Written Tests

"How did you solve it? It's different from any of the methods I know or the teachers have taught."

"Which one? This one? See, you can do it this way also..."

"Wow! I never knew it could be solved so easily. Thanks a lot, Alex."

"Don't thank me; you have been helping me a lot in the past few days with my studies."

"I don't think it was because of me, but you really learn fast and seem to know a lot more than even me in mathematics and some other subjects."

'How to say, but some of your subjects are at the level of middle school compared to my world.'

In the quiet and comfortable lab of Sherry, Alex, and her were studying together for their upcoming tests.

The afternoon sun streamed through the windows of Sherry's cozy lab, illuminating their study haven. Textbooks and papers sprawled across the table, remnants of their intense study session.

Deciding to study together and help each other out, Alex, with his broader knowledge in subjects like mathematics and science, often provided insights that Sherry hadn't encountered before. Conversely, Sherry excelled in all subjects, yet she gladly lent a hand to Alex with history and literature.

Despite being new to this world, Alex, homeschooled and possessing a sharp mind, managed to adapt quickly. His unique perspective and knowledge brought a fresh approach to their studies.

Sherry, already at the top of her class, found Alex's different perspective enriching. His insights helped her gain new understandings in various subjects.

Primarily benefiting from this arrangement was Alex, yet Sherry found joy in having a friend to study with—a novel experience for her. Reclusive and somewhat timid, she had never had study partners or friends due to her nerdy and introverted nature.

She used to travel a lot with her parents before and never settled in a single place. After they went missing, she devoted all her time to finding them.

All this made it a lot harder to make friends or invite them over for a study session. 

'This is nice studying together with a friend. We can also help each other out, and I also got to know about so many new things.'

As time flew by, their tests loomed closer, beginning with theoretical written exams.

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The tests would span over a whole week; the first three days were the academic assessment, theoretical written tests, and the next three days would be a combat assessment.

In the exam hall, all the students were seated in their respective seats, based on their roll numbers. Only a single person, or more accurately to call a spirit, was hovering over a certain dark-haired boy.

As no one was able to see Aurora, she was nonchalantly floating around, having fun and disturbing Alex.

"Hey, do you want me to look into other's papers and give you the answers?" Aurora playfully grinned and asked Alex.

Alex shook his head silently and mouthed to her, "No, thank you." He had studied well and had confidence in himself to get a good score anyway.

The next moment, the exam invigilator came as the bell rang and started distributing papers. As the next bell rang, the exam started, and students began writing.

"Aha! Cheater alert!" she announced, "Look, Alex, that guy on the far right side is wearing some kind of shady glasses to cheat. He sure hid it well, but he will soon get caught."

Alex ignored her and was engrossed in writing answers when something unexpected happened.

As if summoned by her words, the invigilator materialized beside the cheater, his stern gaze freezing the culprit in place. The student who was cheating was shocked at how he got caught and pleaded he was innocent.

But it seems luck was not on his side. "The entire exam hall is full of surveillance, and there is also a magic formation in place to find anyone who is cheating."

All the students now understood that cheating was not an option and had to honestly write the answers. Cheating, anyway, was not a good thing.

Alex was writing all the answers with full focus; seeing this, Aurora also stopped and just hovered over him like always, sometimes giving him assistive hints if he got stuck somewhere.

The three exam days went by fast. Some had happy faces, and some had sad faces. Everyone had different expressions and thoughts.

Some were sulking as they did badly on the exams; some were just happy that the tests were finally over. The nerdy ones matched and cross-checked their answers with each other.

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[The host has successfully sold 15 E rank monster cores.]

[Shop Coins: 0→750]

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After approximately three days of grinding in the red zone, Alex had collected 25 E-rank monster cores and 1 D-rank monster core.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the main test, which will determine Alex's upcoming class. He has diligently prepared for this moment, and now it's time to reap the benefits of his three-day hunt.

He needs to purchase three more skills from the system to ensure smooth sailing in the upcoming matches.

To do so, he requires shop coins. He decided to sell 15 of the E-rank cores for now and will decide later about the remaining ones.

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[The host has acquired the E rank skill Insta-Move]

Skill: Insta-Move (Active)

Rank: E

Description:

 - Enhances user velocity, enabling rapid movement with unparalleled agility and efficiency in any terrain or situation.

 - While enhancing speed for rapid movement, it depletes stamina reserves at an accelerated rate.

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'Now I have a movement skill also; it sure will come in handy a lot.'

As described, it was a movement skill that helped him increase his speed. It was an active skill, which meant it needed to be activated before being used.

He promptly purchased the remaining two skills he had decided on earlier.

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[The host has acquired the E rank skill Minor Damage Mitigation]

Skill: Minor Damage Mitigation (Passive)

Rank: E

Description:

 - Enhances user survivability by mitigating minor damage and improving dodging capabilities

 - Enhances the user's ability to withstand minor impacts, diminishing the effect of low-level damage sources.

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[The host has acquired the E rank skill Minor Pain Tolerance]

Skill: Minor Pain Tolerance (Passive)

Rank: E

Description:

 - Enhances user's resilience by diminishing the impact of minor pains, ensuring sustained performance and focus even under adverse conditions.

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With all these skills, Alex was now fully prepared for the upcoming matches.

Now Alex could easily dodge some minor attacks, and even if he was unable to evade, he could still withstand the attacks without reducing his effectiveness in combat in the slightest.