The surrounding environment crumbled away, plunging everything into darkness once more.
Then, as the darkness lifted, a brilliant light filled my vision.
I squinted at the sudden brightness and looked around.
It was a completely different place from where I'd started.
In this sleek, refined space, fewer people had gathered than during the crisis response evaluation—far fewer, in fact.
"Ah! Focus!"
The sudden voice drew everyone's attention.
Purple hair, horns, and violet eyes.
The true chairman of the academy, Eris, stood on the platform.
"Everyone here passes! Congratulations!"
Her sharp, spirited voice announced our acceptance.
"I hope you'll bloom your talents even further at Frontier Academy, grow strong, and shine upon the world."
"You may go home for today. We'll announce the entrance ceremony and schedule later."
With that, a magic circle appeared beneath Eris's feet.
As she vanished in a burst of light, I felt her violet eyes lock onto mine.
A chill ran down my spine—
In that brief moment of eye contact, goosebumps prickled across my skin.
'Whoa... must be exhaustion.'
Since possessing this game character, one thing after another had piled up, and fatigue was clearly setting in.
'Gotta head back and rest...'
As I turned to leave the building, a voice called out from behind.
"There he is! Hey, wait up!! Isabel, hurry!"
"Slow down a bit, Libia."
I turned to see two girls rushing toward me.
Libia Clawit and Isabel Helm.
We'd chatted briefly before the crisis response exam.
"Ah, Ms. Clawit. Long time no see."
"Long time...? Well, yeah, we met sooner than expected!"
"Indeed. It's an honor to see you again, Ms. Helm."
"Ah... yeah, nice to see you too."
We exchanged light greetings as I looked at them.
Her sky-blue eyes and blazing red ones brimmed with uncontainable curiosity and interest.
'In the game, even placing third never got them approaching me first.'
My performance in the crisis response evaluation must have caught their eyes and sparked their interest.
During that one minute with Defying Heaven active, I'd shown truly overwhelming prowess, so it made sense.
"Hey, hey! How'd you do that earlier? I could barely track it with my eyes! It was just like Master!"
"You're too kind. No matter how fast my movements, they can't compare to the Sword Saint. You could do it just as easily, Ms. Clawit."
"Pfft, flattery feels nice! Yeah, there's a big gap now, but just you wait! Isabel and I will catch up in no time!"
It wasn't a lie.
Even at near-peak power, that single minute fell short of the Sword Saint.
And it was true that Libia, Isabel, and the other five leads would reach near-peak soon enough.
"Yes, Ms. Clawit, Ms. Helm. I'll gladly wait."
"Yeah, yeah! Drop the formalities—call me Libia! And no more honorifics now that we're academy students; it's awkward!"
"Thank you, Ms. Libia, but since we're not officially students yet, I'll keep the formal speech."
"Heh~ You're already accepted! So stiff~ Whatever, doesn't matter! Still, that movement earlier was incredible! Makes me understand what Master meant about the world being vast!"
"I'm honored, Ms. Libia. Sorry, but I have plans after this—can we talk more later?"
Time to wrap this up.
I wanted to build rapport with the leads, but the aura I'd been sensing from behind was reaching its limit.
"Aw! Fine... We're academy mates now anyway! Let's chat at school!"
"Yes, thank you for understanding. See you next time."
"Yeah, see ya! C'mon, Isabel!"
"Eek! Wait, Libia, don't drag me!"
With that, Libia grabbed Isabel's hand and dashed out of the building.
Isabel got pulled along without resistance.
The game described her as carefree and willful, but seeing it in person felt even more so.
"She's really willful, isn't she... Chairman?"
"Heh, so you noticed."
As I murmured while watching them go, a voice came from behind.
A pair of violet eyes stared at me.
"With that much aura pouring out, it'd be weirder not to notice."
"Enough about that trivia. Let's talk a bit, Irregular."
"Sure, I've got nothing else going on."
As I finished speaking, a magic circle formed beneath us and began to glow.
Seems my final display had piqued the dragon's interest too.
'Well... no examinee should pull off that kind of power.'
In the blink of an eye, the scene shifted.
Experiencing teleportation magic for the first time felt strangely wondrous.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Gazing at the receding building, a voice came from behind.
"Whoa! That last move was insane—I seriously couldn't follow it with my eyes!"
"Libia, let go of this first."
"Huh...? Oh, right, sorry sorry!"
"No, it's fine."
Libia had practically dragged me out.
Normally, it'd annoy me, but not now.
The boy we'd spoken to inside the building—his final movements and form lingered in my mind.
When we were teleported back to the building after the written and practical exams for the entrance test,
he'd already finished his exam ahead of me.
I didn't pay much attention at first.
White hair, snow-white skin,
and lifeless golden eyes in stark contrast.
An androgynous face that could confuse anyone for a gender,
but so beautiful that anyone would call it stunning.
That was it, though.
I figured he was just an early dropout from the practical and lost interest quickly.
I felt a twinge of irritation overhearing him chuckle at my chat with Libia, who'd finished next,
but since we'd spoken loudly, I brushed it off.
Then I forgot about him entirely while talking with Libia—just another face in the crowd.
Or so I thought, even up until the chairman took the stage, announced passes, and told us to go home.
Then...
Splat—
It happened out of nowhere.
The sound echoed from the platform, drawing eyes automatically.
There lay the academy's so-called strongest chairman, head exploded, collapsed.
In truth, a little thought would've shown it didn't add up.
The beast that burst her head—the disaster-grade Black Ghost—was overwhelmingly dangerous, sure, but not strong enough to kill the chairman in one hit.
Yet its massive frame's intimidation and my first taste of deathly terror short-circuited my brain.
"Snap out of it—!"
If not for Libia's shout beside me, I'd have died helplessly like the others, skewered by those black tentacles.
I came to and countered with magic, but it wasn't enough—
Couldn't even handle one tentacle, just barely defended.
Everyone else was the same, scrambling just to block, not even slicing tentacles.
Powerless.
It was probably the first time in my life I'd felt that helpless.
Utter impotence, terror of encroaching death.
That's when it happened.
From the building's center, someone other than the Black Ghost began radiating overwhelming presence.
All eyes turned to him instantly.
The man I'd dismissed as an early practical dropout upon entering.
Impeccably precise mana manipulation,
brimming with terrifying power that asserted dominance even before a disaster-grade beast.
Boom—!!
He vanished, leaving a massive crater.
Following the mana trail led to him—having severed all surrounding tentacles, right before the Black Ghost's red eye.
Splat—!
A simple thrust.
Just stabbing his sword at the red eye.
But the overwhelming force bored a huge hole there.
Boom—
The Black Ghost's colossal body crashed down with a thunderous roar.
The monster we'd thought unbeatable, felled.
By one person,
movements beyond any entrance examinee,
utterly dominant,
still replaying in my head.
"Isabel...? You okay?"
Libia's worried voice pulled me back.
I must've zoned out suddenly.
She seemed carefree and selfish usually, but surprisingly attentive.
"Did I grab too hard earlier...? Does it hurt?"
"No, I'm fine. Just... feels like I won't top the ranks."
"Huh...? Oh...! Ahaha, yeah, we both lost this time!"
"Yeah..."
Lost, huh...
I'd never lost to any peer but Libia growing up, never even imagined it.
So this defeat felt strangely novel to her.