The Angel Who Fell into the Exam (6)
While Soya was holding back tears and venting about how there was no way such an irrational exam could exist in the 21st century...
Refri felt his angel power surging.
'As expected, Soya's not my angel power battery... no, she's the number one hero-in-training I need to protect.'
Soya, a petite girl even shorter than Refri (161cm), but with a personality and pride far bigger than his. She proudly considered herself a once-in-a-century genius black mage, refusing to bow her head to the world's dismissive gazes or powers that ignored her. Born into an ordinary family with a self-employed father and a homemaker mother, she carried both guilt and resentment toward her parents who had cut ties with her because they couldn't afford her enormous magic education costs. That formidable personality of hers meant, naturally, no friends. Putting all that background together, her future looked like a path full of thorns.
So, he had to convert every one of those thorns into Refri's angel power.
'A perfect virtuous cycle. Mutual aid!'
Staying by the side of a lonely girl is the mark of a true angel!
'Whoa, just staying by her side is enough to raise my angel power. Soya really is my angel power gene... no, the future hero I need to protect. If I raise her right, she'll even take down the Demon King for me.'
Being with Soya meant tons of angel power. And in the future, a stronger Soya would smash the Demon King in his place. Refri was getting a kick out of these sweet daydreams.
'Anyway, I gotta use this angel power somehow...'
Right now, Refri's body felt like a balloon. A balloon constantly being filled with angel power. He was starting to worry if something might go wrong with him. There was so much angel power piled up that he could raise three stats at once, with some left over.
'Just how much have I been stacking up?'
The angel power from Yumari's misunderstanding, from saving Soya, and from all the other little good deeds...
With so much angel power accumulated, he could even aim for spec-ups beyond the basics.
Sufficient angel power to raise your rank confirmed!
You can expend angel power to upgrade your Divine Abilities.
'Upgrade Divine Abilities? Does that mean they can get even stronger than this?'
The heavenly martial arts that let a Refri who couldn't even fight properly stand up to superhuman thugs, and the angel's healing superior to a pro healer's skills. And now, these amazing techniques were just the beginning?
How did successful heroes live? Refri imagined it.
'Gazing at the night view from a Gangnam apartment, eating out every day, and on weekends, golf...? Nah, that doesn't fit, but anyway, traveling and having fun...'
Hee hee hee—Refri was indulging in un-angelic, materialistic desires.
To achieve that dream, he needed more angel power, which meant getting even closer to Soya.
'Alright, let's raise my stats. That'll help Soya more.'
His Divine Abilities hadn't caused problems due to being weak yet. But low stats had gotten him in trouble plenty of times.
'If my reaction had been even a bit slower when the water first poured in, I might not have made it to the surface. Agility 5 is way too low.'
But it wasn't just agility.
'If my strength had been 10 points higher, I wouldn't have gotten hurt breaking that barrier. 10 points in a stat is the line between normal human and superhuman. Sure, people say to focus on your strongest stat at first, but some superhumans argue that in the long run, hitting 10 in everything first is key.'
The gap between 9 and 10 points was bigger than between 8 and 9. That's why so many superhumans obsessed over the "nine curse," chugging insanely expensive elixirs and devoting years to training just to push past 9 in a stat.
But Refri could cheat it by just stacking angel power.
'Okay. Put 2 points into strength, 1 into agility.'
Of course, these were still far from impressive specs. But if he used his remaining angel power wisely on his Divine Abilities, he could be a bit of a nuisance to deal with. Like a pawn in chess. Unlike flashy pieces with high stats, it was only good for buying time. But as in any chess game, ignoring the pawn could cost you big.
"Um..."
As Refri was adapting to his strengthened body, a hesitant voice came from behind.
Refri turned around.
'Whoa, she looks just like... an angel.'
Soya, stunned by Refri's appearance. With zero experience around guys, she could only fidget under her wizard hat.
"What's up? Still hurt anywhere?"
"Ah, so it was you who saved me..."
But her shy demeanor vanished in an instant. Soya declared proudly:
"I'm Soya, seeker of black magic's truths. You won't regret helping me. Because I'll become the greatest mage ever."
Hearing that, Refri felt a pang of sadness. He knew what had happened to Soya in his past life.
Soya was always a mage brimming with pride. But she single-handedly covered for a massive guild's mistake, losing half the magic network in the process. Then, the mage families' power plays stole all the results of her research. And to cover their crimes, those guilds and families waged a vicious smear campaign against her. She was a black mage with a prickly personality. Estranged from family, scraping by on money while obsessed with magic, so no friends. Full of pride, but Soya was too young.
'What a shitty situation... all those slanders against Soya. And...'
...Refri never wanted to see that again.
"You probably won't believe me, but..."
"I believe you."
"What?"
"I believe you'll become the greatest mage."
Soya was utterly flustered. Whenever she introduced herself as the future greatest mage, mockery and disdain always followed. And now? He believes it?
'Really...?'
No one had ever believed her words. Not even Mom or Dad... no one...
...Wait, that wasn't the point right now.
"Ahem, uh, what I was saying..."
"Yeah?"
"Repaying the favor right now..."
Repaying a favor—in the superhuman world, they often entered dangerous places like dungeons or gates. Rescuing someone isolated there meant risking your own life. So there was a "repayment" system. The rule that the saved must repay with their own life-value. If word got out you'd skipped repayment even once, your credit was trashed. It was that serious, so strictly enforced that dedicated rescue teams existed. The biggest one raked in profits rivaling major corporations.
"It's fine."
"Wait, what?"
"No need to repay. And definitely no need for any contract or whatever."
He didn't want to squeeze a mere favor out of her and drive her away. And...
Forgiving the debt of someone in hardship is the mark of a true angel.
During this exam, angel power mattered more than money. Refri hoped this would bring him closer to Soya.
But it didn't pan out.
"Don't pity me."
"That's not what I meant..."
Soya pulled her hat brim low over her eyes. She hated how tears welled up every time like this.
"I'll repay this debt. Wait for it."
Refri could only sigh as Soya walked away.
"Now I feel like I did something wrong."
A few hours later, the doors the examinees had fled into to escape the water creaked open again.
The examinees emerging were utterly exhausted, some in serious condition. Judging by the numbers, most had given up beyond those passages.
'What the hell is beyond those passages anyway?'
Refri decided not to dwell on it. Even the documentary had glossed over it: "Examinees will come to regret entering those passages."
Most survivors were seething. Some teams had already collapsed into snarls, others barely holding form but avoiding each other's eyes. In the end, less than half the examinees passed the first exam.
As they caught their breath, a knock echoed, and a man entered.
"My, you've all had a rough time."
The final professor overseeing this exam: Magic Professor Klein Porfurogenetos.
Tall as a beanpole with a frail-looking build to match. But the golden monocle over his right eye and ivory-carved staff spoke of his wealth.
"Angering our young lords and ladies with twisted past questions? I really can't understand those two professors' thinking."
Ha ha ha—after a short laugh, Klein bowed deeply.
"Pleased to meet you all. I'm Professor Klein Porfurogenetos, in charge of the second exam. Odd family name, right? No need to memorize it."
He tried to draw laughs, but no one bit. Embarrassed, he scratched his head.
"As I said, I don't want to grate on your nerves with twisted past questions. Let's keep it straightforward."
Clack—his ivory staff struck the hall's wooden floor.
"Hidden ones, reveal yourselves."
With those words, massive cubes of various colors materialized. They looked like one-person rooms big enough for someone to live in.
"Those who prepped for entrance exams know this one: attribute endurance test. From the white room condensed with holy power to the blue one with ice magic..."
Many examinees nodded. Some even looked confident.
Attribute endurance was exactly what it sounded: enter a space hyper-concentrated with one attribute and survive as long as possible.
Naturally, it favored those who'd built resistance to that attribute.
Soya muttered under her breath:
"Why no room concentrated with dark magic power? Is that professor a black magic hater...?"
Soya and her irrational speculations.
At the top private academy, Pitos Academy, 1 minute to pass had caused an uproar. But this was the world's top, Central Superhuman Academy. Examinees figured it'd be the same 1 minute.
"Hmm, what should it be... alright."
Klein smiled.
"Survive 3 minutes to pass. 5 minutes for a recommendation letter. Sound good?"
Murmurs rippled as examinees exchanged shocked glances. Klein added:
"By the way, no student's ever gotten a recommendation from me. I'd love to see it happen this time."
He scanned the crowd.
"So... who'll go first?"
The words barely left his mouth when an examinee shot up a hand.
"I'll give it a shot."