I Became the Academy’s Hidden Skill Master – Chapter 10

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
The first-year faculty office of Mirinae Academy was in chaos.

Amidst flying exam papers, a smiling woman and an angrily shouting man faced each other.

Their eyes conveyed hostility beyond mere rivalry.

“Are you crazy?! How can you set the exam difficulty like this?”

“My, weren’t you the one who said we needed better discrimination?”

“That doesn’t mean you should make the exam this hard!”

The issue was the first page of Mirinae Academy’s entrance exam theory test.

The questions were at a level impossible for prospective students—or even current Mirinae students—to solve.

“Do you really think the first five questions can provide discrimination? Do you think any prospective student can solve these?”

“Of course, that’s why it’s discriminating.”

Even those who initially thought, “Is there a need to react so strongly?” changed their minds as soon as they saw the floating exam papers.

“Last year, there were one or two perfect scores, right? I didn’t like that either. Didn’t you all agree with my opinion?”

“That’s… we didn’t know you’d make it this extreme…”

“I agree. This is…too idealistic and subjective. Are there even correct answers?”

“Of course there are. What do you take me for?”

Professor Lee Hwa-ryeong responded smoothly to every comment, maintaining her gentle smile.

She continued speaking nonchalantly even as everyone viewed her negatively.

“Mirinae Academy should be the best, right? Even for the theory exam, we should ask about magic, martial arts, and other fields evenly, not just simple theory.”

“I’m talking about the quality of the questions themselves.”

“I think the quality is good.”

“How many times do I have to say it’s too high to be a problem? Is it your hobby to distort others’ words like this, magic department?”

“That’s why I said it’s a device for discrimination…I guess the martial arts department really can’t understand people’s words?”

“Really? What do you mean by ‘really’?”

“Exactly what it implies.”

Professor Lee Hwa-ryeong of the first-year magic department and Professor Gainad of the first-year martial arts department had been rivals from their first meeting.

“The exam papers are already made, and there’s no time to modify them.”

Everyone in the faculty office fell silent at Lee Hwa-ryeong’s bold attitude.

They were overwhelmed by her determination, which surpassed anyone else’s in her desire for talented individuals.

“You just need to carefully observe the children stuck on the first page while supervising the exam. Understand?”

“…”

Gainad judged that further argument was meaningless.

He turned and headed for the theory exam hall.

This happened 30 minutes before the start of the academy’s theory exam.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

‘I’m screwed.’

This was Lee Seok-Hyun’s immediate thought upon seeing the first exam question.

A question that couldn’t be easily approached without being an expert in at least one field was in the first position.

“Wow, they’re asking prospective students this from the start.”

Not only that, but there were questions about magic formulas, finding weaknesses in swordsmanship, structuring artifacts, and so on.

The exam was filled with visibly difficult questions.

Assuming the distributed exam papers were about 5 pages long with 5 such questions per side, that would be around 50 questions total.

“They expect us to solve this in an hour?”

Even if you knew the answers, each question would take at least 10 to 15 minutes.

This was an unexpected challenge that left him flustered.

“I only know about the academy’s exam format, not the details…”

Since Lee Seok-Hyun wasn’t a character who typically entered the academy to grow, this couldn’t be helped.

The fortunate thing was that he had seen many high-difficulty questions before to raise his intelligence stat.

Because of this, he could solve the problems, even if it took some time.

“I’m a bit worried about time management…”

It was common for the first question to be the easiest. If that was the case, these were likely the basic questions, so he couldn’t afford to skip to later pages.

“It would have been better if I could at least see how others were solving it.”

There was a reason cheating was nearly impossible in the academy exam.

As soon as the exam started, a black barrier formed around each prospective student, preventing them from seeing their surroundings.

Moreover, if even a slight trace of mana flow or skill activation was sensed, they would be disqualified without question.

It was a structure where you could only solve problems with your own pure ability.

“Making us old-timers look bad.”

He could see the time ticking away, which increased his anxiety.

Despite knowing the answers, the length of the responses might mean he wouldn’t finish in time.

What was more serious was that he had only solved 4 problems with 10 minutes left, and there were still 45 questions remaining.

“Since the application rate for Oedo is low, if I solve five questions… and show something unique in the practical test, I might pass…”

It wasn’t entirely impossible. Even if he failed, there were a few other ways to enter the academy.

It would just be more convenient to enter as a student and grow stronger while receiving scraps from being near the main characters.

“Five minutes left. Those who want to change their answer sheets, do so now. Those who haven’t finished writing all the problems, hurry up.”

The supervisor announced the remaining time and precautions.

Despite the stiff tone, there was a strange sense of familiarity.

“That must be Professor Gainad.”

He was known as a strict professor in the martial arts department and one of the figures who adhered most closely to the right path.

A key character whose favor had to be earned if one decided to raise the protagonist in martial arts.

Tick tock.

The anxiety increased with each passing moment.

Just one more sentence, no, two more sentences, and he would have a perfect answer.

“I thought it was just an artifact formula problem, but they even hid a trap.”

Whoever set this exam was truly vicious among the vicious.

There were a few suspected individuals, but if it was this extremely difficult, could the students even solve the problems?

“If everything is like this, I might ironically have the highest score by getting 5 questions right.”

While thinking this and writing the answer, Gainad’s shout struck his ears.

“Stop there! Everyone stop! Don’t move anymore.”

Gainad announced the end of the exam as if he had met a mortal enemy.

It seemed a bit excessive even for someone who preferred formality.

“The exam papers will be collected automatically, so don’t move and raise your hands above your heads until I instruct you.”

“Yes!”

As soon as everyone raised their hands to their heads following Gainad’s instructions, the exam papers began to float up one by one.

“Theory exam over.”

Now, only the practical test remained.

“Everyone line up in a single file.”

“Yes!”

Inside the practical exam hall, there were several doors lined up.

“It’s different seeing it like this after only seeing it in pixels.”

The so-called Doors of Trial.

As soon as you open the door, you’re sucked into a space dedicated to the exam, where you take the test by defeating monsters that appear there.

Increasingly stronger monsters appear with each defeat, and the score is determined by how quickly and at what level of monsters you defeat.

“Everyone stand in front of a door. They’re all the same, so there’s no need to choose specifically.”

Following Gainad’s relatively kind explanation, the prospective students hurried to move, afraid of making a bad impression.

It seemed unnecessary to move so fiercely just to stand in front of a door, but it was understandable.

Their lives would be determined by whether they got in or not, so they had no choice but to do their best.

“If we compare it to Earth, it’s like the feeling of a student taking their last college entrance exam after 8 years of trying.”

With such thoughts, Lee Seok-Hyun walked leisurely to the door.

This part wasn’t included in the exam score anyway, and it was the only rest time.

“For your information, you won’t really die if you die in there, so give it your all. Use all your strength as if your life depends on it. Even if you overdo it, it’s all an illusion, and we have sufficient ability to heal you. Trust us.”

Gainad’s words, meant to relieve tension, actually made the atmosphere heavier.

The examiner’s weighty voice, speaking of resolve to the point of death and giving one’s all, was enough to not just light a fire in their hearts but to reduce them all to ashes.

“If you faint or reach a near-death situation inside, the test ends.”

This practical test method was fitting for Mirinae Academy, which valued real combat experience.

“Now then, open the doors and enter.”

“Yes!”

A resounding answer echoed as if to split the sky, and the sound of doors opening was heard simultaneously.

Lee Seok-Hyun also opened his door and entered. The first thing he saw was:

“A goblin, huh.”

Green skin, estimated height of about 130 cm.

Even the crude stone it held in its arms.

The game graphics were perfectly recreated.

“If it starts with a goblin…I can pretty much guess the order.”

The main characters would probably defeat monsters up to a level that prospective students couldn’t handle.

While thinking about various things, the goblin charged at him with rapid speed.

Though it was too predictable and slow.

“Kieeeeek!”

“Wow, your breath stinks. Did you also brush with pine needles for ten years?”

It was the first time he had encountered someone who smelled exactly like him.

Whirling kick!

He struck the rushing goblin’s chin while firmly grasping its arm to prevent it from flying away.

Crack, crackle.

As the goblin’s body and head separated, its head was easily plucked off like a bean sprout.

“This is the result of 10 years of mountain life, you bastard.”
His body far exceeded that of an ordinary person, essentially matching the physique of a knight.

Of course, he wasn’t a monster like them, as he was unable to circulate mana.

Still, this level was quite usable.

‘Next is…wolf, bear, werewolf…’

The advantage of being an experienced player was knowing all the weaknesses and patterns of the monsters.

As long as his physical abilities allowed, he could handle most monsters fairly well.

Additionally, since he had stolen the weapons of the monsters just before they died, he could manage for now.

‘Using the wolf’s claws to skin the bear and wrap it around my body…blocking the werewolf’s attacks with that…then pulling out the werewolf’s claws.’

It was a cycle of killing, farming, preparing, killing, farming.

After repeating this about five more times, monsters that were beyond the realm of physical abilities began to appear.

“This is where the path diverges, I guess.”

He could handle orcs, even a party of orcs.

But if it moved on to a troll, the story would completely change.

“Uoooooooooh!!!!!”

The armor stolen from the orc party could no longer protect him. A careless swing of a troll’s tree root would shatter his body, regardless of the armor.

Especially with the cheap iron armor hastily made by orcs.

‘Can’t even activate United Will…’

The group that trusted him had long since disappeared after annihilating the anthill.

Now, facing a troll with his main skill sealed and unable to use hidden skills was a serious challenge.

“This is what I’m best at.”

He slowly unwrapped the bandages tightly bound to his hand.

It was time to bring out the spider silk.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

[Shio here~!

It’s pretty sad that we weren’t able to see any of the orphans from the anthill grown up. I would’ve liked at least some information how they’re doing. But! I enjoyed the chapter nonetheless. How about you guys?]