The Angel Who Fell into the Exam (1)
Hongwol took Refri back to his place. She still wasn't completely out of danger herself, and now that she'd found his home, she could drop by anytime.
After gently setting the boy down in his home, Hongwol scanned all the info she'd gathered on him and gave his face one last look.
This is... seriously tempting to steal.
And so, Refri woke up safe and sound.
"An unfamiliar ceiling."
It was a line he'd always wanted to say someday. Gazing up at the ceiling of his second one-room apartment in life, Refri muttered to himself.
How the heck did I end up here yesterday?
His memories were fuzzy. He'd gone to the convenience store to buy dinner, spotted a pink cat—Pinkie—and then fought some guy in a suit, overdid it with his power, blacked out... and that was it.
"Hmm..."
What happens to people captured by a major guild after a fight? In movies, they usually get stuffed in a drum and dumped in the ocean. Not a pretty death, that's for sure.
Gives me chills. Yesterday was way too close.
Refri cursed his past self. Why had he picked a fight with those guys out of nowhere? His previous life self never had this kind of personality. Just an average Joe, a total coward.
And yet, just because he'd gained a bit of power, he'd gone and done something this insane...
I thought that suit guy was just some spirit beast poacher. Plus, I was all flustered from getting Angel Power for the first time.
Refri made excuses to himself.
I'm just glad I made it home in one piece. Whatever big guild it was, they must have some mercy.
More likely, they just let him go because dealing with him was a hassle. Refri decided not to dwell on it. No point overthinking something he'd never figure out anyway.
Besides, he had a real problem to worry about.
Angel Power Threshold Breached!
You can consume Angel Power to raise your stats.
This was the real issue.
Refri, who'd poured every ounce of his power into saving Pinkie, had gained a massive amount of Angel Power just as planned—way more than when he'd first unlocked his divine abilities.
And the result? Breaking through the threshold meant spending it all to boost a single stat. For Refri, with stats barely above a normal person's—worse, even—it was an essential upgrade.
This power is straight-up broken.
Normally, raising a single stat required grueling effort or insanely expensive elixirs. Even then, it wasn't guaranteed—you needed luck too.
But fill your Angel Power to the threshold, and it handed out free stat points. Sure, it cost all your Angel Power, which hurt like hell, but it was still ridiculously overpowered.
Now, what to raise...
Refri's stats, excluding Angel Power. They were all pathetically low—he wanted to bump each one up if he could.
But life was about choices. You couldn't always get what you wanted.
Documentaries and books always say to focus on your strengths...
Specialization. Refri's standout stat was Magic, the only one over 10.
But Magic's kinda...
Magic was the raw power for spells, but learning them cost a fortune. Decent spellbooks ran into the millions, and good teachers weren't cheap either.
Poor in his past life, poor now—same story. Refri shook his head.
Skip Magic, then Strength or Agility...
Why skip Superhuman Ability entirely? Because of its unique nature. It governed superpowers, and hitting certain thresholds unlocked new ones. Dumping his one precious stat point into it now would be idiotic—no real power gain, just wasted Angel Power.
Refri pondered, hesitated a bit, then fiddled with his status window.
All Angel Power consumed to acquire 1 Strength stat point!
Current Strength: 8
He went with Strength. It was the most balanced choice among the four, and it synergized best with his divine ability, Great Angel's Dragon-Trampling Martial Arts.
He felt a little stronger already. The boy clenched his fist.
"I really am..."
A certain academy's site was open on his smartphone. Central Superhuman Academy—the world's most famous superhuman school.
Its entrance exam was notoriously otherworldly. No way Refri could pass straight-up. He'd need to leverage everything: his angelic traits, Angel Power, even his memories of the future. And even then, his odds were slim.
Slim or not, he had no other options. Getting into the academy wasn't just about defeating the Demon King.
Refri craved the peaceful, prosperous life his past self never had. Right now, he was rock bottom—no money, no connections beyond shrinks.
Miss this exam, and there might be no next chance. It was the only one he knew in detail.
"If I just graduate..."
Graduate from Central Superhuman Academy, and even this brutal world would treat him kinder. Maybe he'd splurge on overseas trips, dine at places charging over $100 a meal.
A successful life...
Refri dreamed sweetly, of things his past self never dared imagine.
Success...
He wouldn't admit it now, but in his past life, Refri had idolized heroes. Enough to memorize everything about Central Academy cadets—their info, school layout, entrance exams—from variety shows, docs, wikis, sites. He even collected merch from promising hero sprouts.
One doc he'd watched in awe had this to say:
'Central Superhuman Academy, funded by 25 nations worldwide, is infamous for its perilously difficult entrance exam.'
The footage opened on the academy's sprawling grounds—a city-sized facility in the old DMZ, dominated by its massive artificial World Tree at the center.
'Actually, just submitting an application is a massive hurdle.'
Central Academy pushed boundaries from the start. To apply, you had to track down proctors hidden in each region, suss out their secret codes, and recite them. Neither was easy—both were brutal. And you had exactly three days.
Most challengers didn't even submit before time ran out.
But Refri knew Seoul's proctor.
'As applications trickle in, one remains undiscovered till the end: Seoul's...'
A back-alley meat shop, no sign, the kind only regulars knew.
Refri knocked and entered.
"Anyone here?"
"Not open."
Small place. The owner, grilling meat without glancing up, grumbled curtly. Straight out of the doc so far.
Refri took a deep breath and recited the line.
"I need my meat well-done."
"Hmph, already?"
The owner looked intrigued, still not looking up, muttering in disbelief.
"Applications just started hours ago... and you found me and the code? What trick did you pull?"
"...Mages keep their secrets."
"Fair enough."
The owner smirked amusedly, chomping a big piece of meat. Refri swallowed hard, averting his eyes.
"So, the application form."
"One more test. Pass, and it's yours."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't want to? Out."
This wasn't in the doc. Or anywhere else. Weren't you supposed to get the form after finding the proctor and code?
"...I'll do it."
No choice. This was the only exam filmed in detail, his only shot.
"Guess my race."
The owner, still ignoring him, paired meat with soju. The lettuce wrap was picture-perfect.
Guess the race?
He looked like an average uncle—not too sharp, not too shabby. A bit of belly, fine lines around the eyes. Human, obviously.
Or so it seemed.
"Ten seconds. Speak."
"Well... to me, you look like..."
But Refri knew the answer.
"An elf?"
The doc featured an interview with this exam's overseer, Seoul's proctor: the renegade elf Rusa Sherinen.
After the final test, some random uncle popped up for an interview. A guy never seen before, at this pivotal moment? Refri had been baffled.
But the subtitles read: 'Central Academy Martial Arts Professor Rusa Sherinen.'
'The final test may seem ruthless. But you need this insight to be called a hero.'
'But no one saw through it.'
The uncle shook his head sadly. His disguise melted, revealing a beautiful elf with orange bob hair.
'...So no one this year either.'
Interview over.
Crash! A soju glass shattered.
The sound snapped Refri back. The owner, who'd ignored him till now, finally looked his way. Refri felt the pressure.
"Cute... Er, no, that's not it."
The owner shook his head, took a deep breath, and asked again.
"You... How did you see through my race?"