New Student Placement Test (2)
Even Chief Dean McDowell felt a little relaxed in the relaxed academic atmosphere.
Sitting at the desk in the Trix building’s private office the elderly gentleman stretched out and looked through the piled up documents again.
Reporting documents for academic work during vacation are less than half of the usual amount. It’s good that the workload has been reduced but it’s sad that this position requires you to work even during vacation.
At this level it is rare for people to be dissatisfied with the workload itself but McDowell often thinks that it would be nice if at least a minimum quality of life was guaranteed.
“Today is the day of the freshman class placement test… ”
The class assignment professors of the Combat Department Magic Department and Pension Department have all reported and submitted documents.
The location and content of the tests are all different. However all of them have established their own acceptable grading criteria and content.
Among them the Ministry of Magic is particularly interesting.
The Ministry of Magic’s placement tests were always administered by Professor Glast. Even at his bachelor’s degree he completely trusted his insight so he left everything entirely to his eye.
There is no Professor Glast who has been in charge of selecting new students for several years. How will the Ministry of Magic judge the abilities of new students and provide discrimination?
I looked into that fact with interest.
The professor in charge of the placement test is Glast’s best student Claire Elfin. Rumors about her are heard often enough to be tiresome among her bachelor elders.
It is said that he must have saved the country in his past life. Otherwise it would be impossible to have such good luck.
Only the highest level of talent regardless of whether they are teachers or students always gather around her. Maybe he was born with a destiny to attract people but there really is no one around him to abandon.
For someone working in the teaching profession this is a very enviable fortune. He was a person who listened to such sounds like eating.
“Hmm… ”
Professor McDowell wondered if this person was so lucky.
I looked at her lab list but I was left with an ambiguous feeling as to whether this was really a list of elites that no one would discard.
Thinking that there must be a reason for everything Professor McDowell roughly agreed signed the document for approval and handed it over.
[Reporting the lab list? Assistant Professor Claire Elphin]
Chief Laboratory Manager: Claire Elphin Chief Assistant: Annis Haylan Bachelor’s Scholarship Personnel: Onyx Pelomere Ed Rothtaylor Clevious Nortondale
*
“This is kind of bad… Ahaha… ”
Assistant Professor Claire who was sitting at the top of the mountain sighed in worry.
In front of the altar there were five or six broken magic equipment lined up.
“The circuit itself must have been distorted by an external shock. I tried injecting magic power but it didn’t work. I guess I’ll have to request repairs from a magic engineering professor separately. But there is no time for that right now… ”
‘Welcome disc’
It was a rare magic engineering product that was used to confuse the opponent by attracting illusions from all kinds of wild beasts and monsters.
The key was to use dozens of these as traps and scatter them on the way to the summit. In fact since there are still many other originals left it may not seem like five or six broken ones will affect the larger trend.
“Why did you choose only the most important disks and have them fail?” “It’s a pain in the ass.”
However the purple discs that Anise was carrying were of a different type from the other discs.
Made with much more sophisticated circuitry and powerful magic power… They were the ones who would serve as the final gateway for this placement test.
If the hallucinations that appear in the regular disc are of wolves or kobolds in this purple disc real monsters and wild beasts pop out.
From what I understand most of the first year students were subdued by the grizzly bear red-blooded gargoyle eternal banshee etc. that emerged from this purple disk.
These are enemies that cannot be dealt with at the freshman level. Later when the academic staff questioned Assistant Professor Claire she said ‘Huh? There is also a scary anecdote where a student innocently answers ‘Didn’t you have to win that much to get into Class A?’
Even if she is rotten she is still a student of Professor Glast.
Although the world may seem innocent it is cruel in important aspects so you cannot make a hasty judgment based on impressions alone.
“I can’t help it. There are two purple discs left… All I can do is just conduct a test with this. “We need to cover it by installing it in sections where the traffic lines overlap as much as possible.”
Although he may say it in such a vain way Assistant Professor Claire probably knows well that it is not a good thing.
As the coverage area of the purple disk narrows the probability that the test itself will depend on luck increases.
Students who are lucky enough to not stimulate the purple disc will easily pass but students who are more capable but do stimulate the purple disc will quickly fail.
“How did we transport it all the way here and you can’t even use it?!”
Clevius who had a gloomy appearance was pulling his hair in a gloomy manner.
“Wow really! You worked hard! How could this… !”
I was about to say that but I quickly caught my breath when I saw Anis squatting in the corner of the altar.
The culprit of the situation was Anise.
He said that he couldn’t manage important magic engineering supplies carelessly and that he would be in big trouble if he lost them so he carried them around himself and dropped them on the ground.
It looks very sturdy on the outside so if you are not versed in magic you may not know it but the internal circuitry is very sensitive so it must be handled with care.
Assistant Professor Claire’s negligence in not telling us these things in advance is also a problem. Since Anis was so good at her job I thought with complacency that she would take care of everything on her own.
“… Sorry. “I should have been more conscious.”
“No that… ”
Clevius broke out in a cold sweat and quickly lowered his head. He hesitated swiping his fingertips and said ‘No how can you be angry when you have such an apologetic face!’ I ended up mumbling to myself.
The atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
Assistant Professor Claire Senior Onyx and Clevious are all keeping quiet… I opened my mouth first.
“Just because you’re like this doesn’t mean the broken magic equipment will be returned.”
What is certain is that the situation itself is not unusual.
As far as I know it was these purple discs prepared by Assistant Professor Claire that frustrated the first-year students in the main work
This freshman class placement test was an event that was nothing more than news heard from afar in political circles so I don’t know much about how the specific content of the test went down.
However it is a bit difficult to think that this kind of happening would have occurred in a romantic relationship as well.
The reason Anis dropped the important magical engineering supplies was because she was surprised to see me following her closely.
then… The flow behind this is not difficult to draw.
If the students who passed class A start to appear because of the exam where the level of difficulty has been drastically lowered…
It also affects the subsequent ‘Joint Combat Practice’ event.
Freshmen rush to Tailley with the desire to become the first Class A student. Tailly a sword saint who subdues such new students without any hesitation. And Clarice a saint becomes interested in seeing Tailly like that.
The entire structure of this story falls apart.
In addition once the class assignments of the freshmen characters go awry all sorts of happenings and human relationships between them end up in unknown territory.
Of course not everything can be perfect. Even if it’s a small part and something can be done… Still this is too big of a twist.
This means that it is too much of a headache to just leave it alone.
*
When do you most realize that you have arrived in Sylvania the land of learning?
If you ask Tanya she will tell you that it was when she personally accepted a noble student as her classmate.
To be specific it is Saint Clarice.
The policy of a place where the virtue of learning is superior to the nobility of social status makes even the holy people who are looked up to by everyone in the world and who are closest to the voice of Telos walk around the teaching building as fellow human beings.
Not many people have even seen Saint Clarice in person and even if they did she would only be seen as a small figure in the distance beyond the crowds.
This girl is the spiritual leader of millions of Telos believers.
Clarisse who always stands in front of the public is a person who always shines brightly wearing a pure white uniform and no matter where she goes all the people around her naturally kneel.
The sight of Clarice joining the group wearing the same Sylvania school uniform as everyone else ignoring the escort of the cathedral knights is not only amazing but also feels completely surreal.
I even wonder if it would be okay for someone like that to join the group as a fellow human being.
Even if we wear the same clothes human dignity itself does not disappear.
Her hair which is closer to white than silver flows down her shoulders and down to her waist and her creepy red eyes don’t even move.
Aside from the red bow-shaped hairpin occupying a large space on the right side of her hair there are no other accessories visible at all but her appearance looks dazzling.
Entrance to Mt. Orn.
The new students at the Ministry of Magic who had gathered around waiting for the exam to start froze as one.
The students who were members of the Telos Church were already on their knees. As the heads of the Rosstaylor family were being baptized by the Telos Church Tanya quickly bowed her head and accepted the baptism.
“Thank you but you may withdraw your courtesy.”
A small but clear voice permeated among the freshmen.
“If you try to take care of all the etiquette life as a student becomes difficult. “Please simplify the etiquette to some extent at least for my sake.”
Even though Clarisse said that the students were reluctant to raise their heads.
The first to raise her head was Tanya Rosstaylor.
In terms of the nobility of his status he was someone who could at least compete with Clarisse.
“It is an honor to meet you Saint Clarice. “My name is Tanya Rosstaylor the next matriarch of the Rosstaylor family.”
“Oh the Ross Taylor family. The matriarch there Crepin was baptized by me. “I was too young at the time so I don’t remember much.”
“I think it’s an honor.”
It was a refreshing shock to other classmates to see Tanya who was confident in everything she did but keep her polite manners.
Tanya was a girl who fiercely maintained her dignity as a daughter but she rarely bowed her head or made concessions to anyone.
However no matter how strong her personality is if the other person is a saint of a religious order the story is different.
“I heard about my eldest daughter Arnen a few years ago. “It’s a bit late but I’d like to offer my deepest condolences.”
It’s Arwen not Arnen. However Tanya did not bother to correct that statement. Even if I correct it it will only make the atmosphere strange.
Given her status as a saint who had to live in close contact with all kinds of noble families across the country it is a bit harsh to expect her to memorize the names of all the children of noble families. It’s a relief just to be remembered in a similar way.
In the first place there is no one in this Sylvania Academy who can meet Clarice at the same level as Princess Fenia.
“I am honored that you remembered me and offered me words of comfort. “When I become an adult I will go to be baptized.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Miss Tanya.”
After talking like that and exchanging laughter the tense atmosphere seemed to ease up. The students around me who had been hesitant began to calm down little by little.
Encountering a saint is a truly impressive event but the most important thing is the placement test that is taking place right now.
The combat department is at the student square the magic department is at the entrance to Mt. Orn and the alchemy department is in the basement of Obel Hall.
Depending on each member’s affiliation the gathering place and test content were different but the goal was the same.
That means being assigned to class A.
Over the years with Professor Glast in charge of class placement tests the status of Class A members has risen ridiculously.
This is true even if you just look at the members of Class A the second year students. From Lucy Lortel Ziggs to Ayla Adele… More than half of the students were treated as aces already considered to be the best.
In addition to that status there are additional benefits for Class A students.
Tuition is fully exempted you are eligible to move into Ofilis Hall a dormitory respected by all undergraduate students and you can use most student welfare facilities free of charge.
Whether you want that high honor or practical benefits a seat in Class A is something that freshmen inevitably covet.
The same was true for all the freshmen who gathered at the entrance of Mt. Orn. Most of the students wanted to be in Class A for their own reasons.
“It was said that the signal was a flash of magic appearing at the top of the mountain… ”
Tanya muttered that and looked up at the top of the mountain she had climbed through the crowd.
With the flash of magic as a signal all kinds of magical powers begin to be granted to the magic stones hidden here and there on the mountain.
If you can use your sensitivity to find the magic stone and offer it to the altar at the top you will pass the test.
They said that the grading criteria will be based on the type of magic stone found and the method of overcoming the time taken so you’ll need to hurry.
One way or another they are new students at Sylvania.
It is not just those with noble status. There are also many promising candidates with unbelievable skills in various fields. Of course they are also full of greed for learning.
Even if we only limit ourselves to the Ministry of Magic there are many new students who claim to be incompetent.
Joseph the youngest researcher at the Aig Torg Magical Society the daughter of the Telos Church’s saint Clarisse daughter of the Rosstaylor family and Tanya Rokin’s mercenary corps successor… Other than that I can’t say anything.
Everyone gathered their eyes and looked at the top of the mountain.
The vaguely visible edge of the altar was higher than I expected.
*
A sword spirit lives in the Nortondale family. It’s a long-standing rumor.
If you lose your reason there is no distinction between love and love. He pierces eyes with daggers rips out jaws with his bare hands tears at human flesh and breaks bones.
If he can get his hands on just one blade he will rip off every piece of flesh he can see and enjoy the joy of being covered in a fountain of blood.
Even in the Nortondale family the continent’s greatest swordsman it was difficult to turn the boy who was born with an inner demon back into a human being.
No matter how much you act like a human being if you lose your senses the world around you is a sea of blood. The old concept of morality does not apply to the monster that spreads red eyes and slaughters those around it.
I’ve never been taught how to use a sword but I know how to use it. Just two days after awakening to magical power the sword began to be filled with mana.
His talent as a prosecutor is indeed outstanding but his fundamentals as a human being are the opposite.
Even Evian Nortondale the head of the Nortondale family eventually gave up on him.
The Nortondale family knew well.
Clevious Nortondale cannot do anything about the devilish disposition he was born with regardless of his will.
In order to suppress something demonic inside him he ultimately needs to separate himself from his natural powers.
The rumor that he was a blood-crazed swordsman the accusation that he was a shame to his family and the pressure of a monster like you making things difficult for everyone were with Clevius during his childhood. The label of a monster followed him throughout his life.
His low self-esteem made him a gloomy person but at least his life as a blood-crazed monster was over.
He no longer enjoys holding a sword. I feel scared that my power could kill something. I want to run away rather than fight.
Learned fear eats away at his inner self. Low self-esteem had already become a natural thing.
“You should hold the sword.”
These were the words of Ed Rosstaylor.
‘Altar of Change’ at the top of the mountain.
The members of Claire’s lab gathered together were sharing opinions. Among them the alternative proposed by Ed Rosstaylor who was deep in thought alone was to ‘change the content of the exam.’
“We will stop the final altar among ourselves. If you can break through the altar guarded by seniors it means you are qualified for Class A so it’s not bad in name. “In general the members of Class A were stronger or more capable than the seniors who were one grade higher.”
“Shall we deal with the freshmen ourselves? “Then who is the director?”
“You don’t have to have it. It is a supervision system that has a major aspect of preventing cheating but if we become the problem of the test itself there is no reason to supervise it. “Senior Onyx can probably handle all safety supervision on his own.”
Orne Mountain is too large to cover alone. However Onyx who is quite knowledgeable in flying magic would be able to cover safety accidents even if she does not supervise detailed cheating.
but… In the first place all reports related to the exam contents were already posted to the academic department. The idea of changing the test content now… !”
“You can report that back Anis. “All you have to do is make a few modifications to the reporting document itself and submit it.”
“You’re saying you’re going to take the exam first and then report afterward? “Isn’t that a violation of school rules?”
“You can run to report now. Reporting authority… . “Assistant Professor Claire.”
After saying that everyone looked towards Assistant Professor Claire.
Ed Rosstaylor was the one who gave the opinion but the decision maker was Assistant Professor Claire.
eww… Umm… ? From now on please fill out the report and submit it again… ? “Why am I having to deal with so much work again?!”
“Isn’t it possible?”
“If I run like crazy to the lab and quickly review the copies… Until the test results come out it might be possible… ?”
Claire thought deeply for a moment and spoke back to Ed.
“If things continue like this the test difficulty will become too easy and too many Class A students will be produced… Like this there are a lot of behind-the-scenes stories to come out… But conversely even if you defend the altar will you be able to deal with all the freshmen?”
“Strictly speaking we are not dealing with all of them. All you have to do is find the magic stone and deal with the kids who came up through the field of magic engineering supplies.”
“The kids who made it through all of that must be doing something in their own way right?”
“Most people will be exhausted anyway. “I think it will be more worth doing than you think.”
Although there are no purple disks it would be quite difficult just to break through a field of ordinary illusion disks.
In the center of the crowd Ed washed his face dry once again. He just brushed his bangs took a deep breath and spoke straight.
“To summarize it is like this. While Assistant Professor Claire quickly goes to report the revised documents Senior Onyx runs to supervise student safety and Clevius blocks the southern entrance to this altar and Anis blocks the northern entrance.”
“So Ed what about you?”
As Anis said that Ed tapped the altar.
“I will guard the altar. I have something on my mind so I think it would be better for me to stay here. Time to elaborate… “I don’t think there is one.”
After saying that there was silence among everyone again.
Ed’s alternative was plausible in its own way.
Anis is a model student in the Department of Elemental Studies and Clevious is a top student in the Combat Department.
Of course it may be difficult for the two of us to stop all the new students who have broken through the field of magic engineering supplies. However since they are probably exhausted freshmen the two of us can handle more than 90%.
However there is no guarantee that everything will go perfectly and the fact that Ed himself will only be at the altar right now is very disturbing.
“It’s my fault that things happened like this… “I don’t say anything dissatisfied.”
But Anis coolly gave that answer.
Assistant Professor Claire was thinking hard and seemed to be gradually shifting her thoughts to Ed’s opinion and Onyx didn’t seem to have any complaints.
The only one left was Clevius.
Everyone’s eyes are focused on one body.
ah… oh… . Ah-oh… !!! really… !”
Clevious doesn’t trust Ed Rothtaylor. However if everyone’s opinions are converging in one place it is difficult for even Clevius to be stubborn.
okay… ! I knew… !”
Assistant Professor Claire is quickly climbing down the mountainside.
Onyx Pelomere which with difficulty gathers magical energy to float the body little by little.
After gathering the power of elemental magic and inspecting her body Anis Heylan goes to block the northern entrance.
Clevious Nortondale pulls out his sword and goes to guard the southern entrance as if he doesn’t feel like it.
After everyone left to do their part there was only quiet silence at the alter.
There is no noise except for the occasional wind blowing.
I was left alone and looked up at the altar for a moment. The large monument is so high that the letters on top of it cannot be clearly seen.
When you look around you can see the panoramic view of Aken Island as expected from the top of the mountain.
To the southeast Gyosu-dong southwest Living-dong North Forest northeast of the cliff area to the coastal area at the eastern end.
After taking a deep breath of the highland air I looked again at the magic engineering supplies that had fallen on the floor.
—————————————————– [ Magic engineering supplies? Illusion Disk (Purple) ]
‘Very rare’ grade.
A disk device that reveals powerful illusions of enemies through the creator’s magic power.
It was produced at a higher grade than a typical illusion disk. It can reveal stronger enemies.
Production Difficulty: ●●●◐○
※ This is a damaged magic engineering product. It doesn’t perform as well as it should.
—————————————————
There are six of these.
Of course it is difficult to completely repair it because your magic engineering skills are still low.
However if you put together the internal parts well and create a rough shape you may be able to produce similar output if not as much as the original output.
If time permits Anis and Clevius will lead the way.
I put down the discs and went back to the altar.
‘Altar of Change’.
It is a mysterious altar that has the power to extract magical energy and allow it to permeate the air and body when a substance containing magical energy is offered.
A small leather pouch was taken out from under the altar.
It was brought by Assistant Professor Claire and was the same substance as the magic stones that were hidden and scattered here and there on Mount Orn. It seemed like it was leftover after being sprinkled here and there.
Magic stones with this much magic inside are quite expensive items but most of them can be recovered through recovery magic anyway so it seems they have been supplied in large quantities.
I took out a magic stone and offered it to the altar. A shimmering feeling of magical power remains at the fingertips. It’s something I’ve felt for the first time in quite a while.
As a test I tried to concentrate.
The feeling of magic flowing through your body. I wonder how long this has been.
As I concentrated my mind and strained my eyes something vaguely shaped like a burning bat caught my eye.
The bat spirit seems to be saying something as if the lack of magical power is still there but I can’t hear it clearly.
Compared to the price the amount of horsepower inherent is not very satisfactory.
After checking the amount of magic stones in the leather pouch I sat down on the altar.
Aken Island seen from beneath the shining altar is quite expansive.
I bent my back slightly and placed my elbows roughly on the edge of my knees. She sat quietly in a comfortable position and organized her thoughts again.
It’s a freshmen class placement test a sudden crisis situation maintaining discrimination maintaining an appropriate number of students who pass Class A… I made all kinds of good excuses but… Unfortunately those are not my interests.
In the first place I have no intention of allowing even a single new student to pass this test.
I’m sorry but… It was also something that could not be helped.
I used the ‘Light Cluster Generator’ a magic engineering item given to me by Assistant Professor Claire to unleash a flash of light magic and shoot it into the sky. It was the signal to start the test.
In front of the Altar of Replacement at the top of the right mountain.
Sitting there… I quietly lowered my gaze.
The wind blowing from the top of the altar… It didn’t seem like a natural wind.
