Chapter 2
Chapter 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Entrance Exam
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Today was an incredibly good day!
"Hmm~"
Today was a special day.
The day of Yoram's entrance exam!
It was also the day that she, Cornelia von Delbar, would show her dignified presence as student council president.
"Hehe~"
She spun in front of the mirror, letting her skirt flare out.
'As expected, a noble's grace can't be hidden!'
Then, suddenly, a faint sense of unease crept in.
"...?"
At first, she dismissed it as just her imagination, but the feeling grew stronger.
"Hmm...."
She sharpened her senses.
- Tap!
Gotcha.
"You, what do you think you're doing?"
That shady hand heading toward her pocket!
'How...!'
To dare commit pickpocketing on the sacred grounds of Yoram!
"Pickpocketing in broad daylight. Unbelievable."
And at a time when the sun shone brightly, when people's dignity and morals were at their clearest!
"...?"
But the strange person tilted their head, still wearing that dumbstruck ?).
"Ha, yes, you! You really have zero manners."
The strange person looked odd too!
A white mask.
Rare white hair.
Even golden eyes peeking from beneath the mask's edges.
'Delbar?'
Every feature matched her own family.
The traits unique to the Delbar house.
'Eek!'
She shook her head vigorously.
'That's that, and this is this!'
Not the point right now!
"So, got anything to say for yourself, you thief?"
As she spoke, the masked stranger tapped around their mouth.
Meaning... they couldn't speak?
'Mute?'
"Hmph."
She decided to put off punishing this weirdo as student council president for now.
The strange person then pulled out a whiteboard from somewhere.
They uncapped a marker with a pop and started scribbling.
- Scratch scratch.
She waited.
At least an explanation, she figured.
As a dignified and charming(?) student council president, she'd show some patience!
[ㅗ]
"...."
Huh?
It took a few seconds to process.
'Did they just... insult me?'
Her eyes twitched slightly.
Sensing it, the strange person erased the board.
'...Right! It must've been a mistake.'
Then the stranger diligently drew something else.
- Scratch scratch.
A smiling face.
And next to it, a single finger.
[😊🖕]
"......"
...No way.
This was no joke....
No, it was an outright insult!
But the strange person sealed it with a real middle finger from their own hand and turned away.
- Whoosh!
They vanished without a sound or footprint!
"Eek...!!"
Mana began to seep out from her.
"Hey~ Carnel, what are you... whoa, why's the vibe so intense?"
"...!!"
Cornelia startled at the voice and suppressed her mana.
"Ahem... ahem. What is it, Violet?"
She turned to see a girl with purple hair standing there.
"What else? I saw you and came over~ the atmosphere's no joke~"
Violet.
A second-year at Yoram, the second place student trailing behind the top student, Cornelia.
And close enough to call her by the nickname 'Carnel.'
"My my, using a perception-blocking magic tool and all. What could you be up to?"
Twitch.
Cornelia's temple throbbed.
"...It's nothing."
"Yeah, sure it is~"
"Eek...! Don't mimic me!"
"Yes~"
Carnel let out a deep breath.
Rage and humiliation prickled at her.
After calming down a bit, she gazed toward where the strange person had fled—the academy side.
'They definitely ran toward the academy....'
A face she'd never seen before.
Which meant....
'They must be here for today's entrance exam?'
Her eyebrow twitched, and a harmless(?) smile brushed her lips.
Crunch.
'...Fine. Make sure you pass.'
Why?
'Because the post-exam class placement test is under my jurisdiction!'
Hehe....
'I'll destroy you...!'
...Ah, no.
Killing would be too gruesome.
'I'll just... moderately, very moderately... work you like a slave!'
***
'Ah, that was perfect. Truly perfect.'
Having achieved a perfect(?) first impression, he'd nearly reached the academy entrance.
'Ah, but I'm dying here.'
Stats
: Stamina: 10 (E)
: Strength: 1 (F)
: Intelligence: 26 (B)
: Mental Strength: 30 (A)
: Mana: ■ ()
Stamina 10.
With such pitiful stats, even a little jog felt like his heart would burst.
'Gonna die before the exam even starts.'
Should've done some warm-ups before the first impression stunt.
'Whew... too late now.'
The entrance exam wouldn't be a joke anyway.
For now, let's check his current status here.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Adel ]
Limit Break: ☆☆☆☆☆
Attribute
: 「None」
Skills / Traits
: 【Vivid Color Play】
: 【...】
Unique Skills
: 【■■■ ■■ ■】
: 【Silent Walker】
: 【Word of Command】
: 【...】
Unique Traits
: 【■■■■】
: 【Laplace's Eye】
: 【Language Interpreter】
: 【Brand】
: 【...】
Achievements
: 【Slime Slayer】
: 【...】
Stats
: Stamina: 10 (E)
: Strength: 1 (F)
: Intelligence: 26 (B)
: Mental Strength: 30 (A)
: Mana: ■ ()
Talents
: 【All talents are fixed at 'Lowest' due to 「Brand」.】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
'...Attribute: None.'
Having no attribute could be the worst, but not necessarily.
[None Attribute]
- Because it is nothing, it can become anything.
'Can become anything.'
Meaning, it could use any attribute.
Truly omnipotent.
But the problem was.
'How do I do it?'
He didn't know how that 'can become' part worked.
'Hmm... table it for now. Next.'
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Word of Command】
The lingering echo of 「Dragon Tongue」.
: Language influences reality.
Though not its full power, your voice holds more force than anyone's.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
'Hmm....'
Good? Maybe.
A degraded version of 【Dragon Tongue】, a skill that could tear the world apart with words alone.
A cheat-level ability.
But....
'I can't speak.'
He got a power that infused strength into his voice, but couldn't use his voice?
'Fucking tragic.'
Having such an ability but being unable to use it was like owning gold bars without knowing how to spend them.
'...Next.'
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Laplace's Eye】
Pierces the principles of all things in the world.
: Can read flows of mana / magical power.
: Traverses the boundary between illusion and truth.
Only truth falls under its gaze.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
The description sounded impressive.
But he had no clue what it meant.
'Reading mana flow? So what.'
Boundary between illusion and truth?
'What even is that.'
It had been half a year since his possession.
He hadn't grasped this trait at all in that time.
Since it was a trait... it was passive, always active, probably.
'But he had no idea what changed.'
Whatever, good was good.
'...Eh, whatever. Stop looking.'
Honestly, the entrance exam?
'I'll pass, no doubt.'
He'd devoured every guide out there.
There was no way he'd fail.
With that absurd confidence, he kept walking.
And.
'Oh....'
He'd arrived.
The one-and-only school in this world.
Yoram, the size of a city.
Within it, the empire's—no, the world's—greatest academy.
Yoram lay within imperial territory but was a complete neutral entity.
Even the emperor couldn't interfere with the headmaster.
"Welcome. Entrance exam registration is this way."
At the entrance, a staff member guided him politely.
'Oh, polite....'
He'd worried about pulling out the whiteboard again, but there was no need, thankfully.
"Yes, Adel... confirmed. Please head to the adjacent exam hall."
After filling out a few forms, he moved to the exam hall next door.
'Wow.'
The line was long.
Longer than expected.
As expected of Yoram.
A place worthy of being called the world's one and only, the world's greatest.
Just by eye, there were over 600 people.
...Huh.
'Oh, it's really fucking huge.'
The number 600.
Seeing it hit differently.
'But do I have to wait in this?'
His legs already hurt.
'Hmm....'
He raised his hand.
Holding the papers.
Glanced over the line briefly.
'Hmm....'
No numbered tickets.
First come, first served.
'Hmm hmm.'
Quietly.
He activated 【Silent Walker】.
He slipped through the crowd smoothly, wedging in about 5-6 spots from the front.
'Perfect.'
His lips curved up involuntarily.
Savoring this small victory of sneaking in unnoticed.
"Next~"
The line shortened by one.
'Almost.'
Soon, he'd etch his name into the world of 'Akareang'.
Soon, he'd face the name 'Calamity'.
"Next...."
The line shortened again.
'...I'm kinda nervous.'
Tension crept in.
The nagging fear that everything he'd built could crumble here.
'What if I don't pass?'
Yoram accepted just over 300 students.
'...No way I won't make the top 300.'
Whew....
He took a deep breath.
It's fine. Don't chicken out.
'After all the hell I went through to get here.'
Since he first began this possession.
The first month was pure hell.
He couldn't speak, couldn't use magic, and got beaten by a slime.
His stats in the gutter too.
A tragedy where lacking talent was the talent.
"Next...."
Almost.
Next was him.
'What was the first stage again?'
He recalled.
First: Mana check.
Second: Speed test on knowledge and common sense.
A reflex-based written(?) exam, reacting to questions in 5 seconds.
Third: Basic combat ability check.
Whether armed or barehanded, could he move well?
Last: Interview.
You'd be evaluated on ability, attitude and potential by several professors.
'Can I do it?'
...Yeah.
Knowledge was no issue.
'Combat ability?'
A mess.
But he could brute force through it.
If body the body fails, use brains; if brains fail, use guts.
'I've always survived that way.'
"Next please."
His turn.
His feet moved on their own.
Tension surged, but he didn't hang his head.
'I have to do it.'
Just like always, he would pull it off.
***
"...Adel. You fail."
The crystal orb before him.
The number floating behind it.
[ Mana Amount: 0 ]
'Oh....'
Didn't know.
Mana at 0 wasn't just disqualification—preliminary elimination?
Fair enough.
Hey, he learned something new, so that's good, right?
"...Please turn and exit."
Yep.