Chapter 35 — Entrance Exam 

Editors: PROCRASTINATOR & GREETER

 

We entered the campus of Starfall Academy once more and went to an open square with a stage on one side. It was walled in with buildings on three sides, which I think are classrooms. Not where I would expect an entrance exam to be… 

 

I must look really suspicious standing here with my hood up… 

 

“Terra, anything else I need to do?” (Ei)

 

“Nope! Just wait here until further instructions!” (Terra)

 

I’ll go find a corner to sit in then. I should have brought a book.

 

“Alright. See you later then.” (Ei)

 

Now which corner should I choose? Neither of the front ones. They’re too close to the stage. So, that leaves the two back corners… The left one is the one we came from, so not there since I think most people will be entering there. So, back right corner it is. There are a few crates there so that should be a good place to sit…

 

I sat down on the crate and began to wait. I have no idea how long it is until the entrance exam starts. I should have asked Terra before she left, but oh well.

 

“Hey! You! Are you here to take the entrance exam too?” (???)

 

… I chose a corner to avoid people. Not attract them.

 

“Yes…“ (Ei)

 

“Then why are you in the corner?!” (???)

 

I’m being interrogated by some purple haired girl with pink skin. She doesn’t look like an Elf though… No pointy ears.

 

“Because I’d rather not talk to people.” (Ei)

 

“Oh… That’s not good! Why don’t you be my friend?” (Purple Haired Girl)

 

“C’mon Sylventris, she clearly doesn’t want to talk with you. She even has the ‘dark and mysterious’ cloak.” (???) 

 

An Elf with blonde hair appears.

 

“And? She’ll end up with no friends with an attitude like this!” (Sylventris/Purple Haired Girl)

 

“I’m not really opposed to being friends…” (Ei)

 

“EH? Really!?” (Sylventris)

 

“Well, as long as your friend doesn’t have problems with me being half High Elf.” (Ei)

 

“Ooo… That’s rough.” (Sylventris)

 

“Uhh… I’m… fine with it. You seem nice enough…” (???)

 

Hm… She seems a bit reluctant to me…

 

“Well then, it’s settled! Anyways, I’m Sylventris! I’m an Esper! As for my friend, she’s a Forest Elf named Kambia. It’s her 25th time taking the entry exam!” (Sylventris)

 

“You said you wouldn’t bring that up!!” (Kambia)

 

Heh. 25 times? This test must be really hard then…

 

“What? It’ll make everyone better friends! Besides, now I have a witness to prove how stupid you are! I’ll pass the test, first try!” (Sylventris)

 

“I studied this time. I’ll beat your score just to prove you wrong!” (Kambia)

 

“I thought you would have learned the content after 25 tries…. And, since you two were too busy fighting, I’m Ei.” (Ei)

 

“Nice to meet you, Ei!” (Sylventris)

 

“Nice to meet you…” (Kambia)

 

“ATTENTION!” (Announcer)

 

Seems like things are about to begin.

 

“Everyone who would like to take the entrance exam, line up on the left side of the stage. In order to take the exam, you will need proof of your identity. This can be provided through a guild card, personal ID, or through your magical signature. There will also be a fee of five silver coins.” (Announcer)

 

Good thing I brought money. Well, I brought my entire inventory along… I should really start hoarding more stuff in there.

 

“Well, let’s go.” (Ei)

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

After giving proof of identity, we were split into classrooms around the plaza. I guess it was a bit logical then. We have four hours to do the test… Well, let’s hope this is enough. 

 

The first section is history. Thanks to Luna and Kurui’s teachings, I think I managed to do pretty well.

 

M1: Solve each of the following equations.

 

m1a. 1 + 8 

m1b. 3 + 3

m1c. 4 x 7

m1d. 21 / 3

 

Ha…? Do they think we are five-year-olds? Well, I can solve this easily, so let’s keep going.

 

M27: Factor the following expressions.

 

m27a. x² + 16x + 64

m27b. x² - 25

m27c. 4x² - x - 3

 

Finally something interesting! Well, this much is still easy…

 

M50: Solve the following equations, including imaginary solutions.

 

m50a. 8x⁴ - 24x³ + 12x² - 36x = 0

m50b. x² = -4

 

Things are heating up… Imaginary numbers are here! Still, too easy.

 

The math section finally ended. Seems calculus doesn’t exist here, since it stopped shortly after question M50. Still, I wonder how far advanced the math is here. (A/N: This is definitely not because I don’t know calculus.)

 

After that were some magic questions. I answered with the expected answer and not the real ones. I think Kusanali would get mad at me if I put the right one… Plus, nobody would believe me.

 

After magic was some basic science stuff. Like, what type of rock is this. There wasn’t any chemistry, but there was a small amount of questions related to cells. I don’t think they understand them very well.

 

E176: Translate the following sentences.

 

e176a. I run to the store.

e176b. This bag is mine.

e176c. Do you like shopping?

 

HA! You want me to translate something from English? Why is this on the test anyways… I thought only some advanced textbooks from Earth that got dumped here were in English…

 

*ping*

 

Why are you messaging me now? *sigh*, let’s read it.

 

I enjoy randomly dropping books filled with knowledge about this world from foreign languages into this world. English just happens to be extraordinarily common in the multiverse… I would blame the world you are from for it. Anyways, have fun~

 

…So you just RANDOMLY PUT THINGS IN ENGLISH ALL OVER THE PLACE FOR FUN?! That makes no sense…

 

Well, I guess that’s how Kurui managed to get quantum physics books from Earth… (G/N: MY THEORIES! NOOOOOO!)

 

Oh… there were only three questions about English… Well, I’m done! Time to turn in the test. Let’s see… How long did it take…? Only ten minutes. Nice. I think I could have done that a lot faster had it not been for the history questions…

 

I raised my hand and waited.

 

“Do you have a question, miss?” (Test Administrator)

 

“I finished.” (Ei)

 

“Eh? A..alright. Please wait outside until everyone else finishes the test. There will be a second part once everyone finishes or time is up.” (Test Administrator)

 

I’ve got almost three hours to kill… Well, I have mana currents I can watch. They’re almost as good as the stars.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

“Ei! You finished already?” (Sylventris)

 

“I finished a while ago… How long did it take you?” (Ei)

 

“Two hours and 56 minutes!” (Sylventris)

 

Only an hour and a half more to wait… I think she’s the first person other than me to finish.

 

“Not bad.” (Ei)

 

“How long did it take you?” (Sylventris)

 

“Ten minutes.” (Ei)

 

“EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?” (Sylventris)

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

Time’s finally up and everyone is gathering in the central plaza once more. About half the people took the entire time to finish, including Kambia.

 

“I’ve failed horribly…….” (Kambia)

 

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.” (Ei)

 

“I’ll beat you for sure then!” (Sylventris)

 

“ATTENTION!” (Announcer)

 

Seems like the second part is about to be announced.

 

“While your tests are being graded, we will be having a short series of duels in order to assess everyone’s magic skills. Even if you rank at a higher place, you will not necessarily receive a higher score. Tournament brackets have been on the left of the stage. Please take notice of all of your rounds. The first round begins in ten minutes.” (Announcer)

 

I feel sorry for whoever is against me.

 

“Yeah! Magic! I’m awesome at this!” (Sylventris)

 

“Well, I’m better than you. I’ll be able to score higher than you in this one for sure.” (Kambia)

 

“And yet I still beat you last time~” (Sylventris)

 

“Last time was over a year ago! And only barely!” (Kambia)

 

“Heheh…” (Ei)

 

These two are really funny.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

I was paired up against five random people for my five rounds. It would have been fun if I had gotten to fight one of my new friends… Oh well. Apparently, one of the rounds is actually against a teacher here… I don’t know any of the teachers though. 

 

Round one: Some random Forest Elf. His magic was so weak that mine overwhelmed it completely. And I was holding back.

 

Round two: Another random Forest Elf. Same result as last time…

 

Round three…

 

“Round 3. Challengers: Ei and Professor Crate.” (Announcer)

 

Huh. Crate isn’t an Elf. He seems to be a Dwarf. And he’s a teacher… This round could be fun.

 

“Best of luck to you, lassie. I won’t be holding back against you.” (Crate)

 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” (Ei)

 

Huh. If Luna were here, she would have said I’d become a battle maniac again…

 

Well anyways, bring it on, Professor. You can’t beat me.

 

“Three… Two… One… Begin!” (Announcer)

 

“[Fireball]!” (Crate)

 

Fireball? A classic. Unfortunately, it is an easy counter for me. I’ve been using mostly ice magic to make it seem like I’m a normal person.

 

“[Ice Shard Storm]” (Ei)

 

Ten or so ice spikes ram their way through the fireball.

 

“[Earth Wall]!” (Crate)

 

They slam into the wall Crate made, though some manage to break through.

 

“Not bad… I guess I’ll have to try a little harder! [Hellfire Storm]” (Crate)

 

Hey! Isn’t that a bit overkill?!

 

The entire arena erupts into a blaze as the sky turns red. Six spirals of flame appear and swirl in my direction.

 

“Hm… Time to end this. [Absolute Zero]” (Ei)

 

The sky turns back to normal and all the flames vanish in an instant. A light snow begins to fall as the water in the air turns back to a solid. Ice is forming along the edges of the arena.

 

I start to walk towards the dwarf.

 

“You fought well. [Ice Wall]” (Ei)

 

And with that, I sealed him in a wall of ice.

 

“Judges, is the duel over?” (Ei)

 

“Y-yeah. You c-can unfreeze everyth-thing now.” (Judge)

 

Seems I made it a bit too cold. Well, unfreezing this ice is troublesome, so I’ll just smash it to pieces. A roundhouse kick should do the trick.

 

“*cough* Th-that was very impr-pressive, l-lassie.” (Crate)

 

“Thanks.” (Ei)

 

Seems like a good teacher. I wonder what he teaches.

 

Well, back to recap mode.

 

Round four: A Great Spirit–

 

Wait, that shouldn’t be recap…

 

“Round 4. Challengers: Aeria and Ei.” (Announcer)

 

My next challenger is a semi-translucent pale green girl.

 

“Are you a Great Spirit? You look like one.” (Ei)

 

“E-eh? I am… I only evolved yesterday though…” (Aeria)

 

“...Huh.” (Ei)

 

“My contractor sent me here… I don’t really get why…” (Spirit)

 

…Not the nicest contractor, huh? Then again, I don’t actually know how Spirit contracts work…

 

“Three… Two… One… Begin!” (Announcer)

 

As soon as the round starts, a gust of wind blows me into the air. My hood stays on though, since Cthulhu can move themselves. 

 

Wind should be a pretty good matchup for me… I think?

 

“[Ice Shard Storm]!” (Ei)

 

I shot a nice ten spikes of ice at Aeria.

 

“IIIYYYAAAAA” (Aeria)

 

…Somebody isn’t confident in their magic skills, running from basic ice magic like a headless chicken.

 

Well, time to stick a landing. 

 

“[Frosty Footing]!” (Ei)

 

As I land, the entire floor is covered in ice. Since this is my spell it’s a bit different from normal. Spikes of ice form up from the ground and surround Aeria.  

 

“Stop! Match over.” (Announcer)

 

That was too easy… I guess she just needs more practice. And more confidence… She could have blocked all of my ice spikes with wind if she tried.

 

“Have more confidence in yourself. You might have been able to win if you were.” (Ei)

 

Can a Great Spirit beat me? I don’t know. I hope I never have to find out. Either way, she didn’t seem as strong as Vadina. Then again, Vadina is at least… uhh… when was the last time Entities walked the world again?

 

Back to recap mode… Again…

 

Round 5: Some random bird guy. He tried to fly with a block of ice attached to his foot and hit his head so hard he knocked himself out. (G/N: It seems not all birds are as good as Mista Crow.)

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

We were told that there was to be a ten minute break before the scores were announced. Apparently, you know if you get in or not on the same day as the exam… That’s too fast…

 

“Ei! How’d you do?” (Sylventris)

 

“I don’t really know… Pretty well I think? I won all my rounds at least.” (Ei)

 

“Really?! Me too!” (Sylventris)

 

“I only won four…” (Kambia)

 

“ATTENTION!!” (Announcer)

 

Seems it’s time for the results.

 

“Scores have been prepared. The left side contains the scores for each test. The right side contains who will be allowed into the school. Just because you have high scores does not mean you will get in. The reverse is also true. Please come to the school in three days to get your uniforms.” (Announcer)

 

Are they going to do something crazy like measure us and then make the uniforms on the same day? That’s totally going to happen, isn’t it?

 

Well, let’s see the results.

 

Written Test Scores:

 

178/178 - Ei

177/178 - Ori

…

152/178 - Sylventris

…

100/178 - Kambia

 

I got first. Nice. Speaking of scores, how was the magic part scored? Well, I’m sure I did well.

 

Practical Test Scores:

 

100 - Ei

73 - Ori

…

54 - Kambia

…

50 - Sylventris

 

Hmm… Why is second place so far below me?!

 

“100 points? That shouldn’t be possible…” (Random guy #1)

 

“And they’re at the top of both boards…?” (Random guy #2)

 

“...How?” (Random guy #3)

 

…Maybe I should have held back. But Luna would have been sad then. Time to just… slip away while nobody’s watching.

 

“Ei! How did you get 100 points on the magic test?! That’s as high as the Grand Sage did!” (Sylventris)

 

“It’s because she’s a High Elf, idiot.” (Kambia)

 

“Eh? I don’t think so…” (Ei)

 

“It has to be.” (Kambia)

 

… I really should have held back on the practical test. But, what was the scoring criteria anyways?! 

 

Looking at the other side of the stage, I saw that I got in. So did my two friends. 

 

“I did!” (Kambia)

 

“Gah… I lost the bet…” (Sylventris)

 

“You own me six small gold coins now!” (Kambia)

 

Isn’t that a lot?

 

“...I’ll do it later.” (Sylventris)