Welcome to the Show
The moment he passed through the main gate, the dark and dreary sky broke apart into brilliant sunshine, and a vast blue expanse unfolded before him.
Simon brought his Golem Board to a halt.
Wh-what is all this?
It felt like stepping into another world entirely. Simon was standing on a towering stage that stretched from the main gate toward the center of campus, and below it, an ocean of people was roaring their approval.
Simon! Simon! Simon!
They were even chanting his name on repeat.
He stood frozen, dumbfounded, when a booming voice suddenly rang out beside him.
"Simon Polentia, admitted as Special Admission No. 1! And once again, he's crossed the finish line in first place! Please welcome him to the stage!"
"WAAAAAAAH!"
At the center of the stage, an announcer in flamboyant dress was shouting into an amplification crystal. When their eyes met, he waved Simon over.
From outside the gate, I couldn't see any of this. It was all hidden behind an illusion spell. So this whole thing was...
Simon's gaze drifted up to the enormous Mana Screens floating in the air.
Footage of other students battling the Prima Materia monsters was being broadcast live by the Observers.
It was all Kizen's exam from the very beginning.
Apparently, the test ended the moment you arrived at the Kizen campus.
On another Mana Screen, a ranked board was displayed — and in the very top slot, the number 1 glinting in gold, Simon's face appeared alongside his name, nationality, intended major, and more.
I really did make it here first?
Click!
Click!
Dazzling flashes erupted from mana cameras on all sides. Simon grimaced and raised an arm to shield his eyes. Beside the cameras, he could make out masked men in black ties scribbling furiously into their notebooks.
Even scouts?
His mind had been a complete blur until now, but he suddenly felt sharply, painfully awake.
Simon calmly straightened his tie, checked his clothes, and climbed up onto the stage where the announcer waited.
"Let's have another huge round of applause for Simon Polentia!!"
"WAAAAAAAH!"
Bathed in that fervent cheering, Simon reached the center of the stage. The announcer lowered the amplification crystal and spoke quietly.
Quite the rush of questions being thrown out. Of course he needed the full picture — but that could probably wait until he was off the stage.
"You must be pretty stunned! How's your body holding up?"
"Honestly, it all feels like a daze. But yes, I'm in good shape!"
"First things first — a quick self-introduction, please!"
This was his very first public appearance as Kizen's Special Admission No. 1. Hundreds of eyes were fixed on him. Mistakes would not be forgiven.
Simon drew in a light breath and opened his mouth.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Simon Polentia."
WHOOOOOOSH!
Several thousand meters above Roc Island.
Armored in the wings and scales of a Death Dragon, Hector Moore refused anything as ordinary as the ground. He was taking the high-altitude route above the clouds.
The instant he'd come to his senses, Hector had seen through the whole thing — this was Kizen's exam — and launched himself skyward.
Of course, taking to the air was anything but easy. Kizen had released a swarm of bird-shaped Prima Materia monsters into the skies as well.
Flashes of divinity, each one potentially lethal, came pouring down on Hector alone. For a moment he considered simply joining the other students on the ground route, but in the end he pushed through the aerial path to the bitter end.
There's no beating that guy the normal way.
Driven by that single conviction, Hector had weaved and fought his way past countless flying monsters — and only now finally spotted the Kizen campus below from the high altitude.
All I have to do now is drop down!
He'd wasted far too much time dodging attacks. He'd lost no small number of scales, too. Glancing back at the monsters on his tail, Hector surged every last drop of Jet-Black he had into the Death Dragon's wings.
Soon his legs pointed skyward, his head toward the earth. Holding that exact posture, he began a blistering freefall toward the campus.
WHIIIIIIINE!
It felt like the savage headwind would strip the scales right off his body.
But Hector welcomed the pain. And he was certain.
This time, without a doubt, first place is mine!
The Kizen campus rushed up toward him in an instant.
Seeing a transparent membrane of Jet-Black spread like a wall across the deserted campus, Hector grew even more certain. This really was Kizen's exam.
I begin Kizen's Integrated Second Semester with my victory! I, the heir of the Moore family...!
His body plunged through the Jet-Black barrier.
Perfection!
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The scenery around him flipped in an instant — and he saw a sea of people throwing their arms up in celebration.
An electric thrill of pure exhilaration crackled through his entire body.
Hector threw out both arms and roared. It was a cry like a dragon's bellow.
"While the interview was underway, student Hector Moore has arrived!"
As expected of me... huh? Wait, what did he just say?
"A round of applause for Hector Moore of the Moore family — a house of houses among the great noble lines! He overtook every last Special Admission prodigy and monster alike to claim a proud second place!"
Second? Me? Not first?
"And now, returning to our interview with Simon Polentia, who arrived in first place—"
The expression drained from Hector's face, leaving it frost-cold.
There, already on the stage, was Simon — amplification crystal in hand, calmly answering the announcer's questions.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Hector's face flushed crimson with rage, and his howl shook the entire banquet hall.
The interview passed without incident.
How had he spent the break? What dark magic had he been practicing lately? What was the hardest part of life at Kizen, and what was his resolve going into the Integrated Second Semester?
He'd worried they might dig into his past or his background, but there were no uncomfortable questions. They stuck strictly to what a student could reasonably answer.
With the interview wrapped up, Simon stepped down behind the stage to find a woman waiting there, her hands folded neatly in front of her.
When their eyes met, she bowed her head first.
"Simon."
He didn't know her name, but her face was familiar.
Jane's teaching assistant — the homeroom professor of Class A. He'd run into her now and then when she supervised training sessions or when Jane summoned him.
Simon bowed politely in return.
"Have you been well, Professor?"
Seeing a familiar face here made her all the more welcome.
"I have. More importantly — that footage earlier looked brutal. You weren't hurt, were you?"
At those words, Simon grabbed his aching left arm.
"This one, a little."
She stepped close and took hold of his arm.
"How about here?"
"That's fin—"
"And here?"
"AAACK! That hurts!"
When Simon yelped, she nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Come with me. I'll take you to get treated."
"Thank y—"
"WAAAAAAAAH!"
Another round of thunderous cheering erupted. Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
It was hard to see from here, but apparently someone had just arrived in third. The announcer was calling out the name Chatel Maer.
"Shall we go?"
Simon set off after the assistant. She explained that while this sort of thing was normally the henchmen's job, the event was so large that the teaching assistants were personally managing the students.
"So, Professor... what exactly is all this?"
As Simon spilled out the questions he'd been swallowing, she gave a small laugh.
"Sorry. I guess it was a shock, huh? You'll hear the details at the opening ceremony, but this is essentially a performance evaluation for the entire first-year class. It counts toward your grades — and by today's end, at least fifty students will probably be losing their Kizen uniforms."
Simon's heart lurched at that.
Fifty people?
"Also, this exam is being held with outside spectators — just like that public Duel Evaluation, when the Princess of the Dresden Kingdom came to watch."
Saying that, she stole a quick glance at Simon's face before continuing.
"Of course, I understand how you feel, Simon~ I went through it myself as a student, and it didn't exactly feel great. You're already sweating blood over the exam — puking, wetting yourself, the whole disaster — and then you remember an audience is watching every second of it. It got on my nerves, honestly."
Simon waved his hands in flustered denial.
"N-no, it's nothing like that! Kizen has given me a stage to make my name and reputation known, so...!"
As if she could see straight through him, she merely let the corner of her mouth curl up.
"I'm just a disposable little teaching assistant, hardly anyone important — but as an educator, let me apologize on their behalf. The truth is, this opening exam was always planned. It was Kizen Headquarters that forced it to be held publicly."
"What? Why would Headquarters suddenly...?"
"Well, after the terrorist attack on the first-years, a lot of people started questioning Kizen's dominance. The voices got louder."
Four kingdoms. And the great houses like the Ivory Tower. Governing all of them by pressing down on them with the force of a single organization was never an easy feat.
Viewed that way, the Efnel side had been clever about it.
They destroyed every existing nation and king, built a single empire called the Holy Federation, established religion as the foundation of the state sitting above royal authority, sealed off information, and controlled their citizens under the institution of heresy inquisition. That was their system.
Nephthys, by contrast, had chosen the far harder road of "harmony," binding the powers together under the banner of an alliance. And to the anti-Kizen factions that had splintered off in opposition, this Saintess crisis had been delicious prey.
"Holding the exam in public view is a kind of display. It's a message: Kizen is still the strongest, and even the students who were at the center of the incident aren't shaken in the slightest."
According to her, the spectators had actually been horrified when Kizen first revealed the exam's difficulty.
Seventeen-year-olds who hadn't even finished their first semester, thrown face-first into the trauma of death, made to fight holy monsters and actual Priests — with their Kizen uniforms even neutralized, and then tossed onto the battlefield.
It wouldn't have been strange at all if students had started having their Cores destroyed on the spot.
But in the end, the overwhelming majority of students were overcoming their fear, fighting the Priests, and pouring everything they had into reaching the Kizen campus.
The spectators were deeply moved — and the electric atmosphere that had greeted Simon's arrival had been built on exactly that. In the end, everything was flowing according to the grand design Headquarters had drawn up.
...They really are an organization with serious depth. It's like watching them play geopolitics like a game board.
He could already picture the headlines that would splash across every newspaper in the former kingdoms. Simon laughed inwardly and shook off the stray thought.
"By the way — what happened to those Priests from earlier?"
"That'll be explained at the opening ceremony too. To put it simply... they're people who fled the Holy Federation and are now cooperating with Kizen? Think of it that way and it's close enough."
They arrived at the emergency medical station. The assistant gave a crisp bow and stepped outside, and Simon received his treatment.
Thankfully, his left arm was dealt with quickly, without even needing a splint. He was told not to strain it for the next two days.
Medicine in hand, he left the medical station and walked back toward the student waiting room.
Murmur murmur murmur!
Just then, a swell of restless chatter rose from the crowd. Simon's gaze turned to the Mana Screen — and a familiar smile spread across his lips.
It's Meilin!
She had reached the gates of the Kizen campus within the Top 10.
All that remained now was her battle with that old Priest.