Chapter 12 – The Promotion Test
One month has pa.s.sed since the transfer student entrance test. Like usual, I changed into my uniform, grabbed a bag packed with textbooks, and headed towards the school building which was five minutes walking from the student dormitory.
I wonder what kind of cla.s.s we will have today….
Since the beginning of my student life, every day is so fun. Many of the students in the dormitory are nice people, and they"re so pa.s.sionate in their study.
The cla.s.ses are divided into lower, intermediate, and advanced cla.s.ses according to grade, but students in all cla.s.ses equally study hard every day.
I said there was a lower cla.s.s, but since this is the world"s top educational inst.i.tution, the students of the said cla.s.s would have the abilities equal to the top student of the other magic school.
However, it"s amazing how they strife to improve themselves every day nevertheless. I like hardworking people, that"s why I like all the students who attend this school.
Surely the other students are thinking in the same way as me. Though they occasionally had a quarrel, all the students in any cla.s.s basically get along well.
While I was thinking about such things, I arrived at the school building. I opened the door of second year F cla.s.s and took a seat.
Speaking of which, A cla.s.s is the advanced cla.s.s, B cla.s.s and C cla.s.s are the intermediate cla.s.s, and D cla.s.s to F cla.s.s are the lower cla.s.s.
This is a mechanism where we change cla.s.s twice a year according to the results of our promotion test…. and today, it"s the day of promotion test.
For me who just recently became a student of this school, this will be my first time taking this test.
I"ve been studying hard for this day, and I also got enough sleep last night. I"ve done what I could, the rest is only for me to face the promotion test with all I have.
“Just as you all may already know, we"re going to hold a promotion test today. Everyone, do your best!”
The voice of our homeroom teacher, echoed inside the cla.s.sroom which was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.
There are two kinds of test, written and practical. Our knowledge and skills as a wizard will be judged comprehensively, to decide whether we belong to the advanced, intermediate, or lower cla.s.s.
I"ve been studying magic since I was little, and I"ve been able to keep up with cla.s.ses for the time being. However, this is my first time facing such a full-fledged examination.
I wonder what kind of problems will come out….
Our homeroom teacher started distributing the question sheet and answer sheet while I was putting my writing tools on my desk. When everyone was ready, he announced the beginning of the test.
"Begin!"
The time limit is 120 minutes. By then, I have to solve hundreds questions written here. I hope I can answer all questions correctly, but…. anyway, I need to focus!
I immediately started to solve the problems.
Draw the Fireball rune correctly! Fireball is a basic magic with simple rune. I can draw it in ten seconds.
Draw the Heaven"s Cure rune correctly! Although Heaven"s Cure is the highest light element magic, the structure of the rune itself is not so difficult. However, light element magic has many similar runes, it"s easy to mix them up if you didn"t study them well.
Oh well, such things won"t happen as long as I pay attention to their subtle differences.
Write down three new discovered magic within 50 years and the full name of their discoverer. Easy question, but the problem is which one should I choose. Since the answer column is small, I will pick those with short name.
…. and so on. I could solve all the problem quickly and easily.
I"m done! There"s still more than half of the allocated time left, but I"ve solved all the problem.
The sound of pen running on paper echoed, my cla.s.smates seemed to have not finished their test.
Maybe I did it a little too fast. No, I mean…. isn"t the difficulty level of this written test quite low? Even I could solve all the problems easily. I"m sure most of the student will score full marks in this written test.
However, there"s no way the promotion test in the world"s top educational inst.i.tution would be this easy. In other words, the real game is the practical test after this.
I waited for the end of the test while carefully re-checking my answers.
◆
“Okay, time is up!”
120 minutes has pa.s.sed and our homeroom teacher signaled the end of the test. Immediately, all my cla.s.smates sighed at once as if their thread of tension had snapped.
“I feel like all the problems are awfully difficult this time….”
“Furthermore, their number are absurdly high….”
“I couldn"t even solve half of them….”
“There just wasn"t enough time. Take the last problem for example…. anyway, I"ve written all I could think to fill the answer sheet.”
“Okay, I think you might have noticed it already, but the main purpose of this written test is for measuring your ability to judge the situation. The ability to instantly ascertain whether the problems that can be solved or not, and the ability to calmly deal with them, are essential for a wizard after all.”
"Yeah. I knew it…."
"That was I thought…."
"It was something like that after all…."
Eh!? …is that how it was!?
While my cla.s.smates seemed to be on the same page as our homeroom teacher, I alone was surprised.
Certainly, for a wizard who often fights against the monsters, it"s important to be able to identify the difference in power between you and your opponents, and to instantly judge whether you should fight or escape.
However, I"ve never thought there was such an intention behind this written test. I mean, for me, all the problems presented are easy to solve.
“Whoa! Your answer sheet is completely packed, Ash-kun!”
“Thanks goodness. I thought I was the only one who tried to answer everything. Well, let"s hope many of them were correct!”
The girls sitting in the left and right seats looked into my answer sheet and said so.
“Well then, next is the usual lottery time. Come forward according to the attendance number. You can take a lunch break after everyone draws the ticket.”
After collecting all the answer sheets, our homeroom teacher said so.
“What does he mean by lottery?” (Ash)
I asked the girl next to me — Ninsan.
“Oh right, this will be your first time. Hmm, let"s see…. there are three points written on the ticket; [the content of practical test], [the venue], and [the name of one student of the same grade]. If the color of the ticket is [blue], then the student whose name written on it will be your [partner]. If the color of the ticket is [red], then the student whose name written on it will be your [opponent].” (Nina)
Ninsan slowly taught me.
“For example, your ticket is [red], and the content of your practical test is [a mock battle]. This means you will fight in a mock battle against the student whose name written on your [red] ticket.” (Nina)
Hmm, I see….
"Other example, your ticket is [blue], and the content of your practical test is [mock battle against teacher A]. This means you will fight in a mock battle against teacher A together with the student whose name written on your [blue] ticket. Depending on your contribution during the fight, your score might differ with each other." (Nina)
Ninsan continued on.
"The ticket is drawn by the students from D cla.s.s to F cla.s.s, while the students from A cla.s.s to C cla.s.s have their name written on the ticket." (Nina)
Having said that, Ninsan sighed.
“I got a red ticket last time and my opponent was Effsan…. I hope I get a blue ticket this time, but even if I get a red ticket again, I hope my opponent is from the intermediate cla.s.s at least.” (Nina)
Ninsan talked earnestly.
I don"t know who Effsan is, but it seems she was a tough opponent for Ninsan.
“You"re the first, Ash. Hurry up!”
Our homeroom teacher urged me to come forward. Then, while the gazes of everyone in the cla.s.s gathered on me, I drew the first ticket.
The ticked that has been folded in half — it was a red ticket. I unfolded and read the ticket on the spot.
The test venue is the third arena, and my opponent is….
"…. second year A cla.s.s, Felmina Hermish." (Ash)
"""Felmina Hermish!?"""
The moment I said that name, my cla.s.smates started to make a commotion.
I wonder if this Felmina Hermish is a famous person….
I returned to my seat while thinking about such a thing.
For some reason, I got a feeling that everyone is looking at me with pitying eyes right now.
"Your luck is really bad, Ash-kun. To think that you drew a ticket with Felminsan"s name on it…."
"Well, there will be the next chance."
"Hey, don"t say such things… Thank you so much, Ash-kun! Because of you, the probability that I will fight with the advanced cla.s.s student has dropped!" (Nina)
Ninsan seemed to be pleased.
Hmm, it looks like this Felminsan is the top student of cla.s.s A.
It"s decided that I will have a mock battle against such a famous person in this important promotion test, I guess their reaction is normal.
However, I think that I just hit a jackpot instead. I mean, I can compete seriously against someone from the advanced cla.s.s. Perhaps, I will be able to learn some magic tips in this battle.
“Ugh, I"m going to have a mock battle against Noire-san…. My luck, why did it always happen to me…!?” (Nina)
Ninsan returned to her seat after drawing ticket with a crying face.
“Okay, everyone got their own ticket…. Hmm, it looks like some of you still have some questions in mind, so I will explain this again. The moment you draw a ticket, the other student will immediately receive a ticket with your name written on it as well. Those who drawn a blue ticket may hold a strategy meeting with your partner during the lunch break, and those who drawn a red ticket may conduct a reconnaissance on your opponent or whatever. Well, anyway, everything is up to you. That"s all. I wish you good luck!”
When I was about to leave my seat for lunch break….
"Is Ash-kun here!?"
There was a girl"s voice called my name.