A new day began as Snowy woke up, wincing slightly at the lingering pain in his hand from yesterday's encounter. It hurt more than it should, but he shrugged it off. After all, today was the second exam, and he wasn't going to let a sore hand slow him down.
Snowy started his morning routine—freshening up, whipping up a quick breakfast, and preparing for the day ahead. As he stepped out of his room, his path was blocked by the meathead from yesterday. The guy hesitated, raising his hands to signal peace.
"…What are you looking at?" Snowy asked flatly.
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to stare," the meathead stammered, remembering their last encounter.
Snowy just nodded, brushing past him without a second thought. His hand throbbed painfully, and he considered heading to the medical center. But before he could make up his mind, someone grabbed his shoulder. Snowy spun around, ready to strike, only to find Emily standing there, looking startled.
"Oh, sorry if I startled you," Emily said, stepping back.
"Just surprised that you'd approach me," Snowy replied, his voice even.
"And I'm surprised that you knew I was coming," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"I just felt your hand nearing me," Snowy explained, though he left out the part about his heightened state.
Emily nodded, visibly impressed. "Well, I came to apologize for yesterday. I didn't mean to hurt you. I thought you were the bully."
"I know, and I don't care," Snowy shrugged, brushing it off.
Emily introduced herself and tried to make small talk, but Snowy was more focused on the exam center. After wrapping up their conversation, he excused himself and headed toward the building. The number of candidates surprised him; the academy's popularity was no joke. He checked in and saw a scuffle breaking out nearby, two candidates exchanging punches before the guards intervened.
Snowy moved past the commotion, trying to figure out where his exam was. He trailed behind Emily, guessing she knew the way. He soon found himself in a room filled with observation areas where other candidates watched the fights below.
Eventually, Snowy's turn arrived. He was teleported to a random combat ground, where his opponent—a white-haired guy—was meditating in mid-air. Snowy rolled his eyes.
"Uhh, I know meditation is good and all, but could you stop showing off?" Snowy said.
"Cool is a term for the unrefined," the white-haired guy started, but Snowy cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, save the life advice. You sound like a knockoff sage."
The white-haired opponent continued his monologue, but Snowy had heard enough. He charged forward, kneeing the guy in the face with a brutal slam. Blood poured from the white-haired guy's nose as Snowy pinned him to the ground, silencing him for good.
"Yap no jutsu won't work on me," Snowy muttered under his breath, almost slipping up and mentioning Naruto—a reference no one in this world would understand.
Snowy thought he was done, but he was thrown into another arena. This time, he faced a duo: a cocky red-haired guy and a nervous red-haired girl.
"You have to defeat ten opponents to pass the exam," the red-haired guy sneered. "And you're looking pretty weak."
"W-w-weak!" the girl stuttered, echoing her partner.
Snowy sighed, uninterested in their taunts. Without warning, he appeared behind the red-haired guy, lifting him in a German suplex that knocked him out cold. The girl stood frozen in shock, too stunned to react as Snowy delivered the same move to her, leaving both opponents sprawled on the ground.
"Fair game, fair play," Snowy said with zero empathy, walking off to his next match.
Snowy bulldozed through his remaining fights, racking up ten wins with zero losses. The crowd erupted into applause as he finished, though Snowy kept his head down, uninterested in the attention. Soon after, Emily finished her battles with a perfect record as well. She approached Snowy, offering congratulations, but he just nodded and moved on.
"Geez, you could at least say thank you," Emily muttered, puffing her cheeks as Snowy walked away without a proper response.
Snowy returned to his room, too drained to engage further. As he lay on his bed, the events of the day played in his mind but he was too tired, Despite the exhaustion, a small smirk crept onto his face—he was starting to enjoy the chaos of this academy. And he drifts off.