Another Protagonist
The Academy's entrance exam is open to everyone, regardless of status.
But when the dust settled, the vast majority of those who passed were nobles.
It was only natural.
Their environments were worlds apart.
Take Drin, for example. She hailed from the Libringer family, the continent's premier swordsmanship clan and one of its most prominent noble houses.
It was the same logic that dictated why most students at top-tier universities back on Earth came from middle-class families or higher.
In other words, it was basically a "nobles-only party, minus me."
Almost everyone currently in the second testing hall was a noble, save for yours truly.
"Pleasure to meet you. I am from Queren in the East—"
"Oh, what a coincidence! My master also—"
"Oho, is that so? Then perhaps he has ties to my parents—"
The applicants waiting for their turn were busy networking, eagerly taking advantage of the brief lull.
"Congratulations on passing the first exam."
Someone was even attempting to cozy up to me.
A man offered a friendly, good-natured smile as he congratulated me.
"Ah! Thank you so much! Wow, I really lucked out back there. Congratulations to you too on passing!"
"Haha, I was lucky as well. It was my great fortune to meet and study under such an outstanding master. His name is Sir Agon Gern, a graduate of Ein Academy. Perhaps you've heard of him? There are few in the East who can match his swordsmanship."
"Oh, dear, I'm terribly sorry. My knowledge is rather limited. But since he is the master of someone as distinguished as you, he must surely be a magnificent figure."
"Haha, thank you. Ah, how rude of me. I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Derun of the Daden family."
Derun extended his hand as he introduced himself.
"Ah, it is an honor to meet you, Sir Derun. I am Sillon."
I introduced myself in turn and reached out to shake his hand, but—
"..."
Derun's face suddenly went cold, and he snatched his hand back.
"What? You're just a commoner."
With a sudden shift in expression, he clicked his tongue in annoyance, turned his back on me as if I were an eyesore, and walked away.
I scratched the back of my head with my awkward, rejected right hand.
"Haha, well now."
What a massive prick.
Thanks to Drin, I had momentarily forgotten.
I had forgotten that most nobles in this world viewed commoners as mere dirt beneath their boots.
Even the Academy, which claimed to be a strict meritocracy, was no different.
After all, social status was considered a talent in its own right.
Now that my heart was wounded by that utterly unfunny guy's blatant classism,
the first person who came to mind was Drin—the most entertaining person in my life right now.
We only just parted ways, and I already miss her. Is this... love?
Hoping to soothe my wounded soul with Drin's presence, I immediately set out to find her.
"Is that girl over there really the Drin Libringer?"
As I walked, snippets of conversation about Drin drifted into my ears.
"Did you see that blue light bursting from the first testing hall earlier? I heard that happened when they were testing Drin Libringer's mana sensitivity."
"I actually looked into those golems. The limit of what they can measure is 3-Star mana sensitivity. If it goes beyond 3-Star, they just emit a wild light like that, making measurement impossible."
"So you're saying Drin Libringer's mana sensitivity has already surpassed the 3-Star realm and reached the 4-Star realm, which is why the golem went haywire?"
"4-Star? Does that even make sense? At our age?"
Using the gossiping crowd as my compass, I made my way over and spotted Drin standing in a corner of the testing hall.
Even before the exam had officially begun, she was already the center of attention.
And to top it off, she had practically turned the golem into her biggest fan during the first exam, announcing her arrival in a spectacular shower of blue light.
Without a doubt, Drin was the main character of this pseudo-social gathering.
Most of the applicants in the hall hovered around her, hoping they might get a chance to strike up a conversation.
Yet, as if she were surrounded by an invisible barrier, everyone kept a strict distance.
No, they couldn't get close.
Just as commoners found it difficult to speak to nobles,
those nobles didn't dare speak to Drin.
Such was the chasm that lay between an ordinary noble family and the great Libringer House.
"Her aura is as intense as the rumors say."
"I know... I wanted to try talking to her since she was here, but seeing her in person, I don't even dare."
On top of that, though I couldn't quite feel it myself, Drin's uniquely unapproachable aura seemed to play a major role.
If anyone were to walk up to her right now and ask, "Shall we chat?", they would either have to be from a family of equal prestige or possess talent as monstrous as hers.
"...!"
Just then, Drin spotted me, and our eyes locked.
Or did they?
The moment of eye contact was so fleeting
that it was more reasonable to assume I had imagined it.
What should I do?
If Drin had recognized me and acknowledged my presence, it would have given me a natural opening to approach her.
But no matter how long I waited, she made no sign of recognition.
At this rate, there was no way for me to breach that thick wall of nobles and walk up to her.
Actually, is this better?
Come to think of it, if I casually strolled up to Drin and started chatting like I usually did, I'd draw an insane amount of aggro.
- Huh? Someone is approaching Lady Drin?
- Who is that?
- Looks like a commoner.
- What? A filthy commoner dares to address Lady Drin, completely oblivious to his station?
- I've memorized his face.
- But if a nobody like him can talk to her, why can't we?
- True.
- Ah, screw it! Lady Drin!
- I'm a huge fan! Please hug me!
Ugh, just imagining it makes me want to die of exhaustion.
For both our sakes, it was probably best to give up on trying to pester her.
Perhaps Drin was thinking the exact same thing and intentionally pretending not to see me.
Just as I, too, abandoned all thoughts of approaching her,
another girl stepped forward.
"Out of my way."
She pushed her way through the crowd of nobles.
Her stride was rough and utterly unhesitating.
"What?! Oh... Ah, yes... Please, go ahead—"
Yet, far from protesting, the stiff-necked nobles were completely overwhelmed by her presence, bowing their heads and hastily parting to make way.
A cold, navy wolf-cut.
Eyes as sharp as spearheads.
And that arrogant, overbearing aura.
Kasha Hanahan.
The appearance of another main character.
"So you're Drin Libringer."
Kasha spat the words out as she stopped in front of Drin.
"I am."
Despite the rude greeting, Drin didn't flinch. Her expression remained entirely placid as she gave a calm, indifferent reply.
Kasha swept her gaze up and down Drin's figure before letting out a mocking smirk.
"I suppose the rumors weren't exaggerated."
"..."
"I am Kasha. Kasha of the Hanahan family. I assume you've heard of me."
"Yes, Kasha Hanahan. I am well aware of your reputation."
"Good. Because I've heard your name so often I'm sick of it. Every time people try to polish your reputation, they love to drag my name into it."
"Those are merely the words of people who know nothing of either of us. I do not believe they are worth listening to."
"Ha, how generous of you. So perfectly composed. You really are the Drin Libringer of the rumors. Tell me, do I live up to the Kasha Hanahan you've heard about?"
Kasha provoked her, a fiercely competitive smirk playing on her lips.
"To be frank, I have little interest in public rumors or gossip. I doubt I can give you the answer you are looking for."
But Drin simply deployed the 'virtue of honesty' without a single twitch of her facial muscles.
Watching their exchange, I was quite impressed.
Wow, she's holding her ground against Kasha without yielding an inch.
As anyone could tell from this brief interaction, Kasha was a character whose prickly personality and fierce pride were second to none in this world.
If I were to talk to Kasha right now, I could probably pull off my squinty-eyed act, but that would only be thanks to my traits.
Without them? I probably would have frozen solid under her intense gaze.
Yet Drin was withstanding Kasha's fierce momentum without any such crutch.
No, she wasn't just withstanding it.
Drin was clearly dominating the battle of wills.
Perhaps because of Drin's unshakeable composure, the fierce and aggressive Kasha looked like a tiny, loud dog barking in fear before a massive hound.
Like a chihuahua, so to speak.
It was a moment that made me realize, if only indirectly, why people found Drin so difficult to approach.
"..."
Kasha must have realized it too. Her face contorted with humiliation as she spat out her next words.
"I have a proposal for you."
"Speak."
"If I take first place in this entrance exam, you will duel me."
"Even without such conditions, I would be more than happy to duel you if you wish."
"Hmph. Say what you want. In the end, the fact that I will take top marks and defeat you in our duel remains unchanged."
Having unilaterally ended the conversation, Kasha didn't even use the path she had cleared on her way in. Instead, she shoved her way through the nobles to forge an entirely new path as she stormed off.
Ah, right. I remember this event.
Kasha Hanahan.
Under normal circumstances, she possessed talent that would have been hailed as peerless. Unfortunately, she had the misfortune of being born in the same generation as a monster like Drin, relegating her to the status of a tragic second-best.
Kasha desperately wanted to cast off the shadow of Drin's name that constantly loomed over her.
That was why she had marched up to Drin upon their very first meeting, declaring war with such blatant hostility.
To defeat Drin and prove herself.
But in the end, Kasha would lose the top spot to Drin by a hair's breadth.
And she would go on to lose the emotional duel that followed.
From then on, Kasha would unilaterally declare Drin her rival—
or at least, that was the lore I knew from playing the game.
Sigh...
If that were all I knew about Kasha, I would have just written her off as an eccentric character.
But because of what I had seen and heard, looking at Kasha left a bitter taste in my mouth.
What am I going to do with her...
Kasha dies.
Miserably and horribly.
And in a way that inflicts massive harm upon the world.
As I recalled Kasha's tragic end, a sudden premonition struck me.
Ah. Here it comes.
Sure enough, my intuition was spot on.
Just like the moment the assassin had targeted Drin, a window materialized before my eyes.
Guidance
📍 Objective: Guide Kasha Hanahan so that she does not stray onto the wrong path.
A quest had appeared.
Back when I was just playing the game, Kasha was a tedious, annoying character.
Most players, myself included, felt that way.
After all, she treated everyone with the same arrogant, prickly attitude she had just shown Drin.
If a quest like this had popped up in the game, I probably would have grimaced and skipped it.
But now, the quest felt a bit different.
When I watched Kasha throw a tantrum at Drin in the game, I used to think:
Ugh. What an incredibly annoying character.
But now that I had possessed a squinty-eyed character,
watching Kasha throw her little tantrum at Drin made me think:
Huh. She's actually kind of cute.
She looks like she'd be incredibly fun to tease.
I had no idea what kind of mental gymnastics led me to that conclusion.
I could only assume it was an instinctive, gut feeling, much like when I first met Drin.
And so,
Kasha was no longer a character I wanted to leave to a miserable, bitter death.
She was a character I wanted to keep close and tease for a long, long time.
Therefore, the appearance of a quest to help Kasha was actually a welcome development.
[Reward: Random Box (Max Grade: Heroic)]
Although the clear conditions were vague and difficult because the reward was so immense, that was perfectly fine.
I already had a rough idea of how to help her.
In this exam,
Kasha wouldn't lose the top spot by a hair's breadth.
She would lose it by a massive, overwhelming margin.
And she would lose it to me, not Drin.
Now that I had made up my mind, passing the Academy entrance exam was no longer my concern.
My only worry was ensuring that the hidden power I would inevitably have to use to secure the top spot wouldn't be exposed to others.
"Those whose numbers are called, please prepare to take the exam."
Before long, the proctor called out ten applicants for the next round of the second exam.
Among them were Drin, Kasha, and myself.