Chapter 3

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 3

Chapter Title: Failed Final Exam and the Opportunity That Came

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Thankfully, I made it back to the dorm right before dozing off by the lake and got some sleep. But waking up in the morning was a struggle.

Stepping into the Q Class classroom for the written exam, my classmates—who I hadn't seen in a while—spotted me arriving late and couldn't resist a comment.

"If your legs are slow, shouldn't you just wake up earlier? How do you manage to be late on exam day? You?"

Chris Roanna, a European girl with lush golden hair.

With quests mostly demanding magical knowledge, she could be called the strongest first-year mage at the academy.

She took first place on the midterm written exam, and I came in second right behind her.

"You were late too, so I opened the windows for you, punk."

Vulcan Rudric, a muscular European guy with short gray hair.

He'd known Chris Roanna since before enrolling at Global Academy—a prodigy ability user through and through.

Training his body through quests had made him stronger fast. He'd been a bit skinny when he first arrived, but clearing quests turned him into a block of stone.

I'd trained alongside him for stamina, which only made the gap between us feel even wider.

"Vulcan, didn't you score just above Sian?"

"Ahem. Well. I didn't expect to bomb the written part that bad."

Chris Roanna's jab made Vulcan Rudric's face flush a bit.

He'd aced the practical nearly perfectly but only hit average on the written, so the score gap with me was pretty big.

"Maybe he pulled an all-nighter studying. We gotta give him props for doing decent on the written, right?"

Evan Jack, a guy with red hair wielding fire abilities.

His quests were all about killing targets, but he still seemed human enough.

Or maybe he was just saying that, ready to shove me into the abyss if my written scores sucked too.

"Practical was a disaster, though. Doesn't sit right having Global Academy's weakest in our Q Class, huh, Jack?"

The one needling Jack on purpose was Miyama Asui, a black-haired Japanese girl practicing swordsmanship abilities.

True to her sword skills, she was called a samurai girl, with physical attack power even surpassing Vulcan's.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Someone said they saw Sian sitting on a bench ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by the lake all day yesterday?"

Tae Won-ho, a Korean guy who'd crossed over to Utopia with me.

We'd come together and gotten somewhat close at first, but then he started keeping his distance.

Even his girlfriend pulled away from me—what chance did a friend have?

"Really? Guess he gave up on the written too."

Gam Sin-hung, a Chinese guy who'd grown close to me as I drifted from Tae Won-ho.

He wielded lightning-based martial arts, blending them seamlessly for top-tier first-year combat prowess.

"Or maybe his girlfriend dumped him? Sitting there all mopey by the lake screams breakup. Didn't you see the blue-haired girl? That's Sian's girlfriend."

"Could be. Kim Seo-yeon, right? Would've been better if she were in Q Class."

Tae Won-ho knew the truth but played dumb, nailing the guess perfectly, and Gam Sin-hung chimed in agreement.

They were hitting me with straight facts—no room to get mad.

Not that I wasn't pissed, but I had no outlet for it.

Swing my fists? I'd lose.

I was Q Class's weakest, and even Vulcan Rudric right above me was upper-tier first-year material.

Being top of the class bottom didn't make me bottom overall.

That's why we'd gathered such a solid Q Class, but I was the weak link shaking it up.

"Written exam's starting soon. If you're not gonna study, just shut it."

Julian Loa stepped in after everyone had their say, taking control of the class vibe.

He fought like a classic medieval knight with light, sword, and heavy armor.

Class strongest, no—first-year strongest overall.

Or he would be once final exam results dropped...

I took my seat and waited for the exam to begin when the professor walked in.

One look at the test papers he handed out, and I could only sigh.

Everyone's pencils scratched away, but I couldn't answer a thing.

The questions demanded detailed explanations of abilities gained from quests, plus thoughts on personal growth and quest directions.

I hadn't even cleared the Tutorial Quest yet.

I scribbled one line about this lousy Possession ability...

Shit.

*

There were easy written tests on basic monster combat tactics and ecosystem precautions, but bombing one subject shook me so bad I couldn't focus on the rest.

Then came the hellish practical exam.

Midterm practicals had been monster hunts.

Safely geared up with familiar weapons, we'd hunted goblins for our first real combat and kill experience at Global Academy. I'd barely squeaked by, taking out one right at the time limit.

If I'd used Possession with its high sync rate, it'd basically be suicide—something I couldn't stomach.

But the rest of Q Class treated it like a breeze, clearing over ten goblins and even switching to orcs.

No wonder they called us the strongest class.

"Shit."

Finals added sparring to monster hunts.

The hunt seemed same as before.

So why was I up first?

I sighed and entered the exam arena.

With sturdy armor and a sharp sword like last time, I'd be fine, right?

"Q Class, number 8, Yoo Sian. Exam starting. Raise your left hand when ready."

I raised my left hand at the voice.

The floor opened, and two goblins popped up at once.

"Kirruk."

"Kerrruk."

For a proper test, they'd dosed them with aggression boosters—their eyes were wild.

Was this testing if a skill-less weakling with just stamina training could survive two goblins?

The two with wooden clubs spotted me and gaped wide.

A foul stench wafted toward me through my helmet.

"Kieeeek!"

"Kuaaaak!"

Arms flailing, they charged like maniacs.

I swallowed hard and gripped my sword two-handed.

I'd swung this thing plenty while building stamina.

One became two? No biggie!

"Uwaaaaaah!"

I charged too, swinging at the goblin.

Thwack!

It wasn't lack of strength or short limbs—I nailed the first one's head clean.

Slicing a goblin in one stroke was Miyama Asui or Julian Loa territory. Normally...

"Die! Die! Die!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

You had to bash like this.

As the head-shot goblin staggered, I yelled and pounded it.

The other swung its club at me, but trusting my armor, I tanked the pain, mashed one into pulp, then kicked the last down and bashed its head too.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Haa... haa... haa..."

Only after all life signs vanished from both did I catch my breath.

Fine in the frenzy of bashing and taking hits, but now my whole body throbbed.

"Next is three goblins. You good, Yoo Sian?"

"No."

"Good work. Next, Tae Won-ho."

The goblin corpses and blood vanished in a flash.

Blood splatter off my body was gone too, but the club bruises lingered.

Tae Won-ho went next, checking his pistol.

Should've picked a gun instead of training my body.

Like me, he raised his left hand, and the test began.

Five goblins right off the bat.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots, five dead goblins.

He immediately raised his hand for the next round. I returned my gear, thinking:

Bottom of the barrel again.

*

"Sparring? What the hell..."

Got beat every which way from start to finish.

At least my classmates showed a shred of mercy at the end—no playing around with me.

They just fact-pummeled without wasting energy.

Or maybe I wasn't worth real effort—they conserved, one-shot me, and prepped for the next.

Finished sparring quick, but taking hits every way left my body aching all over.

Finals were done.

A total wipeout left me hollow. Wandering aimlessly, I ended up back at that lake where Seo-yeon had dumped me days ago.

"Why here of all places."

If someone spotted me again, it'd be hell.

But one person caught my eye.

An elderly man, a bit aged, crouched staring blankly at the lake.

He wobbled unsteadily—looked dangerous. I approached without thinking.

"Grandpa, that's a bit risky."

"Risky? Nothing down there can harm us."

His speech was clear—no sign of dementia.

I crouched beside him and peered at the lake.

"I don't see anything?"

"Really? Hold this, and you'll see."

He touched near his right eye, then tapped near my left.

"You didn't give me anything?"

"Look again."

Glancing down, something felt different.

Like a layer of the world peeled away?

It clicked—something from recent studies.

"Layers? Grandpa, can you see other layers?"

"Good student. It's a temporary ability to glimpse the lower layers."

Like onion skins, I peeled downward.

And there, spotting 97%, I instinctively activated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my ability.

*