“Yo, my name’s Axel Corne. Nice to meet ya!”
Cordelia found Axel’s boundless enthusiasm quite off-putting yet amusing at times. His naturally large physique gave him attention, not to mention his happy-go-lucky personality. In a party, that would serve as a strong supporting force for morale and confidence. In a way, he was similar to Chloe. Her mere presence could energise her friends and comrades.
“Nice to meet you too, Axel.”
She watched as he slung an arm over Soleil, the latter’s forehead now riddled with irk marks. Looking at them from a 3rd person perspective, it was quite comical. Axel was at least 6’2 while his best friend was only 5’7. But while the shorter of the two looked irritated, she didn’t miss the helplessness and joy in his sea-blue eyes.
Now that the practical exam had ended, all of the examinees who had passed were lead to a huge campsite composed of a thousand or so tents to accommodate everyone. Hot, scrumptious food, water and medical treatment were provided and at last, people had the chance to wash. There were a hot spring and several artificial lakes which had been constructed beforehand, with groups going in by the hundreds and separated by gender. You could only enter the hot spring if you managed to exchange a core of a 5th Tier Beasts, whether it be demonic or magical.
Cordelia managed to snag some spots for herself, Chloe and Mareike in the hot spring. Lining up, everyone in the room undressed themselves to enter the hot spring. Of course, the academy went to lengths to make sure no perverted male was trying to peep on them.
Her oddly curvaceous form exposed, Cordelia paused when many pairs of eyes landed on her. Due to her entrance at the summit earlier, she had been imprinted in the minds of many. Her form was just that memorable. Cordelia had felt the attention on her many a time but thought nothing of it, discounting it to her looks. After all, her brother had created a strange inflated ego about her appearance by complimenting it almost every time they interacted. She wasn’t narcissistic. It was just her brother, okay?
Cordelia was only 13 and she had a young face, signifying as such. But when other girls saw her curves and body, they looked at themselves and lamented. They were 16! So why does this girl have a bigger chest than them!
It wasn’t just her body either. Cordelia indeed had great looks when you compared it to everyone else. Cheiss Academy didn’t have a lack of good faces but despite her young age, the ravenette was in another league. Add to that her exotic red eyes and it was no wonder that Cordelia was attracting eyes left and right.
One bold girl walked towards her and placed both of her hands on Cordelia's shoulder.
“Please tell me how to get breasts like yours!”
Silence. By now, everyone in the dressing room was looking at them, secretly coveting Cordelia’s assets. It wasn’t the biggest in the room but you could tell that it would grow much larger when she was older.
One weird person after another… She already had enough of Axel but this girl as well? She called her weird yet Cordelia felt a strange fear when she looked into her fiery eyes. There was a strange sensation of dread settling in her stomach.
“Genes?”
Her answer came off as a question due to her apprehension at the close contact. The girl then screamed, her head rolling back.
“That’s what they all say! Say something different! I, Hideyoshi Ichika, will not leave you until you tell me your secret!”
Hearing the girl’s name, Cordelia now realised why she looked familiar. She was from the Penoic Continent, the east. It should’ve been obvious. Ichika was quite short, being only 5’3, and had a very petite figure. She scanned her down, stopping at her chest, pity unknowingly showing in her eyes. The other seemed to see that as she placed her hands on her waist with a glare burning into Cordelia.
“Don’t look at me like that! I-it’s just that I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet, okay?!”
More pity revealed itself, hearing the quiver in Ichika’s voice. She then decided to give the girl a proper answer.
“I trained a lot in the forest and exclusively ate monster meat.”
The inferno in Ichika’s noir eyes was doused with water and replaced with sparkles of gratitude.
“Naruhodo! Naruhodo! Tell me more!”
Cordelia was saved by the knock at the door.
“What are you all doing that takes so long? Other groups are waiting as well.”
One of the female instructors made them leave and enter the hot spring. Rather disturbed by Ichika’s ‘interrogation’, Cordelia dragged Chloe and Mareike away and settled down in a corner of the hot spring. Occasionally, a girl would pass by and talk, sharing their experiences in the exam before parting. Many previously pampered and dainty girls had been hardened by the practical exam, now appreciating everything they had. Their arrogant attitudes had mostly worn off, another aim of this exam.
Most of them, anyway. Janelle Ignis, the princess that Cordelia had enmity with before, glowered at the object of her hate for the past few days. This was the girl who had humiliated her. Crushed her pride. Destroyed her reputation. Her family had even reprimanded her for disturbing the wretch, not even assisting her in taking revenge like normal.
But why?! She was just a lowly duke’s daughter of the Escadan Empire, having investigated her identity after being disgraced. There was no reason for the Ignis Royal Family to shy away from a mere ducal house… right?
Janelle had not been eliminated for her bad character in the preliminary exams because the Huo Kingdom donated a lot of money to the Cheiss Academy. It was done to preserve face between the two powers even though the latter was much more powerful. Hence, Janelle, without even knowing, was able to dodge elimination from the exam.
Having a decently high Perception stat, Cordelia could sense the malicious gaze which lingered on her but didn’t act on it. She didn’t want Mareike’s and Chloe’s jubilant mood to be spoiled.
When their splash in the hot spring ended, the trio walked back to their tent, thoroughly refreshed and tired at the same time. Chloe was especially woozy, the hot water and steamy air making her tired. As they were on their way to the tent, a person stood in their way with a familiar ‘hands-on-hips’ posture.
“Tell me more about your secrets!”
Cordelia wanted to cry.
❈ ❈ ❈
30th of March, the Year 1202
8:59
Laeon Federation, Horn Mountain Range, Exam Building
❈
“Congratulations on passing the practical exam.”
Kaine skimmed over the crowd of youngsters who were obediently sitting in their designated seats before him. They were now wearing the clothes given to them by the academy, just like during the practical exam where they were provided with standardised armour to prevent cheating. It was a similar situation this time.
Flattening out the embarrassingly short skirt, Cordelia listened to Kaine as he explained the written part of the exam. She had examined her clothes and found that there were the same seals on them but this time, they added mana seals to restrict the outflow of mana from a person, essentially preventing any magic spells from being cast.
All of the examinees had been funnelled into a building built exclusively for the written exam, located within the mountains. The Head Examiner was much calmer and slower in his explanation now, seeing how it was just a written exam. Everyone had passed the gruelling practical exam so fairness was necessary to facilitate a calm atmosphere so examinees could focus properly and display 100% of their intelligence.
Cordelia was separated from her party as their seats were far apart so she couldn’t see anyone familiar. There were multiple exam halls in the building as one room couldn’t fit so many people.
“Invigilators, please hand out the papers and equipment.”
At Kaine’s command, a dozen or so men and women walked into the hall with stacks of papers and trays in their arms before distributing said objects. It was a quiet and smooth process, displaying the professionalism of Cheiss Academy.
Last checks, calls and notices were made before Kaine spoke with a booming, profound voice.
“Let the exam begin.”
At once, there was the sound of scribbling, grating and scratching as examinees furiously answered their questions. Others calmly analysed the exam with a cool head, not panicking. Cordelia was included in that group as it was her natural disposition.
The exam was 2 and a half hours long, the papers including an overview of all subjects with basic (basic to Cordelia) sub-topics which most had learned before. The noirette had no real trouble with the exam as her Perfect Memory skill aided her greatly in studying and memorisation. In this case, it really was a cheat. Others would cry tears of blood if they saw how fast she was completing her questions compared to how difficult it was for them.
In another exam hall, Mareike was fumbling slightly as she missed a few questions that she was unable to answer. She tapped her head with her pencil with a frown, a situation that was being replicated across Cordelia’s circle. Only Soleil and Eldrich had any semblance of calmness as the former answered the paper at a speed leagues ahead of Cordelia herself. Eldrich was a genius so he went at a fast pace too, just not to the same extent as the other 2.
From the sides, instructors observed examinees for cheating. Unsurprisingly, nobody was caught. Or rather, nobody cheated. Why? Because if you were caught cheating, Cheiss Academy would place you on their blacklist which would be known to the world. It’d be so bad that all good schools, jobs and institutions would be barred from you; your life would be ruined. The risk simply wasn’t worth it.
That’s how serious the academy was.
“Time is up. Turn over your papers and put down your pencils.”
A deafening series of rustles and clinks were heard all across the building as all exam rooms had finished. Cordelia didn’t break a sweat as she had finished about half an hour ago. It might not sound like much but the majority of the examinees hadn’t even finished by the end. Some even had to be disqualified for trying to complete the exam after Kaine announced the end, though they weren’t put on the blacklist.
❈ ❈ ❈
Thanks for the chapters!!
I don't want to be negative, but to me the beginning of this chapter felt really jarring and out of place. I really felt like a bath fanservice scene was copied right out of a generic ecchi anime, and characters were just renamed with the names of characters from this novel. We basically went from douluo dalu into generic harem ecchi anime in less than a chapter
Maybe it's just me, and maybe I'm being a little over-critical, but I just feel like pointless fanservice scenes like that detract from not only my enjoyment, but the story as a whole.
There were two other small things that turned me off of the scene, but I'll only briefly touch on them. 1. Sexualizing a 13 year old. I'm kind of used to it from anime, but it's still mildly off-putting to see it happen. 2. The thing about her brother constantly complementing her on her figure and appearance makes him sound like a bit of a creep to me. I mean, it's weird at best for a guy to constantly compliment a girl on her appearance, regardless of their relationship. I was hoping for a wholesome relationship there, but that's just eerie and heavily hints yandere.
Instead of a scene that just focuses on sexualizing the characters and providing eye-candy (mental eye-candy? What would you call it when you're not seeing it? Head candy? Idk), I'd MUCH rather the fanservice/fluff scenes be more wholesome slice-of-life-y things. Part of that is my personal preferences talking, but I also think it's much more enjoyable to get invested into a character and grow to love them through every-day life events. They can be comedic, perverted, or just plain weird, but i love those scenes because they show fun sides of characters. Especially in a story like this where the characters have dark backstories, it's precious to see them having the fun that they deserve to have.
Anyway looking forward to the next chapters
PS. I'm writing this at 2:30 am while out camping, so I'm probably being a bit harsher than I usually would be. I just want to provide constructive criticism and give my honest opinion on the chapter, as well as ways that I feel you could improve. I hope this doesn't discourage you at all. Thanks for reading and keep up the good work :3
Like I've said before, I don't really mind the criticism. I'd like to say that I'm open-minded and that I know that some people will be discouraged by my plot choices and such. I like your advice because it's constructive and helpful, so please keep doing it.
The thing about the fanservice, I can understand why it was weird for you. Maybe it was because I was trying to get out a chapter or something but it was more of an 'on-the-spot' thing. I also didn't intend the brother to be creepy or anything. It's just that kind of doting brother if you know what I mean?
Anyways, thank you for the criticism. This scene was forced in a way but in the future, I'll write better chapters with more thought-out scenes and such.
Thanks for the chapter!
It was nice i never say no to fanservice i like anime so... and after 2-3 chapters of battle it slows down the pace a little
All breasts are nice ! Fight Ichika
@zaldecrofirt fighto!
I dont think anything is wrong with that scene, unfortunately what she went through happened to me, I was 10 when I went through puberty, body changed so fast, when in changing rooms I would get stared at, I felt abnormal, the other girls would stare and comment, hair was growing where it didnt use to, boobs sticking out, feeling uncomfortable, now imagine it was chloe with her (cordies) body.
I would rather be confident and nonchalant about that body back then, instead I went from an extrovert to an introvert hating this body, slouching and hiding under loose sweaters. Be proud, confident and dont be ashamed, thats what I would say to the me back then.
I got a lot of attention from men, not boys, man it felt horrible, but why should I hide? Why should I feel bad? Isnt it them with the problem?
@KuqKu Some will have a problem with fanservice scenes because it detracts from the serious aspects of the story. You might be more accepting because you have personal experiences and regardless of that, I still thank you because it gave me more confidence.
I feel I don't have a place to encourage you to be proud of your body because I've never gone through that myself since I'm a guy but I'll do it anyway. I just want to say that guys only look at you because you look nice. Just revel in that fact and don't shy away from it. It's not much but I hope I changed your perspective, even if by just a little bit.
@vaexis I wish I was like that mc, she is confident, without any hangups about her body, thats why I see nothing wrong with that scene.