Various examinees for the Alloces Academy Entrance Exam are waiting outside the gate of Alloces Academy. Before the examination, as long as a person waits outside of the academy on the day of the examination, they are considered by the staff of the Alloces Academy to be an examinee.
After discussing plans with Faust, Wagner, and Gretchen, Rumpel looks around at his surroundings. Glancing at the other examinees and observing them. Some of the people have noticed his stares and given him glares and nasty looks. While the others stared back for a moment before losing interest in him.
Most of the examinees, based on his observations and speculations, are from here in the 7th Region. Most of them are ordinary. While others who were wearing expensive fabric like him were presumably elites. Whether they were Excelsior or just from here in the 7th Region, who knows?
Excelsior and Infernus. Excelsior is what the lower region citizens refer to as the upper region citizens. Infernus, on the other hand, is the way that regions from lower layers call themselves, and the upper region refers to the citizens of lower regions.
Rumpel doesn't want to refer to the lower region citizens as Infernus. He doesn't want to partake in it. For him, it was almost a derogatory term.
After looking around at the other examinees, Rumpel sighed in relief when his Unique Ability Reader's Bias didn't activate. Other than Faust, Gretchen, and Wagner, there are no other people here that were mentioned in the novel.
It is less complicated, and Rumpel has fewer worries.
Other than passing the Alloces Academy Entrance Exams since his discovery of Faust, Gretchen, and Wagner, Another plan has brewed in his mind. Gaining the trust of these three characters. Most importantly, Faust trust. Having Faust's trust would also automatically make Gretchen and Wagner trust him.
However, it wasn't easy.
From their interactions, it is obvious that Faust doesn't like him. Being transmigrated into a person who has the status of an elite and an upper-layer citizen has various benefits.
Wealth and various comforts are guaranteed as long as his status as a stray isn't discovered. At the same time, being an elite Excelsior is detrimental. Lower-layer citizens, ordinary citizens, and others have this prejudiced view of dislike towards the elite and superiors.
This status quo propagated by the Goetia Kingdom didn't help but only fostered prejudices and hatred among the people. It didn't help that most of the people in the upper regions who had a wealthy background are assholes towards the lower region citizens.
To even make Faust cooperate with him, kindness wasn't enough. Rumpel appealed to Faust's sense of logic and reason. However, even if Rumpel offered a tempting proposition, he wouldn't gain Faust's trust so easily.
It would take time and continuous effort. But Rumpel would willingly wait and put in the effort.
After all, even if Faust is only a background character in the novel, He would become an important person in the Goetia Kingdom. A very influential person who would shake the core of this kingdom. For better and for worse.
Eventually, the sun started rising. And with the rising of the morning star, it signals the beginning. The Alloces Academy's gate opened. Walking out of the gate are various professors and staff of the Alloces Academy.
Rumpel blinked his eyes open when he saw a familiar face among the Alloces Academy's professors.
'That old lady... The one that I have bought is the Mirror Grimoire. What was her name again? '
The Mirror Grimoire that he bought from the Grimoire Shop two days ago is genuine. Rumpel didn't waste his 7,000 gold coins for nothing. However, despite being genuine, the Mirror Grimoire only contained one magic spell on it. A 1st Circle magic spell is the weakest rank of magic spells aside from the 0th Circle, which contained spells that were considered party tricks.
After being surprised by the presence of the old lady from the Grimoire Shop, Rumpel turned his head to glance at Gretchen and the others, who had the same reaction as him. I was surprised by her existence.
"Eh? The Old Lady! Madam Mirada!"
' Right, that's the old lady's name. '
Not far away from Rumpel, Faust glanced at Madam Mirada with a thoughtful look. Placing his hand under his chin.
"No wonder she has Grimoires. She has connections and is a mage of at least the 3rd Circle."
After glancing and observing the old lady at the Grimoire Shop, Rumpel moved his gaze to the other professors of Alloces Academy, welcoming them. Rumpel blinked when he noticed the presence of a mage bearing the Marbas Clock Tower crest on his mage robes.
' What is a Marbas Space Mage doing here? Why is he with the Alloces Academy professors? '
While Rumpel's attention was focused on the Marbas Mage, his attention was cut off when he heard the voice of one of the professors.
"Welcome examinees. Today is the month of Minerva, the day of Gula. The day for all of the 9 Regions entrance exam. Alloces Academy's learning facilities may not be as good as the Academies of upper regions, but we still hold our pride. We are educators of the Alloces Academy, teaching and testing potential mages. Alloces Academy doesn't have the resources for conducting elaborate entrance exams, but our test wouldn't be easy."
The Alloces Academy professor is a very short and stocky old man wearing brown robes, a pointy brown hat, and holding a large staff made of wood. The staff was taller than the old mage. He has noticeable red hair and a long red beard tied into a braid.
"We, the professors of Alloces Academy, are overjoyed that there were a lot of hopeful examinees who would take our entrance exam for this year—around or more than 1,000 people. But not all of the examinees would pass."
An ominous silence has fallen with the examinees.
"There have been circulating rumors in the Alloces Academy for a while about how there were only 666 students who would be accepted this year. The rumors are true, and we intentionally spread this rumor to the Domain."
Brief whispers came from some of the examinees. And suspicions brewed among the others; Faust was among them.
"The Entrance Examinations would be divided into 3 parts. In the first one, the theme is survival and elimination. All of you would be put into a group of two factions randomly. The goal is to defeat members from the other group and gain as much score as possible for yourself."
The Marbas Mage added.
"Ah, when we say defeat, steal their bracelets. We would give all of you bracelets later, and all of you would enter a Waypoint Portal here at the Alloces Academy. All of you will be transported to the location of the 1st Entrance Exam's trial location. The 1st exam would only last for 3 hours. There would be only 800 people who would pass for the 1st trial."
The short and stocky old man declared the second test.
"The 2nd trial would require you to form a group of 5 people. The examinees would be given an hour break between the 1st and 2nd trials. The 2nd trial would require you once again to enter a Waypoint Portal here at Alloces Academy. All of you would be transported to a forest where there are various normal animals and F-D ranks monsters. Survive for 3 days in that place. We wouldn't give you any food or water. If your group decides to give up, go back to the Waypoint Portal. Teaming up between groups is forbidden. Stealing from the others is fine. 700 examinees are the maximum passing amount in this trial. "
For the last trial, it was the owner of the Grimoire Shop at the Black Market. Madam Mirada was the one who stepped up to declare the requirements.
"The 3rd one is a trial estimating your knowledge of magic. The gap between the 2nd and 3rd trials is one hour. All of you would be sent into individual rooms. The first one who would answer 100 questions correctly would get a perfect score of 100, and it would lessen by 1 point until we get the 100th examinee who would receive a score of 1. Until you answered 100 correct questions, the questions wouldn't stop. You would be given 1 hour and 30 minutes for this trial. There would be only 666 students who would be accepted into Alloces Academy. The ones with the highest scores are the ones who would be chosen."
After the trials of Alloces Academy are announced, the examinees glance at each other warily. Meanwhile, Rumpel was ruminating over the trials and instructions given to them.
' There's no mention or rule against killing. And examinees are free to be creative as much as they want or cheat. '
Rumor has it that we can already expect some deaths happening within the Entrance Examinations trials, except for the last one. It was also cruel of the professors to put a one-hour break between the 2nd and 3rd trials. After three days of exhaustion, they would be given a very short break. With an exhausted mind and body, they would need to answer the questions in the third trial with a properly working mind and brain.
Suddenly, Rumpel felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Are you afraid, young master?"
Wagner asked him. Smiling wanly, Rumpel admitted.
"I am worried."
Rumpel briefly closed his eyes.
"Desperate people do desperate things, do they?"
Smiling wanly, Rumpel continued.
"I'm afraid that I would be one of those people."
Living in this world, Rumpel would eventually be required to abandon his morals. Becoming just like the normal citizens of the Goetia Kingdom, who were apathetic and cruel, Scattering their morals into nothingness.
Rumpel doesn't want it to happen to him. At the same time, he wanted to survive.
Human are a bunch of complicated creatures. At the same time, they were stemming with hypocrisy and selfishness.