"F-FAlCON P*UNCH!"

Jack's hand seemingly exploded, bone fragments piercing through the Boulder of Omnipotence, leaving the crowd utterly shell-shocked.

What the actual fuck?!

"Kid, why the hell did you do that?!" Even the Old Ghost was utterly confused. Was there a need to go that far?! As for Jack, even he was staring at his own hand, frozen.historical

He had intended to buff his bones.

He had intended to use them to pierce through.

He HADN'T intended to cause himself so much damage!

But as soon as he had realized how crazy of a move this was, it had already been far too late to stop it. Had he done so, the recoil alone would have messed him up anyway.

Except he wasn't the only one shaken..

"G-guys! Listen, it's whimpering?! The Boulder of Omnipotence's.. crying!!" A bystander cried out in shock. But that wasn't all; Jack had actually wounded the thing?!

A blood-like milky liquid came out of the thing as it whimpered nonstop. This was weird to strangers, but to the people who knew about it, it was GODLIKE!

"H-How?! This shouldn't be possible!"

The test administrator uttered, his legs trembling. The whole "need to scratch" the thing was BS. It was merely to get test takers to try their hardest.

The more the Boulder of Omnipotence shook, the better the taker's test result. There was actually no correlation to the damage done— at least, usually! But now..

— Whimper! Whimper! Whimper! —

"Does that mean I passed?" Jack asked, perplexed.

This was what he was worried about?! One of his arms lifelessly dangled from his torso.. and that's what he bloody wanted to know?!

"T-that.. I'm not sure.."

As the man approached the thing to study it, the small crowd couldn't help but go wild with speculations, gossiping their hearts out.

"What do you think happened?"

"This test restricts magic.. what if he's half-giant?!"

"Pfttt— Half? He could be a full-fledged one with that much damage!"

They anxiously awaited the man's verdict. But just as they were to celebrate the advent of a new genius: "FOUL! You, you used Magic somehow! Disqualified!" He barked.

The focus was instantly on Jack. What kind of bastard would cheat on Entry Exams? What had he even been thinking?! Yet, he didn't recoil one bit, even going forward.

He smirked, innocently imitating the man's voice:

"This is the Boulder of Omnipotence! Your goal is to bash the shit out of it. As long as you manage to chip it, you're fine— Is what you said. I obviously succeeded!" Jack remarked.

"Y-you! Everyone knows that's not what you're supposed to—"

"Not only did you fail to explain the rules, but you're actually trying to shirk off responsibility? You never once mentioned Magic in your explanation." Jack shrugged.

Silence befell the test courtyard for a second.. and was quickly broken by cascading laughter. Lizzy couldn't take it: this VIP tester sure had messed up!

"So, that means I passed, right?" Jack smiled.

"Y-you.. you!!! FINE!"

The poor man could only relent. At this moment, he was already grinding his teeth at that obvious rule-breaker! He didn't consider for a moment that Jack really didn't know the rules!

Still, that wouldn't matter! He could always include it in his report. Luckily, he knew how strict the Headmaster could be toward unrepentant troublemakers!

"Alright, follow me to the next test!"

As soon as he took a step, so did the mob. VIP testing was usually a pretty unremarkable event.. but the Boulder's whimpers could be heard across the entire Gym!

Even now, people were arriving by the dozen, already asking their friends about this newcomer— and it got even worse as a few recognized him!

It usually went: 1) "Gasp. Wait, he's..?! Holy shit!" 2) "What?! You know him?" 3) "Keep it to yourself, but he's..." Then they'd break out in even more shocked whispers.

Thus they kept eagerly following, the crowd growing by the second, all of them soon reaching test #2. For some reason, this one too was a boulder!

It was yet another small courtyard with a glowing blue rock in the middle. It was as if a colorful cloud had been trapped in it, reminding one of a lava lamp.

"Let me introduce the Boulder of Omniscience! It's.."

The one in charge declared, this time having learned his lesson. A test could have been resumed to "Place your hand on it, and wait" was instead explained for 30 minutes!

Every little detail in the rules that could potentially be exploited, was explained to such a degree that the crowd almost fell asleep many times over.

"W-why is he going to such lengths? We get it already!"

"Pfft— You missed the strength trial, right? He.."

"Ah! So he's making sure that cheating's completely impossible this time. It makes sense now!" People would come to the realization, chuckling to themselves.

Little did the man realize that his "drawn-out" and over-the-top explanation was actually a blessing to Jack. Now he'd go in with all the info!

This test would stimulate one's SENSE; the better it was, the more colors would appear on the boulder. It was also believed to show one's potential for MAGIC in general.

Thus, this test was especially vital at a Magic Academy! Knowing this, Jack stepped forth, his heart beating in his chest, putting his still intact hand on it.

The effect was instant!

As soon as he did, he felt it! This thing was freaking alive and had a will, just like its Boulder brethren! He could almost feel it breathe as it scanned his Mana!

"You, you better behave." Jack seemingly warned the boulder.

The thing's Mana made a cycle inside him, then another, and another, researching every nook and cranny of his body. Then something clicked, and Jack felt that it was over.

Now, he just had to wait: the more colors appeared, the better his result. Still, his SENSE value was among his highest stats.. so he should be fine, right?

But before he could relax...

[Boulder of Omniscience Activating!]

[Appraisal God's Fragment has Awakened!]