I was still leisurely walking through the labyrinth, hands tucked into my pockets as ancient mechanisms clicked somewhere beyond the walls.
"If I'm being honest with myself..."
I glanced up at another impossible staircase folding into the ceiling.
"At this rate, I'm probably getting first place."
Competing with Hjördis this early sounded like an excellent way to shorten my lifespan.
First place meant every professor, noble house, military recruiter, and politically ambitious old man would immediately start asking questions I had absolutely no intention of answering.
I'd rather remain "promising."
Not "what the hell is that?"
By no means in hell you should get first place, it's a death sentence nothing more.
Second place?, that's free game.
I started to slow down to an even greater degree.
"Speaking of."
A thought drifted into my head.
"What exactly is the world?"
The familiar rectangle appeared beside me.
[Was that a Jojo reference?.]
I sighed.
"Fine."
I looked around the endless stone corridors.
"The planet?"
[Sometimes.]
"The continent?"
[Occasionally.]
"The people?"
[Often.]
"The civilization?"
[Closer.]
"The universe?"
[Yes.]
?????
"Im not gonna get an answer on this one, aren't I?."
[Atleast you're self aware.]
"Then what exactly do you want me to do."
[Play safe.]
"...Do you want me to save as many people as possible?."
The rectangle remained silent.
Longer than usual.
...
[Sure.]
Some battles simply weren't worth fighting, this was one of them.
Somewhere far ahead...
I heard the distant voices of other applicants.
"KRONK! WRONG LEVER!"
As I continued deeper into the labyrinth, the distant clicking of ancient mechanisms was gradually replaced by something else.
"...Help!"
A pause.
"Hello?!"
Another pause.
"I'm beginning to regret several life choices!"
I followed the sound.
The corridor opened into a circular chamber where the floor had collapsed into a perfectly round pit roughly four meters deep.
Out of everything, someone fell into a hole?.
At the bottom...
A blond young man waved both arms frantically.
The moment I saw his face...
"...Oh."
"My money maker."
"Excuse me!?"
Nothing.
Ignore that.
In the game...
This guy eventually became Barry's closest business partner.
Not because he was particularly strong.
Or smart.
But because he possessed an almost supernatural ability to stumble into profitable opportunities.
Barry invested.
He handled the negotiations.
Together, they somehow became disgustingly wealthy.
"Nice hole you're in!."
"Not really!, it's kinda dark in here!."
"So are you stuck?!.."
"What?!, Of course I'm stuck!."
"I just wanted to make sure we agreed on the current situation!"
I nodded.
"Do you need my help?!.."
He pointed upward desperately.
"Could you just pull me out!?"
"I'll help you Hold on a second!.."
The blond man's eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
I pulled out a rope from my inventory, lowering it.
before stopping.
"That'll be five gold."
Silence.
"What?!"
"Rescue fee!."
"There's a rescue fee?!"
"Think of it as an investment."
"Into what?"
"Our future friendship."
"But you literally just offered to help me!"
"I am helping you!..."
The young man stared at me as though I'd personally offended every moral principle he'd ever held.
"I don't even have five gold!"
"Then four is fine!."
"That's my whole money!.... Can I get a discount!."
"I'm a reasonable businessman!, Three gold!."
He buried his face in his hands.
"I haven't even started school..."
"And you're already extorting me..."
[You're doing an excellent impression.]
"Thank you."
[I was referring to a highway robber.]
The blond man groaned dramatically.
He stared for another few seconds before slowly fishing three gold coins from a pouch.
"My money..."
"I'll treasure it!."
"You better!."
I lowered the rope.
"Hold tight!."
The blond boy gripped the rope.
With suprising ease, I was able to lift him up.
The moment his feet touched solid ground, he let out the longest sigh I'd heard all week.
"Here..."
He reluctantly handed over the gold's.
"Thank you."
He dusted himself, then said.
"I'm Finn, nice to meet you I guess..."
"Likewise, Names Barry."
Uh.
In the game, Barry's next line was...
We should stick together...
Easy enough.
"We should stick together, it's dangerous traveling alone."
"...Actually."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I think I'll go explore another route."
"You could fall into another hole y'know."
"I'd actually prefer that, you seem..."
He stopped himself.
"..."
"I just think it'd be healthier if we stayed acquaintances."
He gave me an awkward laugh.
"You know?"
Then he hurried down another corridor before I could answer.
I watched him disappear.
I let out a long sigh.
"Acting like Barry is harder than I thought."
Was it the tone? Or expression?.
[Both.]
....
I continued forward.
Another puzzle, that didn't work
Another corridor.
A staircase.
Finally, daylight.
I was finally done with this boring trial.
The impossible labyrinth behind me dissolved into countless motes of light, its floating staircases, twisting corridors, and upside-down rooms folding back into mana as though they had never existed.
I was the seventh person out.
Yeah.
I counted.
My gaze wandered across the gathering students until it settled on the familiar figure standing quietly beneath one of the academy's ancient trees.
Hjördis.
She looked exactly the same as before.
She didn't seem particularly interested in anyone around her.
Or anything, really.
That confirm it.
The community hit a bullseye.
She's exactly like the community counterpart.
My gaze drifted elsewhere.
"If I decide to romance Mei Mei..."
I glanced toward Hjördis again.
"...I'd have to deal with her early."
Every route involving Mei Mei eventually involved Hjördis. The community even had a saying:
First survive Hjördis. Then maybe you can date Mei Mei.
Which was simply impossible that early in the game, regardless the character.
[And you still want to do it?]
"Might as well have fun while doing my job, right?"
...
...
"Good to know."
Anyway
"I'm taking a nap, wake me up when they reveal the ranking."
I lay back on the lush grass, letting its softness cushion my body.
[Sure]
Thanks.
Several minutes later, I woke up to the sound of hundreds of people talking around me.
While I was taking a completely reasonable nap during one of the most important exams of my life, the entire field had filled up.
I slowly sat up and looked around.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
[I don't have a sound feature.]
I paused.
I forgot.
I stretched until my shoulders gave a satisfying pop.
I looked at the crowd searching for balin and and hans, my eyes encompasses Humans, Beastfolk, Dwarves, Elves... even a few races I couldn't identify at a glance were scattered throughout the crowd. Some looked almost human, while others had horns, scales, fur, or features that made it impossible to guess what they even were.
But if theirs something consistent with them, it's that most of them resemble human in more ways than one.
Theirs probably a scientific reason for that.
Balin and Hans, were at the very edge of the crowd, making my eyes unbearably painful, searching for them.
Balin, looks like a Grumpy guy with red hair and teal eyes, he was looking at the shimmering panel slowly revealing itself above the plaza, golden letters rippled across its surface.
His eyes widen before muttering something along the line of "Dammit".
And Hans looked more or less how I expected him to, he looked exactly like me, the difference being, he had a brown hair, his was much shorter thought we share the curly part. His bright blue eyes stood out immediately, a pair of pointed ears poked through his hair.
He was also noticeably chubbier than I was, giving him a softer, friendlier appearance, he looks way to approachable.
Of course, after a completely fair and unbiased comparison...
I could confidently conclude that I was still the more handsome one.
Not by much.
...Okay, maybe by a lot, but who's counting?
And he was... Flirting with someone.
Second Trial Rankings - Current Results
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"...They're showing the rankings?"
"So soon?"
"I thought they'd wait until the end."
The list continued to update every few seconds as more names appeared.
Asher Lunaria clapped once, her delighted voice echoed across the plaza.
"We're already showing them."
She beamed.
"Do you know why?"
Nobody answered.
She answered herself anyway.
"Because the third examination is a battle royale!"
Several students immediately looked alarmed.
"A squad of five!"
"The last team standing wins!"
She clasped her hands together.
"How exciting!"
...
The silence was almost impressive.
One cautious-looking student slowly raised a hand.
"...How are the teams chosen?"
"Oh?"
Lunaria smiled.
"What a wonderful question, with a simple answer."
"Charisma."
She raised one finger.
"Social status."
A second.
"Friendships."
A third.
"Connections."
Another.
"Or literally anything else you can use to convince people to stand beside you."
She shrugged cheerfully.
"If you're the sort of person nobody wants to work with..."
Her smile somehow became brighter.
"consider this a valuable life lesson."
I raised my hand.
"Miss Lunaria?"
She looked over.
"The lockpicker!."
"Can I have Missy back?"
"...The what?"
"My Rimecrow."
"..."
She blinked once.
"Oh."
She snapped her fingers.
A familiar weight landed on my shoulder.
"Caw!"
"There you are."
Missy rubbed his tiny icy head against my cheek in what I chose to interpret as profound emotional relief.
"Caw."
"No, I don't think the academy stole you because they wanted a hostage, I'm not that strong."
I looked up at the ranking board.
Trial One.
First place.
Trial Two.
Seventh place.
My overall score?
Second.
...
Not bad.
Actually, objectively speaking, that was ridiculously good.
I looked further down the list.
10. He Mei.
Surprisingly the same ranked.
11. Noah Voldigoad
"Huh."
Way higher than it used to.
That was interesting.
27. Raksha
...
"Wow."
I stared.
"That is surprisingly bad."
66. Hans FairChild.
"Higher than in the game."
Same goes with.
67. Balin Smith.
...
I stared at the number.
"Six seven."
A pause.
"Am I twelve?"
89. Aldren Silva Grimnar.
Oh?.
So.. he is a good person, I could learn a thing or two.
Lunaria waved her hand.
The ranking board disappeared.
"In the first trial..."
"You discovered yourself."
"In the second..."
"You proved your mind."
Her eyes swept across the gathered students.
"Now..."
"The third trial will test something far more complicated."
She smiled.
"Others."
Trial Three: The Trial of Leadership
"To know other, is to know oneself."
A massive magic circle unfolded beneath the students.
Golden lines stretched across the academy grounds before projecting an enormous map into the sky.
Forests.
Ruins.
Rivers.
Fortresses.
Mountains.
An entire miniature nation.
Gasps echoed throughout the crowd.
"This examination..."
She grinned.
"...takes place across all of it."
"Each team begins with one Crystal Core."
"If your Core is destroyed..."
A loud CRACK echoed.
"...your entire team is eliminated."
The map shifted again.
More crystals appeared.
"These are Neutral Cores."
"Capture them, and your team gains supplies."
"Food."
"Weapons."
"Medicine."
"Information."
"You get the point."
She paused.
"Oh."
"And one more thing."
The map flashed.
Every student's bracelet glowed.
"No one may travel alone."
"If a member is separated from their team for more than thirty minutes..."
The bracelet emitted a sharp warning.
"They are automatically disqualified."
Murmurs spread immediately.
"So unless you all collectively decided to camp, camping won't work."
"Running away won't work."
"Any question?."
Lunaria looked around the courtyard with a bright smile.
She pointed toward a student.
"Is the way we are ranked like the second Trial?."
"Yes."
Another hand.
"What if someone refuses to participate?"
"They fail."
Another hand.
"What if our team loses a member during the trial?"
"If they are eliminated..."
"They're out, but the rest of the team may continue."
She tilted her head.
"Though replacing them is impossible."
A girl in the front row raised her hand.
"What if someone betrays their own team?"
Lunaria's grin somehow widened.
"Then they fail."
Silence.
"A person who abandons their comrades for personal victory..."
"...has already failed the purpose of this examination."
Another student raise their hand.
"Can teams form alliances?"
"They may."
"They may also betray those alliances."
"They may negotiate."
"They may exchange supplies."
"They may even choose not to fight."
She giggled.
"For a while."
Another hand shot up.
"What if everyone hides until the end?"
Lunaria snapped her fingers.
The map reappeared.
Large sections turned crimson.
"The battlefield shrinks every twelve hours."
"The longer you wait..."
"the less area remains."
Another voice.
"Can we steal another team's Crystal Core?"
"You may."
"Can we move our own Core?"
"You may."
"Can we hide it underground?"
"You may certainly try."
Another student raised his hand.
"What if we kill someone?"
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Lunaria answered without hesitation.
"You won't."
"The trial grounds are protected by thousands of layered defensive spells."
"A fatal injury will trigger an emergency teleport before death occurs."
She paused.
"That said..."
"Pain is still very real."
Several students instinctively swallowed.
One final hand rose.
"How long do we have to form our teams?"
Lunaria raised a single finger.
"Two hour."
"If you fail to assemble a squad of exactly five before then..."
She smiled warmly.
"you are eliminated before the trial even begins."
All eyes were on me. Probably because I had a large, translucent number two floating above my head.
...
Ah... my greatest weakness: communication.
Not because I can't talk.
I can.
The problem is that my vocabulary, sarcasm, and sentence structure were clearly manufactured in the wrong universe. Half the people think I'm a philosopher. The other half think I was dropped on my head as a child.
To be fair, neither group is completely wrong.