not that bad after all." Asuna ended and tiptoed past him. Letting out a yawn, she rubbed her eyes and climbed up to her bed and instantly fell asleep.

Konoka giggled softly at her roommates action before looking down at Negi. She smiled. 'Negi-kun...thank you for coming back...' She couldn't blushing at her thought with a ix of how cute he looked when he was asleep. Letting out a yawn herself. She walked over to her bed as well and crashed into it. All three were asleep.

The next day, the three of them rushed toward Mahora Academy as their exam scores were already checked by the teachers. The entire class was in their classroom, awaiting the end result which would affect their entire class. Was Negi going to stay or was he going to leave?

"You Baka Rangers better have not screwed up!" Ayaka yelled at the Baka Rangers.

"Shut up, Iincho!" Asuna yelled back.

"Don't worry, Negi-sensei! I'm sure we didn't let you down!" Ayaka told her teacher.

"Yep, I'm sure you didn't." Negi smiled at before returning to his book. The girls sweat dropped at him at how calm he was sitting on his chair, with his feet on top of his desk.

"Why are you so relaxed!" Asuna yelled at him.

"Yeah, Negi-sensei! Aren't you worried!" Makie added.

"Of course I am." He smiled. "However, what happens happens. There is nothing I can do to change that. All I can hope for is that you girls like me well enough that you got good marks." The class looked at him slightly stunned at his words.

"N-Negi-sensei..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm a bit tired, I didn't mean to offend any of you." He apologized.

Attention students! I will now release the scores that each class has received based on the average scores of each student.

"Everyone! Be quiet!" Yelled Ayaka as the class did indeed get quiet.

As the lady on the announcement began speaking the ranks of each class. However, Class 2-A hadn't heard their names being called yet and this made some of them panic.

"W-What is this! We are already up to 10th place and our class still hasn't been mentioned!" Ayaka yelled in shock.

22nd Place: Class 2-M

"Hey, class 2-A hasn't turned up yet!" Makie panicked.

"Calm down! I'm sure we would be called." Asuna tried to reassure her.

'Negi-kun...' Konoka frowned.

Negi on the other hand remained calm.

"If we don't get called here, then Negi-sensei is going to..." Makie couldn't finish her statement.

Second to last place: 2-K

All of 2-A was stunned. Their class was in last place again. On a normal circumstance, they would care, but this time, Negi was on the line and in the end, they failed him. They all looked over at Negi who only flipped to the next page of his book. They were even more stunned by that.

"Hey, Negi-sensei..." Yue called out to him.

"Hm? What is it, Yue-san?" He asked with a smile.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Asuna blurted out, slamming her hands on her desk. Negi tilted his head to the side, confused by her outburst. "Didn't you just hear! We got last place! That means you can't become our teacher anymore."

"Oh! Why yes I did hear!" He told them. He continued to smile.

"Negi-kun...why are you just smiling?" Konoka asked, feeling the tightness in her chest get worse.

"Oh that's because those ranks aren't the final ones." He answered which shocked everyone.

"H-Huh!" Some shouted in shock.

"W-What do you mean by that, Negi-sensei!" Ayaka asked.

"Oh, that's right...you girls don't know. Principle-san told me that he still didn't finish grading the tests done by the Baka Rangers and Konoka so until he's done, those rankings are not the official ones."

"T-then that means that we still have a chance..." Makie smiled, her and everyone else's confidence went up.

Just then, the door to the classroom opened and entered the Principal of Mahora Academy, and Konoka's grandfather, Konoemon. "Well, hello there everyone!" He greeted the girls.

"Principal-sensei!"

"Grandpa!" Konoka exclaimed.

"Yes well, I have hear the results of the tests that the late comers took and they will be added to the entire class average." He opened the envelope and took out the papers. "First up, Sasaki-san...you scored a 66! Well done!" He congratulated her.

"Eh! Really!" She became excited at her score.

"Yes! However, it's good that you are into your club activities, however try a bit harder next time." He told her as she chuckled in embarrassment.

"R-Right..."

"Now then, Ku-Fei-san, a 67 and Kaede-san, a 63, well done!" He smiled at the two and they scratched the back of the heads in embarrassment and excitement.

"We did it-aru!"

"Yes-degorazu!"

"Konoka, you did very well with a 91! As expected of my granddaughter!" Konoka sighed in relief.

"No problems there..."

"And finally, Kagurazaka-san..." Asuna nervously waited for her score. "...a 71! Congratulations!" Asuna stood there stunned. She couldn't believe she got a 71! That was her highest grade ever on a test! Negi closed his book and stood up. He clapped his hands as everyone turned toward him.

"Well then...my students!" He smiled widely at them.

"Yes indeed...with those scores the weighted average becomes 0.1 over 80 which means that class 2-A is now ranked first in the entire school! Congratulations!"

"WE DID IT!" The class all shouted. Negi couldn't be any prouder for his students. Not only has he gained some respect from them, but now he would be able to continue his training. He couldn't wait for the next term.

To Be Continued...