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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Istal, standing on the platform, began to speak.
[Ahem, where was I? Ah, right, it’s time to explain the rules.]
At her gesture, soldiers appeared, carrying large boxes.
[The name of the exam you’ll be taking is ‘Tri-color Ring’! I won’t explain it multiple times, so listen carefully.]
She pulled out three rings from the box: red, blue, and white.
[The conditions for passing are simple! Each of you will be randomly assigned one of these three rings. You pass once you’ve collected all three types of rings, either by taking them from other examinees or by defeating the summoned creatures in the testing area.]
However, she added with a smirk,
[There’s a rock-paper-scissors element to the rings. Red is strong against blue, blue against white, and white against red. As for what that specifically means… well, you’ll find out when you experience it yourselves.]
Subtly glossing over the crucial details, she continued.
[The examiners here will guide you to your starting points, so just follow them. Oh, and if you want to give up, there’s no need for a formal declaration. Just throw away your ring and collapse somewhere. We’ll collect you. Now, I wish you all the best of luck!]
As Istal waved from the platform as if saying goodbye, each member of our group spoke in turn.
“She’s crazy.”
“She’s certainly… unique.”
“W-wait, collapse if you want to give up? What does that even mean…?”
I shrugged.
“I guess playing dead will do. Want me to give you some sleeping pills?”
As Lotto’s face paled, a nearby examiner shouted,
“We will now distribute the rings! You must wear the ring on one of your wrists. Touching another participant’s ring before the signal is a violation of the rules, so be careful!”
Regret received red.
Fiore received white.
Lotto and I received blue.
The examiners sorted the examinees by ring color and led them away. Lotto and I were separated from Regret and Fiore.
“The starting signal will sound shortly. Please wait here until then.”
Left with the other examinees wearing blue rings in the large, park-like testing area, Lotto asked,
“Dividing us into groups of ten makes sense to avoid chaos, but why group us by color?”
Before I could answer, another examinee interjected.
“It’s obviously so we can form teams. We need rings of different colors to pass, right? We don’t need to fight each other since we have the same color.”
Another examinee chimed in,
“Oh, I see. That’s what it meant. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Let’s work together and pass!”
Encouraging words and promises of mutual support were exchanged among the examinees with blue rings.
I thought to myself,
‘Well, are we really not supposed to fight each other?’
While everyone was chatting with smiles, I observed a few exchanging furtive glances, and I became certain.
I whispered to Lotto,
“…When the starting signal sounds, drop to the ground and hold your breath.”
“Huh?”
Despite the confused look on Lotto’s face, I didn’t elaborate.
If he didn’t follow my advice, that was his problem. I had no obligation to babysit him.
[…The exam begins!]
As soon as the signal sounded, I held my breath and tossed a pouch I had prepared from “Thoth’s Large-Capacity Backpack” into the air.
The string tying the opening came undone, releasing the powder inside. Simultaneously, screams erupted from the other examinees.
“Gah…!”
“You, you bastard!”
“Got it!”
“You idiots, you actually fell for that!”
Three of the ten blue ring holders, including the one who had initially suggested there was no need to fight amongst those with the same color, attacked the others with their weapons.
Perhaps due to the surprise attack, three examinees fell with surprising ease, leaving only four of us, including myself, standing.
But immediately after, something strange happened to the attackers.
Clutching their throats, they began convulsing and collapsing.
Without hesitation, I shot paralysis poison darts at their legs.
The powdered drug I had scattered was fast-acting, but its effects wore off quickly.
It was wiser to finish them off quickly than to risk them recovering.
‘As I noticed during the preliminary exam, poison is highly effective against unskilled opponents.’
Once we got to the stage where skilled magic users clashed, poison of this level would be little more than an irritant, but for now, it was a very useful tool.
Poison this potent wasn’t easy to obtain, but that also meant it was obtainable if you tried hard enough.
I still had a large stockpile left, accumulated over two years of spending lavishly.
‘And I already have something in mind for later.’
Thinking that passing was the priority for now, I addressed Lotto, whose face was red from holding his breath with his nose and mouth covered.
“It’s okay to get up now. The powder should have dispersed in the wind.”
“Gasp! Hack! Hack! Cough!”
Ready to draw my weapon at any moment, I asked the remaining two,
“So, what about you two? Want to continue?”
The green-haired girl lowered the sleeve she had been using to cover her mouth and said,
“I’ll pass. I don’t want to be targeted by the Midas family, and I don’t want to end up like these guys because of a bad decision. Ah, but if it’s not too much to ask, can I take one of the blue rings from the six who collapsed?”
I shrugged.
“What do I gain by giving it to you?”
The girl replied,
“The reputation that even the infamous scion of the nouveau riche Midas family has the compassion to spare a frail young girl?”
“Not bad.”
I looked at the other person.
It was a young man dressed in clothes reminiscent of a scholar’s robes.
He was very tall, and his arms, visible through his loose sleeves, were long.
Gray curly hair and tanned skin. He had a sturdy build and was frowning intently at the book he held.
“So, what about you?”
“…….”
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
“…….”
It was no use. Completely absorbed in his book, the young man seemed oblivious to the fight that had just taken place.
As I debated whether to attack him or not, the green-haired girl approached and tugged on his arm.
“Hey, can you hear me? What are you looking at so intently that you won’t even respond?”
The gray-haired young man looked at the girl with a serious expression, like a philosopher faced with a complex dilemma. Everyone, including myself, held their breath.
“…it is.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t understand the meaning of this sentence, no matter how many times I read it.”
“…Let me see. ‘This sentence is a lie’? What is this? Of course, you can’t figure it out if you’re trying to find an answer to something that has no answer.”
“So, it’s normal not to know? I’m not just ignorant?”
“How many things in this world have definitive answers? Just accept it and move on.”
“Oh, I see, you can’t find an answer to something that has no answer. Little sage! You have imparted great wisdom upon me!”
“Eek! What’s wrong with this guy!?”
Looking at the young man who was now bowing repeatedly while holding the green-haired girl’s hand, I said to Lotto,
“Let’s just leave him be and collect the rings.”
“Yes.”
As expected, there were a lot of crazy people involved with the Academy.
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-Clang!
Regret didn’t bother blocking the greatsword swinging down at her.
Moving forward, she sidestepped to the left.
A thrust aimed at her back from the right was deflected by the greatsword, and in that opening, Regret’s dagger grazed the back of the swordsman’s knee.
Twisting her torso to avoid a spear aimed at her heart, Regret wrapped her arm around the spear shaft, holding it firmly.
The spearman grinned.
He was confident that even if she pulled with both hands, he wouldn’t lose in a contest of strength.
Her attempt to disarm him with just one arm and the strength of her torso seemed utterly foolish.
‘I’ll slam you to the ground!’
The man put his weight into swinging the spear with both hands. The next moment, he found himself dangling in the air, suspended from the spear shaft.
‘What, her strength—’
By the time he realized he should let go, it was too late.
Like a flag flapping at the end of a pole, he collided with the other two attackers, and they tumbled to the ground in a heap.
A whistle sounded.
A dual-wielding swordsman, seemingly impressed, offered words of praise to Regret, who had effortlessly subdued the four who had attacked her at the start of the exam.
“Impressive skills, miss. You don’t seem to be using any magic enhancements. How can such a small frame generate such power?”
Regret glanced at the four other examinees lying unconscious behind the swordsman before replying,
“A certain unscrupulous employer told me it just takes sufficient nutrition, intense training, and regular rest.”
“Hmm, those are certainly important. But don’t they also help with… development? Your face is to my liking, but your chest is a bit lacking.”
“I don’t need them. They’d just get in the way of slicing up a damned sexual harasser.”
“Hahaha! I suppose it’s true that it makes it easier to swing without hesitation!”
The man drew two swords from their sheaths. Regret sheathed her dagger on her thigh, then drew a three-sectioned spear from her hip, extending it to its full length.
“I’m Crow Vein. And you?”
“Regret.”
On the plain, littered with eight fallen examinees, two lone figures, wielding silver weapons, clashed fiercely.
Istal wasn’t the only one with a reckless personality.
Regardless of ring color or rules, hot-blooded individuals eager to cut down anyone in their way quickly started brawls throughout the testing area.
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Honestly, feel this academy will be something of a basket case. Admittedly, don’t know if that is worse than a pseudo-high school environment like many.