NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19
<19 - Entrance Exam First Gate>
Following the guidance of the monks, I entered the higher-level entrance exam venue, which was at the rocky mountain entrance littered with gravel and stones.
A total of 500 participants.
The higher-level exam participants were sparse, seated far apart from each other.
“Hey, little mouse. You seem awfully relaxed for someone who’s still got a caretaker.”
“Hmph. Aren’t you the one who should be off looking for your little baby deer?”
“Uh… Were you watching me?”
“Why don’t you go find that baby deer instead of toiling away with the losers?”
I imagined the lower exam venue was likely packed with tens of thousands of participants during the exam time.
Compared to the selected 500 higher-level participants, that number felt painfully small.
While I wished the Monkey Humanoid would seem stronger and head that way, it seemed even a buffalo wouldn’t be dim enough to stomp on its own chance.
“The baby deer is shy. I’m sure they felt their abilities weren’t enough to accept someone like me… It’s not that they dislike me.”
“Your turn is next.”
What you lacked was the patience to endure your murderous comments.
“Oknodie, while it’s great that you’re relaxed, you should start to feel a bit of tension. It seems our competitors aren’t too fond of us.”
Always sporting a handsome beard, the merchant Jezel spoke up.
Whether the Monkey Humanoid or this guy, I wondered how they both passed the age limit at the entrance while sitting side by side.
It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, either. Most of the others were glaring at me, the child.
If a duel were to break out, they would most definitely aim for me.
“Is that little kid?”
“Yep.”
Perking up my ears, I overheard some unsettling comments.
Isn’t the ace vigilance a bit too early?
“Interacting with such lowly beastfolk.”
“I can’t say they have any proper sense.”
“No magic armor.”
“Nowhere to be seen is any decent sword.”
“With a caretaker, they must be some pitiful noble from the countryside.”
Participants who had grown up with elite education and connections among nobles had already split into sides since childhood.
Somewhere in the range of thirty individuals.
Even starting as a noble, it seems impossible to join their alliance.
“They’re in adventurer clothing. Do you know them?”
“First time seeing them.”
“Plus, they’re just a kid.”
“Doesn’t seem like they’re a mercenary known by name.”
“Then, we don’t owe them any loyalty.”
Adventurers who had achieved outstanding feats before taking the entrance exam also formed groups of twenty to thirty, glancing at us.
It seemed they wouldn’t take in someone troublesome or burdensome, as no one approached to strike a conversation.
When I was the Muscular Male Character, those guys were the first to swarm and annoy me, but now being outright ignored felt quite unpleasant in its own way.
“Hey, little mouse. If you keep worrying about others, you’ll wear yourself out first.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
Worrying would only end up costing me.
What good would it do to stand out alone when everyone else is resting and glaring?
“Aaaahhh!!”
“You should’ve picked your opponent carefully.”
The guy who caused chaos clearly didn’t agree with my thoughts.
“That fool just sliced off another participant’s arm!!”
Under a shady spot, a swordsman with a dangerous aura sliced the wrist of someone who dared to invade his marked circle on the ground with his sheath.
From the original game, “Graduating from the Academy with Luck.”
One of the playable characters and a supporting character if the player doesn’t choose, the Eastern Empire’s swordsman, Sing.
The playable characters can be unlocked by gathering a huge amount of achievement points or purchased through microtransactions to play them as prominent high-performance characters in the academy.
When they become NPCs, they’re scary, as you can see.
Difficult to recruit as a comrade, but distinctively excellent in performance— they are notably terrifying characters.
If I continued watching, it would lead to another annoying event.
So, I shut my eyes tightly and covered my ears.
[Event “Combat Zombie” completed.]
[Arrived at the exam venue 15 hours 20 minutes 0 seconds early.]
[Received 55,200 points as an early arrival bonus.]
In a game, a time arrival bonus would typically show a feature calculating one point for every second arrived early.
Collecting points allows you to visit a point merchant that appears every few months to purchase various functions or unique items necessary for game progress.
But now that the game has become reality, I have no clue where the points are, making them neatly worthless.
[Cellar Calling Swordsman Event]
A swordsman who had crossed over from the distant Eastern Empire caused a stir.
They targeted a faction eager to take over the shaded spot…
Events like the Straw Hat Child’s are fraught with hidden dangers.
No matter how hard you try, you only end up increasing the female character’s favorability to just enter the general testing grounds, and the game brutally depletes your precious time and points.
Ironically, the funniest part is that the Straw Hat Child can drop out of the exam at a certain probability as well.
What kind of extra favorability events exist?!
Playing the role of a sweet fantasy guy, while points dwindle, girls drop out, and all that remains is time wasted inefficiently.
These are the traps aimed at beginners’ mentality.
The Eastern Swordsman Sing’s event isn’t any different.
The great noble and their minions, seeking to commandeer the space.
If you leave them alone, they’ll eventually stop growling at each other.
What happens if the player jumps in?
It simply leads to unnecessary conflict and trouble.
“I might as well take a nap.”
After yawning, I lazily picked a reasonably tall tree that showed no signs of attention below, climbing up the trunk easily, leaning my back against a branch.
I felt the stares of the bewildered Monkey Humanoid and Jezel looking up from below, but I couldn’t give up this prime spot that wouldn’t get ambushed while I slept.
“Wow, that little guy is quick. Is that one of them monkey types?”
“We’ll rest down here.”
The tree’s wood was too stiff.
I missed my comfy bed.
I already longed for those times living with Jonnas and Reap.
As I gazed at the setting sun, about to close my eyes, something came flying from below and landed on the branch.
“Cover yourself with it. You’ll catch a cold.”
Catch a cold? Me?
I was about to snicker at that when a breeze brushed against my skin, feeling a little chilly.
Ah, right…
I wasn’t the Muscular Male Character right now.
I hastily took out a blanket and tossed it to Jezel from my backpack.
Thud
“Ow.”
That foolish old man.
Can’t even catch that?
Ding—!
With the sound of bells ringing, dawn arrived.
[Entrance Exam Event]
Finally, the entrance exam has begun!
If you can’t even pass the entrance exam and get an entry cut, your adventure will end here.
You must pass all the grueling gates to succeed in the exam.
As I came down from the tree and stretched my limbs to warm up, participants everywhere began to warm up and center themselves, getting ready.
“You used the blanket well.”
“No need to return it. My backpack has an inventory feature.”
“It’s not that—I have nowhere to put this.”
“Ah.”
Jezel awkwardly stuffed the blanket back into his backpack.
This old geezer seems too relaxed.
Thinking a few nearby participants might have brightened at the mention of ‘inventory.’
I guarantee there are easily over ten participants itching to steal that magic backpack.
Ding—!
Five more chimes followed.
Once all the bells ceased, a bald monk stepped onto the platform.
“As of now, we will close the entry for the higher-level exam venue.”
After hearing the thunderous ringing of bells repeatedly, there should be no one still laying around.
Snore…
Phew…
There’s only one human that would do that.
Following the monk’s gaze, all participants turned towards me and Jezel.
More precisely, to the gigantic Monkey Humanoid loudly snoring behind us.
“Son Ohchun, it’s time to wake up.”
“Oh, is it starting?”
That hefty guy, who didn’t budge in response to the loud bell and conversations, sprang right up at Jezel’s words.
Only then did the monk wear a kind smile and speak again.
“I am Myung So, the examiner for this first gate. Of course, I am not just an ordinary monk. I am a ‘Mu-seung’, dedicated to securing, storing, exorcising, and enlightening the cursed objects and monsters that roam the academy.”
It’s no simple task to get recognized and collaborate with the world’s leading educational institution, the Gift Academy.
The talents recruited by the Gift Academy are among the best in every field, ensuring the prestige of the world’s leading academy is not smeared.
This is where even the Mu-seung of the Eastern Empire is no exception.
“In the Western Kingdom, we have the Twelve Divine Gods’ religion protecting all people, but the Eastern Empire has no powerful deities. Instead, enlightened individuals take control of their regions, be it village or mountain.”
“In the East, we refer to the personal deities guarding mountains as ‘Mountain Gods’, and we build stone pagodas as symbols of the worship for them.”
“Building a stone pagoda isn’t just stacking rocks high. The number of stone layers and their height are essential; the Mountain Gods take notice. Thus, it’s important to build them both high and plentiful.”
It seems my initial expectation since entering is correct.
“You, who wish to be accepted into the world’s leading academy, must show the same diligence in your stone pagoda as well.”
“In this rocky mountain test site, lacking as I am, I will evaluate your pagodas and determine your passing or failing.”
“You will stack stones to build the highest pagoda possible until the exam ends.”
This test consists of stone stacking.
And this exam……
“Of course, if your pagoda crumbles at the end or if an examinee is in a state where they can’t continue the test, it will mean automatic failure.”
In this event, it’s easier to break others’ hard-built pagodas than to earn points stacked for myself.
A perfect event for trolls to roam free.