#022 The Gathering of Oddballs (7)
—
[To all candidates: The designated time has expired. Therefore, we hereby announce the conclusion of the first round of the main examination. Candidates who have yet to reach the destination will be automatically disqualified.]
[The total number of candidates who passed the first round of the exam is 872. Congratulations on your success.]
[The second round of the exam is scheduled to commence tomorrow at 07:00. Those who have passed the first round must wait in the central square before the event starts.]
[Furthermore, candidates who have not yet been assigned temporary accommodations can approach the guides in imperial armor for assistance. Feel free to make use of their services.]
[You are free to use the food and medical supplies within your assigned accommodations.]
As the announcement echoed, Ligret reached for the food storage located in a corner of the room.
Upon opening the door, a cold air rushed out, proving that this storage was a magic tool powered by Mystic Stones that displayed exceptional properties according to its inscription.
I think the official name was something like “Room Temperature Magic Storage,” but since Chrome dubbed it a “refrigerator,” the people of the Midas Mansion have all grown fond of that label.
“Wow, I can’t believe they stocked every single temporary accommodation room with this stuff. I guess it’s quite impressive for an empire. In the Spero Kingdom, only the relatively affluent middle class has one of these in their home.”
“A refrigerator?”
“A refrigerator? Ah—what a simple name. Did Mr. Chrome come up with that nickname?”
“Yeah, it was my brother’s idea.”
“Sounds just like your older brother,” Fiore chuckled.
Even Ligret, who was typically indifferent to appearances, found Fiore’s ever-shifting expressions and her snow-white skin quite beautiful.
Despite both wearing smiles, there was a world of difference between Chrome’s grin, which seemed to relish making fun of others, and the genuine smiles on his and Fiore’s faces. It left me wondering if they really shared the same bloodline.
“What do you think the second round of the exam will be like?”
At Ligret’s question, Fiore touched her cheek thoughtfully.
“Well, I suppose it depends on how many candidates the academy plans to select. Just looking at the difficulty of the preliminary and first main exams, it feels like they’re strongly inclined to filter out those who already possess some level of ability instead of starting from scratch.”
“I think Chrome mentioned they’ll probably aim for around 100 people.”
“Your brother? Hmm.”
Fiore closed her eyes for a moment before speaking.
“-If so, it’s likely going to be a chair-snatching situation. In other words, it’s likely to turn into a scramble—a matter of competing for survival. Either only a set number of people can remain, or you have to disqualify someone else to secure your own spot. That’s probably the most effective way to reduce the numbers.”
Ligret responded with mild disbelief, “Aren’t the qualifiers all going to study at the same institution? The atmosphere is bound to be terrible from the start.”
“If they were thinking like that, the first round wouldn’t have been structured this way from the beginning. Perhaps the one overseeing the test is quite a peculiar character.”
“Well, no matter how odd they are, they can’t be worse than your father or brother.”
With a light-hearted laugh, the two exchanged smiles.
#022 The Gathering of Oddballs (7)
—
[Welcome, candidates, to the second round of the main examination! Additionally, all you lazy slackers who haven’t gathered in the central square until this moment are hereby disqualified! Congratulations! Let’s give a round of applause to those who voluntarily helped others by serving as stepping stones!]
“…It’s going to be hard to pick a winner, huh?”
“…Sure seems that way.”
On the morning of the second round of the exam, the voice of a young woman, insulting as she held a microphone on the podium, brought a grimace to both Ligret’s and Fiore’s faces.
No idea what she meant about “picking a winner,” but listening to that high-energy speech first thing in the morning wasn’t exactly relaxing.
And unlike the other candidates, who could afford to brush it off as someone else’s problem, the reactions of those who had just been disqualified were much more intense.
“D-Don’t be ridiculous!”
“It doesn’t make any sense to be disqualified for something like this!?”
“She didn’t even say a word about that to begin with!”
Around twenty people who hadn’t even gotten to take the second round of the exam erupted with fervent protests against the woman on the podium.
Among them were candidates who, having overslept and wasted time due to the fatigue of a week spent traversing the forest, scrambled out upon hearing the disqualification announcement.
While it might seem incomprehensible to be late for such an important test, there are always habitual latecomers, even in a past life where checking the time was easy.
Let alone in this world, where even wristwatches are considered luxury items, and the concept of time is quite lenient.
Out of over eight hundred candidates, the fact that only such a small number were late was practically impressive.
Just next to me, Roto had to be half-dragged out because he kept checking his belongings to ensure he hadn’t forgotten anything, managing to avoid disqualification.
[So, are you saying there’s an objection to my judgment? I distinctly announced yesterday that the exam would start at 07:00. Is that correct?]
The young woman, puzzled by the hostile glares of the latecomers, turned to the armored soldier standing behind her for clarification.
The soldier replied firmly, “We repeated the announcement to gather in the central square by the designated time multiple times, yet we didn’t explicitly mention disqualification. Right, Ms. Istel?”
Indeed, the woman referred to as Istel nodded.
As the situation seemed to be unfolding smoothly, the atmosphere among the disqualified individuals relaxed a bit.
However, all of that came crashing down with the woman’s next statement.
[Then let’s make it clear from now on. If you’re late, you’re disqualified. After all, I’m the one in charge of the second exam.]
As she clapped her hands together and cheered, the pent-up anger of the latecomers finally erupted.
“What the hell does this crazy woman think she’s doing!? Hey soldier! Stop with the nonsense and bring out a proper administrator—”
The man, veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted, couldn’t finish his sentence.
In a swift motion, the woman who had just been on the podium was suddenly before him, delivering a resounding slap to his cheek with her hand.
What might seem like a straightforward action didn’t yield ordinary consequences.
*Crack!* The chilling sound of something crumpling echoed.
The man, who had been voicing his protests just moments ago, left a clear mark on the iron helmet he wore as the woman’s palm connected with it.
The man’s body, still filled with momentum, flew like a windmill before finally colliding with the ground, bouncing several times before thrillingly coming to a halt.
“………”
The chaos that just erupted seemed like a lie as an eerie silence, where even breaths couldn’t be heard, enveloped the square.
Those of lesser capability froze, unable to process the phenomenon that unfolded before them, while those with some level of skill swallowed hard or widened their eyes in response to the glimpse of power the woman had just displayed.
The soldier who had been conversing with the woman moments ago spoke in a tone that almost sounded weary.
“Ms. Istel, you were told not to recklessly kill the candidates.”
“I didn’t kill anyone! I just gave her a little warning for her rude behavior.”
At that line, the gaze of the candidates in the square collectively shifted towards the man sprawled grotesquely on the ground.
Seeing his neck twisted at an awkward angle and him failing to move even an inch, they thought in unison, ‘No way, he’s dead, isn’t he?’
A couple of soldiers who gathered around the fallen candidate checked his condition, twisted his neck, and poured a potion down his throat before lifting him onto a stretcher.
It was clear they weren’t inexperienced at this kind of task.
“Ms. Istel.”
“Sigh, fine. Then let’s drop the disqualification and call it a warning. No more? Understood, everyone?”
The latecomers, who had just witnessed someone become a semi-corpse right in front of them, nodded mechanically, as if they were wooden puppets.
If she had declared outright disqualification, they likely wouldn’t have protested at all.
Passing the exam was important, but surviving was essential, wasn’t it?
I climbed back onto the podium and stared intently at the woman gripping the microphone.
Her asymmetrical leather outfit clung closely to her body, accentuating her curves, while her long crimson hair, reaching down to her thighs, evoked images of flowing blood. Yet even that, combined with her extraordinary beauty, emitted an unbalanced allure.
Istel von Lebenshtein.
She was one of the significant figures in the “Planetarium.”
Due to her noble background and superior skills, she ascended to the youngest general in the Barhart Empire, but her eccentric personality led the higher-ups to shove her into a largely isolated professorship at the academy, responding to pleas from other officers who couldn’t tolerate her behavior.
Nonetheless, her loyalty to the late Emperor was unwavering, and her abilities were undeniably stellar, making her an ‘excellent’ professor in that context.
Moreover, the reputation she shared with her two counterpart professors, both of whom were renowned for their charming personalities, meant her quirks weren’t solely her problem.
‘She’s ranked among the continent’s finest in terms of force and one of the best at handling “Red Light,” among the three magic phenomena. She’s definitely optimal for training Ligret. Well, it might get a bit rough along the way, though.’
As if sensing my gaze, Ligret, who had appeared puzzled, turned away, while I redirected my focus back to the podium.
In any case, as long as I’m not the one suffering, I could only think, “Good luck, Ligret.”
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