chapter 31
On the way to the meeting place, I was able to meet a familiar face.
“Ow, Logan! Were you already there!”
Then, Logan, who was several times taller than the other cadets and walked with his muscles twitching, turned around and waved his hand.
“Oh, Confucius, are you here?”
Then Gertrude Panton opened her eyes wide as if she was dumbfounded, and hurriedly whispered:
“Is it right to say hello like a close friend?! What kind of guy is that guy! One of the best opponents to watch out for in this trial.”
“opponent? my uncle They also give me Magic-Protein every day.”
“Are you a good person if you give him food? What kind of idea would a fountain pigeon have?!”
After retracing her memories of being an orphan for a moment, Lane raised her eyebrows, asking, “What are you saying?”
“I heard you don’t give food to people you don’t know unless they are kind people?”
Watching Lane giggle with Logan as she walked into the auditorium, Gertrude felt dizzy and had to touch her temples.
<Delaiten> Main building Yongryun Hall 1st floor, main auditorium.
Finally, a whopping 233 freshmen gathered in this archaic space, but none of them were as loud as the entrance ceremony.
“It’s eeriely quiet.”
Most of the reactions of students waiting for the start of the examination briefing session were similar.
His face turned white, his feet trembled regularly, he put his hands together and prayed… … It would be strange not to.
Christa answered Lane’s self-talk.
“It’s a midterm exam, and it’s an event to filter out students without talent, that is, stones with no value.”
The <Deleiten> university department is famous for expelling as few as 20, and as many as 50 to 60 cadets during the midterm and final exams.
‘Don’t be nervous, Christa.’
Christa Warden took a deep breath to calm her trembling fingers.
going to be the best
Like yesterday, today too. And tomorrow too.
When I clenched my fists, I could sense the unsettling gazes from here and there in the congregation. Because it’s something I’ve always been through.
“Here you are, children of the Sedo family.”
“I’ll give you a proper harpoon this time.”
“The degraded Confucius is mine.”
The students of the Eight Great Schools, and the sixteen mid-level schools located right below them. They were the so-called disciples of the 8 Greats and 16 Middle Schools. Krista raised the corner of her mouth as if laughing.
“Don’t be offended, Lane. It’s me who knocks you down, Christa Warden. If you lose your guard and lose to the other guys, don’t let go.”
At that time, Caroline, a professor in charge of the second year, climbed onto the podium, and even the small whispering voices died down in an instant.
“Huh, nice to meet you. The atmosphere is completely different from the entrance ceremony. Yes? From now on, I will explain about the midterm exam.”
“… … !”
“The exam runs until Friday, in short this whole week. The test is conducted by one or two people, and if the professor in charge makes an expulsion decision, you can pack your bags and leave right away.”
Is it different from what I thought?
I was thinking of sitting down, handing out test papers, and solving the problem… … Lane laughed. It really doesn’t give you a chance to be bored.
“And traditionally, first-year professors do not participate in regular exams. Because there is a risk of being swept away. I would like to introduce the head professor who will administer this exam.”
The person who stepped onto the podium before he could even finish his words left a deep impression on Rin, even by the standard of evaluation.
She was a gray-haired old woman with her right hand behind her back and her left hand holding a cane, but the wave of magic power was unusual.
Like a boat moving on the surface of the water, each step it took ripples of magical power spread in all directions, causing a chilling sensation down the spine.
Logan and Gertrude stood next to her, their eyes shining as if they were moved. Lane alone tilted her head.
“why? who?”
“You really don’t know who it is? really? This is Professor Marhena! The current head professor of <Delayten> and the former leader of the Magic League!”
“Hmm, Master of Magic League? That kid and grandma?”
“He was the next leader of Confucius’ grandfather, Ludwig the Skalge!”
Gertrude helped out as if she was dumbfounded.
The Magic League was an institution that oversaw all matters related to magic in the empire.
Both the Five Greats and the Eight Great Factions were affiliated with the Magic League, and their members held key positions in the Magic League.
Being in charge of such a leader of the Magic League was the highest honor recognized by all wizards living in that era, not only for his skills but also for his popularity.
“Noisy, Inums!”
Marhena burst into a shout.
The voice contained intense magic power, and everyone who heard it was overwhelmed and became a total kill.
“Are these on a picnic right now, hey? Is this first year only idiots who don’t know anything? oops This is not a test to see how good the ninums are.”
“… … ?”
“It is a test to find out who among the ninums are worthless… … Heul heul, is there anything more distasteful than an incompetent wizard? Such nooms are not needed in <Delayten> nor are they needed in the world. So I’ll cut it right away.”
The world of wizards, as always, is based on skill… … A smile appeared on the lips of the Eight Great Schools and later exponents.
“The idiots who will evaluate the Ninums this time are not the professors in charge of the 1st year who have accepted all the ninums’ foolishness.”
Lane shook her head.
Did Professor Owen accept our foolishness?
“If you judge that you have no aptitude, there are only Nooms who are cool-headed enough to cut their heads. These are the professors in charge of the 2nd and 3rd years.”
At that moment, the faculty members stepped onto the podium and an unusual magic power rippled through the hall. The cadets swallowed dry saliva in a daze.
“If you are a 2nd or 3rd year professor… … ?”
“Elite faculty who teach only cadets who have successfully completed the first year course… … ?”
Kyle, a handsome professor with eyes shining with firearms, came out first, followed by those who are promising as divine stars in the current magic world.
“Crazy, it’s Kyle! A genius among geniuses who graduated class 1378 at the top!”
“There is even Professor Geron who has already built his own magic tower at the age of 20!”
“There is also Elin Ludwig. Contributing a weekly commentary to 《Mayeong Daily (魔聆日報)》… … !”
As soon as the footsteps of the 2nd and 3rd year faculty line up on the podium, a quiet silence fell in the auditorium.
The silence with a sense of urgency to the point where you could hear your heart pounding, the heat of tension swirling inside your body, and the eyes of the students shook.
Marhena raised the corner of her mouth as if she really liked that reaction.
“Now it has become the expression of some testers. Tsk tsk tsk, that’s good. Then, I will explain to you which test site each individual should go to from now on.”
* * *
Even before the establishment of the empire, the Page family had exercised extensive sovereignty over <Golden Rose> and the northern part of the Red Mountains.
There, the treasure trove of heaven, the Red Mountains, provided numerous environments to <Delayten>. Valleys, caves, mountains… … .
This colorful and wide terrain was perfect for testing cadets according to the professors’ personalities.
“It’s a midterm exam that started out happily, so the exam method should be fun too, right?”
G test site.
Near Juying Peak in the Red Mountains.
Deputy Professor Kyle greets 40 cadets in front of a gruesomely dark cave. At first glance, it seemed that it was not just a simple cave.
“Now, you can attack this labyrinth. By mobilizing all of your magical knowledge and experience.”
Then the cadets looked at each other in fright.
“It’s a labyrinth… … .”
“Aren’t you hurt?”
Of course, it is not a real labyrinth.
In the Red Mountains, the sanctuary of the Red Dragon Corps in the past, the labyrinth is unreasonable.
This is a labyrinth created virtually, and magic engineering in the summoning arts was fully utilized.
“I might get hurt, but it won’t be life threatening, maybe.”
maybe?
The cadets blinked, and Kyle winked at his handsome eyes as if he were joking.
“Everything is under my control, so don’t worry. Should you be concerned about expulsion, acceptance or not?”
“!!!”
“My exams are graded grade. I prefer objective evaluation to subjective evaluation. 1st place is an S, 2nd and 3rd are A’s.”
4th to 10th place is a B grade, 11th to 20th place is a C grade… … According to this standard, Kyle added that up to 38th place is an E grade that is safe from expulsion.
“From 39th place onwards, it is an F grade that grants a chance to retake the exam or even expulsion. However, in this test, you can say that two people get two S grades.”
An objective evaluation… … .
It seems fair, but I thought that the reality was that it was an extremely harsh evaluation method. Lane raised her hand, curious about something.
“How do you evaluate?”
“Of course, it is based on the time it takes to attack. Oh, and the time limit is 40 minutes. Students who exceed 40 minutes will be immediately expelled without a chance to retake the test, so please refer to it.”
“!!!”
When the assistant standing next to Kyle injected magic into the mirror-shaped magic tool, light poured out of the mirror and projected strings in the air.
“It is a two-person group composition for this exam. I would appreciate it if you could gather with the people who were connected as a team. Teams were assigned in the order of their entrance exam scores, based on an average value.”
I was about to pull my head out to see who I was teamed up with, but something suddenly pushed right in front of my eyes and blocked my view.
“… … Branch soil?”
The clay was instantly thrown to the ground and crushed flat by the feet of the shoe.
When I looked up, I saw a beautiful woman with hair the color of clay.
“Huhu, don’t you think the sky is really indifferent? From the first day, I met this 1388th freshman provisional 1st place, Christa Warden.”
that… … It was Christa Warden.
Why do I sigh when I think of that name now?
“Be prepared, Lane Ludwig. It’s the last time I pretend to be proud. I’ll smash your nose like this clay here.”
He’s a guy with a very strong desire to win… … .
He let out a short sigh, but the now familiar giant strode forward. This time, he smiled with pleasure.
It is Tsai Haq’s late exponent, Logan.
“This is the same team.”
“okay? What are all these good coincidences? Please take good care of me, Master.”
“Um ha ha ha ha!”
It wasn’t particularly surprising.
While Logan was in the top 10 for admission, Lane was ranked last in the entrance exam results as a result of passing the additional exam.
“Look at that.”
“Gongja Inseong and Logan are on the same side.”
“Didn’t you two fight last time?”
As all attention was focused on the two of them and she was left behind, Christa, her cheeks slightly swollen as if pouting, pressed her toe into the clay.
“You were talking to me first. Where are you looking now? Don’t you feel anything when you look at this clay?”
There must be something that you feel when you look at the clay… … Lane scratched his chin awkwardly and looked up at Logan next to him.
“Is this test important when you graduate at the top?”
“Are you aiming for top graduation?”
“Somehow.”
“Then, since there are only four regular exams a year, it doesn’t really matter.”
In order to graduate at the top of the class, it was possible to receive top grades in all tests.
If you miss the top grade even once, there will be irreversible results unless the competitor stumbles.
In this quarter, when the golden generation gathered, it was expected that the competition would be extremely fierce.
Hmmm, after looking up at the sky for a moment as if thinking about something, Lane finally scratched the back of her head and looked directly at Christa.
“okay? If so, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can live with it this time.”
An eerie chill passed over her back for an instant, and Krista was startled and instinctively stepped back. Two emotions crossed in the girl’s head.
It’s nice to hear that a guy who has always been consistent with a game with himself with a complacent attitude comes out with sincerity… … And the alertness, no, the fear of the suddenly changed atmosphere?
“I have to graduate at the top of my class somehow.”
Then, for some reason, Lane concluded her speech with a sad smile.
“My friend is waiting.”