After receiving Sylvia’s grudging affirmation, Helos finally managed to barely cross that threshold called “perception.”
Although she still couldn’t convert the elemental particles in the air into mana like a normal mage, at least she was no longer a blind fool ignorant of mana flow.
The ability to open her “mind’s eye” anytime, anywhere, and see the mana flow of the entire world at a glance truly excited her for several days.
She even acted like a child with a new toy, wandering around the academy all day, trying to peek into the operating principles of various magic arrays through those appearances.
However, this simple joy did not last long.
Just as Helos was immersed in the joy of mastering her new power, thinking she could finally have some peaceful days, a piece of news that would terrify all students struck her like a thunderbolt.
That news didn’t come from any mysterious Chaos Believers, nor from lingering political enemies, but from the smiling Miss Emilia on the podium.
“Everyone, please pay attention.”
Emilia tapped the blackboard, speaking the cruelest words with her still-gentle voice.
“In one week, the Royal Magic Academy’s annual end-of-term assessment will begin. Please use your time wisely to review.”
“This assessment will directly affect whether you repeat the grade next year and your scholarship evaluations. Especially those students whose attendance hasn’t been ideal—you’ll need to work harder.”
As she said this, Emilia’s gaze “casually” lingered for a moment at the back corner of the classroom, which had been empty for a long time and only recently filled.
Helos felt like her newly recovered vision was blurring again.
In that instant, she stiffly turned her head, looked at Julius sitting on her left, then at Gavi on her right.
The three exchanged glances, each seeing the emotion called “despair” in the others’ eyes.
Half an hour later.
By the tree-lined path outside the main building of the Comprehensive Research Academy at the Royal Magic Academy.
Three figures were sitting side by side on a bench, perfectly aligned.
The cold winter wind howled past, rolling fallen leaves desolately at their feet.
Helos had her hands in her pockets, curled up into a ball, staring blankly at the bare Old Oak Tree ahead.
Julius sat with his arms crossed, looking up at the gray sky, his brow furrowed as if pondering some ultimate truth of the universe.
As for Gavi, she still sat up straight, but that couldn’t hide the dead-machine-like low pressure radiating from her.
The atmosphere was stifling.
“End-of-term… exam?”
After a long silence, Helos squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.
Her voice was dry, trembling with a hint of disbelief.
“How is it this soon? It feels like I just enrolled a few days ago.”
“That’s your illusion.”
Julius ruthlessly shattered her fantasy.
“Actually, this semester is almost over.”
He raised a hand and began calculating the semester’s timeline for Helos.
“As far as I know, you only attended normal classes for the first month or two. After that, you got obsessed with doing alchemy research with Graham and basically stopped going to class.”
“Then—oh, you were unconscious for a while. We were busy looking after you and guarding against the Chaos Believers. We attended classes, but it was no different from not attending.”
Julius paused, glancing at Helos’s eyes that had just regained their luster.
“As for the last month or so, you were a blind fool in the Rose Pavilion for a month.”
“To sum it up.”
The black-haired youth made his final conclusion.
“In this whole semester, the time you actually sat in the classroom and listened carefully probably doesn’t even add up to half.”
Helos opened her mouth to argue, but found herself speechless.
Because every word Julius said was the hard truth.
But…
Her semester had been far too exciting and fulfilling. So fulfilling that she completely forgot her primary duty as a student was to study, not to save the world or research forbidden knowledge.
“What’s the use of saying that now!”
Helos grabbed her hair in frustration.
“It’s not entirely my fault! I didn’t expect things to turn out like this! What are we going to do?”
Julius sighed.
“The key is that I…”
He shouldn’t have brought that up. The moment he did, Helos felt even more desperate.
She turned to the two “study buddies” beside her with a hopeful look.
“Hey… you two have been attending classes, right? You must have taken notes or something?”
Julius and Gavi exchanged a glance.
Then both averted their eyes at the same time.
Julius cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well… ahem.”
“Helos, you know I’m just a saint knight. So when it comes to alchemy theory… I’m really not good at it.”
“Not good at it?”
Helos’s mouth twitched.
“Aren’t you the so-called chosen one?”
“The chosen one doesn’t mean omniscient.”
Julius retorted with full confidence.
“My power comes from faith and soul! You can ask me to slay monsters, no problem, but asking me to analyze ‘the thirty-six variations of elemental arrangement’ or ‘the grammatical structure of ancient runes’… that’s harder than having me solo a dragon.”
He pulled out a brand-new textbook from his chest—not even a crease on it—and helplessly spread it open in front of Helos.
“Besides, I transferred in mid-semester. Most of the time, I was watching the window or the door, making sure no suspicious people got near you. As for what the teacher said at the podium…”
He shrugged.
“That was like a lullaby to me.”
Helos covered her face in despair.
She placed her final hope on Gavi.
“Gavi! What about you? You’re a golem! Your brain should be able to store vast amounts of knowledge, right?”
“Yes, Master.”
Gavi nodded, her reply as precise as ever.
“I did record most of the course content.”
“Great!”
Helos’s eyes lit up.
“Then quickly—”
“But.”
Gavi changed the subject, ruthlessly pouring cold water.
“Recording does not equal understanding. Moreover, I recorded it in my mind; I don’t have handwritten notes.”
“Besides, you don’t really expect me to learn alchemy, do you?”
Gavi paused, then added:
“Furthermore, because of your special situation, we missed a large number of classes. So this part of the recording is blank.”
Total defeat.
Three people, three heads, couldn’t piece together a complete set of review materials.
This end-of-term exam was definitely doomed.
Helos slumped back on the bench, feeling that the future was pitch black.
If she didn’t pass the exam, she would fail.
Fail and she’d have to retake the course.
Retaking meant she’d have to spend another year in this academy full of boring classes.
Even worse, if this news got back to Olivius City, to her stern father’s ears…
“The second young lady of the Olivias Family repeating a grade because of incompetence.”
That kind of news would definitely make her father so angry he’d disown her!
“This scene… feels like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
After a long silence, Julius suddenly broke the stillness.
He raised a hand and rubbed his forehead in frustration, a look of nostalgia and helplessness in his dark eyes.
“I remember now.”
“A few years ago, back in Olivius City, when we were preparing for our first trip outside the city to hunt magical beasts and studying magical beast knowledge, we were sitting on a garden bench just like this, worrying.”
He looked at the utterly dejected Helos beside him and gave a bitter smile.
“I never thought we’d have to do this again.”
Hearing this, Helos was stunned.
The doors of memory opened.
Back then, they were still young, hadn’t experienced so many troubles and dangers.
The biggest worry then was just memorizing that book about magical beast ecology.
Time really flew.
“Back then… you did help me mark the key points.”
Helos muttered to herself.
“Even though you didn’t know either, you always found a way.”
“Then this time, I’ll help you too.”
Julius said without hesitation.
“Even if I don’t understand, I can memorize things with you. We can go to the library, borrow notes, or even ask Miss Eleanor for help. As long as we’re willing to put in the time, we can catch up.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a reassuring strength.
Helos looked at him.
At this young man who always stood by her side, no matter the time, place, or difficulty.
The anxiety in her heart eased a little.
Helos sighed, sat up straight again, and a hint of rationality and calm returned to her light purple eyes.
“Theoretical classes are secondary.”
“Those rote memorization things—if I put in half the effort I used for alchemy research and pull a few all-nighters, I can memorize them. Worst case, I lose some hair.”
She looked up at the gray sky above.
A few jackdaws cawed as they flew past, as if mocking her naivety.
Helos’s voice dropped.
“The real problem… isn’t the theory exam.”
“It’s the practical exam.”
That was the core of the issue.
It was also the biggest weakness of her “anti-magic constitution.”
The Royal Magic Academy’s assessment standards were very strict. Theory scores only accounted for half; the other half was hands-on practice.
Whether it was releasing elemental magic or crafting and controlling magic tools, it all required channeling mana within the body.
But what about her?
She was now an utter “magic black hole.”
Forget releasing magic—if she just stood in the exam venue and got a little excited, she might even extinguish the examiner’s wand.
“If it were an alchemy exam, I could still cheat using physical means.”
Helos counted on her fingers, looking very troubled.
“But Miss Emilia also said that this time, the practical exam’s theme is ‘application.'”
“We’re going to join students from the other nine branches at one of the academy’s Trial Ruins for a brutal ‘battle royale.'”
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