Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Entrance Exam (4)
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I slowly blinked.
"…."
Just in case, I pressed down hard on my eyelids to shake off the fatigue.
"……."
That should do it.
The hallucination must be gone now.
Yeah, 98? That's just not rational….
"9, 98───?!"
It's real!
"What the hell is this?!"
Does the system have bugs too?
'If my parents are at 100 and my hometown friends are in the 70s, that'd be pretty decent.'
Suspecting it might be a misread, I checked everyone else's favorability ratings, but aside from the Chairman, they all showed reasonable numbers.
Only the Chairman's was abnormal, leaving me utterly bewildered.
We didn't even know each other existed before coming to Academy City, and after just one meeting, this level of favorability!
No way the Chairman has a crush on me…!
"Eek! Ehehet!"
…Oh no! My face!
I quickly smoothed my grinning lips and fanned my flushed cheeks, desperately trying to calm my racing heart.
Right, logically, there's no way the Chairman has fallen for me.
She sees me as a guy, after all?
Her interest was probably just because I stood out by fumbling around alone while everyone else picked their traits.
'Of course I'd catch her eye!'
But while my rational mind accepted that, my body apparently didn't get the memo.
Even as I thought it, my hand had instinctively tapped the favorability window again.
【Yeon Je-seong: 98 (Trust)】 "Uhet."
Hold on.
What if she really has fallen for me?
What if, just maybe, the Chairman fell for me at first sight too!
"It's fate!"
We both fell for each other at first glance!
It's like something straight out of a novel!
And the info window clearly says 'Trust' right there.
I shoved that pesky detail out of my mind in an instant, swollen with vain hope.
"W-What do I do? If the Chairman confesses, do I have to accept?!"
Come to think of it, Dad forced the male disguise on me.
{Noah, remember this. You're a student before you're an adult. I don't want you living a loose life.}
{Got it? The students in Academy City are no exception. All men are wolves! Wolves!}
{What? Am I a wolf too? W-Well, uh, that's different. I'm the exception! Right! I'm a good man, so it's fine to be with me! So Noah, don't go to Academy City—just stay home with… H-Honey! That's not what I meant…!}
Besides, it wasn't just Dad; Mom asked for it too.
It wasn't an easy decision to throw away now.
{Noah, you don't need to take Alex's words too seriously. But I do want you to disguise yourself.}
{Why? You wouldn't understand right now, but Academy City is far more dangerous than you can imagine. It's a demon's den where you survive only by overcoming trial after trial. It's a pit where countless geniuses from the continent feel the limits of their talent and become wrecks. Surviving there takes more than ordinary resolve.}
{And what do you think those geniuses who hit their talent limits will do to survive? Yes, they'll use every dirty trick to sabotage others. From petty bullying to schemes that could get them sanctioned by the student council.}
{Acting as a woman in a place like that invites being underestimated. Even I, back in school, had my staff taken and was bullied. Of course, Alex helped me escape trouble then, but I can't guarantee you won't face the same, Noah.}
{Academy City has changed a lot now, from what I've heard. But the darkest deeds are always the last to be rooted out.}
{Noah, in the end, the only one who can protect you is yourself.}
Mom had handed me an artifact she'd made herself and told me to go disguised as a boy.
Of course, looking back now, she might have overreacted a bit.
But having nearly been a victim of something similar myself, I couldn't help but think that way.
And I didn't want to waste the hard-earned opportunity I'd gotten.
'Dropping the disguise would just attract weirdos anyway.'
Maybe because of my hair. Back home, boys hit on me all the time.
Since the disguise, that stopped, making life way easier. Undoing it would bring back the hassle.
'My current look draws less attention than my real one. Better to keep it up.'
In truth, the stares had scattered due to cognitive dissonance forcing them away.
Oblivious to that, I just pondered the disguise.
Recalling my parents' words must have helped.
I forcibly calmed my fluttering heart and slowly composed myself.
'Academy City is where even geniuses fall behind. In a place where desperate effort barely keeps you afloat, romance is out of line.'
'I can't relax until I'm enrolled, at least.'
Intoxicated by the new environment and people, I'd let my guard down too much.
I quietly reflected and slapped both cheeks hard.
"Hoo."
Feeling the stinging pain on my cheeks, I slowly opened my eyes. The heated mood from moments ago was completely gone.
'Love, fate—useless nonsense. All I need now is the skill to get into Slein!'
Slein isn't some pushover school.
It's the continent's top academy, admitting only a handful of geniuses.
Even for the entrance exam, the venue ensures no one's weaker than me among the applicants.
'There, I have to assume I'm the weakest.'
And that wouldn't be far off.
'For the weakest to survive, I need that kind of resolve!'
To that end, I had to lock my heart away.
…But just one last peek.
"…Uhet!"
Exactly once more.
"Uhet!"
Really, just once!
.
.
.
30 minutes later.
"Ahem!"
Forcing down my excitement, I pushed the favorability window aside and marveled at the various UIs the system offered.
'Way more useful than I thought.'
From the status window for objective self-assessment, to favorability showing relationships at a glance, to quests mapping efficient growth paths.
I wasn't sure if following the system's guidance would make me a hero, but it definitely seemed like I'd get stronger than now.
The 'Achievements' and 'Favorability' systems even gave rewards on completion, far outpacing normal students' growth.
'While others just run, I'll feel like I'm flying.'
Spotting the system's overwhelming potential, I swallowed hard and eyed it carefully.
'And the most important one is this.'
Among the highly useful systems, one stood out especially.
"Main Scenario."
The core thread of growth and the dubious system's ultimate goal.
I recalled the message the system had just mentioned.
'It said the goal is subjugating the Demon King.'
This was the optimal growth scenario for that.
All the other systems, like the status window, existed solely for the Main Scenario.
'The goddess's arrangement….'
The system claimed this was the goddess's arrangement solely to repel the demon race.
Dubious as it sounded, the system's powers were too extraordinary to dismiss outright.
Best to assume some transcendent being's power was at work.
...Should I check at a church?
"Nah, if it's not, that's instant heresy charges."
I wanted nothing to do with the Saint Cermia Diocese.
They only showed up to judge heretics.
And if the target was me….
'Good thoughts. Good thoughts.'
Shove the bad ideas away.
'If it's really the goddess's arrangement, the church would know. They'll come if needed.'
With saintess candidates in Academy City, it'd be easy for them to find me.
Like that.
Tucking those thoughts to the back of my mind, I immediately looked at the Main Scenario.
'Called "Main" for a reason—it must be a major turning point.'
Since it's targeted at me, a big one from my perspective.
'Probably the entrance ceremony?'
It ties directly to my future, so Main Scenario fits perfectly.
Likely something like 'Pass Slein Academy' or 'Enroll in an Academy City school.'
With that.
Clicking the golden exclamation mark with half-certain speculation──
"!??!!??!?!!?"
⚙ MAIN SCENARIO ⚙ Repel the Beast Invasion! Once a year, the entrance exam. With all academies pouring their hearts into preparation, an evil hand now looms over it! Demons infiltrating Academy City plot to summon beasts and slaughter the fledgling hopefuls! If beasts appear mid-exam, the students will suffer massive casualties! Hero chosen by the goddess! Defeat the wicked ones trying to ruin the exam and protect the students from the beasts! [Clear Conditions] Infiltrating Demon killed: 0/1 Attacking Beasts killed: 0/? City Damage: 0% (Failure if casualties occur) [Success] Slein Academy Admission Achievement 'The One Who Stopped the Invasion' Acquired Favorability increase with related individuals Bonus Stats +10 [Failure] This Year's Entrance Exam Canceled War Demons Appear at the Frontlines Favorability decrease with related individuals The scale was far bigger than expected, and I shot up from my seat in alarm.