"Ughh…"
Shye groaned upon waking up in another unfamiliar place. The last thing he remembered was his glorious victory.
He looked around and saw lots of beds beside him. Although only some of the beds were occupied, it looked like those who occupied the beds were all injured.
Is this the infirmary?!
"W-What?! N-No way…Did I actually lose? Was it all a dream?"
Shye started to doubt his victory and panicked but fortunately, a beautiful nurse came in. He quickly asked the nurse what happened to him.
"Hello, I'm examinee number 352, Shye Crowley. I would like to ask why am I in the infirmary?"
"Oh…I guess you don't remember huh? Well, all of those who get sent here mostly don't remember what happened so your case is understandable."
His heart started to beat even faster upon hearing the reply of the nurse.
"D-Did I lose?..."
Shye asked the nurse with a downcast expression.
The nurse was stupefied upon hearing his question. Shortly after, the nurse started to laugh.
"S-Sorry for laughing, I guess my reply was a bit misleading. No, you didn't lose, however, you passed out right after your victory."
"O-Oh…I see, that's a relief…"
Shye breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he had indeed won.
"However, it's a pity that you were disqualified in your quarterfinal match. You weren't able to wake up on time so your opponent was awarded the win."
"Still, defeating a seeded examinee is no easy feat and I greatly admire you, Sir Crowley, for being able to defeat one."
"You ended your tournament run with a final rank of 16th place. Congratulations, Sir Crowley, I believe that with the rank you achieved, you would be able to live a comfortable academy life."
"T-Thank you."
Shye thanked the nurse for congratulating him and also, for informing him about his current situation.
"16th place huh? Not bad…After all, I wasn't even hoping to be in the top 100 in the first place…16th place should give me lots of resources and I can finally secure a lot of food for Maia!
He happily muttered to himself.
After resting for another half an hour, a staff member suddenly entered the infirmary and informed all the examinees who regained their consciousness that there would be a closing ceremony for all the passers two hours from now.
Shye thanked the staff member and then proceeded to rest for two more hours. He underestimated the effects of all his battles on his body.
He thought that he was fine even after the fight with Alexander Smith but it turns out that his body couldn't handle any more burden so he passed out.
After two hours, Shye felt that his body had somewhat recovered so he got up from the infirmary bed and proceeded to the ceremony area.
Upon arriving, he was surprised because of how grand the ceremony was.
There were lots of colorful flags inside the ceremony area and fireworks were exploding in the sky.
Even though they were only freshmen, he still felt how sincere the Colzen Adventurer Academy was in welcoming them.
After a few more minutes, the head examiner walked onto the stage and finally started the ceremony.
"To all 500 of you who passed the assessments, I congratulate all of you. As a prestigious adventurer academy, we promise to make your talents shine and prepare you for the real world of adventurers."
"However, the resources are finite so as you all know, we would be prioritizing the improvement of those who are ranked higher in the third assessment."
"For those of you who achieved a low ranking this time, fret not. There are still a lot of chances for you to prove your worth inside the academy."
"Although it will be harder and harder for you to defeat those in the higher rankings in the future, the chance isn't zero."
"Remember, although not all who worked hard have succeeded, all of those who succeeded have worked hard."
"Two days from now, the new semester and your academy life will begin. Make sure to leave all your distractions behind and focus on your studies."
"Your examinee numbers will serve as your proof that you passed. Make sure to bring them on your first day. The admission staff will guide you further on the day of your admission."
"That's all from me, see you at the academy grounds two days from now. Welcome to Colzen Adventurer Academy!"
Everyone clapped as the head examiner finished his speech and walked down from the stage.
After the ceremony, the people dispersed and Shye excitedly rushed back home.
Upon arriving, he immediately hugged Maia and told her the good news.
As expected, Maia jumped up and down happily after hearing that her big brother passed the entrance examination.
She knew that her big brother had been working hard for this and she was glad that his efforts were rewarded.
At the same time, she was touched because she knew that her big brother dreamt about being an adventurer for the past four years to procure food for her.
However, she was also a bit sad that her big brother would be at the academy most of the time and they would probably only see each other early in the morning and late at night.
She was used to having her big brother by her side all the time so her reaction was understandable.
Still, after two more years, she would also be eligible for the entrance exam.
In addition to this, she would finally be able to train for more than two hours since his big brother would be providing food for her.
It was impossible to train hard on an empty stomach so she currently cannot overexert herself.
Overall, it was a very happy day for both of them.
Not only did she survive her weird illness, but her big brother even passed the Colzen Adventurer Academy entrance exam.
Unfortunately, all they had as celebratory food were a few vegetables and hard bread.
Still, they ate and slept happily that night.