“So this is what they call an ‘academy story,’ huh?”
A red-haired girl, with a nervous look on her face, was chatting warmly with her parents. Nearby, a boy swordsman was repeatedly drawing and sheathing his blade, as if checking its condition.
And then there was me—standing amidst these students, no, examinees, sighing as I gazed out at the Crescent Academy’s scenery. The black-haired boy who’s also the leader of the Black Shadow Guild.
Reincarnation year ten, and wow—turns out I was in the wrong genre! I thought this trope wouldn’t apply to me, but here I am, living the cliché.
“Closing the gates soon! Examinees, please come in quickly!”
“Just do your best, son!”
“Don’t overthink it!”
“Come back safely, Miss!”
At the entrance of Crescent Academy, located on the outskirts of the capital of the Crescent Empire, parents and attendants were bustling around, sending off their hopefuls—just like students going off to take their college entrance exams.
“…Maybe I should have asked Eddi to come meet me here.”
Everyone else was being bid farewell by someone, but I walked confidently, yet slightly desolately, into the test room alone.
Even though I was standing right in front of the academy, it still felt surreal that I had to take the entrance exam here. I tried delaying my entrance as long as possible, but now it was time to go in.
“Could you show me your ID, please?”
“Here you go.”
The neatly uniformed guard took my ID and, after a swift check, handed over a sheet of paper marked as a “receipt” along with my ID.
“Wishing you luck.”
“Thank you.”
The ID check was surprisingly easy.
Of course, thanks to Eddi and the ID she prepared.
The name on the new ID was simple: Ryu—just my last name without the “Young” part, making me a commoner.
No noble crest required for commoners, and no need for anti-theft or protection magic either, so it looked even simpler.
“I should have asked to be made into a noble. Have I been too hard on myself?”
Most countries don’t impose specific entry requirements for academy exams, but everyone knows the academy students are mostly from noble families.
Part of the reason is that talented children often come from noble houses, but the biggest reason is tuition. The joke about academy tuition being enough to feed a family of four peasants for three years isn’t entirely exaggerated.
“What’s your test number?”
“176.”
“Please go to the right corridor.”
“Yes.”
“Haa.”
Letting out a deep sigh in my thoughts, I followed the instructions of another staff member in the same uniform I’d seen earlier, heading to the right.
The surroundings were filled with examinees preparing for the test in various ways—some muttering to themselves, some walking with their eyes closed, others reading books as they went.
“Man, what are these kids even doing?”
A snort of laughter escaped me. Technically, we’re probably around the same age, but there’s no way our skill levels are even close. I could raid the entire academy treasure vault right now if I wanted to.
“Wow, the facilities here really are top notch.”
While other examinees prepared, I was taking careful mental notes of the academy surroundings. Remembering places I’ve been is kind of a crucial skill for me, after all.
To use my special ability of ‘teleportation’ in this world, I need exact location data. If something goes wrong with the memory or gets messed up, unpredictable variables could occur. It’s a lesson I’ve learned personally, the hard way.
“Um, excuse me?”
“Huh?”
“You have a really unique hair color!”
As I was mentally cataloging details, someone spoke to me. Instinctively touching my own hair, I turned to see a girl walking beside me. She looked about 20 cm shorter than me, with short, luxurious red hair that shimmered in the light. She looked like someone who’d never had a day of hardship and had the pale, clean hands of a wizard.
Probably a noble, and likely a mage by the looks of things.
Seeing this naïve noble girl reminded me of my mischievous side.
Normally, I’d just brush someone like her off, but she could become a classmate soon, even a friend. So, I couldn’t help but let a mischievous grin spread across my face.
“I’m a commoner.”
“Uh…?”
“Commoner.”
“Ahh…Commoner, right?”
The red-haired girl seemed startled by my reply, stammering a bit before quickly rushing forward and getting away from me.
I just greeted her, and she got this flustered?
Looking at her retreating back, I realized I’d already arrived near the test room.
Some nearby examinees seemed to have overheard my conversation with the girl and were now sneaking glances at me.
<Sub-Quest Initiated>
<Sub-Quest (1-1): Top Incoming Student>
Objective: Rank first place in Crescent Academy entrance exam.
Details: Pass the Crescent Empire Academy entrance exam as the top candidate for the 158th term.
Reward: 3 Stat Points, Title: “Top Academy Student”
Penalty: None
“Hang on?”
I found myself pausing to read the suddenly displayed quest details.
So there are sub-quests too, huh? With stat points and titles as rewards?
The moment I saw the words “stats” and “titles,” all thoughts of my recent interaction with the noble girl vanished.
“Become the top student, huh?”
Sounds fun.
Tap, tap, tap.
Amillion, the overseer of the 158th Crescent Academy entrance exam, sat at his desk tapping his pen—a habit that surfaced whenever he was deep in thought.
On Amillion’s desk lay a list of all the examinees.
Not the complete roster, but a hand-picked list of standout candidates, more or less a pre-determined list of those who would pass.
Though everyone supposedly has an equal chance, that’s more of a facade.
Apart from the minimum age requirement of 17, there are no other restrictions, but in reality, most students are selected before the actual exam.
“Donated admissions” from wealthy noble families are common, and some leverage their influence to extract test questions beforehand. Others simply benefit from professor recommendations or special privileges.
Even without such advantages, the submitted documents themselves often provide insights into the candidate’s background and potential.
Amillion was confident, barring any major upsets, that the exam results would align with the names listed on the paper he held in his hand.
“Still, this girl tops it off.”
Though this year boasted an unusually high number of promising talents, none stood a chance against this one.
Elaine St. Claire.
The third daughter of the St. Claire family, her brilliance was renowned since early childhood. This year, she finally met the age requirement and was poised to enter.
To be exact, she is in the exam now, though her entry was all but guaranteed long ago.
“Only seven students can make it into the S-Class, after all.”
With an assistant’s help and his title “The Foresighted,” Amillion was pre-allocating students to classes even while the exam was ongoing.
It wasn’t going smoothly.
“Predicted 10th? Wait. Petra Clan at 17th position?!”
The sheer abundance of talent was proving overwhelming, even for a seasoned predictor like himself.
Just then, there was a knock, and his assistant rushed in, disheveled and clearly flustered.
Amillion felt an uneasy jolt—something was clearly amiss.
“Professor! Ah…”
“What is it? Is there an accident during the exam?”
“No, no accident!”
Relief briefly washed over Amillion, but then:
“So?”
“…Results are out.”
“Jeez, you scared me. Still, this is urgent business.”
“However…the results don’t quite match our predictions.”
Taking the proffered list, Amillion skimmed through the results.
He, as “The Foresighted,” understood that predictions aren’t infallible. Data needs to be flexible, adaptable.
His next plan: refine his predictions for next time.
“Huh?”
“It’s true. The list is accurate.”
“Huh?”
Amillion’s voice quivered in shock.
A slight prediction error was tolerable, but this was major.
<Top: Ryu>
<Second: Elaine St. Claire>
…
Elaine St. Claire, who was supposed to be number one, was firmly in second place.
“Who…is Ryu?”
Alarm laced every syllable of Amillion’s voice.
