Kaien left the examination hall with one goal.
Find Mira.
He had spent the last two years preparing for this moment.
He knew roughly when she was supposed to appear.
He knew the entrance exam.
He knew which students would eventually become important.
And he knew Mira was supposed to be one of them.
The problem was...
He couldn't find her.
Kaien walked through the crowd, quietly scanning every face.
Nothing.
He checked the registration area.
Nothing.
The waiting hall.
Nothing.
"Where are you?"
He looked down at the notes he'd written before coming.
Mira's name was near the top.
According to the comic, she should have already passed the first assessment.
Kaien frowned.
Maybe she was running late.
That was possible.
He decided to wait.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Twenty.
Still nothing.
A notification appeared.
[Attention]
[Applicant groups are being assigned.]
Kaien looked up.
The next stage was about to begin.
"Seriously?"
He headed toward the next examination area.
Then he heard shouting.
"Move!"
Kaien turned.
A group of students was arguing near the entrance.
One boy stood in the middle of them.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and already wearing an arrogant smile.
"I said move."
Nobody did.
The boy pushed past someone.
"Pathetic."
Kaien stopped.
He didn't recognize him.
That bothered him.
Not because every person in the comic was supposed to be important, but because Kaien had spent years memorizing the major characters.
This guy wasn't one of them.
The boy shoved another student hard enough to send him into the wall.
Kaien sighed.
"Really?"
The boy looked toward him.
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"What?"
Kaien walked closer.
"You could've just walked around him."
The boy laughed.
"And who are you?"
"Nobody."
"Then stay that way."
Kaien stared at him.
The boy stepped closer.
"You think you're tough because you're tall?"
Kaien looked down at him.
"...I'm actually trying not to get involved."
"Then don't."
The boy shoved him.
Kaien barely moved.
The surrounding students went quiet.
Kaien looked down at the hand against his chest.
Then back at the boy.
"Don't do that again."
The boy swung.
Kaien moved his head slightly.
The punch missed.
Before the boy could recover, Kaien caught his wrist.
Not hard.
Just enough to stop him.
The boy's expression changed.
Kaien released him.
"There's an exam in ten minutes."
He turned around.
"Try not to get disqualified before it starts."
He walked away.
Behind him, someone quietly laughed.
Kaien didn't look back.
He had more important things to worry about.
Like the fact that he had just met someone who wasn't in the comic.
Again.
The next examination was a simulated dungeon.
Applicants were divided into teams.
Each group received several objectives.
Defeat monsters.
Collect monster cores.
Reach the extraction point.
Simple.
Kaien stood with his assigned group.
Three students.
Two boys and one girl.
None of them were people he remembered.
That bothered him.
But he decided not to dwell on it.
The girl looked nervous.
"Are you all right?"
She glanced at Kaien.
"Yeah."
"You look worried."
"I'm thinking."
"About what?"
Kaien looked toward the dungeon entrance.
"Nothing important."
The gates opened.
The group entered.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the atmosphere changed.
Stone walls surrounded them.
Mana filled the air.
The dungeon was dark, but small magical lights illuminated the path ahead.
Kaien immediately noticed something.
The layout was wrong.
He remembered the comic.
This wasn't how the entrance exam dungeon was supposed to look.
He slowed down.
"Something changed."
The others looked at him.
"What?"
Kaien shook his head.
"Nothing. Keep moving."
A monster suddenly jumped from the ceiling.
The students raised their weapons.
Kaien summoned his handgun.
One of the boys glanced at it.
"You're using a gun?"
"Yeah."
He laughed.
"Good luck with that."
Kaien didn't respond.
The monster charged.
BANG!
One shot.
The creature dropped.
[Monster Defeated]
[Weapon Points +1]
Kaien glanced at the notification.
"One."
The boy stared at the corpse.
"...You actually killed it."
Kaien looked at him.
"Apparently."
They continued.
More monsters appeared.
Kaien allowed the others to handle most of them.
Whenever one got too close, he fired a single shot.
Nothing flashy.
Nothing excessive.
Just accurate.
He didn't want attention.
Eventually, the group reached a larger chamber.
Kaien stopped.
Something felt different.
He looked around.
There were no monsters.
No traps.
Nothing.
The room was completely silent.
The girl whispered,
"Is this supposed to happen?"
Kaien shook his head.
"I don't remember this room."
The boy looked at him.
"You've been here before?"
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
Kaien paused.
"...Lucky guess."
The boy frowned.
"That's a terrible explanation."
"I know."
Before they could argue—
A loud roar shook the chamber.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Everyone raised their weapons.
Something moved behind the far wall.
Then—
CRASH!
A creature burst through the stone.
It was larger than the monsters they'd fought earlier.
Its body was covered in thick scales, and its claws scraped against the dungeon floor.
Kaien immediately recognized the general species.
Scale Fang.
But this one was much larger.
Its mana was also significantly stronger.
Kaien frowned.
He didn't remember this being part of the entrance exam.
"That's new."
The monster roared.
The students scattered.
It charged toward the nearest person.
Kaien raised his handgun.
BANG!
The bullet struck its shoulder.
The monster stumbled.
But it didn't fall.
Kaien's expression sharpened.
"Okay."
He stepped backward.
"That didn't work."
The creature charged again.
Kaien fired twice.
BANG!
BANG!
The first bullet hit its leg.
The second struck the side of its head.
The monster staggered.
One of the other students took the opportunity to attack.
A blade of mana slammed into its side.
The creature roared.
Kaien looked at the others.
"Keep attacking when it slows down."
They nodded.
The fight became chaotic.
The monster was stronger than any of them individually, but they worked together.
Kaien kept his distance.
Every shot had a purpose.
He didn't waste ammunition.
He waited for openings.
The monster lunged.
Kaien sidestepped.
BANG!
Another shot.
The creature stumbled.
The girl struck it with a spell.
One of the boys followed with a spear.
Finally, Kaien saw the opening.
He raised the pistol.
Mana gathered around the weapon.
He held his breath.
Then pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The bullet struck the monster directly between the eyes.
The creature collapsed.
Silence filled the room.
Kaien slowly lowered the weapon.
The system appeared.
[Monster Defeated]
[Weapon Points +4]
[Experience +23]
Kaien stared at the notification.
"Four?"
He looked at the monster.
"At least you're worth something."
The girl laughed nervously.
"You're worried about the reward right now?"
Kaien looked at her.
"...A little."
She smiled.
For the first time since entering the dungeon, Kaien relaxed.
Then he looked around the room.
Something still bothered him.
This monster wasn't supposed to be here.
Neither was this room.
And that wasn't the first change he'd noticed.
The story was already drifting away from what he remembered.
Kaien looked toward the dungeon exit.
He had spent two years preparing for the future.
But he'd prepared for the future of the comic.
Not this.
He tightened his grip around the handgun.
Maybe the story hadn't changed as much as he thought.
Maybe it had changed far more.
And somewhere else inside the academy, a girl named Mira was about to take her first step into a story that was no longer following the script.