Large auditorium.
It was hard to believe the building was already ten years old, its interior was so clean.
The senior supervisor explained the test procedures.
“Based on your exam number, please proceed to your designated booth to take the exam. Line up at your assigned booth.”
Shinnoda checked his exam ticket.
Exam number 102216.
Booth 7.
He went to Booth 7, lined up, and the supervisor handed out papers.
A document replicating the layout of a status window.
The numerical fields were left blank.
“Please copy your status window information exactly as it appears. Don’t try to falsify it—we’ll verify everything in the next steps anyway.”
Since it’s impossible to show others your actual status window directly, this method is used to evaluate examinees’ abilities.
Shinnoda called up his status window and copied the information, omitting “Dragon Heart” and “Succession.”
Shinnoda waited in line.
The wait felt endless.
To pass the time, he observed what the person in front of him was doing.
The person ahead was a striking red-haired young man with an aloof demeanor—Hwangje-seong. Known for his capabilities, he sometimes joined Demon King raid parties, though his participation was more frequent when women were in the group.
People around Hwangje-seong were whispering.
“That’s the S-rank Hero ‘Bloody Striker’s’ son, isn’t it? I heard he’s in our intake year. Guess it’s true. Maybe I’ll ask him for his dad’s autograph later.”
“Ah, it’s starting. I heard he’s almost at B-rank—how strong could he be?”
Hwangje-seong stepped into a testing chamber.
The room was about the size of a small classroom, designed to allow for intense physical activity.
Mechanical sounds emanated from within the chamber.
<User Hwangje-seong. Target: dummy. Starting test. 3, 2, 1.>
“Strength test. Hit the dummy as hard as you can.”
“Can I kick it?”
“Yes, you can strike it in whatever way you prefer.”
Hwangje-seong’s father, ‘Bloody Striker,’ was known for defeating villains with only his kicks. The supervisor assumed the young man had learned kick-based martial arts from his father and moved on.
Hwangje-seong took his stance, and a moment later, a whooshing sound filled the air as a spinning kick was unleashed.
The dummy shattered instantly with one blow.
The supervisor dropped his pen.
“Whew, truly impressive. He’s certainly a promising heir.”
The students observing from behind also gaped in amazement.
“Really at B-rank level…”
“Wouldn’t survive if aimed at a person, would they?”
“Is he going to become the top student of the year?”
The broken dummy dissolved into square particles and collapsed, only to reform moments later.
A Goblin Archer appeared.
A common monster one would often encounter upon entering a dungeon through a gate.
“Next is the agility test. The arrows will disperse upon contact, so there’s no risk of injury. Just dodge them as best you can.”
<User Hwangje-seong. Target: Goblin Archer. Starting test. 3, 2, 1.>
With the monotonous mechanical voice ending, the Goblin pulled its bowstring.
An arrow shot through the air with a whizzing sound. One shouldn’t underestimate the Goblin—the arrows fired from its bow, no matter who fired it, were fast.
Hwangje-seong crouched like a goalkeeper, calculating the trajectory and leaped to the side the moment the arrow was released.
He dodged.
The Goblin, muttering under its breath, nocked another arrow.
“Zwack.”
The arrow sliced through the air again but failed to hit him.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four…
Hwangje-seong kept dodging until the twentieth arrow finally hit him.
The arrow dissolved into square particles upon contact, causing no harm.
“Numerically, his agility is at C, but his performance is close to B-rank. Incredible focus.”
The supervisor commended him and moved to the next step, skipping intelligence and luck tests. Since there were no linked skills to test those aspects, they decided against including them for fairness.
Left were the skill evaluation and final assessment.
“The skill evaluation will be conducted during the comprehensive combat assessment. Please use a skill at least once in defeating the target. Given Hwangje-seong’s C-rank level, we’ll bring out a Hop Goblin.”
“I’ve heard that if I manage to beat this, I can take on a higher-level challenge. Please bring out a B-rank monster instead.”
“Are you sure? Even a B-rank monster can result in a loss, and this will affect your evaluation score.”
“Yes.”
<User Hwangje-seong. Target: Orc Warrior. Starting test. 3, 2, 1.>
The Goblin Archer dissolved, and more particles gathered to form a large figure.
About two meters tall, with burly muscles. The Orc Warrior, often referred to as a “newbie killer” in dungeons, held a large axe in each hand.
The students murmured.
“This is ridiculous; this isn’t student level.”
“Isn’t he overstepping his boundaries a bit? No matter what…”
The students’ concerns were quickly dismissed as something astonishing happened.
“Cher-jer-eek.”
A freezing aura extended from Hwangje-seong. Frost formed not only on the glass box but also on the Orc Warrior’s body.
The Orc Warrior struggled, its movements slowing, and gradually became fully encased in ice.
The warrior, now completely frozen in white frost, was simply nudged by Hwangje-seong and shattered into pieces.
The supervisor involuntarily clapped.
“Truly remarkable. I would believe if you told me he’s already a professional B-rank.”
Although he had the advantage of the confined space, his ability to dominate a B-rank monster was impressive.
The onlookers also started to applaud.
“By the way, it would be better to skip the next phase. Even for Hwangje-seong…”
“I know. I’ve used these testing devices at home before, and I failed.”
The supervisor nodded.
Next was Shinnoda’s turn.
From the first glance, Shinnoda didn’t leave a good impression on the supervisor.
“Middle schoolers these days, with piercings and all…”
He took the document from Shinnoda, which detailed his status window, and quickly reviewed it.
“Agility D, Intelligence E? And telekinesis… He’s clearly a failure.”
Shinnoda, seemingly unaware of the supervisor’s disdainful gaze, calmly entered the glass chamber.
As he entered, a voice guided him.
<User Shinnoda. Target: Dummy. Starting test. 3, 2, 1.>
“Strength test. Hit the dummy as hard as you can.”
Shinnoda extended his fist, utilizing as much waist strength as he could. The dummy wobbled under the impact. Compared to Hwangje-seong’s previous performance, it was far from impressive.
“Given his stats are C, his power seems around D-level. He probably hasn’t trained in martial arts.”
The students watching also began to whisper, expressing their disappointment.
“Who’s this guy?”
“He must be here just to donate the application fee.”
The dummy transformed into a Goblin Archer.
<User Shinnoda. Target: Goblin Archer. Starting test. 3, 2, 1.>
“Next comes agility. As I mentioned before, you won’t die from a hit, so try to dodge.”
Shinnoda focused on the Goblin Archer’s eyes.
Due to the “Succession” skill, Shinnoda had encountered and fought numerous criminals. Some of them wielded throwing knives or daggers. Through these fights, he understood that the direction of his opponent’s gaze held the key.
As soon as the Goblin loose its bowstring, Shinnoda leapt to his right.
With an agility stat of D, he didn’t have the luxury to dodge based on observing the arrows in mid-air like Hwangje-seong. Instead, he relied on predicting the Goblin’s intentions through its eye movements.
Thankfully, the arrow missed. The Goblin nocked another arrow.
Shinnoda met the Goblin’s eyes again.
‘The left again, huh?’
He leapt to the right again and managed to dodge.
His luck ran out on the third arrow.
The Goblin wasn’t foolish. Recognizing that Shinnoda predicted its arrows based on its eye movements and seeing that Shinnoda, with his slow agility, was an easy target, it tricked him by pretending to fire. The moment Shinnoda leapt, the Goblin fired at his fallen position.
The arrow hit, though it didn’t cause any harm as it instantly dissolved upon contact.
The supervisor filled out the evaluation sheet.
———————-
Actual Recorded
Strength D+ C
Agility C- D
———————-
“Terrible. How could anyone join the Academy with this level? Have these so-called entrance exam specialists once again misled people with their exaggerated promises?”
Occasionally, self-proclaimed entrance exam specialists visited junior high schools, planting grand but unrealistic dreams in the minds of young Awakened Ones with abilities that made them ineligible for admission, while charging them for services like writing self-introductions or conducting mock interviews.
The students watching started making fun of Shinnoda.
“This guy’s definitely going to fail 100%.”
“I sneaked a peek at his sheet, and his Intelligence was E rank with telekinesis. Hahaha.”
“Telekinesis with E-level intelligence? Hahaha! What a waste of a character.”
In booth 6, Yang Min-seo, who had finished her agility test, noticed the commotion and peeked toward booth 7.
She crossed her arms, spotting Shinnoda, who had just finished his agility measurement.
‘Let’s see if you’re more than just a simple extra delinquent.’
The supervisor at booth 7 cleared his throat and shouted, restoring order.
“Next is the comprehensive combat evaluation. We’ll evaluate skills along with combat ability, so please use a skill at least once.”
“Understood.”
Shinnoda was aware that, considering his scores thus far, he wasn’t reaching the minimum requirement for admission. To reverse the situation, he needed at least an A in the combat evaluation. Defeating an A-rank monster was an impossible task given his current stats.
Still, he wasn’t worried.
He had a hidden ace up his sleeve.
