The Academy Admission Exam (Part 2)
The capital of the kingdom.
Within the vast interior of the capital, encircled by enormous walls, countless buildings stood packed closely together.
A bit away from the center, in the area where Rigel—now Lir Ostin—lived.
Flanking it on both sides were tall, large wooden structures, and between them a single-story white-painted wooden building.
When the sun rose above the city walls, the house door slowly opened.
“···Haaam.”
The sunlight filled my two eyes brightly and bathed my body in warm warmth.
I stretched out my arms, let out a big yawn, my body trembling, and my brows furrowed.
“Kueuugh···. Haa.”
I wiped the tears gathering at the corners of my eyes, gently rotated my ankles to stretch, and prepared to move my feet.
So sleepy. I’m tired. Did I not sleep well? Did I toss and turn so much in my sleep?
Even though I went to sleep at a similar time to before, today I woke up a bit late and still felt fatigued.
Or perhaps I unconsciously tensed up.
After all, this is my second life, so entering the fantasy realm of the academy naturally made me tense.
Today was the second exam of the academy admission test, meaning the combat ability test day.
So I dressed comfortably, in a loose shirt and slightly loose leather pants that wouldn’t interfere with movement.
“Hup, oom···.”
I fueled up on the pork sandwich I bought yesterday.
Walking to the academy took about thirty minutes, so I could eat while walking.
I bit into the pork sandwich packed with juicy meat and walked down the street toward the academy.
At this usual hour, there were normally no people, but today there were more people than usual. People around the age of my body were walking toward one spot.
“I guess they’re competitors to think of them that way···.”
The thought of them being competitors was what I thought at first. I didn’t think they were rivals at all. Once we all enter the academy, we can recognize them as classmates, but···.
Right now, they’re just competitors that we’re aware of to a certain degree.
But I’m not that conscious of them.
Feeling genuine hostility toward the kids who look much younger than me, or still-growing kids in their prime dreams, is ridiculously pitiful.
With a sandwich clutched in one hand, the stares from the examinees looking at me swallowing felt a bit pitiful.
The anxiety about the upcoming test, and some of them looking exhausted from staying up all night due to tension.
Well, whether they do or not, it’s none of my business.
I’m not in that much of a state either, but my body feels a bit heavy and my head is shrouded in a faint fog.
But I felt confident. I didn’t think any crisis would come my way at all.
Even with this body that lags behind at the tips of my toes compared to my peak, I can definitely pass the academy admission exam.
Thanks to the training I did over the past few days, my body has started to get used to using it a little, even if it’s very slight.
“I hope it ends quickly.”
I began walking to the academy with my confident stride.
***
I turned my head and scanned the surroundings.
“···More than I thought.”
It was bustling. A huge crowd of people was sitting in the waiting room, waiting for their turn.
One hundred fifty? No, a bit more than that, about a hundred and fifty or so people had staked their claim here.
Most of them looked tense. Some were muttering something, others pulling out notebooks from their pockets, breathing heavily as they read them.
But right now I was thinking of something else.
“All the kids here did better on the written exam than me, right?”
A bit of my pride was stung. There were kids who looked much older, kids who were tense and deflated because they weren’t used to this test.
I wonder if I’ve been too idle with the pen for too long.
“This time, I’ll do it properly.”
To pass the academy, I had to get a good score on this exam. Since I knew that, I had no intention of slackening off this time.
It was a bit unfair to the kids whose futures were bright···. But I had my own circumstances too.
Life is always like that.
Time slowly passed, and the people in the waiting room began to gradually decrease.
“281st, 291st, 295th, 301st, 302nd examinees. Follow me.”
A voice calling out the test hall sounded as the waiting room door opened.
Almost simultaneously, the five of us including me followed the guide and walked down the corridor again and again.
Thud, thud, thud.
While walking, the corridor faintly vibrated.
The vibration continued for about a minute while I walked straight.
Everyone seemed bothered by the vibration, but perhaps it was because it was their turn.
Following the guide silently, we had no choice but to pass through the iron gate at the end of the corridor.
At that moment, I felt a force pressing down on my body, and strength entered my body.
“Ugh!”
“Hup...!”
Groans came from the mouths of the other examinees following me.
“O···. So they’re conducting the test in an environment like this?”
I saw tall walls surrounding a wide sports field. And thick mana saturated this space, crushing the bodies of the people.
Battlefields always had situations where thick mana or magi pressed down on the body, so it looked like they were recreating it similarly.
The black-haired young man in front of me and I stepped forward without hesitation.
Fortunately, the mana resistance I had in my previous body seemed to remain in this one too.
“This should be fine, it’s still at the level of the kids.”
To me, who had crossed the front line, it was routine level.
The examinees who were under pressure from behind me also straightened their bodies and followed right behind me.
But we didn’t go any further. It was because the guide stopped and turned us around.
“Examinees, I will explain about the second test.”
When he opened his mouth, the supervisors sitting far away were visible.
“The test is simple. No matter what number you use, you just need to stop the golem that will enter this place within one minute.”
A golem. I thought it was quite a standard way.
At the same time, I wondered why they would use such an expensive thing as a golem to select just the students of the academy.
“You may use any weapon prepared right in front of you.”
A few weapons were prepared in front.
Dagger, bow, spear, polearm, chain, morning star. Every weapon imaginable was prepared, one for each.
“Then, starting with 281st, please.”
The black-haired young man standing in front of me heard that and stepped forward.
Then, the voices of the three behind me were heard.
“We can see Lord Lagran’s ability first. Lucky.”
Lagran? Where had I heard that before.
I tilted my head, but it only gave a vague sense of familiarity, and the thought didn’t solidify.
“It’s said that the knight corps is paying attention to a promising talent. No doubt he will pass.”
Promising talent being paid attention to in the knight corps?
Then I should know. After pondering with my head in my hands, a few such people came to mind.
Among them, the black-haired young man. If he were to come to the academy···.
At that moment, along with the thought that flashed through my mind, the promising talent with the same characteristics as the examinee in front of me appeared.
Dalek Ron Lagran. I had heard that he was a talent the knight corps would probe into, mentioned in the mouths of several knights.
“But, that’s strange.”
Clearly, I had heard that his spear technique was amazing at that time.
He was holding a sword instead of the famous spear.
“Isn’t it a spear? Why is that person holding a sword?”
“Maybe he wants to pass with a sword instead of a spear.”
The murmuring from behind.
This way, the fact that he’s known for spear technique is confirmed as not something the knights misheard or me misheard.
For some reason, he held a sword and the huge door opened over there, and the golem appeared.
A small golem in the shape of a doll, almost the same size as an adult male.
It ran toward him.
“···Hoo.”
He gripped the sword with both hands, eyes closed.
Thud, thud, thud.
The heavy golem, heavier than it looked, rumbled on the ground and charged toward Lagran.
Even as the golem, not as bulky as its build, ran at a speed that didn’t match its size, it swung its fist right in front of him, and he didn’t open his eyes.
Only with his head lowered, he slightly bowed his head toward the sword he gripped tightly with both hands.
“···What were you thinking to do that?”
Soon, the golem’s fist was slicing through the wind at the position where it would reach Lagran’s head after a moment.
Chwaak!!
At that moment, a sharp sound of slicing through the wind was heard.
And the wind rose, lightly scattering the sand dust in the test field.
The golem’s fist was cleanly severed there. With a smooth cross-section, it went all the way to the golem’s shoulder in one blow.
The golem that was cut in half by the moment’s sword strike stopped functioning as is.
“Stop.”
The supervisor’s voice announcing the end of the test was heard. Only then did Lagran slowly open his eyes.
“281st examinee, please exit through the exit as is.”
A solemn voice officially sent him toward the exit.
Lagran bowed slightly to the supervisor far away, then moved his feet toward the exit.
“···That guy, he’s amazing.”
Seeing that scene, I couldn’t help but admire inwardly.
Of course, that golem was not something one could cut in half with ordinary skill.
Moreover, closing his eyes and cutting it in one accurate strike at the exact timing was a skill that ordinary level people couldn’t even attempt.
Indeed, it was a strike worthy of being mentioned in the knights’ mouths as a promising talent.
“Then, 291st examinee. Come forward and start please.”
It was my turn. I had no intention of slackening off anyway.
Seeing the skill shown by Lagran in front, it felt like fire was burning in my body.