Chapter 63: The new world

Before we begin Volume Two, I want to give my greatest appreciation to everyone who has supported Reincarnated as a Damn Planet, whether through Power Stones, Golden Tickets, Privilege Tiers, or purchasing Chapters. Every bit of support means a lot to me and gives me the motivation to continue writing this story.

Expect a completely different vibe as we move into a larger world filled with wars, discoveries, plot twists, strategies, and tactics. The story will also begin exploring what exists beyond the planet itself, although the truth behind that will be revealed later.

------------

The vibrant city of Etia was filled with the loud buzzing of countless people, their voices blending together throughout the streets as merchants shouted their prices and travelers pushed through the crowded roads. Today was the day the Gajia Academy would hold its entrance examination, drawing hundreds of applicants from different races who had traveled from distant regions with the hope of becoming strong warriors.

Among those applicants was a boy named Akuma, a young man from a nearby village who had bet everything he had on the opportunity to enter the academy. Yet he was far from being the only one who had made such a sacrifice, as countless youths around his age had arrived after their families poured nearly everything they possessed into giving them even a chance to take the examination.

Akuma stood quietly within the long line of applicants, surrounded by hundreds of other young men and women waiting for their turn to enter the Gajia Academy. Some wore expensive clothing that revealed their wealthy backgrounds, while others, like Akuma, carried the modest appearance of people who had traveled from small villages and distant settlements.

Before them stood the massive entrance of the academy, surrounded by towering stone walls that stretched so high that thick fog began to obscure their upper reaches whenever someone tried to look toward the top. Beyond those walls were enormous stone buildings that resembled a fortress more than an academy, their surfaces decorated with countless statues, carvings, banners, and monuments left behind throughout the institution’s seven-hundred-year history.

Eventually, Akuma and the other applicants were led inside and gathered within a spacious examination hall. Nearly five hundred people occupied the enormous room, their conversations filling the chamber with a constant murmur as they waited anxiously for the examination to begin.

A slender man wearing a perfectly neat black uniform stepped before the crowd, several golden buttons running down the front of his chest. He held a sheet of paper in one hand and adjusted his posture before looking across the sea of applicants with a gentle smile.

"Welcome, everyone. I would like to express my appreciation to all of you for coming here today, especially those who have traveled from far away just for the opportunity to apply."

His eyes narrowed slightly as his smile widened, though there was something strange about the expression that made several applicants instinctively straighten their backs.

"However, I must say, this is quite the list of applicants. This might be the most absurd batch of candidates I have ever seen."

The man lowered his gaze toward the paper and began scanning through the names written upon it, his expression gradually becoming more interested as he continued down the list. Then, after finding a particular name, he raised his head and called out into the crowd.

"Ragnir Rootil."

The moment the name echoed throughout the hall, the previously restless crowd erupted into whispers.

"Rootil?"

"Isn’t that a descendant of Erid Rootil?"

"One of the Defying Nine?"

The man in black allowed the commotion to continue for several seconds before clearing his throat, immediately drawing everyone’s attention back toward him. He lowered his gaze to the paper once more before continuing with the next name.

"Akira Prosei."

Another wave of whispers spread through the hall, though this time the reaction came from a different group of applicants.

"Prosei... isn’t that the famous merchant family?"

"They actually sent someone here?"

The instructor merely smiled at their reactions before moving down the list, seemingly amused by how easily the names alone could stir the entire examination hall.

"And, of course, we have the heir of Etia..."

He paused deliberately, allowing the anticipation to build among the applicants before finally announcing the name.

"Rize Drough."

The crowd went wild once again, unable to believe that so many legendary names would be part of the same batch. Even if they failed the examination, many of them already felt fortunate simply for being able to say that they had stood among the same candidates as descendants of legendary figures.

The man standing before them waited until the noise gradually settled before finally speaking again.

"Now, let us begin the examination."

Akuma couldn’t help but clench his fist tightly, his heart beating faster as excitement and nervousness coursed through his body. After traveling all this way and placing everything he had on this opportunity, the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"The first test will be an endurance test."

The instructor clapped his hands, and a deep mechanical rumble immediately echoed throughout the examination hall. One section of the massive stone wall slowly descended, revealing a dark chamber hidden behind it.

From within that chamber came a low, guttural growl that caused the entire hall to fall silent.

The instructor stepped aside as a massive creature slowly emerged from the darkness, its body covered in thick scales and powerful muscles. The sheer pressure radiating from the beast was enough to make several weaker applicants instinctively take a step backward.

"We captured this Tier Five beast from the Decaying Forest. It has been specially trained to knock people unconscious rather than kill them."

The instructor calmly looked across the applicants before continuing.

"Your objective is simple. Survive against the beast for ten minutes without being knocked unconscious, and you will pass the first test."

Several applicants swallowed nervously as the beast lowered its body, its eyes sweeping across the hundreds of candidates as though deciding which one to attack first.

"You are not allowed to attack the beast. Any attempt to harm it will result in immediate elimination."

The instructor raised one hand, while the beast’s claws slowly dug into the stone floor.

"The time starts now."

The moment his words fell, the beast exploded forward.