The Entrance Exam (3)
The candidate who entered the swordsmanship testing ground was a girl with black hair and black eyes, just like Elsie. However, her darkness seemed a shade deeper, far more intense than Elsie's. Her overall impression was the same. Unlike Elsie, who still retained a trace of playfulness despite the hardships she had endured, this girl carried an air of chilling coldness.
"Yoo Seora. She's from Sak, scouted and raised by an Apostle."
"Then her skills are practically guaranteed."
As if to prove the faculty's words, Yoo Seora demonstrated impressive skill, cutting down up to the seventh Chaos Beast without much difficulty.
"Decent swordsmanship."
In a way, it was to be expected. The Apostles who had scouted her served as the hands and feet of the Cult Leader, carrying out her direct orders across the globe. And one of their primary duties was to search the world for children with the potential to become heroes.
Since these scouts operated based on the Cult Leader's prophecies, almost all the children they found possessed extraordinary talent. In fact, more than ten high-grade heroes, including the second-ranked hero in the world, were known to have been discovered by Apostles.
Even so, her performance up to this point left something to be desired.
"There's nothing particularly special about her yet."
She had to be hiding something more. The instructors watched with anticipation, and she finally revealed her hand against the eighth Chaos Beast. Her sword, shrouded in a dark aura, sliced clean through the beast's heavy armor.
"As expected."
The holy relic she wielded was a weapon the instructors recognized. It was the Sacred Replicant—one of the 101 swords forged by Heinz, a retired high-grade hero who now served as the principal of the Hero Academy, by replicating the legendary holy sword. Though classified as a 2-star relic, it possessed no notable traits other than its basic holy power.
Yet, she had sliced through incredibly tough armor with such an ordinary blade. Her ability was proven beyond doubt by that feat alone—or it would have been, if not for what happened next.
"Hmm?"
A crack had formed along the blade she had just swung. In terms of durability, the replica should have been no different from the original holy sword.
"Does she sacrifice the relic's durability as the price for using her ability?"
"What an absurdly impractical ability..."
It might be fine here in this virtual space, but real combat was a different story. Fighting while consuming holy relics—which were as vital as a hero's own life—was incredibly inefficient and reckless.
Soon, the ninth Chaos Beast appeared. Or rather, it was highly questionable whether it could even be called a Chaos Beast. The moment Yoo Seora faced it, she froze instantly.
"Now that is a normal reaction."
The previous candidate, Elsie, who had charged at such an opponent without a moment's hesitation, was the anomaly. In front of *that* thing, any ordinary human was bound to freeze. Facing this natural outcome, the instructors began to deliberate.
"I won't take her," said Sigrid, the instructor of Class 1.
"She's decent, but that seems to be the limit of her swordsmanship. Her ability also has clear, glaring limitations."
Huff, the instructor of Class 3, quickly agreed. "If you say so, then so be it. I'll pass as well. I've never liked the kids those Apostles drag in anyway."
That left only Setia of Class 2 and Freyla of Class 4. Freyla spoke first.
"Hmm, I'm on the fence too. I feel like we could do something interesting with her, but..." She seemed to be weighing her options. While she hesitated, Setia intervened.
"Then I will take her."
Since the instructors' specialties rarely overlapped, selections usually went smoothly. However, priority fundamentally belonged to the class that had achieved higher results the previous year. Thus, once Setia claimed her, Freyla had no say in the matter.
"Well, nothing to be done then." Freyla conceded gracefully.
However, Sigrid watched Setia with a subtle, questioning gaze, unable to understand her choice. It was a rare expression for a man who usually maintained an unshakeable composure.
At the archery testing ground, two instructors were evaluating the candidate, Sung Yu-rang. Their assessment was nearing its final stages.
"An acceleration-type ability combined with an enchantment-type? His actual marksmanship seems lacking, though he's covering for it with his relic and acceleration. But that just looks like a simple lack of experience... Practically speaking, he passes."
As Kyle muttered this and moved Sung Yu-rang's file to the pile of accepted applicants, Ryutmila asked him a question.
"About the ninth Chaos Beast. You said it appears exactly the same way in the swordsmanship and spearmanship exams, right?"
Because she hadn't possessed a holy relic when she took the academy's entrance exam, she had failed to clear the eighth Chaos Beast. Consequently, this was her first time seeing the ninth. In fact, could that thing even be called a Chaos Beast?
"Indeed. To that thing, a sword, a spear, or a bow makes no difference."
"How many years has it been since they started putting that in the exam?"
"It was subjugated fifty-two years ago, and it's been there since the current principal took his entrance exam, so probably somewhere between forty and fifty years."
That raised a question. Even Ryutmila, who wasn't physically present in the simulation, could feel a heavy pressure radiating from the entity.
"Has any candidate actually managed to defeat it?"
"Rumor has it that the current first and second-ranked heroes defeated it back then. But only the instructors who evaluated them would know the truth."
"Well, those two are monsters, so it makes sense."
As a high-grade hero on the verge of retirement, Ryutmila had a lengthy career behind her. She was also one of the few archers among the high-grade ranks. Thanks to that, she had been mobilized for their expeditions on several occasions. And the strength of those two she had witnessed... it was simply on an entirely different dimension.
If one had to name the two reasons why the Demon Kings couldn't invade humanity at will, those two would be the answer. If only monsters of that caliber could win, then the implication was clear.
"Then it's practically an unbeatable opponent."
"Of course it is. It's a Demon King."
"What?"
Startled, she stared at the monstrosity standing before the candidate. Its form was distorted beyond recognition. Only then did Kyle's words from a moment ago click in her mind.
"Subjugated fifty-two years ago... Don't tell me you meant the 31st Demon King?"
Kyle nodded. "Exactly. Once they make it this far, they've already proven their basic worth. Now, we're testing how they react when faced with one of the strongest enemies in human history."
In truth, reaching this stage meant their acceptance was already guaranteed. The appearance of the Demon King was merely a traditional event of the exam. Most candidates had their spirits broken in its presence, and some even fainted. Of course, the number of candidates who actually made it this far wasn't very large to begin with.
"Wait, so those two already had the power to slay a Demon King before they even entered the academy?"
"I suppose so."
Kyle answered nonchalantly, his eyes already fixed on the candidate.
Does that kid not realize how powerful his opponent is?
There wasn't a single trace of tension on Sung Yu-rang's face.
Or is it something else...
Are they insane?
Facing the ninth Chaos Beast—no, the 31st Demon King—I was left utterly speechless.
They put a Demon King in an entrance exam?
I had expected something formidable to appear, considering candidates who reached this stage had already proven their basic competence. But I never imagined that "something" would be a Demon King.
Of course, most students wouldn't realize it was a Demon King. They would probably just perceive it as an exceptionally powerful Chaos Beast with an overwhelming disparity in strength.
But I knew exactly what it was.
With my current archery skills, defeating it is obviously impossible.
To make matters worse, the environment here was set to simulate the area outside the barrier. Defeating a fully powered Demon King would be difficult for me even if I used Libero's swordsmanship.
...Honestly, I was tempted to test if I truly couldn't win, but I had no desire to reveal Libero's swordsmanship here.
Still, curiosity about the 31st Demon King lingered. Since the entrance exam wasn't shown in detail from the player's perspective in the game, my memories as a player only contained lore about the 31st Demon King, not actual combat experience against it.
For instance, I wonder if an arrow enhanced by Overload can pierce its skin.
Opportunities to fight a Demon King were rare. While entering the academy might present more chances, nothing was guaranteed.
I notched an arrow to my bow.
Overload.
A dark energy began to swirl around the arrowhead. If this could pierce the Demon King's hide, it might open up new strategic possibilities for the future.
With that thought, I released the bowstring.
Crack.
The arrowhead crumbled into black particles.
The moment the arrow made contact with the Demon King's skin, it shattered. It seemed there was simply no way.
"I forfeit."
I quickly declared my surrender before the Demon King could charge at me. Even if it was a virtual space, I had no desire to experience excruciating pain for no reason.
An arrow, seemingly imbued with an enchantment, flew forward, only to shatter against the Demon King's skin without leaving a scratch.
"Of course."
Kyle, who had briefly harbored a sliver of expectation for the candidate named Sung Yu-rang, shook his head. Fortunately, the candidate also seemed to realize the overwhelming gap in power after firing a single arrow, immediately declaring his surrender.
Kyle terminated the exam before the Demon King could reach the boy.
"Wait, Kyle!"
"Hmm?"
By the time Ryutmila tried to stop him, Kyle had already ended the simulation. Seeing this, Ryutmila smacked her lips in disappointment.
"That could have been quite interesting."
"What do you mean?"
She, who hadn't shown even a lukewarm reaction to any of the previous candidates, was reacting completely differently now. Yet, as far as Kyle could tell, the boy was no different from the other passing candidates. If anything, his archery skills were actually on the lower end.
"Are you saying that kid actually had the ability to defeat a Demon King?"
"No, not that. But he possessed composure."
Composure? But the boy had surrendered in quite a hurry. However, Ryutmila had apparently seen something else in his actions.
"His attitude just now. He was in a hurry, but he wasn't panicked. The moment he saw his arrow fail to pierce the Demon King's skin, he surrendered immediately. It was as if he had planned it all along."
Hearing her explanation, Kyle realized she had a point.
I guess an active-duty hero really sees things differently. I wouldn't have caught a detail like that.
Still, his decision wasn't wrong. The candidate wasn't a student of the academy yet. It was only right to respect his declaration of surrender.
But I can't help but wonder...
If he hadn't accepted the surrender and let the simulation run, would they have witnessed something else?
Fortunately, the examiner seemed to have caught my signal quickly.
"Phew..."
I let out a long sigh. When I opened my eyes, I was outside the testing ground. The only problem was that there was no lake in sight.
"Seriously, what do you want from me?"
Standing before me, once again, was that giant tree.