episode_0006

The next day, as promised, my father gave me a sword as a gift. Honestly, I was worried that he wouldn’t give it to me.

It was a lightweight and sturdy sword, even among the swords used by beginners, it could be considered top-tier in terms of basic sword forms.

It was a sword that was sufficient for use in this exam and still had plenty of life left in it.

And finally, today.

“Master, we will soon arrive at Tuaros.”

The day had come for me, a nobody, to take the entrance exam for Tuaros prestigious academy.

Tuaros prestigious academy.

As the name suggests, it is a prestigious academy.

It is so famous in this world that there is no one who does not know about it.

It has produced many talents and nurtured many promising individuals who are now flourishing in this academy.

According to Steven, if you enroll here, they provide both tuition and accommodation for free, which is why many commoners also enroll here to turn their lives around.

Of course, commoners who overcome the difficult entrance exam are said to be a very small minority.

But Steven warned me not to mess with those commoners who have overcome the difficult entrance exam.

When asked for the reason, the answer was, “There is no reason… it’s just a story of experience.”

A story of experience.

I felt more trust in those words than anything else. But was Steven also a student of Tuaros?

I wasn’t particularly surprised.

If I think about the actions of the butler up to this point, not knowing was more surprising.

And so, I arrived at the entrance of the academy.

The atmosphere exuded by the determined students and the knights guarding the entrance felt grand.

As expected, there were many stronger students than I had anticipated. But I still felt like I could win.

Except for a few.

There were only seven of them.

The atmosphere they exuded was on a different level compared to the other students.

Some entered with a fierce expression as if they would kill everyone, some with a gentle expression, and some with a tense expression.

They all showed their individuality but emitted an overwhelming aura. They will probably be in the top ranks.

I gave up on the top ranks a long time ago.

For now, it’s important to do well in at least one thing and leave an impression on the examiners.

But with the examiners present, that seems impossible. As long as I don’t end up in the same place as them, it should be fine.

“You must be careful.”

“Yeah, I’ll just do enough and come back.”

I greeted the butler who saw me off and entered the entrance.

Inside, there were more students than when I was outside.

They were all chatting. In a place like this.

I can probably make friends too, right?

“Hey, the famous nobody has arrived.”

“Nobody? Oh, that guy who applied here with such arrogance?”

“Yeah, but he looks so gloomy, just like the rumors say.”

‘Hmm…’

Everyone has their own thoughts.

Surely someone will talk to me, right? There are so many people here.

But no kind student approached me.

Instead, I found out why the store employees were trembling in front of me.

No one would be unafraid of a time bomb that could go off at any moment in front of them.

It’s the same now.

No one came up to me.

I was pushed out of the crowd and sat on a quiet bench with no one around. I should study in this situation.

I left the sword I had on my waist on the bench and took out my textbooks from my bag to read.

A solitary man, reading a book alone in such a quiet place.

How romantic it is.

Of course, I have experienced this kind of romance in my past lives.

For some reason, my eyes became moist. I didn’t try to make this happen…

Reading the textbook is getting boring now. I’ve memorized everything and understood all the theories.

Time passed.

People started to appear around me. I was here first!

If they try to drive me away again, I won’t stand for it anymore.

But the people who came here didn’t show any interest in me.

It’s sadder to be ignored than to be hated.

Even this hurt my heart.

I sighed and started reading my textbook again.

Someone’s shadow fell on the book. It was none other than a pretty girl with ruby-like shining eyes and hair the same color as her eyes…

She called my name…!

This is my chance. She initiated the conversation first.

I tried to remain calm and replied to the girl who spoke to me.

“Yeah, who are you?”

And so it begins.

Now I have to clear up this misunderstanding and start a happy school life…?

“W-who? You don’t remember me?”

I blurted out something that should never have been said to someone who seemed familiar.

I messed up.

No! I can’t give up yet.

If I apologize politely, she might forgive me.

“Um… Sorry. Can you tell me who you are?”

“…Huh. Sara Hillita… You ignored Sara Hillita when you were young! I came to get my revenge on you.”

“What?”

“You should consider yourself lucky. If you get matched up incorrectly on the bracket, you might really die.”

…

To me, she was a fated encounter, but to Logz, she was a fateful one.

With her tremendous declaration of war, her red hair swayed as she walked away. What was I really doing?

***

“The exam will last 50 minutes with a 10-minute break between each of the 5 subjects. Good luck.”

As soon as the words finished, the sound of papers rustling filled the classroom. Everyone picked up their pens and started solving the problems.

With nearly a thousand people taking the exam in a class of 100, the pressure was immense.

The burden weighed heavily on my shoulders at the thought of making even a single mistake in such a place.

Everyone was focused and serious as they worked through each problem. Thankfully, this environment was easy for me to adapt to.

“Number 56.”

Someone called out the number assigned to my seat.

I turned my gaze towards the voice in surprise.

The exam proctor was standing right next to me.

“Don’t look elsewhere.”

“Tsk…”

“As expected, you troublemaker.”

Laughter from the students around me echoed.

“I’m sorry.”

I quickly apologized to the proctor and refocused on the problems.

The solutions flowed smoothly, as if reflecting my efforts.

The questions seemed surprisingly easy. It made me wonder.

After solving the last problem, I checked the time.

About 20 minutes had passed.

‘…Why am I feeling anxious?’

I had completed all the questions, yet I couldn’t shake off the unease. But what could I do now but leave it to fate?

As time passed, the bell signaling the end of the final exam rang.

‘I must have done well on most of them…’

“That exam was really tough.”

“Yeah, I think I messed up.”

“Me too, I didn’t expect it to be this difficult.”

As I heard the conversations of students leaving the classroom, a memory I didn’t want to recall resurfaced.

– Easier than I thought? I’ll ace this and get first place.

– Sorry, but you got an F, student.

– …What?

That score was my first and last F I received when I took a university exam for the first time.

My head throbbed with pain.

‘No, it’s fine. I got everything right when I checked.’

I should at least have scored above 90.

I tried to calm my anxious feelings.

But it was already too late to erase the countless worries that had already crossed my mind.

I sighed and grabbed my bag.

This is the practical exam. I need to do well on this practical exam.

The practical exam is a test where 10 warriors and mages are randomly placed in a single combat arena, fighting until only one remains as the rule.

In reality, it could be said that there are no rules as long as you don’t violate the regulations.

For example, weaker individuals can team up to take down stronger ones, and stronger individuals can release their power without the need to seal it.

That’s why it is said that one must constantly consider the possibility of death during the practical exam.

As a result, there are many injuries and many prestigious families are eliminated.

Therefore, the practical exam is one of the tests with a high score among the academy entrance exams.

“This is combat arena number 3.”

I took a deep breath.

“I will make up for it here.”

I approached the examiner blocking the entrance immediately.

“What is your name?”

“Rogues Avantche.”

The examiner’s eyes trembled. And then asked again.

“Can you, can you repeat that…”

“Rogues Avantche.”

“Ah… After signing here, you may enter.”

After stating my name again, the examiner quickly checked the list and stepped aside to let me through the entrance.

After signing, I passed through the entrance and entered the combat arena.

Even though there was still plenty of time, many students were training with their weapons.

From students manipulating elements with their staff to students without any equipment conversing with floating orbs in the sky.

I’ve never seen mages using magic before. It was a rare sight for me, who was seeing training for the first time.

And.

Familiar faces were seen everywhere.

A girl with silver hair against the wall.

A girl with red hair on the opposite side.

And even the strong students I saw at the academy entrance in the morning.

‘What’s going on?’

Why are they all here?