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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The recruitment targets for tomorrow’s group class were set, ranked from 1st to 10th.
The 1st priority target was Jamie Victoria.
A promising Curseology student with excellent grades.
Her energetic and proactive personality was also a plus.
The 2nd priority target was Claudia Menzies.
The ideal candidate, according to Rick, specializing in Hemomancy with a sub-specialty in Toxicology.
If they could recruit her, their semester would be much smoother.
They had compiled a list all the way down to the 10th rank.
“Even if we can’t get Jamie or Claudia, it’s important to move on quickly to the next candidates without lingering. Oh! And when we recruit them, we’ll emphasize your special privilege as a selling point, okay?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
The two finally went to bed after meticulously planning their strategy.
Simon felt a sense of accomplishment.
Were there any other groups who had prepared this thoroughly?
He was looking forward to tomorrow’s class.
***
The next morning,
A new week began at Kizen.
The atmosphere in the classroom for the first period, ‘Basic Dark Magic,’ was completely different from the quietness of last week.
Now that they were familiar with each other, the students were chatting boisterously.
As Simon sat down quietly and took out his textbook, Rick put a hand on his shoulder.
“I just talked to Jamie! We’ve broken the ice.”
Simon looked impressed.
“You’re really good at this.”
“Hehe, networking is essential in business. This used to be my job, after all.”
Just then, they heard footsteps outside the classroom.
The students quickly scurried back to their seats.
The moment of truth had arrived.
They were about to find out who would be Class A’s homeroom teacher.
“Please be Bahil!”
Rick murmured.
Simon secretly hoped that Aaron from Summoning would be Class A’s teacher.
Hongpeng from Martial Combat would also be acceptable, and Eric from Jet Black Mechanics seemed like he would teach dark magic kindly and patiently.
And the moment the door opened…
“Ah…!”
Everyone’s jaws dropped.
“N-No way…”
Rick’s pupils were shaking like an earthquake.
The professor stepped forward and stood at the podium.
Short, neatly styled hair, a sharp and intelligent impression, and charismatic purple eyes.
The acting headmaster and vice-principal of Kizen.
“My name is Jane Olivia.”
She was the second-in-command at Kizen.
“I hold the title of Vice-Principal, but you can address me as Professor in class.”
Nephtys’ closest confidante and the person who effectively wielded all the power at Kizen in her stead.
She was among the most influential figures among the faculty Simon had seen so far.
“…Why is she teaching a first-year class?”
Rick whispered, holding his breath.
As he said, it was rare for the acting headmaster to teach students directly, and even when she did, it was usually for third-year classes.
“Well, in life, unexpected situations arise, don’t they, Rick Hayward?”
Rick jumped as if he had seen a ghost and sat up straight.
‘H-How does she know my name?’
The back of Rick’s head was drenched in cold sweat.
Jane turned and looked at the students.
“I’ll be in charge of Class A’s Basic Dark Magic class for this semester. As Rick Hayward just mentioned, I’ve only taught third-year classes until now, so…”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I expect you all to make an effort not to be too overwhelmed by the difference in level.”
Gulps could be heard from all around the classroom.
It was an incredible opportunity to be taught by the vice-principal of Kizen, but the rumors surrounding her prevented the students from feeling completely happy.
Jane was the embodiment of the slang term “Kizen-like” often used among students.
She was known for ruthlessly expelling any student who showed the slightest lack of potential or had an attitude she didn’t like.
Even the “third-years,” Kizen’s prized top students, weren’t safe from her expulsion blade, so it was no wonder the Class A students were already filled with fear.
“Then, let’s begin the class.”
Jane’s voice broke the silence.
“As you all know, [Basic Dark Magic] is a class that covers all eight subjects and supplements the fundamentals of necromancy that the other eight subjects don’t teach.”
At her signal, the assistants distributed thick stacks of paper to the students.
“Before that, you all need to know where you stand in terms of your abilities in the eight subjects.”
Simon and Rick’s shoulders tensed.
A test on all subjects in the first class?! This was completely unexpected.
“You have 22 minutes per subject. You’ll take four subjects first, then have a 4-minute break before taking the remaining four consecutively. If anyone is caught cheating, I’ll remember your name and expel you after the student protection period ends.”
There was no time to breathe.
Jane, having effortlessly plunged the students into a pressure cooker, crossed her arms and declared,
“Then, let the test begin.”
***
This was Simon’s first school exam.
It was also one of the most challenging and agonizing three hours of his entire life.
It wasn’t physically demanding, but rather mentally excruciating.
[7. After casting the Paralyze curse, the subject exhibited muscle stiffness and hypertonia, becoming petrified after 20 minutes. Assuming the subject’s mana loss rate is 0, which of the following is the correct combination of the subject’s curse resistance and the additional Jet Black value required for the Paralyze magic circle?]
‘…I have no idea how to solve this.’
It was all Greek to him.
It was clearly written in the common tongue, but he couldn’t understand a word of it.
He felt frustrated.
These questions were meant to be solved, yet he was sitting there blankly while the other students were busy writing.
An unfamiliar sense of helplessness washed over him.
He had been arrogant to think that he could easily adapt to Kizen just because things had been going his way recently and he had acquired his father’s undead Legion.
‘This is reality.’
Since he hadn’t had any prior education, he had to work much harder than others.
Simon’s frustration and resentment grew as he stared at the unsolvable questions.
The three hours felt like an eternity.
“Ugh.”
“That was really difficult.”
After the test, the other students didn’t look too happy either.
Rick handed his test to the student behind him and turned to Simon.
“How was it, Simon?”
Simon gave a wry smile.
“…I really need to study hard.”
“I agree.”
Jane, having collected all the test papers, addressed the students.
“Good work, everyone. Enjoy your lunch, and I’ll see you in two hours.”
“Thank you, Professor!”
No matter how disheartened they felt, the mention of lunchtime made them jump to their feet.
As the Class A students streamed out of the classroom…
“Let’s begin.”
“Yes!”
Jane and the assistants’ work was just beginning.
They divided the test papers and started grading them at their respective desks.
Jane was by far the fastest.
Her hands moved with blinding speed and precision.
The quill moved swiftly from top to bottom, and she immediately moved on to the next page.
“…….”
But at some point, a girl’s face appeared next to Jane’s desk.
She rested her cheeks on the edge of the desk, blinking her large, blue eyes.
“…Why are you here? Lady Nephtys? You must be busy.”
Jane’s voice was cold, but the girl simply smiled innocently.
“Just visiting!”
“…….”
Jane ignored her and resumed grading.
Annoyed, Nephtys swung her legs playfully while clinging to the desk.
Finally losing her patience, Jane chopped Nephtys on the head with the side of her hand.
“Ouch!”
“Don’t bother me.”
“Waaaaah! Jane always hits me!”
Clutching her head, Nephtys burst into tears and ran to grab the nearest assistant’s sleeve.
The assistant’s face turned pale at the sudden appearance of Kizen’s ruler.
“Sigh.”
Jane sighed.
“Stop bothering my poor assistant and come here.”
“No! No! You’ll just hit me again!”
“Quickly.”
At Jane’s cold command, Nephtys pouted and approached her.
“The rest of you, move to the empty classroom next door and continue grading there.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
As if waiting for those words, the assistants grabbed the test papers and scurried out of the classroom.
Nephtys glared at Jane, her cheeks puffed out.
“Jane! You’ve been so cold to me lately!”
“I’m the same as always.”
“Hmph. You’ve really changed! When I picked you up from the slums, you were a pure, innocent child, clinging to my hand with frightened eyes, trembling!”
“That pure, innocent child has become this way after being subjected to 24/7 overwork and job stress.”
Jane retorted curtly and handed half of the test papers to Nephtys.
Nephtys blinked.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“What do you think? Since you’re here, help me with the grading instead of bothering me.”
“…….”
Finally understanding the situation, Nephtys chuckled nervously and backed away.
She turned to flee, but Jane was faster, grabbing her and holding her by the waist.
“Wah! No! Let me go! I don’t want to work!”
Jane delivered another chop to Nephtys’ head to subdue her, then sat her down properly and handed her a quill and test papers.
“Jane, do you know this is child abuse and a violation of labor laws?”
“Who’s the damn child here? Just get to work.”
“…Fine.”
For a while, only the scratching of quills against paper could be heard.
Jane, having finished grading five test papers in no time, glanced at Nephtys.
Nephtys, still pouting, was writing “idiot” on the incorrect answers.
“What are you doing? Don’t be childish.”
Another merciless chop to the head followed.
Nephtys clutched her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
“But! He’s a real idiot! He got the 2nd ingredient question in Toxicology right, but he got the comparison question right below it wrong!”
“Hmm.”
Jane looked at the questions and chuckled.
“He used the formula to solve number 2, but he relied on common sense without thinking for number 3. It’s a common mistake students make.”
“Idiot, idiot! What’s his name?”
Nephtys flipped the test paper to the front page.
“Huh?”
The name was covered.
“It’s a blind evaluation. Grading based on names might introduce bias.”
“…You’re going this far for just a test? Thorough.”
“Even if it’s just a test, there are many interesting samples.”
Jane picked up one of the graded test papers.
“And this is the opposite case of what Lady Nephtys just graded.”
“What is it?”
“He got almost all the basic questions, from 1 to 15, wrong. But then…”
She flipped the test paper over.
“He attempted question 20, the most difficult one.”
Question 20 on the last page.
The entire page was covered in complex formulas.
“What is all this?”
“Ancient runes from Jet Black Mechanics, instance skeleton formulas from Summoning, and Exhaust calculations from Curseology.”
“…No way?”
Jane smiled and nodded.
“Yes. This student didn’t have any prior learning. He deduced the answer by meticulously combining what he learned in class last week.”
Nephtys read the test paper.
“What? He used a Summoning formula for a Jet Black quantity calculation problem? He assumed resistance is proportional to Jet Black loss rate.”
“Yes.”
“And he got it right?”
Jane shook her head.
“Using the Theron formula, the answer is exactly 1,200,000.”
“Then what answer did this student write?”
“1,200,146.”
Jane’s expression turned deadly serious.
“It’s not the intended answer, but it’s closer to the correct answer.”
Nephtys glanced at the test paper.
She saw that even the strict Jane had marked question 20 as correct.
“Lady Nephtys, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you assign me to a first-year class? And on top of that…”
She peeled off the white paper covering the name.
[Simon Polentia]
“To Class A, where this boy is?”
Nephtys rested her chin on her hand and smiled sweetly.
“Hehe, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Jane sighed inwardly.
‘…That 300-year-old fox.’
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