And so, a month went by.

I had decided to spend the past month mainly preparing for the Hero Academy’s entrance exam. But as I had gone on to college in my previous life, and knowing almost everything about [JRO] strategy guides, I think it would be dumb to fail the written exam now.

And most importantly, there were almost no bookstores in this world, though [JRO] never needed nor cared for books.

At best, I could buy a grimoire in a magic city.

That’s why, for this matter, of course, they didn’t sell any kind of reference books to prepare for the Hero Academy entrance exam.

In other words, there wasn’t any study material.

That’s why I’ve been spending most of the past month leveling up to prepare for the practical skills test— a test to assess my practical combat skills.

I’ve decimated three orc heads, destroyed seven goblin settlements that had multiplied because of them, and mowed down enough beastly monsters to make it hard to find them.

After all, with the most popular occupation in [JRO], ‘Farmer,’ I could level far more efficiently than when I was unemployed.

I was up to level 17 in a month, which was huge. In addition, I was promoted to adventurer rank B, probably since I was hunting monsters all the time.

Today was the day of the entrance exam at the [Hero Academy].

I stood in front of the main gate, clutching the exam voucher that I got. At least I’ve made it through the screening process.

“Finally”

Laguna, standing next to me, looked a little nervous as she looked at her exam sheet.

This past month. I did the leveling alone, but I also spent the rest of the time lecturing Laguna on writing strategies as a way to review myself.

I’m sure I’d be accepted, and I made sure to see to it that I got in. And I’m sure Laguna, who was doing well in [JRO], will pass the test.

…And as for the member of the royalty, Reyna.

It’s just that when people get to a certain point, they get greedy.

If I made it this far, I’d have to get a perfect score on the written and practical exams and be at the top of my class.

◇

So, after four hours of the written exam, we were on our way to the venue for the practical exam. As far as my response was concerned, I think I got a perfect score unless there was something wrong that I’ve done.

…The contents were comparable to elementary-level math in my previous life. And the common knowledge of [JRO] players in monster biology, geography, and setting. It was a level of difficulty that would have been embarrassing if I had gotten even one question wrong.

…However, Laguna’s cat ears were hanging down as she walked next to me. Maybe it wasn’t a good response.

“A-adding fractions of three is foul play…”

Hmm, math is rather tricky for her, huh…

Come to think of it, I’ve lectured on monster weaknesses and [JRO] settings, but I never taught her this stuff.

…Honestly, elementary-level math was something that went past me because it was too easy to do if you lived in Japan.

“W-well, I think you can make it up with practical skills. I’ve heard that the practical skills are more important than the written ones.”

“T-that’s right! I want to be in the same class as Heid, so I’ll have to do my best!”

“Y-yeah…”

I get embarrassed when people get motivated like that.

And so, the practical exam began.

◇

In the practical examinations at the [Hero Academy], the examiners randomly assigned six teams to compete against each other in a round-robin tournament. The scores are distributed according to the winning percentage.

In a round-robin tournament of six players, there would be five opponents for me to fight. If we assume a perfect score of one hundred points, I will get twenty points every time I beat one opponent.

If the level of the group you are assigned to is high, there is a possibility that you will fail even if you are strong enough, and there is a specific element of luck in the test, but well, I don’t care who comes, I won’t lose.

The group we were assigned to was Group 1-A.

The group at the very end.

Laguna was in Group 3-B. I was a little relieved that we were in separate groups. If she’s in the same group as me, Laguna would have at least one loss, and that’s a pity.

Now, let’s see what the guys in my group are like.

It’s a mystery to me whether there’s even one person who’s appropriately past level 10 to begin with, but let’s not let our guard down. It’s a game with a certain victory if the cards are played right.

With that in mind, I calmed myself down and went over to the 1-A Group.

“Heid?”

“…Reyna?”

Reyna was there. Reyna’s 1-A too, huh.

“How dare a disowned ‘Peasant’ like you casually address Princess Reyna!”

“S-stop it. Ellen”

A silver-haired woman in a knight’s uniform showed her anger as she touched the hilt of her sword. Ellen Knightlude. In [JRO], she would have been Reyna’s knight and a childhood friend of Reyna.

…Well, I became Reyna’s fiancé, so I immediately became her childhood. I’ve had a few chances to see the Ellen of this world from afar, but this was the first time I’ve talked to her.

“No, she’s right. I’m very sorry. I apologize for my rudeness, Lady Reyna.”

“Heid…”

Reyna looked at me with lonely eyes.

I’m not a nobleman or anything of the sort, and right now, I’m just the Heid that the Dukehardt family disowned.

…As I am now, I have yet to become a man worthy of Reyna.

But,

“If I may be so rude, I would like to apologize in advance for adding one loss to your score, Lady Reyna.”

“Heid, you’ve got some nerve. I’m many times stronger than I was last month, aren’t I?”

“I bet you are.”

The ‘Dragon Knight Princess’ is a job that has a substantial downward correction for magic attack and speed, and a huge correction for everything else. Especially if Reyna, who’s confident in her physical attacks and defense, got a job, she’d be good enough to override some level differences.

But that is if I wasn’t a [JRO] player.

To be frank, Reyna without the [Thunder Dragon] was only as strong as a slightly stronger knight.

Besides

“I’m also becoming stronger.”

“Really? Well, if you insist, I won’t go easy on you, will I?”

“I don’t mind taking it easy on you, do I?”

Reyna laughed at my words, looking amused.

And Ellen was glaring at me for looking down on her.

“Of course, Miss Ellen here will also be beaten to a pulp, so rest assured.”

“I see. Well then, I’ll fight you first, you bastard. Is that okay with you, instructor?”

“Well, it’s a round-robin fight anyway, so I don’t mind.”

The old instructor readily agreed. Ellen is in front of Reyna.

Now, let’s show the ‘Knight’ Ellen how the most powerful job of [JRO], ‘Farmer’, really fights—

Hello, I’m back. I apologize for the sudden disappearance in the past month. I have been focusing on my college so I had no time to get a chapter up. Anyways, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter next week 🙂