Creak.
Having submitted my test, I quietly opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
Two people, likely Academy staff, stood in the corridor.
One of them imdiately spoke upon noticing .
“The practical exam venue is in the first-floor gymnasium. Just follow the signs.”
“Thank you.”
As soon as I heard “gymnasium,” a ntal map of the Academy ford in my head.
If the layout of Orion Academy was identical to the ga, I could probably find my way there blindfolded.
“Aren’t there several gymnasiums? Well, it should be the right one.”
Descending the wide staircase that had been bustling with students earlier, now empty except for , I soon reached the first floor.
At that mont, a translucent window once again appeared in front of my eyes, blocking my view.
[The Skill Window has been unlocked.]
“!”
I instinctively ca to a halt.
“In ga terms, does this an the K key has been unlocked?”
Thrown into this world before I could even get a proper explanation of my character,
I was extrely curious about the skills I might possess.
“Do I access it the sa way as the quest window?”
On the way here, I’d already figured out how to summon the quest window.
It turned out that all I needed was intent—a simple thought was enough to make the translucent window appear.
[Weakness Imbuent – Lv.1]
◇ Grants a touched target a physical attribute as a weakness.
[Shop – Lv.1]
◇ Consus points to purchase items.
“Wow!”
The skill window floated in the air, summoned by sheer willpower.
Unlike the quest window, its presence filled with a different kind of excitent.
I quickly scanned through the information, my interest piqued.
“Of course.”
The skill nas shimred with a faint glow, indicating their importance.
Not only that, but the presence of levels hinted at the potential for growth.
These were unique skills—abilities exclusive to .
“Two unique skills!”
As I expected, I was an S-rank.
Given that I had my own pickup schedule, I had suspected as much, but seeing the number of unique skills confird it.
However, the skills themselves were unusual and unfamiliar, not the type typically focused on combat.
The Weakness Imbuent skill seed to belong to the debuff category, likely useful in battle.
But the Shop skill? In Abyss City, it wasn’t imdiately clear what such a skill might entail.
“Hmm.”
As I resud my steps toward the gymnasium, I continued mulling over the skills.
“If the Shop skill uses points as currency, does that an quest rewards are consud? And as for Weakness Imbuent...”
While I wasn’t sure how my unique skills would evolve as their levels increased,
if I could apply a wider range of weaknesses, it might beco a key ability to form parties without excluding any of my favorite characters.
For players who cared more about performance and clear rates than personal attachnt to characters, the skill could prove equally valuable.
Depending on how the skill functioned, even those types of players would consider it essential.
“This skill...”
It had the unmistakable aura of what players commonly referred to as a “mandatory ta character.”
That distinctive scent was wafting strongly from these skills.
***
The Orion Academy had a total of five gymnasiums lined up,
and even that wasn’t enough—there was another gymnasium under construction in the distance.
“Wasn’t it eight by the ti the protagonist reached second year?”
With students flocking from all over the world and most classes involving physical activities, it made sense for there to be so many gymnasiums.
“There it is.”
Near the entrance, a table had been set up, and a woman sat behind it.
Her rabbit ears twitched as she glanced in my direction. Seeing a beastfolk still felt fascinating.
“Are you here for the practical exam?”
“Yes, I’ve finished the written test.”
“That was fast!”
At her remark, I gave an awkward laugh and showed her my student ID and number card.
One of her rabbit ears folded slightly as she concentrated on her paperwork, her pen moving smoothly over the form.
“You can head to the first gymnasium over there.”
“Thank you.”
“Since the exam won’t start until we gather enough participants, please warm up and wait inside.”
With a quick acknowledgnt, I made my way to the gymnasium marked with the number 1.
Screeeech!
Pushing open the heavy tal door, I stepped inside and found the gymnasium empty.
It was clear I had finished the written test earlier than anyone else.
“What’s that? Is it related to the exam?”
At the center of the gymnasium stood rows of square stone blocks, their purpose unknown.
“Hmmm...”
Without stopping, I made my way to one of the walls.
It was adorned with weapons—swords, spears, axes, guns, bows.
The sight of these familiar tools brought a sense of calm to my mind.
“Now this is an ideal Academy. Korea could use sothing like this too.”
I reached out and drew a sword from its sheath.
Schwing!
A heavy longsword.
The mont I held it, I could tell it was well-maintained. The blade was sharp and balanced perfectly.
“Good weight distribution.”
After a few light swings, I returned the sword to its place.
Now wasn’t the ti for weapons—I had sothing else to focus on.
“Do I just activate skills with intent?”
Was it as simple as summoning the quest window?
Could it be done with just a thought?
“...”
The mont I thought about using the Shop skill, sothing inside stirred.
[Updating Shop list...]
[Estimated ti remaining: 05:17:36]
“What’s this?”
Suppressing a laugh, I dismissed the translucent window.
I didn’t need the update—I already had a sense of how this skill worked.
It felt similar to the supernatural abilities I’d wielded as a hunter, though the point of activation was different.
“A few more tries, and I’ll get the hang of it.”
Focusing intensely on the peculiar sensation, I barely noticed the ti passing until—
Boom!
The door swung open with force.
“Huh? I’m not the first one here?”
A crisp, vibrant voice I instantly recognized.
My head snapped toward the sound so quickly it felt like my neck might break.
Standing there was a beastfolk woman radiating an overwhelming presence.
“Noah Frozenheart...”
The royal of the northern Tigrova kingdom, descended from the white tiger lineage.
Her tall, lithe figure and piercing blue eyes spoke of her noble heritage.
Her confident smile glead brightly, full of boldness.
Unlike in the ga, she wasn’t wearing the Orion Academy uniform.
Instead, she donned casual clothing, with the ring symbolizing her exclusive weapon on her right index finger.
Shortly after,
“Noah. What matters is who scores first place in the exam, not who finishes first.”
A soft voice spoke from behind her.
A girl with jet-black hair in a straight hi cut entered gracefully, her eyes closed.
In her pale hands, she held Yoru, a jet-black katana—her exclusive weapon.
“Ichinose Yui too?”
I clenched my teeth to suppress the cheer threatening to escape.
Unlike the low-level characters I had abandoned, these were the characters I truly loved, and my heart pounded as if it might burst.
Perhaps because of my uncontrollable excitent and delight,
my gaze fixated on Ichinose Yui as she silently walked over to Noah’s side.
“Incredible...”
The petite girl maintained a composed elegance even as she walked with her eyes closed.
Unlike Noah, she was dressed impeccably in the Academy uniform.
It was a contrast of extres.
Noah Frozenheart, towering well over 170 cm, and Ichinose Yui, barely exceeding 150 cm, made an oddly satisfying pair.
“Oh, if only Nose had finished the written test a little earlier...”
Nose? Was that a nickna for Ichinose?
That was precious information the ga hadn’t revealed.
Trying to rein in my excitent, I turned my attention from their appearance to their conversation, focusing on the sound of their voices instead.
“As I said earlier, I never asked you to wait for . Besides, unlike soone else, I actually completed all the questions.”
Ichinose’s curt response was cute,
but Noah simply laughed, her round ears twitching in amusent, dismissing the importance of the written test with a carefree tone.
“Please. Without , you’d have gotten lost on your way to the gym and missed the practical exam. Just admit you’re grateful.”
“That’s absurd! There was no chance I’d get lost on the way here.”
Noah swished her tail playfully, her teasing provoking a small outburst from Yui.
“So the ‘bad sense of direction’ trait remains intact, huh.”
Listening to their banter, I stretched as a cover while observing the growing crowd of students filing into the gymnasium.
Eventually, the gym filled to capacity.
A scruffy man with a beard walked in, introduced himself as the instructor, and took his place at the center.
“I’ll explain this only once. You can only use the weapons provided by the Academy on the walls. Or not—it’s up to you.”
The exam itself was simple.
You were to attack a training golem, and your score would be determined by the depth and breadth of the damage inflicted.
The instructor, scratching his unkempt hair, wandered over to the stone blocks I’d noticed earlier.
“You get one strike. You can slash, smash, or throw—do whatever you want. Oh, and no filming—put your phones away.”
Watching the instructor casually tap one of the blocks, I blinked in disbelief.
The others didn’t seem surprised—was I the only one unaware?
“That’s supposed to be a golem?”
It was nothing more than a giant block of stone, with no attempt at resembling an actual golem.
“Results will be posted on the first day of class.”
With that, the instructor yawned and checked his clipboard.
“Number 99, step forward.”
Of course, I’d go first.
I grabbed a longsword from the wall and stepped forward.
“Na?”
“Rohan.”
The instructor nodded and gestured toward the training golem with his chin.
“You’ve got one minute. Start whenever you’re ready.”
“...Understood.”
Feigning an inspection of the golem’s hardness, I placed my hand on it.
Then, I concentrated, preparing to use my skill.
‘Skills feel similar to the abilities I used as a hunter.’
Thanks to my earlier practice, it didn’t take long.
‘Weakness Imbuent.’
An indescribable wave of energy rippled from my palm,
and I felt a significant drain on what I now recognized as mana—what the ga referred to as my life force or vitality.
[Applying physical attribute as a weakness to the target.]
A successful activation.
But I had no ti to celebrate.
‘Maintaining the weakness consus mana too.’
morizing this crucial detail, I gripped the longsword tightly with both hands.
At level 1, I didn’t expect the skill to perform miracles.
Still, if it reduced the golem’s physical resistance, I at least wanted to leave a noticeable scratch.
“Whew...”
I bent my knees slightly, exhaled deeply, and readied myself.
The path of the strike was clear in my mind—a downward slash.
“Hup!”
Lifting the longsword high, I brought it down with all my strength.
Whoosh—!
As the blade cut through the air and t the golem,
it sliced cleanly through, as if the stone were nothing but butter.
The blade continued downward, fully bisecting the golem before hitting the gym floor with a solid thunk.
The neatly divided halves toppled to the ground with a resounding crash.
“...”
Silence enveloped the gym.
Noah, arms crossed, grinned like she’d found sothing interesting.
Ichinose slowly opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on the man who had split the golem in two.
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