#5. Entrance Exam (2)
‘I solved everything.’
After writing the answer to the last question on the answer sheet, I put down my pen.
‘It wasn’t easy after all.’
Each and every problem was of a fairly high level.
Because the first question was about the classical literature from two thousand years ago, 『The Lamentations of Parthoas』.
The only fortunate thing was that I had read this work once three years ago.
If I had never read it, it would have taken me a long time to understand what it was about.
‘The remaining problems were all written in standard academic language… … It was difficult to even understand each problem.’
The last problem was especially difficult.
It was written in traditional standard academic language that was used a long time ago, not in modern, improved standard academic language.
The grammar itself is the same, but the articles and prepositions are so complicated that it took a long time to read.
‘Direct reading and direct interpretation were impossible.’
I raised my head as I thought about that.
It was to check how much time was left.
“……?”
I doubted my eyes.
The test time was supposed to be one hour… …but not even ten minutes have passed yet.
‘Has this much time passed?’
It was a strange thing.
If the problem can be solved in 10 minutes, the test time cannot be 1 hour.
‘Is there a test paper missing?’
It doesn’t end with question number 10… … but isn’t there actually 20 or 30?
If so, you should tell the test supervisor quickly.
I glanced around and it seemed like other students hadn’t finished solving the problem yet.
‘No, wait a minute.’
The answer sheet ends at number 10.
Judging by the blank space below, it doesn’t seem like there will be another answer sheet.
‘What on earth is going on?’
When I was worried and didn’t know what to do.
The examiner’s gaze turned to me.
“There, number 321. Why is that?”
It seemed like he was concerned that I had put down my pen and was staying still.
“What are you doing without solving the problem?”
“I did write the answers up to number 10.”
I said this on purpose.
If you still have problems after number 10, the examiner will ask you to solve problems after number 10 as well.
“what?”
But the test tube’s reaction was different from what I expected.
“You solved all 10?”
“……?”
Not only the examiner, but also the surrounding students flinched.
If it weren’t for the exam time, everyone would have turned their attention to me.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, that’s……”
The examiner looked as if he had no idea what was going on.
“Then… we are reviewing it.”
“Review?”
“Please review your answers again to make sure they are correct.”
“ah.”
I didn’t think of that.
‘Yes, when taking a test, after solving all the problems, you have to check if your answers were correct.’
I didn’t think about it because this was my first time taking an exam.
‘They gave me an hour to review it carefully… … .’
I went back to the first page to review.
Maybe I was too complacent because I thought it was a work I already knew.
I will have to read it more carefully to check if my answer is correct.
‘Okay, let’s review it thoroughly.’
My goal is average.
If you don’t want to fall behind other students who are used to taking exams, you will have to review thoroughly until the end.
* * *
After the first period is over.
I was quite exhausted after 50 minutes of review work.
So I took out a book to take a break.
‘Next class is math class, so I should read a book related to math.’
This is a book I bought with the travel expenses that Professor Kaisel gave me.
Of course, reading this now won’t change your score much… … but I felt like reading the book would make me feel better.
“hey.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
That was when.
A slightly larger boy approached me.
“I am Monarch, son of the Duke of Orson. Are you Eriol Valencia?”
“……That’s right.”
It’s a face I’ve seen somewhere.
I wonder if you were on the boat yesterday.
“You really solved all 10?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act like a fool! I told the supervisor that I solved all 10 problems in less than 10 minutes!”
All eyes around were focused in this direction.
“Does it make sense that you can solve all 10 problems in 10 minutes?”
“…….”
“Did you… know the test questions in advance?”
When I didn’t say anything, there was a commotion around me.
“Since you can’t answer, I guess I’m right. Your uncle is Professor Kaisel, so you heard the test questions through him, right?”
The Monarch was snorting and babbling.
He seemed very excited.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? If you have something to say, say it! To be honest, you’re hurt too… “
“hey.”
I cut off Monarch mid-sentence and snapped coldly.
“Get out of here, you’re disturbing my reading.”
“What, what?”
I hate being interrupted while reading.
However, I don’t think you should be openly rude to people who interrupt your reading.
When Senia and Cain spoke to me yesterday, I responded with my own manners.
But if you are someone who picks fights like this… … there is no reason to be polite to you.
“If you suspect any misconduct, report it formally to the Academy. Don’t bother me and pick a fight.”
“This, this kid….”
I opened the book to reread 『The World Explained by Repair – Complete Edition-』.
Even though I expressed that I didn’t want to deal with it anymore, Monarch didn’t seem to have any intention of just backing down.
“hey……!”
The Monarch opened his eyes wide and reached out to me.
Are you planning to use violence in the examination room?
“Okay, let’s stop here.”
But, right then.
A hand reached out from somewhere and grabbed Monarch’s wrist.
“I don’t know what you don’t like, but you shouldn’t use violence. You’re only in the first period, and you want to get kicked out?”
“Ugh…….”
The Monarch flinched when he saw the face of the person who had grabbed his wrist.
The boy who knocked down the terrorists yesterday… …was Cain Trigger.
“Sit down and get ready for second period. Okay?”
“Oh, I see.”
Eventually, the Monarch cowered and returned to his seat.
Just a moment ago, you were so angry that you tried to use violence on me… … Looking at Cain’s face, it seems like he’s starting to control his anger better.
“Ariol, did you do well on your first period test?”
“How did you know about this place?”
“I came out to go to the bathroom, and I heard your voice from this classroom.”
“You have good ears too.”
He didn’t speak very loudly, but perhaps he received hearing training from the Trigger family.
“Thanks for helping me, right? You owe me this.”
“I never specifically asked for help.”
“Hehehe. What should I ask of our Eriol?”
“Listen to people.”
“Oh, let’s have lunch together after the test. What do you think?”
“…….”
Anyway, it’s true that I received help from Kane, so I can’t just turn him down here.
I had no choice but to nod.
“Come here after the test is over.”
“Okay! I’ll bring Senia since she’s taking the test at the same place as me!”
“…….”
I thought it would be difficult to have time to read after finishing the written exam.
“By the way, how was the first period test? Do you think you did well?”
“So-so.”
“I solved seven problems. I was really short on time.”
“…….”
Is it really that weird that I solved ten problems in less than ten minutes?
I had a slight doubt, but I just kept my mouth shut.
* * *
The second period math test was a little more difficult than the first period test.
Because it took a long time to do mathematical reasoning.
Still, I was able to solve all the problems in one hour. I had plenty of time to review them.
The 3rd and 4th periods went by similarly… … and finally the written exam was over.
“Hey, Eriol!”
“Hello, Mr. Eriol.”
As promised, Kane and Senia came.
I really wanted to run away, but I had no choice because I made a promise.
“It’s past 2 o’clock now, right? I’m hungry, so let’s eat whatever comes out quickly.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“There’s a hot dog stand I saw on my way here.”
Kane walked ahead, and Senia and I followed behind him.
“Mr. Eriol, did you do well on your test?”
“So-so.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be formal with me. I’m only sixteen years old.”
At sixteen, he is quite young for an academy entrance age.
“Don’t worry about it and just let it go.”
“Okay. Instead, just call me Eriol.”
“Thank you. Actually, I’m not used to hearing formal speech.”
If he comes from the renowned swordsmanship family of Artien, then he must be from a very prestigious family… …Why does he say he’s not used to being spoken to formally?
“Actually, I’m aiming for the top class.”
“Top class?”
“Yes, my parents ordered me to go home if I wasn’t going to get into the top class….”
“…….”
It seemed like there were complicated circumstances.
“I think that to get into the advanced class, you need to get an average of 70 points in all subjects. But I can only solve about eight out of ten questions on each test… so I think it’ll be mediocre.”
“…….”
I solved all ten problems in every subject… … but it seems this was not normal.
“How many problems did you solve, Ariol?”
“that is…….”
“Ah, here it is!”
Kane, who was walking ahead, raised his hand and called us.
“The smell of grilling sausages was so bad I was worried. Let’s eat quickly.”
By the way, this guy said he ate a hotdog before getting on the boat yesterday too.
Do you like hot dogs?
“I’ve never had a hot dog.”
“What, what did you say?”
Kane flipped over.
“No, what have you been doing until now without even eating a hot dog?”
“They didn’t sell that where I lived.”
As far as I know, this kind of food is only sold in urban areas.
The estate of the Count of Valencia was rather rural, so modern food like this was not available.
“Eriol, what are you? Are you one of those noble girls from a novel who has never eaten outside?”
“I’ve never had a snack outside before.”
“Well, actually, I also……”
Next to her, Senia blushed and raised her hand.
“Wow, these kids have really grown up preciously. This can’t be helped. Today, I’m buying you a soda along with your hot dog. Eat as much as you want!”
Kane spoke loudly and ordered as he pleased.
We ended up eating at a nearby park, grabbing hot dogs and sodas that Kane had ordered for us.
“Hey, what do you think? Is it delicious?”
“It’s delicious. It’s my first time eating food like this. The drink also has a unique taste that pops in my mouth…”
“Ariol, how about you?”
“You can hold it with one hand and eat it, so you can eat it while reading a book.”
“Hey, Inma……”
Actually, the taste wasn’t bad.
Nutritionally, it seemed a little unbalanced, but I thought it would be okay to eat it occasionally.
“The written exam is over… now all that’s left is the aptitude test in the afternoon.”
“Oh, right.”
Aptitude test.
It’s a test to find out what field you’re suited for as a wizard.
It’s just a test, not a problem solving test. They say that if you take the test with special equipment owned by the academy, the results will come out automatically.
“That aptitude thing… Honestly, I still don’t quite understand it. How can a person’s aptitude be determined by just one thing?”
“Well, well……”
“The original technical term would be ‘spiritual source’.”
He said this while putting away the hot dog wrappers that he had finished eating.
“According to the theory of spiritual origins, the human soul is said to be born with only one concept. As it develops, it grows into a soul with a human personality, but deep within the human soul, that original concept remains intact.”
“ah…….”
“Magic has an aspect that is based on human spiritual power, so if you find that spiritual source and practice magic in a direction that matches it, you can achieve greater results.”
“I think I understand, but I also think I don’t.”
Kane tilted his head.
“There are a total of 24 spiritual sources that have been discovered so far. There are many types: generation, diffusion, convergence, cessation, strengthening, weakening, acceleration, cutting, summoning… “
“Oh, I wish I had the aptitude for strengthening. I heard that it has the highest affinity with magic swords.”
“I wish I had an accelerated aptitude. I think it would go well with our family magic.”
“Even if you don’t have the appropriate aptitude, it’s not impossible to practice that kind of magic, so don’t worry too much.”
Even at the academy, we don’t divide classes based on aptitude. There aren’t any classes that only students with certain aptitudes can take.
Nevertheless, the reason why the Academy examines the spiritual origins of new students every time is probably because they want to know as much information about the students as possible.
“What kind of aptitude would you like, Eriol?”
“I don’t want anything in particular.”
I answered, tossing the neatly folded wrapping paper into a nearby trash can.
“I just hope it’s a good fit.”
The results of the test will determine what type of magic I should focus on studying in the future.
Just now I told you not to be concerned about your aptitude, but I wanted to train as efficiently as possible, so I wanted to learn magic in a way that best suited my aptitude.
What kind of spiritual source do I have?
Depending on the test results… …my academy life will change.
