Chapter 11: Exam
The room behind the door was small. It was reminiscent of a classroom he had attended when he had been younger.
Though, the tables were larger and more spaced out. Each of them had an assortment of papers scattered about with a small iron basin on the right side. There was also a single wooden chair beneath each table.
Aside from that, the room was conspicuously empty. The walls had no décor on them. It would have been a plain room, were it not for the dark wood and white stone creating an interesting contrast between each other as it looked like they had been woven together.
It was almost ornamental.
Theo wasn't the only one present within the room, either. There was another man, but far older than he was.
He was wearing a much deeper set of blue robes than anyone Theo had seen so far. His head was barren, but the pure white beard that almost reached his stomach more than made up for the lack of hair.
The pair of pale blue eyes that stared at him were reminiscent of cold icicles. Though, there was a certain kind of warmth in them that became apparent after a few second of staring.
While he was evaluating the old man, it seemed that the old man was doing the same.
Neither of them said anything, as Theo was waiting for the old man to speak first.
The man said nothing but moved towards a table and Theo followed behind. He nodded towards the chair and Theo sat on it.
He then pointed towards one of the papers that had an intricate inscription on it that Theo instantly knew was a spell.
"If you can cast this spell, you need not worry about the written exams." The old man said with a cold voice. Not uncaring. It was more like an echo from a chilling winter breeze.
Theo nodded and looked at the piece paper in front of him.
This was his chance. If he managed to do this, he wouldn't need to worry about his lack of general knowledge. Even if he had had an education when younger, it hadn't been that thorough.
He was able to read and write Draph, conduct basic arithmetical calculations and knew the bare basics of the world, but not much else. Theo doubted that the fours years of experience being a vagabond would be relevant, either.
Theo glanced up and noticed the old man leaving the table and walking towards his original spot next to the door.
He then shook his head and placed his full attention on the piece of paper in front of him.
It was the first time he was seeing an actual spell inscription. He had seen them being cast before, but never such a detailed look into the inscription itself.
Then, why did it feel so familiar?
The spiraling lines, the curving lines, the straight lines. They all felt so familiar. As if he had seen them before, but Theo was positive that this was the first time he was seeing them.
There was something written at the top which he had ignored till now.
Manifest the aether, then follow the inscription to the best of your abilities. Start from the center. Direct the results towards the basin.
A simple instruction. It should have been entirely new information for him, yet it didn't feel like it.
He put his attention back to the spell itself and concentrated. Theo didn't know how much time had passed until he was certain that he had memorized the entire pattern.
He stood up and glanced at the small iron basin on the table. It was full of water.
Theo raised his hand and pointed his right index finger towards the basin. He closed his eyes, the only thing in the world for him right now was his soul and the aether inside.
He pulled out a steady stream, directed it onto the pathway and pushed it outside.
The moment it appeared, he opened his eyes and gazed at the wisp of aether hanging from his fingertip.
The world around him ceased to matter. The only thing that mattered was the spell.
With a steady hand, he began the inscription process. Line after line of aether was imprinted onto the air before him.
With each new stroke, the lines seemed to glow brighter.
And as the spell neared completion, the sense of familiarity grew exponentially. It was as if he had done this very same spell thousands of times before.
With a flick of his wrist, the final spiral was added, and the spell was completed.
Theo barely had time to gaze upon the completed inscription which glowed brightly in the air, before it disappeared, and a sudden burst of cold air appeared from its place.
He knew it flew towards the basin, because of the frost that quickly formed on its edges. He curiously walked forward and peered inside to discover that the water had been frozen solid.
The old man with the beard quickly appeared in front of him and similarly looked at the basin. His eyes had widened imperceptibly.
Though, he quickly recovered and nodded. "Not bad… not bad at all."
"Does this mean I pass?" Theo asked.
The old man nodded again and stroked his beard.
"Though, you will still need to complete the written exams."
The old man must have seen his expression because he let out a quiet laugh. "I only said you need not worry about them, you're already a student, regardless of your success with the written portion."
"Though you must still complete them." He said before adding on. "It's to make sure we know what type of knowledge you will need most early on."
That did make sense, but it was no less annoying.
Theo muttered to himself as he took his seat and grabbed the exam papers and began wracking his brain over the questions presented.
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"Ah, Fearghas~." A voice broke him out of his thoughts as he entered his courtyard. "Any interesting candidates this year?"
Fearghas raised his gaze to look at the young woman lazily laying on top of his chair. Typical. She was barely even wearing anything this time, either.
"There was an interesting one." He said as he walked towards the woman and stood towering over her, cutting off the sunlight. "What are you doing here, Una?"
She flapped her arms in front of her, trying to shoo him away. "You're cutting my sunlight, move!"
He didn't move an inch, and Una soon gave up after trying for a few moments. She started pouting.
Fearghas sighed. "Could you at least try to act your age? You are not a youngster anymore; it's disturbing to see you try and act like one."
"Whaaat?" She sat up straight, pushing out her breasts and trying to emphasize something that couldn't be emphasized. "You don't like my young appearance? But you're a professor, you need to like young bodies, how ever will you survive all those lectures without sufficient eye candy~?"
He didn't answer and only continued to stare at her.
She shuddered and stood up. "Your gaze is too cold, Fearghas. It sucks out all the warmth in me."
A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and enveloped her, covering her form completely. The wind then disappeared as fast as it had appeared.
A woman wearing a similar set of deep blue robes as his appeared out of it. Her features were also far more representative of her true age. The previously short, light green hair had transformed into a long, braided mass of hair that reached her back.
No longer did she look like a twenty year old student, but a master arcanist.
"You said there was someone interesting?" She said as she started walking towards his abode. "I ask the same question every year and you barely even open your mouth."
"He managed to cast the spell on his first try." He said and continued walking even after Una stopped to look at him. "He barely spent ten minutes memorizing it, too."
"Oooh~." She practically bounced up to him. "You're thinking of getting him to study under you, aren't you?"
Fearghas raised an eyebrow and looked at Una.
"That's good~. I also found someone interesting~." She disappeared in a gust of wind, but her voice remained. "Walk faster, you old fart. We need to compare who has the most bragging rights~."
For a moment, just for a little moment. He considered putting himself in ice just to avoid this annoying brat. But that would put him out of commission for at least two hours, and he needed to report back to the headmaster in an hour and a half.
'Maybe I should start researching some weaker variations of it, then?' He thought to himself. 'For future occasions, of course.'
/-/
"This is the dormitory. It's the place you will inhabit until you graduate." A male voice informed him.
Theo was following behind a young man wearing a set of light blue robes. The old man who had supervised his exam had told the young man to bring him here.
Theo had already come to the conclusion that the deeper the color of blue on the robes, the higher of a status they had.
Though, he still didn't know the exact range of variation there was between the colors. Maybe they had a guide for it, or something.
'The dormitory sure looks nice.' Theo thought to himself as they walked through the corridors.
It was almost a completely different feeling from the towers at the plaza and the exam building. Instead of the white stone being the dominant material, it was the dark wood that was mainly used here.
It created a relaxing feeling. The floor and roof were still of the white stone, but the walls were mainly dark wood.
The young man leading him stopped in front of a door that had the number 125 carved into the wooden door. The man then turned around and handed him a piece of wood.
"What's this?" Theo asked.
"Pass your aether through it, and you will be keyed into the lock of the room." The man said.
Theo nodded and passed a miniscule amount of aether through it. A sigil appeared on both the piece of wood in his hand and on the door to the room.
The young man took it back from his hands and turned to point at the door.
"This is the room where you and your team will live until you graduate." The man said. "Familiarize yourself with your teammates. Classes start over at the right wing at eight tomorrow."
'Oh…' Theo thought. He realized what the nagging feeling at the back of his head had been. How the hell had he forgotten that they would be sorted into teams of four?
While Theo was amidst his own mental struggles, the young man was patiently standing there and waiting.
'Calm down. The chances that I was put onto the same team as Scarlett are minimal.' He thought to himself. 'Yes, there is no need to worry about such a miniscule happenstance becoming reality.'
Theo steeled himself and grabbed the door handle, before twisting it.
The door didn't let out a single creak as it opened inwards. Revealing the interior of the room.
It was spacious, large enough to easily fit four people in it.
But that wasn't the important part.
"Are you related to the big breasted girl with the bunny ears that guided the new students here today?" A tall, black haired figure questioned a young girl sitting on top of a bed.
She was beet red and trying to hide herself underneath the blanket.
"That's right, that's right. Not only do you share the hair color and ears, but your breasts are also so big~." A cheerful voice piped up from the end of the young girl's bed. She was trying to pull the sheets covering the embarrassed girl.
The red hair and cat ears were all he needed to see.
Theo took a calm step backwards and quietly closed the door before any of them noticed him.
He turned towards the man who had led him here and he didn't even need to try and fake the puppy dog eyes to plead with him. "Can I switch before they know I'm on their team?"
The answer he received shattered his last hopes of a somewhat normal life. "No."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Alphapanda
Alphapanda Tadah ^-^
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone