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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
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2. Grand Royal Academy Entrance Exam
***
"How embarrassing."
Even as I left the training ground, I unconsciously touched my face.
Honestly, even though I'd fallen into this world called the , my body hadn't changed.
I unconsciously waved my hand out of habit, but it wasn't a reason to receive such a cold stare.
'Why in the world was she looking at me so coldly?'
My elation at achieving Spear Mastery Level 3 was short-lived; a strange feeling lingered.
Since I believed confidence was key in anything I did, I also thought my face was quite decent.
But the way that woman turned her head, as if she'd seen something she shouldn't have…
"It can't be… *that* bad a face to look at."
Even as I muttered, the sense of regret grew stronger.
I'd looked for an opportunity to approach her for two months, but the atmosphere was too peculiar.
She was the type of person who'd only pull further away if I tried to approach her clumsily. Exactly that kind of person.
I'd hoped we might become close, but in the end, no opportunity arose for two months.
That was a bit disappointing.
'If I had connections with someone of a high affinity…'
It would be good in many ways.
Lost in thought, I raised both hands.
Slap.
I lightly patted both cheeks, then shook off my thoughts.
The entrance exam would be in about an hour; I couldn't be preoccupied with such things now.
"Let's go in confidently."
I'd raised my Spear Mastery to Level 3, so I'd done the best preparation I could. All that was left was to take the entrance exam with confidence.
Step.
Just as I took a step, looking at the magnificent academy building in the distance.
Han Cheonseong.
He didn't realize.
…
That a strange gaze was fixed on him from a distance.
***
"…Level 3?"
"Is that true?"
"It's true, I tell you. That light definitely appears when you reach Level 3."
"Impressive. But even with all that effort, it's still Spear Mastery."
"Still, wouldn't that guarantee his admission to the academy?"
"What's the point of getting in? Even a high Spear Mastery affinity is probably worse than a Level 1 Magic affinity."
At the murmurs of a few people in the training ground, a woman subtly furrowed her brow as she walked.
Rustle.
As she moved, her blue hair cascaded to her waist, and though she still had a youthful air, her cold expression and sharp eyes were striking.
…
…
The gazes of most people turned towards her.
Her aura didn't suit an ordinary training ground at all. Everyone sensed her unapproachable elegance.
The blue-haired woman, who calmly walked despite their gazes, was named Glesea.
Glesea, however, was thinking of the man who had just left the training ground.
'Han Cheonseong, was it…'
When she first encountered him in the training ground, she hadn't even given him a glance.
He was rumored to possess a low affinity, Spear Mastery. Yet, as each day passed, the man kept catching her eye.
His extraordinary effort was undeniable.
Every day, from morning till night, he would enter the training ground and dedicate himself to practicing his affinity, thrusting his spear.
Normally, someone with such a trivial affinity would give up early and abandon any thought of entering the academy.
Because everyone knew what their future would be like.
But then.
The man with the peculiar name, 'Han Cheonseong.'
That man alone was different.
He would thrust his spear alone in the training ground. Just thrusting it into the air, over and over. Taking a step, then thrusting.
Simply repeating only the most basic movements.
That was all there was to it.
Even though there were no phenomena like the wind I generated when swinging my sword, the man showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
After the affinity evaluation, she had seen him repeat the same spear thrusts every day for two months.
'Why in the world doesn't he give up?'
To me, the man's actions seemed foolish.
The act of someone without talent striving for it.
It was like pouring futile effort into hoping a fire would ignite in ashes where the embers had already died out.
How could that man possibly put in so much effort?
…I couldn't even comprehend that [Wind's Guidance], which I had achieved through two months of effort, was at the 'same level' as his.
It was frankly hard to believe that he had finally raised that trivial affinity to Level 3.
Clack.
As I was leaving the training ground, I unconsciously stopped.
Not far away, the man was standing.
His distinctive black hair and all-black attire still struck her as utterly shabby.
Just as she naturally averted her gaze from the man.
Slap.
At the sound of him patting his cheeks, she paused momentarily.
"Let's go in confidently."
When his even more energetic voice reached her, she unconsciously blinked.
'Confidence?'
To have confidence, despite possessing such an insignificant affinity like Spear Mastery.
As the man began to walk, she instinctively checked the direction he was heading.
That direction was towards the Grand Royal Academy.
It made sense, now that she thought about it.
Because the entrance exam was less than an hour away.
Rustle.
Since they were heading in the same direction, she followed him, but strangely, she couldn't tear her eyes away from his back.
…
That man would also pass the entrance exam.
He had raised his affinity to Level 3, after all. She could predict it.
'But could he truly maintain that 'confidence'?'
She wondered if he could endure the cold stares of the examiners with such a trivial affinity as Spear Mastery.
The entrance exam she had once seen when accompanying her sister.
She still vividly remembered the scene of the examination hall she had seen as a child.
The examination hall had a heavy atmosphere that would simply crush ordinary individuals.
She thought that the man walking ahead, Han Cheonseong, would also be unable to maintain his confidence.
***
Tilt.
…Cheonseong tilted his head and looked around.
A throng.
At the academy entrance exam hall he had arrived at, countless people stood in line, waiting to take the test.
Cheonseong, too, was waiting his turn in line with them, but he was experiencing a different sensation.
'What in the world is it?'
His nape kept feeling chilly.
The sensation that someone was constantly watching him.
Yet, no matter how many times he looked around and scanned his surroundings, there was no one specifically looking at him.
"Is it just my imagination…"
He muttered to himself, idly rubbing the back of his neck.
Having barely achieved Spear Mastery Level 3, he had confidence in the entrance exam. But he wondered if he was unconsciously getting nervous.
Even now, countless people gathered to take the entrance exam were visible in his sight.
And most of them were tense and intimidated. While a few seemed confident and relaxed in line, they were a mere minority.
'Those with good affinities are probably smiling, while ordinary people like me, or those with close-combat affinities, are likely intimidated.'
…A hollow laugh escaped him as he thought.
90% of the countless people currently in line probably wouldn't be smiling.
In fact, if even 10% passed, the pass rate would be considered high.
Because that many people hadn't received good affinities.
Yet, the people currently in line were those who had gathered to take the entrance exam, grasping at straws.
Everyone was standing in line with the complacent thought of 'you never know,' hoping they might get in by sheer luck.
'How unfortunate.'
He shook his head, thinking to himself.
As time passed, the line began to shrink faster than expected.
—Applicants number 401 to 410, please enter.
The call to enter the examination hall rang out again in less than 10 minutes, and the sound felt chilling.
'Even if they only look at affinities.'
How could the entrance exam test not even take 10 minutes when ten people entered?
The line to the examination hall quickly shortened, and before he knew it, it was his turn.
"Applicants number 491 to 500, please enter."
When his number was called, he vigorously stepped forward, following the person in front of him.
'No need to be nervous.'
He already knew the contents of the test.
So, he knew that with his current abilities, he could pass this test.
Clack.
Just before entering the examination hall, he imbued his entire body with strength.
"Gasp!"
"W-What!"
Even as the applicants who had entered before him immediately dropped to their knees or froze in place, he calmly walked past them without hesitation.
Step.
Step.
His number was 496.
As he straightened his body in the sixth spot,
"Oh?"
"Quite impressive."
As he received the full attention of the examiners, a sense of pride swelled within him.
Because among these ten people, he was the most outstanding.
Then he paused.
He had assumed the examiners were looking at him. But they weren't looking at him now.
…
He blankly turned his head to the side, and not far from him, a woman stood composedly.
Her blue hair, cascading to her waist, and her cold expression were familiar.
'Why in the world is *she* here…'
Why, of all groups, was she in the same one as him for the test?