The Entrance Exam (1)

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. The moment I returned to Lee Seokhyun’s body, one fact hit me immediately. I trained way too far from any village.

To handle the basics of food, clothing, and shelter properly, access to a nearby village was essential. I’d completely forgotten that. Food could be managed by hunting mountain beasts and gathering wild greens, but for proper clothes and shelter that let a person live like a human being, regular contact with civilization was non-negotiable. Because I hadn’t considered any of that, the result was obvious.

I’ve turned into a caveman.

Washing meant nothing more than splashing water on myself. My clothes had fallen apart so completely that I’d replaced them with tree bark. Brushing my teeth was done roughly with pine needles, and every meal was either roasted or smoked. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I had gone back to living like a Paleolithic caveman.

The one mercy was that a person can’t smell their own body odor. If I had caught even a whiff of myself, I probably would have fainted on the spot.

“Still, this was the only way. Status window.”

No matter how grueling the time had been, there was no other method available to restore my body right now. The result was this.

“Perfect.”

In Final Destiny, the status window lumped everything together unless a particular stat was exceptionally high. It gave only a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rough estimate that bundled basic physical conditions—strength, agility, intelligence, stamina, and so on. An extremely unfriendly way of explaining things.

Looks like everything grew evenly except for will.

I had finally gathered the minimum stats needed to stand at the starting line. The character Lee Seokhyun had lived without even being able to sense mana, relying purely on luck. For this trash-tier character to stand on equal footing with the other main characters, a healthy body was one of the absolute minimum requirements.

If it had been a different character, I wouldn’t have done this.

A protagonist-level character would have spent that time practicing their main skill or cultivating mana. But every one of Lee Seokhyun’s strengths was locked behind the late game, so physical conditioning had been non-negotiable. It was necessary, and honestly, there hadn’t been much else he could do.

I didn’t pick up any hidden skills during this period either.

Final Destiny drew a strict line between active gameplay and skippable sections. During the parts where I controlled the game directly, acquiring hidden skills was possible. But in the transitional periods that could be skipped, the system made sure nothing could be gained.

They really went overboard with the unnecessary details.

I stopped letting my thoughts wander and set my immediate goal on reaching the academy. The prospect of passing Mirinae Academy’s entrance exam with absolutely nothing to my name already felt overwhelming.

“Ugh, blegh… What the hell has this guy been eating…? The entrance exam site is that way.”

“Are you insane? If you’re going to talk to people, at least wash yourself first… It’s over there.”

After descending the mountain and asking for directions, leaving a trail of dry-heaving people behind me, I barely managed to reach the Mirinae Academy admissions desk. In truth, “admissions” only required dropping the completed application form into a mailbox-like slot.

Phew… Application submitted, at least.

Mirinae Academy. The first institution to tear down the walls of social status, a place of hope where anyone with talent could knock on its doors and chase their dreams. It provided basic meal support and lodging from the start, and once admitted, students didn’t have to worry about tuition at all.

In short, it was a place that truly selected purely on talent.

That was why the interior of Mirinae Academy was, on paper, a space of equality without regard for status.

Well, even if it’s only equality in name once the factions and cliques form inside.

Still, the fact that they at least maintained the appearance was something.

I have to pass. No matter what.

Mirinae Academy divided its entrance exam into three categories: Magic Path, Martial Path, and External Path. Magic for sorcery, Martial for hand-to-hand combat, and External for everything else. Characters with main skills applied according to their skill type, and in Lee Seokhyun’s case…

External Path, no question.

Since he couldn’t sense mana and had never learned any martial arts, his chances in the other two tests were zero. Only by choosing External Path did he have even a one-percent shot at passing.

Even when I raised Lee Seokhyun in the game, I rarely sent him to the academy.

Because his early game was garbage, the training route had to differ completely from other characters. There were paths where you deliberately skipped the academy to secure the hidden skill with massive late-game potential, but this time there was a reason I absolutely had to enter.

Because I only have one chance.

When playing Final Destiny as a game, it was a roguelike, but since I didn’t actually die, I could do whatever I wanted. Now that death was permanent, I had no choice but to follow the absolute best and most optimal route.

No other path offered such stable potential growth with both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high lows and soaring highs like the academy. Every alternative was pure high-risk, high-return where one mistake meant death.

“Hey, move! Get out of the way!”

“What? Do you have any idea who you’re talking to like that?”

“Can’t even afford a carriage but acting like some big-shot noble. It’s obvious you’re trash.”

“What? Trash? You finished talking?”

While I was deep in thought about how to pass the exam, a loud commotion reached my ears.

Oh, right. These two were here too.

One of Lee Seokhyun’s few advantages was that, despite not being a main character, he could watch the storylines of the actual protagonists unfold. The fate of a trash character, perhaps. To pick up even the crumbs, you had to stay near the key figures, so it happened naturally.

Benras and Kim Seokcheol.

I moved closer to the fight to observe them.

“Yeah, trash. If you’re gonna flaunt your noble status, at least show up in a magic carriage. At best you’ve got some luxury clothes… and those are obviously fakes. Embarrassing.”

Kim Seokcheol spoke deliberately rough to make sure no one looked down on him for being a commoner.

“…Retract those words immediately!”

Benras used an awkward, stilted noble tone that unintentionally revealed he wasn’t actually from a high-ranking family.

Both were characters who served as perfect supporting cast in Final Destiny. Seeing them in the flesh gave me a strange sense of nostalgia. They were always fighting in the game too. Same here, apparently.

But these two aren’t who I came to see.

I hadn’t walked over just to watch the comic relief.

The character I wanted to see was—

Yu Sohyun.

The girl who had been hesitating awkwardly but was now preparing to step forward the moment Benras and Kim Seokcheol drew their weapons.

One of Final Destiny’s main characters, and the one destined to die for the protagonist’s awakening. Her neat hime-cut hairstyle, the softly glowing blue eyes, and the worn clothes that clearly marked her as a commoner.

She’s cute.

A kind-hearted personality that couldn’t stand injustice and boldly faced evil. The type who was timid but never hesitated to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sacrifice herself for others. She was definitely trying to intervene before the fight escalated.

“Fighting is… troublesome.”

So I stepped in before she could.

To prepare her for the great tragedy waiting in her future, I wanted to indirectly tell her not to take losses like this in advance. That there were plenty of other people who could step forward, so she should hold back once in a while. I wanted to convey that, even if only indirectly.

“Urrrrghhhhhh!”

The instant I stepped forward, not only Benras and Kim Seokcheol but everyone around me began to retch violently. The combination of grass stains that wouldn’t wash out, accumulated sweat, and wild beast musk created a natural perfume too powerful for city dwellers to handle.

This is why people who live in cities are so weak.

They should go up the mountain once in a while and experience nature. It’d be good for their health.

Their bodies were all so frail it was almost comical.

Situation resolved, at least.

After both Benras and Kim Seokcheol finished dry-heaving, they looked awkward and sheathed their weapons, backing away. When someone who clearly shouldn’t be messed with planted himself in the middle of the conflict, they lost all momentum.

Taking advantage of the lull, I felt like talking to Yu Sohyun and threw out the first thing that came to mind.

“Does anyone know where the bathhouse is?”

I didn’t point at her directly, but the way I stared intently carried the silent pressure of you have to answer me. It must have worked, because Yu Sohyun responded immediately.

“I-I know the way.”

She even raised her hand like a model student and kindly pointed out the exact direction. It wasn’t just Yu Sohyun—I wanted to meet the other main characters soon as well. Seeing in the flesh characters I had only known as pixels gave me an entirely different feeling.

“Thank you for the answer.”

I kept the concept going until the very end, then hurriedly dashed toward the bathhouse. No matter what, the entrance exam only happened once a year. Showing up looking like this would probably get me disqualified the moment they saw my face, before I could even take the test.

“All right, we will now begin the written examination for Mirinae Academy’s External Path division. Before we start, please check your specialty fields and prepare accordingly.”

“Yes!!”

Mirinae Academy External Path Written Test Hall.

Phew… I need a perfect score no matter what.

Lee Seokhyun had almost no specialties to speak of. To raise his chances of passing, a perfect score on the written test was mandatory. Hoping for a miracle in the practical exam while half-assing this one was out of the question. I had to win here.

Let’s go, Lee Seokhyun…!

I gave myself a strong mental cheer.

“Then, the test begins!”

And so the real entrance exam had officially started.