Level sixty.

A black-haired girl was lying on the ground while staring at the sky in a daze.

Her body was covered with dagger cuts. She had lost his right arm, two fingers in her left arm, and one of her ears.

But the girl did not show any signs of pain. She just lay there, staring at the sky dazedly.

The eblor woman walked towards her slowly. She was not in a good condition either. Most of her hair had fallen, her skin had become wrinkly and dry, and her body seemed old and weak.

But even so, she was walking towards the black-haired girl slowly, to give her the last blow.

The girl did not care. She just stared at the sky as the grass, flowers, and bushes around her withered constantly.

When the eblor woman reached in front of her, the girl closed her eyes.

Then, she felt the dagger pierce her heart.

And her consciousness faded away.

 

…

 

Level sixty-two.

Ley was smiling dejectedly as blood slid down her lips.

“So this is my limit, huh.”

As expected, eblors are really strong… She murmured softly as she staggered and fell on the grass.

Her body was covered with sword wounds, from small cuts in her arms and legs to a hideous wound on her abdomen and a long cut across her back.

These wounds were caused by the enemy in front of her, a male eblor holding a two-handed sword.

Ley had given her all to defeat him, but it was useless. Her skills seemed not to have any effect on him, and without her skills, she was just a normal tier-three practitioner. There is no way she could rely on her puny mana and average combat skills to defeat a tier-six eblor soldier.

‘It’s a shame. I could have defeated him in different circumstances.’

Unfortunately, the settings of this test did not allow Ley to display the full extent of her abilities. If the settings would have been a bit different, Ley believed she would have been able to reach level seventy at the very least.

“Well, losing is losing, there is no use in complaining.” Ley coughed a mouthful of blood and closed her eyes. She could hear the footsteps of the eblor swordsman approaching. Then, his sword stabbed her heart.

“It hurts…” Ley groaned in pain and her consciousness became dark.

‘I wonder how my brother is doing…’

That was the last thought that appeared in her mind before fainting.

 

…

 

Level sixty-nine.

“It makes no sense,” Andrew muttered with a bitter smile. “What kind of monster is her?”

His body was covered in multiple injuries, some big and some small. There were a couple of arrows on his chest and back, and his right arm was dangling powerlessly after his shoulder was pierced by an arrow.

His enemy was an eblor woman holding a bow. She was the enemy of level sixty-nine and someone that defeated him in less than thirty seconds.

His defeat was the normal result. This eblor woman was strong, ridiculously strong. Her archery was so godly that she did not fail any shot, and her movements were so fast that Andrew's eyes could not follow her.

Andrew was strong, a prodigy with several skills that had reached the peak of tier-four at sixteen-year-old. But compared to this woman, he was obviously inferior.

In fact, he should have failed in the previous levels. The only reason he managed to reach here was due to his tenacity, stubbornness, and absurd talent.

That was why he could not understand.

How strong was the girl in the first place then?

In the sky, he could see the current rankings of the examination.

[1. Sylvia Quin, Level 76]

That was–

‘Absurd…’

Even after he gave his everything, he could only reach Level 69, but the first place was almost ten levels ahead of him.

Andrew bit his lips with an unwilling expression.

He had not mentioned it to anyone, but his goal in the entrance examination was to get first place in the practical examen. He thought that with his progress after falling into a dungeon a while ago, it should be possible.

But when he saw the difference between him and the first place, he could not help but feel resigned.

The gap between them was so big that not even a miracle could bridge it.

‘No! I can’t give up yet!’

Andrew roared in his mind and stared at the eblor woman in front of him with a determined expression. With his last strength, he circulated the remaining mana inside him and activated his strongest skill.

“[Limit break]!” He shouted, and his body glowed brightly.

But at that moment–

*Swoosh!*

An arrow flew from the woman and pierced his neck.

Andrew widened his eyes as his vision became blurry.

He staggered backward and tried to keep standing, but his body became heavy. Soon, his body fell to the ground.

Before dying, he saw the information in the first place change.

[1. Sylvia Quin, Level 77]

“… So… strong…”

 

…

 

“So weak,” Sylvia muttered disappointed. “I thought the test would be a bit more challenging.”

She extended her hand, controlling the strings that had restrained the enemy of this level. Then, she clenched her fist.

The strings followed her actions and tightened, cutting the humanoid creature into pieces.

Sylvia shook her head in disappointment and looked at the sky. The monster she killed just now was the enemy of level seventy-nine.

But just like the enemies before this, it was no match for her.

Sylvia heaved a sigh and wondered if she should proceed to the next level. Following the previous settings, the enemy in level eighty should be a tier-eight creature. That kind of creature should be challenging even for her.

But Sylvia had lost interest. Anyway, she had already broken the previous record by six levels. Continuing was pointless.

In the end, she shrugged and shouted at the sky.

“I want to end the test.”

“... Are you sure? You still should be able to advance a few levels more.”

“Not interested. Just end it.”

“...”

The voice remained silent, but after a few seconds, the world became white, and Sylvia’s figure faded away.

That marked the end of Sanctuary’s First Awakened College’s entrance examination.

 

…

 

Second examination’s final rankings:

Sylvia Quin, 790 points.

Andrew Mattew, 680 points.

Theodore Riedel, 640 points.

Tierra Lorenz, 620 points.

Ley Pham, 610 points.

Jane Walker, 600 points.

Hela Luo, 590 points.

…