Chapter 35: Negative Reputation

As soon as he stepped through the opening, the scenery around him changed.

He found himself standing in a large open area surrounded by high walls. The ground was completely flat, with no platforms or raised areas. Several teleportation gates stood around the edges, and more candidates were still coming through them.

Ethan took a quick look around.

There were people from different cities here. Their clothes and academy badges were different, and there were several groups of academy representatives standing around the assessment area.

Aria walked over to him.

"Looks like we’re not the only ones here."

"Obviously."

She gave him a look. "You could at least pretend to be surprised."

Before Ethan could reply, a man’s voice came from the center of the area.

"Everyone, settle down."

The voice wasn’t very loud, but everyone could hear it.

The conversations slowly stopped as a man walked toward the center. He looked to be in his thirties and wore a dark academy uniform with a silver emblem on his chest. Unlike the other representatives, he wasn’t carrying a weapon.

He stopped and looked over the crowd.

"Welcome to Assessment Area #478."

He waited for a moment before continuing.

"Yes, that’s the actual number. There are four hundred and seventy-seven other assessment areas being used today."

A few candidates exchanged looks.

The man smiled.

"So if you’re wondering why we aren’t all in one place, that’s your answer."

A few people laughed.

"My name is Marcus. I’ll be one of the examiners handling this assessment area."

He looked around again.

"Before we start, there are a few things you need to know."

Marcus raised one finger.

"First, this isn’t an assessment for one academy."

He pointed toward the academy representatives around them.

"Several academies are observing candidates today. Your results will be recorded and sent to them."

The candidates became more attentive.

"If an academy is interested in you, they can offer you admission. And if more than one academy wants you, you can choose which one to accept."

That immediately changed the mood.

Most of the candidates had come here hoping to get into the Order Academy. It was the first choice for many of them.

The problem was that the Order Academy only accepted a small number of candidates compared to the total number taking the assessment. Most of them knew their chances weren’t very high.

Still, that didn’t stop them from hoping.

Even if they couldn’t get into the Order Academy, an offer from another good academy would still be a great opportunity.

Marcus waited until the noise settled.

"We’ll begin with the first assessment."

He raised his hand.

"Reputation."

A few candidates exchanged looks.

Marcus didn’t explain further. Instead, he turned toward the center of the assessment area.

A few seconds later, a large light screen appeared high above them.

The screen was almost as wide as the assessment area itself. Lines of information slowly appeared across it.

Ethan stared at it for a moment.

The Order Ranking.

It was created and maintained by the Order Academy. The ranking could access a person’s records and calculate their Reputation based on their achievements.

It didn’t only show someone’s Reputation either.

Anything considered worthy of mention could also appear.

Dungeon clears.

Major achievements.

Important contributions.

Notable events.

The information wasn’t always complete, but the Order Ranking was still the most reliable way to check someone’s Reputation.

Normally, this shouldn’t have been possible.

The system that brought everyone to Elyria kept most of its information hidden. Even checking another person’s Reputation wasn’t something ordinary people could do.

Yet the Order Academy had somehow created a system that could access it.

Ethan had thought about this many times in his previous life.

He had never found a clear answer.

There was only one possibility he could think of.

The Order Academy had found a way to connect to the system that had brought them all to Elyria.

Ethan’s attention returned to the light screen above them.

If that was really the case, then the Order Academy knew much more about this world than it had ever revealed.

Marcus spoke again.

"The ranking will begin with the candidates in this assessment area."

"Your Reputation will be recorded first. The candidates will then be ranked based on their Reputation."

Everyone was waiting to see where they would rank.

Immediately, names began to appear one after another, moving quickly across the screen.

In just a few seconds, the entire screen was covered with names. Each name was followed by a number showing the candidate’s Reputation.

The candidates immediately started searching for their own names.

Aria’s eyes quickly found her name among the others.

"Thirty-eighth."

She looked at the names around her and then at the number of candidates on the screen.

"I’m somewhere in the middle."

She didn’t seem too disappointed. There were still plenty of candidates below her, and she had only awakened recently.

Then she started looking for Ethan’s name.

She searched through the ranking for a while, but couldn’t find it.

"Where’s yours?"

Ethan didn’t answer.

Aria continued searching.

"There are so many names here. How am I supposed to find you?"

She moved her eyes across the screen again, then suddenly stopped.

"Wait..."

She looked at Ethan.

"Don’t tell me you don’t even have a point."

"But that should be impossible..."

Ethan didn’t say anything.

Instead, he looked toward the top of the ranking.

Aria noticed where he was looking.

Her eyes slowly moved upward.

Then she saw it.

At the very top of the ranking was a name she hadn’t noticed before.

1st — Ethan

Aria stared at it for a moment.

Then she looked at Ethan.

"...You’re first?"

Ethan nodded.

"You knew?"

"I had an idea."

Aria looked back at the screen.

"That explains why I couldn’t find your name.

Several candidates nearby noticed the difference as well.

"Three hundred?"

"How did he get that much?"

"The second place only has eighty-one."

The difference between first and second was huge.

Aria looked at Ethan.

"You really caused quite a scene."

"I didn’t do anything."

"You’re standing in first place."

Ethan looked at the screen.

"So?"

Aria stared at him for a second before laughing.

"Forget it."

Ethan continued looking at the ranking.

His name was there, along with his Reputation, but there was no picture beside it.

If there had been one, everyone would have known who he was already.

Marcus looked over the ranking.

His eyes stopped at the first place.

"Three hundred..."

He was a little surprised.

Three hundred Reputation was a lot for a newly awakened candidate. There had been people who reached even higher numbers in previous years, but they weren’t common.

"Looks like this batch isn’t bad."

Marcus continued down the ranking.

When he reached the bottom, his expression changed.

There were dozens of candidates with a minus sign before their Reputation.

The numbers were red.

Marcus frowned.

"Negative Reputation..."

He looked at the ranking for a moment.

"Those with negative Reputation, step out."

The ranking suddenly changed.

The names with negative Reputation disappeared from their positions. A red number appeared above each of the candidates instead.

-12

-7

-34

-3

The candidates noticed the numbers above their heads.

Some of them looked confused.

"Wait. Why?"

Marcus looked at him.

"What’s the problem?"

"Just because our Reputation is negative, you’re not going to let us continue?"

"That’s right."

The young man frowned.

"But we’re here for an entrance trial. We’re supposed to be tested on our abilities. What does Reputation have to do with whether we can fight?"

A few candidates around him nodded.

"I might have negative Reputation, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak. I can still pass the other assessments."

Marcus looked at him.

"Do you know how Reputation works?"

The young man didn’t answer.

"Positive Reputation is earned by doing things that help society. Killing monsters, dealing with bandits, saving people, completing missions..."

Marcus pointed at the red number above the young man’s head.

"Negative Reputation comes from doing the opposite."

The young man’s expression changed.

"But that doesn’t mean I can’t become stronger!"

"No one said you couldn’t."

Marcus’s voice became colder.

"The problem is that the academies don’t want people like you."

The young man clenched his fists.

"But you can’t just remove us because of that!"

Marcus looked at him for a few seconds.

"You should be glad you’re only being removed from the entrance trial."

The young man’s face turned pale.

Marcus looked at the other candidates with negative Reputation.

"Leave."

"Now."

The candidates with negative Reputation left through the teleportation gate at the edge of the assessment area.

Once they were gone, Marcus turned back to the others.

"Alright. Let’s continue."

The screen changed again.

Reputation Assessment

40 Points

Marcus pointed at the screen.

"There are one hundred points in total for this trial."

He looked around at the candidates.

"There are three assessments. Your points from all three will be added together at the end."

He paused for a moment.

"Reputation is worth forty points."

The candidates looked at the screen as their scores started appearing beside their names.

"The higher your Reputation, the more points you’ll get."