22nd of March, the Year 1202
8:32
Laeon Federation, City of Alexandria

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Cordelia was standing in front of a mirror with a hairband in her mouth as she gathered her inky tresses of hair in her hands into a ponytail. For the exam, the academy had provided them with a set of comfortable, black leather armour with light padding on the chest, wrists, back and knees. No tools or gadgets were allowed to be brought into the exam, though you were allowed to take one weapon of choice. When Cordelia examined her armour, she noticed that there was a complex paralysis seal under it filled with runes and symbols.

      Seals are, if you took it literally, spell circles engraved on a surface. They usually have a lasting effect like absorbing mana while others are instantaneous in their effect, like explosive seals. It was the next level of Runecraft, above spell circle manipulation, and required extreme precision and expertise. Otherwise, the seal could backfire and cause your mana to implode in on itself. It was also the basis of all Magitech and tools created using Runecraft like the Magic Projector or the Single-use Storage Box, the item used to store Cordelia's carriage.

“Big Sister, are you going?”

When she heard Chloe’s whiny voice, she sighed and turned around and put her hands on Chloe’s shoulders, letting go of her hair.

“Yes. Big Sister is going to do the test to enter the academy, okay? You get to go in for free since you’re a Recommended Student.”

      “B-but, I don’t want to leave you.”

On the verge of bawling out, Cordelia decided to bargain with her as she couldn't handle her crying.

“You can come with me then. I’ll have to ask the organisers if you can watch me do the test.”

Chloe nodded tamely with no sign of her crying a moment earlier and Cordelia realised she had been tricked. Oh well, it doesn’t matter.

“Kuro. The rest of you will stay here until I finish the exams. Understood?”

“Yes, Miss.”

All of her entourage was to stay rested at ‘Howard’s Home’ since they had no place in the exams. Only Kuro could enter Cheiss Academy with Cordelia on the condition that she passed the exam int he first place.

      There are a lot fewer people than I thought. She had arrived early with Chloe beside her, who was wearing a large black cloak on her so as not to reveal her age, to scout out competitors as they walked through the gates to the exam area. It was a huge, open meadow located outside of the city surrounded by looming trees that cast shadows across the edges. 

      Based on a rough estimation, Cordelia counted a couple thousand or so examinees like her and they were sparsely spread out in small groups. Already, cliques and factions were forming but she didn’t care. For her next 6 years in Cheiss Academy, Cordelia didn’t plan on making many friends. Chloe was an exemption because she couldn’t resist young children.

      She jumped up into a tree using Enhancement Magic while carrying Chloe in her arms. They sat down on the thick branch and Cordelia leaned against the trunk as Chloe reclined against her chest, nestling into her embrace. Cordelia decided to polish her katana, the weapon she brought with her, with a cloth that she took out of her breast pocket.

      For an hour or so, a couple hundred more examinees trickled into the meadow. They talked and chatted to each other to pass time, but when the designated time for the exam passed, confusion and dissatisfaction began to spread. Voices of dissent and anger were heard every now and then, turning the atmosphere negative. Nobody noticed Cordelia and Chloe who were hidden up in the trees.

     “Tch, that damn academy told us to meet here at 10 am and look at what happened. ‘Best academy in the world’, my ass.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe my parents said that.”

“Hey, maybe they ran into a problem…”

Much of the hopeful youths were made up of 2nd generation rich children who had been sent here by their parents to gain reputation and power. Therefore, it was natural that they were angered by the Cheiss Academy’s tardiness as they had never been made to wait like this before. Being young and ignorant, nobody had any idea how powerful it was so there was no fear in their mockery. 

      “Is it like this every year, Department Head Lyon?”

A man in black questioned his partner as they hid behind trees, spectating the crowd that was gradually being stirred up. 

“That’s right. Your father Conrad had to do this last year as well. I heard he complained to the Headmaster about it.”

Kaine was surprised; his father was always stalwart and austere with himself, never allowing a single shred of emotion to show. He always preached how it was the way of the sword, a saying that Kaine had followed religiously. It’s different when with close friends, hm?

      Ever since he had spread his wings from leaving his father’s protection, Kaine had risen up in the ranks of Cheiss Academy. At first, he faced resistance from old instructors who believed he only relied on his father who was a Department Head. But he broke free of that prejudice when he raised a 1st Year Class all the way to the 6th, becoming the best class in all of the academy’s history with dozens distinguished maestros and experts arising from it at the same time.

      Now that he had been serving as an instructor for 6 years, Kaine was qualified to serve as an examiner in the Entrance Exams of the academy. His father had pulled some strings, with the Headmaster’s permission, to put him in the role of the Head Examiner who would host the 2nd stage of the exam.

      The 1st was during the days preceding the ‘official’ exam where people were eliminated for poor behaviour and morals. Now, he would head the 2nd stage where active tests and assessments of other aspects would take place. As of now, they were delaying the exam to test patience and thinking abilities which would follow onto his next move where he would appear late. 

      These first few steps were planned to dig out any stragglers from the 1st stage of the exam and Kaine believed it was going to work. Being the Head Examiner, he had the authority to change aspects of the exam, which he did. All of this stalling and such was proposed by him. Kaine was undoubtedly nervous as he had the Department Head of Magecraft evaluating him on his performance. Here goes. 

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!!? Cordelia, including a small portion of others, sensed a pulse of mana rushing up from the ground. Tremors assailed the plains they were standing on, causing everybody to run and panic. In the next moment, a huge pillar of dry earth arose from what seemed like hell itself as red and orange light was exposed from the cracks. Displaced air fanned out as winds flipped Cordelia’s hair around. She cast a small magic barrier in front of them to block the debris and dust. 

      Clouds of earthly soot and powder concealed the black shadow that lay behind it with thousands of eyes trying to penetrate it. Coolheaded, a small group of people stepped forward and cast wind spells to blow it away, revealing the column of stone and dirt that stood slightly tilted to the right, as well as a figure in black on top of it. All attention was on that figure now as some began to mould mana inside their bodies for spells. 

      What a grandiose entrance. If Cordelia guessed correctly, this was the examiner. She could tell that he had forcefully slowed down his spell. Otherwise, there would have been much more injuries and maybe even deaths. This spell caught everybody’s attention and was also a show of power to display the gap between them and the examinees. Then, was the lateness also a part of the plan? Cordelia shook her head free of those thoughts. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I pass this exam.

      “Big Sister, who is that?”

Chloe was not unsettled at these course of events as she calmly regarded the situation. 

“Most likely, our examiner. I’ll go ask him whether or not you can stay. If not, you can stay with him until you’re sent to the academy, alright?”

"Okay."

Recommended Students and exam students entered on the same day to prevent any security flaws and save energy since Instant Teleportation Circles were incredibly expensive and guzzled ungodly amounts of mana. If Cordelia gave Chloe to the examiner, he could just take her with them when the results were out.

“Good morning, everyone. I will be your Head Examiner for today. It is good to meet you all.”

The man’s voice was loud and clear as it echoed across the field. There was a moment of silence at his introduction before a hundred or so students began cursing and shouting at him.

      “You’re two hours late! What are you gonna say about that, huh?!”

“How dare you make us wait like this!”

“I’ll tell my father to get you fired!”

It was mainly composed of the arrogant children of wealthy families who were indignant and chagrined at the examiner’s affront. On the other hand, the remaining students decided to deal with the situation smartly as they waited for his reaction, pushing those arrogant young masters and misses forward as scapegoats.

      “Silence.”

Like a mountain had fallen on their shoulders, all of those who complained were forced to prostrate towards him, their faces red and layered with a sheen of sweat. The ground dug into their knees and elbows as some even fell right on their stomach, unable to bear the pressure. Completely overcome with shock, none of them was able to mount an effective resistance against the man’s staggering wave of mana.

      Now, nobody dared to oppose the examiner. Cordelia had her eyebrows furrowed tightly… but it wasn’t out of fear or worry. It was out of frustration. That day, she felt that those people were far more powerful than the man in front of her right now. She could say with confidence that they were worlds apart. Yet, she also knew that she wasn’t even close to touching this man’s feet. To think that I am this weak.

      “If you think you’re strong, then cast those thoughts away now. In Cheiss Academy, there will always be someone stronger than you. In Cheiss Academy, until you prove yourself, you are nothing.”

His speech rattled the egos and confidence of everyone. It wasn’t until recently that many had been the centre of the universe, being provided with all sorts of luxuries and able to obtain anything they desired. However, they soon realised that that small world of theirs was far smaller than they first thought; facing this harsh reality gave them a resounding smack in the face.

      Cordelia was aware that she was rather weak compared to the world’s standards. She may be a prodigy, but she was still young. Compared to those thousand-year-old behemoths, compared to those geniuses that only appeared once in a century who had unlimited resources… she was incomparably inadequate.

      “Now that we have cleared everything between us, let me properly introduce myself. My name is Kaine and as I have said before, I am your Head Examiner. I am the one who is responsible for your entrance into Cheiss Academy.”

In the middle of his monologue, the victims of his oppression were finally let off as they stood up with shaky legs, pale faces and matted hair.

“The first part of this exam is quite simple. You are to make your way through this forest behind me and reach the flag. Do you see that mountain range behind me?”

Kaine gestured to the Horn Mountain Range behind him, the famous impenetrable defence that protected the Laeon Federation like a guardian angel.

“You must reach the tallest mountain there and set foot on its summit. For this, you have a week, or 168 hours from now, to complete this task. The test ends when the sun sets completely. You are free to do whatever you please during this time, apart from killing other examinees. Furthermore, you can kill magical beasts on your way here for their cores and turn them in for extra points; the amount of points of each core is the same as the tier of the monster. In the end, your place in this part of the exam depends on these two factors.”

Taking a good look at the determined faces of the examinees, he continued.

“We will be watching from above… I bless you with good luck for your odyssey.”

Kaine vanished entirely as the pillar of earth descended back into the ground.

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