Entrance Exam (1)

Everyone who's ever been born human has probably gotten hooked on at least one game at some point. I had one too. Tinesy Academy. An open-world visual novel RPG where every choice you make changes all the options, with over hundreds of endings discovered—truly revolutionary. That's why so many people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flocked to it, and I was one of them.

That's how I knew.

"This is Tinesy Academy, isn't it?"

The academy right in front of me was the very place I'd been staring at through my monitor for decades.

Okay, let's think about this.Slap! I smacked both my cheeks hard with my palms. All eyes turned to me in an instant, but I couldn't worry about that right now.

"Okay, not a dream, then."

So, VR with full pain feedback? Or maybe this whole place is some massive set? But neither felt right. I couldn't afford VR gear like that, and for a set...

Dozens of people were casting magic right in front of me. So, only one possibility left.

Possession.

"But why me, of all people?"

Tinesy Academy wasn't some flop game I was the only one playing, nor was it a masterpiece I pulled all-nighters for. I played it like everyone else—decently hard, collecting some endings. So why the hell was I the one possessed? It made no sense.

But...

"...Whatever. Stay calm."

Whining here wouldn't change anything. What I needed to figure out right now was the timing of this possession.

I looked up. In the vast Training Ground, dozens of people were firing magic or swinging weapons at straw dummies.

From the looks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of it, this was the entrance exam...

"So the body I'm in is a student right before enrollment."

There was one surefire way to check my current status. Would it work?

"Status Window."

Oh, it actually works. The game system functions even after possession—silver lining in this mess.

...But.

"What the hell are these stats?"

All F-rank. Rock bottom. I'd lose 99 out of 100 fights against a regular civilian.

"This guy applied to the academy with these stats?"

How overconfident was he? With these, forget the academy—even mercenary work would be...

Wait.

"What's with this trait name?"

Arrogance? Never seen that before. And EX? Traits only went up to SS, right? In all my playthroughs, I'd only seen F to S. Never even glimpsed SS. But an EX-rank trait?

"Alright, if the status window works, this should too."

I pressed hard on the Arrogance entry.

Nice. In summary...

"Get stronger by acting arrogant?"

That's the gist in one line. As they say, one real test beats a hundred theories.

"...But what counts as arrogant?"

Right as that question hit me.

"Arrogance Points can drop too?"

Sitting straight decreases them? Fine, time to change posture.

I leaned back against the chair, slid my butt forward a bit, crossed my right leg over my left, and folded my arms.

"Aha, this is it?"

...But just 1 point?

"Maintaining the pose keeps it going."

Rough guess: 1 point every 5 seconds. Still too slow.

I checked the board on the left side of the waiting area. Kiren, Kiren... there it was.

"Almost the last group. Small mercy."

But still nowhere near enough. I didn't know how strong high Arrogance Points made you, but more was definitely better.

Opened the status window again. All F stats, no skills. Trash tier—no way I'd pass the academy exam like this. And these stats weren't good for anything else either.

"Academy's essential for a stable life anyway."

A Tinesy Academy diploma opens up tons of job options. Plus, just attending gets you scholarships, connections with high-status kids, and more.

In short: academy or bust for stability.

"Gotta rack up Arrogance Points."

Max it out before my group's turn. Act arrogant, obviously.

One idea popped into my head. I struck the most arrogant pose in the waiting area.

Right as the next group's exam started.

"Everyone! Prepare magic!"

The students drew their wands in unison and began casting.

Entrance exam stage 1: Deal a certain amount of damage to the straw dummy.

Desperate to get in, they unleashed their strongest spells at the dummies.

Boom!Whoosh!! Flames roared, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earth exploded, dummies shredded to bits.

The moment pass/fail was decided.

"Whoa, that girl's amazing. Which faction is she from?"

"It's her! Top candidate for top score this year!"

The kids in the waiting area gazed in awe at one girl.

Familiar face. Blue hair, cheeks slightly flushed. Elena Enis.

The elite of elites who'd never once lost the top entrance exam spot in any of my playthroughs.

Elena sat right next to me, basking in the praise.

Next to me, huh. Didn't notice.

But that didn't change my plan. I spat out the line I'd prepared.

"Hah, as expected—just a bunch of worthless trash."

"...What?"

Elena stared at me, but another sound overlapped hers.

Oh shit, it actually worked?

Lines seemed one-time, but 100 points? Nice.

I wanted to check what I could do with them, but someone grabbed my right shoulder.

Looking up, Elena stood right in front of me.

What the—why's she here?

"Say that again. What did you say?"

Her ears were a bit red up close. Guess she thought my line was aimed at her.

Hmm, what to do with her. From my playthroughs, Elena doesn't let go once hooked.

Can't just ignore her either...

...Might as well farm some more points?

"Oh, I said it feels like nothing but worthless trash gathered here."

"...You sure you won't regret that?"

"Regret? Isn't that what weaklings do when they challenge the strong without knowing their place?"

"Y-You...!"

Elena drew her wand from her chest. Wait, how'd that come out of there?

No time to question— she aimed it at me, face screaming she might actually cast.

But I stayed cool and said low,

"Didn't you know duels between examinees are forbidden?"

"Tch..."

"And."

I uncrossed my legs and stood, looking down at the slightly shorter Elena.

"Challenging me with that level of skill? How utterly pathetic."

"What—"

Her face flushed way redder than before as she started to retort.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!!"

The Examiner intervened, so I missed the rest.

Elena glared at me hard for a moment, then sat back down.

She didn't talk to me after that.

Whatever. I focused on the blue window in front of me.

Over 400 already. No more interruptions—time to focus.

Use points for stats or skills... How do stats work?

Checked status. Tested pressing Magic.

Aha, got it. Left stats for now, checked skills.

"Goddamn gacha..."

I suck at gacha. But skipping skills? Impossible. More skills make the game easier as it goes on.

But 100 points per pull? Steep.

...Just one pull to test?

No weapon anyway—need a skill to hit the dummy.

Did a test pull.

...Oh? Not bad.

Pulled a decent skill. Perfect for now.

And at the same time.

"Play this right, and I can farm a ton more points?"

A great idea hit me.