Chapter 13: Academy Entrance Examination

A new day dawned.

Only two hours remained until the academy entrance exam.

I hadn’t expected anyone to try sneaking into my room the night before the exam, but perhaps due to Seung-ah’s absence, my senses picked up three people attempting to do just that.

There were four people in my house.

Who were the culprits? I won’t mention them specifically.

Everyone deserves privacy.

I understand their intentions.

‘This will be our last chance before the academy dorms.’

The academy, similar to a military school teaching combat skills and related knowledge, has surprisingly strict rules.

They, now accustomed to the internet, knew this and probably wanted to seize the day.

They returned dejectedly after realizing I was awake.

Morning arrived, and I was doing my stretches.

I’d exercised all day yesterday, but with a stamina stat of 59, muscle soreness wasn’t an issue.

Waking up in perfect condition was the norm.

After showering, changing into my workout clothes, and waiting a bit, my wives woke up.

“Did you sleep well? You seemed awake even late at night.”

‘If you’re going to bring that up…’

It seems she doesn’t intend to hide her attempted intrusion into my bedroom.

I’m the only one who’s lost emotions.

My wives fully consider me their husband.

They likely see a wife entering her husband’s bedroom as a natural act.

“It’s the entrance exam today. I was too excited to sleep.”

“You could have fooled me…”

Estelle, appearing later, chimed in.

“It failed, after all…”

I recognized the voice of the one who tried more than twice.

With my level of skill, focusing on their presence allows me to identify who’s who.

One would think she’d give up if I didn’t open the door with internal energy, but she came three times at intervals.

I imagine she didn’t sleep well either.

“Liera, are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, honey.”

“You… you know you have to call me Yu-won at the academy, right?”

It’s fine when we’re alone, but calling me that at the academy could cause unforeseen problems. I don’t want my peaceful daily life disrupted, so I’d appreciate it if they refrained from doing so in public.

“I know.”

I trust you. Really.

“I can call you ‘oppa,’ right?”

“That’s fine, but then you’ll have to use honorifics with your classmates too.”

Anyone under 17 from another world can apply, so calling me “oppa” wouldn’t be a problem.

Of course, it would also make me appear a year younger to others.

“Then I should call you Yu-won, like before.”

She’s referring to when I first joined the hero’s party.

It was much later in our relationship that she started calling me “oppa.”

Her tone also feels reminiscent of those days.

“I made breakfast.”

Having been born an orphan in all five lives, my experience living alone surpasses that of most elderly people.

I can cook almost anything, and today, I prepared something simple to avoid adding stress before the exam.

Cooking is one of the few things I’m better at than my wives.

After eating with them, I went outside, where Shin-woo and Seung-ah were waiting.

“Did you guys eat?”

Shin-woo, true to his Korean roots, asked about food first.

“We all had a light breakfast. You?”

“I just had some cereal. By the way, why isn’t Seung-ah saying anything?”

Seeing my face, did she remember last night? She kept her lips sealed.

“Seung-ah.”

“Yes…”

At least she responded when called.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

Mentioning sleep made her blush slightly.

Did she have a bad dream?

“Yes. I had a good dream, so I think the results will be good too.”

Seeing her recover so quickly, maybe it was just my imagination.

She was probably half-asleep when she woke up.

After brief greetings between my wives and my friends, we headed towards the academy entrance exam venue.

We were all fast walkers, so it didn’t take long to reach the location marked on the map.

It was a large area used by the Beatrice Academy, where we would be taking the exam.

Usually used for practical training or other purposes, it was reserved for the entrance exam today.

We would complete registration and the written exam in the building ahead, followed by the practical exam in the area behind it.

We had about 30 minutes until the exam.

After finishing registration, we dispersed to our designated seats.

Before parting ways, we joined hands for a cheer.

“Fighting!”

“”Fighting!””

I expected everyone to pass the written exam without difficulty, but it was nice to experience this camaraderie for a once-in-a-lifetime academy entrance exam.

As I waited, recalling what I had studied, an instructor soon entered. They distributed exam papers to all the students and began speaking.

“We will now begin the written exam. If any cheating is detected, you will receive a score of zero and be dismissed immediately.”

‘If detected, huh…’

It sounded like a challenge – if we could cheat without getting caught by the instructor in front or the ones observing from behind, we were welcome to try.

Information gathering and concealment were likely considered part of the written exam skills.

Like the Chunin Exams in that manga.

I, however, possessed no such skills and had diligently studied, so I started solving the questions right away.

15 multiple-choice questions worth 60 points, 1 essay question worth 40 points. Passing score: 50 points or higher.

Even without answering the essay question, getting 13 or more multiple-choice questions right would guarantee a pass. Despite this, I’d heard half of the students were eliminated in this written exam every year.

If one’s intelligence stat was above 20, memorization alone should suffice, so it seemed there were quite a few students who hadn’t reached that level.

After finishing the multiple-choice questions, I moved on to the essay section.

[Essay Question]
[Describe the best course of action in the following situation.]

It asked for the optimal course of action if the situation in the problem actually occurred.

‘This… is similar to what I experienced in Estelle’s world.’

The problem specified that the test-taker was an A-rank Hunter, so I needed to adjust the solution to something feasible with lower combat power.

But it wasn’t difficult.

After writing down my answer to the essay question, I waited, and soon the exam ended.

“Please raise your hands and wait until the instructors collect your exam papers. Any movement from this point on will result in disqualification.”

Some students, their papers taken mid-writing, were in tears, while others looked confident.

The atmosphere was a mix of joy and sorrow.

‘50% pass rate, indeed.’

“You may now leave. The written exam results will be posted on the bulletin board in front of the building in 10 minutes, so please check them there.”

After the instructors collected all the exam papers, we exited the building and soon regrouped outside.

“Do you think you all did well?”

“Piece of cake.”

Shin-woo gave a V-sign.

He’d always been smart.

“It wasn’t difficult.”

Seung-ah, a diligent student with an intelligence stat exceeding 30, likely passed without issue.

“I think I got a perfect score.”

Ha-yeon exuded confidence.

We’d see about that.

“Yu-won, you saw the essay question, right?”

As it related to our time together, Estelle should have answered it correctly.

I wasn’t worried.

“Yeah, I solved it.”

She smiled at me. We seemed to enjoy sharing this secret.

“100 points.”

Liera gave a concise answer, and if she said so, the probability of her actually getting 100 points was extremely high.

She was brilliant, near the top in both her fields of expertise.

-Murmur murmur

The noise from that direction suggested the scores were out.

“Shall we go check?”

Everyone agreed and we moved towards the bulletin board.

The list of successful candidates was posted, with the names of those who achieved perfect scores at the top.

Four people had achieved perfect scores.

Kim Yu-won, Estelle, Liera, and Alice were listed.

“Wh… Why?”

Ha-yeon, in disbelief, questioned her score.

“What did you write?”

“I wrote that I would use Heavenly Demon Reign to selectively kill all the enemies and save the allies…”

‘As if that’s possible.’

How could an ordinary A-rank Hunter use Heavenly Demon Reign? One would need to be at the peak of A-rank to even attempt something similar.

Estelle and Liera, confident as ever, looked triumphant with their perfect scores.

Checking the rest, Cheon Ha-yeon: 60 points, Yoo Seung-ah: 60 points, Han Shin-woo: 56 points.

Everyone had passed the written exam.

“Passing is all that matters. Don’t be too disheartened.”

I patted Ha-yeon’s head as she looked down, and Estelle and Liera joined us.

“We got perfect scores! Praise us!”

“Okay, okay.”

I stopped patting Ha-yeon and patted both of them simultaneously.

“Good job, both of you. Well done.”

Perfect scores after only a few days of studying.

Other students would cry tears of blood if they knew.

“Wow… Is that what life’s like for some people…?”

Shin-woo muttered, staring at me, while Seung-ah’s gaze was fixed on my hand.

“Do you two want head pats too?”

I asked the two I hadn’t patted yet.

“Ugh… The moment you touch me, I’ll consider you a marine.”

Shin-woo covered his face, trying to protect himself. That was a normal reaction for a guy.

“Yes.”

Seung-ah, seemingly bolder these days, agreed, and after removing my hands from the others, I patted her head too.

“A perfect score on the multiple-choice section is good enough. The essay question was too abstract.”

It was more surprising that the three of us, along with that Alice girl, got it right. Alice… the name felt familiar.

‘I think I’ve seen that name on the news…’

Unable to recall clearly, I decided to look it up later.

The instructor started speaking, so I focused my attention.

“Those who passed the written exam, please move to the designated area.”

It seemed the real test was about to begin.

Honestly, the written exam was just a formality to filter out those who were below standard.

The practical exam was the true test.

Burning with determination, we headed to the practical exam site.