NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Entrance Ceremony (2)
“Kyaaaa!”
“It’s, it’s the Dark Knight!”
“Why is the most powerful demon of the Demon King’s army here!”
Within a radius of 50 meters around Sion, there was no one.
Everyone either ran away or hesitated in place.
“…Did Rockefeller really manage to get his hands on something like this.”
Principal Gabriel’s pupils trembled finely.
‘It’s strange. Gabriel is supposed to be a stern man. It’s clearly written in the character settings that he never loses his smile in any situation.’
But he lost his character.
“You…”
‘But a true hero would recognize me, right?’
Sion looked at Aria with a little hope.
“What are you!”
But Aria gripped her sword as if she could wield it at any moment.
“….”
Sion’s hope shattered into pieces.
‘I need to explain.’
Everyone was misunderstanding something.
Sion looked at Aria and gathered his resolve.
I need to speak up. It’s all a misunderstanding…! I’m a good person…!
But there was one thing he had overlooked –
That was, except for the undead and his exclusive maid for the past ten years, he had never spoken to anyone else.
“Ah, um.”
Nervousness made only strange words come out.
Sion decided not to say anything.
“Even strange language. You’re definitely one of the Demon King’s minions.”
“….”
Sion desperately shook his hed at the prince’s words.
“You’re not one of the Demon King’s minions?”
Nodding vigorously.
“Then are you saying you are the Demon King himself!”
Sion was incredulous.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
Gabriel clapped his hands and ventilated, looking like he had awakened from a panic state when his eyes turned back to normal.
“I understand your confusion, but it’s because you don’t understand Rockefeller’s uniqueness.”
“Principal! It’s obviously a demon!”
Gabriel turned to Sion, sweating slightly.
“Student Sion, can you prove that this Dark Knight is safe?”
Sion obediently nodded and reached out his hand to the Dark Knight.
“Undead command, Dark Knight.”
“Urgh…”
The Dark Knight bowed his head.
“Kneel.”
Thud!
At Sion’s command, the Dark Knight knelt on both knees.
‘Surely they’ll understand now?’
Sion’s innocent pupils were filled with hope again.
“To make such a monstrous creature kneel with just a word.”
“Indeed, he must be the Demon King…”
But ironically, it had the opposite effect!
The scene of the Dark Knight, who seemed like he could destroy everything, kneeling at the word of a small boy was excessively alienating.
Fortunately, Principal, who interpreted on his own, defended Sion.
“Haha. The Demon King, huh? This Dark Knight is probably a retainer of the Rockefeller family.”
“Are there even retainers like that?”
“…It’s the first time I’ve seen one in my life, but there’s no way the notoriously vicious Dark Knight would kneel unless…”
Gabriel lowered himself to Sion’s eye level, despite being a head taller.
His real eyes, slightly open, were blue, filled with magical power.
“You’re playing too much, child of Rockefeller.”
After saying this quietly, Gabriel stood up and smiled.
But Sion felt it. When Gabriel spoke to him, he was clearly leaking life.
“With this, we’ll conclude the entrance test. There will be a party for you, and the results of the class formation will also be announced there.”
The entrance exam at Eden takes place in various locations.
After taking the exam like earlier, the examiners in charge assess each individual’s talents to determine if they passed through ‘luck.’
Those who pass are often referred to as ‘geniuses,’ lacking nothing even among them.
However, even among these geniuses, there are differences. To provide effective education, Eden further divides them into classes.
The place is here, the party hall. In gaming terms, it’s the place you come right after finishing the tutorial.
“I want to be assigned to the Expert class…”
“I doubt that’ll happen. They say this year’s incoming students are all exceptional.”
“Ugh, I’ll probably hear another lecture from my father.”
There are a total of four classes.
Expert.
Senior.
Beginner.
Common.
Of course, everyone hoped to become an expert.
“Welcome to Eden.”
A kind-looking old man stood at the platform of the party hall.
“This old man is Director Grealora. I’ve been informed, but it seems the new students of Eden this time are indeed of high caliber. It’s a very pleasing matter. Hehe.”
The students looked at the platform with tense faces.
The class formation is about to begin. Their one-year academy life depends on the outcome.
The selection process was very simple.
“Well then, let each student come forward one by one and try injecting magic into this crystal.”
Immediately, the level.
The concept of levels exists in this world.
It’s a game, so it’s only natural.
‘It’s still the tutorial phase of the game. Everyone’s a newbie, so it’s natural to be low-level when faced with high-level undead.’
Sion wanted to redeem himself from his previous failure.
“Look at him. He’s got black hair.”
“Yeah, I hear you.”
“Why does it look so ominous…?”
Sion glanced at the students muttering beside him.
Perhaps the strange turn of events earlier was also because of his hair color.
But there is no regret. After all, he couldn’t give up on his good looks.
“Clement Atley, level 13.”
“Ooooh!”
‘…Is that impressive?’
Sion blinked. He knew they were all beginners, so he expected low levels, but he didn’t expect admiration for level 13.
“Lydia. Oh? You are…”
“I-I belong to the clergy.”
“Hmm. Priests don’t have the concept of levels. You’re free to join.”
“Yes, sir.”
‘As expected, it’s not in my memory.’
It was a setting he had just learned about. While priests existed in the game, everyone had normal-looking levels.
“Ludric Prius, level 17.”
“As expected of the Crown Prince…!”
The room buzzed.
Sion felt his heart pound for no reason.
If the reaction is like this for just level 17, how about our protagonist, Aria?
“Next, Aria.”
Aria ascended the platform, her long hair fluttering.
She closed her eyes and reached out slowly towards the crystal.
Her appearance looked so noble that it captivated everyone’s gaze.
And then, the number on the crystal emerged.
“Aria, level 31. Remarkable achievement for her young age. With this level, there’s not much for us to learn here at Eden, huh?”
“You flatter me.”
Sion quietly closed his eyes and pricked up his ears.
“D-Did you hear? Level 31.”
“I heard legendary heroes graduate with levels around 50, right…?”
Aria’s character setting is simple.
Kind-hearted. Talented. Noble.
However, she had one fatal flaw that didn’t fit with the above elements.
“She’s just a commoner, after all.”
“How did a commoner end up at Eden?”
It’s natural to feel jealous.
But she had something that drew people to her.
In the end, even those who criticize her end up praising her.
“I wish that time would come soon…”
Sion liked that character, Aria.
Because when turned into an undead, there was no character stronger than her.
“Hehe.”
The shoulder of the girl sitting next to Sion trembled at his sinister laughter.
“Next is… Sion Rockefeller.”
Every student in the room reacted to the name Rockefeller.
All eyes were on Sion.
Sion quietly stood up from his seat and walked steadily forward.
There was not a single sound around him as he walked.
To be precise, everyone forgot to breathe.
Jet-black hair.
An expressionless face that didn’t seem to radiate any human warmth.
But above all, the black aura emanating from him.
Aside from being slightly undersized, there was no perfect villain than him.
“Raise your hand.”
Even Grealora, who had a kind face until now, had a stiff expression.
The name Rockefeller held weight. And seeing him in person, he looked even more sinister.
“Yes.”
Sion responded shortly and extended his right hand.
‘Not too strong, not too weak.’
Precise control of power was necessary.
Assigned to the same ‘Expert’ class as Aria, he needed strength that everyone could agree on.
‘About 1/10 should do.’
Using magic here was 10%.
That should be enough.
-Zap.
“…!”
A black current flickered and sparked on Sion’s body.
Everyone’s faces were filled with astonishment.
Grealora’s legs gave way as he hesitated and sat down.
“T-This, this, this is…”
The number that appeared on the crystal…
“9, 99.”
Level 99.
The highest achievable level for a human.
‘Huh.’
Sion remained expressionless but was inwardly quite startled.
He had only used 10% of his power.
So naturally, his level should have been around 10.
‘Ah.’
He had a suspicion.
‘Did I consume that many mana stones?’
Even with just 10% of his power, he had reached level 99.
‘I messed up again.’
Sion felt gloomy.
“…Sion Rockefeller.”
Grealora, who had calmed down, stood up.
He had an angry expression.
“Do you want to hide your level so badly? Resorting to such dirty tricks.”
“…”
“…The fact that you deliberately wrote down the ridiculous number of level 99 means that you had no intention of hiding your manipulation. I’ll assume there was no ill intent.”
Grealora said coldly.
“But if something like this happens again, I won’t forgive you. Get inside.”