The Placement Exam (1)
It had been a solid four years since I graduated from Oxford Academy. After graduation, unlike the rest of our class, Kyle had made the disastrous decision to become a teaching assistant. What was an assistant’s daily life like? You arrived at the crack of dawn and scrubbed the supervising professor’s lab until it sparkled. Once the cleaning was done, you studied the lecture circuit diagrams in advance. When class began, you naturally helped the professor teach. After the lecture ended, you had to dive into your own circuit research. By the time you finished, it was already the middle of the night. In short, the position of teaching assistant was fucking exhausting.
But then.
“Sorry I’m late.”
The man named Kim Taegi looked like he had all the leisure in the world compared to the rest of us. Every assistant, Kyle included, had deep, bruise-like dark circles under their eyes. And that wasn’t all—their faces were so gaunt they looked one bad night away from turning undead. In contrast…
Why the hell does he look so put-together?
Was the rumor true after all? The latest gossip making the rounds among professors and assistants was that he had only gotten the position through connections. No real achievements, no proper career history. Unlike every other assistant, he spent his days slacking off. In all the time we had been doing this job, there had never been an assistant this relaxed. So it was only natural for people to assume he was riding on personal connections.
Thinking he had slipped in through pull left a sour taste, but the meeting mattered more right now. Kyle let out a shallow sigh and spoke.
“It’s fine. This meeting was called on short notice, so it can’t be helped.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, none of us have time to waste, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
At those words, every assistant except me nodded. Kyle continued.
“The A-class students will be retaking the class placement test this time.”
“What? For real, sunbae?”
Kyle answered with a nod instead of words.
“Yeah. With the Hero, the Nicholas family successor, the Great Sage’s disciple, and a mage raised in the shadows all enrolling at once, the higher-ups have decided to create an entirely new, higher-ranking class.”
“Haa… Why go to all that trouble?”
“When the people above say jump, we ask how high. Anyway, I’ll explain the test now.”
With that, Kyle pulled out a video orb.
The instant he poured mana into the video orb—
-Uuuung!
“This test is a mana orb hunt,” Kyle said.
“Ah, that one…”
“It’s been a while since I last heard about it.”
“I took it back in my day, too.”
The assistants traded nostalgic looks. Kyle turned to me.
“Taegi. Do you already know about it? If not, I can explain right n—”
“No need. I’ve heard the rumors. I know what it is.”
Exactly, thanks to the game.
“Really? Then go ahead and explain it for us.”
“Yes. From what I understand, the mana orb hunt requires finding orbs made of condensed mana hidden at specific points on the map. However, not all orbs are equal.”
“Hmm. Continue.”
“Some mana has shallow density, while others are extremely rich. The students who retrieve the denser orbs are placed into higher classes.”
“That’s sufficient.”
No one raised any objections, so my explanation must have been accurate. Kyle picked up where I left off.
“Since everyone already knows the basics, I’ll skip the rest. This time, Professor Melson personally created four of the mana orbs.”
“Professor Melson made them himself?”
“Yes. With so many exceptional freshmen enrolling, it looks like he decided to take matters into his own hands.”
The assistants’ eyes widened in genuine surprise. It was only natural—Melson was the head professor. In the original story, he had a fairly decent public image.
Only on the surface, of course.
While I was recalling Melson’s information, Kyle pointed to the four X-marked locations on the hologram.
“These four spots are where Professor Melson’s personally crafted mana orbs are hidden.”
I shook off my thoughts and studied the map. The X’s sat at east, west, south, and north. Kyle circled three of them.
“The problem is right here. We’ve already assigned people to control these three circled sectors. But this last one—the northern sector—still doesn’t have anyone assigned.”
Everyone’s eyes, including mine, turned to the remaining spot. Kyle asked immediately.
“Does anyone want to volunteer?”
“…….”
Silence. It wasn’t just me who noticed. That northern sector was going to be far more difficult than the others. The test began right next to it, after all.
If I end up taking that spot?
I was certain controlling it would be a massive headache. A dense mana orb was easy to detect. Being the closest location meant the largest number of students would swarm it—including the Hero and the future members of her party who had been mentioned earlier. When monsters like that clashed, how was a mere assistant supposed to keep order? Authority aside, those kids were probably stronger than any of us.
“Hmm. We can’t leave it empty…”
Kyle gave me a not-so-subtle side-eye. The old bastard clearly wanted to shove that headache onto me.
Hmm. There’s no reason I should read the room and take on something that annoying…
But then one thought flashed through my mind.
Actually… there is a reason.
I would run into the future Hero’s party often anyway. Still, I needed to evaluate their current strength as quickly as possible. I had no idea how much they had changed from the original story.
While I was organizing my thoughts, Kyle asked me outright.
“Kim Taegi, can you take it?”
“I’d love to.”
My honest feelings slipped out. The other assistants, Kyle included, stared at me like I had lost my mind.
What? Why are you looking at me like that?
The next day, the entrance ceremony finally arrived. As an assistant, I was naturally tasked with directing the new students.
“Yes, the auditorium is that way. Please follow the arrows drawn on the floor.”
The freshmen obediently moved along the indicated paths.
Convenient.
Normally, controlling this many students would be impossible. There were at least ten times more freshmen than assistants. But that was only true for ordinary assistants.
In my case, my mana is denser than most mages.
Drawing arrows on the floor and maintaining them was as easy as breathing. Seeing other assistants in a magic academy forced to rely on pure physical labor felt both pathetic and a little sad.
Well, it wasn’t my business, so I didn’t need to dwell on it. Just then—
“Ah. Ah. Assistant Kim Taegi. The class placement test is about to begin, so please make your way over here. Kyle says to stop directing students and come immediately.”
“Yes, understood.”
I turned on my heel and headed for the test site.
When I arrived, roughly half the assistants were already gathered. The other half must have stayed behind to manage the entrance ceremony. Kyle scanned the group and spoke.
“The test will begin shortly. Before it starts, there are a few things I need to say.”
“First, do not interfere heavily with fights between students. While the main goal is to find mana orbs, using any means necessary to achieve that goal is perfectly acceptable. They came here to learn magic, but they also came to gain real combat experience. So do not stop them.”
“I have a question.”
I raised my hand. Kyle lifted his chin, signaling me to speak.
“What if the fighting gets too intense?”
“Hmm. They’re wearing Gauge Suits, so there’s no need to worry.”
“And if someone launches an attack strong enough to exceed the Gauge Suit’s limits?”
Ordinary freshmen could never break a Gauge Suit. But a few of them were different. The Hero’s party, for instance. Each of them was a genius in their field. If those geniuses attacked with full power, piercing a Gauge Suit wouldn’t be strange at all.
Kyle answered my question.
“If that happens, block it if you can. If you truly cannot stop it, call for backup immediately.”
The way he phrased it made it clear he thought I wouldn’t be able to stop such an attack.
Well, it can’t be helped.
My current image in the academy was that I had entered through connections. Someone had clearly spread the rumor on purpose.
I have a pretty good guess who.
Normally I would have gone straight to the culprit, but it would all come out eventually anyway. Stepping in now would only create too many deviations from the original story. It was better to leave it alone.
-Buzzing chatter.
The sound of the new students’ conversations reached us. The entrance ceremony must have ended.
“Everyone, proceed to your assigned sectors.”
At Kyle’s command, I ran toward the northern area under my control.
Meanwhile, at the same moment.
Lucyd had finished the entrance ceremony and reached the test site. The scent coming from her uniform felt incredibly strange. Instead of the cheap detergent she was used to, it carried a fragrant, floral perfume.
What kind of chemicals did they use to make it smell this nice all day?
Having only ever used low-quality detergent that lasted an hour at most, she genuinely couldn’t understand it.
Just then—
“Everyone, quiet.”
A fierce-looking assistant silenced the freshmen. His cold voice made them clamp their mouths shut. He then slowly explained the test.
“I’ll explain it simply. In the test area, find mana orbs that look like this. The darker the color, the higher your score will be. Keep that in mind.”
All the new students nodded. Then the assistant spoke again.
The placement exam had begun.