Gate Evaluation
A refreshing Monday morning.
Even with a massive, crushing bag digging into my shoulders, I left my studio apartment with a light step.
Today was the day of the Gate Evaluation that every first-year had to take. It was such a major event that every single morning and afternoon class had been canceled to make room for it.
Yet there was not a shred of fear or tension in my stride. I had prepared thoroughly.
First, the gleaming necklace hanging around my neck. (A full +10 to magic power!)
And second, the two rock-solid party members who had ended up in the same group as me. The top-tier prospects of the two greatest superpowers on Earth—America and Russia—had personally offered to carry me on the bus.
People usually call a situation like this “flowers in both hands.”
No. This was not flowers.
It felt more like I was walking around with America’s B-2 stealth bomber in my right hand and Russia’s Tsar Bomba in my left. With only a little exaggeration, world conquest seemed entirely possible at this rate.
As for Johnson’s whereabouts, he had regrettably declined. On Friday evening, after dinner, I had scored the double triumph of getting both Chloe’s and Johnson’s numbers in one go, and in the heat of the moment I had asked him to join our group too. He politely refused, saying he had already teamed up with his own friends.
A little disappointing, sure, but it did not matter. Just knowing that three whole names were now saved in my phone contacts was enough to make me feel like I owned the world.
Humming under my breath, I arrived not at the usual lecture hall but at the academy’s main auditorium—the same enormous space where the entrance ceremony had been held. The countless chairs from that day had apparently been shoved into storage; the vast floor was empty, and the entire first-year class packed it wall to wall, chattering noisily.
I pushed through the crowd toward the corner we had agreed on.
Ah, there they are.
In the secluded spot, Chloe and Anastasia stood with their backs deliberately turned to each other, neither so much as glancing at the other, both staring fixedly at their phones.
But something else caught my eye before their frosty atmosphere did: the serious armament they had brought.
At Chloe’s waist hung a pair of dual swords so wickedly sharp and expensive-looking that anyone would have whistled in admiration.
Anastasia, for her part, no longer carried the crude greatsword she had simply picked up and swung during the welcome tournament. She now planted a massive, faintly gleaming personal greatsword of her own on the floor beside her—lethal and enormous.
It was a completely different picture from the freshman welcome tournament, where we had started bare-handed and scavenged weapons. Looking at their brutal gear made the big bag of miscellaneous junk I had stuffed and hauled since morning feel especially pathetic and heavy.
I should have bought myself some cool weapon somewhere too…
Anyway, with armament that fierce and an almost murderous aura radiating off them, of course every student nearby was staring.
“Hey, look over there. Isn’t that America’s Chloe and Russia’s Anastasia?”
“No way they’re actually teaming up, right? That’d be an ecological disaster.”
Using the students’ murmurs as background music, I slipped right between the two intimidating figures. The moment Chloe spotted me, her eyes curved into crescents and she beamed.
“Good morning! Siyul-gun!”
“Good morni—”
Just as I started to smile back and return the greeting, Anastasia whipped her head around, brows knitting hard, and snapped,
“You’re fucking late. Not a goddamn slug, so hurry the hell up.”
“…”
I discreetly checked my phone clock. I had arrived a full ten minutes early.
What kind of time zone is that country running on, exactly?
While I was still working my mouth in an aggrieved pout, Chloe lightly clapped her hands.
“Well then, since we’re all here, shall we go over to the teaching assistant and register as a team?”
We walked side by side to the registration desk at the front of the auditorium. The assistant sitting there held out a tablet, and we entered our names, student numbers, and departments one after another.
Anastasia Volkova / Close Combat Department
Chloe Mack / Close Combat Department
Han Siyul / Unaffiliated
Huh? They were in the same department?
I only learned now that these two monsters belonged to the same major. No wonder they seemed ready to kill each other at any moment. Having to look at each other’s faces every single day as natural enemies—of course they got along terribly.
When we finished and handed the tablet back, the assistant’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he scanned the screen. He jerked his head up and looked us over.
“…The three of you together as one team, is that correct?”
Honestly, I could understand the flabbergasted reaction. Two of the strongest beings in the setting sandwiching some scrawny unaffiliated nobody who looked like he had rolled in from nowhere—yeah, that would do it.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Chloe answered with a friendly smile, driving the nail home. Looking still half-dazed, the assistant finished the registration.
We returned to our corner of the auditorium to wait.
“Ah— students! Registration closes soon! Anyone who hasn’t registered yet, please come to the desk right away!”
The teaching assistant’s urgent announcement thundered through the entire hall over the microphone. Listening to it, I secretly clenched my fist.
This would have been unimaginable for the me before the possession.
Back then I would have known no one and lacked the courage to ask even a single person to team up. I would have been forced into the gate alone, only to get torn apart by a monster somewhere and die a lonely death. That would have been the obvious ending.
But now it was different. Here I stood, casually waiting after forming a party with top-tier powerhouses.
Is this what they call growth…? Heh. I feel a little proud of myself for some reason.
I was lost in that silly self-satisfaction when—
Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps climbed onto the enormous platform at the front of the auditorium.
“Ah. Quiet, all of you.”
A hard voice rolled out through the microphone. That single low tone killed the noisy chatter in an instant, as if someone had flipped a switch.
The scarred middle-aged man standing at the center of the platform swept the cadets with a sharp gaze and spoke.
“I am Professor Martin Graves, in charge of this first-year practical Gate Adaptation Evaluation.”
Martin Graves. The name somehow made me picture a man who could fire a ridiculously huge pump-action double-barrel shotgun with one hand like it was nothing.
“The goal of this Gate Evaluation is for teams of up to four to explore the interior of a Mock Gate. Students who choose to go alone will naturally face a heavier burden, so corresponding bonus points will be awarded.”
Maximum of four. We were three, so our numbers were safely under the limit.
“This will be your first time entering a gate right after enrollment, so some of you may feel tense or afraid. However, we are holding it at the start of the semester to cultivate your real combat senses and for future evaluations. I would appreciate your understanding.”
The stiff voice softened just a fraction.
“There is no need to worry too much, though. This is a ‘Mock Gate’ opened by artifact. It is a simulated subspace that perfectly replicates the environment, terrain, and mana density of a real gate. The monsters that appear are also virtual—simply hologram-like entities created by the artifact’s mana. Therefore, even if you are attacked by a monster, you will not sustain actual injuries.”
Ah, thank goodness…
I secretly patted my chest and let out a sigh of relief. Since they had said “virtual” and all that, of course they would not let us actually bleed or get hurt. For a total weakling like me, that was the best possible news.
“Therefore, every cadet must wear the bracelet we will now distribute and take the evaluation with it on.”
The professor raised his own wrist, showing a black metal bracelet, and continued the explanation.
“This bracelet analyzes residual mana, impact trajectories, and vital-point judgments in real time whenever a virtual monster’s attack lands, calculating how much damage you would have taken in actual combat. Once accumulated damage exceeds a certain threshold, the cadet is immediately retired. Conversely, when you hunt monsters, the bracelet records in detail which powerful monsters you defeated, how, and how many.”
Aha. So you don’t actually get hit, but if the system judges that you’ve taken a fatal wound, you’re out.
I understood the moment I heard it. It was basically like the MILES gear they use for military simulated training—get hit by the laser and you beep out as KIA.
“Ah, and there are occasional cases where the bracelets malfunction a little… no, rather, they might.”
The professor cleared his throat and quickly corrected himself.
“Miniature camera drones will follow each team. The drone footage is streamed live so that the faculty can make the final judgment. In particular, the contributions of tankers or rear-support students who may have difficulty killing monsters themselves will be scored through this drone footage, so keep that in mind.”
…That just now felt off.
I narrowed my eyes and eyed the professor on the platform suspiciously. That was one hundred percent “the equipment glitches a lot.” I silently prayed that at least my bracelet would work without errors.
“Additionally, the entire first-year class will enter the same gate at once. Hidden throughout that vast map are ‘marker items’ that the faculty and teaching assistants have planted in advance. Recovering them and returning safely will earn you extra points. Of course, the grade and score differ according to the difficulty of the hiding spot, so take note.”
Not just monster hunting—there was a treasure-hunt element too. Interesting sparks lit in students’ eyes here and there just as the professor’s voice dropped heavily again.
“And the most important rule. In this evaluation, combat between students is ‘strictly forbidden.’ Monsters are virtual constructs of mana, so damage from them is harmless, but collisions between cadets lead to real injuries. Any confirmed threats, intentional interference, or acts that cause injury will result in immediate expulsion, and severe cases will be followed by legal action. Do not take this lightly.”
The professor hammered the warning home with finality.
“For reference, if you are expelled, not only will you be barred from re-enrolling in Babel Academy for the next three years, you will also be unable to leave this island. Even if you are lucky enough to re-enroll three years later, you will not receive even the initial basic points. So do not ruin your life with petty, foolish tricks—take the evaluation fairly. Everything else is no different from other evaluations. Destruction of evaluation artifacts is forbidden, and for safety you must absolutely obey the faculty. In particular, deliberately damaging a bracelet or drone is a serious disciplinary matter.”
The threat that fighting among themselves would leave them trapped on the island living at the bottom of the barrel made everyone swallow hard. Having completely dominated the room, Professor Martin jerked his chin.
“All right. Teaching assistants, distribute the bracelets to the cadets.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the assistants waiting in the corners of the auditorium moved in perfect order. Carrying large boxes, they circulated among the students and handed out the black metal bracelets.
Before long, one assistant reached our group.
“You three, correct? Please each put one on.”
He handed over three bracelets. I took one and slipped it onto my wrist. Chloe and Anastasia likewise fastened theirs without complaint.
Click.
The moment the joints met, a dull sound rang out and the gap vanished completely as the bracelet locked shut. Panicking, I pressed and tugged at it with my other hand, but the thing had hardened like a solid chunk of metal and would not budge an inch.
“Huh? Once you put this on, it locks so it won’t come off at all?”
“Obviously. Otherwise the second it looks like a monster’s about to beat them to death, some bastards would pull the bracelet off and hide it.”
Anastasia looked at me as if I were pathetic and answered bluntly.
“When the evaluation’s over, the assistants will unlock them with the master key. Don’t bother trying to force it off.”
“Ah… I see.”
A system designed to cut cheating off at the root. Once every first-year in the auditorium had finished putting on their bracelets, Professor Martin on the platform took the microphone again.
“Good. Full wear confirmed. Shortly we will begin the first practical Gate Adaptation Evaluation. This is your first comprehensive contribution evaluation, so prepare thoroughly and stand by.”
With that short, weighty declaration he strode down from the platform.
In the short waiting time before the evaluation began, I turned my head and surveyed the other teams who would be entering the same gate. The first things that stood out were the “numbers” and “compositions” of the parties.
Most students had filled their groups to the maximum of four the professor had mentioned. And the compositions themselves were almost completely standardized, as if they had copied the textbook party from a fantasy game: one tank with a huge shield or sword, one melee DPS with sword or spear, one rear DPS with bow or looking like a mage, and one support or healer type to back them up from behind.
That seemed to be the “meta party” of this world.
And our group? Two of the world’s strongest melee DPS… plus one unaffiliated pack mule standing empty-handed with no weapon at all. An utterly malformed three-person party.
Then, in the corners of the auditorium, I occasionally spotted “solo players” standing alone, apparently unable to find a party. I sent them a deeply pitying, wistful look.
Poor kids… If I wasn’t careful, that would have been me, trembling alone over there.
Without Chloe and Anastasia, I would have been one hundred percent the guy crouching in that corner. I was once again offering endless silent thanks to the reliable bus drivers standing on either side of me when—
“All attention!!”
The microphone roar thundered through the enormous speakers of the auditorium.
“From this moment, the first-year overall practical Gate Adaptation Evaluation will commence!!”
At that powerful cry—
Woooooom—!!
Suddenly, a blindingly intense light erupted from the entire floor of the main auditorium beneath our feet.
Ah, shit. This again?! This motion sickness is murder!
I screamed inwardly and reflexively squeezed my eyes shut. Immediately a sensation of weightlessness lifted my body into the air, and every surrounding scene flashed pure white and vanished.