The atmosphere below the stage suddenly became completely silent. They were listening carefully to Teacher Kenzo's next words. He didn't waste any more time and began speaking right away:

  "Before going straight to the announcement, I want to say that... you students have completed the test very well. Although some people may not be satisfied with their results. And I'm also sorry for those of you who have trained so diligently, yet due to some silly mistakes, you'll have to study in csses that don't match your abilities for the next four years."

  The teacher paused just long enough for those affected to feel the bitter disappointment in themselves.

  "However, students, listen to this. Life isn't fair."

  'So he's just telling the truth directly to these kids? I wonder if they can handle it?'

  Ryoshu looked around and could see the extremely bitter expressions on the teenagers' faces. Whether they were nobles or not, yesterday's test was truly much harder than they had expected.

  "Yesterday, you might have given yourselves the right to underestimate the test. When being a hero, you must always maintain the highest vigince. The moments when you allow yourself to rex... are also when you will truly lose your life. Fortunately, yesterday was just a simuted death. But when actually fighting monsters, humans, or even rescuing others... you'll realize that being a hero isn't a game. It's a job... perhaps even the most dangerous job that has ever existed."

  Ryoshu also found the lesson very accurate. He had been careless many times, and what were the consequences? A bounty of 500 million RC on his head and nearly dying several times. If he didn't correct his thinking, the future would be even more difficult.

  "I hope after this time, you'll learn a bloody lesson. And studying in lower csses doesn't mean you'll lose the opportunity to become a great hero. What matters more is yourself—even if the environment is excellent, if you're zy, you won't accomplish anything—"

  Cp cp

  Teacher Vivian cpped her hands twice loudly and immediately interrupted Teacher Kenzo.

  "Alright. Teacher Kenzo is getting a bit long-winded, so I'll take this opportunity to announce the bottom 5 in the top 10 first."

  "Oh... Ms. Rufus, please let me finish."

  But she didn't seem to care much. This made the sitting students ugh out loud. They now looked somewhat like a comedy sketch performed by the duo. There, Teacher Kenzo pyed the fool, and Teacher Vivian pyed the smart one.

  "No. We need to quickly announce the results for the Combat Department students and then let the Principal speak. Students, please note that the following scores have been strictly graded by many teachers after spending all of yesterday reviewing the camera footage again. This is also the first time the academy has used this type of test, so the teachers didn't want any oversights in the grading. I won't mention the grading criteria. So the scores you calcuted yourselves yesterday are just the minimum scores."

  After giving the students some notes, she immediately moved on to the main event, which everyone was anxiously waiting for.

  "Now let's start with the first person. Oh, and remember that when I mention someone's name, that person should quickly come up to the stage."

  Despite this, there were still whispers among the st row of seats where Ryoshu was sitting.

  "Hey, which club are you pnning to join?"

  "I don't know yet."

  "I just discovered a club with an extremely strange name. It's called... the Salvation Club."

  "I'll beat you to death if you're making that up."

  "I'm not making it up."

  "Shut up, you guys!"

  It made sense that they were discussing this since clubs usually recruit new members during the first few days.

  'But I have to admit, they are really noisy.'

  Just as Ryoshu thought this, there was suddenly a sound so loud it almost burst his eardrums.

  "Ah... I apologize. Just a small technical issue." - It turned out it was just Vivian adjusting the microphone's sound.

  The entire auditorium fell silent after that sound. They all seemed to share the same emotion, as if they could all shout, 'Several people almost went deaf just now, teacher!'

  "So, the announcement of the results for the 21st Combat Department's css pcement test. And the first student is 10th pce with 250 points! Luna Azure."

  An impressive number even to the person who had pyed this game. Since the first scene started from 3rd pce, he didn't know the previous numbers.

  "250 points!!"

  "I don't even know if I got 100... good lord."

  "Well, I'm definitely out of the top 10 then."

  The petite Luna girl with sky-blue hair rushed to the stage, but unfortunately tripped on the stairs in front of all the students attending the opening ceremony.

  'Ouch, that fall must have hurt quite a bit.'

  People couldn't help but ugh, even if they didn't want to.

  "Are you okay, Luna?"

  "Yes, I'm fine, teacher. Haha." - The girl tried to ugh while her face turned bright red. Her eyes were the distinctive purple color of the Azure family.

  'Except for foreigners, probably only their family has purple eyes.'

  "You possess a very rge amount of Mana along with excellent control of Illusion Magic. You deceived countless people during the pcement test and pyed the biggest supporting role along with your two sisters. But truly, you still have many shortcomings compared to the general standard. Your fighting spirit isn't very good, and you're easily swayed by outside forces."

  "Yes, ma'am." - She replied, looking quite sad, her shoulders trembling as if she was about to cry.

  But perhaps only Ryoshu noticed this.

  "I know this girl."

  "I know her too, of course. She's the least capable among the triplet sisters of their family, right?"

  "That's right."

  "I suddenly feel sorry for her."

  After a round of harsh criticism, she decided to stop. Vivian switched from punching to soothing:

  "But whatever we say, entering css A-1 with the help of Spiral Academy's teachers will quickly help you overcome your shortcomings. Keep it up, student!"

  Vivian shook hands with Luna. Then she spoke into the microphone again.

  "Next is 9th pce with 290 points. But the most interesting thing... this is the first time in the academy's history since its establishment that two people share the same score!"

  She excitedly shouted into the microphone to attract the attention of those who were getting bored. And her pn seemed quite successful as Ryoshu's almost-closing eyes opened a bit wider.

  "So the two students tied for 9th pce are none other than the two remaining Azure sisters: Cynthia Azure and Selene Azure."

  Luna's two older sisters also had sky-blue hair with the distinctive purple eyes of the Azure family. They stood up looking much more elegant and refined than the girl from earlier.

  'Perhaps it's because they're taller?' - Every gesture and action they made exuded a rare noble aura, making him feel that both girls' figures were intimidatingly rge.

  Teacher Vivian shook hands with them next.

  "Both of you are very talented. One uses Water Magic, one uses Ice Magic. You excel both academically and in combat, with the ability to quickly develop strategies using Illusion Magic. Your fighting spirit is clearly shown throughout the test, and all the teachers evaluate your perseverance." - First, she praised the common points of both sisters.

  Then she commented on each person individually.

  "Cynthia, you led everyone excellently. You took advantage of numerical superiority and protected everyone very well."

  The girl named Cynthia bowed at a perfect 70-degree angle, her right hand in front of her chest, the other behind her back. For a moment, Ryoshu seemed to be enchanted by her nobility alone.

  'This is probably a real noble, not like those half-baked brats sitting next to me.'

  He quickly gred at them before turning back to the stage.

  "Thank you, teacher."

  She shook hands separately with Cynthia first, then moved on to shake hands with Selene.

  "Next is Selene, though you don't talk much, you supported your friends and family very well. Thanks to you, Cynthia was able to stop Teacher Kenzo."

  "Thank you very much, teacher." - The second sister seemed a bit more energetic compared to her serious elder sister.

  "Oh come on, teacher, calling it 'stopping' is a bit excessive-" - Teacher Kenzo was somehow still pying the fool in the comedy sketch from earlier.

  "But I still think you haven't maximized your magical abilities. I believe you can go further and develop your own fighting techniques."

  "Thank you, teacher."

  "You're welcome, giving feedback and advice is my job." - She looked at the two students in front of her and smiled brightly.

  Then she continued with her task.

  "7th pce with 295 points is Ryan Jackson."

  He stood up from the middle row of seats. This made him somewhat stand out. Before leaving, Ryan didn't forget to fist-bump the main character sitting beside him.

  "Huh... is that a foreign name or something?"

  "Jackson... I think it's a baronial family... quite ordinary?"

  "But if he surpassed a major family like Azure, it's no joke."

  "That's true."

  'Now I'm looking directly at his face. This guy is exactly as I saw in the computer version of the game. Even in VR, he's not much different, huh? Except for some changed details...'

  He contempted the orange-blond haired boy in front of him. His appearance was somewhat impulsive and quite hot-tempered.

  "Ryan is very good at taking advantage of opportunities and continuously provides silent support to help Luna. At first, just from the initial observation, I didn't even see anything outstanding about you. But your fighting style combined with your quick thinking became clear in ter viewings. So you should work on refining your Mana and training your body more."

  That was perhaps the shortest comment so far, making Ryoshu lose interest.

  "With 340 points, the student in 6th pce is Alice Scarlet."

  She walked elegantly onto the stage with a smug smile. Her red hair was as if the sky had poured blood onto it. It looked somewhat evil but at the same time extremely seductive.

  "You have an excellent leadership talent, having been able to connect more than 100 people together. Not to mention your good fighting and creative abilities. But truly, your destructive power is still a bit low, making it difficult to deliver a fatal attack. Not to mention your mobility still needs much improvement. However, like the previous students, I believe you will overcome your shortcomings."

  This time it was Teacher Kenzo who repced Teacher Vivian to speak.

  "It's my turn now, Ms. Rufus. We have officially entered the top 5. And first is 5th pce with 350 points, Esther White."

  The girl with ash-white hair was surprised by her ranking. This was perhaps the first time in combat that she had ranked higher than her opponent, Alice.

  Her friends urged her to go up... specifically only Haruki and Charlotte, while An and Katia just sat and observed.

  Some of Esther's overzealous fans shouted out.

  'Just hearing it makes me want to lose my voice for them. God spare my ears.' - Ryoshu secretly gave the middle finger to those who had just shouted.

  "Hello, Esther, I'm sure you understand your weaknesses better than anyone. But I will still mention the important ones in case you don't know. Although you have good damage-dealing ability and blood control, I see that you still haven't truly utilized... I guess 50% or less of your true ability."

  "I believe you will overcome these shortcomings sooner or ter. See you in css A-1." - He gave a firm handshake to the girl who was still quite shocked by what was happening.

  "4th pce is Takahashi Haruki, with 400 points."

  Next, also from that row of seats, Haruki stood up and walked to the stage. On his lips was the saintly smile of a typical handsome protagonist.

  "Another not-so-famous name..."

  "I think he's the one who ranked 2nd, right!"

  "He even surpassed Princess Charlotte's rank?!"

  "Unbelievable... our princess lost to that guy?"

  Despite the continuous noise around him, Ryoshu was busy with his own thoughts. He felt that something wasn't quite right happening right in front of him.

  'Wait... that means I'm first pce... but that means everyone else will drop down one rank. So will the Scene change in any way?'

  Now he realized that illogical point.

  "And now we're into the top 3. These are also the only three people who were able to directly damage me."

  Everyone gasped in surprise. Because perhaps causing damage to an S-ranked combat master was an achievement even greater than being in the top 3.

  "First is the youngest prince of Engnd, a once-in-a-century genius. That's right, none other than An Williams. He was also the first student who stabbed me in the side and earned 420 points."

  'Same score as in the original version. So I'll definitely have to give a speech. I guess I just need to be humble... after all, I just need the title and some associated benefits.'

  A series of thoughts were working at full capacity as if his brain was now a bustling street with people coming and going.

  "And perhaps it will be quite surprising to many people... but in 2nd pce, with 500 points, is Albert Midnight, the young master of the renowned Midnight family. You completely used your own strength... and also stabbed the teacher directly in the stomach. I'm quite sure that student Midnight has limitless potential in the future."

  'Also the same score as in the game... so how many points will I get? I suddenly feel quite curious.'

  Albert momentarily showed quite a surprised expression.

  'That's probably the most animated expression from someone like him... yet his face still hardly changed at all.'

  But he quickly abandoned that rare expression. Next, he walked slowly to the stage. But the people below the stage were even more surprised than the protagonist himself.

  "If he's not first pce, then who else could it be!?"

  "Even before I died, I didn't see anyone more outstanding than him."

  "He rushed directly and stabbed the teacher straight in the stomach!"

  "His summoned creature almost rushed straight at me too."

  Ryoshu felt increasingly that something wasn't right. His sweat poured out as if he was taking a bath. Just by looking at his forehead, you could see he was afraid of something. Time somehow seemed to pass faster than he had imagined.

  He wasn't exactly afraid of any clear hostile force... but simply because he didn't feel right at all. Ryoshu seemed to sense a great presence as if the gods were observing him from the void. He wasn't sure whether it was true or not anymore.

  'Or am I hallucinating?'

  But time didn't wait for his chaotic mind.

  "And especially, the person with the top result in the cssification test, who is also this year's Star student. From a not particurly special background, this student has overcome all prejudices. The Star student of the 21st batch is-"

  Ryoshu somehow guessed what Teacher Kenzo was about to say next.

  "Amemura Ryoshu!"