Placement Exam -2-
“!”
Rohan’s longsword sliced cleanly through the exam golem.
The instructor’s slack, drowsy eyes flashed with shock. His hand stopped scratching his head mid-motion, and the yawn frozen on his lips cut off abruptly.
The cadets watching from behind reacted the same way.
Everyone had experienced the golem’s ridiculous hardness at least once in their home country’s training. The scene unfolding before them was hard to accept, even with their own eyes.
If it had been some famous prodigy showing off, they might have skipped disbelief and gone straight to awe.
But no one had ever heard of this guy’s face or the name Rohan. It was just baffling.
“···.”
The one finding this silence most unbearable was the man at the center of it all.
Ignoring the cadets’ stares boring into his back, Rohan spun his longsword once and sheathed it with a practiced flick.
He turned to the frozen instructor and asked calmly.
“Instructor. Can I head down now?”
“Ah, yeah. Number 99, name’s···.”
“Rohan.”
“Got it. Go on.”
The instructor underlined Rohan, drew a star next to it, and stroked his scruffy beard.
The drowsiness that had plagued him since the exam started was gone in an instant.
This year’s freshmen are a bigger harvest than expected. Gonna be a pain to keep them in line.
Even the promising talents he’d already clocked weren’t just one or two.
Stars that would normally make headlines for appearing once per year had piled up strangely this time around.
And among them, two that could be called all-time greats. Both right here in the gym···.
No need to even look at the heavy hitters’ faces.
Just reading their files gave him a headache and made him tired.
Oof··· my head hurts.
The instructor sighed deeply as he glanced at the next cadet’s name and ID photo.
The northern kingdom where beastkin made up nine out of ten citizens. Tigrova, with its vast eternal snowfields and sprawling coniferous forests.
Its princess, Noah Frozenheart—the youngest daughter of the Snow Tiger Emperor Rex Frozenheart.
And from the eastern federation known as the Samhwa Nation.
Even Ichinose Yui, heir to the Samhwa Nation’s powerhouse conglomerate Cheonoecheon.
My stomach’s already churning. Maybe I should take a leave of absence.
As an instructor, he had just one hope for them.
Low as the odds were, he prayed these cadets would spend the next two years quietly, graduate without any trouble.
···.
Whatever the case, the storm was already rolling in.
As annoying as it was, there was no dodging it—so with a deflated voice, the instructor called the next number.
“Next, number 252.”
“Here!”
Noah, who’d been occupying the seat next to Ichinose, shot her hand up and stood.
Instead of heading to the wall of weapons, she strode forward bare-fisted.
She stopped before the freshly prepped golem, twitching her round ears as she waited for the formal question.
“Ahem··· name.”
“Noah Frozenheart!”
Her name echoed energetically through the gym.
The cadets, hearing that prestigious title, began buzzing like waves crashing on a night sea.
The instructor swiftly reined in the predictable commotion.
“Cadets disrupting the exam with chatter will get penalty points.”
His warning gaze swept the waiting group before settling back on Noah Frozenheart.
She didn’t care if they were talking about her or not—she just grinned, radiating an air of hurry up and signal me already.
The instructor gave her the standard warning, noting her empty hands.
“No extra points for going unarmed, and no do-overs. You aware personal artifacts are off-limits too?”
She nodded vigorously, like it was the most obvious thing. Her tail waved up and down like a flag.
“Then··· begin within one minute.”
The instant he gave the same start signal as to Rohan.
“Hya!”
Noah unleashed her tightly clenched fist without hesitation, like she’d been holding it back forever.
The moment her punch connected with the golem, a thunderous boom and freezing chill erupted.
Kuuuung───!!!
Pure white frost billowed out like clouds, obscuring vision and filling the gym with a misty haze.
It looked like a massive block of dry ice had collapsed.
Rohan, who’d finished his test and was watching, brushed the frost piling on his uniform and marveled inwardly like fireworks exploding.
Whoa, that startled me!
W-what the hell!?
That’s Tigrova’s···.
The startled cadets murmured, but the instructor channeled mana into his voice.
“Quiet.”
The scattered frost gathered in his palm, forming a lump of pure white ice that dropped to the floor with a thud.
Revealing Noah Frozenheart and the exam golem—or what was left of it.
Only what looked like the golem’s lower half remained before her, with unidentified powder scattered everywhere hinting at the rest.
“Can I go down now?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
This time, he’d seen it coming. His outward reaction was nonchalant.
He just poked at the star by her name, replaying the scene in his head.
Blood will tell, huh···.
The explosive power Noah Frozenheart had unleashed wasn’t the clumsy overflow of uncontrolled mana.
Just as infusing projectiles like bullets or arrows with mana was a talent.
She was honing her innate gifts and strength into an ideal form.
“Next, number 253.”
“Yes.”
Ichinose Yui rose with her tachi in her arms and headed to the wall.
Eyes closed, striding confidently.
She stopped at the wall, gently set her own sword down, and picked up a familiar-style katana before stepping forward.
“Name.”
“Ichinose Yui.”
Her quiet voice stirred another wave of murmurs among the cadets.
But unlike before, they quickly died down under the instructor’s glare.
“Begin within one minute.”
“Understood.”
With a small nod, Ichinose stepped back with her left foot.
Leaned her torso slightly forward.
Flicked her thumb to release the blade from its sheath with a sharp click!
“···.”
No battle cry.
Her sword flowed from her hand like water.
Piiing──!
The diagonal slash cut cleanly through the golem.
A precise cut, the polar opposite of Noah Frozenheart’s style.
With a sharp sound, the draw concluded—the black blade already back in its sheath.
The golem’s upper half, severed at the seam, slid smoothly to the floor.
“I’ll head down.”
“···Yeah.”
The instructor kicked away a golem fragment and scratched his head with his pen.
How did all these monsters end up in the early numbers?
The later cadets were looking downright pitiful.
“Next, number 103.”
“Ah, y-yes···!”
After that, things went as the instructor expected.
No one after Ichinose Yui managed to cleave or smash more than half the golem. Some couldn’t even scratch it.
A few cadets already wore faces tinged with despair from the overwhelming skill gap.
But the instructor knew better than anyone.
These were Orion Academy’s average— the normal picture.
*****
The practical exam wrapped up without a hitch.
No cadets raised objections.
Yet one guest lingered in the gym.
Noah Frozenheart had left for food, unable to ignore her hunger. But Ichinose Yui hadn’t budged from the post-exam gym.
“···.”
The girl walked toward the stack of golems being prepped for cleanup.
She’d seen the Orion Academy community posts: only two freshmen had sliced a golem with a sword.
Counting all weapons, maybe five had split or shattered one.
Even Noah had pulverized it with her off-hand fists.
But swords? Just two.
Ichinose Yui herself, and one unknown guy.
···Number 99.
She’d felt his frank gaze on her and Noah at the start.
She was used to stares, so she hadn’t minded. And it hadn’t felt lecherous—just clear and warm, oddly unobtrusive.
Noah must’ve noticed too.
No idea why he’d looked that way.
But she vividly remembered the moment he swung his sword.
The opposite of that gaze.
The motion itself felt like killing intent given form.
Like someone hardened to taking lives.
Skill or not.
It didn’t matter.
Offensive skills only shone with solid fundamentals.
“···.”
Eyes closed, footsteps clicking steadily.
Standing before the golem split by number 99’s sword, she ran her fingers over the severed edge.
Smooth as glass.
A restless emotion bit at her lower lip.
Click.
She stepped back, slowly set her own weapon on the floor.
Grabbed a sword from the wall without hesitation.
Swung it fiercely.
Piiing!
The sharp slash cleaved the severed golem in half again.
She immediately touched the fresh cut.
“Ah···.”
Not as smooth as number 99’s.
The edge screamed of forced severance.