Chapter 5 Class Placement Test

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed through the dormitory window and landed directly on my face, making it impossible for me to continue sleeping.

With a groan, I sat up from the bed.

The bed was far more comfortable than the one I had back on Earth.

Honestly, it made me want to bury my face in the pillow and go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, I had something important to do today.

The class placement examination.

And more importantly...

The quest.

[New Quest]

Enroll in the Helios Magic Academy.

Rewards: Random Trait

Failure: ???

As I put on my academy uniform, I opened the system window once more.

"...Looks like I need to receive my class assignment before this quest is considered complete."

"...Well, since I already know all the exam questions, I should be able to score highly on the written test."

Maybe I could even enter Class A.

That was, of course, assuming the academy hadn't changed the examination format.

After finishing breakfast with two pieces of bread, I confidently headed toward the examination hall.

Most of the students I had seen during yesterday's entrance ceremony were already present.

Finding my assigned seat near the back of the room, I sat down and began looking around while waiting for the professor to arrive.

All of the major characters were here.

Seo Yerin and Yoo Hwa, my fellow introverts, were sitting in the same row as me.

As expected of introverts.

They knew exactly how to choose their seats.

"..."

Meanwhile, Kang Jinhyuk and Seo Jun had taken seats near the front and were busily chatting with each other.

Han Seoyun and her group occupied the middle rows.

As for Ha Yoon, she was sitting beside a window.

Unsurprisingly, she was attracting plenty of attention due to her famous healing abilities.

Suddenly, the examination hall doors opened.

Every student's gaze immediately turned toward the entrance.

The professor who had accompanied us on the ship yesterday entered alongside two assistant professors.

"Hello, everyone."

"I am Professor Min-jun, and I will be supervising today's written examination."

He paused before continuing.

"First, there are a few rules."

"If any of you are caught cheating, you will be immediately expelled from the academy."

"So I suggest you don't cheat."

After explaining the rules, he waved his wand.

The stack of exam papers held by one of the assistant professors vanished and instantly appeared on every student's desk.

"You have one hour to complete the exam."

"You may begin."

The moment the signal was given, I lowered my gaze toward the paper in front of me.

"Hmm... Magic Theory."

Fortunately, Magic Theory was one of the easiest subjects.

And more importantly...

I had already memorized every answer from repeatedly playing the game.

For example, the very first question asked about the Four Fundamental Elemental Attributes.

An easy question.

One hour passed quickly.

I had finished the exam long ago but deliberately waited until the end.

Submitting my paper too early would only attract unnecessary attention.

And attracting attention was the last thing I wanted.

"Time's up."

"Please submit your papers and proceed to the second examination area."

The moment Professor Min-jun finished speaking, students began leaving the hall.

The second test would be held at the academy's training grounds.

Professor Min-jun entrusted the exam papers to his assistant and followed us toward the training ground.

Upon arriving, he began briefing us about the second test.

"Listen carefully. In the second test, you will need to survive for five days in an artificial field created by the principal using illusion magic."

"In reality, the test only lasts fifty minutes."

"...There will also be monsters inside, but only up to D rank, so there is no need to worry too much. Even if you die, you will simply be teleported back here."

"There will be supplies provided on the first day, such as food and basic survival tools. You may choose to stay alone or form a team."

In the original game, most nobles would take almost all the food supplies but ignore the tools, thinking they were useless compared to magic.

On the other hand, the major characters usually took the tools but had no idea how to use them properly due to their abundant mana. That was only possible because of their monstrous magical reserves.

While I was thinking about this, Professor Min-jun called everyone to enter the portal leading to the artificial field.

The moment I stepped through, a vast forest stretched out before me.

Noble students were already rushing toward the supply area, grabbing food aggressively.

Without saying much, I joined the crowd and picked what I needed.

"Woah... they actually prepared better tools than I expected from the game."

I took a knife, an axe, a bow set, a flint, and some basic food before leaving the area alone.

It seemed like most nobles were forming groups to survive together.

But I already knew what would happen.

By the second day, their groups would collapse once their food ran out, leading to internal conflicts.

Not my problem.

After walking for about half an hour, I found a suitable place to settle.

It was the largest tree in the forest.

I decided to build my shelter on top of it, as it was much safer than staying on the ground.

The reason the ground was dangerous was simple.

At night, a D-rank monster known as the Nightcrawler would appear.

It specialized in ambush attacks and only moved on the ground.

That alone was enough reason to stay above it.

But that wasn't the only reason.

The real reason was simple.

I was weak.

And I still hadn't learned how to use magic yet.

Maybe I could handle an F-rank monster…

But E and D rank?

Not a chance.

Looking up, I spotted a thick branch that looked perfect for building a platform.

But first, I needed a way to climb the tree.

A simple ladder would do.

With my Survival Expert trait, it didn't take long to construct one.

Before climbing, I cut several arm-thick branches using my axe and tied them together with vine rope so I could pull them upward.

Within ten minutes, the basic frame of my platform was already halfway complete.

After another twenty minutes, it had grown to about ten feet in size, so I decided to stop temporarily and start building walls.

Since it was already nearing noon, I also gathered rock, dirt and firewood to prepare a simple fireplace.

...

Night had come.

Sitting on my half-finished platform, I focused on weaving a roof using coconut leaves.

The small fire in my improvised fireplace built with rocks and dirt to prevent it from spreading gave off a warm and comforting glow.

Earlier, I had grilled a fish and some mushrooms, so I was already full.

Now it was time to continue working.

After finishing four layers of leaf roofing, I decided to sleep.

Tomorrow morning, I would need to hunt monsters to gain points.

The goal of this test was survival, but I still needed points.

And points could only be earned by hunting monsters.

Since I didn't have any combat-related traits, I decided to focus only on F rank monsters.

Unlike E and D rank monsters, F rank ones were easy to kill even without magic.

Yeah… they were basically beginner-level monsters.

…

One night passed just like that.

The next morning, I equipped my bow, knife, and axe before leaving my base.

In this artificial field, there were only three ranks of monsters.

D rank: 25 points.

E rank: 15 points.

F rank: 10 points.

Today, I was going to hunt Horned Rabbits since they were easy targets and I had a bow.

More importantly, I could also use them as food.

"…"

After walking for a few minutes, I finally stumbled upon one.

A Horned Rabbit.

At first glance, it might look cute.

But in reality, it wasn't.

Its attack pattern was simple it hopped around while using its horn to charge at enemies.

Without making a sound, I positioned myself about five meters away and aimed my arrow at its head.

Then.

Release.

Headshot.

Just like that, I earned my first 10 points.

I didn't plan to hunt all day because, in the original game, heavy rain would start from the third to fifth day.

Meaning…

I needed to finish my base today.

After a few hours of hunting, I managed to kill six more Horned Rabbits.

"..70 points...Not bad.."

At least I had secured some points.

Now I needed more coconut leaves, bamboo for walls, and enough firewood to last three days.

Time passed quickly, and by the time night approached, I finally finished reinforcing my base.

After that, I began butchering the rabbits I had hunted earlier.

I skinned them carefully before slicing the meat into thin strips.

Then I built a simple drying rack beside the fire and hung half of the meat there.

With enough heat and smoke, it would turn into jerky by tomorrow.

It wouldn't taste great…

But survival was never about comfort.

As for the remaining meat, I decided to roast it.

I watched the rabbit meat slowly cook over the fire and nodded in satisfaction.

"Who needs monster hunting when you can just have a barbecue?"

While others were struggling to survive, I was enjoying a solo barbecue up in a tree.

...

Deep inside the academy's Observation Room, dozens of floating screens hovered in the air.

Each screen displayed the condition of a different student participating in the survival examination.

Some students were desperately fighting monsters.

Others were arguing with their teammates over food and supplies.

A few had already exhausted most of their mana.

The professors quietly observed the screens while evaluating the students.

Professor Min-jun stood near the center, watching multiple screens at once.

"Min-jun," one of the professors asked, "is there any interesting student this year?"

"Yeah," Professor Min-jun replied without looking away. "First is Kang Jinhyuk, he is teaming up with Seo Jun… both of them are strong."

Still watching the screen, he continued.

"These two groups are also interesting. Han Seoyun and Ha Yoon group—they have good leadership."

The door behind them opened.

The principal walked in.

All the professors stood up and greeted her.

"Principal."

She glanced at the screens with a calm expression.

"Hoo… looks like there are a few interesting fellows."

"Yes, Principal," one professor said quickly. "Especially these students. These two are the only ones who stood out because they didn't form any teams."

The main screen shifted focus.

Seo Yerin and Yoo Hwa were shown separately, both fighting E-rank monsters alone with outstanding magic ability.

Their movements were precise, efficient, and calm.

Even the professors couldn't hide their surprise.

"…Outstanding control," one muttered.

"They're adapting too fast for first-years," another added.

Then one professor suddenly rubbed his eyes.

"…Am I seeing this correctly?"

The surrounding professors turned toward the screen he was looking at.

Silence filled the room.

High above the forest floor, perched on the branch of a giant tree, a young man sat comfortably beside a campfire.

Rabbit meat slowly roasted above the flames.

Even the professors felt hungry just watching it.

Meanwhile, the student responsible for the scene was calmly turning the meat with a wooden stick.

Not a trace of urgency could be seen on his face.

It looked less like an examination… and more like a camping trip.

"…"

"…"

The room fell silent.

One professor finally spoke.

"Isn't this supposed to be a survival test?"

Another professor leaned closer to the screen.

"He built a shelter."

"He secured a water source."

"He prepared food."

"And now he's preserving the remaining meat."

"…Technically speaking, he's doing exactly what the test requires."

The corner of several professors' mouths twitched.

At that moment, a burst of laughter echoed through the Observation Room.

"Hahaha!"

The principal leaned back in her chair, laughing without restraint.

"This kid is interesting!"

Her eyes lingered on the screen showing Baek Woojin.

While others struggled desperately against monsters, he continued his quiet barbecue, completely at ease.

The contrast was almost comical.

Unaware of the attention he was receiving, Baek Woojin took another bite of roasted rabbit meat.

And somewhere deep inside the forest, another student screamed while being chased by a monster.

The professors looked between the two screens.

Then back again.

The difference was simply too great.

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