Chapter 4: There’s an Entrance Exam!?

We walked along the outer trail that snaked its way around the main building. The walls of the structure glowed a faint neon blue. From my guess, I think this might have been magic of some sort. Probably the anti-magic spell from earlier. If it was, then that meant it was a particularly strong spell, since anti-magic hardly ever emits visible residue.

Nevertheless, it was a spectacular scene.

Continuing on, I saw several other instances of magic in use. Students in the courtyard, reciting spells, People, from what I presume, most likely the janitorial staff, using some basic levitation magic in order to clean the top windows, and even open night stalls, making a commotion as vendors swayed customers into their various stores. It was a lively scene, and whether the Academy nights were like this everyday, or this was a special occasion to mark the coming of the new season, I didn’t particularly care, it looked fun and the people looked like they were having fun.

But most notable of all the night time activities, wasn’t anything involving the people in particular. It was the menacing red glow emanating from the forest behind the school. The forest itself looked rather ominous, even without the red glow. It’s wooden tendrils spiked up high into the sky and the underbrush beneath rustled ever so often. The red just made it a bit scarier.

I was happy at first that we were on a path 15 meters away from the woods, but that joy quickly turned to a cold sweat as Avril turned left into an old cobblestone pathway that led directly into the forest. She signaled for us to follow, which we obediently complied with (after Nanami fearfully clinged herself onto me).

All the night time activity of the academy quickly faded away as we trekked deeper, passing the red forest’s entrance on our way. The canopies of the forest itself blocked out much of the sky, not letting even the faintest trace of moonlight seep through. The red glow guided our way, creating a seemingly menacing path that cut even deeper into the forest.

The initial fear quickly faded away though as we grew comfortable with the redness. Even the fragile Nanami eventually let go of me, although that part made me a bit disappointed.

Eventually lights, this time not the red of the forest but more like a florescent yellow seeped out from in front of the pathway We eventually reached the edge of the forest and came across a set of black iron gates. They were intricately carved in a gothic era style and reached about 3 meters in height. Behind the gate was a rustic looking building. Nothing noteworthy to say from this distance though.

Avril quickly opened the gate and stepped through, making a beeline towards the house with Nanami close on her tail.

Following the eager Nanami and the equally as excited Avril, I made my way to the old decrepit looking Mansion. At first glance, the place looked abandoned, with weeds growing in the front yard and vines sticking close to the walls. Although Avril assured us that the place was completely livable, though somehow I wasn’t convinced.

When we got there, we met the proprietor of the house, and old and wrinkly lady with a kind smile. Avril ushered us into the building, quickly explaining to the lady how we were new tenants before she ran up to the second floor and into what I presumed to be her room, leaving Nanami and I alone with the lady.

I would have wished for her to stay (mostly since the lady’s been giving me a rather hateful look ever since I entered the house) but she told us she had to prepare for an event tomorrow, so unfortunately Avril was gone for the night.

The lady in question turned and motioned for us to follow her. She showed us around the building, giving us a tour and pointing out where most of the facilities were, including our rooms, the communal hall, kitchen, and bath houses. She also went on to explain a bunch of other more annoying aspects of the house.

“You know, this boarding home in particular is special.” She started to say.

“Ohhh?”

I let out a yawn and feigned interest, to which Nanami replied with a glare to my direction.

“Excuse my older brother ma'am, he’s a little bit rude. What make’s this house so special?”

The old lady gave me a one-second scowl, which quickly went unnoticed (aside from me) and turned back to Nanami. She smiled again and said,

“Oh dear, you can just call me Mrs. Jumblee. And as for your question, well, this area is usually only available to the top of the top students.”

“Top of the top?” Nanami asked, putting her index finger to her chin and tilting her head in the process.

“You know Nanami, the creme of the crop students. People like you.” The old lady answered.

“M-me?! But I just enrolled! I can’t possibly be the best…”

“Ohohoho, well certainly there are a bunch more people ahead of you in this regard, to be more precise, 97 somebodies right? What rank were you again? 98 if I’m not mistaken.”

The lady rummaged around her pocket and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper. From my perspective, it seemed like she was confirming that her numbers were accurate.

“T-that’s right..” Nanami answered.

“You might not be the best yet, although your ranking pretty good, but you do show incredible potential. Being able to get that high of a ranking based purely on aggregate magical power, quite amazing. Actually, aside from Miss Avril from earlier, I’d say you’re the only other student to be invited to a tenant house straight after enrolling.”

Peaked by curiosity at the new term, I asked,

“So I’d guess this is one of the tenant houses, but, what exactly is it..”

The old lady scowled at me once again, which I returned with a droopy eyed expression. She bit her lip, hesitating to speak, before she finally gave in.

“....Tenant houses, are just exactly what they’re called, special housing for the ‘tenants’. Currently there are 5 tenant houses scattered throughout the campus that can each hold about 7 to 15 students each. For a school as big as ours, 5 might not be such a large number, but the tenants themselves are picked very strictly by the higher ups, so over crowding isn’t an issue.”

“How are they picked?” Nanami asked, taking the words right out of my mouth, although from Jumblee’s earlier attitude, I could already take a guess as to what the criteria were…

Ms. Jumblee visibly perked up from being asked by Nanami, (although I think she’s just glad it’s not me who asked this time) and answered enthusiastically.

“That’s simple Nanami, they pick the best students. The one’s with the highest rankings and greatest aggregate magical power are top choices for being a tenant. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, 7 out of the top 10 students in the school rankings live in a tenant house, including ranker number 1, Hemilia Von Buren or as her popular nickname goes, “The Climatic Queen.”

Miss Jumblee’s eyes lit up at mentioning the name. From my perspective, it was rather annoying.

“*cough* Anyways, Kusanagi Nanami, you were eligible to enter into a tenant house upon enrollment, quite amazing indeed.”

Miss Jumblee smiled kindly at Nanami, tears almost welling up in her eyes. After a second or two of that, she quickly turned to me and squinted her eyes before puckering up her face.

“As for your Brother… seeing as how he’s dead last in the rankings, normally he wouldn’t even be able to step a single foot into this prestigious building, much less live in one. But taking your parents incessant push to keep the two of you under the same roof, The board made an exception...albeit unwillingly.”

“heh…”

I smirked. I’m pretty sure the reason my folks wanted Nanami close at hand was to prevent me from slacking off. On another note, I sometimes wonder what type of monsters my parents are given that they're able to overrule such a strict tradition from a school as nit picky as this one.

“So let me formally say this now..” Miss Jumblee cleared her throat before making a quick bow in front of us.

“Welcome Kusanagi Nanami!...and other...To Tenant House number 5, The RoseBud Mansion!”

Jumblee made a big show of the whole ceremony, clapping at her own grandiosity, while Nanami played the obedient new tenant, and clapped along with her.

“Although it might not be much from the outside, its insides can speak for themselves.”

And this was true. The interior of the Rosebud was something else entirely. it gave of an old 19th-century feel at first glance, but if one payed close enough attention, the building was as high tech as everything else in the City.

“Now if you want some dinner, I cooked up a quick meal in the dining hall, but other than that I suggest you hit the sack early for today. The entrance exam’s being held tomorrow, you know.”

Wait…

My eyes widened, at the Miss Jumblee’s words.

“There’s an entrance exam!?”

~~~

The next day, I found myself overlooking a clearing next to the red forest from yesterday, although now it had lost its mysterious red glow.

Next to me was Nanami, and a collection of other characters. From only what I can assume, they were also students, probably here to take the entrance exam as well (the exam I wasn’t informed about). In total including me and Nanami, about 400 of us were gathered here today. We were all herded into this small open field, most of us compressed together, looking forward at the silhouette that stood imposingly in front of us.

A middle aged man in a red track suit held his ground just 2 meters from the front of the pack of students, standing on top of a raised wooden platform. In his left hand he held a sheathed Broadsword, slung over his shoulders. With his hardened face, crewcut hair, and bulky (more muscular) figure, he gave of an intimidating, almost war-like presence. He glared threateningly at the student’s, but aside from that, he made no actions.

Next to the man, stood three students. One girl and one boy stood to his left, while another girl stood to his right. As I squinted to make out the students next to him, I saw a familiar girl brushing back her blonde ringlets. The mischievous, almost playful grin she gave didn’t quite match her rich girl appearance, yet somehow it made her look twice as cute.

Yup, the girl in question was none other than Avril Stelato.

“So this was the event she mentioned….”

As if one cue to my muttering, the other girl, a brown haired, glasses wearing student with a ponytail who stood to the man’s left stepped forward. The girl had an impish atmosphere around her, but her body didn’t match this. The girl’s figure was full and slim. If best described, some would say she was a woman with all the right curves, along with a rather large chest that threatened to pop out of her thin dress shirt as it lightly jiggled every time she took a step closer to the center of the podium.

She glided to the front of the platform and with a wave of her hand, conjured up a blue object that looked strangely like a microphone. She took the mike and brought it up to her cherry red lips and spoke,

“Eto~ Welcome everyone! First of all, I’d like to congratulate all of you here today! Congratulate you for 1, Choosing this school as your prime academy within Setohanda city. And 2, Congratulate all of you for passing the minimum requirements to enter our prestigious school.”

She had a bubbly attitude and spoke with a feverish excitement. After the first portion of her introduction, she began clapping (to congratulate the students), to which everybody else in the audience awkwardly followed.

“ Although, the requirements themselves have been reduced to a great extent to allow for more influx of new blood, er students...the prestige still remain!”

She raised her voice another decibel and waved her hands frantically before she settled down.

“Erm..Well, My name is Yun Hwa Grail, and today alongside my fellow classmates Avril Stelato and Geoffrey George, (at this point she motions to the remaining “helpers”) we will be helping Professor Kiryat with the entrance exam.”

She motioned to the man in the tracksuit. Professor Kiryat answered her with a prompt nod.

“Well, I’ll keep this short! I’m sure you all can’t wait to get started! Now, you all here have a few things in common. first, you’re all new students transferring in to Newgrounds, so once again congratulations. Second, you’re all here to take the entrance exam.”

Yun Hwa paused for a minute, overlooking the students. As she surveyed the mass, she saw some of the confused and worried expressions the students wore.

“Oh don’t worry everyone! Even though it’s called an entrance exam, it’s not like there’s a chance for you to get expelled from the Academy. Well, there’s a slight chance, but that’s like .0000001% possibility, so don’t worry!

The true nature of this exam is to merely test your abilities. Yesterday, you all should have received your rankings right? That was to determined where you’re magic aggregate power ranked in comparison with everybody else.”

She then briefly explained the nature of rankings. Her words came in one ear and left in the other. This information was something I had familiarized myself with yesterday.

“Well Anyways, you can think of this entrance exam as more of a placement test. Rather, this will be your first experience with an activity than can decide your rankings. Your results here will shift your school rankings, depending on how well or how badly you do.

So don’t worry, there’s no chance in failing.”

She assured the students once more, to which they replied with a relieved sigh.

“Ah! Although there is a bare minimum you must pass, but like I said, that’s easy so don’t worry about it.”

Yun Hwa laughed at herself before she moved back to her original spot. She handed her microphone to the man, who promptly took it. This time the man called Professor Kiryat stepped forward to the front of the platform.

As he gripped the mike, it slowly changed color from its sky blue tone to a menacing red, reminiscent of the man’s track suit.

He glanced down at everybody for what seemed like an eternity before finally deciding to speak.

“...The exam is simple, and for some, it might even be easy. You fresh bloods will be going monster hunting.”

He paused for a minute, again observing everyone else’s reaction. He took note of the ones with worried expressions and the ones who contained inflated egos.

“Since we are a school which prioritizes in strength, such an event should be natural.”

He then slowly motioned to the forest.

“ This is the SetoHanda Park, one of the three areas within the city that let’s monsters and magical beings roam free without interference, aside from the magical barrier of course. You will enter the forest here and hunt as many beasts as you can within the next 3 hours. At the end of those 3 hours, you will come back here and be judged. Remember, you will be judged by how many beasts you slay and by how high ranked the beasts are.

This park is mainly occupied by magical beings, and since roaming mindlessly through this vast expanse of land will lower your chances of encounter. I suggest you use at the very least a beginner tracking spell, or just sense the magic from the magical beings.

That’s why I think most of you will encounter magical beings, since the monsters are generally hard to find, especially since they don’t emit any mana. And going out of your way to manually track them will waste your valuable time.

The beasts within this forest themselves are ranked G to B+, although there is rumored to be an AAA class maonster within the forest...that’s only a rumor.”

Professor Kiryat then waved his hand backwards and a neon blue projection soon appeared.

“This is how each monster or magical being will be ranked.”

G

1 point

F

2 points

E

5 points

D

10 points

C

15 points

B

25 points

B+

30 points

“Now if things get too dangerous, simply tap onto your wristbands, which you should have gotten earlier. It will react and either forcibly transport you back to this field, or alert either me or the helpers about your predicament.”

I looked down at my own wrist. indeed there was a wristband there, the one I had received earlier from granny Jumblee, but unlike everyone else’s which was glowing a bright green, mine stayed a dull and opaque blue.

It seems like this was magic driven, so of course there would have been no way it would have activated for me.

“The wrist bands also have a convenient map of the Forest, so use those to navigate your way through the park. Likewise they also have a catalog of the types of monsters and magical beings that reside in the forest. The catalog will show you a basic summary of them as well as their rankings.

Also, out of tradition to this school, we have a bare minimum in order to pass. Don’t worry though, since the requirement isn’t that difficult.

In order to pass, you must at least slay one monster or magical being, and have it registered.

If you fail to meet this requirement, you will be immediately expelled….

Since it’s such an easy requirement, I doubt any of you will fail, especially with all the G ranked magical beings roaming around the forest. Rather, remember to hunt a lot to boost up your score.”

After he finished explaining, he once again silently looked over us, before he continued.

“...It seems like everyone’s ready.”

Mr. Kiryat briefly nodded, and took a step back, handing the mike back to Yun Hwa (where it quickly changed back into its original color). He then began chanting something under his breathe.

The instant he did, the field began to glue, as a magic circle inscribed in a bright red gleam began to emanate from the ground.

This time Avril stepped forward. After conjuring up her own microphone (which ended up being lime green in color), she began to speak over the commotion which the crowd began to make.

“Since this is an individual exam to measure your own potential, Mr. Kiryat will now transport you to a random location within the park to prevent parties from forming.

In addition, for your kill to be registered, you must simply tap the carcass of the beast with your wristband, otherwise it won’t count.”

As she said this, the projection behind her began to change, this time showing a series of names above.

“When you return, you will see this board, which will confirm your score...other than that good luck!”

With that, the floor got a bit brighter, until it was impossible to see anything. With a quick popping sound the light filled my eyes as it did everybody’s, and everyone was teleported.

……

……

…...

Well everyone but me.

I stood alone in the open field. The prior group of 300 students next to me, were now all gone, leaving me by my lonesome as the four characters on the platform stared incredulously at me.

I scratched my head awkwardly as I fidgeted on the ground.

Avril was the first to speak up about my appearance.

“Eh!? Kelp, you’re still here? Why???”

Noticing Avril’s dismay, Professor Kiryat also looked over at me, squinting his eyes.

“Hmm...I was sure I used transport on everybody…”

That’s the thing, you did Professor, it’s just, that doesn't work on me.

My physiology is weird, to say the least. Things like attack magic works perfectly fine against me, no such resistance, but when it comes to things like a healing spell or a buff, they just fail to affect me. And on top of that, Professor Kiryat’s spell was probably not a forcible teleportation spell (those would have worked, believe me, I’m speaking from experience), rather one that siphoned magic from the target and used that mana to transport them.

Since I had no magic, of course that spell wouldn’t work.

I scratched my head again.

“Eh~ maybe I was out of range from your spell?”

This was hard to believe since I was in the middle of all the commotion.

“Well, I can always just enter the forest the manual way. Plus, there’ll be no chance of partnering up with someone since everyone else is already gone.”

I hastily began my walk to the forest. In the distance I heard a quick grunt of approval from the professor.

Just then, I remembered something.

I turned back towards the group behind me, and began to make my way towards them.

“That’s right, my wristband is broken.” I lied.

“So I’m going to need a physical copy of the map please. oh, and also a copy of the catalog as well.”

I asked the group for a map and catalog. With the exception of Professor Kiryat, everyone stared blankly at me. After a second or two, Yun Hwa was the first one to answer.

“A-ah, of course, let me go get you those real quick.”

She dashed off the platform and ran towards the back portion of it. After a minute, she pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment paper. After another minute more of digging around, she pulled a thin hard cover book. She made her way back and handed the objects to me.

I bowed curtly, before heading back to the Forest. Leaving behind a group of confused students at my wake.

….

After a minute into the forest, I quickly stopped.

“Ah crap! I forgot, without the wrist band, how am I suppose to record my kills!?”

I freaked out for a moment, but eventually I calmed down. I was already dead last in rankings, so no matter the results of this, I could either stay the same, or go up in rank.

So there really wasn’t anything to worry about. Plus, I could just bring the body back with me, if I can’t record my kill, I can just show them physically.

So with that type of self assured attitude, I ventured deeper into the forest. My entrance exam had started.

~~~~

Does Anybody know how to make the tables? I'm having a bit of trouble with that.

Other than that, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter 3

Chapter 5