Chapter 527: The Youth of the Golem (5k)
The vampire noble and the phoenix girl were fortunate enough to be assigned to the same classroom.
The seats of the two golems were only separated by a narrow path; turning their heads allowed them to see each other.
Such close proximity slightly alleviated their tension.
Although golems generally do not feel nervous during battles, they did outside of battle… it was quite complicated.
It seemed as if all their courage had been invested in combat.
But upon closer reflection, this was normal.
After all, in the minds of magi, golems were created for battle.
And the golems that responded to the expectations of magi were naturally fearless in battle.
As the examinees gradually filled the classroom, a professor carrying exam papers walked in.
The entrance examination for Saint Maryann Academy consisted of two parts.
One was a written test.
The other was an interview.
In reality, what the examinees could control themselves was only the written test part.
As for the interview section, it differed from traditional interviews. It did not rely on eloquence or psychological resilience to determine scores.
Professors would conduct interviews with examinees in their own ways and provide evaluations.
There was no mention of good or excellent in the interview; there was only pass or fail.
Only those who passed both the written test and the interview could proceed to the final selection process.
The institution would select the appropriate number of examinees based on rank.
…
As the professor entered the classroom, the examinees instantly fell silent.
He first surveyed the room, then opened his mouth and said, “It’s currently eight twenty-five. There are five minutes until the written test begins. I will distribute the papers to everyone within these five minutes, but you can only write your names and exam numbers before the bell rings.
“After the test starts, you have three hours to answer the questions. The test ends at eleven thirty. During this time, if anyone needs to use the restroom, they can raise their hand.”
Seeing no one respond, the professor turned around and wrote the exam time on the blackboard. After waiting for half a minute, he suddenly waved his wand upward, and the papers on the podium transformed into paper snakes.
One by one, they flew toward each examinee below.
Once the papers landed, the examinees quickly flipped them open, trying to make the most of every second to review.
The vampire noble and the phoenix girl had received examination experience directly from Dark.
Upon receiving their papers, they immediately filled out their names and exam numbers, then briefly skimmed through the questions to memorize the types. They attempted to solve a couple more questions before the bell rang.
[First question: Assume you have twelve apples and need to share them equally among two brothers. How many apples does each person get?]
“Huh?”
The vampire noble couldn’t help but blink, then quickly looked at the second question.
[Second question: Use “duel” and “smile” to form a sentence.]
Ding-dong!
As the exam bell rang, the vampire noble picked up her pen and started writing furiously.
The overly simple questions made her tension vanish completely.
On the other side, the phoenix girl felt the same way.
However, they did not realize the depth of this exam.
…
“Three-hour exam, one thousand questions, difficulty ranging from easy to hard?”
In the waiting room, Dark and company finally obtained some confidential information about the exam questions from the staff.
“The score for each question increases according to the difficulty…”
“Such a test makes it nearly impossible to achieve a perfect score; it tests both answering speed and basic knowledge.”
Dark gradually understood.
Claire also nodded, “The speed of mental processing is indeed very important for magi. And such long-term assessments require high levels of focus and concentration from the examinees. Few people can maintain continuous focus for three hours.”
“If that’s the case…” Dark let out a sigh of relief.
After two months of intensive study, the vampire noble and the phoenix girl wouldn’t have any issues with focus.
Moreover, their thinking speed was fast enough; as long as the questions were moderately difficult, they could finish quickly.
The only problem was that both golems tended to be careless.
However, in the “practice mode” assessment, being a bit careless wasn’t too important.
The more questions they answered correctly, the better.
Their final scores wouldn’t differ much.
But just as he raised his head, he saw Oscar Oude looking dejected.
Before Dark could show concern or ask, the old man said with a troubled expression, “Oh no, concentration is the greatest weakness of Viviane!”
…
Pure-blood dark elf, Viviane Alvende.
She was born from the forbidden magic used by Oscar Oude’s dark elf mother, Alvende.
In contemporary times, when most demons were nearly extinct, the dark elves, who relied on demons, naturally perished along with them.
However, dark elves were still part of the elf race. Except for the demonized ones—demon elves—the rest did not belong to the demon race.
Therefore, after the demon race was destroyed, the scattered dark elves were not pursued.
This didn’t change the fact that the dark elf race was on the brink of extinction.
Thus, continuing the bloodline became the most important mission for every surviving dark elf.
After her father died, Oscar Oude’s dark elf mother became the most respected member of the Oude family.
Shortly after the war ended, she began searching for lost dark elves and embarked on the path of racial revival.
For an elemental race, the most important thing was not the queen, but the elemental priests!
The elemental priests can communicate with omnipresent elemental spirits and use their assistance to create elemental springs.
These “elemental springs” are also known as “mana springs.” Depending on the type of element, the effects of the spring water vary, but the most basic effect remains universal.
Pure elemental springs can help elementals gain better affinity with elements and promote the growth of their mana.
In general, this is the fundamental method for elementals to increase their mana.
This makes the amount of mana among the elemental race far greater than that of humans who can only rely on age to naturally increase their mana.
For elementals, drinking from an elemental spring increases their mana limit, while for humans, it merely replenishes their mana.
In short…
If the dark elf race wishes to revive, they must first cultivate a dark elf priest.
And Oscar Oude’s sister was born with this goal in mind.
However, Oscar Oude’s mother was originally just a captive, holding a low status within the dark elf clan, and she had no access to many secrets.
To give birth to an elemental egg that could hatch a dark elf priest, she used the power of the Oude family to gather as much information related to this as possible. Then, at the cost of one-third of her life force, she finally managed to refine a… semi-finished product!
It was called a semi-finished product because although Viviane Alvende possessed the affinity for dark elements and the talent for mana, she severely lacked the ability to control her mana.
Since her birth, the ancient castle of the Oude family has often been filled with the sounds of mana explosions.
She is a complete accident-prone!
…
The Oude family sent her to Saint Maryann Academy hoping that she would learn how to control mana there, which would then enable her to further learn how to create a dark elf spring.
As for why she wasn’t sent to the elemental school of the elemental race?
Of course, it’s because the dark elves are a traitorous race.
…
Next door to the classroom where the vampire noble was studying, the dark elf girl who had just caused a “mana explosion” was now diligently answering questions.
The academy had specially placed a shield around her to prevent her from affecting other students.
Despite such special treatment, Viviane had no time to care about it.
Because her mother had given her a strict order in secret.
— “If you fail, you’ll have to start over!”
…
In the entire castle, there were not few examinees like her who bore heavy pressure.
As the examination time passed, the atmosphere in each classroom became increasingly tense.
The half-orc prince who had abandoned the war totem of the orc race and traveled a long way to arrive here was now gritting his teeth, as if battling a dragon beast.
Meanwhile, the parents waiting in the lounge were warmly entertained by the academy.
Dark and Claire, enjoying the half-orc chef’s cooking again after a long time, chatted idly with Oscar Oude while waiting for the exam to end.
…
Three hours felt like years.
When the exam bell suddenly rang, the examinees who had been deeply engrossed in thought jumped up in shock.
“Please put down your pens, otherwise it will be treated as cheating.”
The voice of the proctor professor echoed in everyone’s ears, and anyone who tried to write anymore instantly wilted.
“Wah!”
The vampire noble collapsed onto the desk like a puddle, feeling extremely hopeless due to the large blank sections on her test paper.
Why did the questions get so difficult after starting off so easy?
Did the professor designing the questions really think that arranging them this way would allow students to solve problems they couldn’t solve before?
No, it would only cook them like frogs!
The vampire noble slightly turned her head and saw steam rising from the phoenix girl’s head.
She lowered her eyelids, realizing that both of them were doomed.
…
When Dark and the two golems reunited, it was already noon.
Saint Maryann Academy opened its cafeteria to the public, offering free lunch only today.
Parents and examinees gathered in the cafeteria, and the sound of discussions about the written exam was like a firecracker show.
Dark picked a table for eight people with ease, and including Oscar Oude and his sister Viviane Alvende, they filled the seats perfectly.
As for the unfortunate dragon tamer, he naturally never entered the academy from the beginning.
Eve and Irina, who were failures in the entrance exam, were visiting the cafeteria for the second time.
Looking at this place with only shallow memories, the two sighed involuntarily.
If they had successfully enrolled, they would now be seniors two grades above Dark.
That would make many things different.
But their current life wasn’t bad either.
After sitting down, Oscar Oude enthusiastically introduced his sister.
The pure-blooded dark elf met all the standard expectations of appearance for a dark elf.
Her hair was a grayish-white leaning towards dark, her skin smooth and tan, her ears long and pointed, her eyes slightly elongated, and her face perfect in a V-shape. Her eyes were… able to switch freely between pitch black and crimson!
Darkness, coldness, cunning, and oppression were the fixed impressions people had of dark elves.
If Oscar Oude hadn’t thoroughly exposed her during their chat, no one would have guessed that this cold girl was actually an accident-prone beyond the usual concept.
Oscar Oude was so enthusiastic because he wanted Dark to take care of her after she enrolled.
But when Dark calculated, he found that the number of junior and senior students he needed to look after seemed to be increasing…
Whether it was the two golems, the two princesses, or Jon and Joie, who had indeed received invitations, all required his attention.
Although the latter two might not want his attention, as a member of the Demon family,
The head of the Dark family, Dark, felt it was his duty.
“Very well.”
Dark’s mind raced, and he thought that if this dark elf could smoothly enroll, she would most likely be placed in the same branch as the Vampire Noble and the Phoenix Girl.
As outsiders, they would never be assigned to the Noble Academy.
If they continued to grow in the future, they might even become powerful opponents to the Noble Academy.
In short, if the Vampire Noble and the Phoenix Girl could get along well with the dark elf girl, it would form a fairly reliable trio.
Starting from the second year at Saint Maryann Academy, most extracurricular assignments were completed in groups.
Dark certainly didn’t want any miscellaneous people joining his precious group.
This dark elf girl was just right.
…
While Dark was sizing up Vivian, Vivian was also sizing him up.
Her aloof appearance complemented the Phoenix Girl perfectly.
“They are indeed a perfect match!”
Dark suddenly noticed that among the three, the youngest-looking Vampire Noble was actually the most reliable one.
In that case, it would greatly temper her character.
There would be no progress without pressure.
“Dark, Dark, are you listening to me!”
The Vampire Noble knocked hard on her plate, looking anxious and on the verge of tears.
“Yeah, I’m listening,” Dark replied, lifting his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
The Vampire Noble immediately pouted and said, “There are so many blanks on that test paper… Am I going to fail?”
Dark glanced again, and the Phoenix Girl was also looking at him with red eyes.
He couldn’t help but say, “No problem, as long as the others perform worse than you.”
“Bang!”
Suddenly, magic surged from the fork of the dark elf girl, and the meat chop on her plate let out a loud explosion, turning entirely into charcoal.
Oscar Oude forced a laugh and quickly held the dark elf girl’s shoulder to comfort her, “It’s fine, it’s fine, you’ve worked hard enough, you’ll definitely pass.”
It was unclear whether it was due to the explosion, but suddenly, many cries erupted in the cafeteria, filling the air with a sad atmosphere.
…
At two o’clock in the afternoon, the interview phase began as scheduled.
The examinees had barely recovered from the brutal written exam when they had to line up and enter the examination room.
The Vampire Noble and the Phoenix Girl were once again assigned to the same group.
They found the classroom corresponding to their exam numbers and waited nervously.
When their number was called, the Vampire Noble entered the classroom first.
There were three professors on the podium, and the candidates who had just completed their interviews were leaving through the back door.
The Vampire Noble swallowed slightly and followed the other two candidates.
“Each of you should come to the podium to receive a card,” one of the professors said kindly.
The three candidates went up to receive their cards in turn.
The professors seemed to have prior knowledge of the Vampire Noble’s existence and did not pay too much attention to her.
Once all three candidates received their cards and returned to their seats, he continued, “Press your left index finger on the corner of the card, then observe the changes on the card. You have three minutes to organize your thoughts, and after three minutes, explain what you see. You can use the pen and paper on the table freely.”
The three candidates immediately placed their cards on the table, pressed them down, picked up the pens, and nervously stared at the cards.
The three professors on the podium observed the changes in the auras of the three candidates.
The interview assessment each year was different, and this year seemed especially so.
The Vampire Noble pursed her lips and stared intently at the card.
The shape of the card was identical to a Magic Conducting Card, but the card face was blank except for a fingerprint in the lower left corner.
When she pressed her left index finger onto the fingerprint, a faint suction force emerged.
The Vampire Noble had learned how to sense and transmit mana under Dark’s guidance, and as soon as the suction force appeared, she felt it immediately.
She instantly felt reassured and injected more mana.
Then, patterns like ripples appeared on the card.
Immediately, the ripples surged, as if petals were emerging, and then a rose formed by water broke through the surface and slowly floated up.
The Vampire Noble couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
The three professors on the podium also looked over.
The cards distributed to the candidates were special magic devices that absorbed the contactor’s mana to parse it and present an image on the card.
The more complex, complete, and regular the image, the higher the contactor’s magic talent.
And those who could directly manifest physical objects… were extremely talented!
Therefore, there was no need for the Vampire Noble to explain; the professor responsible for her directly marked a √ next to her name.
…
Shortly afterwards, the Phoenix Girl also entered the classroom.
After pressing her finger on the lower left corner of the card, orange-red flames suddenly shot out of the card, followed by a palm-sized phoenix flying out swiftly with a long cry.
When she stepped out from behind, her eyebrows were tinged with joy.
The two magic elemental beings met and clapped their hands excitedly.
Even if they were unsure about the standards of this interview, they knew this interview was bound to pass.
But just as they were preparing to find Dark to report the good news, a sudden explosion sound came from the neighboring classroom.
“BOOM!”
