I decided to let Liam enjoy his moment and read the rulebook.
The rules were pretty simple; they basically stated how the practical was going to be done and what wasn't allowed.
The rulebook also mentioned some specifics I didn't know.
It told me what environment and rift creatures would be simulated, and that all the creature ranks are capped at E-rank, obviously to balance it. It also said how many points each rift creature counted for, but what caught my attention the most was something else...
'Points can be stolen?!'
This wasn't in the novel because Liam didn't need to steal anyone's points, and everyone was probably too scared to try to steal his.
Basically, every time you eliminate another applicant, you can steal 40% of their points. Which meant there would be many that would just wait for you to exhaust yourself against rift creatures and swoop in to steal almost half your points.
But the novel had said that most just teamed up to get rift creature points, which confused me at first until I had an idea of why.
'They want to impress the professors.'
It made the most sense to me since which academy you went to wasn't dependent on your points but the professor's evaluation, unless you made the top 10, which most couldn't even hope for.
"So what's the plan?" Liam's voice cut into my thoughts.
"We will target the VivoHorns first," Elise responded firmly.
"What about composition? I am peak E-rank, use a spear, and my best spells are fire-based." Liam spoke again.
"Hmm… I'm more comfortable in the backline, and my main weapon is a staff. My best spells are varied between lightning-based and wood-based. I'm also mid E-rank." Elise spoke.
They both then looked at me.
I scratched the back of my head, "...Oh, uhh, I'm pretty good with a sword and martial arts. My best spells are… physical enhancements… Oh, and I am mid E-rank." I let out an awkward laugh.
They both stared at me for a moment, making me feel slightly insecure.
"Okay… Cassian, you will be the front line, Liam will support him and stay in the midground, ready for any unexpected attacks. I'll cast from the back and provide support if needed." Elise spoke.
"Hmm." Liam nodded.
They continued to speak about some strategies and different approaches to unexpected variables. Looking around, I saw everyone else was also doing this.
'Man… this feels like shit.'
I was completely out of the loop. I tried listening to Elise's strategy and Liam's suggestions, but I kept zoning out.
'What are they even saying?'
And just like that, 30 minutes passed.
-All applicants gather and line up in neatly fashion.
The feminine voice came again, and everyone lined up.
'Is the other guy on break or something?'
I followed Liam and Elise as we lined up alongside the other applicants.
"HELLO APPLICANTS," A loud voice came from ahead.
There stood a middle-aged man with a unibrow wearing what I assumed was this stadium's uniform.
"I WILL LEAD YOU ALL TOWARD THE EXAM SITE, SO IF YOU WOULD FOLLOW ME."
His voice covered the entire hall despite it looking like he was speaking normally.
'How?' I questioned it.
"...Sound amplification." I heard someone mumble.
'Sound amplification? Why use a spell when you can use a speaker?'
It seemed excessive to me.
Regardless, I followed as the line moved out of the hall and through a long white hallway lit up by ceiling lights.
On the walls were a bunch of leaderboards that showed the Top 100 of every year since the founding of the Rendalof Stadium
There were many big names on these, from heroes of the past to the heroes of today. It was quite cool to look at until I saw a certain name…
-Aldric Thorn
The current Sea King and… my father.
'Did royals not get free passes back then?'
I frowned and stopped admiring the leaderboards.
My mood was ruined.
And just as we were walking, I felt the ground beneath shake.
'Huh?'
Stepping out, a wall of sound exploded from all sides.
Blinking a couple of times, I opened my eyes…
'Whoa...'
"GOOD LUCK!!"
"GIVE US A GOOD SHOW!!"
"WHOOOO!!"
We were in the middle of the stadium with crowds of people all around staring in our direction and screaming toward us.
There was even one guy who took off his shirt and started flailing it in the air, screaming…
"COME ON, LADIES PLAY US A TASTY LICK!!"
He got kicked out by security.
-WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
A voice came through multiple speakers as it echoed through the stadium. Looking up, I saw a large booth standing above the crowd. The window was tinted, so I wasn't able to see through it, but I knew who was there.
'The professors… I wonder how many of them there the novel only mentioned them being here, not who or how many.'
-SEEING AS THE APPLICANTS LOOK AS READY AS EVER, LET THE PRACTICAL BEGIN!!
The voice echoed once more, and I felt my vision blur once again as my location changed.
A thick smell of chlorophyll pierced my nostrils.
Blinking a couple of times, I found myself surrounded by large, thick trees that stretched high into the sky, their thick branches blocking much sunlight from entering, making the forest somewhat dimly lit.
The air felt thick and damp.
'It's like a real rainforest… except that the trees are… blue?'
Although I knew that this was where we would be going, the transition wasn't what I expected, and for a simulation, it was scarily accurate. If I didn't know it was a simulation, I would've thought they took us straight to a real rainforest.
"Okay, Elise, can you scan the area?" Liam spoke
"Hmm." Elise took her staff, which was about half her height and had light blue carvings that glowed slightly. She then closed her eyes and focused.
Oh, right, I was currently with both Elise and Liam. I was apparently the only one surprised by the fact we had been transported together and was going to ask them how, but stopped so as not to embarrass myself live in front of millions.
I concluded…
'The professors must have been watching us from the beginning, so they knew our teams beforehand.'
It made the most sense to me.
"Huuu…" Elise let out a long breath, opening her eyes, seemingly done with that scanning spell or whatever. "The VivoHorns are about 2km due east."
"Hmm… Cassian, can you scout ahead and stay at most 50m away from us?" Liam spoke and drew his spear.
"Okay… I got it." I smiled. 'I'll follow their orders for now, but the midpoint of this exam is where I take over.'
I was about to move when Liam stopped me…
"Wait!" He grabbed my prosthetic arm.
"What?" I turned to him.
"Where's your sword?" He asked.
"Oh, I don't have one."
"..." He gave me a dumbfounded look.
I smiled. "Didn't I tell you? I'm pretty good with martial arts." I then moved ahead without giving him a chance to speak.
My confidence didn't stem from my martial prowess alone but from my right arm. My prosthetic. It's something I didn't mention before, but certain prosthetics have special abilities implanted by their creators, and the one I had was quite powerful.
Mana discharge.
Basically, I could make my arm focus all the mana stone's mana into a single point and discharge it. This is why the arm was so fucking expensive. There were problems with this, though.
Each discharge drained the mana stone within the prosthetic, basically making me limbless again, and it took a small portion of my mana to activate, so continuous use would drain me.
I did have a solution, though. Before leaving the prosthetic store, I bought a bunch of F-rank mana stones with my remaining money. Even though they were F-rank, they weren't cheap.
I'm pretty sure that fucker scammed me.
But regardless, I had 25 extra mana stones on hand, and since I didn't have any place to store them, I had to stuff them in my pockets.
Which made me look like a burglar who stuffed a bunch of jewelry into his pockets, thinking no one would notice.
'Oh, God… I hope I don't look like a fucking weirdo.'
I did.