He awoke immediately with a nasty headache. Brye reached for the top of his skull and felt a big lump. "Ouch!" His eyes searched for Luka and found the boy standing among the test-takers. Brye pointed at Luka and asked, "What's your name, kid?"
Jiehara held up her hand. "Don't answer!" she interrupted. "The exam is supposed to be anonymous to ensure fairness. Get off your ass and continue!" She balked and left the ring.
The instructor chuckled. "Okay, boss!" Brye stood up and took a stance with his blade. "Who's next?"
Unfortunately, the rest of the children performed poorly. Brye became convinced that his loss was a mere fluke. After he sparred with the last candidate, Brye glanced at Luka one more time before departing.
Academy workers entered the field with wooden practice dummies.
Once they finished setting up the equipment, Jiehara took out a crystal ball from her bag. "For this part of the exam, we will test your magical ability. First, when I call your number, you will touch this orb. Next, you will use magic to attack a dummy. Our enchanters reinforced them with magic, so don't worry about breaking them."
The judge called out the numbers one-by-one. Jiehara recorded the amount of mana shown inside the crystal ball. Then she witnessed the magical attacks and wrote down the damage incurred as well as attribute. She purposedly skipped Luka's number and saved him for last.
Luka touched the crystal ball; a burst of light flashed, and then the magical item cracked!
Jiehara's jaw dropped because she knew that the device measured up to 9,999 points. The only reason it would break was that the examinee possessed a higher amount of magical power. She stared at Luka for a moment and wondered about his identity. "Please attack the dummy, but don't go overboard," Jiehara requested politely.
Luka felt torn about the damage because he was supposed to show off his magical ability. Otherwise, how would he score high on the exam and defend the Heavensfell name? On the other hand, Luka felt guilty for breaking the magic item. And he also wished to obey the proctor.
The test-taker finally settled on using spatial magic because it wasn't as flashy as the elemental magics. The mage casually waved his hand at the dummies. "Spatial Blade!" Swish! He tore down all the targets on the field!
The audience became silent again before they erupted in applause. "Wow!" "What a genius!" "He excels in melee and magic!" "How unfair!"
Jiehara recovered her nerve and recorded the result of Luka's magic test: "9,999+," "Spatial Blade x12," and "S." "This concludes the Royal Academy's Entrance Examination. You may now leave. We will release the test results within two days." She glanced at Luka one last time before walking toward the administrative building.
The kids immediately surrounded Luka. "What's your name?" they wanted to know.
Luka frowned at the adoring crowd because he was still angry due to the insulting essay question. "Pardon me." He cast teleport and escaped.
Chapter 50
Test Results
"Yikes!" Cloten felt his heart jump out of his chest! He was frightened by Luka's sudden appearance like a ghost! The teacher noticed his pupil's glum mood and quickly buried his complaint. "What happened?" Lord Evans asked gingerly.
"I'm starving," the teenager replied brusquely.
"Okay, let's return to the inn and have a big, delicious feast!" the nobleman said cheerfully. He led Luka back to the family carriage and departed the academy. Before Cloten entered the cabin, he gave instructions to the coachman. "Drive slowly so that our young master could cool his head."
The driver gave a bow. He also noted Luka's disenchantment and worried that the heir performed poorly in the exam. If that occurs, then even the commoners would ridicule the Heavensfell Duke House! The coachman hoped that the tutor would solicit information from Luka during the journey and discover what happened during the test.
Luka looked out the window as he began to talk. He realized that Cloten was anxious to hear about the exam and his performance. "For the written portion, I had no problem up to the essay question. For whatever reason, the examiners took a swipe at my family with it. They asked whether Tsunka Heavensfell made the right choice in sacrificing his life to support Altima in repelling the Netherese invaders."
"What?" Lord Evans blurted out in disbelief. Through his social connections, the nobleman possessed a copy of every entrance exam ever since Cloten tutored Tsunka. Thus, he understood this question was extremely unusual.
The lord will obtain a copy of this year's exam questions. Once he verifies this offensive essay question's inclusion, Cloten will file an official complaint with the headmaster. "How did you answer it?" he asked with raised brows.
"I committed heresy," Luka grinned. "I argued that Tsunka made the wrong choice and explained how his early demise hurt both his family and his duchy. If the examiners give me zero points for the essay, then I can live with that outcome," he stated calmly.
Cloten looked into the boy's eyes and saw that Luka's declaration wasn't bravado. He patted his student's shoulder gently. "Your father would be proud of you."
"Thank you for your understanding. I realize that a lot is riding on my performance in the entrance exam, and children from other noble families will compare their test scores against mine. But I want to be honest with my feelings and stand up for what I think is right," Luka replied.
"So what happened in the practical portion? You should have aced it, right?"
The teenager looked away with embarrassment. "I might have gone overboard in fighting my instructor. His name was Brye, and he's supposedly a B-rank adventurer. The guy was a jerk and kept running his mouth while abusing kids. When my turn came up, I teleported behind him and cracked his skull to end the fight instantly," Luka recalled with a pained expression.
"They picked Brye to spar with the candidates?" Lord Evans shook his head and sighed. "Brye Keelan is the fourth son of the Keelan knight family. They're very talented with the sword and serve as instructors in the king's army. Unfortunately, Brye is a hothead and too undisciplined for the knighthood. So he chose to become an adventurer instead. The academy probably paid a large sum of money to convince Brye to become an instructor."
"Will the Keelan family create problems for me?"
"No," Cloten shook his head. "They have a good reputation as honorable knights. Brye, on the other hand, might use underhand tactics to avenge his loss. He's a troublesome kid, I'm afraid," the nobleman added with a shrug. "If you beat him, you should receive full marks. What about the magic exam?"
"I broke the measuring device and cut down all the target dummies," Luka answered with a grin.
"The orb should tolerate up to 9,999 points!" the teacher exclaimed in disbelief.
"But I have 12,000 mana," the student replied.
Lord Evans shook his head. "You're stronger than your father and still young, too. I don't know if you will reach your full magic potential, but I'm looking forward to it." The tutor rubbed his chin. "Who was your judge?"
"Jiehara."
The nobleman drew a blank upon hearing her name. "She must be a new hire," Cloten remarked. "What was her reaction to the crystal breaking and after you took down all the dummies?" he inquired.
"Well, she's strange," Luka noted. "The judge didn't care that I cracked the orb. But she became flabbergasted when I cut down the target dummies. She also called my number last for some reason," he added. "After my test, Jiehara dismissed our group and walked away in a hurry."
"I think it's safe to assume that Jiehara scored you 'S' for both the physical and magical exams. If you received full marks on the written portion aside from the essay, you should easily pass the admission test. But reaching the top 10% might be a stretch," Cloten estimated.
"Frankly, I wouldn't mind if I failed my entrance test because I'm beginning to doubt the wisdom of attending that school. After all, someone abused his authority to insert that ridiculous essay question," Luka retorted with a frown.
"You shouldn't read too much into it. I'll
use my contacts within the academy and find out who made that question. Don't give up attending this school because it's vital for your future as the next head of the Heavensfell Duke House," the teacher advised.
When the carriage stopped, the two got off and quickly made their way to The Princely Abode's dining room accompanied by their escorts. The nobles ate another hearty meal consisting of veal steak and a small corn chowder soup. Luka asked for two servings to be brought to his room to feed Bel and Gripper; they holed up in the suite this morning.
"What will you do for the next two days?" Cloten asked as he enjoyed an afternoon drink of iced honey mead. "Do you wish to explore this city and familiarize yourself with its offerings?"
Luka quickly shook his head to decline. "I dislike large crowds. And I would rather avoid those obnoxious children from aristocratic families." Luka believed that his current standings as the Godson of Altima and heir of the Heavensfell family made him a target for various conspiracies. Also, he never forgot his near brush with death from a decade ago. This incident made him become more socially withdrawn.
"I'm going back to my domain and run errands," he added. Luka needed to check his soybean fields, feed Alraune's energy to the dungeon core, review changes to the Alaife dungeon, and bring out more gold ores.
"Should I ask the coachman to take you home?" Lord Evans offered.
"No, I won't need the carriage. I will use teleportation magic to travel back and forth," Luka replied in a low voice.
The nobleman became surprised by this revelation because he thought Luka's magical attribute was light. Thus, Cloten didn't realize the young magic possessed spatial magic as well. "In that case, we will return to the school when they release the test results."
* * *
Meanwhile, the employees at the Royal Academy were busily grading the tests to meet the deadline. Each junior teacher received an official answer sheet and compared it to the candidate's answers. Then the scorer tallied up the number of correct answers and wrote it down twice: once on the front of the test package and a second time in a logbook next to the student ID number.
The senior teachers worked in a separate room on a more difficult task -- grading the essays. Since essay writing was subjective, different readers may reach various opinions of the essay answers. Thus, school policy mandated two teachers to review the answers; each reader provided his score, and the official grade became the average of the two. Usually, the instructors reach a consensus on the final score. But if there were a wide variance, then a department head would intervene to review the essay and issue a finalized grade.
Each essay received an assessment based on specific criteria, including organizing ideas and thoughts into structured sentences and paragraphs; penmanship; familiarity with the subject matter; relating it into words; and constructing a compelling and persuasive argument. The essay scorers received a copy of a model answer, but the headmaster emphasized that it wasn't necessarily the only suitable answer.
Unbeknownst to these employees, a VIP guest sat in the headmaster's office. "Thank you for indulging on my whim, Zajic," he said with a gentle smile.
"Isaac, we've known each other for over five decades now. When I added your essay question to this year's entrance exam, the instructors were surprised by it. But once you explained your reason for its inclusion, I thought it would shake the test-takers out of their doldrums," Headmaster Zajic Ladis laughed. "But are you sure about provoking young Luka Heavensfell?" he asked.
The pope nodded. "Young, inexperienced people often have difficulty hiding strong emotions like anger. Provoking him allows us to probe deep inside Luka's mind to see his true thoughts on his father's early demise. I'm certain that Luka will write a superb essay. The scorers will bring it to your attention."
"Well, we anonymize the test packages with student ID numbers to prevent bias in scoring. But I heard something interesting happened during the practical exams. A judge reported that a boy broke the measuring device for magic power when he touched it. He took down a dozen target dummies simultaneously with Spatial Blade. Oh, he also teleported behind the sword instructor and knocked him out with a staff," the headmaster mentioned. Ladis casually placed a slip of paper on the table. "This is the boy's student ID number."
Demetrius didn't even glance at it. "I'm certain it's Luka."
The two old friends sipped their drinks, coffee for the pope and tea for the headmaster, in silence until someone interrupted with a knock on the door.
"Enter," Ladis called out. He saw the Department Head of Legal Studies, Lord Asbjorn Mogensen, walk into the office holding a test package.
Although the teacher's face was calm, his breathing was hard. "The staff is having difficulty grading this essay." The worker respectfully handed over the sheet with both hands to his employer.
Ladis noted the scores of 0 and 100 points. The headmaster quickly read through the essay. His eyelids repeatedly twitched as he avoided showing his emotions publicly. When Ladis finished, he smiled wryly and glanced at Demetrius. "Please read it and tell me what you think."
Asbjorn's brows rose when he noticed Pope Demetrius sitting across the table from the headmaster. The department head was so focused on Ladis that he ignored the other occupant in the office. "Pardon my rudeness, Your Holiness!" He knelt and reached for the pope's hand.
"I'm here to visit my friend. There's no need to stand on ceremony," Demetrius said gently and waved his hand in dismissal. Instead, he was eager to read Luka's essay answer. When the older man laid his eyes on the paper, the church official felt mesmerized by the boy's perfect penmanship. The opening paragraph seemed staid at first, but the last sentence served as a bellwether for a controversial response to the pope's mischievous ploy.
Pope Demetrius couldn't help but hold his breath as he read Luka's essay. This paper had so much passion and feelings that Luka never expressed in public. When he finished reading, the church official respectfully returned the sheet to the employee. Then, Demetrius began to laugh!
The academy workers felt astonished by the pope's reaction because Luka's essay was tantamount to heresy! After all, the boy argued AGAINST sacrificing Tsunka's life to save the world! The candidate offered a passionate but often neglected perspective of the harm suffered by the hero's family. And he appealed to the reader's emotions. But in their eyes, no sacrifice was too big to save the world. Thus, his argument failed to persuade the scorer.
The guest laughed for a good minute or two before he regained his calm. He noticed the unease in the other people's eyes and said, "I'm not offended by the child's essay. His complaints are legitimate and heartfelt. He opened my eyes to the consequences of the hero's sacrifice, and we should appreciate his honesty rather than scorn him for it," the pope explained. "As far as the scoring is concerned, I recommend that you follow the normal policy to give the average between the two grades. This response is the fairest and most reasonable outcome, in my view."
"But this means the boy might lose first place!" Headmaster Ladis brought up his concern.
"You think so?" Demetrius retorted with a faint smile. "Who managed to score S in both parts of the practical portion besides Luka?" he reminded his friend.
Ladis stroked his beard for a moment and nodded. "That's true. Luka was the top scorer for those parts. Depending on his competition, the boy should remain in the running for top honors of the incoming class."
When the academy finally released the test results two days later, Luka's ID number was at the top of the list with 183 points. But surprisingly enough, another candidate received the same score!
Chapter 51
Rivals in School
Cloten stared hard at the school board. Then he peeked at the slip of paper containing his pupil's test ID number to confirm. The nobleman felt mixed emotions when he discovered Luka's placement at the very top. On the one hand, Lord Evans felt proud of the boy. But he couldn't believe someone else received the same score, meaning that Luka was a co-valedictorian of the
incoming class. His instincts foretold trouble from this other person.
The nobleman quickly moved away from the bulletin board so that other people could look at it. When Cloten returned to the carriage, he reported the result to Luka, who had remained inside the cabin to avoid the crowd. "You scored 183 points, and your ID number was first on the list. Congratulations!"
Luka's mind fixated on the score. Thus, he didn't hear the rest. But he sensed the carriage started moving because his body shifted back and forth slightly.
Bel smacked his face.
"Oh! I'm glad I did well enough to uphold my family name. I couldn't have done it with your tutoring, Lord Evans." Luka gave his teacher a deep bow.
"You worked very hard in the past few weeks. I'm sure your father is looking down from heaven right down with great pride in your success. That said, someone else also received the same score, which means you are co-valedictorians," Cloten disclosed.
The teenager smiled. "I think that's wonderful because having a rival in my class will force me to work even harder to keep my position," Luka said fearlessly.
"Yes, the other noble families will be gunning for your position. They might use dirty tricks to take you down or even expel you from school. You must be careful," Cloten warned.
"I will," the protégé promised.
"But at the same time, you need to maintain friendly relationships with your fellow students. Not everyone will seek to become your enemy. Use your judgment and follow your instincts," the tutor advised.
"That's easier said than done," Luka complained with a frown.
"Fair enough," Cloten nodded. His face turned serious. "I know you are highly proficient in light magic. You may find yourself tempted to use it to command, charm, or persuade other people to do your bidding. But sooner or later, those mind spells will end. When that happens, your victims will know what you did and alert the school. So I strongly urge you not to use such magic because most people treat it as evil acts."
Luka's brows rose because he never tried to use magic in this described manner. He tilted his head and went through the list of light spells inside his mind. "You mean I should not cast Mesmerize, Command, or Geass on fellow students?" he asked for confirmation.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 42
