Jobless Transmigration: I'm the only one who loves monsters.-Chapter 111: Stage 1 of the exams begins.

Chapter 111: Stage 1 of the exams begins.

"Well, time’s up." The examiner’s voice cut through the lingering tension of the earlier confrontation, his tone sounding casual and final.

Showing how utterly indifferent he was to whatever personal dramas might have been playing out among the assembled examinees.

He closed the pocket watch he had been holding with a sharp snap that seemed to echo across the entire square, the sound carrying with it the weight of authority that no one present dared to challenge.

The scheduled moment for the examination to finally commence had arrived, and as for all those who had not yet made it to this gathering, who were still somewhere along the road or trapped in whatever delays had befallen them, he could not have cared any less for their circumstances. They had missed their chance, and in the world of the academy, chances missed were chances lost forever. If they wished to enroll, then they’d simply have to try enrolling next year, of course that also meant they’d have to pay the enrollment fee all over again.

"As of this moment, the Gruneville Witchers Academy Exams shall officially commence." He raised his hand in a gesture that seemed almost casual and dismissive, yet the effect of that simple motion was anything but ordinary.

One large Runic magical circle erupted into existence beneath the feet of every single examinee scattered across that square, complex patterns of light and symbols that glowed with an intensity that forced more than a few to shield their eyes. The circle spun once, twice, three times, and then in the span of a single heartbeat, everyone vanished, the examiner himself included, leaving behind nothing but empty space and the fading echoes of magical energy dissipating into the afternoon air.

Gunter could not stop himself from gasping aloud as the world reshuffled itself around him, one moment solid ground and open sky, the next he witnessed something else entirely.

His hands flew out instinctively to steady himself against a fall that never came, and when his vision finally cleared and his stomach settled back into its proper place, he found himself standing within a space that defied easy description.

Not only him, of course, but quite a few of the other examinees were similarly stunned by the experience of magical teleportation, that peculiar sensation of having one’s very existence picked up and moved like a piece through the very fabric of space without any say in the matter whatsoever was truly a first for some if not all of the examines.

Nevertheless, they were a few examines who weren’t amazed by such a thing, for instance, the shameless third princess.

******

The examinees all discovered that they were currently within a grand and sprawling hall that radiated age from every stone, from every pillar, and every flickering torch mounted along the walls that had clearly stood for ages they couldn’t possibly decipher, perhaps even beyond the creation of the academy itself.

There was something almost reverent about the space, which seemed to whisper of traditions stretching back into the mists of history, of countless young men and women who had stood exactly where they now stood, nervous and hopeful and terrified in equal measure.

The architecture itself was filled with a strange power and permanence, as if telling tales of an institution that had weathered wars and famines and the rise and fall of eras.

But nevertheless, it would continue to do so long after everyone present had returned to the dust from which they came.

The examinees found themselves clustered together within a specific section of this vast room, hemmed in by invisible boundaries that none of them quite understood but all of them instinctively perceived.

It did not take long at all for the hall to fill with the constant, low-level murmur of voices, examinees whispering to one another about what might come next.

Some discussed about what they had heard from older siblings or distant cousins who had attempted these exams in years past, while a few simply conversed about the strange and wonderful place they now found themselves within.

Lucuis allowed his eyes to sweep across his companions, noting with no small amount of relief that they all appeared present and accounted for. Leo stood nearby, his expression carefully neutral but his posture alert and ready.

Adrian had positioned himself slightly in front of Snow, a protective gesture that the snake woman accepted with the barest softening of her usually cold features.

Amy, Grey, and Emma formed a loose cluster of their own around the man they deemed their beloved and even Gunter had somehow ended up close to their group, his wide eyes taking in everything with a look that spoke volumes of how overwhelmed he was right now.

’ Fortunately for our group, Silvia’s necklaces had pulled through after all.’ Lucuis allowed himself a small internal sigh of relief at that realization, for he had been genuinely uncertain whether the examiner or any of the academy’s other hidden defenses might have seen through the disguises that allowed Snow and Grey and Emma to pass as ordinary human examinees.

The women’s supernatural natures remained carefully concealed beneath whatever magic those necklaces possessed, and from the look of things, his worries on that front had proven entirely unfounded. Whatever else might happen during these exams, at least they would not be immediately expelled for simply existing as what they were.

"Listen closely now, all of you." The examiner’s voice cut through the ambient chatter like a blade through fog, and every single person in that hall fell silent instantly, their attention snapping toward the source of that command with a reflexive obedience.

"This shall be where your first test will commence." The examiner’s words hung in the air for a moment, allowing the weight of them to settle upon every soul present, and then something extraordinary happened.

A deep rumbling sound emanated from the very floor beneath their feet, a groaning of ancient stone that might have been alarming if not for the obvious intent behind it.