Chapter 5. Dekan Gained Attention

On the day of the entrance exam’s combat trial. Among the four Academys, the number of candidates who passed the preliminary test was over a thousand.

The preliminary test was a simple attribute check and written exam. My attribute results were somewhat unsatisfactory, but I still passed smoothly.

This year, about five hundred candidates passed the preliminary for the Knight Academy—the largest among the four.

Commoners easily produced warriors, since warriors relied the least on expensive magic cards.

But according to past experience, the Knight Academy still had the lowest pass rate. Because the exam was real combat!

......

Heavenlit Royal Academy, Knight Academy main building.

I arrived early at the exam hall on the seventh floor, waiting at my assigned seat.

At the center of the hall stood several gigantic magical devices.

The lights reflected off them, scattering dazzling and mysterious rays.

These massive constructs stretched over dozens of meters, made entirely of mithril and magic crystals, looking both magnificent and chilling.

It was one of the greatest masterpieces of modern magitech—the Artificial Shadow World Activator!

This exam would open the “Artificial Shadow World” to provide us with a live combat trial!

Unlike most candidates, nervous or whispering to each other, I appeared very calm.

Resting my chin on my hand, I frowned slightly, scrutinizing the magical devices in the distance.

“Hey, what are you staring at?” Because I looked good, even with plain clothes, people often came over to talk to me.

“I’m wondering how this thing was made.”

“Haha, forget it. Is that something Knight Academy candidates should worry about?”

I nodded and ignored him. It wasn’t really a warrior’s concern. But as a student, I found it very interesting.

“Dong, dong.” As if on cue, heavy footsteps echoed across the hall, silencing the once noisy room instantly.

All gazes converged in one direction.

From the inner side of the hall walked a figure in a dark-brown dress uniform. At this moment, it felt as if the entire seventh floor was filled only with his footsteps.

As the steps drew closer, the candidates could finally see clearly.

He was a middle-aged man with sword-like brows and hawk-like eyes, his expression stern.

A fearsome scar ran across his temple, yet it didn’t mar his image—instead, it made him look more imposing.

He stopped and stood before the waiting area.

“I am your chief examiner, Arno Sleret, professor and deputy dean of the Knight Academy.”

Arno’s gaze swept across the candidates as he spoke.

“The theme of this exam is ‘Survival Ability.’”

“... In most cases, as long as one advances along the correct route in the Shadow World, you won’t be forced to face enemies far above your level.”

“But if accidents or mistakes occur midway, you may encounter foes strong enough to instantly kill you.”

“At that moment, retreat will become the key to salvaging the mission.”

“At the very least, if you can hold out until the Shadow World’s time limit ends, you will be transported out alive.”

Arno paused suddenly, his eyes turning sharp.

“Just last year, our academy suffered a tragic accident—a failed conquest of a tier-four Shadow World cost the lives of three students.”

“The root cause was a Knight Academy student in that team, too arrogant, with insufficient ability.”

“That is why this year, we will pay special attention to candidates’ qualifications as ‘warriors.’”

As he spoke, Arno seemed to glance particularly at a few candidates in the waiting area.

I felt I was one of them. Could it be that he’d seen my preliminary results and decided to watch this outlier closely? But there was nothing to be afraid of.

The Knight Academy exam was always fair and impartial, treating all candidates equally.

I scratched my head, thinking.

“The exam will be conducted in batches, each lasting half an hour. Candidates will enter in sequence by batch.”

“Each candidate’s Shadow World is independent. Your opponent will be the projection of a randomly selected examiner or substitute.”

“Of course, examiners’ stats will be strictly limited to standards.”

“This ‘Artificial Shadow World Activator’ can host up to 100 small Shadow Worlds at once. Thus, candidates 1 through 100 will be the first batch, and so on...”

After briefly explaining the exam process, Arno embedded a crystal into the control platform behind him. At once, several seemingly illusory gates appeared before the massive machine!

They were the void gates into the Shadow World.

Without lingering, Arno left the hall, while other examiners began guiding candidates into the Shadow World.

I checked my candidate number. 404. It looked like I’d be in the fifth batch.

Unfortunately, the hall didn’t allow us to observe others’ battles. These two hours were going to be dull.

But the Knight Academy entrance exam was open for external viewing. Because the “Artificial Shadow World’s” footage was transmitted to the Alchemy Academy’s central control room. And for profit and publicity, the Alchemy Academy broadcasted it outward.

......

In the conference chamber, the Knight Academy professors were watching the battles inside the Shadow World.

On their screens, nearly all the focus was on a red-haired girl.

Unlike the other candidates desperately fleeing or hiding, she was directly clashing head-on against a tier-four examiner projection! And she was actually holding her ground!

“Arno, what do you think of this year’s candidates?” The dean, seated at the head, suddenly asked.

“There are a few good ones. Especially that red-haired girl—Cornelia...” Arno paused, recalling something. “But there’s also one very excessive case.”

“What’s excessive?” The dean raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze from the screen to Arno with curiosity.

Arno sighed, helpless: “I remember his name, Dekan. He scored full marks on the written exam, but in the attribute test, aside from extremely high Spirit, his Strength, Magic, and Endurance were all poor. He doesn’t look like he has any warrior aptitude—barely enough even to be a summoner.”

“But his total stats still met the standard, didn’t they?” The dean stroked his beard, finding this amusing.

Arno’s frown deepened.

“I’ve said before, our Knight Academy should set minimum requirements for Strength or Endurance. But you’ve always insisted on leaving room for ‘unconventional warriors.’”

Hearing this, the dean didn’t get angry, but instead wore a faint smile.

“Then let’s make a wager—whether this boy can pass the exam. I want that bottle of wine Marquis Prinn sent you.”

“... If I win, then from now on, Knight Academy admissions must set the thresholds I’ve proposed. Is that acceptable?”

“Acceptable.”

Hearing the dean agree, Arno stood and headed for the exit.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to personally test him.”

“...”

The dean fell silent for a moment. “This boy is a bit abnormal. Be careful.”

Arno turned back in surprise.

“You’re not worried about him, but instead worried about me?” And besides, what danger could there be in an Artificial Shadow World? But the dean said nothing more, only waving his hand for Arno to go.

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