Chapter 295: Busy Exam

In order to keep his mind focused, Xia De went to bed early on Friday night before the exam and, according to the habit in his hometown, didn't eat too much food during breakfast on Saturday.

This made Little Mia, who was eating breakfast with him, look at him from time to time, as if she was worried that he would suddenly die.

The original exam location was set in the doctor's clinic, with the doctor clearing out an empty room to set up five tables for them to take the exam. But later, considering that Xia De's side had more space and was more convenient, the exam location was finally set in Room 2 on the second floor of No. 6 St. Deran Square.

The doctor sent tables and chairs in advance, placed in the empty living room on the second floor. Xia De held Little Mia and welcomed the arrival of his friends one by one.

People generally believed that cats could bring luck, and among the five members of the group, only Xia De raised a cat. The doctor sent a letter to Xia De in advance, telling him not to send Mia away temporarily because of the exam. A well-behaved cat present might allow the five people facing the exam to perform beyond their level.

Of course, Xia De thought that the view that "orange cat Mia can bring luck" was just a small hope born from the doctor's despair in the face of 【Ether Mechanics】. Although cats were related to "luck" in mysticism, this didn't mean that people would definitely be lucky on occasions where cats appeared.

Of course, the exam time for Doctor Shi Nai De's group was 9:00 AM on Saturday, but the five members of the group had already gathered at Xia De's house at 8:00. The group waited temporarily in the living room of Room 1 on the second floor. Even Priest Ao Gu Si, the oldest, showed some nervous emotions at this time. And the most restless one was actually Miss Louisa. After the blonde Miss sat on the sofa, she frequently flipped through the content of the dictionary Xia De helped translate last Saturday afternoon.

If the doctor's 【Ether Mechanics】 didn't pass, at most he would lose the qualification to continue taking classes with the professor. But Miss Louisa's ancient literature was a compulsory course. If she couldn't pass during the summer exam week, it would bring quite a lot of trouble to the winter.

"Speaking of which, using potions, spells, arcane arts, and relics to cheat is prohibited during the exam, but is divination also prohibited?"

Noticing that Luweiya wasn't nervous at all, Xia De asked curiously.

Today, there were teachers from St. Byrons invigilating through projection, so all five people were dressed in formal attire. Xia De, the doctor, and the priest were all in black formal wear, while Miss Louisa and Luweiya were in different summer dresses.

"Of course divination isn't allowed. Any supernatural means of cheating aren't allowed... Non-supernatural means aren't allowed either. Xia De, you must be careful. Don't have any crooked thoughts. The academy has nearly five thousand years of continuous experience in fighting against cheating students, and correspondence students also have a history of nearly two thousand years. Any cheating method you can think of, students of past generations could also think of."

The purple-eyed diviner answered. She was looking at Mia, who was squatting on the soft cushion on the coffee table. The black soft cushion was a gift brought by Doctor Shi Nai De, specifically for Mia to have a place to stay, and the orange cat was very satisfied with this cushion.

Xia De thought of the night he first met Professor Jiaxiya, when Professor Sanchez skillfully used "Charm Person" to obtain information. In terms of opening schools, St. Byrons was really very professional.

"Then why aren't you nervous about the exam at all?"

Xia De asked curiously, guessing in his heart that Luweiya's psychological quality was very strong.

"Because I only have to take three exams... Oh, I understand."

The female diviner smiled. The other three people who heard their conversation all showed expressions that Xia De couldn't understand:

"Xia De, you wouldn't think that I, like you, also have to learn so many courses to enter the next grade, right?"

"Isn't it?"

Xia De asked, and then was surprised to see Miss Louisa actually make a lip-pursing movement, which was very unladylike.

"I'm different from you. Although we are all correspondence ring mages, I am also a student jointly cultivated by the Divination Association and St. Byrons, and I only need to take two-thirds of the courses."

Luweiya flipped her hair and asked with a smile:

"I heard you have to take 18 courses at once? Oh, Xia De, you are really unlucky."

Xia De lowered his head and didn't speak. He finally understood why the other four people in the group didn't want to talk to Luweiya after arriving at St. Deran Square today.

At 8:50, the five people came from Room 1 to Room 2 on the second floor. Five tables were placed in a circle at equal intervals, and five chairs were placed in the empty space in the middle of the tables, so that everyone was looking outward. At the same time, a water basin was placed in the middle of the five chairs, and further away, by the wall, four chairs were placed in the east, west, south, and north directions for the four academy teachers responsible for the exam to appear.

Doctor Shi Nai De had already obtained the parchment for the projection ritual in advance. At exactly 9:00 AM, he lit the parchment and threw it into the water basin.

As the wind gradually rose in the closed room, among the four professors who appeared in front of the five people, Professor Jiaxiya, the Vice Dean of the History Academy, whom Xia De was very familiar with, was impressively among them. It seemed he was here to announce Xia De's promotion application.

And besides Professor Jiaxiya, among the remaining three, there was also a professor with a big beard who looked very elegant, Professor Earl Gref, who belonged to the Mechanical Academy, which was the major Doctor Shi Nai De was studying. The Mechanical Academy was divided into alchemy and mental directions, and Professor Gref was also a mental expert, and his eyes were very spirited.

And the middle-aged woman and the old gentleman who looked the same age as Priest Ao Gu Si were both lecturers at St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy, named Charlene Fonseca and David Radnor respectively.

"Good morning, gentlemen, ladies."

"Good morning, Professor Gref, Professor Jiaxiya, Mr. Radnor, Ms. Fonseca."

After finishing greetings, all nine people sat down. The older Professor Gref was the main invigilator for this exam. He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket with his transparent arm, coughed, unfolded the paper, and began to read, his tone very formal:

"Sixth Era, General Era 1853, Thunder Month 27th, Yellow Moon Half-Crescent, Silver Moon New Moon, Red Moon Full Moon. The academy received the exam application from Bill Shi Nai De's group and prepared for the exam at 9:00 AM. Bill D. Shi Nai De, please confirm whether you are participating in the five exams of 【Introduction to Advanced Psychology】, 【Ether Mechanics】, 【Dreamland Theory】, 【Spirit and Soul】, and 【Introduction to Chekar Psychology】?"

Professor Gref's Delarion common language was even more standard than the City Hall spokesperson.

"Yes, confirmed."

The doctor said loudly.

Professor Gref nodded, made a checkmark on the paper in front of him with a pen, and asked again:

"Dorothy R. Louisa, please confirm whether you are participating in the six exams of 【Ancient Literature (Serious Literature)】, 【Sixth Era Folklore Study (Part 2)】, 【Ancient Language (Fifth Era 4000~5793) Proficiency】, 【Selected Fairy Tales (Advanced Class)】, 【Enlightenment Element Theory Research (Introductory Course)】, and 【Relic Containment: Books】?"

"Yes, Professor."

Miss Louisa also nodded, so Professor Gref made a checkmark on the paper again. Xia De realized that he didn't know the middle names of the other four people in the group at all.

"Then there is Luweiya F. Annat, please confirm whether you are participating in the exams of 【Seeing the Future Through the Fog: Cost】, 【Registered Diviner (3)】, and 【Registered Diviner (5)】?"

【Registered Diviner】 was both an exam subject of the academy and a professional exam for the diviner profession. There were a total of six exams for Registered Diviner, and one had to pass all of them within five years to get the qualification certificate. And once passed and the certificate obtained, regardless of origin, one could find a job at the three major arcane academies or the Five God Churches.

After all, diviners were very rare. This certificate was equivalent to an ordinary person in this era obtaining a senior steam machinery technician qualification certificate.

"Yes."

Luweiya nodded with a smile. Professor Gref glanced at her. The exam week lasted for a week, from this Tuesday to next Tuesday, so before invigilating these five people, several professors and teachers had already invigilated many other exams. Having seen so many people, Luweiya was probably one of the few who could smile at this time.

The combat experience of correspondence ring mages was usually far beyond that of the academy's formal students, but they were also far surpassed by formal students in terms of theoretical courses. The theoretical courses of correspondence students could be called a disaster.

"Lat A. Ao Gu Si, please confirm whether you are participating in the seven exams of 【Extinct Plants of the Old Continent】, 【Intermediate Potion Preparation】, 【Cannibalism and Human Eating】, 【Continental Geography Atlas】, 【Use and Storage of Potions】, 【Mental Potions】, and 【Common Poison Identification】?"

"Yes, no problem."

Priest Ao Gu Si gave the answer very steadily, and Professor Gref continued to make checkmarks.

Except for Xia De, among the five members of the group, the priest had the most exams. But he had prepared for these seven courses for more than half a year, so it wasn't very surprising.

"Finally, Mr. Xia De S. Hamilton."

Professor Gref read Xia De's name. Including Professor Jiaxiya, the four teachers of St. Byrons all looked up at him. Afterwards, Professor Gref continued to read slowly:

"Please confirm, whether you are participating in 【Herbs We Know】, 【Basic Potionology】, 【Introduction to Elementary Alchemy】, 【Introduction to Astronomy】..."

The professor paused, very wisely not wasting time reading all the course names:

"... and other exams for 18 courses?"

In the past history, there must have been students who took so many courses at once, but there certainly hadn't been students who took so many courses a month after enrollment.

Xia De nodded:

"Yes, Professor, no problem."

The talents of ring mages were strange and varied. Although Xia De doing this was very strange, it wasn't particularly strange. Therefore, as long as it was confirmed that he wasn't cheating, the academy wouldn't care whether he was crazy because of too much pressure or really had the confidence to do so.

"Okay, the five members of Bill Shi Nai De's group, confirmed the exam content. Please Bill Shi Nai De distribute the exam supplies."

As the professor's voice fell, the poem paper roll on Doctor Shi Nai De's table glowed, and parchment rolls, ink bottles, and fountain pens appeared there. Besides that, there were two stone charms for each person, which were also alchemical items for detecting cheating.

The doctor distributed these supplies for them, and then the parchment test papers were officially transmitted from the academy.

It wasn't one test paper for each subject, but after everyone reported the exam content in advance, the academy wrote all the exam content uniformly on one piece of parchment. ===== CHAPTER 296 =====

"Because you are correspondence Ringed Shushi in the Tobesk region, the Academy will provide you with a report so you know exactly what happened last Thursday. If you believe the Tobesk region is no longer suitable for living, you may also submit an application for your group to relocate to another region."

"There is no need for that for the time being."

Doctor Shi Nai De said cautiously, and the professor nodded:

"Based on the information you submitted, each member of the group is awarded 5 practical credits. You can be considered to have fully experienced two God-descending events, which is more than most professors at the Academy experience in their entire lives."

The information provided by the five people actually did not have much value; the 5 practical credits were not a reward for the information, but a uniform consolation for the local correspondence Ringed Shushi. To have experienced such things without going mad or dying, and still being able to describe the situation that night, is an achievement in itself, so it is understandable for the Academy to give some unimportant rewards.

In this way, Xia De's task of obtaining 20 credits in one week was immediately reduced to 15 credits. Although it was still not easy, at least the pressure was reduced quite a bit.

"In addition, Saint Byron's is issuing a long-term Academy bounty task to correspondence Ringed Shushi in Tobesk and the surrounding areas, to search for and provide information regarding the Thirteen-Ring Shushi 'God-Caller'."

Professor Geliefu said, and at the same time, the bounty order was sent over via the Doctor's poetry manuscript pages.

"Professor, are you certain that the God-Caller is a Thirteen-Ring Shushi?"

Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha asked.

"Very certain."

Professor Geliefu nodded, while Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha glanced at Xia De, and Xia De looked at the cat, Little Mia, lying in front of him. Because they were preparing to have a big meal in the evening, he had only fed it a very small amount of cat food earlier. Now the cat was lying there in a listless manner, but Xia De knew it was definitely faking it; the tail wagging back and forth behind the cat showed that it was actually very energetic.

"Although the God-descending event has passed, local correspondence Ringed Shushi must still remain vigilant about subsequent developments. Although the Zhengshen Sect has made up its mind to make that bunch of lunatics disappear forever, judging from the situation last Thursday, the Sect has likely been comfortable for too long, to actually let such a slip-up occur..."

Professor Geliefu clearly also had some opinions about the Zhengshen Sect, but did not express them very clearly. After finishing these matters, everything for exam week was completely over. Professor Geliefu and the two lecturers encouraged the five members of the group before leaving first, while Professor Jiaxiya stayed for an extra few dozen minutes to discuss Xia De's second-year development plan with him.

Additionally, Professor Jiaxiya had promised to open his personal elective course, "Folded Space," to Xia De, which focuses on large-scale ritual Mystery and Extraordinary Ability Mystery, and this time he came to notify Xia De of the class time. "Folded Space" consists of four lessons in total, with two academic hours per lesson. The course is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of the second week of August, starting at six o'clock every night, with two lessons held back-to-back each time.

Xia De will participate in the course via projection, and after the course is completely finished, he must submit a course report within one week as proof of course completion.

And after "Folded Space," it will depend on Xia De's grades to decide whether to open more elective courses from this Academy to him.

"Xia De, your talent has been fully demonstrated. The History Academy has never been stingy in providing extra help to talented students. Originally, the Dean of the History Academy wanted to come see you in person today, but something happened in the New Continent, and he had to rush over to resolve it, so it is still me meeting with you. I noticed that it has been a month since your first time travel; may I ask if you have any plans to conduct a second time travel?"

Professor Jiaxiya asked.

"Of course, I bought a time key from the year 3002 of the Fifth Era, and had Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha help divine a lucky time, and I am preparing to open it in half a month."

Of course, the report submission must definitely be after completely finishing the three explorations. After all, this key is related to the founder of Saint Byron's, and Xia De needs to confirm exactly which parts can be written down. Therefore, this report cannot be used to offset practical credits; after all, even if he wanted to write... polish it, there is currently no way to start.

"3002? I remember that nothing happened that year, at least nothing major happened. It seems this time it is a true poet-level key."

Professor Jiaxiya thought for a moment and said. Xia De seemed to have heard this kind of statement before, but he did not raise any objections.

"Very well, Mr. Han Mi Er Dun. You are likely the first student in this millennium to be allowed to violate the rules and upgrade during the summer before the end of the winter semester. Very good, keep working hard. I believe you have hope of officially entering Saint Byron's before the age of 30."

Professor Jiaxiya encouraged, and then said goodbye to Xia De. The transparent figure left the chair, and the projection ritual officially ended.

The Outsider let out a long sigh, feeling his whole body relaxed at this moment. He got up and walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and saw the fiery sunset outside.

The daytime of Saturday finally ended, and the red light shone on his face; the sunset of midsummer was also this scorching:

"Promoting from the First Ring to the Second Ring in one month, at this speed, actually, it is even possible for me to promote to the 13th Ring before the age of 30."

Thinking this in his heart, the corners of his mouth could not help but reveal a smile.

【Do you have any ideas for the Second Ring's Miracle, Blasphemy, Enlightenment, and Whispers?】

She asked in his ear.

【"The Mad Light-Chaser" has been read for a month, and I can already feel that there will be results in the next few weeks. The story of "The Tree's Kiss" is being read closely with the help of Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha, and I am afraid there will also be progress before the end of next month.】

【These are all highly likely to be Enlightenment.】

"Yes, so the other three elements need to be thought about carefully... After resting for a week, it is time to start a new adventure. Life really cannot stop."