Mia, on her end, was just as stunned when she received the test paper and saw the words “Multiple Choice Questions.”
She stared at the test, muttering inwardly: Aren’t the written exams at Oselenka usually just single choice questions, fill-in-the-blanks, and at most a few short answer questions?
What’s with this “multiple choice” business?
Luckily, she’d long since prepared for this exam, spending quite some time recently pestering her top-student roommate Kefi for help, so her foundation was fairly solid.
As for the single choice and multiple choice sections at the front, apart from the very last multiple choice question which she wasn’t confident about, she simply picked the option she felt best about, hoping to at least get two points.
It’s only three points anyway, I can afford to let that go! Mia comforted herself.
***
Next came the familiar fill-in-the-blank questions, which tested hard-core knowledge, like fragments of spells for certain magic, properties of materials, calculations of mana nodes, and so on.
Thanks to her cramming before the exam, Mia handled these rather smoothly—she was able to fill in most of the blanks.
However, that sense of ease didn’t last long. The title of the next section made her heart sink all over again—
Cloze test?
What kind of strange name was that? Mia carefully read the instructions:
“Please use the options below to complete the incomplete rune pathways of the fourth-tier attack spell [Shadow Arrow Rain] in the diagram.”
“There are ten missing spots, one point each. The fragments in the options differ only slightly—please discern carefully.”
Beside the question was a complicated, intricate sketch of a magic circle, with ten key parts deliberately erased. Below were ten sets of rune fragments as options, all looking only subtly different.
This type of question certainly looked new, testing precise memory and understanding of high-level spell structures.
If she’d studied hard and had the [Shadow Arrow Rain] magic circle’s pattern committed to heart, it might not be a problem.
But… unfortunately, Mia just so happened to be rather shaky with this fourth-tier spell!
She usually practiced mainly lower-tier practical spells; her memory for such complicated, high-level spell circle details was extremely vague.
This is bad, this is so bad… Sefina-sensei, you’re so mean, wuwuwu—
Mia lamented inwardly, as if she could already see her score drifting away from her.
But there was no helping it; the test had to go on. She could only grit her teeth and fill in the blanks as best she could, relying on what little memory and pitiful intuition she had left, half-guessing as she went.
Fortunately, the main question types on the test were still the traditional Oselenka style—choices and fill-in-the-blanks—which Mia could barely manage. Until she turned to the very last question—
Material Analysis?
What’s this now?
The question described a simulated combat scenario: Suppose you are a third-tier mage specializing in fire magic, and you encounter a magic creature in a narrow alley—a Rock Golem wielding a heavy shield and boasting extremely high defense.
The alley is flanked by ordinary residences, so it’s not appropriate to use large-scale destructive spells. Question: In this situation, what strategy would you use to defeat or effectively restrain the golem?
Please briefly explain your reasoning.
Mia was a bit dumbfounded when she saw this. Written tests could have these kinds of questions? Testing on-the-spot adaptation and strategic thinking?
But this question wasn’t worth many points—just five—clearly left as a challenge for those with solid theory and flexible minds.
Mia looked at her half-guessed answers above, then at this analysis question that required some serious thinking, and decisively skipped it! Better to protect her basic score!
Time flew by; two hours passed in a blur of scribbling pens and the occasional sigh.
Mia, half-awake and half-dazed, finally managed to fill in most of the blanks on her paper.
The moment the bell rang for submission, Mia felt as if she’d just fought a hard battle.
If she had to score the difficulty of this exam and her own performance out of ten, Mia would unhesitatingly give it an 8.6—not because the test deserved it, but because she felt like she was half-dead, wuwu—
With the exam over, Sefina collected all the papers expressionlessly and left the classroom with a thick stack, probably heading straight to her office to start grading.
Kefi, on her end, calmly put down her pen and stretched her waist gently.
The test was harder than she’d expected, especially those new question types which were very detailed, but overall still within her grasp. She figured scoring over 90 points shouldn’t be a problem.
“Kefi.” Suddenly, a cool voice sounded behind her.
Kefi turned her head to find that the person calling her was Ellaria. Ellaria had already packed up her stationery and was standing in the aisle, looking at her.
“Your Highness?” Kefi tilted her head slightly, looking at her with some confusion.
Ellaria showed no extra expression, only took out a delicate little pouch from her small bag and handed it to Kefi:
“This is your pay for the week.”
Kefi accepted the pouch and hefted it a bit—there was a pleasant heaviness to it. When she opened it, there were exactly ten shiny silver coins inside!
If converted to the currency in Sefina’s old world, that’d be about a thousand bucks.
And this was just the pay for one week of running errands and cleaning the princess’s dormitory. For a student part-timer, this pay was already considered extremely generous.
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Kefi’s face broke into a sincere smile as she quickly thanked Ellaria.
Ellaria simply nodded ever so slightly, maintaining her usual noble, aloof, and hard-to-approach demeanor.
At this moment, Mia shuffled over to Kefi’s side like a withered eggplant, listlessly tugging at Kefi’s sleeve, looking like she might collapse onto her any second.
Seeing her like this, Kefi asked with concern, “Mia, are you alright? Did you not do well on the test?”
Mia looked up with a face that seemed on the verge of tears and squeezed out two words through clenched teeth: “Food…”
Right now, she felt that only by dashing straight to the cafeteria and rewarding herself with delicious food could she even slightly soothe the wounds inflicted on her heart by that “devil’s test paper.”
She thought to herself: It’s all Sefina-sensei’s fault for making the questions so hard!
Next time… next time I have to “really” bite her, suck some of her sweet, tasty blood, and make up for my wounded spirit today!
Kefi immediately understood, having seen this routine after every major exam—Mia bombing the test was practically tradition by now, and she was long used to it.
So, Kefi patted Mia’s head helplessly, though with a touch of fondness, and comforted her, “Alright, alright, let’s go eat together.”
Kefi packed up her things and led the drooping Mia toward the exit. As they passed the door, Kefi caught sight of Ellaria out of the corner of her eye—already packed up and about to leave alone.
On a sudden impulse—maybe because she’d just received such generous pay, maybe because she was a little curious about this seemingly aloof princess—Kefi suddenly stopped and, mustering her courage, spoke up:
“Your Highness, um… would you like to join us for a meal?”
Ellaria paused and turned back to look at Kefi. Her exquisitely cool face betrayed no emotion, and her jade-green eyes met Kefi’s slightly nervous, hopeful gaze.
On the surface, those eyes remained as unreadable as a lake covered in thin ice.
Kefi regretted the invitation the very next second. Her heart sped up as nerves swept over her.
She wondered if she’d been too forward, too abrupt? After all, she was just an ordinary student, while the other party was a princess of the empire. She’d actually dared to invite Her Highness to eat together—
Would she think she was being presumptuous? That she was trying to curry favor with someone powerful?
Kefi’s cheeks flushed, and she nervously lowered her head, no longer daring to look into Ellaria’s eyes.