High School of Demon Hunting

Whether the birth of Edge Academy was destined, Zheng Qing could not be sure.

That was something for the Big Wizards to consider.

At his age and rank, he only needed to worry about his exam scores. Of course, for him, besides grades, there were a few more things to be concerned about.

Not long ago, the minor dispute caused by a ’date overlap’ seemed to have passed. These past two days, the black gemstone cat could once again rest peacefully under the Cat Fruit Tree, and Zheng Qing could chat with Jiang Yu during breaks.

The ’suitability assessment’ that the Black Wizard Alex, from the Giant God Soldier project, had been worried about never came to be. As the only healthy eligible candidate currently in the project group, those researchers were probably praying every day for Zheng Qing’s good health, and couldn’t afford to be picky or critical anymore.

Besides that, Xiao Xiao sometimes asked Zheng Qing for the training logs of the sprites while preparing a thesis for the ’Alchemy’ journal—if not for the data being mixed in with Zheng Qing’s diary, he would have long handed everything over to the PhD; the Big Fox increased the intensity of tutoring the two cats every night, making it impossible for them to whisper during breaks; and as for the Devils of the Seven Sins, they seemed completely unconcerned with the impending end of the semester and applied once more to hold a gathering.

Zheng Qing could confirm that the devil applying for the meeting was not a student of Jiuyou Academy.

The only good news was, starting this week, the preparatory classes at Edge Academy had no tasks. He didn’t need to consider the racial taboos of those dozen or so students from different backgrounds when preparing lesson plans, nor rack his brains on how to simplify the talisman theory he found quite simple; nor did he need to face Luna Huisu’s tearful eyes, or worry about the Great Elves rushing to the podium during class to hug his leg and call him daddy.

This feeling of being between tense and relaxed lasted until the last day of the fourteenth week.

It was also the second last day of May.

Zheng Qing’s registered shape-shifting wizard certification assessment took place that morning. From the morning of the previous day, he only ate simple bread, eggs, and milk, fearing accidentally ingesting any magic potion and being accused of cheating by the examiners.

The assessment was scheduled to start at ten in the morning.

By nine-thirty, he was already standing outside the examination room.

Since a wizard’s shape-shifting form is a very ’private’ and ’rare’ thing, the registered shape-shifting wizard exams are organized by the Alliance-related agencies, setting up temporary personnel for a one-on-one assessment once a candidate applies.

The so-called examination room was actually just a meeting room on the ground floor of the office building.

Zheng Qing originally thought he was the earliest. But when he arrived outside the examination room, he discovered a young male wizard in a black robe inside the room, repeatedly moving the only exam table.

He looked about twenty-something, slightly plump, slightly bald, with a bright, bulbous nose.

Dong Dong!

The examinee tentatively knocked on the door.

The black-robed wizard turned his head, noticed the peeking figure at the door, and immediately put on a stern face: "—Sorry, this meeting room has been requisitioned by the Transformation Magic Academic Committee. If needed, you can check out other rooms."

Zheng Qing paused for a second and hurriedly explained, "I, I’m the examinee today."

The black-robed wizard looked at him in surprise for a second.

"So young?" he muttered softly, shaking his head, and refused again: "—Sorry, examinees are only allowed in ten minutes before the exam begins. Could you please step outside."

Zheng Qing obediently stepped back out.

But unexpectedly, the other party followed him out. As soon as he stepped outside, the cold look on his face vanished, replaced by an enthusiastic smile. He grabbed Zheng Qing’s hand and shook it without room for refusal: "—Ah, sorry, just now in the classroom, I needed to adhere to the regulations. You look so young, what made you decide to take the transformation certification so early? Generally, kids your age who master transformation techniques like to play in secret for a long time..."

Zheng Qing was startled by his enthusiasm.

In a daze, he absentmindedly answered one of the questions: "Um, because after getting the transformation certification, I can earn two extra points. I’m graduating at the end of this semester, and my credits are still a bit short."

"Graduating early?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Amazing! Anyone who graduates early from the First University is a prodigy! How old are you this year? Do you know who else in your grade is graduating early? Did anyone else apply for the registered shape-shifting wizard assessment? How long did it take you to master the transformation technique?"

This is a chatterbox.

Zheng Qing reached this conclusion internally but kept nodding on the surface with a compliant demeanor. Until the other person stopped talking, he still hadn’t figured out exactly how long it took him to learn the transformation technique.

Because he was unsure whether to count from the first time he came into contact with Professor Yi’s transformation notebook or from his first use of a transformation potion.

"—About a few months, I guess." He finally gave this vague answer.

"That’s quick!"

The slightly chubby wizard rubbed his sweaty bald head, his nose strikingly red, his face full of nostalgia: "It took me almost a year to truly master the transformation technique back then. Just the first step of ’holding the leaf’ took me nearly two months! The first few times, without experience, I would accidentally ruin the Mandrake leaf when putting it in my mouth, and my hair..."

As he spoke, he touched his thinning scalp and reflected with some emotion: "... Originally, my hair was very thick, but it all got pulled out from too many failures when making the mixture! And the weather! Finally, when there’s a thunderstorm, the second full moon ends up being overcast! Merlin Above! A friend of mine has been practicing for four or five years, and every time he’s about to succeed on a full moon night, he fails! He told me every wizard that masters the transformation technique is Mother Nature’s own mischief!"

At this point, he seemed to remember something, and after a sneak peek around, he lowered his voice slightly: "—Although during exams it’s forbidden to use the Luck Elixir, everyone uses a little bit when practicing. Without a bit of luck, this kind of magic is really hard to achieve! How much did you use back then?"

Zheng Qing felt utterly confused.

Completely dumbfounded.

What Mandrake leaf?

What thunderstorm?

And full moon?

He looked up at the white paper posted on the meeting room door, confirming without a doubt that this was indeed the transformation exam room—he almost believed he had come to some ceremony site for the Clan Under the Moon!

It was only after the other person stopped talking that he cautiously probed, asking vaguely: "—The Mandrake leaf, weather, and such you just mentioned? Are those things tested in the transformation exam?"