005 Dekan Gains Attention
On the day of the entrance exam for ability assessment.
The number of candidates who passed the preliminary exams from the four sub-colleges combined reached over a thousand.
The preliminary exam consisted of a simple attribute test and a written exam. Dekan’s attribute test results were somewhat unsatisfactory, but he still passed smoothly.
This year, the Knight Academy had approximately five hundred candidates who passed the preliminary exam, the highest number among the four colleges.
Commoners tend to produce warriors more easily, as warriors rely the least on expensive magical cards among all professions.
However, based on past experiences, the pass rate would still be the lowest among the four colleges.
Because the Knight Academy’s exam questions are practical combat!
…
At the main building of the Hevenlit Magic Academy’s Knight Academy.
Dekan arrived early at the examination hall on the seventh floor, waiting in the candidate’s seat.
At the center of the venue stood several giant magical devices.
The lights reflected on the magical devices, creating a maze of dazzling and magnificent lights.
These giant magical devices, connected together stretching for dozens of meters, were fully made of mithril and magic crystals, looking extraordinarily grand, yet exuding a cold aura.
It was one of the greatest achievements of recent magical engineering: the Man-made Shadow World Activation Device!
The exam would activate the “Man-made Shadow World” to provide the candidates with a live combat drill!
Compared to most other candidates who were either filled with anxiety or whispering to each other, Dekan seemed rather calm.
He rested his chin on his palm, furrowing his brow as he examined the distant magical device.
“Hey, what are you looking at?”
Because Dekan was good-looking, even with simple clothing, he still attracted people to talk with him from time to time.
“I’m thinking about how this thing was made.”
“Haha, stop thinking about it. Should we, the Knight Academy candidates, worry about such matters?”
Dekan nodded and stopped talking to the candidate beside him.
True, it wasn’t something warriors should concern themselves with.
But as a scholar, Dekan was quite interested in it.
“Dong, dong.”
It seemed deliberately done; heavy footsteps echoed in the venue, and the originally noisy exam hall instantly became quiet.
All the candidates’ gazes gradually converged in one direction.
A figure dressed in dark brown military uniform emerged from the inner side of the venue, and at this moment, it seemed as though the entire seventh floor only had the sound of his footsteps.
As the footsteps got closer, the candidates finally recognized the man. He was a middle-aged man with sword brows and eagle-like eyes, an expression filled with seriousness. A scar by his right eye was alarming, but instead of detracting from his appearance, it made him look even more imposing.
He stopped, standing in front of the waiting area.
“I am your chief examiner, Arno Surlet, also the professor and vice dean of the Knight Academy.”
Arno scanned over the multitude of candidates and said,
“The theme of this exam is ‘Survival Ability’.
“Most of the time, following the correct path in the Shadow World will not involve encounters with enemies vastly superior to oneself.”
“However, if there are unexpected events or mistakes along the way, it is highly possible to encounter enemies strong enough to instantly annihilate oneself.”
“In such moments, escaping will become the critical point of making up for the mistake.”
“At the very least, dragging out time until the Shadow World’s time limit ends will result in being safely teleported out.”
Arno suddenly paused, his eyes becoming sharper.
“Last year, Hevenlit Academy experienced a regrettable accident. A four-staged Shadow World trial failed, causing the loss of three students.”
“The root cause was due to the excessive arrogance and insufficient practical ability of a certain Knight Academy student within the team.”
“Therefore, this year, we will especially emphasize a candidate’s quality as a ‘warrior’.”
As he spoke, Arno seemed to be particularly attentive to several candidates in the waiting area.
Dekan felt that he was one of them.
Could it be that after seeing my preliminary exam results, they paid special attention to me as an unconventional candidate?
But it doesn’t matter; the Knight Academy’s exams have always been fair and treat every candidate equally.
Dekan touched his head and thought.
“The exam will be conducted in batches, each session lasting for half an hour, entering the exam according to batches.”
“Each candidate’s Shadow World will be independent, and your opponent will randomly be a certain examiner or the projection of an examiner.”
“Of course, the examiner’s attributes will be strictly regulated.”
“This ‘Man-made Shadow World Activation Device’ can support up to a hundred small Shadow Worlds simultaneously. Thus, candidates numbered 1 to 100 will complete the exam in the first batch, and so on…”
After briefly introducing the exam procedures, Arno embedded a crystal into the control panel behind him.
Subsequently, several seemingly illusory doors appeared in front of the huge magical device!
These were none other than the Void Gates which led into the Shadow World.
Arno didn’t linger much longer and left the venue, while the other examiners began guiding the candidates into the Shadow World.
Dekan looked at his exam number.
404, it seemed like he’d have to wait until the fifth batch.
Unfortunately, the exam hall did not allow for watching other candidates’ situations, making these two hours quite unbearable.
The Knight Academy admission exams can be watched externally.
This is because the “Man-made Shadow World” transmits its visuals to the central control room of the Alchemy Academy.
And to make a profit and promote the school, the Alchemy Academy broadcasts it.
…
In a meeting room, a group of professors from the Knight Academy were watching the situation inside the Shadow World.
In the footage they viewed, the camera focused almost entirely on a red-haired girl.
Unlike other candidates who were frantically fleeing or hiding, she was actually confronting a four-staged examiner!
And she was giving as good as she got!
“Arno, how do you find the candidates this year?”
The chief seated at the head of the table suddenly asked.
“There are a few decent ones, especially this red-haired girl, Cornelia…”
Arno seemed to recall something momentarily, “However, there’s one who’s quite peculiar.”
“How peculiar?”
The dean blinked and moved his eyes from the screen to look at Arno with interest.
Arno sighed, somewhat helplessly, “I remember his name is Dekan. He scored full marks in the written exam, but apart from high mental attributes, his results in strength, magic, and physical endurance were all very poor. There’s no indication he possesses the qualities of a warrior, nor even the qualities to become a summoner to a reasonable extent.”
“But his overall attributes still meet the standard, don’t they?”
The dean stroked his stubble, seemingly finding it amusing.
This made Arno’s frown deeper.
“I’ve said it before, our Knight Academy should add strength or physical endurance thresholds for new students. It was you who insisted on leaving room for ‘unconventional warriors’.”
Hearing Arno’s words, the dean didn’t get angry. Instead, his face carried a faint smile and he asked, “Let’s bet if this guy can pass the exam, I’ll have the bottle of wine that Marquis Prun sent you last time.”
“… If I win, then in the future, the Knight Academy’s recruitment will include the threshold I suggested, is that okay?”
“Okay.”
Upon hearing the dean’s agreement, Arno stood up and walked straight out of the meeting room.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll personally examine him.”
“…”, the dean fell silent for a moment, then said, “This guy is a bit strange. You be careful.”
This made Arno quite surprised as he turned around.
“Are you, sir, not worried about him, but worried about me?”
And what danger could there be inside the Man-made Shadow World?
However, the dean did not say much, just waving for Arno to leave.
