Chapter 4
“What… What is that?”
“What did you say his name was? What family is he from?”
“He… he scored over 300 points!”
“300 points?!”
Crescent Academy, with its long history, had dozens of different entrance exams.
Among them, this year’s chosen exam for the 158th class, “Golem Hit,” was known to be one of the most challenging.
For examinees who hadn’t received proper combat training or education, a one-on-one fight against a golem was inevitably much harder than simple exams like mana emission or target practice.
In the past, the golem had been programmed not only for defense and evasion but also for offensive attacks. However, due to safety concerns, its offensive programming had been removed a few years back and replaced with basic counterattack programming.
Even so, it was still one of the most difficult entrance exams.
Most young noble candidates, who had only trained against stationary targets or led sheltered lives like delicate flowers, struggled to score over 100 points.
The last time the “Golem Hit” test was administered, the average score among examinees was 92 points.
“Um, I’ve never heard of the name… Ryu?”
“What family did you say?”
“H-he’s a commoner.”
“…”
In the monitoring room, where proctors kept an eye out for potential cheating among examinees, every eye was glued to a single screen.
Candidate number 176, a commoner named Ryu.
Initially, his black hair had caught their attention, but otherwise, there had been no reason to watch him. Yet now, Ryu was scoring over 300 points with his bare hands in the Golem Hit test.
All the proctors had their eyes peeled, watching closely for any sign of the golem malfunctioning or the examinee cheating, but no one could detect anything suspicious.
The golem’s hit map registered genuine impacts, and all remote checks on the golem showed it was functioning normally.
“W-wait, is he really appearing behind it out of nowhere, or am I seeing things?”
“That looks like magic… check the mana detector!”
“It does seem to be magic! Mana’s detected dispersing from the examinee’s body whenever he moves behind the golem.”
“How is his casting speed even possible…?”
The proctors were entranced by Ryu’s screen, ignoring every other examinee’s feed.
Charging toward the golem only to suddenly appear behind it, launching it into the air, and delivering a merciless barrage of punches.
The ease with which Ryu handled the golem was so baffling that the proctors started to question whether this test was actually the most challenging.
“It’s over!”
“That’s… the highest score on record.”
“Oh…”
Kain, an instructor from Professor Amilion’s team and in charge of overseeing this entrance exam, stared blankly at the screen showing Ryu finishing his exam.
The black-haired boy was dusting his hands with a proud smile, and the screen displayed his score: 312 points.
While other proctors were astonished by Ryu’s score, Kain was equally stunned by Ryu’s appearance after finishing the test.
Just moments ago, the previous candidate had collapsed, exhausted, as soon as the exam was over, but Ryu looked completely fresh.
Not a single drop of sweat.
‘What is…?’
Faced with such an incredible result, none of the proctors, including Kain, thought to inform Ryu that the exam had ended.
Kain could only stare at Ryu, who was now leisurely examining his surroundings with a bright expression.
‘He’s a monster…’
***
***
***
“Haaah…”
“Ryu, are you ready?”
“Oh, uh… yeah.”
How did things end up like this?
“You can head up now.”
“Yes.”
Following the nervous-looking female staff member’s guidance, I walked up the stairs.
“And now, let’s hear from this year’s top scorer, ‘Ryu’!”
Clap, clap, clap, clap—
‘Ugh, seriously.’
Normally, they give you at least a day to prepare for something like this.
It hadn’t even been an hour since the exam ended, and now they were asking for my thoughts as the top scorer at the entrance ceremony.
I mean, did scoring first and getting top admission really mean I needed to give a speech?
Had I known this was part of it, I wouldn’t have taken the “Top Entrance Scorer” subquest so seriously.
As expected, I’d taken first place in the exhilarating Golem Hit test I’d just completed.
The problem was that taking first place was great, but my score was way too high.
Since I couldn’t see the skill level of other examinees in real time and the one-on-one nature of the test meant I had no reference, I didn’t hold back, but my score turned out to be unexpectedly excessive.
The test wasn’t even that difficult, and since the golem didn’t attack the examinee, I assumed others would do just as well, but that assumption turned out to be an overestimate.
My score was 312, and the second-highest score was 177.
I had nearly doubled the points of second place, and as soon as my score and top rank were announced, all eyes turned to me.
‘Ah, this really isn’t my style.’
I’d never been good at speaking in front of others.
The only reason I could run the Black Shadow Corps was because Addy would often stand in for me, disguising herself and addressing the members in my place.
I had even asked Addy to address a mere ten team leaders since I hated standing before even that many people. But now, dozens—no, maybe over a hundred incoming academy students—were all looking directly at me.
“Uh, um… Hello.”
Silence.
I tried to start as casually as possible, but what greeted me was a sharp silence.
It had been a long time since silence felt this cutting.
“Uh… well, I’m glad to be admitted. I didn’t expect to enter as the top scorer… uh, was the test not difficult?”
Silence.
The sharpness grew even more intense.
I could feel my face heating up, and before I knew it, random words began spilling out, my mind turning blank.
“Uh, anyway, thank you! I look forward to working with you all.”
My choice to escape the piercing silence and my whitening mind was to leave the stage as quickly as possible.
After saying that I looked forward to working with everyone, I bowed toward the students and faculty watching me and hastily got off the podium.
‘Haaah.’
This stage fright of mine just refuses to go away, no matter what I do.
I can handle almost anything else, but whenever it comes to “speaking” in front of others, it’s like my body refuses to cooperate.
Sigh.
“Uh…”
“It’s over now, right?”
“Y-yes, it is, but…”
The female staff member who’d been looking at me with a worried expression before I went on stage was now staring at me with shock.
I didn’t think I’d done that badly.
The first time I’d attempted a “speech” in front of the Black Shadow Corps members, all I could manage was, “Uh, um, ah… yeah.” Compared to that, today’s speech was practically excellent.
“Whew. You did great.”
Ignoring the staff member’s still-wide eyes, I quickly left the stage.
As I hurried off, a familiar message font appeared before me.
<Main Quest (1) ‘The Beginning of the Incident Starts at the Academy!’ Complete!>
<Sub Quest (1-1) ‘Top Scorer at Crescent Academy’ Complete!>
<Quest Clear Rewards are being issued.>
<Title ‘Top Entrance Scorer’ granted.>
‘Ah.’
Quest cleared.
As the messages popped up, what grabbed my attention was, of course, the “clear reward” and the “title.”
Thankfully, the system messages diverted my thoughts; otherwise, I might have accidentally teleported out of the room under all those staring eyes on my way back to my seat.
I quickly took my assigned seat and, ignoring my surroundings, forced myself to focus on the system messages to calm down.
<Title: Top Entrance Scorer at Crescent Academy>
The top scorer among Crescent Academy’s 158th class. Stat and skill growth speed within the academy increases significantly. (Growth Acceleration +30%)
‘The title has an ability…?’
I’d just clicked on it to distract myself, but this unexpected message pulled me in.
When I’d received the title Leader of the Black Shadow Corps, there had been no description in the status window, but this time was different.
Since this title was earned as a quest reward, tapping on it revealed a description and the effect it had.
‘Wait, then what about Black Shadow Corps Leader?’
I curiously tapped the “Black Shadow Corps Leader” title, which, compared to “Top Entrance Scorer,” should be far more impressive.
<Title: Leader of the Black Shadow Corps>
Leader of the Black Shadow Corps.
‘That’s it?’
I barely suppressed a scoff.
It’s absurd that the title Leader of the Black Shadow Corps has no additional abilities.
Though I was annoyed, I decided to examine the ability attached to Top Entrance Scorer calmly.
Growth Acceleration +30%.
With this title equipped, if I did strength training in the academy, my Strength Stat would increase 30% faster than usual.
‘That’s ridiculously overpowered.’
Since my stats were already at a level where even gaining one stat point was hard, a 30% growth boost was incredible.
‘Ugh…’
Compared to the Black Shadow Corps Leader title, which provided no extra abilities, Top Entrance Scorer was overwhelmingly advantageous.
Romance or practicality?
In the end, I had no choice but to switch my title.
—
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