Chapter 320 – Raelion’s Tests (Part 1)

Chapter 320 – Raelion’s Tests (Part 1)

Aspiring candidates flooded the meadow wherever Kai looked. From mid to late teens, short and tall, girls and boys, eager, bright-eyed, and jittery. The sea of chattering bodies submerged the grassland, leaving only the examiners’ podium soaring over their heads.

More continued streaming out of the buildings at his back—everyone who passed the initial screening and test. The wide field didn’t let Kai see the fenced boundaries of the property, somehow still within Nerethi.

This is gonna take a while.

At a glance, it looked like any large school gathering back on Earth, plus some fanciful hair colors, all except for one other detail. Every teenager in the meadow was yellow ★ or higher, with no exceptions.

Over a thousand of them…

This was only one of five such fields Raelion had set up for winter intake, spread across the city.

“Uh—“ Kai twisted to the side to avoid clashing with a girl. Her purple ponytail fluttered like cotton candy on her back, woven with golden beads and the steel plaque with her applicant number.

She moved to join a group of upright kids, never once glancing back. Even in plain attire, the patrician spawn stood out. They flocked together, looking down their noses at the plebeian masses, often not bothering to hide their scorn.

They made up a third of the applicants, but would comprise over half of those admitted, according to Valela.

Every candidate must bring nothing except unenchanted clothes for the tests—spatial artifacts included. The Head Examiner had been starkly clear on the matter. His voice had thundered over hundreds of teenagers in the hall as if shouting right beside them.

Damn maniac.

Kai ran his thumb where his ring should be—now safely with Reishi. His ears still rang with the warnings. Any piece of enchanted gear in their possession would lead to immediate expulsion and a ban from future acceptance tests. Same went for consuming enhancing potions, external buffing skills, or any means to boost their abilities.

Cheating wasn’t tolerated at Raelion. The dean didn’t believe in second chances for those unable to follow basic rules.

Who’s even stupid enough to cheat here?

“—do anything. You can’t treat me like this! It’s not mine. I—” A shrill voice cried.

Kai turned to watch a blue-haired kid struggling in the grip of a stone-faced woman. The young examiner dragged the boy away like a piece of driftwood, deaf to his cries. Her dark green attire featured a single white stripe on the arm, indicating she was an assistant evaluator, likely an upperclassman working for credits.

More pleading and angry shouts rose over the meadow as the examiners picked out cheaters. No explanation was given, just a command to follow. Most left willingly, their heads bowed in shame; only a few loudly protested and were forcibly lifted.

Fools were a persistent breed.

No matter the circumstances, someone always thought themselves smart enough to avoid getting caught, or was simply too stupid.

It’s the most prestigious academy in the Republic, they must have seen people try every method.

Kai noticed with a bit of schadenfreude that the majority of the teenagers eliminated seemed patrician. Who else could have the arrogance and means to attempt cheating?

Money burned with no refund.

Taking the test alone cost five to twenty golds—depending on the course of study—and that was chips compared to the enrollment fee. It shed some light on how the academy possessed extensive land holdings within such an expensive metropolis.

Is that why they take so many students and halve them in the first year?

Winter intake accepted half the number of the late summer testing, two and a half thousand among all courses.

They must make a killing.

Kai stopped doing the maths when the number passed one million mesars. The amount was mind-boggling, and he didn’t like being reminded of things he couldn’t buy. It was just distasteful.

Are magic academies expensive to run…? They must have an army of employees… Still, they better be worth—

“Hey!” Flynn exclaimed in his ear, grabbing both shoulders from behind. “How’d it go?

That damn profession skill.

Kai froze and bit his cheek. He’d sooner chew sand than show surprise to the sneaky bastard. “It went fine.” He turned to face his beaming friend. “I assume you also passed?”

“Of course. I got full marks!” Flynn said with a smug grin. “Five whole points! Who knew the Republic education would turn out helpful, eh? What did you get?”

“Does it matter?” Crossing his arms, Kai turned to search the crowd for someone, probably Rain. “That test serves only to screen applicants. It barely counts.”

Anyone with an education and some brains could pass the questionnaires. From the number of patricians, that was probably the point…

Elitist jerks.

He had completed the sections on math, logic and skills just fine. However, his knowledge of the Republic’s geography, history and laws was a little rusty.

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What do they matter? I’m going to a magic academy. It’s pointless.

“C’mon, tell me. Pleeease,” Flynn watched him with pleading eyes. His tanned face shone with the sheen of his new grade, stepping to remain in front of him. “It can’t be that bad. You’re so smart!”

How to praise yourself by praising me. You’re not fooling anyone.

“I’m smart enough to know that test doesn’t matter,” Kai said. When the smiling fool intruded on his vision again, he grabbed his ear to pull him aside. “Stop hopping around. It’s distracting.”

“Ahi! Okay! I’ll stop. Let go of my ear! Please. You’re hurting me.” Flynn held his hand, trying to pry the fingers open.

He was riding the high of his recent advancement. The rush of attributes at Yellow made everyone feel invincible for a period, though that didn’t make it any less annoying.