Chapter 576 – Entrance Examinations

Tomorrow morning came quicker than expected.

Well, that wasn’t true. Time always flowed the same way, but it felt like it came way quicker than usual.

Just like Ling Xin said, today was the day of the examinations to enter Counterhex Academy, the new school the IMF built in replacement of the old University of Fragment. It would be constructed in the same place, but with totally different infrastructure and layout and design.

The day earlier, an announcement had gone out to literally everywhere in the world, delivered personally by the IMF. It was all over the media, newspapers, and online as well. Major international institutions such as the Hunters’ Guild or the Alchemy Association spread the information through their various channels too, under the order of the IMF—which, by the way, could not be disobeyed, as they are the governing force of pretty much the entire world, at least from a power standpoint.

What was included in this announcement? The time, location, and rules of this examination, of course. It also provided insight and background towards the Hex issue, of course, but the majority of people weren’t going to join to save the world or whatever. They were joining so they could improve their personal strength, since this was akin to the former University of Fragment in terms of resources and privileges. Only the best of the best could enter.

Of course, that wasn’t going to stop people from trying. Without a doubt, there were going to be tons of people at the examination center—and sure enough, as the girls and I arrived, I was proven right.

“… Wow. This exam center… it’s gotta be bigger than the school itself,” Qing Yue murmured in awe, looking around at the sheer size of this place.

“And yet it is still not enough to accommodate the number of people coming here to try their luck, even if they will only be a support unit at best,” Obsidia noted, folding her arms. “Humans are truly such foolish creatures.”

“You are doing the exact same thing as them, you know that right?” Flaria chirped from my breast pocket, and I sent her a glare.

“What are you doing, coming out? If someone ends up noticing your aura, I’ll have a lot of explaining to do, so get back into hiding.”

“Fine, fine…” Flaria yawned and went back to nesting within my breast pocket, safe and hidden. She also concealed her aura, much like how Obsidia was concealing her dragon aura.

They were right, though—there sure was a lot of people all around them. I could count about a hundred just within my vicinity, and it wasn’t even the time for the exam yet. Everyone here was one hour early, meaning there would be tons more people piling in as the minutes drew closer to the test’s start.

Of the fifteen of us, seven were not chosen—Obsidia, Yu An Yan, Lan Xiao Su, Qing Yue, Mei Gui, Bai He, and Amane. I didn’t know how they were choosing who gets to enter the main force, but it didn’t seem to be simply raw power. If that was the case, Mei Gui and Bai He both surely would’ve gotten selected. They had the most raw strength out of all of us, after all.

It didn’t seem to be based on one’s intelligence, either. If I had to say, Qing Yue or Xiao Su were probably the smartest out of all of us, yet neither were not chosen. Was it fame? Not exactly either. Sure, Zhao Xiuying had some fame as being an alchemy prodigy, so one could say that’s why they chose her, but Lan Xiao Su was the famous idol singer Su Ning—the IMF definitely knew that much, yet Xiao Su was not chosen—not to mention Amane, who was still the current head of one of the major Demihuman tribes in the Fortress.

Whatever it was, the criteria was weird. Then again, who was I to be questioning the governing power of the world?

In any case, as the time drew closer to the start of the exam, 8 AM, more and more people flooded into the exam center. It was just about getting too crowded, so I prepared to take the girls and I to someplace else to wait, but just then, a loud announcement spanning the entire area broke out through the megaphones attached to the lampposts all around.

“Attention, all examinees. Those of you who have received invitations, enter the exam center now. The rest, remain outside until the stated examination time. Please be patient, and do not cause a ruckus. Any troublemakers will be evicted from the premises immediately, and promptly disqualified.”

“… Well, looks like we gotta go,” I muttered, looking at the exam center off in the distance, past a sea of people. “Good luck, you guys.”

Yu An Xue nodded. “Mm… good… luck.”

“Take care,” Ling Xin said to me. “I will remain out here, to guide these seven. They should have no problem given the contents of the exam, but I want to watch the show.”

“You keep saying that, but… can’t you just tell them the contents of the exam?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I could, but my honor as an instructor wouldn’t allow me,” Ling Xin said with a fake look of troubledness. “Though, of course… I could make an exception… if there is a reward involved.”

Saying this, she winked at me and stuck out her tongue playfully, to which I just sighed and walked away, in the direction of the exam center.

I was confident the other girls could pass this exam with ease, but not knowing its contents was somewhat unsettling. I doubt it would be anything academic-related, as Ling Xin said there was no studying necessary and to just use ‘intuition’, but that pointed to a fight.

Needless to say, Mei Gui and Bai He would be able to take down just about anyone, but Qing Yue and Lan Xiao Su were both more backline support-type mages. If a fight was truly the method to determine whether or not someone was qualified to enter the academy, then…

I shook my head. I couldn’t afford to be thinking about that now.. I had my own test to worry about first.