The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 126 – Academy Admission (1)

Easterners, don’t boast about the Pyramid.

Westerners, don’t speak of Babylon.

Because in front of the Imperial Academy ‘Colosseo,’ they have no place.

All fame is for this.

Everyone will be covered in its shadow.

Colosseo Academy. It’s the world’s most prestigious university, encompassing the entire eastern, western, southern, northern, and central continents.

Located in the heart of the central continent in the imperial capital, it occupies the most prized land there.

Unlike the specialized ‘Magic Tower’ which focuses on magic and ‘Varangian’ which specializes in combat skills, this academy values both literature and martial arts. It’s famous for its strict standards. If you can’t meet their unique criteria for either, you can’t enroll or graduate.

With the start of the new semester, countless people flocked to the Imperial Capital, Venetior, of the Empire of Rok.

Freshmen.

And their families.

And the groups guarding them.

And the bazaar.

Once a year, the most significant crowds gathered for the academy’s admission ceremony.

All the newcomers from the eastern, western, southern, and northern continents had to be amazed twice, once by the beauty of the capital and then by the grandeur of the academy.

Venetior, the City of Water.

As the capital of the Empire of Rok, Venetior was situated in gently sloping valley terrain, with rivers from all over the continent converging to form numerous waterways.

Entering the main road that led to the city, you could see the entire cityscape down below.

The capital, surrounded by a gentle embrace of clear freshwater lakes that encircled the imperial road, had 112 islands on it, connected by about 400 bridges. This grand city, filled with slow-flowing, warm rivers, countless waterways, and connecting bridges, created a spectacular view.

Many people moved on the waterways in canoes, and various peddlers could be seen on the bridges.

As the capital of the Empire, it was also rich in modern cultural facilities such as theaters, museums, clock towers, temples, opera houses, royal libraries, and enormous communal bathhouses.

But above all, the most famous was the academy. Where the brightest minds of the continent gathered.

Colosseo.

This collection of massive circular buildings housed around 20,000 people, including students, professors, and various staff members, forming a vast complex surrounding a grand central arena.

Walking around the perimeter of the academy grounds would take an ordinary person over four hours.

The academy was divided into two main parts: dormitories where students lived and lecture halls where classes were held. The dormitories were further divided by grade and gender, while the lecture halls were divided by grade and class.

It was a four-year program, so there were four grades: 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, and 4th year. Although it was rare, there were cases of students who didn’t pass their exams and had to take a leave of absence or return for graduation exams.

The classes were divided into two main categories: ‘Cold Department’ and ‘Hot Department.’

In the Cold Department, students specialized in weapons like swords, bows, and spears. They took courses related to their specialty as required subjects, chose other cold weapons as elective courses, and studied the hot department’s courses as general education.

On the other hand, the Hot Department focused on magic. Students specializing in elemental magic took courses related to their elemental magic as required subjects, chose other magic as elective courses, and studied the Cold Department’s courses as general education.

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In other words, students, regardless of whether their major is swords, bows, spears, fire magic, ice magic, earth magic, plant magic, or anything else, have to accumulate general knowledge about all of these over four years.

Of course, besides these courses, there are also various elective courses in languages, theology, law, astronomy, geography, military science, and more.

To graduate, students must carefully select these required major courses, elective major courses, required general education courses, elective general education courses, and double major or minor courses according to their schedule and aptitude, sometimes needing to meet certain credit requirements.

Sometimes classes are scheduled autonomously, and sometimes they are mandatory. Naturally, students form hierarchies based on their grades, which also has a significant impact on their school life.

Activities such as clubs, volunteer work, career experience activities, double major selection, and minor selection may have eligibility restrictions, which is why incoming freshmen are eager to get a head start.

“Did the freshman placement exams finish?”

“Who came first?”

“I think those who performed well in the practical evaluations will shine, right?”

Except for professors, students couldn’t access information about the freshmen, but already, some influential students were sharing information about the freshmen’s grades and rankings.

Like financial market news, freshmen’s personal profiles, grade sheets, and rankings were traded at high prices depending on their accuracy.

It’s because those entering the academy usually had a high chance of entering the upper echelons of the empire, so they wanted to establish connections in advance.

“Oh, look at this. This year’s freshmen have impressive grades.”

“Hey, I heard the Cold department’s first spot was a tie~?”

“Tudor from the Donquixote Clan and Bianca from the Usher House are tied for first place.”

“These two are in the top tier. They’re the highest-priority targets for our club!”

The current students in the Cold Department were excited about the rumor of outstanding juniors coming in.

With a tradition that placed a much higher emphasis on practical skills than written exams, Tudor in spear skills and Bianca in archery were likely to receive a lot of attention from seniors.

These exceptional individuals quickly caught the attention of the Cold Department professors and seniors.

Cold Department Practical Evaluation Rankings –

<1 -Tudor Donquixote, Bianca Usher>

<2 - Highbro Baskerville>

<3 - Middlebro Baskerville>

<4 - Lowbro Baskerville>

<5 - Sancho Barataria>

<6 - ...>

One of the seven great clans supporting the empire and renowned for spear skills, Tudor Donquixote of the Donquixote Clan.

Likewise, one of the seven noble families famous for archery, Bianca, the daughter of Usher House.

Additionally, the triplets produced by the Iron-Blooded sword clan Baskerville, Highbro, Middlebro, and Lowbro. Sancho Barataria was selected as a scholarship student by the Northern Mercenary Guild Alliance and came through a special screening, among others. These super rookies were currently causing a stir in the Cold Department.

Meanwhile, there was chaos in the Hot Department as well.

“Wow, someone got a perfect score in the practical exam?”

“They also ranked 2nd in the written exam. Unbelievable, they excel in studying too!”

“Is it ‘SinClaire’? The genius of all geniuses has enrolled.”

“Did you hear the rumor? This is insider information from the Admissions Office… She’s an incredibly beautiful girl…”

The Hot Department was focusing all its attention on the genius ‘SinClaire,’ who achieved a historic record by ranking 1st in the practical evaluation and 2nd in the written exam.

Hot Department Practical Evaluation Rankings –

<1 - SinClaire>

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She didn’t reveal her achievements or family background, but considering that she took the top spot in a magic class that required an enormous amount of funding, it was speculated that she had strong support behind her.

In addition, the Industrial Clan Bourgeois and the Ruthless Clan Reviadon, as well as the Faithful Quavadis family, sent outstanding talents to the academy.

Usually, the seven Great families avoided admitting students from their own families who were in the same grade, to ensure that they could secure the top positions in the grade. However, unusually, this time, talented individuals from all seven families were admitted simultaneously.

With such a strong entry, the incoming students of this generation were called the ‘Generation of Glory.’ If they had entered at different times, they would have been able to easily secure positions like the top student and student council president.

And then, recently, among the numerous outstanding freshmen entries and the academic atmosphere that valued practical skills more than written exams, there was one individual who went unnoticed by anyone.

Comprehensive Written (Theory) Evaluation Rankings –

<1 - Vikir>

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A bookworm.

A commoner.

A nobody.

A name as ordinary as can be.

A hunting dog without a name tag or leash has entered the academy.