❈ Chapter 12.1 ❈
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“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.

❈ ❈ ❈

So, I have a lot to say in this author's note. 

     First off, a double post in a day. Yup. I did it because I wanted to make up for the slow updates from before, so here you go. In a way, you could consider this a 'filler' chapter because the written exam is kinda irrelevant. But who doesn't like filler chapters? Plus, there was a bit of 'fluff' at the beginning, if you could consider it that. Or maybe I should call it fanservice? Does that even apply to a web novel?

     Anyways, I also noticed that Soleil is a french girl's name. I made it on the spot without any real inspiration, so don't mind the name. I'm not gonna change it because its a fantasy world (even though it does have links to real-world countries). If you haven't noticed, the Alemann trio is inspired by Germany. Their country is the word 'Germany' in a different language but altered slightly while their names are also of German origin. Also, I guess that the written exam was finished in only 1 part? I guess I broke through my writer's block by writing filler chapters. How fitting.

     I'd also like to talk about Chloe's participation in the exam. There are a lot of things about this arc that I didn't plan about, including Chloe. She was just meant to be a blonde-haired, blue-eyed cute loli to provide comic relief but I decided to give her a more important role. I'm not sure how I'm going to justify her participation to the Cheiss Academy but through the powers of my keyboard, I shall find a way! I don't regret including her either since it gave her more chances to interact with Cordelia. Character growth, yeah?

     'Naruhodo', the word said by Ichika, means 'I see'. In addition, her name, 'Hideyoshi Ichika' is complicated. The last name is the first name for us while the other way also applies. So using the 'last' name 'Ichika' is like calling Cordelia Cordelia. I'm just gonna put this here because there will be more Japanese-inspired characters in the future.

     I don't know if I have anything else to add. There was so much to say that I think I've forgotten something but if I remember, I'll just put it in the next chapter's authors note. Just to note, this author's note added 400 words to my chapter (oopsies). I think I wrote a bit too much.

     Have a nice day.

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