Chapter 5
Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Entrance Exam (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A massive auditorium.
The interior was so pristine it was hard to believe the building was only ten years old.
The senior proctor explained the exam procedures.
“You’ll go to your assigned booths according to your exam numbers. Line up at the designated booths.”
Shin Noda checked his exam slip.
His number was 102216.
Booth 7.
He lined up at Booth 7, and the proctor handed out sheets of paper.
Documents that mirrored the status window format exactly.
The stat fields were blank.
“Copy your status window exactly as it is. No cheating. We’ll test everything in the next stage anyway.”
Since showing your status window to others was impossible, this was how they evaluated applicants’ abilities.
Shin Noda summoned his status window and transcribed it faithfully.
Omitting ‘Dragon Heart’ and ‘Inheritance,’ of course.
He waited in line.
The wait was boring.
To pass the time, he watched the person in front of him.
The guy ahead had a cold expression, red hair, and handsome features—Hwang Je-seong.
A high-performance character who often joined Demon King raid parties.
Though as a guy, he didn’t join as often.
People around were whispering about Hwang Je-seong.
“Isn’t that Hwang Je-seong, son of the S-rank hero ‘Bloody Striker’? I heard he was in our cohort—guess it’s true. Maybe I’ll ask him to get his dad’s autograph later.”
“Oh, it’s starting. I heard he’s already close to B-rank. Wonder how strong he is.”
Hwang Je-seong entered the booth.
It was about the size of a small classroom.
Designed to allow for intense activity.
Mechanical sounds came from inside the booth.
[User Hwang Je-seong. Target: Straw Dummy. Beginning. 3, 2, 1.]
“Strength test. Hit the dummy as hard as you can.”
“Can I kick it?”
“Yes, anywhere’s fine.”
Hwang Je-seong’s father, ‘Bloody Striker,’ was a hero famous for taking down villains with kicks alone.
The proctor figured he’d learned footwork from his dad and let it slide.
Hwang Je-seong assumed a stance.
Soon, a sound like tearing air rang out as a roundhouse kick landed.
The dummy snapped in a single blow.
The proctor dropped his pen.
“Y-Yes, impressive as expected. A true prodigy.”
The watching students gaped in admiration.
“As expected of near-B-rank…”
“If that hit a person, they’d be done for.”
“Is he gonna be top of the class?”
The dummy crumbled into cubic particles.
Moments later, the particles reformed.
Into a goblin archer.
A monster commonly seen in dungeons after entering gates.
“Next is agility test. The arrows disintegrate on contact, so no injury. Dodge at ease.”
[User Hwang Je-seong. Target: Goblin Archer. Beginning. 3, 2, 1.]
As the curt mechanical voice ended, the goblin drew its bowstring.
An arrow sliced through the air.
No underestimating a goblin.
Any arrow loosed from a bowstring was fast.
Hwang Je-seong crouched low like a goalkeeper, ready to dodge.
The instant the arrow launched, he read its trajectory and threw himself aside.
He dodged.
The goblin snorted and nocked another arrow.
Swoosh.
The arrow cutting through the air missed him again.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four…
He kept dodging until the twentieth arrow hit.
The arrow broke into cubic particles on contact, inflicting no damage.
“Stats say C-rank, but performance is nearly B. Incredible focus.”
The proctor praised him and moved to the next step.
Intelligence and Luck tests were skipped.
Without linked skills, measurement was impossible, and it would raise fairness issues.
All that remained were skill assessment and final evaluation.
“Skill test will combine with comprehensive combat evaluation. Defeat the enemy, but use at least one skill. Hwang Je-seong applicant is C-grade, so we’ll send a hobgoblin.”
“I’ve heard you can challenge higher grades if you beat this. Just send a B-rank monster.”
“You sure? Even B-rankers get penalized if they lose.”
“Yes.”
[User Hwang Je-seong. Target: Orc Warrior. Beginning. 3, 2, 1.]
The goblin archer disintegrated, and more particles gathered into a massive form.
Two meters tall.
Bulging muscles.
An orc warrior, known as newbie weed in dungeons.
Each hand gripped a massive axe.
Students whispered.
“No way. That’s not student-level.”
“He’s too cocky. Even so, that’s…”
The students’ worries were spectacularly shattered.
Crack.
Immense cold emanated from Hwang Je-seong.
Frost formed not just on the glass booth but on the orc warrior too.
The orc thrashed but slowed, gradually freezing solid.
Soon, entirely encased in white frost.
Hwang Je-seong simply walked up and kicked it.
The orc shattered into pieces, dead.
The proctor clapped unconsciously.
“Truly amazing. I’d believe you were an active B-rank.”
He was inside the glass booth with huge terrain advantages, sure—but dominating a B-rank monster as a student was still impressive.
The watching students clapped too.
“By the way, I wouldn’t recommend the next stage. Even for you…”
“I know. We have one of these testers at home. I failed it.”
The proctor nodded.
Next was Shin Noda’s turn.
To the proctor, Shin Noda hadn’t made a good first impression.
‘Middle schooler with piercings. Kids these days.’
He took the status sheet from Shin Noda and skimmed it, chuckling inwardly.
‘Agility D, Intelligence E? And telekinesis… Doomed to fail.’
Oblivious or not to the proctor’s disdainful gaze, Shin Noda calmly entered the glass booth.
A guidance voice sounded as he did.
[User Shin Noda. Target: Straw Dummy. Beginning. 3, 2, 1.]
“Strength test. Hit the dummy as hard as you can.”
Shin Noda put maximum power into his waist and threw a punch.
The dummy shook from the blow.
Pitiful compared to Hwang Je-seong’s performance right before.
The proctor wore a ‘just as I thought’ expression.
“C-rank stats, but D-level power. No dedicated martial arts training, huh?”
The watching students murmured in disappointment.
“What’s with him?”
“Came to donate admission fees or something.”
The dummy shifted form.
Goblin archer.
[User Shin Noda. Target: Goblin Archer. Beginning. 3, 2, 1.]
“Next, agility test. As I said, arrows don’t hurt, so dodge without worry.”
Shin Noda focused on the goblin archer’s eyes.
Thanks to his ‘Inheritance’ skill, he’d faced many criminals.
Some threw daggers or knives.
From those fights, he’d learned that the opponent’s gaze direction was key.
The instant the goblin released the string, Shin Noda dove right.
His agility was D.
No margin to react to the arrow like Hwang Je-seong.
Just predict from the goblin’s gaze.
Luckily, he dodged.
The goblin nocked another.
Shin Noda locked eyes again.
‘Left this time too.’
He dove right again and dodged once more.
Luck ended there.
Third arrow.
The goblin wasn’t stupid.
It noticed how the slow-moving Shin Noda was dodging.
It faked a shot to bait him into diving, then fired at him sprawled on the floor.
The proctor filled out the evaluation.
----------------------
Actual Listed
Strength D+ C
Agility C- D
----------------------
‘Pathetic. Applying to the academy with this? Those so-called admissions experts hyping him up again.’
It happened sometimes.
Self-proclaimed admissions experts touring middle schools, planting impossible dreams in young Awakener kids.
Even when stats or skills made admission impossible, they’d charge for essays and mock interviews.
The watching students now mocked Shin Noda openly.
“100% rejected.”
“I peeked—Intelligence E and telekinesis. Heh.”
“Telekinesis with E Intelligence. Pfft! Total trash build.”
The commotion drew Yang Min-seo’s attention from Booth 6 line.
She glanced over at Booth 7, spotted Shin Noda post-agility test, and crossed her arms.
‘Let’s see if you’re just some random extra thug or not.’
The Booth 7 proctor cleared his throat and yelled for order.
The chatter finally stopped.
“Next, comprehensive combat evaluation. We’ll assess your skill too, so use it at least once.”
“Yes.”
Shin Noda knew his scores so far were failing territory.
To turn it around, he needed at least an A in combat eval.
Beating an A-rank monster was impossible given his stats.
But he was confident.
He had a hidden trump card.