Nathaniel walked around the academy until he reached the academy grounds.
It was huge—at least three times the size of the school he used to attend before dropping out. It was filled with students from different backgrounds.
He walked up to the huge board where the names of the participants were written. There were about 456 students participating in the exam. Among them, 25 participants belonged to noble houses, and the rest were commoners.
Nathaniel checked the list and found out that he was among the noble participants.
Nathaniel Hale.
It was his real name, but was there really an aristocratic house with the name Hale?
Nathaniel checked the list of nobles once again. There was no person named Y/N. Of course, who was crazy enough to name their child that?
He then looked at the huge clock located on the academy building. It was almost time for the exam.
"Maybe I should just leave. It's fine if I end up on the street," Nathaniel muttered to himself while walking toward the desk where registration took place.
[Mission: Participate in the entrance exam
Reward – 20 points
Penalty – Death]
Nathaniel stared at it. He wanted to curse the system but didn't open his mouth. What if the system struck lightning on him for blasphemy? It was better to stay quiet.
Nathaniel looked around the grounds. He had only met a few important characters; the rest were just extras.
He looked around, trying to find the people Y/N would associate herself with in the future. It was better to stick close to her since she was the main character—but she was also a magnet for trouble.
"Welcome to Velkros Academy!" a loud voice rang out.
The students all looked around, then someone pointed toward the sky. A piece of land was floating above them, slowly descending to the ground.
The small piece of land soon reached the participants, and they could see his face. A man in his thirties with black hair and light blue eyes. He was the genius mage and the headmaster of Velkros Academy. No matter how young he looked, he was definitely over fifty.
"He's Headmaster Hugh!" a student shouted.
"Yes, yes, that's me. So, my dear participants, are you ready to take the entrance exam?" he asked.
"Yes!" the crowd shouted and cheered.
"Hm. Alright. You all are quite enthusiastic, but remember—only a hundred of you will be admitted inside," the headmaster said.
Suddenly, the ground lit up without warning. A teleportation spell activated beneath them, and they all disappeared.
They reappeared inside a forest. A few students vomited on the ground, while others ran away from them in disgust.
"Ah yes, for most of you, this must be your first time being teleported," the headmaster said.
"Alright. Time for the rules. All of you must form pairs, and the pairs with the most points will be admitted into the academy. Points will be calculated based on how many monsters you kill and their category. You will get one point for killing a small demonic monster, with a maximum of five points. How does that sound?"
He continued, "You will all receive a scroll that will help you identify which monster is worth how many points. As usual, the entrance exam will last for three days straight, and you will have to survive on your own. In case of severe injury, you will be teleported back."
"But what if the other person is dead weight?!" a student shouted.
"Oh well, it's not like the evaluation will be based solely on pairs. Individual kills will also be taken into consideration. Now, you have twenty minutes to team up!" the headmaster said before disappearing.
The students scrambled, asking each other about their skills and talents. The crowd was overwhelming.
"Hey, you!" someone called out to Nathaniel.
"Me?"
"Yes, you! What's your noble rank?" the person asked.
Nathaniel was conflicted. He knew nobles recruited each other based on rank, but he didn't know what his rank was.
"I am from the House of Hale," Nathaniel said.
"House Hale? Your father's a baron? Never mind. What's your talent?"
So I belong to a baron house.
They were barely considered nobles. Some were even originally commoners who received recognition from dukes or kings and were granted noble titles.
"My talent is multicasting."
"Oh, nice! Your specialization magic?"
"Gravity."
"Only gravity?"
"Yeah."
"Ugh! Forget it!" the man said before leaving.
Nathaniel looked at him in confusion. Gravity magic was rare and one of the best specializations, so why did he react like that?
Then he remembered—gravity magic wouldn't become famous until two years later. Not much was known about it yet. The only known abilities were floating and lifting objects.
This is troublesome, he thought. He wouldn't be able to find a partner at this rate.
He tried approaching commoners instead, but they looked at him with disgust or mocked him.
I hate this world setting.
Just as Nathaniel thought time was almost up, he heard someone shouting.
"You're a noble! Stop trying to team up with us! You'll just abandon us because we're commoners!" a man yelled.
Nathaniel turned around and pushed through the crowd.
"Excuse me! You're looking for a partner, aren't you?" Nathaniel said as he reached her.
She was beautiful. She had long white hair tied in a ponytail, light grey eyes, and skin so fair it could be compared to the moon.
"Huh? You want to team up with me?" the woman asked. Her voice was soothing—not shrill or high-pitched, but clear and calm.
"Uh… yeah," Nathaniel said, momentarily lost in admiration.
"I'm so glad! I couldn't find a partner!" she said, shaking his hand.
"H-huh? Yeah. I'm glad too!" Nathaniel replied, snapping out of it. He didn't remember writing such a beautiful character.
Why hadn't anyone teamed up with her? Surely some perverts would've tried.
"I'm Yenne! And you?" she asked.
"I'm Nathaniel. So… you're Yenne?"
"Yeah. It's spelled Y-e-n-n-e. A lot of people mispronounce it," she said.
"I see. I specialize in gravity. What about you?"
"Oh! Me? I'm good at swordsmanship—even if it doesn't look like it."
Nathaniel suddenly remembered something.
If she specializes in swordsmanship, there's no way she should've made it this far. The only girl who made it as a swordsman was Y/N—and she was a magic swordswoman.
But, then again her name was pronounced as Y-en rather than Yen-ne.
'It's possible she's Y/N' Nathaniel thought.
But it's possible that like many other manhwa's and novel he had read Y/N is one of the readers of the story.
'Not like I get any real views on my novel.'
Before they could talk more, a scroll appeared in Yenne's hand. Everyone else received one as well—one scroll per pair.
The headmaster appeared again, floating in the air.
"Hello again! I suppose all teams have been formed. Since you've all received your scrolls—let the entrance exam commence!"
The Velkros Academy entrance exam began.