I looked around the examination area.
If I wanted to pass, I only needed to defeat two more people.
So I searched for someone who had already collected two numbers.
Eventually, I found my next target.
He had blond hair and black eyes.
I drew my sword.
He pulled out a pair of daggers.
Interesting.
A dual-dagger user.
Before I could think any further, he suddenly sprinted toward me.
I raised both swords and blocked his attack.
CLANG!
His daggers were dangerously close to my body.
If I hadn’t blocked them in time, they would’ve been plunged straight into me.
He quickly pulled back and attacked again.
This time, I was ready.
I carefully tracked his movements and waited for the right moment.
As we exchanged blows, I prepared a Dark Bullet in secret.
The moment we separated...
I fired.
The black projectile shot toward his leg.
It struck him.
His movement faltered for a moment.
That was all I needed.
I dropped one of my swords and stepped forward.
Then I drove my fist straight into his stomach with all my strength.
THUD!
"Ugh!"
Saliva flew from his mouth as his body doubled over.
He collapsed onto the ground.
I picked up my sword and pointed the blade toward his throat.
"Give up?"
He had no choice.
The examiner announced my victory.
But then...
Something unexpected happened.
The examiner in charge approached me.
I looked at him cautiously.
"Did I break any of the rules?"
He remained silent for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"I’ve been watching you."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You are resourceful, and you know how to use what you have."
He looked toward the other participants.
"We look for people like you."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You don’t need to challenge anyone else."
I stared at him.
"You’re already qualified."
For a moment, I simply processed what he had said.
Then I nodded.
"Okay. Thank you."
He smiled.
"Don’t thank me. You earned it."
"I hope you pass the real examination."
He turned away.
"I have other examinations to supervise."
I nodded and watched him leave.
So...
I had passed.
That was easier than I expected.
Still, there was nothing left for me to do except wait.
I sheathed my swords and found a quiet place where I could observe the remaining matches.
If I wasn’t fighting...
I could learn.
I carefully watched every participant.
Their movements.
Their abilities.
Their fighting styles.
Their mistakes.
Everything.
An hour passed.
Then the examiner in charge suddenly clapped his hands.
The sound echoed throughout the entire area.
"That’s enough!"
Everyone stopped.
"We now have all one hundred candidates for this year’s academy examination."
"Everyone else is disqualified."
"Leave."
Several people immediately protested.
"Give us another chance!"
"We can still prove ourselves!"
"Please!"
The examiner didn’t respond.
Instead...
A small amount of pressure suddenly descended upon the area.
BOOM!
His aura swept across the crowd.
The protests instantly died.
Everyone became silent.
He pointed toward the exit.
"Leave."
No one argued this time.
They quietly gathered their belongings and left.
I watched the entire scene.
The way he handled them...
Without even raising his voice.
Without needing to fight.
Just his aura was enough to make everyone obey.
My eyes narrowed.
I needed to become stronger.
Much stronger.
If someone like him could suppress an entire crowd so easily...
Then the world outside the slums was far larger than I had imagined.
The examiner then pointed toward a massive bird waiting nearby.
"Everyone who passed, get on."
"We’re leaving for the academy."
He paused.
"And listen carefully."
"If anyone acts out of line or does anything stupid along the way..."
His expression became cold.
"I’ll throw you off."
"Whether you survive the fall or not is your problem."
He climbed onto the massive bird.
The other candidates began following him.
I watched the enormous creature for a moment.
Then I climbed aboard as well.
I found a relatively safe position and sat down.
As the massive bird prepared to take flight, I looked around at the other candidates.
The real academy examination...
Was about to begin.
The massive bird spread its enormous wings.
With a powerful flap, it slowly lifted off the ground.
The city below began to shrink as we gained altitude.
The bird turned north and flew toward the academy.
I looked around.
Clouds stretched across the sky, while massive mountains rose from the earth below.
Some of them were so enormous that they seemed capable of swallowing entire regions.
I looked down.
The people and buildings below had already become tiny.
Almost like ants.
Then an idea crossed my mind.
Whenever I poured mana into a part of my body, it became stronger.
So...
What would happen if I put mana into my eyes?
I decided to try.
Carefully, I guided a small amount of mana toward my eyes.
I didn’t dare use too much.
I didn’t know what would happen if I overloaded them.
At first, nothing seemed different.
Then...
I noticed it.
My vision had improved.
I could see farther than before.
I focused on the ground below.
The tiny figures became clearer.
I could actually make out their movements.
Then I noticed something else.
They seemed...
Slower.
Not ridiculously slow.
It wasn’t like time itself had stopped.
But when I concentrated, I could follow their movements much more clearly than before.
My eyes weren’t just seeing farther.
They were processing what I saw better.
Interesting.
I kept a mental note of it.
This could be useful in battle.
If I could improve this ability further, it might allow me to react to attacks before they reached me.
I continued experimenting.
If mana could strengthen my eyes...
What about the rest of my body?
I carefully circulated mana through different parts of my body.
My arms.
My legs.
My ears.
Even my fingers.
I tested how much mana each part could handle and what changes I could feel.
I didn’t simply pour all my mana into one place.
I experimented carefully.
Little by little, I began to understand my own body and mana better.
The journey to the academy became an unexpected training session.
While everyone else was either talking, resting, or simply enjoying the journey...
I trained.
Even when I stopped to look at the scenery, I continued practicing my mana control.
I didn’t want to waste a single moment.
Eventually, even the examiner noticed.
He watched me silently for a while before occasionally giving me a few pointers.
He seemed to appreciate my attitude.
Unlike the others...
I wasn’t wasting the journey.
I was using every moment to improve myself.
And I had a reason for that.
If I failed...
I had nowhere to fall back on.
No family.
No powerful relatives.
No one waiting to support me.
If I wanted a better life...
I had to earn it myself.
So I couldn’t afford to waste opportunities.
Time passed.
Eventually, the examiner’s voice reached us.
"We’re here."
I looked ahead.
And froze.
A massive structure appeared in the distance.
The academy.
It was enormous.
Far larger than the city I had come from.
Buildings stretched across the land as far as I could see.
Towering structures rose into the sky, surrounded by walls and countless smaller buildings.
I stared at it in awe.
"This is..."
I couldn’t even finish my sentence.
I had never seen anything like it.
For someone who had spent most of his life in a slum...
This place looked like an entirely different world.
And this...
Was where my new life was about to begin.