Chapter 5. Entrance Exam (4)
The results of the entrance exam would be announced the next day, so examinees were temporarily assigned dorms according to their status.
Currently, I was on my way to the dormitory with Seren.
We were merely walking through the academy, yet every cadet and staff member turned to look at us.
But it wasn’t because we were the direct siblings of the prestigious Astreia family.
“Um… sister?”
“What is it?”
“This position is a bit embarrassing.”
It was because Seren was carrying me in a princess carry.
Everyone on the street was staring at us with expressions of shock and horror.
Even though we were siblings, it was still quite a sight to be held like a baby in public.
Seren, however, smiled unconcernedly, ignoring the stares.
“Really? Then should I slam you into the ground like your pride that’s already buried there?”
“No, this is a wonderful position. I could stay like this for the rest of my life.”
“Right?”
It was an absurd situation, but at least I wasn’t being mistaken for someone other than her brother.
Even so—getting princess-carried by a girl? My male dignity was being shredded in real-time!
So I tried to think of a way to escape.
“Aren’t I heavy? I weigh quite a bit.”
Yes, Seren was a mage, and I was in a man’s body. It should be hard for a non-knight woman to carry me.
But Seren smiled brightly and said:
“No worries. I train enough to carry my cute little brother. Besides, 177 cm and 63 kg isn’t heavy at all.”
Why does this siscon know my body stats so well?!
Seren gave one of her signature eye-smiles and added,
“At least close your eyes. You’ll look like a patient, at the very least.”
She had no intention of putting me down.
Fine. I’ll just give up.
Not like I had a better idea anyway.
And this wasn’t such a bad situation. Sure, it was embarrassing now, but if I were to cause a huge incident later, no one would suspect me.
Who would suspect the bottom-ranked student?
Let’s be satisfied with that…
After Ban Astreia’s turn, the testing grounds became hectic. That was because the testing stone had failed to record any damage.
It was hastily replaced with another, and the broken one was left to Hazen, who had been observing Ban’s exam.
When Hazen tapped the broken testing stone in a nearby empty classroom, the surface shattered like onion skin and pure white powder poured out from within.
“What the…?”
Upon inspection, the broken stone retained its external hardness.
That meant Ban’s magic had passed through the outer shell and precisely pulverized only the interior.
The reason for the low score despite such power was because the testing stone only recorded surface damage.
‘Could it be that he simply imagined the spell’s structure and controlled his mana accordingly…?’
If he had properly activated the spell, the entire testing grounds would’ve melted down.
With that level of power, even a glancing hit would result in a top score.
But then—why use 【Tracing Fire】 at all?
‘Was he deliberately hiding his abilities?’
To have skills that couldn’t be hidden even when trying—this kid was a monster.
The professor’s gaze deepened.
So he wasn’t just a delinquent after all.
And now, he understood why Seren cared so much for him.
‘With that much talent, it’s only fair for his personality to be trashy.’
Of course, that was a mistaken assumption.
But true or not, Hazen didn’t care. He was more intrigued by what that boy would show in the future.
He could never ignore interesting possibilities. That habit was what made him join the Order in the first place.
‘I’ll need to file another report if I want to cover this up.’
Not that the report itself mattered. What he really needed was a bottle of high-end liquor to bribe an old friend.
Iris Academy had three dormitories: the Sinion Hall, the Tethia Hall, and the Iris Hall.
True to its principle of meritocracy, dorms were assigned by exam scores.
Sinion Hall housed the most students but had no extra facilities.
Tethia Hall had similar capacity but boasted an underground training room and a mini-workshop.
Iris Hall, the most luxurious, had about half the capacity of the others but included personal maids and high-end amenities.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but until the results came out, I’d be staying at Iris Hall due to my noble status.
Even as we reached my temporary room, the maids tried to stop Seren, but she only put me down after barging into my room.
“Now you understand, right? I hope you won’t disappoint this sister again.”
She said it sternly, but her face was bright with satisfaction.
“You weren’t just pretending to be angry to satisfy your personal desires, were you?”
“Haha. That’s my brother—such insight.”
No, even a rock would’ve figured that out.
“And I just had to bully you a bit because you were pretending to be weak.”
I wasn’t pretending though.
Anyway, Seren walked into the middle of the room, and I followed.
The room was just like in the game—spacious enough to run around in despite the full furniture set.
If only I had a computer…
The desk, built into the wall, was already stacked with textbooks and reference materials—all newly printed editions, of course.
There was a wardrobe opposite the desk and a large, luxurious bed between them.
Seren stood in the center, took a deep breath, and then threw herself onto the bed.
“Mmm~ such a nice bed.”
She already had one in her own room, yet she looked like she was having the time of her life.
As her kicking legs made her skirt sway, I closed my eyes and warned her.
“Sis, you do realize you’re wearing a skirt, right?”
“So what! We’re siblings.”
Still, I’m not Ban! Even real siblings would be scolded for this!
As I kept my eyes closed, Seren clicked her tongue and got up.
Then, she grabbed my cheeks and stretched them.
“This sister will head out now. If I stay any longer, I’ll get scolded.”
“Ahniya ni gashyeo (Have a good trip).”
Seren laughed at the way my cheeks distorted my words.
If you’re so happy, could you please let go of my face?
Then she suddenly rummaged through her inner pocket, seemingly remembering something.
She handed me a small bundle.
“Albert asked me to give you this. He said it has everything you’ll need right now.”
It was a spatial pouch!
Though it was a lower grade with a small interior, it was still big enough to fit a wardrobe.
And this was still early in the game.
A spatial pouch this early? That’s crazy for a side character!
Being a delinquent from a noble house had its perks.
I really wanted to open it right away, but Seren was still here, so I held back.
“Oh, and as always—don’t tell anyone Albert gave it to you. If Father finds out, I’ll be in trouble too.”
Apparently, because of Ban’s notorious behavior, the family head refused to support him, and Albert was secretly helping behind the scenes.
I nodded, and Seren waved goodbye and left.
Once her footsteps faded, I finally relaxed and flopped onto the bed.
“Whew…”
The luxury blanket wrapped me in soft warmth. The slight coolness was pleasant.
Even though it was just past sunset, I was exhausted. Seren had drained all my energy.
So to restore some mental strength, let’s check my loot.
Humming a little tune, I opened the spatial pouch and found gold coins, a decent wand, and various daily necessities.
I could feel Albert’s care, worried I wouldn’t manage on my own.
There wasn’t anything game-breaking inside, but it was more than enough for now.
I sat at the desk and opened the crafting system.
In [Spell Breaker], there was a crafting feature.
You couldn’t make weapons or armor, but you could make utility items like low-grade potions or disposable magic stones.
What I planned to craft now was a disguise item.
Not suited for combat, but perfect for sneaking around.
As I sat at the desk, a familiar crafting window appeared before me, just like in the game.
【Workbench】【Crafting: Lv.1】
【Enchant】
【Dismantle】
【Armor Crafting】
【Patched Top】
【Patched Bottoms】
【Consumable Crafting】
Ah, good. I was worried I’d have to do everything manually.
Now then—let’s craft a set of patched clothes.
The required material was cloth scraps. I didn’t have any on hand, but I did have some clothes made of fabric.
I pulled out two dark-colored outfits from the pouch.
Albert had prepared them for me, but since I’d be using them anyway, I didn’t mind cutting them up.
I clicked on “Dismantle” and placed the outfits into the window.
The desk drawer opened automatically, and a pair of scissors was handed to me.
Neat! Just like in the game.
After a short while, I finished the dismantling process, and the scissors returned to the drawer.
【Dismantling Complete! Obtained 15 Black Cloth Scraps. Obtained 3 Torn Clothes.】
【Critical Success! Bonus crafting XP earned.】
Whoa. A rare critical success!
That’s rare at this level. Feeling lucky.
Next, I selected “Patched Top” and chose a hoodie style. A needle and black thread appeared, and I stitched 7 scraps together.
【Crafting Complete! Obtained Patched Top (Black).】
【Critical Success! Bonus effect granted.】
[Equipment] Patched Top (Black)
Grade: Normal
Type: Top
Description: Made with high-quality fabric, more durable than average patched tops. Expert craftsmanship reduces chances of identity exposure.
Seriously, is today my birthday or something? Two criticals in a row?
I followed up by crafting the pants as well.
【Crafting Complete! Obtained Patched Bottoms (Black).】
【Critical Success! Bonus effect granted.】
Another critical…!
Twice had happened before, but never three times.
I had never seen this in all my past playthroughs.
Was this related to my possession of Ban’s body?
Hopefully, I’m not burning up all my good luck now…
Anyway, the patched set didn’t even look patched.
The mirror reflected Ban Astreia’s light but attractive face, wearing all-black clothes and a deep hood.
Even his black hair peeked out slightly—like a textbook case of “edgy teen syndrome.”
Pushing aside my creeping shame, I decided to test the “hard to identify” trait.
Up close, nothing felt off, but once I stepped back about ten paces, my face in the mirror began to blur.
In the game, it just looked like NPCs were ignoring me, but seeing this in reality—it made sense.
Just in case, I punched two holes in a scrap to make a mask.
Even if my face was revealed, my identity would be protected.
But… now I looked even more like a cringe lord.
Still… kinda cool, actually?
Maybe because the face was handsome?
I pulled my hood deeper and gripped my right hand.
“My right hand… it holds the Black Flame Dragon…!”
As memories of my own teenage delusions came rushing back, I was overcome with pain.
Reality struck again—and right on cue, my stomach grumbled.
Grrrr…
Come to think of it, it was about dinner time.
Perfect timing. That guy I missed earlier should be at the cafeteria now.
I changed into my uniform and headed for the student cafeteria, but it was already packed.
Was I too late?
I tried to get a look, and that’s when I saw Reina darting around, trying to see inside.
I calmed her down and said,
“Reina.”
“Ban! Hi!”
“Trying to see what’s going on inside?”
She nodded.
“I saw a crowd and got curious.”
“It’s probably a fight—before the test results even came out. A noble versus a commoner, I’d bet.”
She tilted her head.
“You just got here, right? How do you know?”
Oops. I slipped up.
“Uh, well, when you live like a delinquent, you hear rumors quickly.”
“Wow! Delinquents really are different!”
Luckily, she didn’t press further. I’d have to be more careful next time.
“I’m heading closer. Want to come?”
“Sure!”
I tried to push ahead, but the crowd was dense.
Someone bumped into me, scowled, then clicked their tongue and moved aside.
Rude—but convenient.
As I got closer, I heard two boys arguing.
One was furious, the other calm.
“Apologize right now!”
“I don’t see why I should.”
I knew who it was just from the voice.
Drawing closer, I saw the two boys face-to-face.
Cain Trommer, a sneering noble student, shouted,
“How dare a mere commoner speak of honor to a noble?! That alone warrants an apology!”
The other, a cold-looking boy who clearly wasn’t of noble birth, replied,
“Iris Academy is under the Imperial Decree of Equality. Citing status here is an act of defiance against the law.”
“Grrr…!”
“And from even a commoner’s perspective, your actions were clearly dishonorable. If you can provide a single valid reason I should apologize, I’ll kneel and do so right here.”
That cool, low voice belonged to the very person I had come to see—
Drenor Atherum, the hidden illegitimate son of the emperor and the protagonist of Spell Breaker, now posing as a commoner.
