Chapter 386 - 384: Second-Year Exams
On the second day after returning, Hilia walked back into the classroom.
Her appearance instantly sparked gasps and hushed murmurs from her classmates.
All the students looked at Hilia with eyes full of awe.
"We just got into Tier Two, and Hilia’s already representing the school in the Mage League and won the championship. That’s insane!"
"She’s so talented. Turns out, when we were in first year, that was when we had the smallest gap with her."
"If I had even half of Hilia’s talent, getting into Tier Two wouldn’t feel like dying."
"I heard Hilia received the God’s blessing. I want God’s blessing too."
"Yeah, right! God’s blessing isn’t something you just get. Do you have talent? Is your Divine Contract strong? Are you a girl? Are you pretty?"
"God cares about what’s inside!"
"Her insides are stronger than yours, too."
"Shut up, bastard!"
"..."
The keen senses Hilia gained as a Tier Three Mage let her easily overhear all the whispered chatter.
God’s blessing...
Even though this God isn’t quite the one everyone imagines, it’s still a God after all~!
The girl curled her lips into a slight smile and sat down in her usual seat.
Before the Meditation class started, Anarce beside her whispered, "Hilia, you’ve been gone for so long, you must’ve missed a lot of lessons. Want some key notes? I highlighted a lot for you..."
Hilia smiled, "Sure, thanks, Anarce."
To be honest, after two months away, some of the second-year material she’d mastered had started to slip from her mind.
She really didn’t want to reread the whole textbook, and notes at a time like this were perfect to jog her memory and help her avoid bombing the finals.
Anarce’s notes were very thorough, almost as if she’d taken them just for Hilia. After spending an entire Meditation class, Hilia quickly brushed up on all the forgotten points.
Yep, all subjects.
As a Tier Three Mage, Hilia had earned the privilege to act freely during Meditation class; her instructor simply turned a blind eye to her not meditating, pretending not to notice.
Of course, anyone else trying to copy her would get a harsh reprimand.
Nobody in the class dared defy that.
Don’t like it? Go win the Mage League championship and you can have that privilege, too!
The whole day went by, and none of the instructors had any reaction to Hilia missing so many classes. No one picked a fight or anything; whatever she wanted to do, she could. Even if she wanted to go sleep, a word was enough.
Still, Hilia didn’t go that far. After being away from school so long, she actually felt a bit unfamiliar with classes and all, so she decided to attend, just to get her classroom groove back.
In terms of boosting her power, Hilia wasn’t in a hurry.
She was already prepared: if Rose pushed her to train, she’d firmly reply she wanted a day to rest.
Turns out, Rose didn’t insist at all; she didn’t nudge Hilia to practice for the whole day.
In the end, it was Hilia who felt embarrassed and went out herself to buy training supplies, then practiced on her own.
And just like that, time slowly rolled into the final exams, aka the year-end assessments.
The exam format was almost the same as last year: one day written, one day practical, third day electives.
The difference this time? A special practical assessment was added.
Learning the rules for the practical test, Hilia blinked, "Wait, practical’s a one-on-one duel now?"
If she remembered right, last year’s practical was fighting a tutor.
Before the practicals, Ms. Ailina gathered everyone together.
She looked at the whole class and announced, "Starting this year, the practical’s no longer against the tutor. Based on your usual performance, you’ll be paired two by two. The opponents aren’t limited to classmates, but normally, you’ll fight someone from your class. If there isn’t a suitable match, then it’ll be someone from another class."
Everyone glanced at Hilia.
Wasn’t Ms. Ailina saying this just for Hilia?
Hilia thought so, too.
But when the match-ups appeared, she realized it wasn’t her.
"My opponent is..."
Hilia looked over; a girl was sitting quietly in one spot. Sensing Hilia’s gaze, she glanced back, nodded, and then went back to minding her own business.
Hilia recalled, trying to remember the girl’s story.
"Shaline... her presence in class isn’t very strong. She’s easy to overlook, and her background feels even more mysterious than Benovia’s."
It wasn’t just Hilia—everyone else was surprised too when they saw Shaline paired with Hilia. They started searching for where Shaline was.
Some students didn’t even know Shaline, and had to ask others who she was.
Ms. Ailina clapped her hands, "Shaline is our class’s second student to advance to Tier Three Mage. While you were busy playing around, she silently finished her trial and reached Tier Three."
"Huh?"
The whole class was shocked.
Not by Tier Three itself, but by the fact none of them knew about this hidden genius.
Hilia looked at Shaline, thoughtful.
"Something feels off."
Before Hilia could think too much, Ms. Ailina was already calling everyone to the assessment venue.
At the field, several tutors and what looked like upper-grade students were sitting to the side as judges.
This test only runs one class at a time, split into three batches. Each batch lasts ten minutes, with ten people, so five matches per batch—about thirty minutes for a whole class. Ten classes take five hours, add in breaks and scoring, and you need seven or eight hours—a full day.
Hilia’s class was the first up, but her match was set as the last in her class.
Same as last year, students not competing, and even students from other classes, could freely watch here.
Last year, there were so many matches happening at once that it was chaotic and hard to follow. Now, with only five matches per batch, the audience’s attention was much more focused.
"The audience’s watchful eyes are part of the assessment. Only those who can perform steadily under such scrutiny are considered qualified," Ms. Ailina explained.
Despite that, the students competing were all nervous and excited, and more than a few flubbed their performance and lost, regretting it deeply.
"But wait, in a one-on-one duel, it can’t be that whoever loses gets a zero, right?" Hilia muttered.
Benovia’s voice piped up from beside her, "Of course not. The practical assessment looks at the mage’s all-around skills—like Puppet Manipulation, magic power control, casting speed, magic power, etc. Winning doesn’t necessarily mean getting the highest score. Sometimes, you could mess up a small detail and end up scoring lower than the one who lost."
Hilia glanced at Benovia, "When are you guys being tested?"
"Afternoon."
"So why are you here in the morning?"
"To watch your match with Phil, obviously," Benovia grinned.
Phil’s exam was also in the morning.
"...What’s there to see? You know us well enough already."
This year’s Saint candidate set a precedent by forming teams to explore ruins and compete together, so everyone already knew each other very well—they didn’t need to spy on matches like last year.
Benovia laughed, "Watching doesn’t mean I’m snooping for info. Can’t I come just to support you?"
Hilia shot her a look, "You’re definitely up to something."
Benovia replied innocently, "I’m just here to watch. It’s not just me, Doris and Encore are here, too."
Hilia: "..."
So it’s a group stalk, huh?
Just as she was about to say something, Ms. Ailina’s voice called from the side.
"Hilia, it’s almost your turn. Go get ready."
"Oh, okay."
Hilia said goodbye to Benovia and went to prepare.
Soon, it was time for her match with Shaline.