English in the Entrance Exam? Jackpot
English in the entrance exam? Jackpot.
Guided by the guards, I made my way to the exam hall. Surprisingly, it was quite close—just a large auditorium right by the main gate.
‘So this is the place.’
It resembled a modern school gymnasium. The door creaked open as I stepped inside, revealing a spacious interior that felt almost identical to one. A raised platform stood at the front, where several figures who appeared to be professors were seated. It seemed the exam would be conducted up there.
‘Like an interview?’
Four professors would interview each candidate to determine acceptance. ‘So that’s where the English test comes in?’ I had a rough idea of the format now.
Just then, one of the professors stared at me in shock. I mirrored the expression. It was someone I knew.
‘Serge Geis?’
He was known as the Royal First Sword of the kingdom—the knight most favored by the current king of Aachen. We had crossed paths a few times due to commissions, so we weren’t strangers.
‘This should make things easier.’
Fortunately, our relationship wasn’t bad. My chances of passing had just gone up. He looked genuinely surprised to see me here.
“Jace Allen?”
“Hmm…? Did you say Jace Allen? The Mercenary King?!”
“Why would the Mercenary King be here…?”
At his words, everyone turned to look at me, their faces filled with confusion.
‘Why? Can’t a mercenary apply to the Academy?’
It was probably due to the prejudice built up by previous Mercenary Kings. Mercenaries carried a deep-seated image of being uneducated.
‘I can even use magic… Ha, some stereotypes never change.’
I pretended not to notice and slipped toward the back. People were already lining up behind me. I had been the first to arrive, but there was no need to take the test first. It would be smarter to watch how things went before stepping up. I positioned myself somewhere in the middle—that seemed ideal.
After a short wait, about a hundred people filed into the auditorium. The doors shut immediately.
“W-wait a second!!”
“You can’t close it yet…”
“Some people haven’t come in…”
Thud.
Watching the scene, I quietly patted my chest in relief. Without the mercenary group’s help, I might not have even gotten to take the test.
‘I’ll have to thank them later.’
Thousands had gathered outside, yet only a hundred were allowed inside. It clearly showed how little the Academy valued the final day of testing.
‘There probably won’t be many passers. At most one or two?’
Giving commoners a chance was likely just for show. The professors’ expressions alone made it obvious they had no expectations. It felt like they were only doing this because of the king’s orders.
“Then, the person at the very front—come up to the platform!”
The exam began. The first candidate was a commoner man with a confident look and a sturdy build. He had probably trained in martial arts professionally.
‘His stance is balanced. He’s probably close to the 1st Awakening.’
He hadn’t reached it yet, but he was near. The 1st Awakening meant being able to freely manipulate mana—controlling it with precision and gaining an overall boost in abilities. It wasn’t something you saw often.
‘In martial arts novel terms, he’d be a first-rate expert?’
Serge Geis’s eyes lit up. He had noticed the same thing. The man soon sat among the professors, and the interview began.
I observed carefully. I was confident, but I couldn’t afford to be careless.
‘They said the difficulty was quite high.’
Maybe even I would be caught off guard by some questions. The strictest-looking professor stepped forward—a man with a rather unpleasant expression. I focused intently.
‘What kind of question will he ask…?’
He might even ask for a self-introduction in English.
‘I didn’t prepare for that…’
Then the professor’s voice rang out. My expression hardened—not because the difficulty was high.
“What’s your name?”
“Huh?”
“Fail!”
It was so absurd that my face went stiff.
“I-I… what’s ‘What’s your name’…”
“Tsk. Get down.”
“Yes…”
The man left with his head bowed. Even if he wanted to argue, Serge Geis was glaring at him—no one would dare.
The surroundings grew noisy.
“W-was that English just now?”
“That’s English?”
“I’ve never heard it before… We’re in trouble.”
Everyone looked terrified, as if the entire group had suddenly developed English phobia. English wasn’t properly established in this world yet. People only heard it occasionally from Walkmans that dropped from supply shipments. There were no English textbooks, so their reactions made sense.
“What the heck is ‘What’s your name’?”
“I-I don’t know either. Don’t ask me.”
The interviews seemed to be ending much faster than I expected. There was no need to even go through all hundred people. Proof of that:
“What’s your name?”
“Hi!”
“Fail!”
Nearly twenty people had already failed just on that single question. Only then did someone manage a response.
“What’s your name?”
“M-My name is… H-Hans!”
That was all he could manage.
“What’s your hobby?”
“I-I don’t know what ‘What’s your hobby’ is…”
“Fail!”
Even those who could say their name couldn’t go any further. People kept failing one after another. No one had gotten past the strict professor yet.
‘So we have to pass each one in sequence?’
With everyone failing so quickly, it was hard to gauge anything. Soon, it was my turn. I wore an incredulous expression. I hadn’t even gotten a proper look at the process. Still, there was no helping it. I slowly stepped up onto the platform.
Whispers followed me.
“That guy’s the Mercenary King?”
“Yeah, he was acting all high and mighty earlier. Brought his subordinates and cut in line…”
“Right. Like someone without connections wouldn’t have to wait in line?”
“He’ll fail in no time anyway. Hurry up and tell us what ‘What’s your hobby’ means.”
They were all speaking negatively about me because of the earlier line-cutting. They also had zero expectations. I was the Mercenary King—the leader of uneducated mercenaries. So none of them even considered asking me for hints.
‘Just watch.’
They would soon regret it deeply. Because I was about to give out plenty of hints.
I walked slowly up to the platform. Four professors looked at me with curious expressions. That was it. They clearly had no expectations. Even Serge Geis was the same. He especially looked at me with pity, as if he thought I had come here only to embarrass myself.
The strict professor opened his mouth and asked the same question again—the one that had stumped everyone.
“What’s your name?”
Of course, it wasn’t difficult for me at all. I answered almost like a native speaker.
“My name is Jace Allen.”
The professors looked startled. My response was different from the others. The strict professor in particular seemed especially shocked—his eyes widened. He stammered slightly as he asked the next question. Even that wasn’t hard for me.
“My hobby is martial arts.”
He had asked about my hobby again, and I answered that it was martial arts.
“Martial arts?”
He deliberately used a difficult word. The professor’s face twisted—he didn’t know that term either.
“Ahem. Quite a refined hobby you have.”
“Yes. I suppose so.”
I smiled faintly. The strict professor, seemingly trying to recover, began firing off various sentences. I answered them all with ease.
“I am 29 years old.”
“I am the Mercenary King.”
It was all very simple for me. It was only elementary-level English, after all.
‘Even the professors can’t help it.’
The importance of America had only recently been recognized here. Naturally, the level was low. The strict-looking professor’s body began to tremble. It seemed all the questions were over. His face turned bright red—he must have realized his own level was lower than mine.
From behind, surprised voices could be heard.
“What the heck is ‘My hobby is martial arts’?”
“I-I don’t know!”
“To think the Mercenary King would have such advanced knowledge…!!”
“Ah…! I didn’t catch any of it!!”
They were all shocked by my English proficiency. Their eyes were wide with bewilderment, and they regretted not listening to my answers for hints.
‘You should’ve paid attention.’
It was already too late. The strict professor stepped back, and Serge Geis approached me. He had the appearance of a handsome middle-aged man, his neatly groomed beard particularly striking.
“You’re quite good at English? I didn’t know.”
“Yes. I happened to learn a bit.”
“Hah… You learned that kind of advanced knowledge? Impressive.”
He looked at me with renewed eyes. It was certainly surprising for the Mercenary King to display such “advanced knowledge.”
Anyway, he seemed to be the second interviewer. Since Serge Geis had stepped forward, there was a high chance the next test would be related to martial arts.
‘Well, that’s the field I’m most confident in.’
I was more confident in martial arts than English. Even if he suggested a sparring match, I was ready to accept. But he simply nodded.
Then he spoke confidently.
“Pass.”