Rise Of The Villain : In a World Ruled By Anomalies

Chapter 132 - 131 : Preparing for the first test

A woman materialized on the stage.

She had beautiful golden hair that flowed down her back, and a thin veil covered her face.

Even though she was wearing a veil, most students felt enchanted just by her presence.

Arthur thought, smiling, ’Beauty that could start wars... that was what her description was in the game. Now I understand why.’

She suddenly clapped her hands once, and all the students snapped out of their daze.

She smiled behind the veil.

She looked over everyone and said in a loud, clear voice that was instantly amplified, reaching even the back where Arthur was sitting.

"I won’t bore you guys with details and history of this place, as I believe in the future—which is you. And because I also don’t like wasting my time, I’ll get to the point. My name is Athena Emberfall, and this is my academy—my kingdom, you can even say."

"I can see more than a thousand candidates are present here. But only four hundred will pass the exam and earn the right to set foot inside this academy—and the right to get out of their miserable life of powerlessness and helplessness against the strong."

She swept her gaze across the hall.

"The entrance exam will be divided into two parts. A written test, which will be held in a few hours."

"This test is to evaluate your IQ and intelligence and other essential abilities—your theoretical knowledge, decision-making, and how you think under pressure."

"And then, the combat test, which will be held tomorrow, to test your combat prowess."

"Even if someone performs well in only one of the two tests, it will heavily affect their overall result. So those with non-combat talents will get an equal chance."

"The top forty students will be assigned to the special class."

Victor immediately stood up with a smile, not showing even a hint of fear.

"Can you tell me more about the combat test?" he asked.

Athena looked toward him and smiled behind her veil.

"Of course I can," she said.

"The examination will be a battle royal between all the students present here," Athena said calmly. "It will be held in a special magical space, and the top forty students with the highest score will be allotted to the special class. The rest will be allotted according to their ranks."

She explained everything in a clear, steady tone.

Soon, another student raised his hand and asked a question.

"What should we do to eliminate other students?" he said.

Athena and the other professors who were standing in the corner of the stage chuckled quietly at the question.

But soon, Athena answered.

"Of course, you will have to kill them," she said.

As soon as she completed those words, murmurs could be heard all around the auditorium. The students were clearly shaken.

Seeing their reactions, Athena shook her head and clarified.

"Of course, nothing will happen to you even if you get yourself killed in that magical space. You will just be thrown out of that space back to reality."

"There will be some backlash if you die brutally, though," she added, "but you will be alright after getting some rest."

She then continued to explain the examination.

"So, in simple words," she said, "the magical space will get smaller as time goes by. For every student you kill, you’ll get one point. The more you kill, the more points you get."

"You won’t get any points by just surviving, so hiding is not an option."

"The magical space will be like a huge forest, and as time passes, it will start shrinking and push everyone remaining toward the middle."

"More details will be given at the time of the exam," she said.

"The examination will be held tomorrow in front of an audience, which will be the second- and third-year students. All the faculty professors will be present, and some other guests as well."

"It’s like giving them a break to enjoy themselves while watching the first-year students kill each other," Arthur muttered to himself, shaking his head in dissatisfaction.

’This world is more brutal than I thought,’ he thought.

[ Not more than you, host. ]

Arthur said inside his mind, ’Shut up.’

Athena continued.

"The written exam is in three hours. Prepare yourselves. You can access the academy library if you want."

"The librarian will even give you the books and materials from which the questions will be taken."

"And just so you know—using any kind of skill, artifact, or any other device will be considered cheating, and you will be immediately disqualified."

Hearing that, everyone was surprised, because they all knew the written test was always held, and all of them had come prepared already.

And now they could even go inside the library and prepare themselves further which was only a plus point for them.

Soon, the speech came to an end, and everyone started leaving the auditorium.

Arthur thought, ’A written test, huh... fuck. I remember Isabella yelling at me about something like that because I didn’t prepare for it...’

He looked toward Elizabeth and said, "Let’s go to the library...looks like we will have to do some studying after all."

Elizabeth smirked triumphantly. "I’ve already studied for the test. Isabella gave me the materials yesterday—while you were busy making fun of her for studying."

Arthur’s jaw dropped. Even someone like her prepared for it...?

"When did that happen?" he said.

Elizabeth smirked.

"I like that look on your face," she said.

Arthur’s mouth twitched.

"Doesn’t matter. You will come with me," he said.

Elizabeth suddenly pointed ahead.

"Looks like Miss Yuna is here," she said.

Arthur looked around quickly.

"Where?" he said.

But when he looked back, Elizabeth was gone—completely out of his sight.

A vein popped on his forehead.

Then he sighed in defeat.

"Damn it, I’ll let her have this one. Looks like I’ll have to go inside the library alone," he muttered under his breath.

He then started heading toward the library.