Chapter 105: The Many Faces of the Candidates

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: The Many Faces of the Candidates

The week-long national Secret Realm College Entrance Examination came to an end at 10 AM.

Before 10 AM, in front of the major schools serving as exam sites, a crowd of media reporters had joined the usual gathering of parents and teachers.

The Secret Realm College Entrance Examination was a major event for the Alliance, and Maple City was no exception. Reporters at the gates of the city’s fifteen high schools were all lying in wait, eager to interview the first student to emerge after the exam concluded.

At 10:25 AM, a student suddenly emerged from the gates of Eighth High School. He was wearing a gray robe and was covered in bloodstains, but he had a smile on his face.

Although students had been trickling out during the first six days of the Secret Realm exam, the first one to emerge on the final, seventh day was undoubtedly the center of everyone’s attention.

After all, only the top-performing students managed to last the full seven days in the secret realm.

"Excuse me! Student! Would you mind if we interviewed you?"

"Over here! Student!"

...

Despite being covered in bloodstains, the student’s faint smile and relaxed demeanor led many reporters to believe he must have scored well.

When a swarm of reporters surrounded him, the student froze for a moment, slightly dazed. But once he realized who they were, he maintained his smile.

"Excuse me, would you mind answering a few questions for us?"

The student nodded, readily agreeing.

"So, what did you think of the Secret Realm exam this time around?"

Student: "I don’t think it was that hard this year! I heard some of the upperclassmen talking about how incredibly difficult it was, but when I got into the secret realm, I found the island scenery was beautiful, and the seafood was pretty decent. It honestly felt like a vacation. If the exam wasn’t only seven days long, I would’ve wanted to stay longer!"

Reporter A: "So... what did you find difficult? Or, to put it another way, did you run into any danger on the island?"

Student: "Oh, yeah! For starters, there were quite a few Tier One Soul Beasts on the island. I remember the most dangerous and difficult moment was when three Tier One Low-Grade Soul Beasts showed up all at once! Our team started with twenty people, but by the end, we were whittled down to just eight people left in the secret realm. And I was one of them!"

Reporter B: "How many points do you think you scored, and what’s your estimated rank? If you’d rather not say, a rough estimate is fine."

Student: "During the score tally, I had around 400 points. I really don’t think this exam was very difficult. 400 points is a personal best for me. I’m sure I can get into a Soul Energy University, and I might even be able to aim for a top-tier one! As for my rank, I should be in the top few hundred in the city!"

Reporter C: "The bloodstains on your robe must be from Secret Realm Creatures, right? Would you be willing to share some of your experiences from the past few days?"

...

In Maple City, the first student to emerge from each of the fifteen exam sites was mobbed by reporters, and the questions all revolved around three topics: exam difficulty, final score, and personal experiences.

Their answers varied, with some finding it difficult and others finding it easy.

However, most students indicated that the Secret Realm exam wasn’t overly difficult—just a little harder than the practice exams, mainly because this one included Tier One Soul Beasts.

These interviews also revealed to the public that most students had been assigned to islands in groups of roughly 10 to 20, with a minimum of 8.

Without a teammate in the Soul Pupil Realm, a group of 8 to 10 people could take down a Tier One Soul Beast, though they would likely suffer casualties.

With a Soul Pupil Realm teammate, a group of 8 to 10 people could besiege a Tier One Soul Beast with virtually no risk of casualties.

For students who managed to form teams of eight or more, the Secret Realm exam was indeed only slightly more difficult than the practice tests.

But while most students found the exam’s difficulty to be within a normal, acceptable range, a number of dissenting voices began to emerge.

Some students reported that the islands they were teleported to had extremely harsh environments, with virtually no ordinary Secret Realm Creatures—only Tier One Soul Beasts!

Worse still, many of these Tier One Soul Beasts weren’t even worth any points! These students faced immense pressure every day.

Other students claimed that on their islands, point-worthy Tier One Soul Beasts and valuable herbs were incredibly scarce. There was no teamwork; everyone fought over the limited resources until only one or two people remained.

However, whether they found the exam easy or difficult, all students mentioned the same thing: on the afternoon of the sixth day, the islands finished merging.

From the moment the island merger began, their sense of "urgency" largely disappeared. The students who’d had an easy time mostly just stayed on their original islands, chatting and making friends.

Meanwhile, the students who had struggled fled their original islands and escaped to others.

In short, for both groups of students, the island merger marked the most relaxing part of their entire exam!

Thus, many students expressed sentiments like:

"The island merger was a total godsend! I even got a girlfriend from another city! Thank you, Secret Realm exam!"

"I got a lot out of the island merger. I met a bunch of cool friends, and we all promised to go to the same Soul Energy University together."

"I’m so, so grateful for the island merger. I was all set to use my talisman on the sixth day, but the merger gave me the hope I needed to last one more day!"

...

"The island merger? If some guy whose name I don’t even know hadn’t helped me, I’m not sure I would’ve even survived long enough to tear my Teleportation Talisman!"

"If I wasn’t so damn lucky and hadn’t run into my savior, I would’ve been sent packing yesterday!"

"What the hell? A ’godsend’? What the f—! If some badass dude hadn’t helped me, I would’ve freaking died! And you’re telling me it was a gift? If you have the guts, you can try running for your life all night and see how you like it!"

"To hell with the freaking island merger! It made me run for my life all damn night!"

...

Just when the vast majority of students were calling the island merger easy and relaxing, a few dissenting voices emerged, claiming they had nearly lost their lives.

The appearance of such "unusual" testimonials immediately caused a stir. After all, when nearly everyone was saying the exam was easy, the fact that a small group had nearly paid with their lives was undoubtedly a news story with plenty of room for digging.

Moreover, the students voicing these complaints all had a few things in common: their clothes were tattered, their bodies were covered in scratches, and they used remarkably similar phrasing.

This situation didn’t just capture the media’s attention; many parents and teachers were also drawn in, beginning to inquire about the specific details.

The results of these inquiries were surprisingly consistent. The reason they were all left in such a wretched state, barely "surviving," was one and the same—a Tier Three Soul Beast!

A total of eight. Tier Three High-Grade Soul Beasts!