New Neighbours

Because of this, Crudele was considered one of the strongest, if not the strongest, participants in this exam.

And among more than 200 participants, scoring in the top 15 was considered pretty good evidence of his strength.

"If I had the advanced version of the system, I could potentially measure everyone's strength here, which would help me in the future," Crudele said to himself. "But wait, what if someone else has the system to do that? Ahhhhhhh, I hope they don't reveal my ability or anything like that. That would be problematic."

~ 1 Hour and 20 Minutes Later ~

Everyone was baffled by the amount of time the top contestant took to get eliminated.

"How could that even be possible? How much RBC energy does he have to do that?" someone muttered.

Victor Hargrave - Rank 1 - 2 Hours, 58 Minutes, and 51 Seconds.

Everyone was astonished by the ranking, and they started to chatter among themselves about who could be this strong and precise with their ability to last that monstrous amount of time.

As everyone was eager to see who he was, Crudele already knew who it would be, but he wasn't proud of it because he knew he would have to compete against him in future.

The door opened for the last time to reveal the rank 1 participant, potentially the strongest one of them all. Everyone looked intently at the entrance, waiting to see the person who had dominated the test and was now coming to join them in the hall.

From the door emerged a guy with dark silver hair and pale white skin. His face was emotionless, and his right arm and half of his head were fully covered by metallic parts. Ignoring everyone, he made his way to the same spot where he had been sitting before the test. He lowered his head and sat in an N-shaped posture. Everybody was a little intimidated by his actions and behavior so far.

And with that, the first test was over, leaving four more to go. As expected, Crudele had already marked the students he felt might be difficult to defeat.

He wasn't scared of them; he was cautious to avoid making reckless moves like he did at the machine. If he hadn't broken his arm, he believed he could have potentially been in the top 10, at least. But it seemed luck wasn't on his side this time.

Crudele kept wondering about the possible rewards for being in the top 10. Could they get extra points or some special advantage? To be honest, the possibilities were endless.

The girl who ranked 2 was indeed the one Crudele had suspected to be at the top. His hunch was right. But there was also a familiar face in the top 5 – none other than the troublemaker himself.

That guy with blonde hair, who had been messing around with Crudele on the train, was among the top ranks. Crudele's blood boiled every time he saw his smug face, but he restrained himself. He remembered Professor Sycamore's advice to avoid making too many enemies if he wanted a better chance of winning.

Soon after the test ended, the announcer emerged from behind the stage curtain. "Well, well, well, it seems we have quite the results, don't we?" he said, glancing at the leaderboard with a satisfied smile.

"So, here are the results..." he continued, his voice booming through the hall as the participants eagerly awaited their standings.

The announcer began reading off the rankings:

1. Victor Hargrave - 598 Points

2. Lyra Moore - 423 Points

3. Jasper Quinn - 394 Points

…

…

…

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12. Crudele Valerius - 159 Points

Crudele's name appeared on the screen with a total of 159 points, significantly lower than the top 5. It didn't mean he was weak; it simply meant that his opponents were incredibly strong.

Everyone began chatting after hearing the results.

"Do we even have a chance against them?" one student muttered.

"I pray the requirements for the exam are criteria-based instead of ranking-based, otherwise we're doomed," another replied.

The atmosphere was heavy with apprehension. Even some teachers were puzzled by the incredibly high scores of the top 10 performers. It was clear why many students felt disheartened; the exceptional performance of their peers seemed almost insurmountable.

The test was undeniably challenging, demanding a perfect blend of senses and reflexes to succeed. Even with those abilities, scoring this high was no small feat. After every hour, an additional robot joined the fray, each five levels stronger and armed with more sophisticated moves to engage in battle more efficiently.

Victor's staggering time of 2 hours and 58 minutes meant he almost faced four robots before being eliminated. The thought of fighting three robots simultaneously without a misfit was daunting, especially for a newbie.

Despite Victor's impressive performance, Crudele refrained from thinking too highly of him. Elevating Victor would only make Crudele feel inferior if they ever faced off. To his surprise, he recognized every one of the top three students on the leaderboard.

"The criteria for qualification will be revealed at the end of the exam. Until then, enjoy your first night at school," the announcer said, clapping his hands. The same device that had appeared when they were picking options emerged from the ground, but this time it held keys instead of tablets. Each key had a number, signifying the room number assigned to each student.

"Your dorms are on the northeastern side of the University, roughly 100 meters from here. Rest well, everyone, because tomorrow's challenge will be even more interesting than today's."

The students began to collect their keys, murmuring amongst themselves as they processed the day's events and prepared for the night ahead. Crudele grabbed his key, noting the number engraved on it, and started to head toward the dorms, already thinking about what tomorrow might bring.

Crudele made his way to the address provided, finding an apartment complex consisting of two long buildings, each with two stories, placed parallel to each other. His room was on the second floor, so he headed in that direction. However, as he approached his room, an eerie feeling crept over him, making him feel like someone or something was watching him. Fenrir, his wolf misfit, also started acting strangely, trying to communicate his unease to Crudele.

"Yeah, buddy, I know something feels off here," Crudele muttered, glancing around. Despite his heightened senses, he couldn't find anything unusual. He scanned the area once more, but nothing seemed out of place.

"Hey, what's happening, bro? What's the problem?" a voice called out. Crudele turned to see a student with a distinctive appearance: very long earlobes, a piercing on one ear, skin that was a mix of black and brown, an afro cut, and slightly larger lips than average. The guy looked a bit older than Crudele, so he presumed he was a senior. He also seemed a bit irritated by Crudele's disturbance in front of his door.

Nothing, bro. It's just that... like someone or probably... something is watching me," Crudele said, stuttering as he felt embarrassed, expecting the senior to make fun of him. But to his surprise, the guy didn't react as he thought.

"Ahhhhhhh, that bitch again," the senior muttered under his breath.

"Hey! Who are you calling bitch, you ni— I mean, you Nile crocodile," a voice snapped from somewhere behind Crudele. He turned quickly to see who it was but saw no one. Fenrir began growling at the darkness of Crudele's shadow. Crudele's eyes followed Fenrir's gaze, and he saw a disfigured figure with a pair of eyes popping out from his shadow, sending a chill down his spine.

"Hey, what did you just call me, you bitch?" the afro guy snapped.

"Aaa baaa, y-you are the one that started it," the disfigured figure responded, standing up and transforming into the shape of a chubby woman with pinkish-red hair and pretty white-tone skin.

Crudele's eyes widened in shock. "Wtf," he muttered, feeling like he had just witnessed the most messed up thing in the world.

"Hello, my name is Fiona Welton. I am a second-year student at the school," she said cheerfully.

"Hello? You literally made him piss his pants. Didn't I tell you to stop doxxing new students here?" the afro guy scolded.

"I just wanted to see if my new neighbor needed anything or not," Fiona replied jokingly.

"Wait, Welton—are you from the famous Welton family?" Crudele asked, astonished.

"Yeah, you guessed right, but I'm from a branch family, so my ability is not very strong compared to the main ones," Fiona explained.

"If your chit-chat is over, you can go to your room. I have to complete my assignment, and you probably have another test tomorrow if I remember correctly," the afro guy said.

"Yeah, aaa, is there any advice you guys can give me?" Crudele asked. Upon hearing his request, they both looked at each other and chuckled.

"Did I say something wrong?""No, bro, you have quite the guts to ask that," the afro guy said. "And that's the one piece of advice I would like to give."

"Although the tests change every year, one thing remains constant: they like to trick students in many ways, sometimes going to extremes," Fiona added.

"Thanks, I guess," Crudele replied, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety.

"But you don't have to worry about it that much," He added, softening his tone. "You just have to do your best without taking any form of pride or something."

"Okay, I appreciate your help," Crudele replied. "I'm going to my room to relax a bit before tomorrow's struggle.

"With that, everyone went their separate ways. Fiona headed to the right side of the hall while the afro cut guy went to the left side to his room.

Crudele opened his front door and stepped inside, taking in the layout of his new living space. To his right, just past the main entrance, was a small bathroom with a toilet. The entrance hallway was about three feet long, leading to a compact kitchen with just enough appliances to get by. The bedroom, though modestly decorated with a few personal touches, felt cozy. A desk and chair were tucked into a corner, providing a small workspace.

The interior wasn't what one might expect from a top-five university in a bustling city, but Crudele didn't mind. He preferred the simplicity and the intimacy of a smaller room. It reminded him of home in a comforting way.

He walked over to the bed, sat down, and allowed himself a moment to relax. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, but for now, he could unwind and gather his thoughts.

"They like to trick students in many ways."

This sentence felt off to Crudele. Why would the school want to trick their students and make things unnecessarily hard? Sure, they wanted their students to be strong, but why not integrate that challenge into the test itself? Maybe it was because they wanted their heroes to be wary of the unknown. They could teach that in class, though—why include it in the entrance exam where most students didn't even know the basics of being a hero?

Or maybe that was precisely the point. Maybe the school wanted to give them a glimpse of what to expect as heroes, right from the start, when they knew nothing. If that was the case, it might actually help him understand what lies ahead and prepare him better.

Whatever the reason, he didn't want to dwell on it right now. He needed to relax and recharge for tomorrow's test.

"Fenrir, come here," Crudele called softly.

Fenrir, who had been lying on the floor, perked up his ears and padded over to him. The wolf leapt onto the bed and began licking Crudele's face, prompting a chuckle. Crudele hugged Fenrir, cuddling him close.

"Tomorrow is another big day for us, buddy," Crudele murmured. "It may be troublesome, who knows? But I think we'll be okay."

Fenrir settled down beside him, and Crudele wrapped his arms around the wolf. The warmth and comfort of Fenrir's presence helped ease his mind. With a final deep breath, Crudele began to drift off.