As the first rays of sunlight shine into the room, I wake up and quickly go to the wardrobe and get dressed while already running through the door and seeing that the girl is still asleep. I write a note that says, "I'll be gone for 5 hours. Food is in the fridge," and place it on the table next to the couch. I see that her blanket has slipped and adjust it properly again. That should be everything. I go to the armchair and take my cloak and my dagger. No one must know that she is here; after all, every beastman is enslaved. I leave the house and head toward the school.
"Just because they are different, they are enslaved and discriminated against. That's simply not fair. We humans are the ones who should be enslaved," I mutter quietly and angrily to myself while many people walk through the streets.
I look around and see several children my age walking through the school gate, nervously looking around and trembling slightly, because the entrance exam is said to be difficult even for experienced people. I can't really imagine that, since it's just an entrance exam. I also walk through the gate and see everyone spreading out across the combat field. I position myself there as well, and my gaze quickly shifts back to the gate when a carriage of the royal family arrives and Princess Luna steps out with her chin raised. Of course—she's arrogant too. Humans are all the same. I look away, hoping she won't notice me, and she doesn't. She simply walks into the crowd without seeing me. An examiner appears at the front, and everyone falls silent, while I realize that I'm the only one wearing a tracksuit and a cloak, completely in black.
The examiner greets us all and then begins explaining the exam: target shooting, magic measurement, and a duel. The exam begins. I watch the first person who is called up—a black-haired boy in blue-and-white clothing who looks arrogantly at his friends. A fireball slowly forms in his hand, and he fires them one by one at all five targets, hitting every single one perfectly. He walks back smugly and looks around at everyone. In the crowd, I even see a cat beastkin—a girl with white-and-orange ears and a tail of the same color. She is standing completely alone. I disguise myself with a concealment spell and appear next to her. She flinches but remains quiet and cautious. No wonder, since we humans usually enslave or hurt beastkin. I stay silent and simply stand there so she won't get even more scared.
Gradually, more people step onto the field and pass the first test. Next, the cat girl is called.
"Alya, next," the examiner says disdainfully.
Alya steps forward, and everyone looks at her with contempt. I clench my hands into fists but remain calm and watch her perform. A mixture of water and fire appears, and everyone falls silent after having mocked her before. I look surprised. Wow—that's rare. Dual magic. Three fireballs and two water balls fly toward the targets and hit all of them. She walks back, slightly unsure, but no longer stays as far away from me after noticing that I did nothing except look surprised.
Next, I'm called and step forward. Everyone whispers after noticing that I have no problem standing next to the cat girl. I conjure two earth balls, one water ball, one fireball, and one lightning ball. The others gasp and then fall silent. My tracksuit becomes visible as my cloak flutters, and wind forms around me due to the pressure of my magic. I fire all the elemental spheres at the targets. An explosion erupts, and the targets crumble into dust. The students stand frozen, while Alya, the cat girl, watches in awe. She seems to like it. I walk back normally and look at Alya, who is staring at me.
"Should I talk to him?" Alya thinks while still staring at me.
I smile slightly. "He could be the savior… no, he surely hates us too," Alya thinks. I look at the examiner while she hesitantly steps closer and shyly looks at the ground.
"Min, right?" she asks shyly, glancing up slightly. Her green eyes shimmer faintly because of her shyness.
I look at her and step a little closer. Oh, she seems shy. Her timid face lifts a bit more.
"Yes, that's me," I say, glancing around while the examiner continues speaking.
She looks fully up now, still shy, starts smiling, and nods slightly. She steps a bit closer and looks down again. She doesn't say anything more. I look at a stone that can measure and absorb magical power. I step forward slightly to see the numbers.
I watch the first candidate place his hand on the orb. A purple number appears, showing 2100. Everyone stares at him, surprised by his power, as if it were something special. But four people—excluding me—remain unimpressed. "They must be strong," I think as more people step forward one after another. The average is around 1900. One of the unimpressed ones steps up and places his hand on the orb. A purple number appears, showing 12,000. Everyone gasps as if they've never seen anything like it before. "No wonder he wasn't impressed by 2100," I think as he walks back with a smug smile, looking at everyone.
The next person steps up, and a purple number appears showing 11,000. The next steps forward before the previous one even steps down; a purple number appears showing 16,000. Next, Alya steps forward, slightly unsure. She hesitantly places her hand on the orb and looks around briefly before letting mana flow into it. A purple number appears, showing 24,000.
After that, I jump forward and land right in front of the orb while Alya walks back and everyone looks at her with disdain. I place my hand on the orb and let my mana flow. A red number appears, and everyone recoils in shock, because it is higher than all the others so far. "Right—what about Luna?" I think as I look at the number showing 120,000. I walk back calmly while everyone stares at me with their mouths open.
Alya looks at me and takes a step back. "Is he maybe… no," Alya thinks and looks down, unable to trust me—like any normal half-human, or the degrading term "demi," which is disgusting to call them. I look around and see that all eyes are still on me. Some people are whispering, but their words are indistinct.
Two swordsmen enter the combat field, bow in greeting, then stand with their swords and point to a weapon rack. All of them are real swords. Some people look at them nervously. The first candidate is called. The boy steps forward hesitantly, clearly nervous. People watch as he slowly takes a sword and holds it completely wrong. He is uncertain, while one of the swordsmen takes a professional stance.
The match begins, and the first swordsman—also known as the Sword Demon—defeats him quickly. However, the other swordsman is far stronger. "There is someone called the Sword Saint, but it's unlikely… no, it's actually very likely," I think as I look at him more closely, while the fight ends quickly and the next challenger steps forward and also loses.
One after another, everyone loses against the Sword Demon. Then the swordsmen switch, and the first strong candidate steps up. He arrogantly grabs a sword, confusing everyone. The fight begins, and both rush at each other, but the examinee is slower than the Sword Saint, who slams him against a wall and defeats him. The examinee walks back humiliated, head lowered.
The next strong examinee steps up. The five strongest are last, but the other two also fail. Then it's Alya's turn. She steps forward confidently. I smile slightly as I see her take a sword, then suddenly hesitate and start trembling lightly. The fight begins, and she charges forward. Her movements are a bit unsure and slow, but she can keep up in speed. However, the difference in strength and experience is too great. She can't win. I briefly look down, then back up, and see Alya slam into the wall and fall lightly to the ground, losing the match.
I'm next. The examiner calls my name, and I slowly step forward. Everyone looks at me as if they expect me to defeat him easily—but if I'm not careful, that won't happen. I step onto the field, don't take a sword, and draw my dagger from my side, holding it so the blade faces my stomach. I take a perfect stance.
The fight begins, and we sprint forward.