Placement Exam: Recruiting Fresh, Delicious Slaves
“Hey, doesn’t this mean we shouldn’t aim for the top ranks?”
“Seriously, they think this is some kind of reward?”
“Who in their right mind would go for first place after hearing that?”
“Do they seriously not understand how grad students are perceived?”
“That admissions deputy—didn’t he transfer here from Texas or something?”
“I’m forfeiting if I can. What’s the point of this exam anyway?”
The backlash showed no signs of stopping. Logically speaking, the so-called reward made no sense. If this had been said at an ordinary university, it probably wouldn’t have drawn this level of criticism. After all, in some fields, pursuing a master’s or doctorate was advantageous, so there were always people who wanted to become graduate students. But Palaestra Academy was an institution centered on training hunters. Those who aspired to anything beyond a bachelor’s degree were an extreme minority across all fields. Everyone came here for proper education and a bachelor’s diploma. That meant, in practice, almost no one wanted to become a graduate student. On top of that, classrooms and research labs were far removed from the blood-soaked field. Earning a master’s or doctorate wasn’t advantageous—it only left you at a severe disadvantage. So the admissions deputy’s statement could be summed up in one word: bullshit.
Anyone capable of placing in the upper ranks of this exam had no reason to become a graduate student in the first place. By graduation, they’d be at least mid-tier, which was more than enough to join a decent guild and live comfortably. Even the “priority selection for academy events” part was impossible to decipher. It was surprising they’d even included that line, and Kang Sian couldn’t begin to guess what hidden motive lay behind it. Still, the statement itself wasn’t completely incomprehensible. It deviated so far from common sense that the intent was glaringly obvious.
“No matter how you look at it, that felt deliberate.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Sian?”
“Logically, someone in the admissions deputy’s position should know exactly how grad students are viewed. So why say something like that here? It has to be calculated—something they discussed and agreed on beforehand.”
The admissions deputy was most likely being used as a shield. It was hard to imagine who would put him forward like that, but there were more than enough candidates. “Who do you think they consulted with?” “Probably the professors. I heard quite a few grad students died in the last terrorist attack. Maybe they’re trying to replenish the numbers, even if it’s like this.” “Hmm, now that you mention it… that does seem plausible.” “Besides, it’s not priority selection—it’s ‘priority selection rights.’ Even if a one-on-one meeting is mandatory, the grad student gets the final say.”
There were subtle escape clauses. By attaching the word “opportunity” to the academy event selection, they implied it was optional. It could have been a consideration for the students, or a way to avoid legal repercussions. What was certain was that the top-ranked students had a chance to refuse, and quite a few had already noticed. Of course, whether they needed to provoke people this much was another question. To Kang Sian, this felt like a gamble that could max out their unpopularity and backfire spectacularly—high risk, and difficult to clean up afterward.
Just as he was sinking deeper into those thoughts, a warning about the exam began echoing from the stage.
“……If you do not take this exam, you may face disadvantages in your future academy life.”
“Obviously. That’s why almost everyone who said they wouldn’t take it still showed up.”
“However, freshmen who participate but then forfeit will not receive those disadvantages.”
“Huh?” “What? So participating and then forfeiting is fine?”
“Of course, if you forfeit right at the start, your rank will be low and it may restrict your course selection. Still, there shouldn’t be any long-term disadvantages.”
“Wait, so they’re scoring based on how far you reach?” “Hold on—then right now……”
Not participating was not allowed. But forfeiting after starting was. That single statement sent the crowd into an uproar again. People began weighing whether to actually run this hellish exam or just give up cleanly. The admissions deputy’s speech ended there. He had simply hurled bomb after bomb and vanished, while also quietly leaving behind an escape route.
“Forfeiting just because you got a little sweaty?” “They’re total cowards.” “You guys should just quit being men and women altogether!” “Yeah, exactly.”
Of course, that escape route was only for the weak. To some freshmen, wavering at the mere mention of forfeiting was utterly pathetic. While they were burning with the will to walk 64 kilometers, others were ready to forfeit because they couldn’t even manage 1 kilometer. After already getting into Palaestra Academy, how ridiculous and ugly was that? So some of the freshmen resolved not to show such weakness—they would reach the upper ranks and reject becoming graduate students. It was grit. It was stubbornness. It was the triumph of willpower.
Soon, the person on stage changed again. A man who appeared to be the proctor pointed in the direction the students were to head.
“Yep! Sorry for the wait! Starting now, we will begin the Palaestra Academy placement exam!”
Screens installed throughout the area displayed a timer. It showed only ten seconds, and upon seeing it, people began preparing to move.
“Alright then, see you all in Ponce!”
There was no nonsense. That was it. The timer slowly counted down to ‘1,’ then the word “Go” appeared as the background switched to an aerial camera view.
“You may begin!!!”
The massive crowd began slowly filtering out from the front. Some in the front row were deliberately moving sluggishly to conserve stamina, which caused the bottleneck. Even a traffic jam on a holiday would have been faster. If there had been fruit, snack, or drink vendors here, they probably would have sold out instantly. Cheon Mari genuinely regretted not renting a food truck to sell Nartika potions—she could have made a killing with low-quality stock. Should she call someone now?
“Uh, at this rate it’ll take an hour just to get out of the city.” “Yeah, you’re telling me.” “At this pace, we won’t reach Ponce today……”
Meanwhile, Kang Sian kept glancing around. He spotted people standing idly, contributing to the traffic jam. They were tapping the forfeit button on the exam app installed on their Hunter Watches, then leisurely walking away to enjoy their day.
‘Ah!’ There was no need to use this road. It was simply the shortest route, which was why everyone was here. When the path was blocked, the answer was to take a detour through less crowded streets. As long as they got out of the city quickly and reached Ponce, that was all that mattered. The rules didn’t prohibit it. He judged it was entirely possible.
Kang Sian looked around and spotted a quiet alleyway. ‘That looks good.’ He checked the map app on his Hunter Watch and plotted the shortest detour that wouldn’t get congested.
[Beginning navigation.]
A holographic map and route appeared. Kang Sian clapped to get his teammates’ attention.
“Everyone, follow me!” “Huh? Where to, sir?” “Just follow me! If we stay here, we won’t finish today!”
Holding hands so they wouldn’t get separated, they pushed through the crowd and headed into a creepy-looking alley. The space reeked. After leaving it, they turned into a chilly, narrow side street.
“Aah! Siannnn—!” “What?! What’s wrong?!” “Help meee—!”
A minor getting-stuck incident occurred in the narrow alley—entirely because of certain oversized assets. Kang Sian somehow managed to extract the regressor with the unnecessarily large chest and rear. He grumbled about her losing some weight, then continued onward. A few more sticking incidents happened after that, but they weren’t important. Despite the slight delays, they still arrived at the course starting point earlier than they would have otherwise.
“Now we just have to follow this road.” “Phew, thank goodness.” “But it looks like some people got here before us?”
The lucky early arrivals were mostly a group speaking Chinese and climbing the mountain outside the city. They planned to bypass obstacles and golems entirely by hiking. Judging by their bold spirit, they were clearly people from Jingzhou—the descendants of Ma Su.
“They’re not flying, though.” “Probably saving their internal energy.”
They were climbing while trying to conserve what they called “internal energy”—their magic. It sounded strangely nonsensical, but Kang Sian and his teammates had nothing to say. They could only watch while grunting and climbing the mountain themselves.
“……Do you think we’ll make it in time?” “Roughly? Though there’s one other issue.” “What issue?” “Honestly, I think the top ranks are already out of reach. Maybe upper-mid if we’re lucky.” “Ah……”
Since no one in the group knew movement magic, it couldn’t be helped. Even if they were in the upper ranks now, they would gradually fall behind as time passed. ‘Still, upper-mid rank……!’ Shannon had been aiming for a scholarship, so she might have despaired, but since she had originally expected mid or lower ranks, she felt relieved. To her, the current situation was something to be grateful for.
With the hope of completely avoiding the graduate-student ending, the teammates set off again. They endured the heat while walking the long road. After several minutes, the road split, revealing a rough, narrow side path. A single signpost had been driven into the ground in front of it—one that hadn’t been there when they scouted earlier.
Kang Sian and his teammates approached to read the sign.
[Problem 1. 2 + 2 × 2 = ?] [(Main road) ← ‘6’ | ‘8’ → (Side road)]
They racked their brains. The answer came immediately.
“Isn’t it 8……?” “It’s 6. They really think we’re idiots.” “Exactly, sir.” “Hey! There are footprints on the side road!”
Unfortunately, there were fools after all. Recalling the dung-water trap on that path, Kang Sian offered a moment of silence for the poor souls. He muttered that he understood the feeling, then inwardly sneered that this was a waste of time. Since he already knew the course, he wouldn’t fall for something like this.
He headed straight for the main road—the perfect answer. If they kept going like this, everything would be fine. Surely it would.