NOVEL WEB Chapter 6
“Kraaaah!!”
As the girl’s eerie scream pierced the air, the ground of the gymnasium was thrown into chaos, scattering shards of stone and clouds of dust everywhere.
Once the dust settled, all that was left was a scene resembling a landslide, with the gymnasium vanished, and in the center, a girl was gasping for breath.
Her horn, reminiscent of a ram’s but shimmering golden, stood out on her head. Such a typical heroine. She won’t be tripping up our protagonist here.
I mentally judged her like that.
“Area Control Ability Evaluation. Lapiz, 75 points. Destructive power is impeccable, but… the inability to identify allies and the potential for collateral damage results in point deductions. Good job, please return to your seat. Next student.”
The student called Lapiz muttered nervously, but it was interesting since no one flunked the first exam. After all, anything was more entertaining than Jinhyeon.
That guy passed effortlessly with just enhancement magic.
He showed a bit of ability during the latter half of the control ability test, but even that was enough to land him in the top tier.
Damn talent brat. My mood soured all over again.
Seeing someone who had to squeeze all their power and abilities just to pass this exam do it so effortlessly is infuriating.
“That girl, Lapiz, is super strong, right?”
“Totally. Swinging the earth and rocks like they’re part of her body… If she becomes a hero, she’ll definitely go far.”
The game characters were passing remarks while watching the students’ performances, all unanimous in their praise.
If that’s the case, then what’s the point of evaluation?
Hiding my bewilderment, I watched the gymnasium restore itself magically.
They say some complex technology repairs any damage inflicted. I had no clue how you could afford to destroy even this gymnasium though.
Well, figuring that out was why she and I came here, after all.
Since this was still about maintaining Class A status, I quietly observed Minho undergoing his test.
“20 seconds…? Is that a student?”
To be precise, I tried my best to watch. But it wasn’t easy.
Even with my dynamic vision, keeping up with his movements was a challenge.
This protagonist was just way too fast. In the original setup, he had hidden his strength somewhat, but due to the tangled events, he was using all his power now.
The reason he was this fast was thanks to his ability, ‘Acceleration.’
You might wonder what’s the difference from just speeding up, but depending on the application, it was far superior to mere acceleration or other speed-related abilities.
Unlike acceleration, which requires you to move your legs, he could reach maximum speed even while standing still.
It could be called a form of telekinesis limited solely to himself.
While telekinesis users grab and throw objects, he could literally throw his own body.
So even if he got restrained, his ability wasn’t nullified.
Of course, it wasn’t without flaws. At some point, his reaction speed couldn’t keep up, so he couldn’t exceed the speed of sound.
Eventually, he overcame that limit, zipping around like he owned the place.
“Area Control Ability Evaluation. Yong Minho… 96 points. Despite the short time, he managed to suppress numerous villains, but… even in that brief moment, there could be civilian casualties. However, well done. Even professionals would struggle to match that. Good work. Last student.”
“Wait, it ended in less than 5 minutes…? What the hell is that…? Is he really a student?”
Yeonhwa kept repeating that it didn’t make sense instead of analyzing.
Was it my turn now? Normally, I would’ve been fine with just coasting, but after seeing that, I couldn’t just let it slide.
Seeing our protagonist work so hard made me feel motivated too, not wanting to score lower than some guy like Jinhyeon.
“Impressive, you were. I could barely catch a glimpse of your afterimages.”
I said to Minho, who was breathing heavily as he made his way up. He thanked me, yet still looked at me as if I were kind of weird.
…Hmm, was it better if I hadn’t said anything?
Leaving Minho behind, I stood before Justitia.
Then I started synthesizing various things inside my body. Stuff that would help with the exam right away.
My body, mixed with hormones and drugs, brimmed with power.
The usual sluggish feeling vanished, and for a moment, I felt ready for anything.
…Of course, it was just a feeling. Whatever substance this was, it was definitely a side effect. An excessive high.
Along with that, various side effects would hit me, but I could manage those later with counteracting reactions.
“First event. 1km running. Start!”
As her words finished, I shot off. Strengthening my body with magic, I ran as fast as I could.
“1 minute. This batch of newcomers is impressive. Let’s take a short break—”
“Let’s move on to the next right away.”
I planned to finish whatever I could before the effects of the drugs wore off. Justitia seemed concerned I was overdoing it, but—
This was an exam that required pushing limits.
“In that case, understood. Let’s move on to the strength test.”
The following courses couldn’t be processed as quickly as Minho’s.
But in everything, I managed to perform faster and better than Jinhyeon.
Before long, all physical tasks were complete, leaving only the ability evaluation course.
If that’s the case, there’s no need to maintain it anymore. The enhanced physical abilities from the drugs plummeted as soon as I synthesized the counteracting substances.
Suddenly, the pain and fatigue I had been postponing due to the drug surged all at once. Ugh, I’m dying.
But really, coming down to just pain and drowsiness was a light thing.
Normally, with this degree of drug use, even abilities users should’ve been foaming at the mouth and collapsing.
It’s only thanks to me that things ended up like this.
Dragging a body that felt like it had aged several years in just moments, I stood before the training dummy. What was it again? The area control ability evaluation?
While others were smashing, throwing, flattening, and ripping apart shadows, I couldn’t pull off that level of attack.
However, I didn’t worry too much.
I just needed to cover the dummy’s face with my palm and release a high concentration of carbon monoxide.
There was no real need to rip it apart physically; an attack that would incapacitate a human would be enough.
It was called ‘control,’ but it was essentially a test of how effective one could be against a single target. The life or death of the target wasn’t a concern.
In that aspect, my ability was worth a solid 100 points.
“Area Control Ability Evaluation, Blanca. 100 points. You suppressed only one target quickly and precisely without collateral damage. Perfect.”
Justitia smiled, seemingly satisfied. Then she called out for the final course, saying we were almost done.
From the ground of the spacious gymnasium, steel dummies suddenly sprouted up.
Among these dummies, some had a blue circle drawn on their heads.
This was a test to incapacitate the dummies while avoiding damage to the ones marked with the blue circle. That was the area control ability evaluation.
“Last one. Do your best until the very end.”
As always, I synthesized anesthetics in my body. While there could be mild side effects for some, they wouldn’t survive the concentration I released as a human.
Then, I sprayed it from my entire body in a smoke-like form.
The fog burst out, enveloping all the dummies, and even Justitia, watching from above, flinched for a moment as it surged upward before stopping just before invading the spectator seats.
The smoke indiscriminately swallowed both the blue circled and regular dummies.
While weaving through the fog, I proceeded to target only those marked with the blue circles and released the antidote from my anesthetic.
Once the fog cleared, Justitia finished scoring and informed me of my results.
“Area Control Ability Evaluation. Blanca, 100 points. You incapacitated everyone within range before they even had a chance to react. While you couldn’t identify allies, healing the civilians right on spot? Impressive. Perfect.”
This should at least be enough to keep Jinhyeon in check. Maybe Minho would look at me differently now?
Lost in thoughts, I returned to my seat.
And somehow, I noticed the way the others looked at me had changed from before.
“Is that… her?”
“It must be her. I didn’t see it directly, but… rumor has it she knocked out all the other examinees herself…”
And that was not for the recent spectacular performance, but because of what I had showcased during the entrance exam.
Guess I got caught. Hahaha.
—-
The teacher stated we were free after lunch, whether to eat or just leave, and walked out, concluding the first day of class.
I hoped no one would get sent down to a lower class. That was what I thought as I exited for lunch with Yeonhwa.
In the distance, someone familiar caught my eye, surrounded by several people. It was Blanca and the A-class students. What’s she doing over there?
Just as I was pondering this, I quickly realized they were arguing with each other and approached along with Yeonhwa.
“So why is that my fault? It’s your weakness that caused you to fall, right? You collapsed, now what’s all this fuss about?”
“Is that something a student of the Hero Department should say?! How many people were worried because of you!”
“I thought I was going to drop out, just waiting for the announcement to come…!”
“I didn’t know why suddenly smoke appeared. I thought it was some kind of event… It was you? Do you have any idea how much my pants got dirty because of that?!”
“Not a clue, nor do I care to know.”
The students seemed furious at Blanca, who responded indifferently to their accusations.
I understood why they were fighting. Many students who witnessed her ability during the test were mad, thinking, “Was that the brat?”
“Jinhyeon? Are you thinking about getting involved…? You probably shouldn’t…”
“Yeah. That doesn’t seem just. And she is my friend.”
Yeonhwa urged me not to go, but I had to. If it was my idol, it had to be done.
Before the argument got ugly, I jumped in to defend Blanca.
“The examiner said it wasn’t cheating to use your powers for an advantage, as long as it didn’t harm others. She merely did that.”
“But using it to knock out all the other examinees is a bit extreme! And why do you care when you didn’t even go through it yourself?!”
“Because it’s not just!”
With that reply, both Blanca and the A-class student fell silent.
“Why do you care? Because she’s my friend! And if there was a real issue, Blanca wouldn’t even be here at the Academy!”
Before I knew it, Yeonhwa had jumped in to defend Blanca alongside me.
At that point, the students who were pressing Blanca didn’t seem to have anything else to say, just sneering at her.
“…Let’s meet again.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Now that she wasn’t alone anymore, the students backed off.
“You’re okay now, Blanca.”
I said this to reassure her, but her expression seemed even colder than before.
“Thanks for your help, but please don’t meddle. It’s not your issue.”
She seemed like she had a lot to say. But she merely said that and walked away.