Aptitude Evaluation (1)
A week had passed since I fed that gem to Siwoo. Ever since then, he flinched every time he saw me and went out of his way to avoid me. He must still be thinking about the time I made him eat a rock. I had no interest in forcing myself on someone who was clearly uncomfortable, so I kept my distance and went about my days. Time flowed on like that, and before I knew it, the season for the new students' aptitude evaluation had arrived.
“Greetings, proud students of Kardi Academy. This is Headmaster Armin. As the scent of spring breeze fills the air… (omitted)… Therefore, I hereby declare the commencement of the 40th New Student Aptitude Evaluation.”
The headmaster’s greeting played on a monitor set up in the center of the dueling arena, which looked much like the training grounds I had once used. The main differences were the spectator seats overlooking the arena and the fact that it was above ground rather than underground.
“Still, it’s not bad.”
A clear blue sky was visible through the windows attached to the spectator seats, so I smiled faintly and listened to the headmaster’s words coming from the monitor.
“This aptitude evaluation will be conducted in a tournament format.”
The moment the headmaster finished speaking, a bracket showing the tournament matchups appeared on the monitor. The first match was Siwoo versus Hameln, the second was Camilla versus Aria… It seemed the pairings hadn’t been chosen randomly but had been decided arbitrarily by the professors. While questions of fairness could be raised, it was still better than having the 99th-ranked Torri face off against the 2nd-ranked Siwoo. Accepting that reasoning, I searched the bracket for my own name. However…
“It’s not there?”
My name wasn’t listed. What was going on? Had some kind of mistake occurred while the bracket was being made? I looked around and approached the supervising professor present.
“Professor.”
“What seems to be the matter?”
“My name isn’t on the bracket.”
The middle-aged professor frowned and checked the bracket listing the students’ names.
“That can’t be… What is your name?”
“Plea.”
“Ah, so you’re that Plea, young lady?”
“Yes?”
Upon hearing my name, the professor gave up searching the bracket and smiled as if it made perfect sense.
“There’s no need to worry. It will be announced shortly.”
“Yes?”
When I asked back in confusion, the professor gave a wry smile and pointed at the bracket.
“Miss Plea… has received a bye.”
“What?!”
A bye? Why? Before I could demand an explanation, the headmaster’s voice came through the monitor again.
“Additionally, we would like to inform everyone in advance that Student Plea will advance directly to the finals with a bye, which may result in changes to the bracket.”
The moment those words were spoken, the students began murmuring among themselves.
“Plea? Who is that, and why does she keep getting special treatment?”
“Is she the president’s daughter or something?”
“How much money did she have to stuff into someone’s pockets to get this kind of privilege?”
And most of those whispers were curses directed at me…
“Ha…”
I pressed a hand to my forehead as I watched the scene unfold. I had no idea how to clear up this misunderstanding.
Leaving the professor’s wry smile behind, I quietly took my seat. Causing a scene would only draw more attention, and once they realized I was Plea, I would definitely get nothing but dirty looks. So I simply watched the students’ tournament matches.
“Ooh…!”
The matches that followed were quite entertaining to watch. Not because they were flashy or anything… but because low-level fights were always the most fun. Watching them throw tiny fireballs, put up tiny barriers, and swing swords with whooshing sounds felt like watching a circus performance. At the same time, I could more or less understand why the organizers had given me a bye. Honestly… seeing that scene, I wasn’t confident I could end a match safely if I fought against those kids. They had restricted personal weapons to prevent accidents and even stationed A-rank hunters as referees just in case, but if I caused an incident, there would be no way to stop it. Objectively speaking, my combat strength was on the level of one of Helline’s 5 Greats—beings considered transcendent even among S-rank heroes who had already reached the pinnacle. An ordinary A-rank hunter had no chance of stopping someone on that level. Besides… I still didn’t know how to finely control my ability. Just look at my fight with Dana—I had simply let my power run wild.
‘That’s why they put me in the finals, where personal weapons are allowed.’
The finals of the tournament always permitted the use of personal weapons, and multiple S-rank hunters would be watching. Moreover, my first personal weapon didn’t require delicate control of my ability in the first place.
“I wonder who’ll make it to the finals…?”
I muttered to myself and continued watching the matches.
The matches were so entertaining that I lost track of time. Then someone tapped me on the back.
“Who is it?”
“The finals are about to begin. Please come down.”
“Ah. I’ll head down now.”
It turned out to be someone sent to fetch me because I hadn’t come down on my own. Scratching the back of my head awkwardly, I left the waiting room where I had been watching the matches and headed to the player preparation room.
“You’re late.”
“Haha… The matches were so fun that I got caught up watching.”
“That’s understandable. Here is the personal weapon you requested.”
The guide who had been waiting in my preparation room handed me a large leather case strapped to their back.
“Whoa… This thing is really heavy. Judging by the size, is it a warhammer?”
I chuckled and shook my head. Everyone who saw the case containing my personal weapon asked if it was a warhammer or a battle axe, but honestly, it wasn’t comparable to those kinds of weapons.
“Then is it a battle axe? Or a greatsword?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Aww… That’s a shame. Well then, good luck with your match.”
When I brought my index finger to my lips, the guide clicked their tongue in disappointment and left the preparation room. Once their presence had completely disappeared, I let out a light sigh.
“The match hasn’t even started yet, and she’s already scheming… Camilla really is something else.”
I chuckled with a hint of mockery. The guide who had just delivered my personal weapon was one of Camilla’s plants. That question earlier had probably been an attempt to extract information about my weapon. An ordinary person might have proudly shown off their personal weapon without suspicion, but having played the game, I knew about this event where someone asks about your personal weapon. It was an event that triggered if Camilla made it to the finals, and if I revealed my weapon, she would gain a slight stat boost along with a way to counter my ability.
“Whether it’s here or in my past life, you really have to watch out for those chaebol types.”
Well, even if her underhanded trick succeeded, Camilla had no chance of winning. At best, she would just surrender before losing. Humming a little tune, I waited for my turn.
“You failed?”
“I’m sorry, my lady.”
In the winner’s waiting room for the finals, Camilla sighed as she looked at the guide bowing their head.
“It wasn’t even that difficult, was it? Especially since your opponent got a bye and we barely have any information on them…”
She couldn’t hide her disappointment upon learning that her behind-the-scenes maneuvering had failed. Pulling strings in ordinary society was one thing, but planting someone among the academy staff was difficult even for Camilla, the only daughter of a major corporation.
“Sigh… Fine. Could you take out my personal weapon first?”
“Yes, my lady.”
When she snapped her fingers, the guide standing behind her bowed and opened two titanium cases. Camilla smiled in satisfaction as she looked at the contents. Inside were a custom rifle and colorful alchemical bullets—her personal weapon, created to use her ability “Magic Bullet” more efficiently. As the sole heir of a conglomerate, the weapon she had built with her vast wealth boasted ridiculous performance. In Plea’s words, it was endgame-spec gear. A barrel made of alchemical material that amplified mana, bullets each worth tens of millions of won, and above all, a special mana battery that the Helline military had begun developing ten years ago. Camilla smiled contentedly as she gazed at her beloved weapon.
“It’s a weapon that can take down even a B-rank hero in one shot, even if a civilian with no mana uses it… Truly excellent.”
“Indeed. With this weapon, no matter what ability your opponent possesses, you’ll be able to deal with them instantly, Lady Camilla.”
Pleased with the guide’s answer, Camilla slung the rifle over her back and left the preparation room.
“I wish you victory.”
“Of course.”
The place she arrived at after walking down the corridor was a square dueling arena. Only four people were present: herself, two referees overseeing the match, and the red-haired girl who was presumably her opponent.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Camilla.”
“Yeah, I’m Plea.”
Camilla didn’t like how the red-haired girl responded so half-heartedly to her greeting, but she figured there was no point worrying about someone she was about to beat anyway. She took out her weapon from its case. With her reliable beloved rifle, she could knock out an ordinary student in one shot. Just as she thought that, the girl called Plea was staring at her rifle with a surprised expression.
‘See? My rifle is the strongest. Compared to that, her weapon… what is that? A warhammer?’
Judging by its size, it looked like a weapon only useful in close combat. Plus, its weight would severely limit her mobility…
‘This’ll be an easy win.’
Thinking that, Camilla aimed her rifle at Plea.
“Aren’t you going to take out your weapon?”
“I’ll take it out when the match starts.”
“Well, suit yourself.”
Camilla smiled and replied. A moment later, the referee raised their arm.
“Match start!”
With those words, bang! Camilla’s rifle spat fire. The alchemical bullet was enchanted with a full load of lightning magic, designed purely for suppression, so even the referees didn’t intervene. Crackle! A blue flash erupted. Camilla thought the match was already over. That current was powerful enough to subdue even an active C-rank hunter. But it wasn’t. Just as Camilla was about to turn around, the red-haired girl’s calm voice rang out from behind her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The moment she heard those words, Camilla turned around and froze in shock.
“W-what the—!”
The leather case containing the girl’s personal weapon was open.