Surviving a Shounen Manga

Qualification Exam Finals Begin!

"… Wow."

Leo couldn't hide a burst of exclamation.

"That guy is awesome."

Everybody knew whom Leo was referring to.

A squat-jawed guy named Hiro.

A guy who was now riding a big boat and navigating that vast tank.

And, along with his own adventurer team, he was rescuing ‘everyone' who was trapped inside the spheres.

It was a truly spectacular sight.

It was surprising to see something (and followed by another) so large as a ship suddenly appearing out of nowhere, floating on top of the water tank, and that was topped by the even more surprising appearance of an unknown creature that looked like a ‘dragon' pushing it from beneath.

It was probably thanks to that mysterious creature that such a sail-less, clumsy-looking ship was able to float and freely roam the waters, since there wasn't the faintest trace of wind this deep under the ground.

"That sea monster down there… was it already in the tank?"

"Hmm, I don't think so? It wouldn't have helped Squatjaw, were that the case. Rather, it might've even attacked the ship. Maybe Squatjaw is the one who raised it?"

"Is that so? First time seeing it, though."

"Maybe it was being kept with the ship?"

"Eh, no way. Where would you keep something like that?"

"Yeah… I don’t know either."

There was no way any of them could answer that.

The world really was full of extraordinary unique abilities, but they'd never heard of an ability to ‘carry the sea on your back'.

"… Hmm."

Even though such a huge scene was unfolding in front of them, the place was strangely quiet. It must've been because everyone was feeling overwhelmed.

Even the speaker had been silent for a while.

He'd been needling the test-takers before, but now he seemed to be at a loss for words.

While everybody was so immersed in watching –

Suddenly, Leo said something.

"By the way… are we just going to watch like this?"

"Huh?"

"Ah…"

"That's true. Won't they be be able to save them all by themselves?"

"Then what'll happen to our score?"

"Z-, zero… I guess?"

"Yeah, Leo. Did you have to talk so loud? Now everybody else heard us, too."

At that moment,

"Hurry! Before that Squatjaw saves them all!"

"Dive in right now!"

"Just grab someone and put them on the boat!"

Everyone around them rioted all at once.

Some took off their clothes and jumped into the tank, some soared into the sky on a certain carpet, some unfurled their wings from their shoulders, etc. All their special abilities came out.

Leo's party also clearly realized that this was not the time to be dazzled.

"Hey, what should we do?"

"Uh, what? What should we do?"

"Over there! Shall I snatch that carpet?"

Just when Kiriko aimed his gun at the carpet floating in the sky –

"Mister Kirikidiot. If you did that in front of all these people, everybody would target you instead."

Siana stopped Kiriko with a firm voice.

"And what's the point of starting now? I think it's already too late."

Like she said, the rescue operation was almost over. All that was left was to watch the ship leisurely returning.

"Huhu, it seems like I'm quite a bit behind bit this time too, isn’t it?"

Siana then smiled quietly.

She'd been laughing like this from time to time ever since she lost at poker at that amusement park, but her eyes that curved into crescents didn't contain some pleasant feeling.

Sometimes, there was even a flash of madness.

"Are you going to just lose like this, Leo?"

"No. I'll definitely win next time!"

"Okay, let’s not rush into a game we’ve already lost. We have to pay them back next time. Don’t forget."

Then, Siana muttered like a whisper.

Next time, for sure.

Building B-14, a special written test centre inside the Adventium underground waterway.

As I stood in front of the square stone block presented by the association as a ‘desk used by the ancients', I was feeling emotionally overwhelmed.

Exam.

To think that something like this would be the reminder of my past life…

I couldn't stand studying when I'd been a student. It wasn't because I was obsessed with reading manga or anything. Maybe… I just didn't have a good brain.

But the funny part was that even so, I always felt a lot of exam stress. I got nervous, felt pressured, anxious that I'd answer wrong by mistake. Even though I didn't know most of the answers anyway. It's not like my parents nagged me either.

"… Pft."

It didn't remind me of the past just because of the fact that I was taking an exam.

Surprisingly, the surroundings and atmosphere here were so similar that I remembered the scenes of the past.

Amidst the silence, a person dispatched from the Adventurers' Association was quietly counting the test papers according to the number of people.

It was a little different since the adventurer teams would be sitting together, but nevertheless, waiting for the supervisor's instructions with half fear and half excitement made me feel like I was back to being a young student again.

Perhaps, if it'd been the me of the past, in real life, I would've felt so tense that my heart might burst.

But now it was a little different. My heart was pounding, yes, but for the opposite reason.

It wasn't even funny. That my heart was pounding at the thought of getting a perfect score.

– The third test, ‘knowledge.'

It's called a knowledge test, but knowledge isn't really important. Just because you know a lot in the first place doesn't mean you'd be asked questions that you can answer.

The official way to pass this test is ‘cheating'.

There are two Adventurers' Association personnel in each test site. One is a supervisor and the other is an ‘answer provider' disguised as a test-taker.

Copying the answers from this ‘answer provider' without being detected by the supervisor.

That is the gist of this test.

However, despite the existence of such a setting, this time I was going to try to solve the problems myself.

The reason was simple. The more I showed off something special, the higher my value would be. Moreover, right now, the readers' eyes were all focused on me, weren't they?

The rivals of stupid protagonists are usually brilliant brainiacs. It's a typical cliché, but still, it's not useless. If you follow it in moderation, it can have a huge effect.

Of course, readers might have some doubts about the source of my knowledge, but…

However, this plan was not without flaws.

That being, could I actually solve the questions?

I couldn't be sure. Because the basic setting in the manga was that ‘the test-takers can't solve the test of knowledge'.

But I was different.

First of all, I had a lot of knowledge about this world. I didn't just read the paperbacks, but also the various data books and even the author's comments.

Moreover, the only questions that could be asked at present were limited to the worldview of the beginning parts.

To be honest, I thought I might have more knowledge than the test author.

And one more. Siana's unique ability.

If you mimic it, you can just answer MCQs without thinking, and even for subjective questions it has considerable utility. Because if you have enough knowledge to narrow down the options for the correct answer, you can still answer it like a multiple choice.

Of course, when mimicking this, I'd have to grant the absurd request of that squat-jawed fairy… but that's all.

So, I accepted the test paper while brimming with confidence.

[The 384th Adventurer Basic Qualification Test – Knowledge Test Question Paper]

※ The time limit is one hour.

– Read and answer the questions below.

1. Hans, the owner of a clothing store at the centre of Adventium, has two dogs at home. What's the male one's name?

"…"

I was at a loss for words.

I'd never considered it. Why was the test like this? Even in the original, the contents of the problems themselves had never been shown.

It wasn't funny.

I laughed and checked the next problem.

2. According to the ancient literature about Adventium, the people of Old Adventium kept dogs in every house. What was the most common name for the dogs?

"… It's all about dogs."

What I was feeling went beyond simple embarrassment or disappointment.

No, if the problems were like this, the test-takers shouldn't have been reacting this way in the first place. Why weren't they tearing up the papers and overturning the desks instead of tying up their hair and chewing their pencils?

"Okay, I give up."

I immediately stopped thinking about solving it.

The problem was this:

Now what to do?

In fact, I had a plan I'd made beforehand.

After all the other guys around you are stunned, you just openly go to the answer provider and copy it all. Of course, the stun targets include the examiner too.

This was going to be an extension of the original act of ‘raising rumours', but it was difficult to do it right now. As long as the readers' eyes were on me, attacking the supervisor was a bit excessive.

Rejected.

So, things became quite difficult. Actually, I'd never really thought about how to try cheating in a normal way.

I quickly thought of something to mimic.

‘Is this doable right now?'

[Clairvoyant Looking at the End of the World]

• From a seated position, you can see everything within a certain distance.

If I could mimic this ability, there wouldn't be a problem.

But,

‘As expected, looks like it hasn't been created yet.'

It didn't work. It seemed that only the setting existed and the character had not been created yet.

Then the next,

[Perspective through the Walls]

• Can see beyond obstacles.

"Hoo…"

Also the same.

Slowly, I began to feel impatient.

There were a few others that came to mind, but they were all abilities that'd appeared in the mid-to-late half. Besides the fact that I might not even be able to mimic the abilities of those great tycoons, the characters themselves probably didn't exist at this point.

‘Isn't this… a big problem?'

Then,

"Senior, you don't have a good look on your face for some reason."

"Do you have any problems? You told us to just watch."

"You idiot jerk. In the end, looks like you weren't able to solve even a single problem. Just that look on your face shows how smart you are."

My companions all came closer, whispering and groaning. Their eyes had turned serious.

I graciously admitted it.

"These problems are all shit. I can’t solve any."

They all clicked their tongues and started talking over each other.

"Hmm, senior…"

"It’s disappointing."

"You irresponsible Squatjaw."

Frankly, it was embarrassing.

"No, who even is Hans? How would I know his dog's name?"

"Ugh, then you shouldn’t have been so confident in the first place. Tsk tsk."

"Bluffing Squatjaw. Lying Squatjaw."

"…"

That was then –

"Then, are we just going with the plan you made in the first place? Just get rid of them all?"

Haka spoke up with a malicious smile.

It was as if he'd regained his first form at some point. Those hair-raising words were spat out with such an abstruse smile. In fact, I'd never said anything like getting rid of them.

"That's not allowed. For now, we'll just… answer like that guy, by spying on him."

I pointed to the guy sitting alone in the corner.

By that time, everyone had already noticed who the ‘answer provider' was. Probably because he was the only one holding a pencil and was constantly writing something down.

But it was a tad funny. What are you pretending to be so passionate about, aren't you just writing down dog names?

"Just the answers… Then shall I do it?"

"What, you? How?"

"Well, yeah. I don't think it'd be difficult. Won't it be possible to roughly check the answers if I just enter the shadows?"

"Yeah? But he's sitting with his back to the light… will that be okay? The hand's shadow is closer to the test paper, but it's too small…"

"You misunderstood. I'm not talking about entering his shadow."

"Then?"

"Isn't there something he's holding in his hand?"

"… Huh?"

What he's holding in his hand?

Maybe… a pencil?

"Will, will that work?"

"Well. It's worth a try, anyway. These days, I seem to have gotten stronger in many ways. It makes me want to try it out."

"Oooh…"

Of course, there was probably a cause behind that. Right, me.

As my rank rose sharply, the rank of this guy I was traveling with had also risen. And ability development is closely related to the character's rank.

"Yeah, give it a try."

"See you in a bit."

Then, Haka seeped into the ground, like water being splashed.

As always, it was an amazing sight.

To be honest, I still didn't really know about Haka's abilities. You can't just ask about someone's unique ability even if you're in the same party. It's a very private thing.

What's more, Haka was a guy whose character itself seemed to be wrapped in an enigma in the first place.

After a while, a strange shadow appeared under our feet.

The shadow whispered.

– Hans. Surprisingly, the dog's name was also Hans. If you're gonna give your dog a name… the test author is a real piece of work. Why would you ask a messed up question like this?

"… Yeah?"

– I think I can copy them all. See you later.

"Oh, alright."

Haka seemed very surprised that Hans' dog was also named Hans, but I was surprised at something else.

‘Hey, that's one great ability.'

If you can even go into the shadow of a pencil, where can't you go? In terms of hiding, it could be called the highest peak.

I gulped involuntarily.

That thing… would you teach me if I asked?

[Chapter 15 – Official Adventurer Qualification Test (1) has ended]

[Hiro's character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Leadership' has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness has increased by 37,000]

[Attracts the author's attention]

[Received fan art from ten readers]

[The author's favourability has increased by 10]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 100%]

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?, Leadership
• Awareness: 59,259
• Author's favourability: 57
• Reappearance probability: 100%

‘Is this the power of the leading point of view?'

It was amazing. How did I get so much awareness in so short a time?

Of course, it could be because I was quite active during this time, but even so, it was a huge number.

‘Wait, then how much does Leo have?'

Tiling–.

[Leading point of view application is finished]

[The leading point of view is changed from ‘Hiro' to ‘Leo']

Seeing it made me laugh out loud.

‘It's like you can't wait to take it away.'

As the author, it was clear why he wanted to. Although he only had himself to blame.

Well, unfortunately for him, I decided to be satisfied. Because the results were not bad for such a short period of time.

That was then.

Tiling–.

Another message arrived.

Well, it wasn't what I was thinking.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 16 – Official Adventurer Qualification Test (2)]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

A message to resume the serialization followed immediately.

The final result was omitted and never came out.

‘It's faster than I thought.'

Of course, I wasn't that upset. Because I knew it was going to be like this.

The adventurer qualification test arc proceeds from beginning to end without a single break. There won't be any time for resupply.

‘Ah, this time I wanted to read some reader comments.'

But I couldn't. The store was already closed.

Just then,

– All test-takers, gather in the central square!

The speaker rang.

We immediately ran towards the place where the voice had come from.

The central square of ancient Adventium.

The centre of ancient civilization, located about 30 meters above the underground waterway.

All the adventurer teams that had passed the basic tests were gathered there.

– Congratulations to the aspiring adventurers who somehow managed to survive. The exam was pretty easy, right? That's because it's just a basic test that only verifies whether you have the qualities of an adventurer. But now you won't have the time to be bored any more. Why? Because from now on it's for keeps.

The speaker again started speaking his mind in a sarcastic tone, but I couldn't figure out what his intentions were.

– The main content of the adventurer qualification test is simple. Find and bring back the hidden treasures of this city. The most precious thing you can find.

The explanation ended there.

The speaker didn't let out any further sound.

Soon after, the murmurs of the test-takers, bewildered by the insufficient explanation, were beginning to intensify.

Suddenly, ‘it' started.

"Second time taking the qualification exam! Geography mastery! My pathfinding eyes[1] shine bright!"

"Third qualification test! I've all the groundwater routes covered! Let's go together!"

"Eighth qualification test! It's all those damn teammates' fault for failing so far! Trust me, my skills are real!"

The specialty of the Adventurer Qualification Test, commonly known as the ‘Guide Selection.'

I glanced back at Cocoa standing next to me and asked,

"Can you defeat them all?"

Cocoa just smiled without saying a word.

Editor's Notes:

[1] 길눈 (gilnun, lit. sense of direction). Will be mainly translated as pathfind-er/-ing eyes from now on, unless sense of direction is more appropriate.