'Cute kids.'
I was confident about this test.
I'd received several B-Grade promotion offers in my previous life, after all.
With my experience as a pro mage, I had no intention of settling for average against these babies.
My goal was to break into the top 10 of the 2nd years.
I planned to make a solid impression this time, boost my ranking, and rack up achievement and fame points.
The long line finally ended, and like the other students, I loaded my tray with food and sat at an empty spot.
Glancing around, everyone was gathered with friends, eating and chatting happily.
From the vibe, it looked like I was the only one eating alone.
...This felt kinda sad.
Oh, no, wait.
Looking closer, there was one other kid eating alone.
It was Yoo Ah-ra, sitting tall and aloof in the corner.
I gazed at her with a sense of camaraderie, and right then, our eyes met.
Yoo Ah-ra's eyes narrowed as if to say she'd seen something she shouldn't.
Students finished eating and started gathering in the auditorium one by one.
The mood was tense due to the ranking evaluation test coming up soon.
Before long, all the students had assembled in the auditorium.
When the appointed time arrived, a voice boomed over the microphone in the hall.
[We will begin with the 1st Year test. 2nd and 3rd Year students, please move to the second-floor spectator seats.]
Including me, all the 2nd and 3rd years headed to the second-floor seats.
"Ah, I'm so nervous."
"Me too... What did the 2nd and 3rd year seniors do for this?"
The 1st years' anxious chatter carried up to the second floor.
This test probably felt like more pressure for the 1st years than for the upperclassmen.
Even though it looked like a simple ranking test, for them, it was like a debut performance in front of their seniors.
[We will now begin the 1st Year ranking evaluation test.]
It's starting now, huh.
[Choi Seo-yoon, Jeon Min-gi, Go Jung-hwan...]
At the call from the platform, Choi Seo-yoon, the 1st Year #1, stepped up to the test area first.
All eyes in the audience locked onto her confident stride.
1st Years hadn't specialized yet, so they tested all four magic systems. Their highest score among them became their ranking score.
"Choi Seo-yoon. Shall we begin?"
"Yes!"
Her first test was manifestation magic, her strongest suit.
A human-shaped moving target floated up in front of her.
A 'puppet' created by summoning magic.
She faced it and extended both hands forward.
At the same time, a pure white ice spear began materializing above her back.
"Wow, check out the size of that spear."
"No wonder she's #1."
"That's insane."
Even before she'd launched the spell, gasps of admiration erupted from the crowd.
I was impressed by her talent too.
The first stage of manifestation magic—'manifestation'—which handled destructive power, was nearly perfect.
For a 1st Year to manifest magic like that.
The detail, the clarity—nothing was lacking.
Even among 2nd and 3rd years, probably only Yoo Ah-ra, a fellow manifestation mage, could match that level of manifestation.
"Hah!"
With her short shout, the massive ice spear hurtled toward the target.
The sharp whoosh cutting through the air swallowed the students' gasps.
The puppet tried to dodge, but it couldn't evade the fast-approaching ice spear.
—Kwachik!
As the target shattered brutally, another wave of admiration burst from the crowd.
"She's really good."
"She'd make top 10 even in 2nd Year."
"Top 10? She's definitely top 5."
The test continued. Soon, her tests for the other systems—enhancement, summoning, and support—were all done.
As expected from her natural talent, she showed solid skills in the other fields too, beyond her main manifestation specialty.
[1st Year Class A, Choi Seo-yoon test complete.]
After finishing, Choi Seo-yoon politely bowed to the teacher beside her. Then she bowed again toward the second-floor seats.
Her signature calculated smile beamed at the crowd.
She raised both hands and waved, drawing cheers from the male students.
Her face lit up with happiness at soaking in all that attention.
'...She's such an attention whore.'
Time flew.
The 1st Year ranking evaluation ended, and the 2nd Year one began.
[2nd Year Class A, Yoo Ah-ra test complete.]
"Wow! Insane. How is that only #2?"
"They said this 2nd Year class is historic, and they weren't kidding."
After Yoo Ah-ra's turn, reactions filled with shock and awe exploded from the second-floor seats.
They went wild over the overwhelming performance from the #2, not even the top spot.
I was impressed by her magic too.
"Impressive..."
A blazing fireball. The massive mana packed inside was hard to believe came from a teen student.
Yoo Ah-ra descended from the platform in her high heels.
Despite her perfect magic, her expression heading to the waiting area wasn't bright.
I knew what she was thinking.
She probably figured she'd lost to Lee Seo-jun again.
Her magic had been fantastic, but Lee Seo-jun's earlier display had looked like a pro active-duty mage.
If not for Lee Seo-jun, she'd have taken #1 in any generation with that talent.
It was a shame she was born in the same era as him.
[Next, Shin Young-jun. And Park In-hwan. Please come down and wait.]
"In-hwan, you're up."
"Ugh... Annoying."
When they called the next names, Park In-hwan, seated in front of me, spat out a curse.
"What's wrong? Something happen?"
"Yeah."
"What?"
Park In-hwan glanced at his followers.
Then he sighed deeply and shook his head.
"Never mind. You don't need to know."
"Tell me. What's up?"
"...Yesterday, I got into it with some punk on the street. Beat him up a bit, but got caught by the Association."
"Caught by the Association?"
One of Park In-hwan's followers looked baffled.
"Yeah, so I got a school warning."
"Isn't this your second warning?"
"Yeah. One more and it's suspension at least. Gotta lay low for a bit."
"...Gotta be careful."
Park In-hwan sighed and leaned back in his chair. Then his eyes met a nearby student's.
"What're you looking at?"
The student blinked at Park In-hwan's sharp words.
"What're you looking at?"
"...Sorry."
The student bowed his head.
Park In-hwan shook his head pitifully at the sight.
"Sigh."
"Hey, I told you not to bully the kids."
Lee Seo-jun, who'd witnessed Park In-hwan's antics, stepped in. Park In-hwan glared at him irritably and stood up.
The atmosphere felt like a fight could break out any second.
But Park In-hwan backed down first.
"Yeah, yeah. If Lee Seo-jun says no, I won't."
His mocking tone.
Lee Seo-jun stared at him with cold eyes.
"Park In-hwan."
[2nd Year Class A, Park In-hwan. Please come up.]
Right on cue, the call for Park In-hwan echoed from the platform.
Park In-hwan shrugged.
"They're calling me. Later."
He swept a glare over the whole waiting area before heading up.
After the storm passed, the waiting area returned to normal.
The test kept going. Once the top-rankers' turns ended, things got boring.
"Yawn."
As I yawned, Park In-hwan turned to glare at me. His look wasn't friendly.
So sensitive.
It's just a yawn.
I ignored him to avoid pointless hassle if he started something.
Park In-hwan played the crazy antagonist role in the early novel. No upside to getting involved.
What to do with the remaining time? Pondering alone, I got curious about my stats and checked my status window.
［Stats］
Stamina: 42.02
Strength: 34.01
Mana: 21.91
Speed: 30
Reflex: 32
Dexterity: 28
Slight changes in my stats.
The biggest was mana.
It had been 21 on the day I regressed, now up to 21.91 in just three days.
I'd spent a lot of time on mana meditation over the two weekend days.
I'd gained nearly 1 point of mana.
Not eye-catching, but if I kept at daily mana meditation, my mana would eventually become usable.
Lost in future plans, a mic voice came from the platform.
[Jo Min-young, Kim Sun-woo. Please come down and wait.]
My turn at last.
In the teacher waiting area tucked in a corner of the first floor.
Snacks and tea everywhere, twenty teachers gathered sharing test impressions.
"The 2nd Years are definitely impressive."
"Right? They call it a historic class."
Manifestation teacher Lee Hee-young's eyes sparkled.
"Yoo Ah-ra was great, but did you see Lee Seo-jun? Isn't he just unreal?"
"He handled that sword so well. The mana coating it was beautiful."
"I'm worried the other enhancement specialists will get discouraged watching him."
Laughter rippled among the teachers.
"He definitely improved over break."
"Yeah, and it's that age when skills skyrocket anyway."
"Plus, he got personal lessons from Association Chairman Kim Jin-cheol during break, so of course he improved."
A teacher quietly sipping coffee suddenly asked as if remembering.
"But what's Lee Seo-jun's deal with Chairman Kim Jin-cheol?"
"He's his third disciple."
"No, I mean beyond that—some other connection?"
"Oh, who knows. Rumor is the chairman raised him from childhood, but that guy's full of secrets."
Lee Hee-young piped up as if struck by a thought.
"What if he's Chairman Kim Jin-cheol's hidden bloodline? That'd explain the talent."
"Come on, you're writing fanfic now?"
"You think?"
[2nd Year Class A, Kim Sun-woo.]
The mic sounded from the platform, silencing the teachers' chatter.
"One of ours."
A-Class homeroom teacher Jang An-cheol spoke amid the quiet.
"Kim Sun-woo? Who's that? I had the 1st Years last year."
"He was in our class last year. Sun-woo doesn't stand out much, so you might not remember."
"Hmm. I thought I memorized all the faces."
As teachers murmured, Kim Sun-woo climbed onto the platform.
They shared their takes on him.
"He looks more relaxed than I expected."
"Yeah, seems confident."
One teacher checked the student list.
"Last year's grades say he had talent in enhancement. Ranked 112th."
Another teacher tilted his head.
"Enhancement? Looks like he's empty-handed."
"Probably martial arts or body enhancement type."
"But it says here he uses a sword."
Then a puppet summoned in front of Kim Sun-woo on the platform.
The puppet meant he was doing manifestation test.
"Manifestation?"
One teacher laughed, surprised.
"Well, some kids pick their favorite system over their best one."
"It happens sometimes, but..."
As the teacher spoke, Kim Sun-woo on the platform reached out his hand.
A pure white glowing orb formed above his hand.
It looked ordinary at a glance.
But Lee Hee-young, the manifestation teacher watching quietly, sensed something off.
"That..."
The mana orb Kim Sun-woo manifested.
She felt compressed mana from that small orb.
"Compressed manifestation technique?"
Compressed manifestation technique. A skill that compressed mana small in the 'manifestation' stage, the first step of manifestation magic.
It made the spell smaller, easing the next stages of 'release' and 'manipulation'.
"...Oh. A 2nd Year using that."
But compressed manifestation was for veteran mages with experience.
Young students prioritized 'release' for speed and 'manipulation' for accuracy over 'manifestation' for power.
Yet here was #112— who'd specialized in enhancement just months ago—using this advanced technique.
Perfectly, not clumsily.
"That student's got skills."
Lee Hee-young nodded at the nearby teacher's words.
Compressing mana small for manifestation wasn't easy even for B-Grade mages.
all chapters ready to read at NovelsHub.org