2026-09-02 12:17:25“Don’t push!”
Ryan Volde had barely opened his eyes when someone slammed into his shoulder from behind.
He stumbled into a broken wooden desk while dozens of other candidates crowded together inside what looked like an abandoned lecture room.
No one had time to make sense of their surroundings before Blackthorn’s voice sounded simultaneously inside their heads.
[Blackthorn Entrance Examination has begun.]
[Mandatory Mission: Reach the Sanctuary Zone within 60 minutes.]
[The examination grounds are currently occupied by Blight Goblins. Leave the main building and reach the Sanctuary Zone to complete the mission.]
[Optional Mission I: Kill at least 5 Blight Goblins.]
[Optional Mission II: Kill the Goblin Warlord.]
[Mandatory Mission Reward: 10 Academy Credits and 100 Merit Marks.]
[Optional Mission I Reward: Additional 10 Academy Credits and 200 Merit Marks.]
[Optional Mission II Reward: Additional 20 Academy Credits and 500 Merit Marks.]
[Failure during the entrance examination will not reduce your remaining natural lifespan.]
[Each candidate will receive one randomly selected beginner weapon.]
Ryan hadn’t even finished reading when light appeared in front of every candidate.
Different weapons dropped into their hands.
Short swords.
Bows.
Light axes.
Daggers.
Wands.
And several other weapons Ryan didn’t even recognize.
What appeared in his own hand was a gray wooden wand about the length of his forearm.
[Novice Wand]
[Arcane Attack Rank: F]
[Innate Ability: Arcane Bolt.]
[Using Arcane Bolt consumes mental energy.]
[Basic Wand Mastery Lv.1: 0/100.]
“At least it’s better than a chicken,” Ryan muttered.
Nearby, several candidates who had received swords immediately started swinging them around.
Ryan did something else.
He walked over to a shattered window and raised his wand toward the open sky.
He had no idea how magic was supposed to work.
But the moment he thought about Arcane Bolt, something warm flowed from his head, down through his arm.
Ryan pointed the wand outside.
“Arcane Bolt.”
A fist-sized ball of white light shot forward with a sharp hiss.
Its path curved slightly before it burst in midair roughly forty meters away from the building.
[Basic Wand Mastery Lv.1: 2/100.]
Ryan stared at the notification longer than he had watched the explosion.
Two points.
Behind him, a candidate who had just swung an axe suddenly shouted, “My Mastery went up by one!”
“Same here!” someone else replied. “Looks like using the weapon gives experience.”
Ryan immediately understood what was happening.
'Universal Prodigy.'
His learning efficiency had been increased by one hundred percent.
If another candidate gained one point of experience from a successful attempt, Ryan gained two.
He raised the wand again.
“Arcane Bolt.”
A second sphere of light shot through the window.
[Basic Wand Mastery Lv.1: 4/100.]
A small smile appeared on Ryan’s face.
It didn’t last long.
His vision suddenly blurred.
A heavy ache spread through his head, as though he had been forced to concentrate through an entire night without rest.
Ryan quickly braced himself against the wall.
Only two shots.
And he was already close to being drained.
'Intelligence two. So Gareth actually had a point.'
Around the room, candidates had begun trading weapons after realizing the equipment had been assigned randomly.
Several people with bows complained that they had never touched one before.
Those who received greatswords were already trying to find something lighter.
Ryan was considering doing the same when a woman spoke beside him.
“Trade with me.”
Evelyn Ashcroft stood there holding a short dagger.
Ryan glanced at the weapon, then at his wand.
“You want the wand?”
“I need an Arcane weapon.”
“That works out nicely. I just learned that using this thing twice almost makes me pass out.”
Evelyn adjusted her glasses.
“That’s exactly why I chose you.”
Ryan paused.
“That sounded a little insulting.”
“Out of the fifteen candidates who received wands, you’re the only one who looks exhausted after two attacks. Arcane ability consumption is most likely directly related to Intelligence.”
Ryan immediately remembered the number two sitting beside Intelligence in his profile.
Evelyn’s observation was probably right.
Without arguing any further, they exchanged weapons.
[Novice Dagger]
[Physical Attack Rank: F-.]
[Basic Dagger Mastery Lv.1: 0/100.]
Evelyn took the wand and immediately left the room.
Ryan followed a short while later until he reached the building’s main entrance.
Only then did he get a clear look at the examination grounds.
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Chapter 16 - Final Attack
“Two shots...” Ryan repeated quietly as he stared at the Goblin Warlord still standing in front of them. “That means we can’t afford to miss again.”Evelyn didn’t answer. Her face had gone pale, and the hand gripping her wand was trembling slightly, but her eyes remained fixed on the Warlord’s half-destroyed head.Two other candidates who had somehow survived on the far side of the courtyard exchanged glances.They could have taken advantage of the weakened Warlord and escaped toward the Sanctuary Zone.Instead, after seeing how close the monster was to falling, they raised their weapons and charged.“Now! Hold it down!”The fi
Chapter 15 - Shockwave
[Universal Prodigy activated.][Target: Goblin Warlord.][Copyable ability detected.][Shockwave - Rank F.][Copy successful.][Ability duration: 3 minutes.]Ryan read the notifications once before immediately turning to Evelyn. “Three minutes. That’s all the time we have. No matter what happens, aim for its head.”Evelyn frowned slightly, clearly not understanding where Ryan’s confidence was coming from, but she didn’t waste time asking questions. Her wand was already raised as Ryan tightened his grip on the dagger and ran toward the Goblin Warlord.One of the remaining candidates had just failed to escape.The Warlord grabbed him from behind and slammed him into the ground before his body shattered into light. The sight still made Ryan’s stomach turn, even though he knew everything happening here was only part of the exam.The moment Ryan entered its attack range, the Warlord’s red eyes shifted toward him.The creature swung its arm.Ryan had already estimated its reach and stepped
Chapter 14 - Trump Card
Evelyn had already turned toward the Sanctuary Zone, but after only a few steps, the difference in their speed became obvious.The Warlord was much faster.Evelyn, meanwhile, clearly wasn’t built around physical attributes.“Not toward the Sanctuary!” Ryan pointed toward the ruins of the building that had collapsed when the Warlord appeared. “Go toward the candidates who were hiding!”Evelyn glanced over and immediately understood.The fourteen candidates who had refused to fight from the beginning were now gathered near the ruins.They still hadn’t crossed the courtyard toward the Sanctuary Zone because they were too afraid, but the collapsed building had destroyed their hiding place.Evelyn changed direction and ran straight toward them.Several candidates immediately panicked.“Hey! Don’t come over here!”“Take that thing somewhere else!”Evelyn didn’t slow down.The Warlord kept gaining on her, but she still had a lead of roughly twenty meters.The moment she passed the group near
Chapter 13 - Under Pressure
“Don’t fight it head-on! Fall back!”Ryan was already moving away before he even finished shouting.Marcus had just been sent flying with a single blow, and that was more than enough to kill any desire Ryan had to test his strength against the Goblin Warlord.With his attributes, one hit might be enough to end his exam.Not everyone thought the same way.The ten candidates who had been heading toward the Sanctuary Zone immediately turned back when the boss appeared.They had already completed the five-goblin mission, which meant the only major reward left was standing right in front of them.“Attack together!”“Don’t give it a chance to move!”Several swords and axes struck the Goblin Warlord almost at the same time.Two arrows followed from behind.The result was disappointing.Its thick, muscular body suffered only shallow wounds, while the arrows barely managed to penetrate its skin.Ryan chose to observe from a safe distance.All the ordinary Blight Goblins had collapsed the momen
Chapter 12 - Triggering the Warlord
No one laughed this time.Too many coincidences had happened for it to still look like luck.Marcus was the angriest of them all.“You’re doing this on purpose!”Ryan turned toward him.“Doing what?”“Four!”Marcus raised four fingers, his face turning red.“You stole four kills from me!”Ryan was actually a little surprised by the number.He had deliberately targeted Marcus more often because his high attributes allowed him to weaken goblins quickly.But Ryan hadn’t realized he had taken that many.He checked his skill progress.[Power Slash Lv.1: 80/100.]What a shame.A little more and the skill might have leveled up.Then again, if Ryan kept doing the same thing, Marcus might decide to stab him before stabbing another Blight Goblin.“Fine. I’ll stop.”Marcus snorted loudly.The others looked more curious than genuinely angry.They all knew Ryan only had nine total attribute points.That made his ability to time his finishing blows so precisely even stranger.Ryan, of course, had n
Chapter 11 - Kill Steal
Ryan’s satisfaction after getting his first kill lasted only a few seconds.The moment he tried to raise his dagger again, the muscles in his arm felt heavy and sore, as though all the strength he had gathered earlier had been squeezed out in a single attack.Power Slash was strong, but Ryan only had three points in Vitality.If he forced himself to use the skill twice in quick succession, there was no guarantee his arm would still be able to hold a weapon afterward.So Ryan didn’t rush to look for another target.He continued moving with the formation while watching how the others fought.Some needed three strikes to bring down a Blight Goblin.Others needed four or five.Ryan began memorizing how strong each person was and estimating when a goblin had been weakened enough for him to finish it with a single attack.About a minute later, the heaviness in his arm started to fade.A candidate beside him was fighting a Blight Goblin that had already taken three sword strikes.The moment
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