Incredibly, the roof of the giant building opened up, flooding the area with natural light and turning the place into a stadium of sorts. A well kept dirt ground sat in the center of a ring of seats, giving the place the appearance of an arena. John looked around, watching as the seats filled up. There was a sort of balcony, likely a place for royalty or special guests to sit during tournaments or something.

“I thought we weren’t doing a fighting tournament. What’s this?”

Destiny just glared at him, still under the effects of Draconic Speech.

“What? Oh, right.”

The stadium was eerily silent. It made things a lot more orderly, much to John’s pleasure, but it was also kind of weird. Such a scene should’ve been accompanied by things like the roar of students chattering about. Instead, the only noise was the sounds of footsteps and students sitting in their chairs. In no time at all, the seats were filled, and the exams continued.

“As you know, there are many classes one can enroll in at Scholaris. Fighting. Casting. Blacksmithing. Alchemy. Magical engineering. Magic Circles. Each of these have their own uses and strengths, and we will test you accordingly. It would be unfair to judge a blacksmith for their ability to fight. One should not criticize a fish for its inability to fly.”

The dragon clapped, and seven figures walked onto the stage. The crowd tensed up, and despite the lack of talking, the place became even quieter than before. No one moved. No one fidgeted, save for one, who yawned in boredom. The sheer power and aura coming from the eight people standing in the center of the field was unlike anything anyone had ever experienced.

“These will be your primary instructors. They are in charge of the specialized classes for every year. Some of you may already know this, but many likely do not.”

John leaned forward, his eyes widening in interest. Right, this shouldn’t have been a surprise. With the amount of times they’d been brought up, it would’ve been stranger if these teachers were just ordinary people.

“For the professors at this school… are Mythics.”

A sort of wave of respect washed through the crowd.

“May I present to you: your potential mentors.”

An old man stepped forward, using a cane to support his steps. His body was covered with a ragged cloak, his hair shaggy and grey. Wolf's ears stuck out of his head, and the tip of a tail could be seen sticking out from a bit of his cloak.

“Greetings, young ones. I am Lupin Wolfhound of the Dire clan. I will be in charge of the fighters in this room. I look forward to your performance.”

Next, a beautiful woman stepped forward. She wore a simple red dress that matched her flaming red hair. And flaming wasn’t in the figurative sense. Her hair was literally on fire. Controlled, but on fire nonetheless. Despite this, her ageless face remained calm and collected.

“Hello. I am Leora Dawn of the Pheonix clan. I will be overseeing the ones who call themselves casters. Pleased to meet you all.”

The professors continued to introduce themselves. A young male elf with a hint of green and scales on his hands named Rayne Wavecrasher, a leviathan in charge of alchemy. Orson Venomfang, an oily man with a leather jacket who was in charge of the magical engineering class. He reminded John of a mob boss or something of the sort. A female elf in a flowing white dress and a single horn on her head, Yelena Lighthorn of the Unicorn clan, the school’s doctor and healing teacher.

“...that’s a class?”

Rion Mountaincrusher, a buff old dwarf with goat horns on his head, the man in charge of blacksmithing. That was where Danjo would be going. And finally, Hikari Dormier, the professor in charge of the magic circle class. That teacher in particular was interesting. John would’ve said that she looked like a small dwarvish girl in red overalls and a yellow shirt, with cat ears and a tail sticking out back.

“Greetings, evernyan! I’m Hikari Dormier of the Werecat clan. I’ll be in charge of those in the magic circle class, so get ready, nya!”

“...really?” John muttered.

He immediately regretted it.

Hikari’s ears shot up, her head spinning around. John’s eyes widened as he shut his mouth. This teacher was attentive. Thankfully, it seemed that she didn’t know who had spoken, but that assumption was quickly put to rest. The cat shot up the stands, making her way to John.

“Was it you?” she said with a purr. “The one who spoke?”

“Hikari!” Sofya yelled. “What are you doing? You know not a sound can be made in this area!”

“Hm…” the cat eyed John suspiciously. “Maybe… like this?”

Before John’s eyes, she melted into the shadows, then reappeared as a cute teenage girl, something John might’ve found attractive a long time ago.

“No? Maybe you swing the other way?” Hikari grinned, shifting into a pretty boy, then a muscular man, each teasing John playfully.

John frowned as he shook his head violently.

“Hikari! Stop playing with the students!”

“Fine, fine. You’re no fun,” Hikari grumbled, darting back to the field. “I’ll be keeping an eye out on that boy, though.”

John shuddered. He’d have to watch his step a little bit more. He was underestimating these Mythics, but in the end, they were still gods. They were still strong.

“Then, everyone,” Sofya continued. “Each of you will have your own exams, those of which will be watched by your respective professor. Of course, the rest of us will be there to aid in the selection process. If your exam is taking place, you will be called back to this area. Otherwise, you will be provided with a place to stay. That is all. {You may speak once more.}”

Suddenly, the place was ablaze with volume. Students clamoring about seeing Mythics. Seeing such powerful forces in a single room, being able to see them with their very eyes. What an experience. Even if they didn’t make it into Scholaris, this would be something they’d remember for the rest of their lives. Only a few in the crowd held little interest.

“...John, you’re an idiot,” Destiny grumbled as they left. “You couldn’t just shut your mouth for a single speech?”

“I had to speak. It was completely necessary,” John tried to explain.

“Yeah? Why? What could possibly have forced you to speak?”

“...um. Yeah.”

“That’s it?!”

Celeste, on the other hand, was completely flabbergasted at the conversation taking place.

“That- we- those- those were Mythics! Did you see that? And- and you, how were you speaking? None of us could speak, but you-” Celeste stared at him with shining eyes. “What are you?”

“I’m a special creature.”

“Really? What kind of-”

“He’s joking, Cel,” Destiny grumbled. “You need to get used to this guy before his antics cause irreversible.”

“Antics? That’s slander,” John protested. “I’m just a humble guy, you know?”

“You’re just a guy that resisted Draconic Speech. Seriously, what were you thinking? No, scratch that. Celeste is right. How did you resist it in the first place?”

John shrugged. “Mm. Beat me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Destiny stared at John for a few minutes before shaking his head. “You’re weird.”

“Thanks.”

Celeste just stared at the two of them, completely confused.

“You two- are you always like this?”

They turned to her in unison, responding as one. “Yeah?”

“This is normal?”

“He’s the weird one,” Destiny grumbled. “You get used to it.”

Celeste giggled, smiling at John. “I look forward to getting to know you more, John.”

~~~

Students had been sorted into rooms in the student dorms, which were mostly empty for the summer break. There were a few students who opted to stay on the school grounds for whatever reason, but otherwise, most students went home. As a result, there were more than enough rooms to house the incoming students.

John was thankful that he and Prota had been sorted into the same room. He wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with sleeping with a stranger, but since the problem hadn’t arisen, there was no point in pondering the hypothetical.

A sheet of paper was stapled to each door. A schedule detailing when and how exams would take place. Some kind of magic had been cast upon the sheets, only allowing students of certain categories to see their own details.

“When’s your exam?”

“...tomorrow,” Prota said quietly, looking at the paper.

She hadn’t been very active all day, mainly due to the ginormous crowds and intense pressure of the Mythics and the dragon. Despite all this, she’d been excited. The feeling of the mana flowing through the room, the magic flowing from the Mystics, the strange energy from the dragon headmaster… this place was special. She could feel it. Even if no one had told her that this was a school for elites, she would have been able to tell.

“When is John?”

“Two days, it looks like. What’s your exam?”

“Mm… battle… royale?” Prota frowned, looking at the paper.

John choked, coughing violently.

“Battle royale? Did I just hear that right?”

“Nn,” Prota nodded. “Is that… bad?”

“No, no. Well, it is, but not for you,” John said, coughing again. “It’s just… it brings back bad memories.”

John’s eyes scrolled down to his own section, only to find that-

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.”

His own exam wasn’t any different.

“What is… battle royale?”

“Well, I’m going to assume the rules for our exams are the same… alright, Prota, here’s how it works.”

John sat down and pulled out a tablet, drawing a giant circle.

“You and a bunch of other people are going to be placed at random in this giant island of sorts. From what I can tell, the island is simulated, meaning that if you die, you won’t actually die.”

John started drawing stick figures all over the circle, showing the participants.

“You’re going to be pitted against each other in combat. There aren’t really any rules. You can team up. You can backstab. You can hide. Anything, really. If you die, you get sent back in, but you can only die twice. Do you understand?”

Prota nodded. “Fight people. Die to people. But only twice.”

“...sure, yeah. That works.”

John started crossing eyes out with x’s.

“If you die twice, you get pulled out, and that’s it. It’s game over. Now, I don’t know if it’s top whatever people make it, or what, but I’d advise that you play a little aggressively. I don’t know how a battle royale determines talent, but… well, it’s not done.”

John started drawing little potions all over the circle.

“To incentivize fighting, potions are placed around the island. Mana potions and health potions, from what I can tell. Those will be useful since you’ll be fighting a lot. They’ll be indicated by giant beacons in the air, but this will also let everyone else know where they are. Does that make sense?”

“More people, more fighting.”

“Right. On top of that, the island slowly shrinks. Every time someone dies, the island gets smaller and smaller, forcing the participants to fight each other more frequently. I… I think that’s it.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

John looked at his messy diagram, filled with dead stick figures and messy potion bottles, as well as multiple circles drawn as he tried to show the map getting smaller and smaller.

“You should go for the mana potions.”

“...?”

“I don’t know if they work or not. But using Soul Steal here might be dangerous, Prota. I don’t know about other times, but in a simulated world, I don’t know if it takes your actual body, or assumes what your body should be. It’s possible Soul Steal doesn’t work. But it’s also possible they might notice you using it, and we don’t want that.”

John tapped the mana potions.

“Your big spells. Try to avoid using them too much. You can’t replenish mana naturally, right? So this will be the only way to recover.”

“...oh. Ok,” Prota mumbled, but she sounded disappointed.

“Do you want a repeat of the paladins coming after you? Prota, I don’t know what’s going to happen if you get found out,” John said worriedly. “I normally wouldn’t care, but without [Resets], our room for error is a lot smaller.”

“Nn,” Prota shook her head.

It wasn’t that she disagreed with John. In fact, she was somewhat surprised that he was making a logical, safe decision. It was just that she’d been looking forward to winning. She wanted to survive and beat everyone else. She felt like she had a shot at it.

But it seemed she’d have to hold back now.

“Then… John will win,” Prota said quietly, looking at the sheet of paper.

“I- what?”

“John has to win,” Prota said, this time with more confidence.

John, who had no idea what’d been going through Prota’s mind, was incredibly confused. She wanted him to win? Why? Didn’t she know that he had nearly no shot of winning at all?

But then again, there was his increased [Determination]. A multiplier of a thousand times wasn’t a lot, but it could go a long way. He’d held his own against Haze. Surely that was something, right? Besides, these kids didn’t know the first thing about battle.

Winning. He’d never really considered it, but maybe it was possible. This entire time, he’d only won through cheats. He’d won through Prota’s aid, he’d won with [Deus Ex Machina], he’d won by being overpowered. But maybe it was time to try winning through effort. Through skill. Maybe it was time to put in a little work. Still. Wasn’t it a little too much to ask for?

“I mean, Destiny’s in my exam too, right?”

“John… can’t beat the [Protagonist],” Prota realized. She hung her head.

“You know what, Prota? It’s fine.”

John put his hand on Prota’s head, his grip on the paper tightening as his mental slowly resolved itself. [Anomaly]. The existence of someone who didn’t belong in the [Story]. Someone who had no preselected role, someone who had no predetermined destiny.

“But… John said the [Protagonist]-”

“Surely there’s some way to win, right? I’ll figure it out.”

“Then… Prota will try to win, too.”

~~~

Somehow, everyone had found themselves in the same seats as before, save for Prota, who was standing nervously on the field, trying her best to avoid anyone. Most of the children there were older than her, and for the most part, bigger than her as well.

“Thank you to those who are here. The Caster exam will soon begin.”

Sofya Orhen was standing at the edge of the balcony, her voice projecting throughout the stadium with the use of magic. The seats were noticeably less full, likely due to the fact that those who weren’t participating had no real reason to show up. The only ones left were those who had friends taking the exam and those who were simply watching out of interest.

“I will briefly explain the process. We will cast a certain magic that will transport your consciousness into an artificial world. This world can be manipulated through means we will not disclose, but you are all very safe. Any harm that may befall you will not effect you physically in any way. That being said, should you feel the need to leave, you will be given a tool that, once used, will wake you up.”

The dragon’s young voice didn’t match her formal way of speaking.

“Now, as to the exam itself. You will start with three “lives.” If you lose all three “lives,” you will be removed from the exam. Do not worry if this happens. You have not failed, but do consider that this may effect your standing. I believe that the main content of the exam, then, is obvious.”

There was a quiet murmur among the participants.

“Your role is to eliminate other contestants. Note that any particular cruelty will be grounds for immediate dismissal. Every time a participant is eliminated, the island you will all be on will shrink. Potential students, this is a test of endurance, creativity and skill. Various mana potions and health potions are scattered around the island, indicated by beacons of colour corresponding to the potion. Use these to your advantage.”

John leaned back, his arms crossed as he watched, uninterested. Danjo was to his right, uncomfortable with sitting next to royalty, since Celeste was to his left.

“How interesting,” Celeste said with a concentrated look, taking note of what was going on. “What a unique exam format.”

“You mean they’ve never done this before?”

“No. I’ve researched the history of Scholaris, and while there is very little public information, the exam format is released every year. Not once has this been an exam.”

“...you’ve gotta be kidding me,” John muttered. “Hey, what’s your exam?”

“Oh mine? I don’t have one.”

“...what?”

“As the continent is in need of healers, any type of support mage is automatically accepted to Scholaris. We are rare, after all.”

John wanted to complain, but in front of Celeste’s pure and innocent smile, he couldn’t do anything but sigh.

“You, Danjo?”

“Well, that’s… a crafting contest…”

John nodded. At least that seemed normal.

The noise was quieting down as the exam was gearing up. The Mythic professors stepped foward, initiating some kind of spell.

“Best of luck to all of you. The Caster exam will now begin.”

~~~

Prota’s eyes shot open. She looked down, checking her hands to see if there was any irregularity. Nothing. Everything seemed normal. Her staff was on her back, her cloak still snug around her body. Next, her system. Thankfully, it seemed to still be working, but her map… was surprisingly also working. The visible area around her was being registered in her little map, making things a lot easier.

“...”

She looked around, but there was nothing but tall grass and a bright sun in a clear blue sky. In the distance, she could see mountains with snowy peaks, and off to the right, a volcano with smoke rising from the top.

Looking around, she could see a beacon of light to her left. It was blue, indicating a mana potion. With nothing better to do, she took her staff off and started to walk.

~~~

“What do you think of this year’s participants?”

The exam was being projected to the watchers, of which there were few, but more importantly, to the examiners, who were sitting in the balcony. A holographic projection of sorts allowed people to scan the map for examinees and zoom in on them, should something interesting take place.

“I’ve heard there are quite a few talented nobles,” said Orson Venomfang, the magical engineering professor. “Draco Wynton among them.”

“Ah, that one,” Rion Mountaincrusher nodded. His voice was like crushed gravel. “I’ve heard his fire magic is quite exceptional.”

“Hm… the Rose family as well. I’ve heard interesting things about them, yes?” Leroa Dawn mused. “They seem interesting.”

“Those are the rumours, yes,” Lupin Wolfhound agreed. “But rumours are mere speculation. Watch, all of you. Speculation means nothing.”

Hikari Dormier laughed. “You’re boring, nya. Liven up some.”

“Silence, cat.”

The Mythics continued to talk silently, making sure their concentration was uninterrupted, but of them all, the headmaster remained silent.

~~~

Prota looked around. The beacon was quite close, and now that she was there, she could see a cluster of blue potions and a bag sitting next to them. She looked at them, mouth-watering. They looked incredibly refreshing.

“They taste awful.”

An old memory of a different life shot through her mind. With the faintest of smiles, she kept going, making sure to stay low to avoid detection. Suddenly, there was a faint rustle. Someone else was here. Closing her eyes, she checked for souls, only to find nothing.

Right. This wasn’t the physical realm. It made sense that there wouldn’t be a soul. She’d have to rely on basic magic here.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she was at a disadvantage. All her strengths were flying out the window: constant mana recovery, nearly unlimited mana, and draining her opponent’s resources. On top of that, she’d recently learned that her core was relatively smaller than everyone else’s. While she was technically at an A class core, pushing an S class, it was still around the size of a fresh B class core.

Not only that, she couldn’t tell where her opponents were anymore. All she had going for her was her combat skills, and while it was possible she was more skilled in that regard, it didn’t compensate for the fact that she couldn’t regenerate mana naturally.

“Oh, good.”

Prota heard a voice and immediately went low, hiding in the grass.

“I was hoping I’d find some early. What luck!”

It was an average looking boy with average looking clothes. He was ordinary. Almost too ordinary, but Prota wasn’t really paying attention to that. She needed to take him out easily. Quickly. Using a minimal amount of mana, she chanted under her breath, summoning three icicles.

“Go,” she muttered under her breath. The projectiles flew foward with deadly precision, striking the boy in the neck, piercing through the fleshy part of his throat.

The magic in play eliminated him before he could suffer. His body disappeared, leaving only the potions behind.

~~~

“No survival instincts,” Yelena Lighthorn muttered, watching Prota’s fight. “What a shame.”

“Well, yes,” Rayne Wavecrasher said. “But that is not what we are to observe. Survival instincts can be trained. His talent in casting… yet to be seen.”

“Silence,” Leora said, frowning.

The girl’s control. Her breathing, her stability, it was all incredibly practiced. She optimized her mana useage by using icicles to strike a weak point rather than simply obliterate her opponent in one fell swoop. She was conserving mana. Why? There were a dozen potions right in front of her. So conservation of mana meant…

“That’s a warrior,” Leora muttered. “She’s used to it.”

She wasn’t afraid to kill or fight. She wasn’t thinking of this as a “test.” To this girl, the grounds she was standing in were a “battlefield.”

“I see we’re all thinking the same thing,” Sofya said quietly. “That girl is… quite good.”

“Indeed.”

“Yes.”

“Mm hm.”

On the other side of the arena, John was thinking similar things.

[You’ve trained her well.]

[yeah no shit]

[Kit did most of the work]

[The magic work, yeah. The fighting was me, dipshit]

[Regardless, the examiners must be quite impressed.]

[I hope so]

~~~

Prota was still waiting near the potions. She hadn’t picked them up yet, and so they were still glowing, emitting a beacon that was letting everyone know they were there. Since people would come to it, wasn’t it a perfect spot to get free kills?

She hadn’t realized it herself, but this was the strategy of a “camper,” Something John would do to win - a cheap, boring strategy that many disliked.

But to her, who didn’t know something like that, it was simply something that “worked.”

Unfortunately, since no one had taught her in the ways of bush camping, she was still a little careless in some regards.

“People,” she muttered as the grass once again began to swish. She prepared some icicles once more.

“Ah, nice! None are missing!”

A girl came through, a bag already on her back. Prota crept forward, her spell ready to be fired. As soon as the girl bent down, she immediately fired it off, eliminating her opponent.

“What the- ambush!”

And as soon as she did so, four other children jumped out, chanting as quickly as they could. Prota’s eyes widened, but she hadn’t been prepared for this. Teams. There were no rules against teams. Relying on her abilities to see souls had become a crutch, and without it, she’d assumed the girl was alone. She tried to chant in order to raise an ice wall, but she had no way to stop the barrage of attacks coming her way. She’d been caught too off guard, and her opponents weren’t exactly weak. This truly was a school of generational talent.

With that, her vision went dark.