Entrance Exams: Beyond the Rankings

(POV: Forman Stonehammer)

"169 is in," I said, leaning back on my chair as I looked at the screen showing a boy, who looked quite weak, walking into the dungeon.

He was quite interesting to me, since having such a weak body, and still coming this far, he must be capable with spells.

"He looks calm," said Amara rolling her chair towards me, her eyes glued to the screen as the boy… Ryomen Sukuna, walks deeper.

I raise an eyebrow as I look at his name on the sheet kept on the table.

Ryomen as in the family of World Nobles? In that case… was he just recommended, and didn't have to give any exams.

Is he capable enough to pass? I suppose we'll get the answer to that.

As I was thinking of this, a goblin came up to him, walking with its characteristic, annoying walk.

Sukuna took a stance, a practiced one, it seemed. Though I never had seen it before.

However, as the goblin approached, he just stood there, seemingly in a trance.

Was he scared?

I was a little disappointed as this thought crossed my mind… the child of a World Noble, afraid by a mere goblin? Usually ones like this would've already been abandoned.

(He was having goblin slayer flashbacks)

The goblin jumped to him, intending to use plain force to fight him.

This, however, proved to be a mistake. Sukuna applied force on his palm, sending a slow punch to the goblin's abdomen, which seemed to create a depression on it.

However, nothing more happened, it was not enough to kill that goblin.

Amara, beside me, sighed, supposedly in disappointment as she began to roll her chair away.

But next, the sound that hit our ears made us freeze in our tracks, our eyes wide with shock as we stared at the screen.

SPLAT!

The goblin seemed to explode from the inside, its organs falling to the floor one by one, its intestines uncoiling like a rope, its blood forming a pool beneath Sukuna's legs, who was just looking at everything with a disgusted expression.

"You got blood on my clothes you blob," his voice came from the other side, more annoyed than disgusted.

A few more examiners turned to see this spectacle, some even rolling their chairs closer.

On the screen, a few monsters charged at him at once, 2 of them were D-rank.

I raised an eyebrow, killing a D-Rank monster was basically an unwritten requirement for admission, two of them might cause him a little trouble.

Moreover, the move he used just now worked only on a single target, unsuitable for groups of monsters like this one.

My eyes glinted with interest as I waited for his next move.

"Dismantle"

The monsters fell, one by one, their bodies disintegrating into cubes, even their bones cleanly cut.

We were all speechless, some of the examiners' mouths agape at this performance.

He turned to the camera, not bothering to hide his smug expression, as if saying 'see that?'

I couldn't hold back a smirk… he was trying to show off even in such a serious time.

"The principal will like him," I muttered, to which everyone nodded, agreeing with my point.

Suddenly, a voice came from another screen, screaming a battle cry that almost gave everyone goosebumps.

We all turned to the screen to see a boy ripping apart monsters with his bare hands, not bothering to even wipe the blood off his face.

Looking at him, he felt more like a monster than the monsters themselves.

"Johan Wolff," the examiner sitting in front of the screen muttered, reading a sheet of paper kept atop his desk.

My smirk only widened at this… there was not one, but two crazy students this year.

Why do I call them 'students?' Well, they already passed.

I took the stamp of approval and planted it on the sheet with the name of Sukuna, the one in charge of Johan did the same.

There were others who were doing almost as well as these two, but they were definitely not as fun to watch.

Sukuna… he was the last to go in, and the first to come out.

"That's a new record, isn't it?" Amara asked, a smile on her face as if she were the one who cleared the dungeon.

"That's for sure," I muttered, looking at the receding back of the boy as he left the dungeon.

.

.

.

(POV Ryomen Sukuna)

As I walked out of the dungeon, the door closing behind me with a thud, I looked at the translucent System screen floating beside me.

The working of the System had confused me quite a bit.

Killing monsters still gives me EXP, but according to the system, I can't level up… we'll have to see what this means.

I decided to rest while the others finished, going to the waiting room and sitting on the couch, dozing off.

I wonder… will the completion times of the main cast be different from the original story?

.

(A Few Hours Later)

Entrance Ceremony

It was a huge auditorium, but the chairs were pretty uncomfortable.

Some dude was giving a long speech about the Academy and stuff, so I was just dozing off at the corner of the room, before inviting the principal to the stage.

We all know how boring entrance ceremonies are, but for some reason everyone was listening attentively… nerds.

Come to think of it, goblins are like watermelons.

They are green from the outside, but when you cut them in half they're red.

I sighed, deciding to be an actual student for once and listen to the principal speaking, after all, she was quite a fun person in the original game.

She was a fan-favorite character because of her 'assets' if you know what I mean.

I looked at the stage as the dude steps out, letting the principal come up.

And the dude who came up was a… old man with a beard…?

"Welcome new students! Today marks the start of your journey in this esteemed Academy."

Nah nah nah, who are you actually?

"Look around you! These people are your future colleagues, your friends, your rivals, and most importantly, sacrifice material!"

Did she get surgery… no what am I thinking… was the storyline changed that much?

But how can an S-Class hunter just disappear like nothing?

I looked at the man with widened eyes, my posture now completely erect as My fingers tapped on the armrest.

"Now, I'm sure you've all heard the usual stuff about 'saving the world' and 'protecting the innocent.' Noble aspirations, definitely."

The principal… Blaze, if I'm right, looked around, his gaze staying on me for a second before moving on.

"But let's be honest – most of you are just here for the glory, the riches, maybe even the chance to snag some things to sell on the black market."

I had already toned out his speech, my mind running trying to find ways about how to do things from now onwards.

This would be a huge problem… the principal being completely replaced… how many changes will this bring?

"Now before you follow your noble aspirations, remember! This is no walk in the park… You will face monstrous creatures with names longer than their attention span, traps so hard that they'll melt your brain."

I can't deny that I like his personality though, he seems quite unforgiving.

"Forget about 'making a difference.' This Academy is about the survival of the fittest. The strongest, most ruthless ones come out at top. Well at least you will have a good story to tell... if you survive"

I couldn't stop my lips from curling up, a wicked smirk forming on my face.

The principal being someone I have no idea of… this'll be so fun.

"Anyways, for the top scorers of this year..."

He took out a paper, reading it while calling out the names.

"Fifth place, Alexia Hadrion, 6 minutes 03 seconds, please come up on stage."

"Fourth place, Johan Wolff, 5 minutes 55 seconds, please come up on the stage."

"Third place, Anny Leonheart, 5 minutes 35 seconds, please come up on stage."

They slowly went to the stage, sounds of clapping echoing in the halls.

"Second place, Ryogaku, 5 minutes 09 seconds, please come up on stage."

"Hm?" I let out a confused sound, making a girl sitting beside me turn towards me, before looking away quickly.

Ryogaku got up, the clapping louder this time.

His eyes widened as he realized something, his gaze falling on me as he slowly walked to the stage.

Blaze seemed to freeze as he read the last name, but he quickly composed himself.

"Finally, Ryomen Sukuna, 3 minutes 13 seconds, please come up on stage"

I got up, a few gasps escaping the students' lips.

The girl beside me smiled widely, clapping the loudest.

However, I paid her no heed, my mind was somewhere else, somewhere much more important.

The times…

I'm sure… the times of the main cast were more than 6 minutes… then how… how are they so less?

I stared at the members of the cast, all of them having different reactions as I walked towards the stage.

Did you all get stronger?

I asked internally, still confused about the whole situation.

As I walked onto the stage, I couldn't hold back a chuckle of amusement, making the main cast, and the principal, turn to me confused.

I stood straight, my gaze sweeping through the audience once, making them all quieten down a little.

Uncertainties… they only make this more entertaining.

.

(A few minutes later)

I walked towards the training grounds where our first class—combat.

The classes were divided according to rank, and I was in class 1-A, obviously.

The combat instructor, a man with a bulky physique, his muscles almost bursting out of his clothes, eyed everyone with interest.

It almost seemed like he wore tight clothes today to show off his muscles… I'll not think about that right now.

In this class, we get to choose the weapons.

I walked to the training grounds, where a bunch of weapons were scattered around.

As expected of the top academy, almost all weapons are at least C-Rank, with a few A-Ranks and B-Ranks. Our main characters all get A-Rank weapons, obviously.

I'm unsure what weapon I should take though, can I even pick up a sword with my strength? Eh, who cares we'll cross the bridge when we get to it.

The students slowly started to choose their weapons, not giving it too much thought.

I, however, was in a dilemma… my technique worked best without a weapon… which would probably only hinder it.

I could feel the instructor looking at me, and I did my best to ignore him.

But suddenly, my eyes landed on something which caused them to widen.

I immediately went to the weapon, a rusting sword which was said to be an E-Rank weapon, no better than a normal sword.

However, I felt something from it that others couldn't… cursed energy.

This was a cursed tool.

The cursed energy coming from it, however, was quite underwhelming… I wasn't sure about its effects, but it made one thing clear.

Cursed tools exist in this world.

This was important information, because it also meant that I could perhaps, some day, make my own cursed tools to aid me.

I was broken out of my thoughts by the gruff voice of the combat instructor.

"Alright, since you're done choosing your weapons," he shouted, a large, amused smile forming on his face. "Drop them for the time being."

Everyone followed him, placing their weapons on a table on the side.

I followed the command, eyeing the instructor with interest.

His smile only widened as the students finished their thing.

"Now, you all will spar with each other."