Chapter 363: Report and Instructions

After finishing her "test," Senior Cuique took her score sheet back to her assessment squad—that is, the ranks of Senior Tu Dinggui and Senior Gouweicao.

Without suspense, the first thing the three did upon meeting was to compare their scores. Among them, Senior Tu Dinggui's magic equipment unsurprisingly received an S-rank rating, which could be said to fully live up to everyone's impression of her.

However, Senior Cuique remembered that in the previous assessment, the magic equipment Senior Tu Dinggui displayed was only a flag-spear, which by rights fell under the category of "single-piece magic equipment." If it were only the level shown at the time, she shouldn't have received such a high rating. Then it could only be explained that the child had still been holding back at the time, enough to prove that her strength among her peers was indeed exaggerated.

Then there was Senior Gouweicao, who received an unexpected "A-."

The reason it was called unexpected was not because Senior Cuique had any particular impression of the other being weak. Rather, it was because the other truly did not have much opportunity to display her magic equipment's abilities in the labyrinth assessment. Even though Senior Gouweicao had repeatedly emphasized that she was actually "very powerful," and had indeed shown decent practical combat ability, her performance seemed to have quite a gap compared to other A-rank examinees…

If one were to offer a hindsight-style explanation now, it could only be said that Senior Tu Dinggui's performance was too outstanding, so Senior Gouweicao didn't have much room to show off either.

Finally, there was Senior Cuique, or rather the examinee "Long Dan," who received a "C."

This was a rating that was middle or even slightly lower among the examinees as a whole, but still mediocre enough. It could be said that among the examinees present, nearly forty percent had only C or lower scores.

Regarding this score, neither Senior Tu Dinggui nor Senior Gouweicao showed any contempt or disdain. On the contrary, they even turned around to comfort Senior Cuique, saying things like "you're still young, it's normal for your magic equipment development progress to be slower than ours." Senior Tu Dinggui even tried to take the opportunity to ruffle Senior Cuique's head, forcing Senior Cuique to dodge behind Senior Gouweicao.

This so-called "C" rank was naturally not Senior Cuique's true score, but something she and Emerald had made up together. If she wanted, she could naturally have made it an A rank, or even an S rank, but that would go against the goal of their operation.

After all, as long as the rating was B rank or above, there was a chance of being selected and sent to Wang Ting. Senior Cuique didn't want her fake file to be examined under a magnifying glass at all.

As for why it was finally set at "C" rather than "C+," it was because she hoped her score would affect the rankings of other examinees as little as possible. A "C+" score was already truly mid-tier; examinees in this range were in a state where they might pass or might fail. Moving up one spot meant a greater chance of ultimately passing the qualification certification. Senior Cuique didn't want to take up a slot and cause someone to fail.

On the other hand, in the C-rank range, these examinees, if they didn't have any particularly outstanding scores in other categories, were basically out of contention for advancement. If they did have any outstanding performance, it would necessarily be earning big points in other categories, and they wouldn't need the difference of one or two places, so Senior Cuique could rest easy placing her score at this position.

As for C- or even D rank, too poor a score would instead become conspicuous, so it wasn't considered.

Of course, as for what rating the magic equipment "Weaver's Fate" itself should actually be, in Senior Cuique's mind, it was inevitably also an S-rank magic equipment. Although her past self had skipped the White Card assessment and thus never actually rated her own magic equipment, the form of Blade-Cut Silk undoubtedly fit the definition of a "set," and the abilities it possessed were indeed very powerful, helping her defeat many enemies she might otherwise have struggled against.

However, the three-piece set of Weaver's Fate now only had the silk thread remaining. There was no longer any point in dwelling on the rating issue. Even if Senior Cuique really discussed it with Emerald, they would probably only reach a conclusion like "it's still usable, that's good enough, what more do you want," so the two very tactfully avoided this topic.

After comparing their scores, the three moved together toward the plaza of the Silver Corridor. By the time they arrived, quite a lot of examinees had already gathered around, everyone waiting here together for the results to be announced.

The three each held their phones, chatting on and off while handling their respective online communications. Just like that, it was soon time for the results to be released.

The "SS" rating at the top of the list naturally caught Senior Cuique's eye.

—This was not something she and Emerald had discussed in advance.

Senior Cuique realized this immediately.

And if one were to ask, in the Magic Kingdom, who could possibly bypass her and Emerald to alter this final result, there would probably be only one answer pointing in one direction:

Amethyst should have already reported her "discovery" upward.

……

……

"Thank you for your patience, Lord Diamond. We have already conveyed your wishes to Your Majesty."

In Runenoray's palace, outside the door leading to the Rose Palace, a fairy from Wang Ting bowed to Amethyst: "I apologize that Her Majesty is unwilling to receive anyone today, so I can only relay her wishes to you. Please forgive me."

"Mm, I understand."

Amethyst nodded expressionlessly: "So, what did Her Majesty say?"

"Regarding the matter of the Magic Affairs Bureau, her opinion is to ask our secretaries to urge the Magic Affairs Bureau more, and not to do anything that disgraces the dignity of Wang Ting again."

The fairy, who looked like a human youth, still kept his head lowered, but his voice was steady and polite: "On this point, we won't simply go through the motions. We will definitely punish the corrupt officials, please rest assured."

"…Is that all, just urging?" Amethyst's voice noticeably paused.

"Yes, but Her Majesty also said that if you have any doubts about this handling, please give the Magic Affairs Bureau some time. These problems will soon have an appropriate solution."

The fairy youth explained: "So, from our secretaries' personal perspective, we also hope you won't be too angry about the Magic Affairs Bureau's affairs."

His words were very respectful and tactful, but Amethyst, who had served the queen for many years, had already understood the meaning behind them.

—Tell Diamond not to meddle too much in the Magic Affairs Bureau's affairs.

This was probably the queen's original words; everything else was just embellishment by the secretary before her, the purpose being only to keep her, the Gem Scepter, from losing too much face.

She looked at the fairy youth before her, was silent for a long time, then spoke again: "I understand. Then, what about the assessment?"

"Regarding what you wished to report to Her Majesty—the appearance of an examinee with an 'S+' rating in the assessment, and the Research Institute's attempt to secretly hoard this file—Her Majesty… was indeed very interested."

The fairy youth seemed to be choosing his words carefully: "She believes that if the Research Institute's current conclusion is indeed true, then this is indeed a matter of great importance. Lord Emerald wanting to conduct more detailed research in order to obtain more conclusive results is understandable, and not something that needs to be criticized."

"Do you really believe her set of words, thinking she's just worried the report might be wrong and wants to research a conclusive conclusion before reporting?" Amethyst frowned.

"Lord Emerald has assisted Her Majesty for a thousand years. Her loyalty to Her Majesty has always been beyond doubt." The fairy's tone remained unchanged.

"…Fine." Amethyst didn't say anything more.

She did not doubt the truthfulness of the secretary's words, because when it came to loyalty, the fairies of Wang Ting would only be purer than them Gem Scepters. The Gem Scepters still had to fight for authority and responsibility for themselves and their subordinates, but the fairies would have no selfish motives. They had no way, no motive, and no courage to falsely convey the queen's decree.

Precisely because of this, she had realized that her so-called "discovery" today probably held no meaning whatsoever for the queen.

"However, because you noticed this so-called S+ file and intended to share Her Majesty's burden, Her Majesty, moved by your intentions, has decided to grant you a new mission, as well as authority."

Before Amethyst's thoughts could wander too far, the fairy's words pulled her attention back.

She hadn't expected that the queen actually had instructions for her.

"'Since you are so interested in that child, then go and verify it for me. It is both a test and a guide. As the current Gem Scepter, use your own eyes to confirm what the so-called potential to become a Gem Scepter actually looks like.'"

It was clearly the fairy's voice, but Amethyst heard within it that absolute authority belonging solely to the queen.

—"'And, since it is potential sufficient to become a Gem Scepter, then don't use the old ratings. Give that child a separate rating. Don't disgrace the name of the Gem Scepter.'"

Without a doubt, what the other party was now relaying were the queen's original words.