Admission Exam (2)
One hour before entering the exam hall at Georged Hall.
While student council members busily tidied up the hall, Rebecca sat in a chair, tilting her teacup.
"Sion Illeionhart..."
Shion Esperand, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, had changed beyond recognition.
It wasn't just his appearance.
From his personality to his mannerisms, even his subtle hand movements.
...He's completely a new person now.
Shion Esperand had transformed to the point where she could no longer recall the boy from the past.
But the Sion she had met recently delivered another shock to Rebecca.
Sion had said:
—"I'm Sion Illeionhart."
...Declaring that the person standing there was not Shion Esperand, but "Sion Illeionhart."
The image of him drawing a sharp line still lingered vividly in her mind.
No way he's forgotten... right?
Shion Esperand seemed to have cleanly erased the past.
Whenever she recalled those deep green eyes, she found herself lost in sentiment without realizing it.
It wasn't lingering attachment.
They had never shared emotions deep enough for that in the first place.
"......"
Rebecca closed her eyes.
It had been an engagement between two families that shattered long ago.
—"I'd rather bite my tongue and die than marry someone like you."
—"Hey! Shion! What kind of talk is that!"
—"Brother, I'm speaking rationally. For both our sakes, that seems like the best path."
The vaguely fading betrothal.
In the end, it was Shion Esperand who declared the breakup.
And years later, when they met again, Sion introduced himself as "Illeionhart."
Looking like a completely new person.
As if he'd forgotten all of the past.
—"I won't ask for anything from you, Lady Rebecca. If I had to wish for something as Shion Esperand, it would just be that you see me as Illeionhart."
He had drawn the line, saying they were no longer connected.
But what Sion said wasn't entirely like that.
Rebecca quietly recalled.
—"I know you far better than you think, Lady Rebecca."
An arrogant tone, as if he had her completely figured out.
Remembering that moment when he'd touched her reverse scale sent a crawling disgust up her arm, like a snake slithering across it.
"......"
Rebecca opened her eyes.
She sensed footsteps outside.
Knock knock—
"Lady Rebecca."
The door opened cautiously.
Rebecca snapped out of her reverie.
"The exam will begin soon. Everyone has gathered at Georged Hall."
"Yes, I'll head out now. Secretary Amelia."
The visitor was Amelia Secretary.
As always, the student council's key figure clutched a thick stack of documents.
"Then I'll go ahead. Please don't be late."
Rebecca, staring blankly at the secretary's retreating back, suddenly lifted her head.
"Wait a moment, Amelia."
"...Pardon?"
She had stopped her on impulse, but Rebecca herself didn't know what to say.
Speaking her thoughts raw like this was a first.
"Could you check the Lacnia Cave east of Arsen one more time, using this method?"
"The Lacnia Cave? I thought the excavation there was already complete..."
"Yes."
Rebecca carefully unfolded a neatly folded note.
It was the note Sion had left after dinner with Professor Biern.
She didn't fully trust Sion.
It was just a faint hope.
Clutching at straws, she said,
"I leave it to you, Amelia."
"......"
Just in case, the item she sought might really be there.
Rebecca's expression was resolute.
A hardened face, as if she'd made some firm decision.
Amelia couldn't understand such a Rebecca.
Georged Hall, where the admission exam was underway.
A line of prospective cadets entered the gate one by one.
"Is this really okay? The gate's black."
"Artificially created gates are naturally dark in color. It's normal."
"Still..."
"The people behind are waiting. Please enter."
Many prospective cadets shrank back from the ominous black light of the gate.
But if they didn't step in voluntarily, they'd be pushed.
The admission exam was mandatory.
Whether they scored well or got eliminated immediately upon entry.
That was for the cadets to handle; the instructor indifferently ushered the long line forward.
"Entry confirmed."
"Next."
Prospective cadets leaping into the portal after being shoved looked a bit pitiful.
Of course, it was understandable.
With so many people, it was unavoidable.
Waiting for each one would take all day just for entry.
"A-839, Sion Illeionhart. Enter."
My turn finally came.
I stepped up to the gate as called.
"No need to be scared. They're all kids around your age anyway."
With that encouragement from the instructor at the portal,
Crackle!
I jumped into the gate.
Instantly, my vision blurred.
My whole body went limp, as if submerged in water.
It was a fleeting moment.
I squinted at the sudden burst of light.
And when I opened my eyes again.
Chirp chirp—
Trill!
I was dumped in the middle of some forest.
Cool air blew in.
Mountain air was usually like this.
Even beyond a gate, life persisted.
A flock of birds flew over the dense treetops.
This was a place that existed yet didn't.
Gates were phenomena hard to define from the start, so the setting guide glossed over them vaguely.
...If I had to put it, some warped space in another dimension.
Beep!
Without warning, my watch chimed.
My position appeared on the map.
Naturally, I couldn't see other cadets' locations.
Providing the map was the instructors' consideration to prevent getting lost.
"Wh-what the...!"
"......!"
Then, voices rang out.
More precisely, shouts and yells.
I crouched low and slipped into nearby bushes.
Too short for proper camouflage, I flattened myself on the ground.
Ten meters ahead.
In a quiet forest clearing where a few trees had toppled.
Two cadets faced off.
"We just started! This is too much!"
"That's why it's legal—we've started."
"Fuck! Wait! Give me a sec!"
One held a sword, the other a book.
Swordsman versus mage.
Naturally, in close quarters, the mage was at a disadvantage.
"This is unfair! Where's the fairness!"
Aware of it, the mage dodged the swinging sword, darting around.
Like a cat chasing a mouse.
The swordsman pursued fiercely.
The sharp blade grazed the cadet uniform several times, eliciting screams from the mage each time.
"Wait, give me a break! Time-out!"
"No breaks. We've started."
"Still...!"
But the mage wasn't just evading.
The swordsman seemed oblivious, but the mage chanted spells intermittently.
Breaking up what should have been a continuous magic ritual into chunks.
"Take off the bracelet."
"Aw, why go that far..."
"You wanted a break. This is it. Lose it or hand it over."
"There must be better ways than that."
Of course, the swordsman had honed instincts too.
Even without, he'd know the mage was stalling.
The longer it dragged, the risk of other cadets hearing the commotion.
The swordsman closed in.
Pressed the blade to the mage's throat.
"Five seconds."
"No, wait, wait."
I could intervene if I wanted, but I watched silently for now.
Curious to see reverse summoning firsthand, and above all—
"Five."
"Wait!"
"Four..."
"Stop! Just a sec!"
"Three..."
...the scene was too entertaining.
Like watching a fire across the river—other people's fights are always fun.
"Seriously!"
"Two..."
The mage's throat already met the sword.
No room to retreat.
The swordsman raised the blade.
"One."
And as he swung to decapitate—
Kududuk!
Wooden vines erupted from the ground, binding the swordsman.
He yelled in panic.
"You little shit...!"
"Sorry, but it's over."
Unlike the swordsman's leisure, the mage cast immediately.
At the moment sharpened stakes flew toward the swordsman's chest, he let out a final scream.
"...You fucking bastard!"
"Hah... huff."
Bound by vines, the swordsman was engulfed in light and vanished.
The mage won.
Right after, the mage turned toward me.
I don't know how he noticed.
Sensed mana flow, maybe.
"You there...!"
The instant our eyes met, I pulled the trigger.
He couldn't react in time.
No matter how fast his casting, not faster than a bullet.
After graduating Arsen and becoming a hunter, maybe different—but he was still prospective cadet level.
And my talent was Sharp Shooter; I poured mana generously into the first shot.
The accuracy-boosted bullet surged unhindered.
"Agh!"
Gunfire echoed belatedly.
Like the swordsman, the mage was wrapped in light and reverse-summoned.
Only his bisected bracelet lay abandoned.
Thud—
I picked it up.
My watch blinked.
A new alert.
Sion Illeionhart: 2 points acquired
"Two points..."
I squatted and fiddled with the watch.
This watch would be my communication tool at Arsen—and practically my second self.
Watches were used everywhere at Arsen.
Payments via watch.
Cadet ID checks via watch.
Attendance via watch.
...And another key feature: the community.
Not yet activated, its panel was grayed out, but another window blazed prominently instead.
1st - Lara Steelhiden (3 points)
2nd - Serin Anette (2 points)
2nd - Sion Illeionhart (2 points)
4th - ...... (1 point)
My name sat at tied 2nd, but plummeted right after checking.
Rankings meant little now anyway.
With the melee chaos, they'd shift every few minutes.
Even Lara, who held 1st, soon dropped.
Changes updated in real-time.
My take on it?
"...What a total mess."
The early admission exam was the most chaotic, complex brawl phase.
Shouts echoed from forests everywhere.
Due to this year's unusual battle royale format.
Why battle royale? Game dev lore said it referenced a trendy battle royale game during development.
...More like outright copied, but that's on the devs.
Let's see...
The protagonist's name wasn't on the board yet.
Unclear if it'd follow the original plot, so I had to hustle.
One thing for sure: the top prize had to go to the protagonist.
For my comfy retirement, I needed to make it happen.
So, climb to the top ranks as insurance, then yield 1st to the protagonist.
Force-feed it if he refuses.
The main cast thriving meant my easy life.
As I'd said before, that was enough.
