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Third Month, the 7th day

This report is written from subject of our interest, Johann Brown, concerning recent activities within Elysia's confine

Arriving in the capital as of four days ago, he has made contact with two of our agents and reveal his awareness of our organization. As of the current, an investigation had been carried out with the aim of eliminating potential moles within our rank. No spies have been found

The claim from one of our colleagues, William, persist that target is an individual of utmost interest. From the report, he possess high amount of Mana, a rare Magic attribute. Most importantly, he also seem to easily detect our rank, showing keen perception

Following William's report, I decided to personally investigate the target by tracing his background.

He allegedly came from a backwater town that has no relation to the Capital, which forced us to expend resources gathering information. Unfortunately, the intelligence gathered were of no worth, possibly due to Brown's obscure lifestyle before this

Regarding other assessments, target display a high level of awareness on his surrounding. His combat level is unknown. However, it is advised not to directly engage him, as subject appears to have extensive knowledge of Mana and an Attribute of unknown property. After 24 hours of observing his activities, I had yet been able to accurately assess the extent of his capability

The man is an enigma who could hide his power at will. It is imperative to continue looking into him and, if necessary, dispatch the danger before it can fester

 

 

---

 

Sunlight pierced through the window as I inspect myself in the mirror

A formal dusty gray suit, fixed with a black tie. Black pants, fixed with cheap leather belt that anybody could tell were of the lower-end quality. An old bag used as substitution for my case tied the look together

With one last look, I picked up my case and stepped out the door

"Hello. I'm here to check out"

A key was thrown to the table

"Already?" The lady standing at the reception frowned. "Ah, today's the day, isn't it?"

Wordlessly, I nod

The Court Exam is taking place today

A capital-wide event held by the Kingdom to intergrate new talent into the system. Examinees are tested on a variety of subjects dependent on their chosen profession. My chosen job is a "civil educator"

That means I can take up a new teaching position as long as I get high score in this test

Not to mention my money's almost ran out. If I failed, it would be the end for me. In which case, back to the countryside I go

I bid farewell to the guesthouse lady. She is a gentle sweetheart and I wish I have more cash to tip her

Maybe if I graduate the exam, I’ll return here and give her some investment money

As the door opened, I was surprised to see people crowding the streets. They are all dressed in immaclate attire and heading in one direction. That is, the place where the Exam is to be held

Gulp

Why is there so many people?

I forced down my nervous reaction and joined the stream of hopeful examinees

 

---

 

From the shadow, two figures observed the man making his way to the exam center

"I pried about him. It appears he'd checked out this morning" The man said as he handed a piece of paper to his partner “These are a copy of the list of books he purchased last week. The rest of the team is investigating any abnormal pattern in these”

The woman's eyes trailed over them. Her brow rose

"These are all basic spells for beginner" She put down the notes and narrowed her eyes "What do you think this mean, William?"

"It could lead to a variety of possibilities, one of which includes this being a waste of our time"

"Or it could be a red herring to his true magic mastery”

“I do think it’s unlikely. So far all the report about him had been overhyped. They are based entirely on hearsay and obsevational hypotheticals, none of which is credible”

“If we only take actions once something is confirmed as facts, our organization would have been long gone”

Initiatives is the only reason why they’d managed to stay atop the underworld all these years. The ruthlessness to operate with brutal efficiency, weeding out opponents using underhanded means, is a necessity for survival

“Continue to monitor him. If he turns out to be a harmless civilian we’ll leave it at that. However, if there is a bigger fish behind him…then he is the only link we have” She breathed deeply “Either way, Johann Brown is best kept living for now”

“Understood”

William hesitated, however. Something about the streets today stuck out for him

“Do you know why there are so many examinees taking the “civil educator” job this year?” The man's eyes scanned the crowd. Even being a long time residence of this capital, it is still surprising how many people is on the street today

"Ah, that's right, you're on an outside mission when the announcement were made. Rumors have it that this year's student batch consist of many geniuses from the noble house's family. To have them under you would be the highest of honor"

"In addition, the princess herself has come to an age she get to choose the path of her education. I can see many ambitious scholar would compete for the position of her teacher, either for fame or money"

"Then could it be that the reason Brown comes here is related to that?" He asked. The two members of the dark organization exchanged looks, before rushing to find their target

But Johann was already gone when they were still talking. Amidst their confusion, the man had slipped away undetected

 

---

 

The exam center was even more crowded than the outside. Everyone packed like sardines in one place. Some sat on the floor while others remain standing, anxiously waiting for the test to begin 

In some way it is similar to my past life's highschool experience. The quiet, yet noticeable tension in everyone's posture. The flickering of glances as one observe their competition. The subtle way people in the same academic circle concentrate and discuss amongst themselves

'This is something that could determine the path of your career. You should take it seriously as well'

I waited until the clock strikes zero. The sound of the bell rang across the now silent building as everyone held their breath.

The doors inside opened and outstepped a line of people in professional uniforms. They walked in formation and soon position themselves behind a smiling bespectacled man 

"Everyone who are gathered here, we welcome you to the capital's 53rd annual Imperial exam!" The man in glasses said while smiling pleasantly "I am Lockley. Butler of her Highness, princess Astoria. Due to the circumstances of this year's upcoming academy recruit, his majesty the King have deem it fit for me to personally supervise the exam"

Whispers broke out. As everyone chatted away heatedly, I myself am confused

What is so different this year? 

Why does everyone seems to know about it but me? Hey, is there a change in rules or something? The test surely can't go any harder, unless they are considering raising the bar this year. 

Regardless, my job as a civil educator shouldn't be compromised right? It's such a mundane job after all. You're basically teaching children to calculate one plus one and comes to an answer that makes sense

"Before we begin, the exam center has been into multiple sectors indicated on the building map for convenience purpose. Please settle into your respective profession group and we can move onto the exam itself"

There was no time to waste. Everyone was already moving. I followed my own group to the inner buildings, pass the various rooms at the front. There was a surprising amount of examinee coming with me

The guide concentrate us in one room. 

As we took our repective seats, she began role call to ensure everybody is present.

After that, we were given the instruction to wait until the bell ring. Finding nothing to do, I chose to stand in the corner and observe the room. A few pieces of small talk were exchanged with other examinees, mostly because I have nothing else to do

"So what is it about this year's exam that makes it so special?"

"This is the year princess Astoria will grace the public with her presence. As her Highness recently reached maturity, the King had decided to recruits the best instructors from across the country to assist in matters of her education"

Huh? I was confused by that information. Was it such a big deal for these people?

"Of course. The princess is privately taught from a young age by the royal tutors. She had shown tremendous potential in not only academic fields, but also in matters of politics, governance, and religion. She is a once-in-a-lifetime genius, to help her would be the highest honor to every academicians out there!"

The rambling scholar went ignored. I took time to focus on my thought

Princess Astoria of the Imperial City.

Many things come to mind when that name came up. She is an NPC from the game this world takes place in, and also one of the characters deeply involve in its storyline

I would rather avoid this type of person rather than confront them

The reason so is very simple. While the princess seems flawless ar first glance, there is actually weird quirk in her personality

The bell rung before I could think further. 

As the examinee get sorted into their respective seat, I sat down and waited until the exam got passed to me

The paper was two pages long with forty questions listed on it. I read over them while checking out the formulas I studied last night

It was then I realize something

The previous owner of this body is a genius

To me who was a transmigrator, the test is a bunch of headache-inducing gibberish. Yet Johann’s knowedge could filter the question with multiple parts into correlating lessons, then solve them individually at a blinding speed.

Had he not beed born in such a backwater area, the man might have garner some fame as a scholar in this city

I breeze through the first quarter concerning general magic aptitude. The rest which consists of question concerning math and similar theoretical branch of study was easily solve with my original knowledge

Ten questions remain

These are different than the rest

For the last section of the test, the questions appear more like a survey form 

 What are these irrelevant questions?

 Small questions like “what do you think is the optimal learning course in a magic academy?” And “your most suitable field of education” or “preferred target audience in a classroom”

Well, since it is a subjective question, I can just answer “all of them”. 

It may sound like I’m cheating my way in, but to be frank…who would give up a chance to inflate their resume if they could?

If anything, this is only going to affect my personal evaluation. If I’m qualified for something it doesn’t equate to me having to take that job— It just means I have a more impressive record to prove. So in essence, I can lie all I want

Pass the exam with flying color. Then get my place as the teacher to some normal school in the capital. That is how I plan to live my life in this world

I turned to the last page with anticipation

The final question: What is your ideology as a teacher?

Reading it over almost made me snort

Ideology? I only want to get enough money through teaching problematic kids to count from 1 to 10. There were no personalized feelings about it. Teachings is a job. It never will be a way of life

Of course, such a way of writing would seem crude. I will have to twist my words to add customary points, for all I know they could have used this to gauge the examinee's compatibility for the job

I set my pen on the paper and began scribbling

“…The principle of education must remain as the first priority. Only through knowledge can a person be shaped and their path widened. As such, it is my belief that dictates no matter a person’s education level, race, or family, that they would all get an equal level of care in their journey to enlightenment. 

Of course, this is only if said student remain wholly focused on improving themselves, as otherwise there would be no point to the knowledge we wish to impart”

The bell rang. I put the pen down as everyone started turning in their test

Now we only need to wait for the result