Chapter 4: Admission (2)

Aisha, despite her cold demeanor, has a surprisingly warm heart.♥

Not just towards her family.
Even fleeting encounters hold great value to her.

But her innate constitution isolated her from society.
Her remaining hope gradually wore away as her condition grew stronger.

In the end, she decided to hide her existence from the world.

Aisha still couldn’t forget.
The contemptuous gaze of someone she once thought was a friend.

That’s why she became even colder.
She built walls and didn’t leave any room for others to approach.
She truly believed that everyone who approached her would eventually leave.

“Can I have a moment?”

A man blocking her path.
Thinking that someone looked beautiful—it was the first time she’d felt that way.

“My name’s Luke. Just like you, I’m a new student.”

His gentle voice and soft smile.
It seemed suspicious, but he didn’t look like a bad person.

What on earth did he want from her?
She was immensely curious, but it wasn’t like she had a choice.
Getting close to people was already a huge challenge for Aisha.

“You recently bought a pair of glasses from a junk shop, right?”

Flinch—
Who is this man?
When did he start watching her?
Where did he see her?
His voice echoed in Aisha’s head like a warning.

“Overflow.”

And in the end, that single word snipped away Aisha’s rationality as if cutting with scissors.

‘Dangerous…’

How much did he know about her?
Was he planning to use this as blackmail?
Countless worries tangled in her mind.

But his next words were far beyond Aisha’s expectations.

“I’ll help you.”

That word—”help”—felt utterly foreign to Aisha.
She felt both grateful and angry.
She despised herself for being swayed by just a single word.

‘I hate it.’

The fact that someone knew her weakness.
The fact that she wavered because of a small gesture of sympathy.
None of it was welcome to Aisha.
That’s why she had refused him coldly.
But soon, overwhelming regret swept over her.

“Because the Magic Tower sent me.”

He said the Magic Tower sent him.
Specifically, Elder Estelle, who had been in charge of Aisha.

‘Could it be… did I misunderstand…?’

Her face heated up as if flowers of flame had bloomed on it.
At the same time, a faint sense of hope settled in the corner of her heart.

Someone personally sent by the renowned Elder Estelle…
Maybe this time, she could afford a little hope.

“Just hand me the glasses. You won’t lose anything from it.”

The suspicion faded, and the tension melted away.
She dropped the glasses into his open palm.
Since it was just a useless piece of junk with no real function, it didn’t feel like much of a loss.

“They suit you well.”

Had she let her guard down too much?
Before she realized it, Aisha had blurted out her hidden thoughts.

‘So embarrassing…!’

To hide her tomato-red face, she bowed her head.
But really, the glasses did suit him…
Even though they were just plain, classic glasses without any embellishment.

But then he started doing something odd.

“Excuse me?”

His gaze fixed in midair.
His words sharply decreased.
Feeling uneasy, Aisha called out to him.

But the moment she did, she couldn’t help but freeze.

“……”

Beautiful.
How else could she describe it?

A formation structure I had never seen before.
The slow, unfolding flow of mana.
Everything was simply mesmerizing.

Aisha stared blankly, her eyes captivated by the miraculous sight unfolding in the air.

Before long, the formula was complete.
It was a structure she had never seen before, too complex to even begin analyzing.

The man began injecting his own mana into the formation.
For a fully formed spell to manifest, mana infusion was necessary.

She barely managed to close her gaping mouth.
A flash of light burst from the completed formation, enveloping her.

It was only for an instant, but that brief moment completely overturned her life.

‘Warm…!’

The cold that had spread throughout her body like frost.
The mana that constantly leaked out, unchecked.
The contemptuous gazes pouring down on her.
And the endless self-loathing that had gnawed at her soul.

“All done?”

Just one sentence.
That one casually tossed statement—

“No… No way…”

Everything melted away.
It was like feeling her own body temperature for the first time in her life.

“Well then, take care.”
“W-Wait!!”

He vanished in an instant after finishing his task, but his retreating figure was etched vividly into Aisha’s memory.

“…Luke.”

A name that had a pleasant ring to it.
That’s what Aisha thought.

Class Placement Test.
Among them, the written test assessing general knowledge and theory.

I expected it to be easy.
After all, I had poured my heart into the game’s story and detailed settings.
I had thoroughly read every lore document posted on the official website, multiple times.

But this is beyond easy.
If I had to sum up the current situation in one phrase…
Yeah, it feels like I’m using a cheat.

‘Wow…’

The effect of Sage’s Glasses was far more powerful than I anticipated.
The test problems required basic magic formation structures and mana utilization.
And with the glasses on, I could clearly see all of it in front of me.

Scritch, scritch—
It wasn’t difficult to copy down the correct answers.
Holding back a chuckle, I copied the formation diagrams floating in midair.

Is this what they call an open-book test?
Everything was going so smoothly.

‘All done.’

I had finished solving all the problems.
Turning my head, I glanced at the other test-takers around me.

Some were clutching their heads in frustration.
Others groaned and sighed, clearly struggling.

Judging by their reactions, this exam must have been quite difficult.
Considering it’s Honor Mode, that makes sense.

As the difficulty rises, the characters’ abilities remain the same.
Also, the exam is graded on an absolute scale, so the difficulty was inevitable.

Of course, I didn’t really care about the others.
At this rate, a perfect score on the written test was practically guaranteed.

Should I hold back my strength just in case?
Anyone who says that clearly doesn’t understand the situation.

Hiding my power when failing to enter S-Class would leave me with no options.
That would be no different from committing suicide.

Besides, I have no power to hide.
I have to use whatever I have to survive.

But the problem came from an unexpected source.

[ Mana: 250 / 3,000 ]

I guess I got a little too enthusiastic.
The cost of casting an S-Rank spell with my meager mana was far greater than I had anticipated.

If it had been a typical S-Rank spell, I wouldn’t have even dared to cast it in the first place.
But since [Estellin Horn] is a [Quest-Exclusive Skill] with no mana limit, I managed to pull it off.

The problem is that once the written test is over, I’ll have to take the practical test.
But even now, my hands are trembling from mana depletion—can I even manage the practical exam in this state?

…Honestly, I don’t know.
If I don’t collapse on the way there, it’ll be a miracle.

I let out a sigh in the face of my predicament.

“Test over.”

The supervisor’s low voice echoed through the room.
Simultaneously, dozens of answer sheets floated from the desks and gathered in one place.

A 2-Star spell, Levitation.
I never thought I’d see this scene in real life after only seeing it in game cutscenes.
It’s strangely nostalgic.

“Alright, you may leave.”

With the loud chime of the bell, the written test came to an end.

[ Mana: 150 / 3,000 ]

It’s been a few hours since the written test ended.
But instead of recovering, my mana kept decreasing the more I moved.

To actually experience the fatigue accumulation penalty from the game like this—
This is the worst.

“F*ck…”

It’s over.
Completely, utterly over.

The practical exam is simple.
Demonstrate your three best spells in front of the professor.
In short, it’s just a glorified display of power.

But with my mana in this state, I can’t even manage one spell properly.

“Numbers 300 to 320, please come forward.”

A gentle voice that tickled my ears.
But my insides were churning with anxiety.

What’s the point of acing the written test?
If I fail the practical test, getting into S-Class is impossible.

It’s a hopeless situation.
But there’s an even bigger problem.

‘I’m seriously gonna die…’

My entire body felt as heavy as lead due to the depleted mana.
I barely managed to lift my weighted eyelids.

Boom—!
A deafening noise swept through the exam hall as the practical test officially began.

Students cast their spells while the professors evaluated them on the spot.
The long line of students gradually shortened.

But as the line dwindled, so did my mana.

[ Mana: 90 / 3,300 ]

‘Damn…’

My mana had already dropped to double digits.
At this rate, the practical test is a lost cause.

The yellow-tinted sky seemed to spin around me.
Dizzy and disoriented, I couldn’t keep my balance and staggered.

‘Why does this body feel so fragile…’

Thud—
Lacking the strength to stand, I dropped to my hands and knees.
My mind went blank, and I could vaguely hear scattered noises in the background.

Why am I pushing myself so hard for this damn test?
I don’t have any family or friends I miss, but there are still so many games I wanted to play.

Ah, whatever.
At this point, it can all go to hell.

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[ The player has entered a sleep state! ]
[ Passive Skill: Sleepwalking (EX) has activated! ]

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This game is truly a shitshow…