Chapter 72 The Final Entrance Exam [1]

Shepherded along with the other passing examinees, Arvell followed the person who was supposed to be taking them to their next destination.

As a group, they entered the expansive auditorium where they had their written examinations earlier in the morning.

Since they were given permission to choose their spot, Arvell found one in a small corner.

One where he wouldn't stand out too much.

If there was any benefit from the whole ordeal with Antoinette, it would be the changed attitude of the other examinees.

Now even if people saw Arvell, they would steer clear of him.

No one wanted to get on a noble child's bad side by befriending someone who insulted her to the face.

Quite ruthlessly in fact.

Taking his seat, Arvell tiredly watched the other examinees slowly enter the auditorium, shuffling around while looking for a seat of their own.

After he saw the last person enter the room, Arvell's eyes slightly widened.

'Half… Half of the group failed?'

He knew that the examination was quite competitive, but seeing that many people fail before even stepping foot into the final examination?

That… was completely unexpected.

The chances of getting into Sky Sword academy was 1 in a hundred, with it being one of if not the most competitive academy in the country.

If already half of the people were cut off before the 3rd examination, Statistically…

…Their group will be cut in 50.

Only one out of every 50 of the remaining students would be able to actually attend the academy.

'Hmm… I wonder what the final entrance examination will be?' Lykos rhetorically asked.

Despite this, Arvell decided to humour him and respond.

'There's probably going to be some kind of competition amongst the students. Measuring the student's resolve and ability to work under pressure.'

Lykos nodded his incorporeal head.

'That seems plausible enough.'

Not too long after the final examinee found a spot to sit, headmaster Westfield walked back onto the stage.

"Congratulations to all of you for being able to pass the first two examinations and make it here."

The headmaster quickly swept over the examinees before shaking his head.

"Normally, there should be far more of you who'd pass, but… It seems that this year's written exam difficulty was a bit too high."

Arvell looked at the headmaster with blatant disbelief.

If there were far more people cut off this year than in prior years, how many students would the final exam fail?

Normally one in every 100 examinees make it into the academy, but from what the Headmaster stated, the odds were that this year's entrance statistics would be drastically different than before.

"However…" The headmaster continued, "the noble batch of this year has shown to be a cut above previous years, so it balances out in the end."

'Hmm, again about this noble batch… Zen wasn't too strong, but what about the others?'

'Actually Arvell, Zen's actually quite strong for his age.'

Arvell looked at Lykos with a face that screamed 'I don't believe you.'

Lykos sighed.

'Well, on average 13-year-olds can barely produce spells, being quite weak to start off.'

'What? Tristan and Alecia were way stronger than that!'

Lykos shook his head.

'I've seen those two while watching you grow up. Their strength far eclipses that of other geniuses their age.'

A small smile formed on Arvell's lips.

'My elder twin siblings really are something else. I wonder if anyone in the noble batch could match up to them?'

Arvell redirected his attention to the headmaster.

"The final exam will take place over the next 3 days. You won't be able to go home during the duration of the 3rd examination."

Sensing the anxiety among the examinees, he continued, "don't worry, your families have already been informed about this. There is no need to worry about that."

The majority of the examinees in the room breathed out a sigh of relief at this news, while a sizable amount began to fret over the contents of the final examination.

Since it took place over 3 days, was extremely competitive, and they weren't even allowed to go home, the examination was guaranteed to be a gruelling and arduous task.

However, none of them wanted to throw in the towel.

They didn't come this far just to back out.

If they failed they failed, but giving up before even seeing the starting line was beyond foolish.

Especially considering that they wouldn't get another chance to apply again.

If they failed their admission, they would never be able to walk through these halls again.

"Now that I've said my part, I'll let Professor Orina take over from here"

The headmaster stepped off of the stage, letting the chantless magic casting professor from before back onto the stage.

While most of the guys ogled her weapons of mass destruction, a certain group of guys and a girl started shivering in terror when they saw her step up.

"Oh shit… It's her again!"

Professor Orina quickly located the group among the crowd and a small smirk formed on her lips.

"Fuck… She's looking at us!"

Feeling that she'd traumatized the kids enough for one day, she looked at all of the other students, stopping on Arvell as well for a moment.

"Alright I'm only going to say this once, so Listen up! The 3rd exam is going to be one of the most gruelling and arduous things you've ever experienced in your life."

"Be warned… There have been casualties during previous years, while we can do our best to minimize the risk of you losing your lives we can't give you any definitive guarantees. There is still a chance that some of you might get severely injured or even die."

"If you are not willing to take that risk, you may leave."

After hearing Professor Orina's words worried looks began to form on the examinees' faces.

They had heard that the task was dangerous, but no one ever said anything about people dying before.

But… With the academy's power and influence, wiping an incident like that under the rug was as easy as snapping their fingers.

Staying here might result in their death.

But leaving would deny them their hard-earned chance at attending Sky Sword Academy.

Saying that the examinees were conflicted was a severe understatement.

Watching the looks of confusion on the faces of the examinees, Professor Orina sighed.

"For those who are debating on leaving, just remember. Even if you don't make it into the academy, you are young. You will surely find another path to achieve your goals and dreams. However, if you die, it's all over. The only 'second chance' you have after that is becoming an undead."

The professor's words seemed to work, as a handful of students stood up and walked towards the exit.

"I'm sorry guys, but I don't wanna risk my life. Please understand."

One of the guys apologized to the others around him.

Instead of disparaging him for being a coward, they nodded their heads.

"It's alright we get it. Wish us luck okay?"

The former examinee smiled.

"Yeah, you got this!"

The group of former examinees started filing out of the auditorium, leaving just the Headmaster, Professor Orina, the examinees and a handful of staff remaining.

​ Professor Orina took a deep breath.

"Now that the only people left are the ones going to undergo the 3rd examination, let's start going over the details. Let's first start off with the concept of the 3rd examination."

Everyone in the room perked up their ears.

This was the information for the examination that they had been anticipating the entire day after all.

"The main concept of the 3rd examination is… Surviving in a beast-infested forest."