Chapter 170: Entrance Ceremony (04)

Since I'd lost most of the entrance ceremony, we headed towards the room where Isabella would have her first test.

There are three tests in total. All of them are just classificatory as there's no way they would expel a student from a noble family over a failing grade.

There's a random order for these tests for each student, but there's an order considered to be the luckiest.

First, general knowledge. While thinking can be quite tiring, after sitting still in a room for a long time, most people will want to exercise their bodies.

As such, the next one should be the physical prowess test. This one is a simple mock battle against an instructor at the academy. Depending on how you do, they'll award you a score there and then.

The last one in the preferable order is the magic test. This one is similar to the previous one, however, there are no battles involved.

They'll just ask you to launch a few spells and do some affinity tests like we did with Isabella before.

The objective is to see how developed your mana pool is in relation to your level and how powerful your affinity with certain elements is.

Just the basics to see how good of a mage you can be.

Since spending large amounts of magic at once can be extremely tiring for the body, everyone prefers to have this one as their last test.

Of course, I braced myself for the worst as soon as I heard there was an element of randomness involved.

Anna: "So her first is magic... Geez... The girl can't catch a break."

Miwen: "Yeah... Let's hope she'll do alright at least."

Again, it's as if fate mocks Isabella's existence.

It's deeply concerning, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot we can do.

However, it does make me think about the First Daughter and the way she boosted my luck inside the Infinite Hotel so that I could get exactly what she wanted me to.

If that was possible, then the inverse should also be, right?

In which case, it's possible that this bad luck is not just an effect of her Gift, but someone's design.

As for the test... well, Isabella wasn't going to be able to score too high.

Normally, people are capable of using at least one of the four basic elements. Then, they should also be able to use one advanced element as well.

This holds true for about 80% of humans.

Other races seem to have different ratios though. For example, almost all demons have [Dark Magic]. As for angels, almost all of them have a great affinity for [Light Magic].

Those are the obvious ones, but then there are also elves with [Wind] and giants with [Earth].

Even in the Kingdom, I've confirmed that the Snow White Wolves often show affinity with [Ice Magic].

Magic Instructor: "Please, materialize your mana into the element you're most comfortable with."

Isabella: "Hmm..."

Most alumni make a simple ball when they're asked to do this.

It wasn't so different for Isabella, however, I could see signs that the shape was unstable.

It was trying to become a pyramid or a cone at times.

If I had to guess, this was because of her anxiety towards the next tests.

Magic Instructor: "Is this your maximum output?"

Isabella: "No..."

Magic Instructor: "Then please, raise your mana output and maintain it for as long as possible."

A normal request for a teacher to make since it would allow her to get a better understanding of where Isabella's ability lies, but...

It wasn't going to be so simple.

Isabella looked at me seeking approval, but I denied it.

Magic Instructor: "Oh... that's pretty good. How long can you keep this?"

Isabella: "About 20 hours..."

Magic Instructor: "Woah. That's incredible for your level. Can you hit this target so I can measure your control and conversion rate?"

Isabella: "Right..."

Even though she only had one element to show, she seems to have done somewhat well in this test.

It was good that the instructor didn't judge her for the [Dark Magic].

As for her true ability... it's about double what she showed today.

We had a time limit to improve Isabella's mana pool, so we rushed quite a lot.

Using [Gacha Kingdom Building] to obtain potions that increase mana output and magic power, we made her spend all her mana pool at once multiple times a day.

And thanks to Elizabeth and some mana-restoring potions, we were able to avoid her getting mana depletion.

Her mana pool is now around what you'd expect of a level 40. Since she's still level 14, it's quite incredible.

Not everything was so great though...

I ended up hearing a bunch of comments about her magic due to her element.

Mia: "But... You did fuck up earlier. Are you really not going to do anything?"

Miwen: "I will. But there will be a time and place. To start with, Isabella's reputation was on the gutter before we even stepped foot in here. The only way to change the narrative around her is with undeniable facts. In other words, her actions. I'll help by laying the groundwork and facilitating things, but as always, it'll depend on her."

If she doesn't take matters into her own hands, there'll be nothing for me to help with.

However, I'll respect any effort she puts in.

I believe she's more than deserving. After living her entire life surrounded by misfortune like this...

I wouldn't have judged her for giving up.

But that's also why I know... she'll do anything to survive.

Not only that, she'll do anything she needs to win and achieve her desires.

That's why...

Ghent: "Oh... That's good, miss."

Isabella: "Hmph..."

She entered her form as usual. They only exchanged a few blows, but it was more of the same.

Slowly, she was getting overwhelmed and pushed back.

But then her style started to change.

Unbeknownst to Ghent, his opponent wasn't Claire's apprentice anymore. It was Licia's.

And there was no way he wouldn't approve her like that.

Their exchange became way more tricky to follow. Every attack was a trap with multiple layers to it.

Her objective wasn't to reach him with her sword anymore, it was to attack his blindside as much as possible.

He lacked the right arm, so she focused on that.

She knows he'll have a harder time maintaining balance, so she strikes continuously from different angles.

It wasn't enough to make her win. Ghent was obviously holding back, to begin with.

But she had clearly stepped up her game.

She's way more suited to fighting like this after all...

Isabella: "100! He said I look like a veteran adventurer!"

Mia: "Good job. But your footwork still needs improvement. You could've made him fall."

That's mean but... yeah. Considering his disadvantage, I'd also try to make him lose balance and fall if I wanted to win.

It's good that Isabella is at least able to see and try to exploit this though.

Her pride didn't allow anything aside from a proper, fair battle when we first started.

It was very delusional.

All things considered, imitating Licia, even if on a small scale, was bound to earn her high praise from Ghent. Even if she's a far cry, it's reminiscent enough. If they were at the same level, this match could actually have gone to her.

And then, last but not least, we entered the room where she'd have the general knowledge test.

Miwen: "Ugh... I can't believe I'm in a classroom again."

Mia: "Weird. You make for a good teacher considering you are a bad student who hates classes."

Miwen: "Don't underestimate me. I was average. And also... No... It's too soon to tell you this..."

Mia: "Hah! No way you're keeping quiet after that. Out with it."

She's such an easy girl to bait.

Miwen: "You make for a lovely fiancée considering you hate cute- Aw!"

It makes teasing her so worth it.

The reward is great compared to how little effort I have to put in.

Sadly, this ended up getting us a warning from one of the instructors, so I had to stop.

This test was by far the longest. Isabella was the first to finish, but she took around 50 minutes.

Miwen: "Did you properly revise everything?"

I got a little worried about it...

Isabella: "Yeah!"

Miwen: "Carefully?"

Isabella: "Thoroughly."

Sadly, for this last test, we would only get the results the day after since she had to be in the last group to do it.

I also managed to catch a glimpse of someone I believe to be Terith's prince as Isabella was a little anxious around him, but I'll have to confirm it later with her.

At the very least, Isabella's scores didn't seem too bad on the other tests, so she'll probably place high even if she was distracted during this one.