A wide space shrouded in darkness.
The only source of light there came from numerous holograms floating in the air.
The holograms were revealing important areas within the Tower of Growth, where the first-year students had just entered.
“It’s already been a year. Time really flies.”
The holograms radiated from the table, where a group of people sat gathered around it.
In the silence of the space, with everyone silent and staring at the holograms, a droopy voice echoed out.
It was Lee Su-yeon, the professor in charge of the first-year excellence class.
She fiddled with the ends of her purple wavy hair and stretched her arms with a weary expression as she spoke.
“I distinctly remember the first entrance of the first-year students was just a few days ago.”
“Considering what you just said, it doesn’t seem like much has changed for you, does it?”
“Even for ordinary people, a year doesn’t bring that much change.”
Struggling to shake off her drowsiness, Lee Su-yeon frowned and rubbed her shoulders.
“Isn’t this year’s difficulty a bit high?”
“It’s a result considering the average of the students. The average has significantly increased compared to last year, so I adjusted the difficulty accordingly.”
Although Lee Su-yeon was not a new professor this year, it was her first time as a supervising professor, so she had little knowledge.
Albert, who had been the supervising professor of the Gok-woo Class for over a decade, responded.
Several professors listening to Lee Su-yeon and Albert nodded in agreement.
Recently, the basic skills of the students had markedly improved. This trend had continued for several years, and especially this batch was highly praised as a golden generation in the history of Shio-ram.
The first entrance of the first-year students always took place on the “1st floor” of the Tower of Growth. This had never changed.
The theme was survival, and the environment was a vast forest teeming with monsters.
A five-day survival with only a primary weapon in a forest filled with monsters.
In the previous dungeon practice, preparation was allowed. Some survival items and items that directly aided in combat were somewhat permitted.
The grading criteria for dungeon practice focused on cooperation during the conquest process rather than individual power.
Even the mightiest superhuman would have tasks they couldn’t resolve alone, so that became the assessment standard.
However, this survival challenge was different.
They were given only a primary weapon and tossed into the forest. No other supplies were allowed. They had to survive for five days in a state of complete vulnerability.
And amidst the surrounding monsters and the even more dangerous competition from other students.
The difficulty was clearly higher than the dungeon practice. And it increased compared to last year as well.
But what Lee Su-yeon was mentioning wasn’t about that.
“Last year, it was a Level 6 monster, right?”
“Yes, last year it was the Level 6 Alpha Entity ‘Stone Tree Golem’.”
Johannes, the professor in charge of the Cheong-myeong Class, confirmed after checking the materials.
On the third day of the five-day survival held at the first entrance of the Tower of Growth, a special monster appeared in the central area.
This monster grants a substantial amount of points and serves as an objective for the students, encouraging competition through cooperation.
It was the same last year.
The Stone Tree Golem. A Level 6 classified monster. As the name suggests, it was a golem formed from the intertwining of soil, stone, and wood.
“Last year… surprisingly, it was defeated by a single student.”
Last year, such a monster was defeated by just one student.
“Wasn’t it Lee Ji-yoon from Taesan? It got so much attention that even I know. I heard she defeated it in a head-to-head fight.”
“To crush a golem, which is inherently tough due to its regeneration, head-on was quite unbelievable when I heard that.”
Level 6 Alpha.
In the classification of monsters from Level 1 to Level 8, it sits at a lower tier of Level 6.
At first glance, one might think it’s a weak monster, but that’s a significant misconception.
Level 6 monsters often appear as boss entities in Level 4 dungeons.
It’s not uncommon to see the lowest-tier superhumans and soldiers entering a Level 4 dungeon for simple monster hunting, only to be wiped out by the appearance of a boss.
Level 6. No matter how skilled a student was at the academy, tackling such a creature was quite challenging.
“Yes, it was a Level 6 last year. But why is it different this time?”
Lee Su-yeon pointed to a section of the documents.
[Monster Deployment: Level 5 Alpha ‘Parasite Moth’]
“It’s a Level 5? An Alpha at that?”
The difficulty is high. The overall environment is similar. But the tier of the boss entity being introduced is different.
“There was a Level 6 monster that was defeated by a single student last year.”
“Just because that is the case, is it necessary to raise the difficulty? That was the heir of Taesan that defeated it alone, and no matter how high the average is…”
“This year’s first-year students include Gop-hwa and Chang-hae’s heirs, and if they cooperate with the other students, it wouldn’t be impossible. Moreover, Hong Yeon-hwa has already defeated a Level 5 monster alone, hasn’t she?”
That was indeed true.
Lee Su-yeon nodded and then suddenly switched topics as if she remembered something.
“Speaking of which, isn’t this really unfair to Lee Ha-yul?”
Lee Ha-yul. The mention of the name caused the attention of the professors who hadn’t participated in the conversation to converge.
Johannes, who had been involved in the discussion, asked in return.
“Unfair? He hasn’t been subjected to any special restrictions.”
“Not that. The points, the points.”
Lee Su-yeon gestured with her finger. The hologram floating in the air spread out in all directions.
[Special Admission: 1,000 points]
“That’s too blatant. It’s practically saying ‘go ahead and kill this target’.”
“How could we possibly know the Chancellor’s intentions?”
Lee Su-yeon’s expression scrunched up. The Chancellor’s intentions. She couldn’t fathom what those were.
Special admission students. After the confirmation, various rumors circulated, and based on the growth rate and evaluation during sparring and dungeon practice, it was concluded that they had ‘potential.’
While they knew he had potential, was there really any need to stake such a hefty score even before it blossomed?
Lee Su-yeon pondered for a moment and then diverted her gaze towards Liana, the professor in charge of the Ipchun Class, where Lee Ha-yul was enrolled.
Liana would surely have some thoughts on this.
“……”
Liana usually had an excellent reputation. She’s always responded with a warm smile.
However, Liana was staring blankly into the air, an unusual display for her.
Something wasn’t right. Just then, some absurd rumors had also drifted among the students.
What was it? Something about a male student being harassed by a certain girl? Absurd nonsense. Students who openly spread such rumors were going to be in for a world of trouble.
Regardless, Liana wasn’t behaving normally.
With her mouth shut, Lee Su-yeon turned her gaze to the side with a puzzled expression.
Nearby, there was someone who wasn’t a first-year supervising professor but was also present.
A figure with sharp golden eyes drew attention, radiating an underlying ferocity despite hidden layers of power.
It was Professor Atra, who was in charge of the special admission students. She was there since she was technically involved with the special admission students.
“What does Professor Atra think?”
Lee Su-yeon didn’t know Atra well. Their interactions had been limited to a few formal greetings during professor gatherings.
Lee Su-yeon asked, leaning her chin on her wrist, gazing at the hologram, and Atra glanced over.
What do you think? Having heard all the conversations, she understood the question.
“……”
Atra recalled recent events. Her lifetime wasn’t long by any means, yet even considering that, this recent period had been remarkably dense.
The first meeting. Unsatisfactory skills and growth rate.
Following that, each day was marked by an inexplicably steep growth rate and a plethora of diverse talents unveiling.
A student who dutifully followed along without any crafty shortcuts, surely there were many puzzling aspects, yet their sincerity in following along seemed almost like trust.
And the dungeon experience—
– Ugh… Wheeeeeek!
The disdainful look directed towards her…
Unnecessary memories. Atra bit her lip, trying to organize her swirling emotions and articulated her thoughts.
“Well…”
Based on the average of students she’s seen recently,
and from her standpoint of having taught, Atra assessed Lee Ha-yul.
“He won’t just be an easy target.”
Lee Ha-yul was by no means a weakling in this exam.
He was already a superhuman that had sufficiently blossomed.
*
Lately, nothing has gone as I wanted.
It was the same in the previous world, and it’s still the same here.
My life has been followed by a kind of vague unhappiness.
Not overwhelming despair that drives you to absolute desperation, but instead a persistent type of wretchedness that snaps the ladders of hope every single time.
– Whoooooo
A breeze brushed past me. It was oddly chilly.
I instinctively curled up my body and dug a little deeper into a corner.
This location was one I had barely managed to find after suddenly becoming blind.
In a relatively low-lying area, rocks fit together perfectly, allowing me to hide my body appropriately.
Once inside, I squeezed myself in and covered myself with a large branch I had brought along. I had layered it sufficiently, so it should provide basic concealment.
If I added some magic on top of that, a pretty decent hiding spot would be achieved.
‘……’
After steadying my breath, I attempted to expand my spatial perception.
…
But I couldn’t!
It felt like I was crushed beneath a rock, only twitching and not able to extend properly at all.
The spatial perception that served as my eyes had vanished. The smartwatch that served as my voice was gone as well. The only thing left on my wrist was a test watch that only assessed scores.
‘What do I do now?’
It seems like I started this on the wrong foot.
First entrance, first trial. It doesn’t matter what it’s called.
This event is practically a player versus player upheaval event.
Competition among students is allowed.
For those who despised special admission students, this would be an excellent opportunity, and even those who didn’t have any disdain would have the curiosity to dig in.
Plus, there are actual benefits to be had.
The 1,000 points dangling around the special admission student’s neck.
Points earned from the entrance not only count as grades but can also be used as currency.
One could gradually accumulate points like this and later exchange them for items shown in the booklets provided by Shio-ram.
What’s certain is that taking away the 1,000 points from the special admission student could buy quite a lot. While it might not be enough right away, having it is never bad.
Probably.
Countless students are likely searching for me with gleaming eyes right now.
‘Ah…’
I sighed, rubbing my face.
Feeling frustrated, I lifted my head. I saw nothing.
My vision was sealed and void. Even with spatial perception, I wouldn’t be able to see the sky due to range limitations.
Even if my eyesight was functioning, I wouldn’t be able to see the sky, hidden as it was by the leaves.
Above was invisible.
In despair, my head drooped downwards.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
