“I’m done.”
After writing down the answer to the last question on the answer sheet, I put my pen down.
“It really wasn’t easy.”
Each question had been quite challenging.
The very first question was about The Lament of Partoas, a classical literary work from two thousand years ago.
Fortunately, I had read it once three years ago.
If I hadn’t, I would’ve spent a long time just trying to understand what it was about.
“The rest of the questions were all written in standard academic language too… Understanding each one was a struggle.”
The last question, in particular, had been difficult.
It wasn’t in the modernized standard academic language but in the traditional version used long ago.
The grammar was the same, but the articles and prepositions were much more complicated, making it slow to read.
“There was no way to translate it directly.”
Thinking that, I lifted my head.
I wanted to check how much time was left.
“…?”
I doubted my eyes.
The test was supposed to last an hour… but not even ten minutes had passed.
“Only this much time has passed?”
That was strange.
If these were questions that could be solved in under ten minutes, there was no way the test duration would be an hour.
“Maybe some pages of the test are missing?”
Could it be that the test doesn’t end at question ten… and actually continues to question twenty or thirty?
If so, I needed to inform the supervisor immediately.
I glanced around. The other students still seemed to be working on their answers.
“Wait, hold on.”
The answer sheet ended at question ten.
Judging by the blank space below, it didn’t seem like there was another page.
“What’s going on?”
I was still contemplating what to do when the supervisor’s gaze landed on me.
“You, number 321. What’s the matter?”
It seemed they had noticed me sitting idly after putting my pen down.
“Why aren’t you working on the test?”
“I wrote my answers up to question ten.”
I deliberately phrased it that way.
If there were more questions after ten, the supervisor would tell me to continue solving them.
“What?”
But the supervisor’s reaction was different from what I had expected.
“You finished all ten questions?”
“…?”
Not only the supervisor but also the surrounding students flinched.
If it weren’t for the ongoing test, all eyes would have been on me.
“Is there a problem?”
“Well, it’s just…”
The supervisor looked confused.
“Well… just review your answers.”
“Review?”
“Go over your answers again to make sure they’re correct.”
“Oh.”
I hadn’t thought of that.
“Right… After finishing a test, I should check if my answers are correct.”
Since this was my first time taking an exam, that thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.
“So that’s why we get a whole hour… for a thorough review.”
I turned back to the first page to start reviewing.
Maybe I had been too complacent just because I was familiar with the text.
I needed to read carefully and confirm that my answers were correct.
“Alright, let’s review thoroughly.”
My goal was to score an average grade.
If I didn’t want to fall behind the students accustomed to exams, I had to check my work until the very end.
After the First Period
After spending fifty minutes reviewing, I was exhausted.
So, to take a break, I pulled out a book.
“The next period is Hydraulics, so I should read something related to that.”
It was a book I had bought with part of the allowance Professor Kaisel had given me.
Of course, reading it now wouldn’t significantly affect my score… but it made me feel at ease.
“Hey.”
Just then, a large-built boy approached me.
“I’m Monarch, son of Duke Orson. You’re Eriol Valencia, right?”
“…That’s me.”
I had seen his face somewhere before.
Was he on the ship yesterday?
“You… did you really finish all ten questions?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb! You told the supervisor you had completed all ten questions in under ten minutes!”
The surrounding students turned to look at us.
“How is it possible to solve ten questions in ten minutes?!”
“…”
“Did you… know the questions in advance?”
As I remained silent, murmurs spread through the crowd.
“So I was right, huh? Since your uncle is Professor Kaisel, you must’ve gotten the test questions from him.”
Monarch huffed through his nose, his excitement barely contained.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? If you have something to defend yourself with, say it! Otherwise, you must be feeling guilty…”
“Hey.”
I cut him off, my voice cold.
“You’re bothering my reading. Get lost.”
“W-What?”
I hate being interrupted when I’m reading.
That doesn’t mean I’m rude to everyone who talks to me.
Yesterday, when Senia and Cain approached me, I responded politely.
But if someone is picking a pointless fight… I see no reason to be courteous.
“If you suspect cheating, report it to the academy. Don’t waste my time.”
“Y-You little…”
I reopened The World Explained Through Mathematics – Complete Edition to reread it.
I had no interest in continuing this conversation, but Monarch clearly wasn’t ready to back down.
“Hey…!”
Monarch widened his eyes and reached out toward me.
Was he seriously about to use violence in a test hall?
“Alright, that’s enough.”
But at that moment, a hand shot out and grabbed Monarch’s wrist.
“No matter how upset you are, resorting to violence isn’t the answer. Do you want to get expelled after just one period?”
“Ugh…”
Monarch flinched when he saw who had grabbed his wrist.
It was Kane Trigger—the same boy who had taken down the terrorists yesterday.
“Go sit down and prepare for the next period. Got it?”
“…Fine.”
Monarch shrank back and returned to his seat.
A moment ago, he had been furious enough to throw a punch… but as soon as he saw Kane’s face, his anger seemed to vanish.
“Eriol, how was your first exam?”
“How’d you know I was here?”
“I was heading to the bathroom when I heard your voice from this classroom.”
“You’ve got sharp ears.”
I hadn’t even spoken that loudly—was that part of the Trigger family’s training?
“Grateful? You owe me one now.”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
“Hahaha! What should I make Eriol do for me?”
“Listen to what people say.”
“Oh, right—let’s have lunch together after the exam. What do you say?”
“…”
Well, he had helped me, so it would be too coldhearted to refuse outright.
I sighed and nodded.
“Come find me when the exam’s over.”
“Great! Senia’s taking the test in the same hall as me, so I’ll bring her too!”
“…”
Looked like I wouldn’t get to spend my post-exam time reading after all.
“So, how was your first period? Do you think you did well?”
“More or less.”
“I solved seven questions. The time limit was brutal.”
“…”
Was finishing ten questions in less than ten minutes really that strange?
For a moment, I wondered… but I kept my mouth shut.
The second-period hydraulics exam was a bit more difficult than the first.
It took a long time because I had to use mathematical reasoning.
Still, I managed to solve all the problems within the hour. There was even enough time to review my answers.
The third and fourth periods passed in a similar manner… and finally, the written exams were over.
“Hey, Eriol!”
“Hello, Eriol.”
As promised, Cain and Senia had come to find me.
I honestly wanted to run away, but a promise was a promise.
“It’s past two now, right? I’m starving, so let’s just grab something quick.”
“What are we eating?”
“I saw a hot dog stand on my way here.”
Cain took the lead, and Senia and I followed behind.
“Eriol, did you do well on the exam?”
“More or less.”
“Oh, you don’t have to use formal speech with me. I’m only sixteen.”
Sixteen was quite young for academy entrance age.
“Please just speak casually with me.”
“Alright. You should just call me Eriol.”
“Thank you. Honestly, I’m not used to being spoken to formally.”
Coming from the prestigious swordsmanship family, Artian, that was quite surprising… Why wouldn’t she be used to formal speech?
“Actually, I’m aiming for the top-tier class.”
“The top-tier class?”
“Yes, my parents told me that if I don’t make it in, I should return home…”
“……”
It seemed like she had some complicated circumstances.
“I heard that to get into the top-tier class, you need an average score of at least 70 in all subjects. But I can only solve about eight out of ten problems per test… so I’m cutting it close.”
“……”
I had answered all ten questions in every subject… Maybe that wasn’t normal.
“Eriol, how many questions did you solve?”
“Well…”
“Ah, we’re here!”
Cain, who had been walking ahead, raised his hand to call us over.
“The smell of grilled sausage was driving me crazy. Let’s eat!”
Now that I thought about it, he had mentioned eating a hot dog before boarding the ship yesterday.
Maybe he really liked hot dogs.
“I’ve never had a hot dog before.”
“W-What?”
Cain was stunned.
“What have you been doing all this time if you’ve never had a hot dog?”
“They didn’t sell them where I lived.”
As far as I knew, street food like this was only found in urban areas.
The Valencia Count’s estate was quite rural, so new foods like these hadn’t made their way there yet.
“Eriol, are you one of those noble young ladies from a novel who’s never had street food before?”
“I’ve never eaten street food, that’s true.”
“A-Actually… me neither.”
Beside me, Senia blushed and raised her hand.
“Wow, you two really grew up sheltered. This won’t do. Today, I’m treating you both to hot dogs and soda. Eat as much as you want!”
Cain declared boldly and ordered a bunch of food on his own accord.
With our hot dogs and sodas in hand, we headed to a nearby park to eat.
“So? How is it? Good, right?”
“It’s delicious. I’ve never had anything like this before. And the drink is so fizzy, it’s fascinating.”
“Eriol, what about you?”
“I can hold it with one hand, so I could eat while reading.”
“Hey, seriously…”
The taste wasn’t bad.
Nutritionally, it seemed a bit unbalanced, but having it occasionally wouldn’t be a problem.
“The written exams are over… Now all that’s left is the aptitude test this afternoon.”
“Oh, right.”
The aptitude test.
It was an assessment to determine what kind of magic a person had a talent for.
Despite being called a test, there were no problems to solve. Instead, special equipment at the academy would analyze and automatically produce results.
“I still don’t quite understand this aptitude thing. How can a person’s talent be determined by a single test?”
“Hmm, well…”
“The proper term for it is ‘Spiritual Origin’.”
I spoke while folding the empty wrapper neatly.
“According to the theory of spiritual origins, when a human soul forms, it starts with only one fundamental concept. As the soul develops into a full-fledged personality, that fundamental concept remains buried deep within.”
“Oh…”
“Since magic is based on spiritual power, identifying a person’s spiritual origin and training in magic that aligns with it gives the best results.”
“I think I get it… maybe.”
Cain tilted his head.
“Twenty-four spiritual origins have been identified so far—generation, diffusion, convergence, stasis, enhancement, weakening, acceleration, severance, summoning… and many more.”
“I hope I have the enhancement aptitude. It’s the best for magic swords.”
“I hope I have acceleration. It would work well with my family’s magic.”
“Even if you don’t have the aptitude, you can still train in that field, so don’t worry too much about it.”
The academy didn’t group students based on aptitude, nor did it offer classes exclusively for those with specific talents.
Still, the academy conducted aptitude tests for every new student… probably to gather as much information about them as possible.
“Eriol, what aptitude do you hope for?”
“I don’t have a particular preference.”
I tossed the neatly folded wrapper into a nearby trash bin and replied,
“I just hope it’s a good one.”
The test results would determine the direction of my magical studies.
I had just told them not to be overly concerned about aptitudes, but I still wanted to train as efficiently as possible, so I hoped for an aptitude that suited me.
What kind of spiritual origin would I have?
Depending on the results… my academy life could change completely.
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