The other cadets were a little more eager about the results than I was.
After all, I already knew who placed in the top 5.
Eventually, everyone reached the ground floor.
Even the people who were up on the top floors reading romance novels were down here now.
But despite there being this many people, somehow I ended up right beside Isabelle.
Maybe it was because everyone avoided us?
Oh well...
"I failed..." she muttered.
"I'll extend the time limit to a week then," I replied.
After a brief pause, she spoke again.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
I raised a brow.
"Do I need a reason to be nice to someone?"
"I saw how you treat everyone else... Are you trying to court me?"
Seriously?
Though...
I could kind of see why she would think that.
I knew everything about these women, so maybe I was just acting a little bit too familiar with them.
It was only normal for Isabelle to think I was coming onto her.
"I'm just trying to do a good deed," I responded. "Nothing more, nothing less. Now be quiet, I don't want to miss this..."
She opened her mouth to speak, but the thundering voice of the instructor ahead muffled her words.
"Cadets! Congratulations to all 343 of you who passed the entrance exams!"
"Because something unexpected happened, we couldn't conduct the last exam. But! Your scores are satisfactory, and we're all sure you would've passed through the labyrinth without trouble."
The instructor continued to speak about how great and awesome we all were, until finally, he got to the more interesting stuff.
"Now then..."
He pulled out some kind of machine.
It looked like a mini robot with glowing blue eyes.
But when the instructor pressed the robot's head, its eyes projected an image, and it showed the top 5 cadets for the written exam.
Seeing the scores... my smile couldn't help but twitch.
[Written Exam]
1. Amon Everness - 500 / 500
2. Isabelle D. Quincy - 459 / 500
3. Diana Arete - 458 / 500
4. Matthew Nikolaos - 440 / 500
5. Evellius - 432 / 500
I got a perfect score.
Hehe.
Normally, Kevin would be in first place since I would be answering the questions for him.
But now, even as the instructor began scrolling down and showing the other cadets, I was only able to find him after nearly 30 seconds.
124. Kevin Lacrosse - 319 / 500
It was a decently high score.
Nothing main-character worthy though.
When the instructor finished showing all of the cadets who passed, he clapped a couple of times.
"Good job everyone. Now, from here on out, I'll show the official rankings of the cadets. All ranks are fair, and every single position has been confirmed by the headmaster himself."
With those words, the instructor pressed another button on the robot, revealing a different ranking.
[Official First Year Cadet Ranking]
1. Amon Everness - Special Class / Top Priority
2. Isabelle D. Quincy - Special Class / Top Priority
3. Melina Queen - Special Class / Top Priority
4. Matthew Nikolaos - Special Class / Top Priority
5. Kevin Lacrosse - Special Class / Top Priority
I was a little surprised.
Isabelle had always come out in fourth place, and Melina was second. Kevin was always first.
It was strange seeing her in second place, but if I had to guess, that was because of our last test.
After all, when the instructors first got there, I did give them a fairly convincing recount of what happened.
Isabelle helped me kill 5 demon barons.
That was enough to bump her all the way up here.
I was satisfied.
The instructor began scrolling through the ranks again.
The cutoff for Top Priority was top 10.
After that, they were all the same.
As for the cutoff to Special Class, it was top 20.
I can't remember whose spot in Special Class I was taking, but not that it mattered.
The other classes were distributed based on rank as well.
The lower ranked the class, the fewer resources the academy would use on them.
It was the harsh reality.
The cadets could either quit or suck it up and learn something.
As for Special Class... Starting next week, I wouldn't have any time to relax.
After a little while, the projected image faded.
"If you're unhappy with your position, take it up with the headmaster. Now then... classes start tomorrow at 10 in the morning. Everyone who's not in the Special Class is now dismissed."
Hearing that, the cadets began to scatter.
I saw plenty who were unhappy with the results.
They became even more unhappy when they realized I was at the top of the entire first year.
They were just a bunch of idiots.
95% of these people will run away like cowards when the demons finally attack.
I had no respect for them.
None at all.
When everyone left and only the Special Class remained, the instructor's expression hardened.
"The 20 of you were chosen as the most promising recruits of the Future Academy. You'll be receiving intense training every day. You'll be going out on missions every other week. Some missions might take longer than others, but generally... expect to spend at least two weeks outside of the academy per month."
Yeah...
We'd train like crazy for a week, then we'd go out on a mission.
When we came back, we'd train again and go back out.
It was borderline torture.
But I'd be wrong if I said it was inefficient.
"Does anyone have any questions?"
Isabelle raised her hand.
"What are the benefits for the Top Priority cadets?"
More torture.
"All of you will be recommended for every single event that happens in or out of the academy. Not only that, you have access to special training rooms inside the academy."
The instructor's smile widened.
"You may opt out of training, but in turn, you'll be given separate missions from the rest of the Special Class. Those missions would be more difficult, and they could take you anywhere from a single week up to three months to complete."
"Do note, no one is forcing you to do these difficult missions. You can stick with the rest of Special Class, and that way, there wouldn't be that much danger."
Obviously.
But I had no intention of slacking off.
I needed to push myself, and the only way I could do that was by taking these harder missions.
I raised my hand.
"Yes...?"
"When can I set out on this mission?"
The instructor seemed stunned by my question.
"You can start as early as today...? Do you—"
"Yes. I'd like to go on this mission," I cut him off.
My words seemed to make the rest of the Special Class speechless as well.
I knew what the first mission was, and I also knew how it could benefit me.
Most importantly...
"I'll go on this mission as well."
"Me too."
"Me..."
Hands rose up one by one, and in the end, 6 Top Priority cadets agreed to go.
Isabelle and Kevin agreed too.
Interestingly enough, the top 3 and top 4 didn't agree.
But I wasn't too worried.
This mission would take a few weeks at most, and the boons would be more than worth it.
The fewer people I shared the boons with, the better.
"Uhh... So the 6 of you then? Very well. I'll relay your wishes to the headmaster. Expect to be called back to the academy by the end of the day. As for the rest of you, classes start tomorrow at 10 in the morning. Don't be late, or else."
"And yes, if no one has any more questions, you are all dismissed."
I didn't have any questions.
Neither did anyone else, clearly.
So, after giving us a nod, the instructors escorted all 20 of us out of the academy.
As I exhaled the fresh air with a hint of smoke, I couldn't help but feel like I climbed a big hurdle.
Sure, the academy wasn't that big of a deal in the long run.
If anything, I was overprepared.
But I was still happy, stupidly so.
As I was about to leave, someone grabbed my sleeve.
I was half-expecting it to be some beautiful girl, but instead, it was a noble-looking golden-haired man.
Matthew Nikolaos.
A minor antagonist and an annoying shit stain for the main character.
But it seemed like I stepped in shit this time around.
"Do you need something?"
He finally let go of my sleeve.
"I was just wondering if you'd like to join my group."
Haha.
And here I was wondering where all the faction recruiters were.
"Sorry, I'm not interested," I replied kindly.
I thought that would be enough, so I turned around and began walking away.
And yet, I once again felt someone reaching for my sleeve.
The hand stopped then and there.
When I turned back, I saw Matthew staring at me with a confused look, his hand extended toward mine.
I froze him with Telekinesis.
I really hated these kinds of persistent people.
They just never knew when to take a no.
"In case I didn't make myself clear, I'm not interested in whatever faction you're trying to recruit me into," I said.
Giving him a few seconds to process my words, I genuinely thought this minor antagonist would get the hint.
But his expression didn't change.
"Alright..."
"Let's see how fast someone from the Top Priority list heals, shall we?"
The moment those words left my mouth, I tightened my Telekinesis grip over Matthew's hands.
Crack
His wrist snapped.
Crack Crack Crack
Then each of his fingers.
He couldn't even let out a scream.
None of his confident Special Class friends helped him either.
Everyone was just staring, including Isabelle...
But not the main character.
"Stop it."
I glanced to my left, spotting a frowning Kevin standing beside me with his hand on my shoulder.
"You've already done enough, don't you think? You proved you're stronger, so just let him go."
What a knight in shining armor.
Crack
I broke Matthew's entire left arm.
"Kevin, you might not understand my words now, but..."
Crack
Then the other.
"Whether it's an ally or a foe, if someone crosses you, don't let them leave unscathed."
The majority of the routes ended because someone betrayed the main character, and then he spared them.
That led into a whole bunch of extra routes where the betrayers came back with a bunch of knowledge about the main character, and not even a single one of those routes ended well.
Since I wasn't controlling Kevin, I felt like I had to let him know that now.
But clearly, me disregarding him seemed to stir something within him.
At least, that would explain why he thought it was a good idea to draw his sword at me.
"Amon Everness, I challenge you to a duel."
It looked like I'd have to teach two lessons today.
"Sure, let's start right away," I agreed.
Kevin's whole demeanor changed.
Clearly, fighting against a demon made him much stronger.
Definitely more confident too.
It was almost admirable.
Except all he could do was breathe.
I split my control between Matthew and Kevin.
Kevin was a little harder to control, but he was nowhere near the level where I actually had to worry about him.
Maybe after this mission.
Until then...
"Ugh...!"
I tightened my grip around his neck.
Eventually, his body fell limp.
I let go, letting him fall to the ground.
He was unconscious.
Turning toward the horrified Matthew, I did the same.
But unlike the gentle landing with Kevin, I tossed Matthew into a nearby bush.
No one said a word.
I glanced over everyone here, and each person had a different expression.
Some stared at me with wariness, while others with curiosity.
Melina in particular seemed curious.
On the other hand, I still couldn't read Isabelle.
Since no one was nagging me anymore, I calmly made my way out of the academy.
Isabelle not-so-subtly followed me, but after turning a few corners and eventually flying up to a rooftop, I lost her.
While I didn't dislike her, I had other things on my mind right now.
I swiftly flew toward my home and made some dinner.
Of course, I made two portions in case Evelyn's shadow was still around.
And right after that, I entered my room, locked the door, closed my curtains, and even surrounded myself in a Telekinetic barrier.
Now for the thing that had been on my mind...
[Objective: Pass the entrance exam, and be within the top 100 of all examinees]
[Status: Complete!]
[Reward: +25 Free Stat Points]
[Additional Reward if within top 10 of all examinees: ???'s Core]
Since Vitality was the hardest stat to increase, I poured 15 Stat Points into it, and then the remaining 10 into Perception.
But most importantly was this thing...
[???'s Core]
[Description: Consume to obtain the Blessing of ???]
It wasn't a special ability.
Instead, it was a Blessing.