Chapter 474: Interpreting the Joint Exam Rules
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 474: Interpreting the Joint Exam Rules
"Not many Teaching Assistants volunteered to help with this Joint Exam, so you four have been assigned to the freshman group."
"The Academy doesn't need you to do too much. Your primary objective is to patrol the testing grounds at the Bobapus Archipelago. Whether it's escorting eliminated students or handling special resource drops, those aren't the main focus."
"Then what is the focus?" Lifaeya asked immediately, raising her hand.
"As I just said: patrolling the grounds and preventing cheating."
"Cheating? Wait, how do you even cheat in a practical combat test? Besides, the rules this time are incredibly lax. Even teaming up with other academies is permitted. What could possibly be classified as cheating?"
"Transcendent-level mentors are not allowed to interfere in this Joint Exam. Aside from necessary environmental maintenance and ensuring the stable operation of the False World Great Witchcraft, you Teaching Assistants are the greatest 'unstable factor' in this exam." As Teacher Lina spoke, her gaze instinctively drifted toward me. Realizing her mistake, she quickly shifted her eyes toward Lifaeya.
If anyone was going to cause trouble, it was definitely this one.
"Does Teacher Lina mean that we TAs can actually step in to help the students during the assessment?" Lifaeya asked.
"According to the Joint Exam rules, TAs are strictly forbidden from providing any form of assistance to the candidates. This includes passing information, providing military aid, formulating tactical plans, hiding resources, launching large-scale indiscriminate attacks without cause, altering the terrain, and so on. A specific list of prohibited behaviors will be issued to you later." Teacher Lina shook her head, then "deliberately" listed a long string of things we weren't allowed to do.
Hearing so many restrictions, Lifaeya instantly lost interest. "That sounds so boring."
"In this Joint Exam, candidates do not have the right to report a TA directly. However, they have the right to report a TA to another TA, and you have the obligation to accept those reports."
As Teacher Lina finished speaking, the four of us immediately caught the hidden implication. Following the principle of 'it’s only a foul if you get caught'... as long as you have no morals, no one can judge you!
Sure enough, it was just as Sister Bai had speculated...
"After accepting a report, if you find no evidence of the other party's violation, you may ignore it; the reporting candidate will not be held liable. If the evidence is conclusive, the reported TA will receive one warning. Each TA is allowed only three warnings. Upon the fourth, they will be forcibly removed from the testing grounds to face disciplinary action, which will be determined by a joint discussion among the mentors of the various academies."
"If a candidate reports a TA and the violation is confirmed, the TA handling the report may reward the candidate within a certain range. This is a standard procedure within the rules, intended to compensate for and balance the unfairness caused by the offending TA. However, the reward cannot exceed the specified limits and must be proportional to the impact of the violation. Likewise, rewards are not mandatory; you can choose not to provide compensation."
"Furthermore, if a candidate reports with malicious intent—meaning clear evidence proves the TA committed no violation during the reported period—the candidate may be punished. The severity of the punishment depends on the content of the report. You may not inflict physical punishment resulting in light injuries or worse, nor can you inflict any form of mental punishment. Of course, you can also choose not to punish them. The student will simply be placed on the Joint Exam's 'Dishonesty List,' and the TA will no longer be obligated to fulfill any duties toward that student following the report."
After Lina finished explaining the core rules, she looked at us expectantly, as if observing our reactions. A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth.
In truth, what she had just laid out weren't "rules" in the strictest sense, but rather the product of interpreting the rules. The rules were fixed, but anyone could interpret them from any angle. This was the Witch Academy's interpretation.
Though we didn't exchange a word, we all understood the unspoken subtext: the candidates had their battlefield, and the TAs had theirs.
The candidates probably had it the hardest. Even if they wanted to report someone, their best bet was to report to a TA from their own academy.
If the TA they wanted to report belonged to an academy that had a conflict with the TA they were reporting to...
Then the so-called "conclusive evidence" would likely be met with a blind eye. A TA with poor character might even turn around and bite the reporter. Moreover... Teacher Lina truly hadn't mentioned any rules for TAs to counter each other.
Therefore, whether a student received fair treatment depended entirely on the capabilities of their own TA.
"Also—I should mention one more thing. If you are removed from the testing grounds for a violation and receive punishment after the multi-school discussion, a self-reflection assembly will be held. Many students will attend. If you get caught, you'll have to perform a deep self-reflection and introspection in front of candidates from every academy." Teacher Lina added this final note.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Lifaeya instinctively shudder... Fine, fine. The Joint Exam hasn't even started and you're already planning how to cause trouble, aren't you?
To shudder just thinking about the guilt—what exactly was Lifaeya planning?
However... such a humiliating consequence was likely a major deterrent for the TAs, a reminder that this was a Joint Exam and not to take things too far.
After all... from start to finish, the protagonists of this Joint Exam were the Children of Destiny within the Script.
"Huh? Why is that even a thing! Who proposed that?" Lifaeya was the first to protest.
"You need to be clear on one thing: nominally, this is a Joint Exam for lower-year students. It's not a stage for you to show off. Lifaeya, your participation is my biggest headache. And... Xiao Han, you need to show some restraint as well. You wouldn't want to stand up there with Lifaeya and do a self-reflection in front of all those students, would you?"
"Uh... I'm very restrained." Being suddenly called out by Teacher Lina took me by surprise. Do I really look like someone who causes trouble?
I haven't caused any incidents in the Academy lately, have I?
And based on Teacher Lina's tone... why did she sound so certain that Lifaeya would end up on that stage?
Has Lifaeya's reputation reached such a dire state?
From my interactions with her so far, she just seemed a bit... energetic.
"I hope so." Lina recalled the Dream Exchange Competition. Back then, the boy had caused quite a stir as a mere student. Now... who knew?
"Does anyone else have questions regarding this?"
"As far as I know, this Joint Exam will utilize our Witch Academy's Ley Line technology for live streaming and broadcasting, right? Does this involve Directed Ley Line Information Query Technology? Is there a time limit for pursuing reports?" Lin Yi spoke up, immediately pinpointing the key issues.
"The Ley Line technology authorized for this Joint Exam is limited to live visual feeds. It does not involve specific Directed Ley Line Information Query Technology. However, the live footage can be used as evidence. If you're bold enough to cheat openly on camera, the mentors will issue a warning directly without needing a student report," Lina explained to Lin Yi and the rest of us, serving as a deliberate warning.
"As for the time limit, reports can be made until the end of the Joint Exam. However, if a report is delayed so long that evidence becomes insufficient, it will fail. Multiple reports regarding the same incident will only count as one, and multiple TAs can collaborate on the investigation."
Having grasped the general situation, Lin Yi indicated she had no further questions.
But I did.
"Teacher Lina, are there restrictions on the methods used to verify evidence? Can I borrow the Academy's so-called Directed Ley Line Information Query Technology or something similar?" I asked.
"In principle, no. That technology is a large-scale facility solidified within the Witch Academy's curtain wall. If you use it, others will have grounds to request it as well. You understand, right?" Lina looked at me with a smile.
Her meaning was clear: if the Witch Academy brought that out, there would be no room for "maneuvering."
Actually, I didn't quite buy it. A "solidified large-scale facility"? Wasn't the live Ley Line broadcast essentially the same thing?
"Understood... then my own spell abilities should be fine, right?" I asked again.
"If you have spellbooks like Past Manifestation or Rock Memory, those are your own methods and naturally fall within the permissible range. However, regardless of the method, the knowledge cannot be yours alone. You must provide objective evidence that can be presented. Otherwise, if you insist on a claim, the mentors may subject your verbal testimony to a lie-detection test. If you are found to have fabricated a report to slander someone, you will also be warned."
"Understood, understood," I said, nodding. It seemed my Ley Line Identification Art was usable.
I wasn't afraid of exposing this ability. After all, if I didn't show it off, how could I promote it?
How else would I harvest that Ley Line data?
Besides, the Witch Academy already possessed similar capabilities. I was just "miniaturizing" it. I would just need to add some restrictions later to make this Identification Art an acceptable ability.
* * *
Afterward, the four of us discussed a few other minor details and precautions with the witch, finally bringing that topic to a close.
Once that was over, Teacher Lina's subsequent topics were much more casual, mostly just mentioning a few safety tips.
So... the first item was indeed the main point of this meeting.
Even though Teacher Lina put on a face of being worried we'd cause chaos, every word out of her mouth was practically an invitation to do exactly that!
I actually had to admire Teacher Lina a bit.
However, she didn't mention any potential accidents that might occur during the assessment—the "little surprise" Sister Bai had mentioned. Was this being kept a secret even from the TAs?
I had my suspicions, though I wasn't entirely sure. At the very least, I wouldn't be caught off guard by a sudden incident during the exam.
After all, this "little surprise" required a Transcendent Witch to suppress it; otherwise, it would turn into a "little disaster."
There weren't many things that fit that description. For example... an intrusion by Abyssal Demons?
The Abyssal Demons had already been given an entry ticket, after all. They just needed a plausible reason to show up.
During the later part of the discussion, I tentatively asked Teacher Lina if there might be any accidents during the Joint Exam. Her answer more or less confirmed my suspicions; she stated that "extremely low-probability events" couldn't be ruled out.
Extremely low probability... if you factored in the Script, it was practically a guaranteed event!
Unfortunately, my subtle probing didn't catch the attention of the other three, not even Lin Yi.
Even though concepts like Luck, Children of Destiny, and Scripts had spread through the Witch Academy and other Transcendent Academies, it seemed most people still didn't take them seriously.
Soon, Teacher Lina concluded the small meeting.
As the Freshman Grade Dean, she was incredibly busy. After declaring the meeting over, she bid us farewell.
Aside from the rules discussed at the beginning, the rest of the agenda consisted of minor tasks. For instance, the upcoming theory final exams at the Witch Academy—we TAs were being conscripted to serve as proctors.
Should I be surprised, or not surprised at all?
Even though I was no longer a student, I felt busier than one.
Fortunately, I didn't have to grade the papers. Very few parts of the Witch Academy's exams required manual grading. Only the open-ended expansion questions at the end required subjective review, where answers weren't unique and were judged on the effectiveness of the solution. The fixed-answer sections were handled by mechanical grading.
Because of this efficiency, the Witch Academy released exam results incredibly fast.
"Since we're finished, I'll be going now." Lin Yi stood up immediately, her manner brisk.
"Yeah, see you later," I said, giving a simple farewell.
"Since there's nothing else, I should head out too," Adalin said, her gaze shifting back to me. "Xiao Han, was it? If you're interested in alchemy, you can come find me. Being able to become a TA after only six months and learning some alchemy techniques shows you have some talent. Though, you're still no match for me. Hmph—there's no shame in asking a superior for guidance."
"Sure. I'll definitely seek you out to discuss alchemy techniques next time, Senior," I replied politely.
I watched her leave, leaving only me and Lifaeya in the room.
"Xiao Han~ Now it's just the two of us~ Want to have a 'deep discussion' with your big sister here~?"
"That won't be necessary." I looked at Lifaeya and gave a firm rejection.
"Oh, don't be so cold. Look at me—is there something about me that doesn't fit your aesthetic? Don't you want to have a sweet little..."
"No. I have a girlfriend," I said, cutting off her advances.
"Eh? You have a girlfriend? That's fine, that's fine~ I like you even more now~"
"I'd advise you not to try anything. Be careful, or you might find yourself cut down without even knowing why." I held out a hand to keep her at a distance.
"Cut down? How is that possible? With my strength, is your girlfriend some kind of Transcendent Witch? Uh... is she?"
"Mhm~"
"Oh my~ Look at me talking! I didn't realize the rumors were true. Xiao Han, you really are lucky~ Well... I wish you two a long and happy life together! I was just joking earlier. Oh, how could I ever want to break up a couple? That would be so immoral! I've sworn to oppose such things!"