Although the opponent was caught off guard, the victory was snatched effortlessly through skilled offense and defense in an instant.
Moreover, having thrown the first punch and been defeated like a dog, there could be no greater disgrace.
The Exam Administrator, with his greasy appearance, looked like he wanted to leave the exam room immediately, but unfortunately, he was still far down the list, so he wasn’t allowed to leave.
In the end, he ended up fleeing the scene like a coward after engaging in friendly sparring while being watched by all the examinees.
He truly faced a monumental disgrace.
Once the second exam concluded, there were only about 300 examinees left standing.
Since there were about 10,000 examinees this year, only a very small fraction had passed the second exam.
“Hmm, it seems the number of new students this year is about right.”
The Exam Administrator said this while looking over the remaining examinees from the second exam, then clapped and announced.
“Congratulations, everyone. If you’ve passed the second exam, you can say you’re almost there. We will take a one-hour break before the final exam.”
After saying this, the Exam Administrator instructed the staff to attend to the injured and tidy up around the exam area.
Then, the staff members moved efficiently.
“Examinees, please follow this way.”
As one of the staff members led the way, we quietly moved to follow behind him.
*
“What could the final exam possibly be?”
“Right? Nothing specific comes to mind.”
Since all the previous exams had been battle-related, I assumed the final exam might be related to combat as well.
While I was discussing the content of the exam with Tang Sosu, someone I had never seen before approached us.
“Hehe, it seems you’re troubled because you don’t know what the final exam is about.”
A man wearing black glasses that hid his eyes looked extremely suspicious.
“I can give you a hint of information, what do you say?”
“No, we’re fine.”
“Hehe, I figured you’d say that. Of course, I wouldn’t turn down such high-quality information… What? You’re rejecting it?!”
He seemed to have assumed we would want the information without question.
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly and said.
“To be honest, we’re going to find out when the time comes anyway, so is it really necessary to know beforehand?”
“To think someone wishing to enter Cheonmu Academy doesn’t understand the importance of information preemption is simply lamentable.”
The suspicious man pushed up his glasses with his middle finger as he continued.
“If you change your mind now, I can provide you information about the final exam for a very low price.”
“No, really, we’re fine. If it’s for money, I’m even less interested.”
“Tch, you’ll regret it.”
With that, the suspicious man walked away.
“What was that all about?”
I tilted my head in confusion, and Tang Sosu shrugged.
“Looks like he’s a beggar from the Open Faction.”
“How do you know?”
“He had a knot tied at his waist. Three knots make him a Blunt Sword-level guy, yet he’s doing this kind of business here.”
Hearing that he was a beggar from the Open Faction, I looked back at the previous man, and he indeed looked quite shabby compared to others.
However, due to his smart appearance and distinctive black glasses, I hadn’t felt that vibe until now.
I thought to myself, there really are a lot of eccentric individuals in this world, and as I turned my head, I made eye contact with Dokgorin, who was playing cat’s cradle by herself.
“What’s up?”
“I just thought you were having fun all by yourself.”
“Oh? I think this is pretty normal.”
Dokgorin said that as she formed a flower shape with the thread.
I quietly stared at Dokgorin’s face and asked, “Isn’t it uncomfortable wearing that headpiece all the time?”
Dokgorin replied without taking her eyes off the thread, “It’s uncomfortable, but if I don’t wear it, I get conscious of other people’s stares.”
“Mm.”
I thought it would be nice if the design could be a little more comfortable, allowing for easier putting on and taking off, and I briefly considered designing a modern mask that would hook onto the ears. After all, the structure is simple, and if I had the materials, I could make it quickly.
While I was contemplating a mask design that would suit Dokgorin’s face, a staff member from Cheonmu Academy came to the waiting examinees and said, “We’re going to head to the final exam now! Examinees, please follow me!”
Then, one by one, the examinees began to rise from their spots.
Curious about what the final exam would be, we followed the staff member leading the way to the final testing location.
*
The long-awaited final exam.
The task was,
“From now on, you will have 60 minutes to solve all the questions provided.”
It was a basic academic skills test.
‘I never considered this.’
It’s true that Cheonmu Academy is famous for having excellent teachers and martial arts guidance, but after all, it was still an academy.
Basic education was surely essential.
I was a bit deflated by how different the exam was from what I expected, but I decided to do my best until the end.
The difficulty level of the questions seemed so low that even an elementary school student could solve them all quickly.
…But it seemed not everyone was good at studying.
Less than 20 minutes after the test started, while I had already finished all the problems and was reviewing my answers, there were people using all their fingers and toes to solve simple arithmetic problems.
Even if the martial artists neglect their studies, that was somewhat excessive, I thought.
Even Tang Sosu, who usually showed smart results, seemed to solve the questions quickly, and Dokgorin, having a private tutor and learning the Four Books and Five Classics, didn’t struggle with questions of this level either.
After finishing all the problems and flipping my test paper over on the desk while looking around, the supervising proctor approached me and asked, “Have you finished already?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not just randomly guessing because the problems were hard, are you?”
“Of course not.”
As I spoke casually, the proctor looked at me suspiciously, sighed softly, and advised, “If you act fidgety like that, it could distract the other examinees, so please remain still until the exam ends.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
After saying that, I laid down on the desk.
This position reminded me of all the mock exams I had taken in high school.
If I had studied back then, would my life have changed?
While reminiscing about the past with my eyes closed, sleep gradually overtook me, and I faded out.
*
“…Hey! Excuse me!”
“Ugh.”
As someone shook my shoulder, I jolted awake and looked up.
“They’re asking us to submit the test papers up front.”
The person sitting behind me handed me a stack of test papers.
‘Ah, I was in the middle of taking a test.’
I suddenly recalled that fact and wiped the drool from my mouth with my forearm, hurriedly submitting my test paper along with the others to the supervisor in front of me.
The hour-long test seemed to pass by more quickly than I had expected.
After finishing the last exam and stepping out of the exam room, the sun was beginning to set.
It felt like I had arrived here in the morning, but the day had nearly passed.
“How did it go for you?”
“Pretty okay.”
I answered Tang Sosu’s question, then turned to Dokgorin, who seemed lost in thought.
“And you, Rin?”
“I think I did fine.”
Dokgorin, with her usual aloof expression, added, “I don’t think I’ll fail the exam.”
…Maybe?
I don’t know why the “maybe” was added, but at least she doesn’t seem like the kind to say something absurd, so it should be fine.
Cheering up, we decided to go eat something delicious since the exam was over.
“Is there anything you want to eat? Just say the word. I’ll buy it all.”
Tang Sosu boldly puffed out her chest while saying that.
Even though she usually pays for everything, today she seemed to radiate even more of a halo.
“Well then, let’s go have some chicken.”
“Chicken?”
“In my hometown, there’s a custom of eating fried chicken when you win.”
At that, Dokgorin blinked in surprise, as if she had never heard of such a thing.
“There’s a custom like that in your hometown?”
Oh right, I just realized that Dokgorin and I are from the same hometown.
“To be accurate, it seems the people from Balhae had that custom.”
My mom is a descendant of Balhae.
“Ah, I see.”
As I nonchalantly fibbed without even moistening my lips, the two nodded as if they believed it was true.
Anyway, that was how our dinner menu was decided.
We went to eat chicken to celebrate that we had successfully passed the exam.
*
And the next day.
The long-awaited exam results were announced.
Checking the large notice posted at the entrance of Cheonmu Academy early in the morning, I nearly screamed without realizing it.
And no wonder,
‘Top Admissions – Ichilbok’
I unintentionally drew attention from the very first day of enrollment.
