"The first examinee is approaching the initial barrier. Get ready to assess."
"We're ready! But... why are we doing this? Where are the teachers?"
"This falls under the student council's responsibilities. Now focus."
"Sigh... If I knew, I wouldn't join the council."
***
"Hahaha! He smacked right into it. This is even better than last year's pitfall test. Great choice, Headmaster!"
"Hey, stop using the comms for that. Praise him the next time you see him—we can all hear you."
"This year's batch seems stronger. More of them are actually passing compared to last year."
"Not really. Half of them are just copying the ones ahead of them. They're not actually detecting the barriers. We'll disqualify those."
"Ah... right, I noticed that too."
"Sure you did... Look, here's another one trying to take the shortest path. Doesn't even look like he's detecting anything. Why do you think the smart ones are taking longer routes? Use your brain."
"Some just charge ahead, yeah. You don't need to comment on every idiot. Just make sure they don't leak any info once they're out."
"...Wait, President, you need to see this!"
"What? Did he slam into it harder than the last guy?"
"No, that's not it. He didn't hit anything at all!"
"What do you mean? Did he notice the barriers and take a different path?"
"No. If that were the case, I wouldn't be freaking out."
"Then stop dragging it out and just tell me what happened!"
"He went through the barrier!"
"What do you mean he went through it? Did he break it? That's impossible."
"No, he didn't break a thing. He just... walked through it."
---
The other way to move forward was by cloaking yourself in mana.
These weren't defensive barriers, after all. They were just part of the test.
So, anyone who had trained themselves to control and wrap their body in mana could pass right through.
This was different than Colt's Mana Manipulation. Mana Manipulation let him control the mana outside his body.
This was much easier since one only needed to control the mana inside.
Of course, not everyone could do that. Since it had nothing to do with level, only those who had practiced efficiently stood a chance.
The headmaster's reason for choosing this test was simple.
Not all commoners were poor. Some merchant families had enough money to invest heavily in their children's education.
And some of them would do whatever it took to get their child into the academy.
One tactic was to boost their levels by paying high-ranked hunters to help them level up quickly.
It wasn't rare. Many people did this just to show off.
But those inflated levels meant little—they were hollow.
Take the barriers, for example. Anyone around level 50 should be able to see them.
And the academy didn't accept anyone below that level anyway.
But seeing and passing were different things. What Colt did wasn't something just any level 50 could pull off.
Seila might be an exception, though.
He'd seen her train recently. As long as she understood how the barriers worked, she should be able to surround herself with mana properly.
No more than five people at their age would likely manage that.
Still, walking around the barriers was enough to pass.
Thinking that, Colt finally reached the academy.
There were no walls enclosing it—it sat open on a flat stretch of land.
He paused for a moment and looked back, taking in the view of Lofpus City spread out below him.
Then, he stepped forward across the border.
---
The academy grounds were crowded.
Even though the weak had already been filtered out, that was only the first test.
Besides, the nobles hadn't been tested at all, and they were all here.
In Lofpus Academy, there was no discrimination between nobles and commoners—only strength mattered.
There was even punishment for those who tried to use their status.
But that was only after you were accepted. On the way in, they were still nobles.
And there was no point in testing them one more time. Most had received top-tier education since childhood.
Even if a few unqualified nobles slipped through, they were easy to filter out in the actual academy exams—unlike the hundreds of commoners.
Now, both the commoners who passed the first test and the nobles who bypassed it were gathered in the same place.
That was when Colt spotted the boy he had left behind more than two weeks ago.
"Colt! It's been a while," Hei called out, grinning. "So, you passed the first test."
"Thank you for your concern, Young Lord Hei," Colt replied, his expression blank.
"Hey! I told you to just call me Hei."
Colt smirked, making it clear he was teasing.
But when Hei started to flare up, Colt raised both hands in surrender. "You told me to say hi if I saw you. I was just joking."
"Tsch. Anyway, how was the first test? Some people were saying they didn't even know why they failed."
They must have been the ones who tried to copy those who could actually see the barriers.
"It was fine. No one said anything, so I assume I passed."
"The real exams haven't even started yet. You shouldn't celebrate so soon." A girl's voice cut in from the side.
"Lady Seila. Myrin." He greeted them with a slight nod. "This is the third time Lady Seila has shown concern for my well-being. I'll take your advice to heart."
The two girls joined the group.
Seila didn't seem pleased with his answer, but she didn't say anything.
"Colt, it's been almost three weeks. Even though we visited the western and southern districts a few times, we never ran into you," Myrin said.
"I was actually staying in an inn in the southern district, but every part of this city is massive. It's no surprise we missed each other."
"True. So you didn't hear? The Fangsters vanished," Myrin told him.
Colt tilted his head. "Sorry, I don't believe I know what Fangsters are."
"Oh, they were the biggest bandit group in this region. The ones who attacked us were part of them," Hei explained.
"After I told my father what happened, he sent out a team to investigate. But when they got to the hideout, it was completely deserted."
"I see. They probably ran, knowing you wouldn't let them off easily," Colt replied, feigning ignorance. "Still, be careful. They might return for revenge."
"I don't think so. There were signs of a fight," Hei said.
Shit, did I miss something?
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah. Not a lot, but enough to suggest something happened. My father said it could've even been internal conflict.
Otherwise, if they were attacked, their leader should've been involved."
I need to be more careful. I didn't think they'd check every corner.
Colt turned to Seila. "Still, please be careful. You never know what kind of danger might be around."
Seeing the seriousness in his expression, Seila froze for a second, then looked away.
"He is right. There are plenty of dangers around, Miss Seila. You should be careful," said a voice from behind.