"W-what? Where's the promised reward!?" an average teen with torn clothes and scars marring his body cried out.
While Jash was joyously heading to his planned destination in a relaxed manner, one of the two finalists battling for the promised reward finally won.
Alas, all he saw was an empty place with no rewards left there as he broke down at the sight, his face fell in despair; he had given everything for it.
"And that's a lesson on not trusting others easily, not to ntion re papers," Rui comnted with a grin.
He masterfully hid his inner thoughts and emotions, making sure no one figured out it was him who stole the chest.
He even took the liberty to handle the situation and made a spectacle of the examinee who was considered a strong contender... until now, that is.
The unfortunate examinee didn't even realize the audience was laughing and enjoying themselves at his expense.
To add insult to injury, his defeated foe was laughing hysterically despite almost being disqualified.
Though nothing of it lasted long as both of them were disqualified by two sharp, green arrows.
They couldn't even react before their barrier activated, teleporting them out of the island.
In essence, they suffered the most; not only did they gain nothing, but they also got disqualified when only a little over 2000 examinees remained.
In their place, appeared a blue-eyed and green-haired elf before kicking away, not even sparing a glance around.
"I hope I don't et him," he muttered under his breath, holding a longbow on his shoulder as he ran across the mountain.
Unlike him, the one he didn't want to et was actively looking for him.
The orange-haired dwarf, Grunghin, was fighting a human mage who mocked him for his height.
The mage sneered, "Didn't realize kids liked playing with oversized toys." His words sparked Grunghin's fury imdiately.
"Tell if it's a toy or not! You stickly mage!" Grunghin yelled before slamming it at the mage's body who dodged easily.
Despite being a mage, his long legs helped him evade Grunghin and his stubby legs.
Still, he couldn't even cast a spell, so there was no way for him to win against Grunghin and he did get taken down at the end.
—Ptui!
Grunghin spat, "Pathetic! All he knows is how to jump around like a monkey!"
In his rage, he had forgotten Zaos, who he was trying to find and have a bout with.
"Shit! How did I forget it?" he exclaid before calming down, "There's no way he got eliminated so I can still fight him!"
Once again, Grunghin began searching for Zaos, with one praying to not et the annoying guy while the other wanted to fight.
It wasn't animosity or anything, just plain old rivalry and also because Zaos and Sylvie never fought Grunghin seriously.
It was just so light spars, sothing his whole dwarfish blood disliked to the last atom.
He believed in going all out, even against friends to gauge who will be able to stay alongside you as your friend till the end.
But the elven prince and princess saw no reason to fight him, even becoming friends with him.
And Sylvie was better than it at Zaos, telling Grunghin that she wasn't allowed to fight because of her weak control over her elent.
Only Zaos was left to suffer as she pinned it unto him, being her elder sister.
However, Zaos also swiftly escaped every single ti, using one excuse or another until the Academy Entrance Test itself ca out.
Truth be told, both of them actually fought in the Entrance Test, but lost to the protagonist in the end.
What happened next was easy to guess, they initially dismissed his skill, attributing their defeat to fatigue.
Only after losing to him miserably later on did the two accept it and make him his rival before giving up and becoming his friends.
Alas, it was a harem-centric novel, so there was no need for a sausage fest.
Grunghin was sent to be a blacksmith for the protagonist and his harem while Zaos beca the Elven King, standing as his backer.
Of course, Grunghin also beca the ruler of the dwarven region, but their rulers and monarchy were different.
Anyways, with two entire regions as staunch support and even both their princesses as his harem mbers, who could say shit to the protagonist?
Not to ntion the church and even the Solarnelle Imperial Family...
All these details were going on inside Jash's head as he had stumbled across sledgehamr marks on the ground.
He wisely changed his path, not wanting to encounter the crazy guy and let him latch on to the protagonist.
'Even if I don't want a harem of won, I also don't want n!' he justified it inwardly, trying to ignore the elephant in the room.
No matter if he encountered them or not, if he secured the first rank, all kinds of overconfident idiots would show up.
"No, right? I am not a poor protagonist of humble origins who seems easy to bully but a full-fledged son of a freaking Duke!"
He blurted out his muttering while walking randomly, trying to reach his destination by luck or after only 2000 participants remained.
'Or on the last day, whichever happens first,' he mused, shrugging his shoulders and putting the matter to the back of his mind.
His current priority was to find sothing to eat too, he had eaten the bananas at once, not rationing it like the other examinees.
Of course, he didn't really mind not eating as the second day was about to end and by the next morning, the final test would begin.
'I don't think I ssed up much till now, so no major changes should happen for now,' Jash mused, appearing thoughtful.
He was rembering the things he changed from the novel and could only rember minor events or things without much consequence.
At least, they weren't supposed to have consequences anyti soon, but maybe soon in the future.
'The first biggest change with imdiate results will be securing first place,' he mused, dismissing the armor he suggested to Amael.
It couldn't change anything about the Entrance Test, except for the event where Jash was supposed to lose his life.
"Hero complex much?" he said before a wry smile appeared on his face.
It was not really him, but him at the sa ti who did those things, and he would do it yet again.
Of course, saving his life was the priority but the instincts of a hero ingrained from his past life were hard to dismiss.
No amount of betrayals ever changed his mind of saving his world, so why would he let random kids die?
'Not like they have long lives ahead,' he mused with a dry chuckle, shaking his head to dispel the depressing thoughts.
"It doesn't have anything to do with ," Jash told himself, not wanting any part of the protagonist's problems.
He had the support of humans, elves, dwarves, church and everything else, so why should Jash care about it?
"I am not a hero, I just want an easy life," he mumbled under his breath, trying to calm his thumping heart.
Thankfully, it cald down as he swung his sword to cut off a plant next to him.
—Screee!
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