Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Entrance Ceremony
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“But don’t you have a younger sibling?”
On the way to Yoram.
Violet suddenly asked Carnel.
“None.”
“…Really?”
“…Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
Violet recalled the masked boy from moments ago.
“No… he kinda looks similar.”
“…?”
Carnel had white hair and golden eyes.
Adel had hair and eyes of the exact same colors.
“You sure you don’t? Like a half-sibling or some hidden family member?”
“Eek…! I don’t!”
“Hmm… is that so?”
Violet smacked her lips in disappointment and glanced back as she spoke.
“But that kid, is he a freshman too?”
Adel, who had been asked, nodded silently.
“W-What?! Since when have you been following us, you zero-point pervert!!”
He’d been a pickpocket just moments ago, but now he was a pervert.
‘My reputation is in tatters.’
Okay, sure, I did pickpocket, but it wasn’t that bad.
[That’s too much, isn’t it, President?]
“How did you know I’m the student council president! You zero-point pervert!”
[Anyone in yoram would be the rude one if they didn’t recognize the president.]
Liar.
Truth is, I had zero interest, but 【Laplace’s Eye】 told me.
“Hmph… hmph. That was a one-point line.”
Carnel’s lips twitched.
She looked pretty pleased for a zero-point score.
“But that doesn’t mean I forgive you…!”
[??]
Snap.
The zero-point pervert’s innocence plea failed again today.
***
Carnel and Violet parted ways with him in front of the auditorium.
Carnel still seemed sulky…
“Expect it!”
She left those cryptic words and vanished in a flash.
‘What the heck am I supposed to expect?’
Adel tilted his head and pushed open the auditorium doors.
Hundreds of chairs, a buzzing crowd.
‘Hmm.’
With no particular impressions, he sat in an inconspicuous corner seat.
Tap. Tap.
“?”
Someone poked his body.
“…That’s my seat.”
Blue hair, bangs half-covering her eyes—a girl.
‘Got it.’
Then I should move.
He stood silently and sat in the seat right next to hers.
‘Hmm.’
He turned his head openly toward her.
‘Lev de Lumière… not Rev de Lamenta.’
The saintess from the Holy Kingdom.
“…?”
And another trait…
“…What’re you looking at?”
Her demeanor wasn’t very saintess-like.
Gloomy, maybe?
She gave off more of an outsider vibe, like him.
[Hello?]
“…Hello?”
[I’m Adel.]
“…Lev de Lumière.”
This saintess seemed to have purified her social skills too.
[Ah.]
Just as he was about to enter focused observation mode to build up Lev’s favorability, Veronica’s voice echoed through the entire auditorium.
[Everyone here? Anyone missing gets rejected on the spot?]
‘Whoa. It got quiet instantly.’
As expected… was this the power of a dragon?
Hundreds of freshmen swallowed hard—the dragon’s presence was overwhelming.
[Alright… welcome to Yoram, anyway.]
A meaningful tone.
[So… try to survive, yeah?]
With those words.
- Kreeeeech!!
“…What!!”
“Drake?!”
Space tore open.
And from the torn space, another rip, and out popped a beast.
A drake.
‘Jackpot.’
Veronica, as expected.
She was tearing space itself.
And not content with that, was unleashing a drake.
‘Magic beast ranks have five colors.’
Five colors.
‘White.’
The level even ordinary folk without magic could hunt—like a big wild animal.
‘Gray.’
Huntable if you’ve learned basic magic.
‘Blue.’
This is where real ‘magic beasts’ start.
They have intelligence, high danger, and you need combat proficiency.
‘Red.’
Requires a knight order to suppress.
Could wipe out a village easily.
And finally.
‘Black.’
Blacks are for the Seven Cataclysms or beasts far beyond red.
Existences classified as disasters themselves.
‘Veronica’s black-level too, I guess?’
The drake before them now was blue.
‘If you’ve studied the basics before entering Yoram, it is totally huntable.’
Like shaking off an ant.
If you couldn’t even take a blue drake, you didn’t qualify for Yoram.
‘Whatever.’
Honestly, at my current level, I could take it with just some blood loss.
‘But it hurts.’
No need to hurt if I don’t have to, right?
There’s a cheat key right next to me.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
[ Lev de Lumière ]
Attribute
: 「Twilight」
Skills / Traits
: 【Holy Touch】
: 【Blessing】
Unique Skills
: 【Sanctuary】
: 【Divine Chastisement】
: 【…】
Unique Traits
: 【Shard of Jealousy】
: 【Twilight Hour】
: 【Holy One】
: 【…】
Stats
: Vitality : 10 (E)
: Strength : 15 (D)
: Intelligence : 27 (B)
: Mental Fortitude : 45 (S)
: Divinity : 50 (S)
Talents
: 【Healing Arts(S+)】
: 【Divinity(S+)】
: 【…】
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
‘Whoa.’
Solid.
Light shimmered, and a holy domain spread around her following her breath.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Sanctuary】
Holy light spreads from her center.
: Creates a holy domain.
: Allies within the domain are continuously healed.
The gods reached out to her, and she reached out to all.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
But look at this?
The domain barely covered the surroundings.
‘No helping it.’
He dragged his chair right up next to Lev.
“…What’re you doing?”
[What else? Protecting the saintess.]
“…Can’t talk?”
[Yeah.]
“Casual speech…? It's fine.”
[Yeah.]
“…You’re too casual.”
[Uh.]
As expected of the saintess.
So benevolent.
“Uwaaak!! Get off!!”
A scream from afar.
A freshman got flung by the drake’s claw.
The wound glowed bright red.
“Huh…? Huh?”
Soon, his whole body glowed and vanished pathetically.
‘Disqualified.’
Tsk tsk.
Why come to Yoram without the skills.
“…No need to help?”
He turned at the sudden words. Lev stared at him, bangs over her eyes.
[?]
Who’s helping who.
“…The freshmen.”
[Why should I?]
“…?”
A body barely clinging to life.
[I can’t even help myself.]
Busy with my own survival—helping others? Even our saintess.
“…Then why protect me?”
[‘Cause it’s you.]
“…??”
Lev tilted her head side to side, not getting it.
***
“Bark von Zahor, disqualified.”
The hologram showed a freshman—no, prospective freshman—glow and vanish.
“Orgon von Graim, disqualified.”
Yoram’s final entrance exam.
Survive Veronica.
Endure the endless drake horde.
“Impressive.”
Several standout prospective freshmen.
“His Imperial Highness is as formidable as ever.”
The empire’s crown prince, Rufus von Leonhardt.
His massive sword symbolized his authority.
“The lady of the Ayrin family is no joke either.”
Laphia von Ayrin.
A girl handling four elemental spirits at once.
Her hair bounced, and nature’s mana rippled.
“And that spear.”
Serros von Spade.
Drawing elegant lines with his spear.
His skill in creating flows from the tip was no amateur work.
“But…”
The professors’ gazes snapped to one spot.
“What’s the saintess doing with that shady-looking guy?”
The saintess from the Holy Kingdom was there.
Lev de Lumière.
“…What’s with the mask?”
“Improper attire.”
And next to her sat a masked boy.
“…We leaving him like that?”
Lev’s sanctuary.
“…The dean’ll handle it.”
Drakes couldn’t even turn their heads that way, thanks to it.
“…Even if it’s the saintess, shouldn’t that student be disqualified?”
New professor Delphin voiced his complaint.
“Professor Delphin. That’s for the dean to decide.”
“Riding coattails without fighting, using the saintess’s power? That doesn’t fly, Professor Alberto?”
As tempers flared.
“Enough, both of you.”
Klaus, who’d watched silently, spoke.
“Vice-dean.”
“…”
Klaus’s gaze went to the hologram, beyond to Adel.
“Pass or fail.”
Adapt to Yoram or get tossed.
“The authority to expel him from here belongs to one person alone.”
***
‘Hmm…’
Something’s off.
‘Where’s Klaus?’
Can’t spot the protagonist of ‘Akarejang’.
‘Am I the only one?’
The final exam’s almost over.
No sign of Klaus’s ‘K’.
‘He’ll show soon.’
The top spot was Klaus' anyway.
That moment.
[Alright then.]
Veronica’s voice filled the auditorium.
[Done.]
With a flash of light, all the drakes vanished.
‘Oof…’
Looked like spatial transfer, but I knew.
They were not transferred—but erased.
Dead, basically.
‘Brutal.’
[Wow~ So many talents this time~?]
Snap.
With a finger snap, the podium lit up.
[Waited long? Congrats on enrolling, babies.]
Veronica stood at the center.
- Wooaaah!!!
Surviving prospects reacted their way.
Some cheered.
Some panted raggedly.
Some said nothing.
[Now, the big one—top scorer announcement~]
Here it comes.
Top scorer.
Magic measurement, knowledge, practical, interview, final survival with Veronica.
All aced by the protagonist, Klaus.
[So the top scorer is~]
‘Lemme see that protagonist face.’
Only seen it in CG before.
Time to meet in the flesh.
[Adel~]
“…”
The lively, blazing auditorium temperature plummeted.
A lot. No… way too much.
…What’d she say?
‘Me?’
Lev next to him gaped, she was pretty shocked.
Look at that.
So stunned she showed those hated red eyes.
[Boing.]
Some déjà vu SFX, and…
He was suddenly on the podium.
[Come on, top scorer. Say a few words~]
“…”
“…”
The faces of the remaining freshmen filled his view.
‘Oh…’
This real?