CHAPTER —29 Entrance exam (1)
Rowan stood outside a massive hall, its towering structure casting a long shadow across the polished stone courtyard.
A faint blue glow flickered across his face.
It came from the watch strapped around his wrist.
The light pulsed softly, reflecting in his eyes as lines of text shifted across its surface.
A few minutes ago…
Ding… Ding… Ding…
The sharp chime echoed from the watch.
Rowan blinked and instinctively raised his wrist, his brows knitting together as he focused on the glowing screen.
Beside him, Eldric had already leaned in, his eyes scanning the message with practiced ease.
A notification appeared:
{The first stage of Entrance Exam will begin in 15 minutes. All contestants must be present on time.}
Then—
The screen shifted.
A map unfolded in glowing lines, expanding outward like a living diagram. A small dot pulsed at a fixed location.
Back to now…
Rowan stood at the entrance of the hall.
Students poured inside in steady streams—each wearing uniforms of different colors, carrying different emblems,
different identities.
The air buzzed with tension.
Some walked confidently.
Some whispered.
Some stood still like statues.
And Rowan…
Rowan couldn't move.
His fingers tightened around his knuckles.
A dryness settled in his throat.
For a long time he stood like that... Until—
A hand landed on his shoulder.
He turned.
Eldric stood behind him. He didn't say anything, Just gave a firm nod.
Rowan stared at him for a second… then
Slowly nodded back.
That was enough.
Without another word, Rowan stepped forward.
And entered the hall.
After some moments.
White.
Nothing but Endless white.
Rowan stood in the middle of a room that felt… unnatural.
There were no visible walls.
No corners.
No shadows.
No sound.
It felt like being placed inside an endless sheet of blank paper.
Like existence itself had been erased—leaving only him behind.
Somewhere else—
In a separate dimly lit chamber.
Several individuals sat in front of glowing screens, their eyes fixed on different candidates.
"Let's commence with this batch."
A man pressed a switch.
---
Back inside the white space—
Something flickered.
The air in front of Rowan distorted.
Like a broken reflection on water.
His fingers moved quickly as he unslung his axe, Rowan's grip tightened around his axe. the familiar weight grounding him.
He adjusted his stance.
Feet grounded
Shoulders relaxed.
Arms steady.
But his throat still moved as he swallowed.
A memory flickered.
{The first stage of the Entrance exam is monster simulation...
Click for further details.}
"Monsters?" Rowan had asked back then confusion clear in his voice..
Eldric's face, faintly illuminated by the glow of the watch, had remained calm.
"Hmm... The first stage of the exam is monster simulation."
"Does that mean I have to fight monsters?"
"Well… yeah."
Rowan's brows had twitched.
"but not real ones. It's just a simulation."
"Simulation?"
"Yeah... The monsters that you will fight there, is like an illusion. They are not real monsters."
Eldric patted Rowan's shoulder.
"so don't worry and give it your all."
Back to present.
The distortion in front of Rowan stabilized.
And something emerged.
A small figure.
White.
Soft-looking.
Almost harmless.
It's fur was unnaturally pale—like snow under moonlight. It's eyes glowed a deep crimson, like polished rubies embedded into its skull.
A rabbit.
But not quite
It's ears twitched slowly.
It's limbs were slightly longer than they should be.
And its mouth—
…curved too wide.
Rowan blinked.
His face froze for a moment.
His lips parted slightly.
"…Huh?"
For a berife moment—
The tension cracked.
His expression went blank in a strange way—like his mind had simply refused to process what he was seeing.
'What the? this is a... Monster?'
The rabbit causally licked its paw.
but then it's gaze snapped towards Rowan.
Beep.
The watch glowed.
Monster 1 — Killer Bunny.
Rank — E grade
Speciality — None.
Time limit — 30 seconds.
The moment the timer started—
The rabbit lunged.
Rowan's eyes widened.
His body twisted instinctively.
The kick sliced through the space where he had been standing a moment ago.
The force of it cracked the ground slightly.
Rowan's breath hitched.
The rabbit landed swiftly and turned to attack again.
Rowan swung his axe down.
"Water chop."
A crescent arc of water burst forward, slicing through the air with a sharp hiss.
The rabbit's ears twitched again. it quickly tried to twist itself and dodged the arc. But the arc brushed past it's back leaving a bruise.
The rabbit landed again.
Rowan turned towards the place where rabbit landed.
03... 02... 01...
The time limit ran out and suddenly —
The air started distorting again on a particular spot.
Rowan's eyes landed on that spot.
Eldric's voice rang through his mind.
"The first stage is more about survival battle rather than killing monsters. So you better try to drag your battle with monsters as long as possible."
Eldric opened a can with a hiss and continued.
"You will be given time limit to kill each monster. And yeah make sure to kill those monster in the given time limit"
"huh. You first say to drag the battle long and then say to kill the monsters in time limit. what If I failed to kill a monster in the given time limit. Would I—"
"No." Eldric cut him off midway. "You won't fail and don't bring the thought of failure."
Eldric sighed,"Huh... Still you better kill the monster in the given time limit because if you don't do that..."
Another killer bunny took shape in the place which was distorting for a second.
" Then the same monster will appear again and then you will have to fight two of those monster."
"Fowshh..." Rowan takes a deep breath.
Both killer bunnies attack Rowan. The bruised bunny jumped and tried to attack with a kick. And the fresh bunny. Jump and formed a fist.
The bunnies were coming towards him in a single line.
Rowan lifted his axe and swung it again.
Fire chop.
A blazing arc tore forward.
Heat rippled through the air.
For a brief moment—
The two rabbits aligned.
The blazing arc cut through the air —
And hit the two bunnies which were coming in a row. Engulfing both of them.
The bunnies disappeared after getting hit by the spell.
"Hah..." A faint smile appeared on Rowan's lips.
But this was not the time to smile.
Rowan's watch glowed again.
Another distortion happened in the area and
A new shape took it's form.
Larger and Darker.
Its fur was deep grey, almost black at the edges, layered thick like armor. Its eyes burned with a pale yellow glow, cold and predatory.
It's claws scraped against the floor.
It's breath came out in low, heavy exhales.
Beep.
Monster 2 — Wolgin.
Rank — D grade
Speciality — None
Time limit — 1:30 seconds.
The wolgin growled.
Rowan raised his axe again.
And the battle continued.
---
Time began to blur.
Movement layered over movement.
Battle after battle.
A sleek, shadowy creature—"Silraith"—slid across the ground like living smoke. Rowan timed his strike, splitting it with a downward Water Chop just as it solidified.
A bird-like beast—"Skyrake"—dove from above, its wings slicing the air like blades. Rowan rolled beneath it, swinging upward with a Fire Chop that tore through its chest mid-flight.
A crystalline beast—"Glaciron"—charged with heavy, thunderous steps. Rowan circled, baiting its momentum before shattering its leg with repeated strikes.
Each fight—
Faster.
Sharper.
Cleaner.
Tudh.
A C grade monster — Flink — hit the ground.
It's body flickered.
Then disappeared.
Fwoosh.
Rowan exhaled deeply rubbing his temple.
His chest rose and fell.
He looked at his watch... The number 32 was visible.
"It's been 32 minutes since I'm here."
He remembered that Eldric told him to atleast survive for 30 minutes if he wants to pass this stage.
The distortion happens Again.
Rowan quickly gets in his posture.
'I wonder what will come next.'
Rowan steadied himself.
The distortion soon takes shape of a massive creature.
A shadow covered him completely
Rowan swallowed hard.
It's upper body was muscular, striped in dark orange and black, each muscle twitching beneath its skin. Its lower body coiled like a massive serpent, scales shimmering faintly.
Two powerful legs supported its front.
It's tail flicked slowly behind it—long and heavy, enough to crack stones.
It's tongue slid out—forked, thin, tasting the air.
It's teeth gleamed sharply and deadly, like a predator.
It looked like a half tiger and half serpent.
Rowan was in awe seeing the monster.
He remembered how one time Eldric had shown him his wand
So what's it made from, huh? Wood from some magical tree?" Rowan has asked back then.
"Exactly!" Eldric had replied proudly. "From the Banjang Tree. Very rare. Also, two monster cores are implanted inside — TigerSnake and Ashira."
" Wait, that makes three. Tiger, Snake, and that last thing you said."
" No, no, TigerSnake is a hybridmonster, you dolt!"
---
Rowan's watch glowed again.
Monster name — Tigersnake
Rank — B grade
Speciality — Hybrid
Time limit —20minutes
The monster hissed, it's tongue darting out and rolling like a snake.
Rowan stood still looking at the monster.
'This is a... B grade monster?'
The moment the timer begins
The tigersnake flicked it's tail.
The tail was coming towards Rowan. Rowan flinched he quickly tried to block the hit with his axe but the tail still struck him and he was flown away.
He crashed on the wall..
His watch glowed again.
79hp»»»»23hp
'...What the—?'
He coughed.
His vision blurred for a second but he forced his eyes opened.
the Tigersnake stared at him Manacingly
It's gaze gleamed with a cold...
Predatory glare.
It's tongue flicked slowly.
Watching
Waiting Patiently.
Like it already knew the outcome.
'This monster is... something else.'
Looking at the monster, Eldric's voice rang in his ear.
"The monsters in the simulation are not real monsters, they are only simulation, an illusion of the real thing. So just think of them as a dream."
"Hah..." Rowan let out a dry laugh.
"If you want me to think of this as a dream..."
Rowan tried to stand up, his hands were shaking from the impact he tried to block but
he still tightened his grip around the axe.
"Then it's a quite terrifying dream." Rowan stood up and took his stance.
The creature lunged forward.
Rowan dashed sideways.
The wall behind him shook slightly as the creature crashed into it..
Rowan quickly swung his axe vertically.
Fire chop.
Fire chop.
The spells roared forward two fire chops hit the monster's thighs.
The creature recoiled.
It pulled it's head back and turned towards Rowan.
Then attacked with it's claws.
Rowan dodged it again. And attacked with two water chops.
The monster kept attacking Rowan
It's claws.
Tail.
Fangs
All moved relentlessly to attack Rowan.
But Rowan...
He kept dodging the attacks.
Dashing.
Sliding.
Jumping.
Barely escaping each strike.
And after every dodge Rowan swung his axe and attack the creature in the brief time he could get.
Rowan jumped back, dodging another tail flick.
A memory flickered in.
"Ahh..." Rowan fall to the ground again. His clothes messy and sweat tricking down his temple.
"Your firepower is good but you lack efficiency." Riven said, standing infront of him.
"Efficiency?"
"Yeah, your attack patterns are rackless, you attack without any proper planning or timing."
Rowan rubbed his head
"Well... If I keep attacking then, I'm sure one time the opponent will get hit."
"Yeah but in that process you will get tired sooner then your opponent."
Riven sighed,"Afterall how long do you think you can keep Swinging that axe.",
Rowan rubbed his chin and thought,"umm... Maybe a thousand times."
Riven's face went blank,
"Oh!"
He exhaled deeply,"Fhwoosh, even if you could swing that axe a thousand times, it's useless if most of your spells doesn't hit your enemy."
Riven extended his hand towards him and continued.
"Magic is not all about brute force or firepower, it's more about efficiency, using your spells in a skilled and more controlled way, rather then spamming them recklessly."
Back to present
Rowan lunged back and dodged another claw hit of the creature.
He swung his axe again.
Fire chop.
Fire chop.
Two roaring flames again followed his axe swing and hit the tigersnake again on the same spot.
The thigh of the tigersnake has become red and bloody from the continues hit of the spell.
The monster let out heavy exhales before jumping towards Rowan, and this time Rowan dodged it effortlessly.
'I could feel it..." Rowan looked at the panting creature, 'It's moments has gotten slower.'
Rowan looked at the glowing watch around his wrist.
4:39...4:38...4:37...
Rowan swallowed hard
'I have to kill that monster quickly because another him gets spawn.'
The monster roared forward again.
But this time Rowan didn't moved his lifted his axe, his eyes focused on the creature's thigh that he had hit countless times.
He swings his axe again.
Fire chop
Fire chop
Fire chop.
Many cresent arc of flame roared forward following the swing of the axe and hit the monster on the thigh.
The monster lost it's balance and hit the ground.
"Hah..." Rowan's lips slightly curled up but... It was just a temporary smile.
The creature crawled and attack Rowan again.
Rowan jumped to another side but the creature turned and attacked again.
Rowan dodged again.
'What the...?'
Rowan saw that after the legs became useless the creature is using it's tail to crawl.
'it's crawling like a snake.'
Rowan swallowed again,
"I think I get why it's named like that. but..."
Rowan swung his axe.
Fire chop.
This time the fire rored forward and hit the monster's face.
'Now, it's easy to attack him... Rather when he was standing.'
Rowan continued to attack the monster.
His spells roaring forward cutting through the air one by one. Hitting the monster directly in the face.
The creature soon became motionless.
Rowan swung his axe again and with the final hit.
The creature started disappearing.
1:30... 1:29.. 1:28.
The watched glowed and the timer stopped.
Fwoosh...
Rowan rubbed the sweat out of his temple with the back of his hand.
A faint smile was on his face.
But then again, his watch glowed. The area distorted again and another creature came to be.
"Huh..." A massive shadow covered Rowan.
Monster name — korava
Rank — B+ grade
Before Rowan can read the full information the creature attacked him.
23hp»»»»0hp.
Flash.
"Huh...?" before Rowan could process anything he found himself outside the hall.
'what the... Wasn't I inside that white room.',
"Hey! Dolt." A voice cut through his thoughts.
He turned towards the direction of the voice.
"Master!"
Eldric sat on a nearby bench, sipping something from a straw that was tugged inside a can.
"Here...", he extended the same bottle but of different colour towards Rowan.
Rowan grabbed it and took a sip.
"Hmm..." he licked his lips.
"How's that?"
"taste like some kind of fruit."
Rowan said sipping from the can,
he came towards Eldric and sat beside him.
"So... How did the exam went."
Rowan hummed,"hmm... I'm not sure but I was there for quite some time, just like you said."
Sigh..
Eldric sighed and grabbed Rowan's wrist.
Rowan was startled for a second but then he saw Eldric looking at his watch.
When Rowan looked closer he also saw some numbers on the glowing screen.
50:42 minutes
Hmm... "Eldric nodded his head."you were decent."
"Huh... ?"Rowan asksed,"That's it?"
"Whatelse?" Eldric asked, his eyes met him.
"The last monster i fought was this big" Rowan spread his arms. "And I also fought that tigersnake monster you once told me about."
Eldric suddenly patted Rowan's head
"okay... okay... You did good. ...Enough?"
Rowan flinched at the sudden contact,"woah... What the... You startled me."
Eldric lifted Rowan's wrist. The watch was still glowing there.
"Let's see your current ranking."
Eldric pressed somethings on the glowing screen and a number appeared.
"Hmm... Not bad,"
Current ranking 2026.
"huh... Is it my ranking?" Rowan asked.
Eldric shrugged off,"Yeah... But only current one, It can go down with passing time, since the exam is still ongoing."
"Sighh..." Rowan stared at the number and sighed deeply.
His gaze lingered on the number for a long time before shifting towards the massive hall.
Thousands of students were still entering the hall.
And thousands were still waiting for their turn.
Thousands of people.
Thousands of fighters.
And he was just—
One of them.
---
CHAPTER ENDS