Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

The other students shifted. Some frowned.

Arthur remained still.

"An S-rank talent is not something you 'work toward.' It is not something you 'catch up to.'"

His voice hardened.

"It is a gift from god. A mark of supremacy. An S-rank talent holder can do in one year what an A-rank may take ten to accomplish."

Arthur's fingers twitched slightly at those words.

"If you are not S-rank, the academy will not place you there. You will have to do the impossible. Prove you are so monstrously strong that you cannot be ignored."

Another pause.

"If you are not in Class S, you will never receive the same resources, the same mentorship, the same recognition. And if you wish to challenge those at the top, you will do so with less—while they grow stronger with more."

The words hung in the air.

Arthur exhaled slowly.

"But—" The instructor smirked. "I will not crush your ambitions before you've had a chance to fight for them."

His voice grew sharper.

"That is what this next exam is for. Your placement."

The students straightened.

"Your next test is simple."

"We will measure your combat power."

A few of the students stiffened.

Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Raw output. How much strength you can unleash in a single moment."

The instructor folded his arms behind his back, stepping forward.

His sharp eyes flickered over the remaining six students. Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire

Arthur stole another glance at the others.

The girl he had spoken to earlier stood stiffly, her fingers curling slightly at her sides.

The mention of S-Class had clearly stirred something in her.

Maybe a goal. Maybe frustration.

Arthur wasn't sure.

The other students had similar reactions when A-Class and B-Class were mentioned—small changes in their posture, their clenched fists, and narrowed eyes.

But then—Arthur's gaze landed on the red-haired young man.

He stood relaxed, his shoulders loose, his hands lazily resting in his pockets.

Unlike the others, he hadn't reacted at all.

No tension. No urgency.

He wasn't worried.

Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly.

'So he's a student here, huh?'

The moment he had first arrived in Caldera, this same red-haired youth had shoved past him without a second glance.

That kind of confidence—no, that kind of arrogance—meant he knew where he stood.

Arthur could already tell.

This guy was different from the others near him.

The instructor finally spoke.

"Alright. Simply put we will test two things," the instructor announced, his voice carrying across the silent courtyard.

Arthur and the other five students stood scattered, their gazes fixed on the testing puppet before them.

"First, your raw physical power—no mana, no skills, just pure strength. Second, your maximum output. You can use any skill at your disposal, but no weapons that enhance attack power. If your skill requires one, let me know, and I'll provide a weapon that won't enhance it."

His sharp gaze swept over them.

"Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

Without hesitation, the instructor reached into his inventory and pulled out a testing dummy.

Unlike an ordinary training doll, this one was carved from enchanted mateiral, its surface lined with faint runes pulsing with mana.

He set it down, stepping back.

"First test—raw strength. You—step forward."

He pointed at a lean-looking student on the far left.

The boy tensed but stepped up.

Arthur watched as the student drew back his fist, muscles tightening before he threw a punch straight into the puppet's torso.

Boom!

A dull impact rang out, but the puppet barely moved.

A second later—Ding! C-Class.

The boy exhaled in relief.

C-Class wasn't exceptional, but it was a passing grade.

"Next."

The instructor turned to the girl Arthur had spoken to earlier.

She strode forward with confidence, rolling her shoulders in hesitation.

She planted her feet, rotated her hips, and delivered a devastating hook to the puppet's head.

BANG!

The puppet's head rocked back violently, and the impact rang through the air like a struck bell.

Arthur's brows lifted slightly. That was a clean hit.

Then—

Ding! A-Class.

She clenched her fists, a flicker of frustration crossing her face.

Clearly, she had wanted S-Class.

"Next."

Now, it was the red-haired youth's turn.

He strolled up casually, rolling his neck.

The moment he stepped into position, Arthur noticed something.

There was no tension in his posture.

No hesitation. No nerves. Just… ease.

Then—A single step.

A simple twist of the waist.

And then—BOOM!

The force of the impact was monstrous.

A gust of wind rushed outward from the sheer force of his punch.

The runes on the puppet flared bright blue as it absorbed the blow, the air itself trembling.

Then—

Ding! S-Class.

Silence.

The other students looked stunned.

The instructor gave an approving nod as if expecting the result.

Arthur's expression, however, remained unreadable. He had already registered the amount of power he needed to put into the punch to get S-Class. He believed that It wasn't difficult, for him to get it.

"Next."

Another student stepped up, delivering a solid B-Class hit. The process repeated until—

"You. Step forward."

Arthur met the instructor's gaze.

It was his turn.

Fine.

He took a slow step toward the puppet, exhaling as he positioned himself.

No mana. No skills. Just his raw strength from his physical attributes.

The moment his foot planted firmly onto the stone floor, the air around him seemed to shift. Subtle, yet undeniable. His muscles coiled beneath his skin like wound steel cables, his stance solid as bedrock. Unlike the others before him, Arthur's approach was eerily calm—methodical.

His eyes locked onto the puppet's neck.

A critical point.

Where others aimed blindly, Arthur calculated. Where others relied on brute force, he used precision.

He twisted his torso, coiling his core like a spring before exploding forward.

CRACK!

The impact rang out like a thunderclap.

For a fraction of a second, time seemed to freeze.

The force of Arthur's strike sent a violent ripple through the puppet's frame.

The moment his fist connected, the neck area of the puppet splintered with a grotesque sound, fine cracks spiderwebbing outward from the point of impact.

The entire testing dummy shuddered violently, almost as if recoiling from the sheer force it had just endured.

Then, the notification rang.