C84: The First Test (3)
Dang Dang.
The bell rang announcing the end of the exam.
“It’s over, everyone stop writing. If you get caught doing something ridiculous here, I’ll treat it as cheating and give you zero points.”
Rudger’s warning was effective as the students stopped moving their pens.
“Assistant Sedina.”
“Yes.”
When Rudger called her name, Sedina rose from her seat and hurriedly collected the students’ test papers one by one. When the test paper completely left their hands, the students sighed as they realized that the test was over.
“I should have studied a little harder.”
“Ah! I knew this! The formula is correct, but I made a mistake and the answer is wrong!”
“Hey, is this the right way to do it? What did you write?”
“Ugh, it’s frustrating. I made a mistake!”
“I can’t tell even if I look in the book.”
The students gathered among themselves and discussed briefly what the answers were, but that did not change the answers they had already written.
After retrieving all 80 sheets of test paper, Sedina arranged them neatly and brought them to Rudger.
“Great job.”
Rudger picked up the test papers.
“Everyone had a hard time taking the first exam. There are still two more days left for the first test, so don’t overdo it and try to adjust your condition to the best.”
Of course, even if he said this, the students who crammed will do the same. Still, as a teacher, he just advised his students.
After saying these words, Rudger left the classroom.
“Whoa.”
This was their first examination in Theon and although it just ended, Rene felt relieved as if she had crossed the biggest wall.
‘No, we still have a lot of tests left, right? Let’s not be lax already.’
Still, I can think this positively because I did pretty well on the test.
Thanks to her constant review none of the 20 questions were submitted blank.
When I first saw the test questions, I wondered what was so difficult, but when I looked carefully, I realized that it was not necessarily the case.
As she felt the flow and solved the problems in a trance, 3 hours had passed.
‘It’s a relief that there was enough time to solve everything.’
Rene looked around with a little relief. She was going to ask Erendir if she did well.
‘But since she’s a princess and a senior, she must have done better than me.’
Unlike her, who was puzzled at first, Erendir immediately began solving the problems.
Rene, who was going to ask Erendir had no choice but to postpone the action for a while.
“Senior?”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, no. The……You looked a little bit embarrassed.”
“Oh, yeah? Is that so?
It was as Rene said. Erendir was restless after submitting the test paper and her confidence was gone. Her legs were shaking and she was stuttering like a person who failed the exam.
‘Oh no. There’s no way, right?’
Rene ignored her negative thoughts and asked Erendir.
“Senior, did you do well on the exam? As Mr. Rudger said, everything was from what he taught in class!”
“Uh… Really?”
What do you mean, really? As soon as she heard Erendir ask back, Rene felt the corners of her mouth twitching unconsciously.
Her anxious thoughts were gradually coming to reality.
“Senior. That…I don’t know if I can ask you this question.”
“Huh? Yeah, it doesn’t matter. Ask me anything you’re curious about.”
“Test…Have you ruined it?”
“…….”
Erendir, who answered confidently, closed his lips tightly.
“……Senior?”
“…….”
She was even turning her head to avoid her gaze and her ears were flushed red in the midst of her colorful blond hair. Erendir was ashamed.
“Senior, don’t tell me….”
Even her own imagination seemed to insult her, but she couldn’t help but ask.
“Did you really screw up on the test?”
Flinch!
When asked by Line, Erendir shook her shoulders.
From that gesture Rene realized that Erendir, the 3rd Princess of the Empire, who was called everyone’s idol, ruined this exam.
“…Really? No, is it because you’re not feeling well today? Recently, you had too many things to think about. A review of the future of the country? Because of that, right?”
Erendir focused on the test more than anyone else but Rene was so confused that she had to believe it.
At least, she thinks the princess is a great person who can easily occupy the top ranks in any field.
“Hmm. Junior Rene.”
Erendir, who regained her composure to some extent, opened her mouth.
“People are saying that everyone has their own field. If there is something you are good at, there is something you are bad at. So what this means is that no one is good at anything. Do you understand?”
“Uh……I mean, you’re not in a bad condition, you’re not particularly tired today……You just failed the test?”
“Junior Rene I didn’t pass the exam because I wasn’t good enough.”
“……Just in case, what was your ranking last year?”
As Rene remembers, Theon has more than 800 students per grade. Of course, the higher the grade, the more students drop out, so the number of senior students decreases considerably but every year, a corresponding number of new students comes in.
Erendir is a sophomore this year so it would be no surprise if her grades were based on the 800 students when she was in the first grade.
“……Why are you asking that? Don’t tell me you’re judging people by their rankings, too, are you?”
“You’re not in the top 500, are you?”
“……!”
The moment she saw that Erendir’s eyes widened as she turned around, Rene was startled. Erendir, who looked like a model, is actually really bad at studying theory!
It was a great shock.
Even the other nobles were overwhelmed by her atmosphere and could not approach her recklessly, so the princess was always alone.
She looks like a typical model student but she is actually in the middle and lower ranks in theory class!
“In the practical classes, my ranking is high!”
Erendir exclaims desperately.
It wasn’t a lie. In the theory classes she was ranked 500 out of 800 students, but she was in the top 30 when it came to practical skills.
Because she was born into a good family and has a strong bloodline, her magical powers are far greater than that of other students. Her rank in the practical exam was only possible because she received a thorough early education before she came to Theon.
When she saw that Erendir looked like she might burst into tears, Rene hurriedly nodded and responded.
“Oh, well, that’s possible! Besides, these days, there’s a strong trend of putting more emphasis on practice than theory, right?”
“Right? I admit that I’m not good at theory and knowledge, but I’m also proud of my skills as a wizard.”
Rene responded to Erendir’s words while sweating but inside she was a little disappointed.
‘As expected, you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.’
She felt that the noble image of the 3rd princess she knew was ruined.
* * *
In her office on the top floor of Theon main building, the president, Elisa, looked down through the window.
“The first test has finally begun.”
Wilford, who brought the refreshments, nodded at Elisa’s words.
“I hope all the students get good results.”
“If they’ve tried, they’ll definitely get them.”
“I guess so”
A total of four tests are held in one semester and a year is divided into two semesters, so students have to take as many as eight tests a year.
Not only students but also teachers who made the tests were tired. Above all else, because their job is to raise elites called wizards, the tests were quite intense and radical. That’s why there were a lot of dropouts in Theon as each grade level went up.
In the first test of the first semester students who were proud of themselves as geniuses competed with students who were in a similar situation for the first time and realized how narrow the well they were living in was.
In the case of students whose hearts were broken, it was not uncommon for them to leave Theon after the first test was over.
“I hope many students can hold out this time.”
“That’s why you asked them to take the first test lightly.”
“I did. Of course, the kids who will fall will fall away.”
Elisha felt sorry for that.
She didn’t view the competition itself as bad. However, it was her honest opinion that she wanted to avoid the fact that some students were ruined due to excessive competition.
As Theon’s president, she wanted to make sure a large number of students get a great education and spread their talents.
“How about the new teachers? They must have given exam questions while working as a teacher for the first time. Weren’t they nervous?”
“Would you like to take a look?”
Wilford brought the prepared test paper and handed it to the president. In the case of exam questions, it was possible because the president had the right to see it directly.
Among the new teachers who gave theory tests were Bruno from the Golem Studies class, Chris Benimore and Rudger Chelici, who are in charge of the manifestation system.
In particular, this test was a matchup full of curiosity among Theon’s teachers, as the two new teachers, who are polar opposites, gave a theoretical test in the same field.
“Well, Mr. Bruno asked about the magic circuit that drives the Golem, and the structural mechanics of the Golem. The difficulty itself seems to be okay.”
“Yes. He has a special affection for golems, so I think it’s okay.”
Elisa glanced through the exam questions Bruno had made, and nodded her head with satisfaction. He didn’t show anything that exceeded expectations and was just average, so it didn’t seem like a problem.
“Next it’s Chris Benimore and Rudger Chelici.”
“Do I have to compare them?”
“Actually, you can’t do it without making a comparison.”
Wilford nodded with a wry smile.
Elisa quickly scanned Chris’s test questions.
“Well, Chris asked questions on the side of Mana Release and Elemental Attributes.”
“Yes, and it’s…….”
“The same goes for Mr. Rudger.”
No matter how different the grades they were in charge of, to openly give exam questions in the same field was like declaring war on Rudger.
“It must have hurt his pride to lose the bet.”
“Since that day, Hugo Burtag faction has been forced to hang their heads down for almost a week.”
“Right. It was so refreshing to see him keep his mouth shut. I feel like I have regained my old self-esteem.”
Elisha smirked at Chris’ test questions.
“I think this test is a simple revenge for Chris. No, I don’t think it’s simple, he seems to have put his heart and soul into it.”
As a result, Chris Benimore’s exam papers were filled with jargon-filled problems, dotted with all kinds of difficult words.
“What kind of test is this? He’s just bragging about his knowledge.”
Elisa clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Chris Benimore’s excessive arrogance and self-pride eventually led him to the point where he increased the exam difficulty to an absurd level.
Will students be able to solve these problems properly?
“I told him to give the basics for the first test, but he’s already playing around like this. In particular this theory is something students learn in the third grade.”
Of course, even though it was something that was taught in the third grade there were students who already learned it, the aristocratic students of the upper class because they were educated before they joined Theon. On the other hand, the commoner students weren’t.
The problem was that he discriminated against the commoner students and favored the noble students.
“Really.”
Elisa had a headache but she couldn’t blame Chris Benimore for this either. The test is up to the teacher, and if she interferes with this, it doesn’t look good.
Because she was Theon’s President, she couldn’t do anything she wanted.
“Well then, let’s see how Mr. Rudger handled the problem.”
If it were his usual self, it might be more or less the same as Chris or maybe the questions were monotonous because of his overly rigid atmosphere?
Elisa looked at Rudger’s test questions with that in mind.
“……What?”
She opened her eyes wide.