Chapter 6 Part 6: Admission test.

“Excuse me, Vice Principal.”

“Yes?”

“Is there any way I can avoid giving the speech?”

I asked desperately while following Teacher Rosena.

But the teacher seemed too busy to hear me.

Seeing the eliminated students float up and fly through the air with a single gesture, and the chairs and decorations that made up the walls of the maze disintegrate…

Yeah, well.

Even if I begged earnestly, it would probably sound like the whining of just another student to the teacher.

So I gave up and decided to use all the knowledge I had accumulated while reading papers.

Uh… If I tried hard enough, I could probably write a decent speech even now.

That’s right.

The door opens to those who earnestly desire it!

So if I earnestly think about the content of the speech right now…

“Ah.”

“…Yes?”

“By the way, the staff prepared the speech.”

“…Ah.”

“So if you want, you can read it as it is… or you can change it slightly.”

“…Thank you.”

As expected, this teacher.

I knew she seemed like the type to have a playful personality.

She was probably enjoying watching me beg earnestly, pretending not to know.

No, it was obvious. She was definitely enjoying it.

Considering she told me this after a few minutes of walking, she’s really vicious.

“And this is the real auditorium.”

“Ah, yes.”

“From now on, if there’s anything to announce to the whole academy, we’ll gather here, so remember it.”

“Ah, I understand.”

I looked around, trying to memorize the way.

Since the Vice Principal told me to memorize it herself, I had no choice but to memorize it.

So I kept memorizing the way, and I saw Teacher Rosena giggling.

I was dazed for a moment, then slowly asked.

“…Is this also a prank or a joke?”

“The students of the academy are given smartwatches.”

“…And those smartwatches have a map function?”

“Of course. Ah, what do I do with this cuteness…”

“…”

I slowly started to make a crying face.

But Teacher Rosena seemed to enjoy it even more when I did that.

So I used everything I learned as a test subject to perform a perfect blank expression.

Only then did Teacher Rosena’s interest seem to fade a bit.

And while walking to the auditorium, I kept looking around.

I was just curious about what happened to the other students.

I didn’t think Invisible Man would seriously injure the students, but…

I was worried about what would happen if a student was seriously injured.

“Ah, by the way, all the eliminated students have only minor injuries.”

“…Yes?”

“So, in effect, the entire student body is watching the student’s speech.”

“…”

“And by now, even the unconscious students will have woken up and be sitting in their seats… so if there are no major problems, everyone will be congratulating the student!”

“…”

I tried my best not to make a crying face and tried to maintain a calm expression.

That teacher. She definitely seemed to want to kill me with pressure.

Well, maybe other students could laugh in this situation, but…

I’ve hated being the center of attention since I was a test subject.

…I started to think that it might have been better to just lose moderately.

But I quickly denied that thought.

I wanted to win, so I chewed on painkillers to win, didn’t I?

I wanted to win so much that I didn’t even care how long the medicine was working.

So I just sighed, but I tried not to regret it.

…No, I think I regret it a little.

“Now, student, you should come this way, right?”

“…Yes?”

“Hmm, hmm. Your clothes don’t seem to be disheveled or anything.”

“…”

“The principal should be finishing his speech right about now.”

“Then…”

“Yes. In a little while, the student will go out and give a grand speech.”

“…Is it okay for the process to be this sloppy?”

“Haha. Sometimes, things start from improvisation.”

“…”

Teacher Rosena didn’t seem to want to listen to me at all.

As expected of an Archmage, she seemed stubborn and self-centered.

Of course, there was no way to do anything about it at this point.

I took a deep breath behind the stage for a moment and looked at myself in the prepared mirror.

Fortunately, there was no sign that I had fought Invisible Man.

As Teacher Rosena said, nothing was out of place.

Well, I thought this would be a good experience.

Although I was suddenly pushed to give a speech… it wouldn’t be bad to experience it.

So I took another deep breath and received the paper that the teacher handed me.

“…H-how much time do I have left?”

“The principal is the type to give very long speeches.”

“…”

So, it could end early or it could not.

Instead of asking the teacher more questions, I focused on memorizing the content of the speech.

Fortunately, there weren’t many difficult words in the speech.

Only the important points were written concisely, which was a great relief.

It was definitely considerate of the students.

Because after defeating the villain, I had to give a speech in a short amount of time…

I wouldn’t have been able to use difficult words or anything, wait a minute.

“Excuse me, Teacher?”

“Yes?”

“…If the student who defeated the villain was injured too badly to give a speech, what would happen?”

“Then I would give the speech, right? It doesn’t matter who gives it anyway.”

“…Ah.”

“Is there a problem?”

“…No.”

I resisted the urge to throw the paper at the teacher right away.

So, I didn’t have to give this speech.

And considering that she added that it didn’t matter who gave it, it was clear that the teacher would have given the speech if I had refused.

This was clearly the teacher’s bad habit.

No wonder the process was so sloppy…

I should have realized it sooner.

But I couldn’t run away at this point.

I ignored the teacher, who was smiling slyly, and strengthened my resolve.

Since it had come to this, I was going to give the best speech and make her eat her words.

Fortunately, the principal gave a very long speech.

So I not only memorized the speech, but I even had time to change it in the middle.

How much time has passed like that?

I even marked the speech with the pen that Teacher Rosena gave me, putting my heart and soul into it.

Then, when the time came, I gave the memorized speech to Teacher Rosena and went outside.

…I don’t remember much of what happened after that.

I was sure that I had given a passionate speech.

If I had to pick something fortunate, it would be that I didn’t say anything that would make me look bad.

Anyway, when I came to my senses, I was sitting in an auditorium chair, attending the entrance ceremony.

Teacher Rosena was explaining the significance of the entrance exam on stage, uh…

As long as you don’t get a failing grade on the practical exam, you’re pretty much guaranteed to pass.

She said that the academy is a place to hone those rough stones, not a place to coldly abandon them.

And the teacher was right.

The academy exists for immature students to learn and grow.

If the practical exam had been hellish, too, when the written exam was already hellish, there would have been a lot of complaints.

…And everything was good, but I didn’t know why the students around me kept staring at me.

I don’t think I gave any special speech.

I just said that we should all work hard at the academy to achieve our goals.

That was a pretty normal speech.

…The reason I gave a passionate speech was just because I was excited.

Anyway, the stares of the students around me were uncomfortable, so I made a ferocious expression for a moment.

Then the stares disappeared.

So I was able to relax and focus on Teacher Rosena’s words.

Of course, there was nothing special.

She just said to refer to the papers that would be distributed later for details.

Most of it was about introducing the achievements of Busan International Academy, and that you are all outstanding talents to be admitted there.

It was full of ordinary things that would be said at a normal high school entrance ceremony.

Then, a story that was a little more interesting came up.

“Okay, students. Aren’t you curious about your class assignments?”

I hoped to be in the same class as Siwoo and Sia.

Those two students, honestly, were so much fun.

It was clear that I wouldn’t be bored while I was with them.

But I couldn’t decide that on my own.

So I looked around, hoping that things would work out well.

“…Huh.”

Only then did I realize that there were familiar faces around me.

Siwoo and Sia, and even the rat beastman girl and the dog beastman girl who had collapsed before I fought Invisible Man.

Somehow, it seemed like they were sitting around me.

Then I quickly changed my expression to a ferocious one.

I didn’t want them to know that I was worried about those students.

I mean… it’s a little embarrassing, you know?

So I kept my ferocious expression and sat in my chair.

Then, following Teacher Rosena’s words, I slowly took out my phone to check the class assignment results.

I thought that moving to the class here today would be the end of the entrance ceremony.

Because they said that things like whether or not to use the dormitory would be done online.

So now, I just had to check the class assignment results for a moment, and then I could talk to Siwoo and Sia.

I slowly accessed the academy website and checked the class assignment results.

First grade, class 2. That seemed to be my class.

And then, I looked at other people’s reactions for a moment.

“Oppa, which class are you in? I’m in class 2.”

“What, I’m in class 2 too.”

“Ugh. The thought of seeing your face at the academy all year makes my head hurt.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Are you saying let’s fight without our ranks?”

…Siwoo and Sia were still fighting, but I could tell that they were both in class 2.

I took the opportunity to check the class assignment results of the rat beastman girl and the dog beastman girl.

It seemed that they were both in class 2.

So I could say that I was lucky.

As soon as I entered, I had four familiar faces.