Incredibly, the roof of the giant building opened up, flooding the area with natural light and turning the place into a stadium of sorts. A well-kept dirt ground sat in the center of a ring of seats, giving the place the appearance of an arena. John looked around, watching as the seats filled up. There was a sort of balcony, likely a place for royalty or special guests to sit during tournaments or something.

"I thought we weren't doing a fighting tournament. What's this?"

Destiny just glared at him, still under the effects of Draconic Speech.

"What? Oh, right."

The stadium was eerily silent. It made things a lot more orderly, much to John's pleasure, but it was also kind of weird. Such a scene should've been accompanied by things like the roar of students chattering about. Instead, the only noise was the sounds of footsteps and students sitting in their chairs. In no time at all, the seats were filled, and the exams continued.

"As you know, there are many classes one can enroll in at Scholaris. Fighting. Casting. Blacksmithing. Alchemy. Magical engineering. Magic Circles. Each of these have their own uses and strengths, and you will be tested accordingly. It would be unfair to judge a blacksmith for their ability to fight. One should not criticize a fish for its inability to fly."

The dragon clapped, and seven figures walked onto the stage. Somehow, the arena was even quieter than it'd been. Not a soul moved. Something about the eight figures standing in the middle of the arena screamed power and authority.

"Should you become students, these will be your instructors. Now, most of you may know this, but some do not. So, I ask that starting from this moment, you treat these people with the utmost respect."

John leaned forward, his eyes widening in interest. Right, this shouldn't have been a surprise. They were bound to show up at some point, in some way.

"For the professors at this school… are Mythics."

A sort of wave of respect washed through the crowd.

"May I present to you: your potential mentors."

An old man stepped forward, using a cane to support his steps. His body was covered with a ragged cloak, his hair shaggy and grey. Wolf's ears stuck out of his head, and the tip of a tail could be seen sticking out from a bit of his cloak.

"Greetings, young ones. I am Lupin Wolfhound of the Dire clan. I will be in charge of the fighters in this room. I look forward to your performance."

Next, a beautiful woman stepped forward. She wore a simple red dress that matched her flaming red hair. And flaming wasn't in the figurative sense. Her hair was literally on fire. Controlled, but on fire nonetheless. Despite this, her ageless face remained calm and collected.

"Hello. I am Leora Dawn of the Pheonix clan. I will be overseeing the ones who call themselves casters. Pleased to meet you all."

The professors continued to introduce themselves. A young male elf with a hint of green and scales on his hands named Rayne Wavecrasher, a leviathan in charge of alchemy. Orson Venomfang, an oily man with a leather jacket who was in charge of the magical engineering class. He reminded John of a mob boss or something of the sort. A female elf in a flowing white dress and a single horn on her head, Yelena Lighthorn of the Unicorn clan, the school's doctor and healing teacher.

"...that's a class?" John muttered, frowning.

Rion Mountaincrusher, a buff old dwarf with goat horns on his head, the man in charge of blacksmithing. That was where Danjo would be going. And finally, Hikari Dormier, the professor in charge of the magic circle class. That teacher in particular was interesting. John would've said that she looked like a small dwarvish girl in red overalls and a yellow shirt, with cat ears and a tail sticking out back.

"Greetings, evernyan! I'm Hikari Dormier of the Werecat clan. I'll be in charge of those in the magic circle class, so please, don't disappoint me!"

John cringed at the cat's manner of speech.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," he muttered.

He immediately regretted it.

Hikari's ears shot up, her head spinning around. John's eyes widened as he shut his mouth. This teacher was attentive. Thankfully, it seemed that she didn't know who had spoken, but that assumption was quickly put to rest. The cat shot up the stands, making her way to John.

"Was it you?" she said with a purr. "The one who spoke?"

John just stared with wide eyes, shaking his head.

"Hm… I thought I heard something from over here…"

"Hikari!" Sofya said stenly. "What are you doing? You know not a sound can be made in this area!"

"Hm…" the cat eyed John suspiciously. "Maybe… like this?"

Before John's eyes, she melted into the shadows, then reappeared as a cute teenage girl, something John might've found attractive a long time ago.

"No? Maybe you swing the other way?" Hikari grinned, shifting into a pretty boy, then a muscular man, each teasing John playfully.

John frowned as he shook his head violently.

"Hikari! Stop playing with the students!"

"Fine, fine. You're no fun," Hikari grumbled, darting back to the field. "I'll be keeping an eye out on that boy, though."

John shuddered. He'd have to watch his step a little bit more. He was underestimating these Mythics. They might be [Characters] to him, but ultimately, in this world, they were still gods.

"Then, everyone," Sofya continued. "The exams will begin tomorrow. Instructions will be delivered to you shortly. That is all. {You may speak once more.}"

Suddenly, the place was ablaze with volume. Students clamoring about seeing Mythics. Beings that existed only in myths, in tales, stories told to them by their parents. Seeing such powerful forces in a single room, being able to see them with their very eyes. What an experience. Even if they didn't make it into Scholaris, this would be something they'd remember for the rest of their lives.

Only a few cared not for their existence.

"...John, you're an idiot," Destiny grumbled as they left. "You couldn't just shut your mouth for a single speech?"

"I had to speak. It was completely necessary," John tried to explain.

"Yeah? Why? What could possibly have forced you to speak?"

"Don't worry about it."

"That's it?!"

Celestia, on the other hand, was completely flabbergasted at the conversation taking place.

"That- we- those- those were Mythics! Did you see that? And- and you, how were you speaking? None of us could speak, but you-" Celestia stared at him with shining eyes. "What are you?"

"I'm a special creature."

"Really? What kind of-"

"He's joking, Cel," Destiny grumbled. "You need to get used to this guy before his antics cause irreversible damage."

"Antics? That's slander," John protested. "I would never do anything like that."

"You're just a guy that resisted Draconic Speech. Seriously, what were you thinking? No, scratch that. Celestia is right. How did you resist it in the first place?"

John shrugged. "Mm. I don't know."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Destiny stared at John for a few minutes before shaking his head. "You're weird."

"Thanks."

Celestia just stared at the two of them, completely confused.

"You two- are you always like this?"

They turned to her in unison, responding as one. "Yeah?"

"This is normal?" she frowned.

"He's the weird one," Destiny grumbled. "You get used to it."

Celestia giggled, smiling at John. "You're an interesting guy, John."

~~~

The student dorms were, for the most part, empty. A few students of Scholaris opted to stay on school grounds for various reasons, but otherwise most had gone back home. That was a good thing, since a lot of housing was needed to support the examinees.

A sheet of paper was stapled to each door. A schedule detailing when and how exams would take place. John nodded in approval as he read his paper. Whoever was in charge of administration was good at their job. To set something of this scale up was quite impressive.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"When's your exam?"

"...tomorrow," Prota said quietly, looking at the paper.

She'd been rather uncomfortable all day, what with the crowds, the Mystics and the dragon. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling of excitement that filled her heart. The feeling of the mana flowing through the room, the magic flowing from the Mystics, the strange energy from the headmaster… this place was special. She could feel it. Even if no one had told her that this was a school for elites, she would have been able to tell.

"You?" she muttered, still reading her instructions.

"Two days, it looks like. What kinda exam you got?"

"Mm… battle… royale?" Prota frowned, looking at the paper.

John choked, coughing violently.

"Battle royale? Did I just hear that right?"

"Nn," Prota nodded. "Is that… bad?"

"No, no. Well, it is, but not for you," John said, coughing again. "It's just… it brings back bad memories."

John's eyes scrolled down to his own section, then grimaced as he read the contents of his own exam.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

He had the exact same format.

"What is… battle royale?" Prota said, confused.

"Well, I'm going to assume the rules for our exams are the same… alright, Prota, here's how it works."

John sat down and pulled out a whiteboard, drawing a giant circle.

"You and a bunch of other people are going to be placed at random in this giant island of sorts. Looks like it's gonna be a simulation or something, so you'll be fighting to kill."

John started drawing stick figures all over the circle, showing the participants.

"Assuming our exams are the same, it's just a fight to the death. You just have to live. Anything goes; backstabbing, teaming up, whatever."

Prota nodded. John nodded in return and began crossing eyes out with x's.

"If you die twice, you get pulled out, and that's it. I'm not sure how this is supposed to be an exam, but… ah, whatever. I'm done questioning this."

John started drawing little potions all over the circle.

"Now, there are mana and health potions all over the island. Their spots are indicated by these beacons of light, so everyone will know where they are. You get why they do this, right?"

Prota nodded. "More people, more fighting."

"Lastly, the island shrinks every time someone dies. Probably to stop students from just hiding all the time."

John looked at his messy diagram, filled with dead stick figures and messy potion bottles, as well as multiple circles drawn as he tried to show the map getting smaller and smaller.

He frowned, wondering how students were going to kill each other. Probably some kind of health-based system, where taking enough damage registered you as "dead." These were kids. They shouldn't know how to kill. Hell, Prota had taken a while before figuring out how to inflict lethal damage. Well, again, it wasn't his place to question it. He took one more look at the map before speaking once more.

"You should go for the mana potions."

Prota looked at him, confused. Why? She could just use Soul Steal to replenish her mana, right?

"I don't know if they work or not. But using Soul Steal here might be dangerous, Prota. Look, a simulated world means the professors are monitoring it. If anyone is noticing some kind of abnormality, it's gonna be here."

John tapped the mana potions.

"That means no big spells, ok? I know they use up most of the mana in your core, and if you don't have a way to replenish that mana, then… well, you're kinda screwed, you know?"

"...oh. Ok," Prota mumbled, but she sounded disappointed.

"Look, put it this way. Most students would only be able to use your spells once anyway. They take in mana naturally, which means they recharge much slower, right? Just pretend you're, uh… normal, at least for a little bit."

"Nn," Prota shook her head.

It wasn't that she disagreed with John. In fact, she was somewhat surprised that he was making a logical, safe decision. It was just that she'd been looking forward to winning. She wanted to survive and beat everyone else. She felt like she had a shot at it.

But it seemed she'd have to hold back now. And if that was the case, then there likely wasn't much of a chance at all.

"Then… John will win," Prota said quietly, looking at the sheet of paper.

"I- what?"

"John has to win," she said, this time with more confidence.

John, who had no idea what'd been going through Prota's mind, was incredibly confused. She wanted him to win? Why? Didn't she know that he had nearly no shot of winning at all?

"Hey. You do realize Destiny's in my exam, right? What am I supposed to do?"

"No. John has to win."

"How? What do you want me to do, pull a win out my ass?"

Well, who was he to say that couldn't happen? He'd just been talking to Zero about this. He was doing whatever he felt like doing, right? If he really wanted to win, then who was to say he couldn't?

John put his hand on Prota's head, his grip on the paper tightening as his mental slowly resolved itself. [Anomaly]. The existence of someone who didn't belong in the [Story]. Someone who had no preselected role, someone who had no predetermined destiny.

"Alright, fuck it. I'll do my best."

~~~

Prota was standing nervously on the field, trying her best to avoid anyone. Most of the children there were older than her, and for the most part, bigger than her as well.

"Thank you to those who are here. The Caster exam will soon begin."

Sofya Orhen was standing at the edge of the balcony, her voice projecting throughout the stadium with the use of magic. The seats were noticeably less full, likely due to the fact that those who weren't participating had no real reason to show up. The only ones left were those who had friends taking the exam and those who were simply watching out of interest.

"I will briefly explain the process. We will cast a certain magic that will transport your consciousness into an artificial world. Any harm that may befall you will not effect you physically in any way. That being said, should you feel the need to leave, you will be given a tool that, once used, will wake you up."

The dragon's young voice didn't match her formal way of speaking. She continued to explain the exam, but most of it was just what John had explained last night. He leaned back, his arms crossed as he watched, uninterested. Everyone else was still present. Danjo was to his right, with Destiny and Celestia to his left. Despite her friendly attitude, Danjo still didn't feel comfortable sitting so close to royalty.

"How interesting," Celestia said with a concentrated look, taking note of what was going on. "What a unique exam format."

"You mean they've never done this before?"

"No. I've researched the history of Scholaris, and while there is very little public information, the exam format is released every year. Not once has this been an exam."

"Great, a stupid exam format just for me," John muttered. "Hey, what's your exam?"

Celestia pointed to herself. "Oh, mine? I don't have one."

"...what?"

"As the continent is in need of healers, any type of support mage is automatically accepted to Scholaris. We are rare, after all."

John wanted to complain, but in front of Celestia's pure and innocent smile, he couldn't do anything but sigh.

"You, Danjo?"

"Well, it's, um… a crafting contest…"

John nodded. That made sense.

The noise was quieting down as the exam was gearing up. The Mythic professors stepped foward, initiating some kind of spell. Sofya's voice rang out one last time.

"Best of luck to all of you. The Caster exam will now begin."

~~~

Prota's eyes shot open. She looked down, checking her hands to see if there was any irregularity. Nothing. Everything seemed normal. Her staff was on her back, her cloak still snug around her body. Next, her system. Thankfully, it seemed to still be working, but her map… was surprisingly also working. The visible area around her was being registered in her system, making things a lot easier.

She looked around, but there was nothing but tall grass and a bright sun in a clear blue sky. In the distance, she could see mountains with snowy peaks, and off to the right, a volcano with smoke rising from the top.

Looking around, she could see a beacon of light to her left. It was blue, indicating a mana potion. With nothing better to do, she put her staff in her hands and started to walk.

~~~

"What do you think of this year's participants?"

The exam was being projected to the watchers, of which there were few, but more importantly, to the examiners, who were sitting in the balcony. A holographic projection of sorts allowed people to scan the map for examinees and zoom in on them, should something interesting take place.

"I've heard there are quite a few talented nobles," said Orson Venomfang, the magical engineering professor. "Draco Wynton among them."

"Ah, that one," Rion Mountaincrusher nodded. His voice was like crushed gravel. "I've heard his fire magic is quite exceptional."

"Hm… the Rose family as well. I've heard interesting things about them, yes?" Leroa Dawn mused. "They seem interesting."

"Those are the rumours, yes," Lupin Wolfhound agreed. "But rumours are mere speculation. Watch, all of you. Speculation means nothing."

Hikari Dormier laughed. "You're boring, nya. Liven up some."

"Silence, cat."

~~~

Prota looked around. The beacon was quite close, and now that she was there, she could see a cluster of blue potions and a bag sitting next to them. She looked at them, saliva building up in her mouth. They looked incredibly refreshing.

"They taste awful."

An old memory of a different life shot through her mind. With the faintest of smiles, she kept going, making sure to stay low to avoid detection. Suddenly, there was a faint rustle. Someone else was here. Closing her eyes, she checked for souls, only to find nothing.

Right. This wasn't the physical realm. It made sense that there wouldn't be a soul. All of her special abilities were truly gone. It was simply her body and her magic, nothing else.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she was at a disadvantage. All her strengths were flying out the window: constant mana recovery, nearly unlimited mana, and draining her opponent's resources.

Worse, though, was that her core was technically smaller than that of her peers. Her core size was that of an A-class core, yes, but practically, it was more like a B-class core.

Just like Jinae had explained, mana consumption was like breathing in and out. Mages naturally took in mana from the surroundings, even during fights, so they'd naturally regain some after casting some spells.

Prota, on the other hand, did not naturally replenish anything. This meant that the total amount of mana that could be used in a fight was actually less than a mage of similar core size.

All her advantages were gone. All that was left were her combat skills and a reduced mana core.

"Oh, good."

Prota was snapped out of her thoughts as a voice rang out from nearby. She ducked down, hiding in the grass.

"I was hoping I'd find some early. What luck!"

It was an average-looking boy with average-looking clothes. He was ordinary. Almost too ordinary, but Prota wasn't paying attention to that. She needed to take him out easily. Quickly. Using a minimal amount of mana, she chanted under her breath, summoning three icicles.

The projectiles flew forward with deadly precision, piercing through the fleshy part of his throat. The magic in play eliminated him before he could suffer. His body disappeared, leaving only the potions behind.

~~~

"No survival instincts," Yelena Lighthorn muttered, watching Prota's fight. "What a shame."

"Well, yes," Rayne Wavecrasher said. "But that is not what we are to observe. Survival instincts can be trained. His talent in casting… yet to be seen."

"Silence," Leora said, frowning.

The girl's control. Her breathing, her stability, it was all incredibly practiced. Instead of just throwing ice at the enemy to deal blunt force damage, she had the control to sharpen the projectiles to turn the attack lethal. She wasn't just throwing out mana the way most mages did. She was conserving her resources, even with a bundle of mana potions right in front of her.

Such discipline could only mean one thing.

"That's a warrior," Leora muttered. "She's used to it."

She wasn't afraid to kill or fight. She wasn't thinking of this as a "test." To this girl, the grounds she was standing in were a "battlefield."

"I see we're all thinking the same thing," Sofya said quietly. "That girl is… quite good."

"Indeed."

With that, the professors switched to watching a different student, leaving Prota alone.

~~~

Half an hour later, Prota was still waiting near the potions. She hadn't picked them up yet, so they were still glowing, emitting a beacon that let everyone know they were there. Since people would come to it, wasn't it a perfect spot to get free kills?

She hadn't realized it herself, but this was the strategy of a "camper," Something John would do to win—a cheap, boring strategy that many disliked.

But to her, who didn't know something like that, it was simply something that "worked."

Unfortunately, since no one had taught her the ways of bush camping, she was still a little careless in some regards.

She held her breath as another set of footsteps grew louder. Chanting quietly, she prepared another volley of icicles.

"Great, no one took anything! Jackpot!"

A girl came through, running forward carelessly. Great. That made things easy. Prota crept forward, getting ready to fire. As soon as the girl bent down, the icicles pierced through the back of her neck, killing her instantly.

"What the- ambush!"

Four other children jumped out of the grass, ready to attack.

Unfortunately, Prota had forgotten that teams were allowed. John had already explained this to her. He'd explicitly stated it was one of the things people could do. Relying on her abilities to see souls had become a crutch, and without it, she'd assumed the girl was alone.

She tried to chant to raise an ice wall, but she had no way to stop the barrage of attacks coming her way. She'd been caught too off guard, and while her opponents were inexperienced, they weren't weak. A rock was less lethal than an arrow, but a hailstorm of rocks would still easily kill you.

With that, Prota's vision went dark.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.