Chapter 47: The Examination Begins

The auditorium doors had barely closed behind him before the whispers began.

Caelus walked down the aisle without changing pace. Conversations faltered as he passed, then resumed behind him in lower voices. People shifted aside just enough to give him room, trying not to make their avoidance obvious and failing miserably.

The Contractor rumor had traveled faster than he had.

He could tell from the looks alone. Curiosity was common enough. Suspicion was expected. The few expressions of open disgust were more useful than either.

"Wasn’t he supposed to be a mage?"

"Then why is he still carrying a sword?"

"That’s Caelus Vespera?"

"He looks worse than I expected."

"Keep your voice down. He can probably hear you."

"My brother said the Contractor rumor is real."

"Your brother also said the Hero is secretly a dragon."

"I didn’t say I believed him."

"Still, I’m not standing next to that guy."

"Do you think he’ll survive the entrance exam?"

One voice sounded almost impressed.

"He really did reach C-rank with a D-rank potential? Impossible!"

Their opinions varied, but the conclusion was remarkably consistent.

They didn’t know what he was.

That was enough to make most of them uncomfortable.

Caelus had no reason to correct them. If people wanted to avoid him because of a rumor, he would gladly let them.

He continued walking.

His gaze moved toward the upper platform.

Elysia met his eyes first. She winked at him and waved.

The Beast Princess watched him with obvious suspicion, her red eyes lingering on him before she looked away.

The Saintess was harder to read. Her expression carried the cautious interest of someone collecting information.

Anna was considerably less subtle. The irritation on her face was unmistakable.

Azrael stood near the center of the platform, already preparing to speak. Caelus’s older brother gave him no visible reaction.

Selene, however, was watching him closely.

Caelus looked away.

Eve was nowhere to be seen.

She was probably hiding in someone’s shadow again.

He went towards a corner among the candidates. The space around him remained slightly larger than it should have been. People were reluctant to stand too close to him.

His sword hung at his side, the Eclipse Ring remained on his finger, and the three custom spells he’d prepared were ready enough to use.

Water Sheathe was the first of them. No better name came to mind, and he didn’t bother improvising.

The other two still had flaws, but this was exactly what the examination was for. Training dummies had already shown him their limits.

Corrupt beasts and possibly other candidates would tell him the rest.

Either way, he would have to adapt quickly once the examination began.

---

Azrael stepped forward, and the remaining conversations gradually died away.

Caelus watched his older brother take the center of the platform.

Student Council President.

A+ rank Knight with SS-rank potential.

Azrael looked over the candidates once before reaching into his coat.

"The Headmaster was supposed to give you the orientation," Azrael said. "Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it."

He pulled a folded sheet from his coat and opened it.

"Candidates."

He paused.

"Today I, Azrael Vespera, stand before you to guide the—"

He stopped reading.

His eyes moved over the next line, and his expression twisted with disgust.

He folded the paper and put it back into his coat.

A few nervous laughs escaped from the crowd.

"I don’t like flourishes or motivational speeches, so I’m going to cut to the chase."

He paused, letting the silence stretch.

"You are all going to die."

The nervous laughter disappeared.

Nobody seemed certain whether he was joking.

Azrael gave them no time to find out.

"The Primordial Academy’s entrance examination grows more difficult every year. Two years ago, severe injuries were enough to trigger extraction. If someone could no longer continue, they were removed from the island."

His gaze passed over the candidates.

"Last year, that changed. Broken bones were not enough. Losing fingers was not enough. Losing a limb was not enough. Candidates were extracted only when the academy judged death to be imminent."

A few people shifted uneasily.

"This year, there is no extraction."

The room fell silent.

"No rescue formation. No emergency teleportation. Nothing will bring you back once you enter."

Azrael’s voice remained level.

"If you die on the island, you die."

"What?"

"That’s not possible."

"You’re serious?"

"What happens if someone gets crippled?"

"You said there was extraction last year!"

"This is supposed to be an entrance examination!"

"Why would anyone agree to this?"

The questions overlapped until they became a single wave of noise.

Azrael looked down at them.

The noise stopped.

His presence descended like a tidal wave.

The pressure rolled through the auditorium, crushing the complaints before they could become anything more. Several candidates staggered. One dropped to a knee. Another grabbed the edge of a seat, breathing through clenched teeth. Somewhere in the crowd, someone vomited.

The stronger candidates held their ground.

Azrael didn’t move.

"If that sounds unacceptable, leave."

The exits opened.

People started leaving.

Some rushed as though afraid the academy might change its mind. Others lowered their heads and walked out in silence. A few remained at the doorway for several seconds, visibly struggling between pride and self-preservation before finally leaving.

The auditorium slowly emptied.

Roughly three thousand candidates withdrew, leaving only about two thousand of the five thousand who had entered.

Azrael stepped back.

Selene took his place.

Where her brother had delivered the warning, she was there to explain the rules.

"For those still standing, I’ll explain how the examination works."

"The examination remains an island survival test. Once it begins, each candidate will be transported to a random location, so you won’t know where you’ll start or who you’ll encounter."

"But survival alone will not secure a place in the academy."

She paused long enough for the room to settle.

"The academy will accept only two hundred candidates from this year’s examination."

A murmur moved through the remaining candidates.

Selene waited for it to settle before continuing.

"You must survive while earning enough points to place among the top two hundred."

The number hung over the remaining candidates like another threat.

Two hundred.

Even after thousands had withdrawn, there were still far more candidates than available places. A strong fighter could survive the island and still return without earning enough points to qualify. Survival kept you alive. Ranking decided whether that survival meant anything.

Her gaze swept across the candidates.

"The island is inhabited by Corrupt beasts ranging from D+ to B-. Killing them earns points."

Several candidates immediately looked more attentive.

"Their rank determines their value. A stronger Corrupt beast is worth more points than a weaker one, so taking on greater risks can produce greater rewards. Don’t mistake that for permission to be reckless. The examination rewards survival first."

Her expression hardened.

"Your position will not be determined by how impressive your final battle was or how many enemies you defeated in a single encounter. The examination will consider your accumulated points over the entire period, so every decision you make on the island will affect your final ranking."

Her gaze moved across the candidates.

"A candidate who accumulates points quietly and consistently may rank above someone who takes unnecessary risks for a temporary advantage."

She continued.

"Other candidates do not give you points. You may fight them only in legitimate self-defense. Deliberately killing another candidate for personal gain will result in immediate execution by the academy. The instructors will judge each encounter through the observation formations placed across the island."

Selene looked across the remaining candidates.

"This is your final opportunity to withdraw."

Nobody moved.

"Once you are transported to the island, the decision cannot be reversed."

Caelus looked across the remaining candidates.

Groups were already forming around the strongest candidates.

Friends were gathering together. A few people had clearly decided that staying near someone powerful was safer than relying on themselves.

Several of those groups kept glancing toward him.

The Contractor rumor had already turned him into a potential target before the examination had even started.

Caelus found that mildly convenient.

At least he knew where some of the problems would come from.

The Hero had gathered a crowd without seeming to try.

People spoke to him easily, and he answered with the same warmth, laughing at something a candidate said before noticing Caelus across the auditorium.

Their eyes met.

The Hero smiled and gave him a simple nod.

Caelus returned it.

He’s really growing on me.

That didn’t make him any less of a competitor.

He would still have to surpass him.

Selene stepped forward again. "The examination begins now."

A magic circle flared beneath the first group.

They vanished.

Another formation activated.

"Wait, already?"

"I wasn’t ready!"

"Hold on! No!"

"I changed my mind!"

Their protests vanished with them.

The auditorium gradually emptied through successive teleportations.

The formation reached Caelus.

The pull of spatial displacement took hold, drawing his body away from the auditorium.

He didn’t resist.

There was nothing left to prepare.

The entrance examination had officially begun.