Chapter 1

"Excuse me, I'm really sorry... Miss. Can't I get retested?"

"Haa..."

The female staff member, who sighed as if the ground had swallowed her, looked at me as if she had seen people like me hundreds of times.

"Sorry, but the results of the characteristic test rarely change even if you retake it. And there will be additional costs for a retest. Is that okay?"

As she scanned me from head to toe, I involuntarily flinched.

—Additional costs.

I knew what that meant.

And I also knew that what the staff member said about the results not changing was true.

...But I just couldn't accept the test results.

While being a spear user might not be a bad result among many characteristics...

No, it was bad.

It was almost the worst result I could have gotten.

"I'll pay the additional costs."

I steeled myself and paid the additional costs.

"...Okay, then please go back up to the altar."

With a sympathetic look from the staff member, I took a step forward.

I had no choice but to apply for a retest, clinging to the hope of even the slightest possibility.

My life was on the line with this characteristic.

If there was even a tiny chance, I had to try.

Thud.

As I stood straight on the circular altar, a white light began to envelop me again at the staff member's gesture.

Looking at the light, I wished desperately.

'Please, magic characteristic! Please!'

In this world, magic characteristics are the most favored. And melee characteristics were really hopeless.

Ding!

*

---

Name: Han Cheon-seong

Gender: Male (20)

Title: None

Height · Weight: 178cm 67kg

Current Continental Influence: 5

*Stats.

*Owned Characteristics [1]

[Spear Mastery Lv.1]

*Skills [0]

---

*

Seeing the status window, which was exactly the same as the first time, I felt my strength drain away.

"Excuse me...? I know you're upset, but other people are waiting for their characteristic tests."

As the staff member pulled me up by the shoulder, I got up dazedly, my vision blurry.

'How...'

Suddenly, everything in front of me seemed to blur. It was as if someone had covered my eyes.

The characteristic test I just received is one that can only be taken when you become an adult.

It's not an exaggeration to say that this characteristic test determines your entire life.

But it...

Was a disaster.

A complete disaster.

Thud.

Thud.

As I walked dazedly toward the exit, I rubbed my eyes.

The moisture in my eyes made my heart heavy.

"Oh."

"What do we do?"

"Spear... Has anyone ever succeeded with a spear?"

My pathetic state was visible to everyone in line, and the words I heard from the people waiting for their tests felt like they were digging into my heart.

Haa.

I let out a deep, heavy sigh as I left the characteristic test center.

Even my once-heavy wallet was now empty, making my heart feel even more hollow.

"Damn..."

Standing on the street, muttering curses, all my motivation was gone.

'How can I make a living with a spear?'

I resented the fact that the reality I faced was so unhelpful to me.

I was in a world that existed in the novels I had read.

The kind of thing that happens in the opening of a dime-store novel.

Unbelievably, it had happened to me.

I didn't know if I had committed some great sin, or what I had done without realizing it, but the deed was already done.

"..."

On one side of my vision, I could still see the towering buildings of the academy.

Seeing the grand exterior of the academy, which looked like a royal palace, made me realize anew that I was in the [Grand Royal Academy] of this world.

I remembered reading novels where the protagonist or a supporting character would excel and dominate the academy.

But based on that knowledge, I had no idea what I should do.

I wasn't the protagonist, or even a supporting character.

I was just 'me.'

In other novels, I would have been given a good character, like a noble, but I had none of that.

I was just a nobody in this world, like a contaminant.

Still, I tried to adapt to this world. Without a visible status window, I worked odd jobs at an inn to save money for the characteristic test.

I had a vague hope that I could live well in this world, like the protagonist or a supporting character who had excelled.

The characteristic test that you can take when you become an adult.

If it went well... I could have been like the protagonist and made a name for myself.

"Some guy said, 'If you expect, you'll be betrayed...'"

Muttering a phrase I had seen in the past, I couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

How could I not expect when a good result on the characteristic test could change my life?

"Mom, that uncle is weird."

"Oh. Stay away from people like that. Got it?"

"Okay, I got it!"

...Hearing the strange comments from passersby, I looked at a hat with a bitter expression.

'Uncle?'

There are things to say and things not to say.

Despite feeling even more down, I moved my feet.

"...But I have to try, right?"

Still, I could apply for admission to the academy.

Since anyone who takes the characteristic test can apply for the academy.

In this world, which has a medieval setting with a clear class system, the academy was like a ray of hope.

"Can I make it with effort?"

Muttering to myself, a habit I had developed from living alone, I let out a small sigh.

If I could stand out at the academy, I might be taken in by a noble family or even the royal palace.

That was the life I had hoped for.

Of course, I had hoped for a comfortable life by tagging along with the protagonist or a supporting character who had overwhelming talent, but my most average expectation was a life with a guaranteed future.

I just wanted to live without any hindrance to my daily life.

"..."

Sighing, I opened the detailed window of my spear mastery.

Ding!

*

---

Characteristic Name: Spear Mastery

Grade: Common

Current Characteristic Level: 1

Description: Provides a 'bonus' when handling a spear.

---

*

The description was so simple that I wondered if that was all there was to it.

At first glance, getting a 'bonus' might not seem important, but the difference between having and not having that bonus was immeasurable.

"...Common."

The grade of the characteristic was as expected, but seeing it made me feel even more disheartened.

Moreover, in this world, being a melee user was a kind of 'disaster.'

Almost all monsters have overwhelming resistance to physical attacks.

Even a mere goblin has thick skin that makes it hard to wound with ordinary weapons, and maintaining the edge of a weapon after killing a monster is a huge expense.

Additionally, from what I knew, there was no spear instructor at the academy.

"If I didn't know, I might have had some hope."

Knowing too much about the world of the Grand Royal Academy was now a source of regret.

Then I shook my head.

'Only two months left.'

The time until the entrance exam was short.

...I didn't even have time to blame my characteristic.

I had to find a spear and somehow level up my characteristic.

At least I had to get into the academy to have a chance.

Thud.

I immediately changed direction and headed for the blacksmith's.

***

Two months passed.

"Huff... Huff...!"

My chest felt like it was about to burst.

Breathing heavily, I leaned on the spear I was holding and stared into the air.

Then the status window appeared in my vision.

*

---

Name: Han Cheon-seong

Gender: Male (20)

Title: None

Height · Weight: 178cm 67kg

Current Continental Influence: 5

*Stats.

*Owned Characteristics [1]

[Spear Mastery Lv.3]

*Skills [0]

---

*

"Damn."

Even as I cursed, a smile crept onto my face.

I did it.

I wanted to shout out loud, but with the heavy breaths already at my throat, I was already at my limit.

After two months of hard work, I managed to level up my characteristic to level 3.

While my other stats had also improved, the most encouraging thing for me was the level-up of my spear mastery.

"This should be enough to pass."

In the novels, the average characteristic level of academy entrance exam takers was 2.

While those with truly exceptional characteristics could pass with a level 1, my common-grade spear mastery had no such luxury.

So, I had spent the last two months in grueling effort to level up my characteristic.

"Haa..."

Breathing heavily, I wiped the sweat from my cheeks.

I could see that my body had changed.

'Really, I've been through hell.'

Over the past two months, my body had changed through forced training.

Considering that my stats, which had barely improved, had risen by an average of 2, it was a significant improvement.

Thud.

As I got up from my slumped position and headed to the exam, my gaze fell on a corner of the training ground.

—! ——!

In this training ground in the city, many people were working hard to level up their characteristics.

Among them, one woman stood out.

Her blue hair reached down to her waist, and her eyes sparkled like stars, making her seem extraordinary.

...Especially when she swung her sword,

Whoosh!

The strong wind she created made it impossible not to look.

'What characteristic does she have?'

This world was ruthlessly talent- and lineage-based, so such a display was possible.

There were characteristics with flashy names, like the [Heavenly Sword] characteristic of the protagonist of the Grand Royal Academy.

The blue-haired woman I was looking at must have... She must have an outstanding characteristic like that.

I guessed it was at least a rare-grade characteristic.

Flick.

"..."

Suddenly, she looked at me, and I didn't want to avoid her gaze, so I waved lightly.

Flick.

Then, she turned her head. I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.