Standing on the Starting Line
“Ugh.”
A chilling sensation crawled up my spine for some reason. Strangely, my back had been prickling like this since yesterday. Was it because of winter?
“Whatever.”
I shook off the unpleasant feeling and decided to focus on the reality right in front of me rather than some vague premonition.
“So this is finally the real starting line.”
Today was the day of the long-awaited Triam Academy entrance exam, after all.
It had been just over six months since I'd been dropped into this world. After enduring all those ordeals, I'd finally reached the starting line to return to reality.
The thought that my entire future hinged on this one exam started to fill my body with tension.
“Who knows what the future holds, so I have to nail this and pass for sure.”
The entrance exam wasn't a one-shot deal, but that was according to the original 'storyline.' The storyline of the game Triam Academy proceeded under the assumption that you passed the academy exam this year. But what if I failed?
In a game, you'd get a bad end or game over and restart from the beginning. But this was reality. Even if I failed to get into the academy, the world wouldn't stop for me—it would keep marching on.
That's why I had to get into the academy.
'Most of the story happens there, after all.'
I could probably still wedge myself into the story without passing, but then I'd have very little chance of steering it proactively. Just a few days ago, I'd confirmed that the academy didn't allow outsiders in at all.
No matter how I thought about it, passing the academy was not optional—it was essential.
“...This tension keeps building.”
The more I dwelled on it, the more my worries accelerated like a snowball, so I fiddled with the handle of the mace at my waist to calm myself.
Oh, and where did this weapon come from? I'd bought it with the reward money from that noble I'd run into the day before yesterday.
Yesterday morning, as soon as I left the inn, a messenger from the Talimor family—the noble's house—handed me compensation. The pouch of gold coins felt suspiciously heavy and bulky, and when I checked inside, there were about 100 gold coins.
For context, two copper coins covered two meals a day, two silver coins paid for a stay at the inn I'd been at, and though I'd never held one before, a single gold coin could feed a commoner family comfortably for a month. And I had 100 of them.
It was an amount a commoner couldn't earn in a lifetime of work.
“Thanks to that windfall, I didn't just buy a weapon—I got a shield and leather armor too. Maybe I should thank those thugs for picking a fight.”
Back when the fight broke out, I'd been a bit scared not knowing how it'd turn out. But now that it had led to this, it really drove home how unpredictable life could be.
'But... haven't I been getting pretty lucky lately?'
I'd survived a near-death crisis and scored enough money to last a lifetime as a reward. Sure, everyone has streaks of good luck now and then, but I knew better. I wasn't the type to get this lucky.
From my past experiences, my 'good luck' fell into exactly two categories: times I'd mistakenly thought I was lucky, or setups to make me fall even harder from a greater height.
Lately, things had been going too smoothly, which only made me more worried about the inevitable crash.
'In a situation like this, what kind of ridiculous bad luck would it take to drag me to rock bottom...?'
If it was bad enough to cancel out this much good fortune, it sure as hell wouldn't be something I could just shrug off.
But the problem was, no one knew when that misfortune would hit. And until then, I'd have to live in constant anxiety.
“Those taking the Triam Academy entrance exam, please come this way!”
Still, cowering in a corner right before the big exam was the last thing I should—or wanted—to do. I shoved the lingering unease deep into a corner of my chest and followed the academy staff member's directions toward the crowd.
*
Following the directions of the academy staff—the exam proctors—we arrived at the academy's grand auditorium.
A gasp of admiration escaped me at the sight of the massive interior, big enough to hold hundreds or even thousands—like a football stadium. It hadn't looked this huge from outside, so it was probably enchanted with spatial magic.
Anyway, even that vast hall soon filled with people until it was packed to the brim.
“After lining up as directed, please put on the bracelets distributed by the proctors!”
One of the proctors on the platform stage was shouting announcements at the top of his lungs.
“Line up according to the tickets you received on entry!”
“That's not Group C—that's Group E!”
I followed the proctor's instructions, got in line, and slipped on the bracelet they handed me. A short beep sounded, and a brief hologram of my info popped up above it.
Name: Lerven
Group: D
Notes: None
“Whoa, cool.”
Even after falling into this world, I'd had no encounters with rare tech like magic, so even little things like this drew a small gasp from me.
As I twirled the bracelet around, admiring it, the murmurs around me seemed to grow louder. Finally tearing my eyes away and looking up, I noticed people's gazes concentrated on a few spots.
“Isn't that the saintess from the Mithra Church over there...?”
“No way... and that's the princess from Dracapolis, right...?”
“I heard this year, with the empire's Second Princess and all sorts of big shots showing up, people are already calling it the academy's golden generation.”
“What...? We're competing against them?”
The commotion stemmed from rare VIPs—faces you'd rarely see up close—appearing for the exam. And them all showing up this year wasn't coincidence; it was inevitable. Both game-wise and story-wise, you couldn't just fill the protagonist's spotlight with extras.
But I didn't pay it much mind.
'I don't even know who they are anyway.'
Even if someone grabbed me and raved about one of them, I'd just give them a blank stare full of question marks. I had no prior knowledge of Triam Academy's story, and since arriving, I'd been too busy surviving.
Of course, the situation right now was more pressing. Failing the exam would make learning who they were pointless anyway.
“Focus on my own stuff...”
I muttered to myself and fiddled with the mace handle again. Its heavy, cool steel steadiness calmed my nerves.
After fidgeting for a while like that, the hall's buzz began to settle as exam-takers' tension mounted.
“We are now closing applicant intake and beginning the exam!”
The proctor's declaration rang out, blanketing the auditorium in heavy silence. Most of us, myself included, looked ready to collapse at a touch from the nerves, but a few stood there utterly composed, faces unchanged.
They were surely the types with the leisure to see this as no big deal. The thought of competing against them made my stomach churn.
“Before we start, we'll announce the exam format!”
But regardless of how any of us felt, the exam proceeded smoothly. The proctor who'd been yelling earlier unfolded a paper with a slightly hoarse voice and read off the details.
“This year's exam is a point battle on an island owned by the academy! Each examinee starts with a set number of points. If yours hits zero, you're out automatically. You can steal points from other students or hunt the island's phantom beasts to accumulate more! The exam lasts one hour total, and note that after it ends, attacking phantom beasts or examinees yields no points!”
The hoarse proctor finished reciting the rules, let out a weary sigh, then quickly rallied and bellowed with full force.
“Good luck to all examinees!”
And so, amid waves of tension and anticipation, the exam finally began.
**
“Groups A through D, enter in order! Other groups, stay seated until the previous ones finish!”
With the start declared, the proctors sprang back into action—re-explaining rules to those who missed them, grabbing would-be escapees.
In the ensuing chaos, groups ahead of mine, then my own D Group, began entering.
“Huh...?”
I'd been wondering how we'd get to the island when a signal beeped from the bracelet on my wrist. Lifting my arm, I saw the hologram counting down.
“Oh, this must be a tele—”
The moment I guessed the transfer method to the exam island and blurted out my awe, the countdown hit zero.
Fwosh!
“—port.”
I was suddenly alone in the middle of a sunlit forest.
“...Kinda anticlimactic.”
I'd expected something flashy and intricate from 'teleport,' but this plain-vanilla version left me disappointed. Sure, flashy meant more wasteful than efficient, but couldn't they splurge a bit here to show off the academy's prestige?
Beep!
As if scolding my petty gripe, another alarm rang from the bracelet.
The hologram announced the true start of the exam, and my updated info followed, tailored to the ongoing test.
Name: Lerven
Group: D
Notes: None
Current Points: 100p
Current Rank: ---
Time Remaining: 00:59:50
Seeing the info neatly updated with only exam essentials, I smoothed my rigidly tense lips.
“...Don't get nervous. I've felt firsthand how amazing my abilities are. So, I can do this.”
I pumped myself up, recalling how I'd sent those thugs flying in one go, turning doubt into conviction.
“Phew... alright.”
After standing there a moment to recharge my confidence, I turned to hunt my first phantom beast.
“Grraaaaaah....”
“...Shit.”
And I ran into one right away.
Except from the perspective of prey, not hunter.