Chapter 28 "First Place in the Entrance Examination——"
"Young apprentices, welcome to Beaujunes Academy."
The principal stood on a translucent podium suspended in the air, staring at the speech and reading it slowly. His voice seemed to cast a hypnotic spell, forcing Edith to secretly lower her head and cover up the sleepiness on her face by adjusting her cuffs.
Hedda vigilantly observed the surroundings with her peripheral vision, quietly moved on tiptoe, and signaled Edith to look up: the teacher next to her was watching every move here.
Edith nodded imperceptibly, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes caused by yawning, and slowly and gently straightened her back, as if all the actions just now were just an occasional negligence of a lady.
The teacher's eyes then turned away.
"...True magic never yields to established rules. What you have stepped into is not just an institution, but also a fork in the journey of life. May you be guided by the stars, but never get lost in the sea of stars." The principal finally ended his long and lengthy speech, and walked down the stairs to even more enthusiastic applause than when he came on stage.
The scene changed quickly, and the suspended podium fell to the ground, infinitely stretched, and turned into a stage style of an ordinary auditorium. The teacher in an indigo robe quickly stepped forward to take over, waved his wand, and a few lines of words appeared out of thin air on the light-colored background board of the auditorium.
"Next, we will start distributing the entrance exam results." The teacher pushed his glasses, not giving the students any time to react. "There are 1,000 students enrolled this time. Excluding the top 50 and bottom 50, the rest of the students can pick up their transcripts directly under their seats."
After that, countless fluorescent lights poured down from the ceiling, interweaving together so densely that Edith squinted her eyes.
The light spot fell in front of the seat, gradually turned into a piece of paper, and then lost the magic of stability in the air, and instantly fell to the ground, mixing with other people's lists.
Everyone who was not mentally prepared was stunned.
No, we should not announce the overall written test scores first, and then talk about the average level of practical tests, praising those with high scores and encouraging those with low scores.
Why was it so straightforward to just write it down on paper and give it to me?
The test papers this year were difficult to begin with, and most people had little confidence. When they thought that their low-scoring papers might be seen by others, they all went crazy and pushed each other to find their names.
No one cared about aristocratic etiquette at this moment - after all, being seen with a single-digit score was much more serious than being seen jumping up and down.
The scene became chaotic for a moment.
"Damn it, don't squeeze me!" "That's mine! Can't you see such a big name?" "Goddess, look at your own results, don't try to peek at mine!"
Hedda's hands were shaking and she could barely bend down. With Edith's help, she barely picked up her report card from the ground.
Her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't see the words on the list. She finally pressed the total score and forced herself to take a deep breath to calm down.
"It's okay, it's okay. It only takes a second." Heda gritted his teeth for a few seconds. Just as he mustered up a little courage, the heart-wrenching cry of the person next to him came over: "Impossible! How can there be only 900 of me? It's over!"
Hedda: “…”
It's really inappropriate.
She could only turn her head and ask Edith for help in a crying voice: "No, I still don't dare. Please help me and tell me tactfully."
Edith nodded and took it, glanced at the total score column, and said calmly: "54th."
Heda was raising her hands to her ears before she could even cover them: "?"
She looked confused, slowly lowered her arms, and felt her whole body light: "How much did you say?"
She probably heard it wrong.
"54," Edith repeated, with a hint of a smile on her face. "Congratulations. You're almost in the top 50."
The top fifty students from Beunis College can enter the Magic Association without taking an exam, and the apprenticeship period is shortened to one month. If one can make it into the top ten and get an exclusive brooch, even the family behind them will be proud.
Hedda realized that Edith was not joking. She quickly pulled over the report card, looked it up and down, covered her chest with her hands as if relieved, and collapsed on the chair. "Actually... Wheel of Fortune, you actually chose me again..."
Edith: "...It wasn't the wheel of fortune that chose you, it was me who was tutoring you."
Hedda chuckled, drew two inverted triangles on her chest, and thanked Edith in the manner of a goddess: "May fate favor you."
Her emotions gradually calmed down, and she lowered her head to look at the report card again: "Luckily I didn't make it into the top 50, otherwise if I hadn't received the report card, I would have thought I was in the bottom 50..."
Her finger paused on the column for specific scores.
Written test: 151/200
Practice: 237/300
"It's so high!" she exclaimed. "The written test was so difficult this time, I thought I couldn't even get a perfect score - the practical test was even harder. It felt like you were in charge of our group, and the teacher was willing to give me almost a perfect score."
Edith tilted her head. "Almost full marks?"
Isn't this still 63 points short?
Heda hummed, "Yes, because the scope of the practical examination is too large and there is no standard answer, the teacher will generally only give 250 points to the person with the best performance in this field - so everyone generally assumes that 250 points is the full score for the practical examination."
"But since I scored 237, you must be the only one who got a perfect score in this game."
Edith nodded thoughtfully.
Hedda finally came back to her senses from the mixed emotions of nervousness and joy, and realized that she had not heard Edith's grades: "You didn't get the transcript?"
"As expected, you are the one favored by fate - I knew you would be in the top 50."
Edith smiled but said nothing.
She didn't have high expectations for her grades. She had never received a systematic education, was better at experiments than exams, and had to paraphrase the entrance exams in her own words, without filling in any concepts from the textbooks. She probably wouldn't be able to score as well as Heda, who had been memorizing since childhood, and she expected to score 150 points.
As for practice, the team that constructed the giant magic circle also performed very well. My score may not be the highest, but it is not far off. I can temporarily estimate it as 247.
That adds up to 9 points higher than Heda, just barely making it into the top 50.
"I guess I'll be called soon." Edith shrugged and leaned over without caring. "Let's not talk about that. Where's your examiner's message?"
"Oh, yes, yes. I haven't appreciated the teacher's teachings yet." Heda flipped through the report card in a hurry, "Let me see..."
"The dean of the School of Magic didn't leave any comments. The deans of the School of Pharmacy and the School of Monsters both gave me an A, praising my rich knowledge of plants and animals. I got a B for spells, saying that although my skills were a bit sloppy, they were all very accurate and I responded quickly. Uh, why did the dean of Astrology also give me an A? Praising me for being brave?"
"Soul thinking is an important subject in the Astrology School, and they attach great importance to students' character." Edith didn't understand the Astrology School, but she understood those mysterious astrologers.
Hedda nodded in understanding. "That makes sense."
"Quiet, everyone, be quiet!"
Before the two of them could think more deeply about the meaning of the comments, the teacher in the center of the auditorium spoke to suppress the noise of the crowd. Most people suppressed their emotions, but there were still some scattered conversations. The teacher didn't know whether he couldn't or didn't want to control it, so he ignored the noise and carried out the next process without distraction: "Next, the results of 50 to 1 will be announced."
"Please come to the front of the stage and receive your transcript and teacher's comments if your name is called."
Edith adjusted her skirt, spread her legs, and was ready to go up at any time.
"No. 50, Lynch Charles. Written test 154, practical 241."
"Lin Qi's score is so high?!" Heda's eyes widened, "Isn't he the only one left in his team?"
"He showed his full strength in swordsmanship, and he persisted until the end of the competition even though he knew he couldn't complete the task...I guess Dean Astrology will give him a very high score." Edith looked in the boy's direction. He didn't seem to realize that he would be scored so high. He was pushed a few times by the people around him before he stood up in a daze. "For an exam without a standard answer, the score assessment will be more subjective."
"Tsk, forget about the practical test, he even scored higher than me in the written test." Heda pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, "Although he has been studying since he was young and I have less time to study because of my family's supervision, but as a genius, I shouldn't score lower than him!"
Edith also found it strange: "...I remember Lynch hated theoretical knowledge."
But except for the additional questions, other questions have standard answers and there is no random scoring.
In the few minutes the two of them were discussing, people on the stage passed by like a stream of water, and in an instant, the number of people reported reached 39. Edith finally felt something was wrong - according to her calculations, her limit was 40th.
Why didn't she report it?
"No. 23, Mulin Raphael."
Another name was called out, and the flaxen-haired girl pushed up her glasses and stood up from her seat neatly.
When her name was heard, there was a sound of inhalation around.
"Is that Mulin?"
"It should be... 7 people signed up, and in the end only she was left."
“Oh my god, not only did he stay, but he was ranked 23rd?”
"Don't worship too early, the gap will widen after you enter school."
Edith raised her eyebrows and looked to the side. Heda understood and whispered, "Didn't Beunis College relax its admission policy for civilians for the first time this year? But because the notice was given too late, there were not many civilians who could afford the tuition, so only seven people signed up in total."
"It spread all over the circle last night. Only one of the seven civilians remained. Her name is Mulin. Her parents are said to be businessmen who only run a small hotel. No one knows how they raised her."
Edith exclaimed: A commoner studied on his own and was admitted to the college, and ranked among the top. What a talent!
"Not bad." Sitting near the back of the auditorium, hiding himself in the darkness, Tuttle nodded affirmatively. As a child of two researchers, he sneered at the nobles who took advantage of their status to claim nobility. "You can get in touch with her and help her when necessary."
"Why are you putting yourself in a high position so quickly?" The girl next to Tuttle chuckled, "Don't think about her first, think about yourself - where do you think you can get?"
"No. 1." Tuttle said calmly, "I have never seen anyone with stronger overall strength than me."
"Why not? Amy, who built a large illusion array, and Edith, who rejected your request to join forces and called on the candidates to break the array alone—" the girl counted on her fingers, "Oh, and Bell, who pretended to be Joyce, aren't they all very powerful?"
"Bell is very strong, but being grouped with Amy means he has fewer opportunities to perform. Amy relies on snatching tasks to complete, so Dean Astrology will definitely give him a very low score. In the high score segment, a teacher's dissatisfaction is enough to ruin the ranking." Tuttle smiled with an expression of "you don't understand" and continued to preach, "As for Edith... According to the current situation, my practical test score will not be lower than 240. She can only be ten points higher than me in this item, but in the written test... I am sure I can surpass everyone."
"Then it's not a gap that can be filled up completely."
"No. 16, Ivan Campbell."
"The youngest son of Queen Campbell, and also the youngest prince of our kingdom." Hedda thought Edith didn't know these things, so she actively explained, "He also has an older brother and an older sister, who are in the fifth and third grades respectively. Queen Campbell hasn't made a good choice between the prince and princess as the heir yet. Under glory, everything is like ice, cutting through all family affection and blood ties. One can only recall the warmth of relatives in the blood on their fingertips - well, I mean, the relationship between the two is extremely bad. If you make friends with one, remember not to go to the other."
"This youngest son is not among the heirs?"
"Of course not. Look, he can only get 16th place, while his brothers and sisters are the first in their respective grades." Heda's eyes were filled with pity. "He has been weak since childhood and cannot support him to use too much magic power. Even with so many medicines, he can only get so far."
Edith made a mental note.
"No. 4, Amy Walker."
"What do you think?" Tuttle snorted. "I said, based on his behavior, it's impossible for him to get a high score."
"But he still stands in fourth place." The girl said calmly, "When necessary, using some necessary means will help him maintain his rightful position."
"But we are not striving for the top ten, but for first place." Tuttle shook his head in disapproval, "Then we must do our best in every aspect."
The girl didn't comment.
"Third place, Bell Baker."
"It's higher than I thought. I thought Amy would be ahead of her." Tuttle smiled with determination, "It seems that my guess was right--"
"——Second place, Tuttle Kirk"
Tuttle's smile froze on his face.
There seemed to be a layer of mist between his muscles and head, hazy and sticky, forcing him to turn his head slowly and look in the direction of his reading companion.
The girl uttered a sigh: "It seems that your guess... is still a little wrong."
......
Front left side of the auditorium.
After listening to Hedda's introduction of Ivan, Edith quietly leaned back in her chair, waiting for her name to be called. But the people around her obviously didn't want her to be so peaceful.
The boy sitting on Edith's left quietly leaned over and looked at Edith's empty hands. He immediately felt superior and asked, "Why, you haven't gotten your grades yet?"
At present, the eleventh place has been reported on the stage. The boy is now more certain that the person next to him is one of the 50 bottom-ranked students - he knows all the outstanding students in his class, and he doesn't remember any of them looking like this.
However, is there any noble lady who is so beautiful but not famous? It shouldn't be...
"Your name is... Edith, right?" He called out the name based on the fragments of information he just heard. "Edith, it's not terrible to have poor grades. What's terrible is to let yourself fall into depravity. Why don't you study with me? I'll guide you, and you won't be at the bottom next time."
Edith heard the announcement of "Sixth place!" in the background and looked at the other person with interest: "What place did you get?"
"799 - it's not important." The boy stared at Edith's curved eyebrows and was mesmerized for a moment. "It's important, the important thing is that we can study together."
"Second place, Tuttle Kirk"
"Thank you for your kindness."
Edith smiled. The second place was announced, and her result became obvious.
Although I don’t know why it’s so high...but, being high-profile is not entirely a bad thing for her now.
"But I may not need to 'progress together' with you."
Edith stood up under the boys' horrified eyes, raised her head, and accepted the dense gazes around her.
"—First place, Edith Griffin."
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