Aethernea Episode 37 – Kiel's speed test results

Episode 37 – Kiel’s speed test results

Previously:

Kiel and Elaru arrive to take the spellcasting speed exam. Professors supervising Kiel’s exam explain how the examinees will be tested. The first examinee to take the test is a girl that has her eye on Kiel. Her result is only 10/25, unsatisfied she asks if she can try again.

The girl was shocked and refused to accept the result. “Can I try again?”

Kady looked at the hourglass next to her, which she had flipped when the girl stepped forward. There was still sand left. She nodded her head, and Rau reset the apparatus again.

And so the girl tried again. And in fact, after that, she tried two more times before the time ran out. Yet the best result she managed to achieve was 11/25.

Kady noted down her result and returned the exam pass. “You will be free to leave when everyone finishes the test.”

Disheartened, the girl accepted her exam pass and dragged herself back to the examinees. She kept giving Kiel glances under her bangs.

Kiel gave her another encouraging smile which managed to instantly lift her spirits. He likes me! Her eyes glittered excitedly.

No. No. I am being polite. Kiel smiled wryly.

As soon as she walked back in line, Rau looked towards the other examinees and asked: “Who is next?”

This time, a male walked out. Kiel didn’t need to be a mind reader to understand what his glare towards him meant: “Let me show you how it’s done.”

Kiel was speechless. Why is everyone targeting me? I didn’t even do anything. The entire time I was perfectly polite towards everyone… This face of mine is more trouble than it’s worth.

The argel male didn’t do much better, his top score reaching 13.

After him, the remaining examinees felt less bad about their future score and gained the courage to step up. One after the other completed their test.

12,9,11,14,10.

None of them went past 15.

Soon enough, Kiel was the only one left. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. As if the only thing they were looking forward to at this moment was seeing the pretty boy embarrass himself.

Coward.

He must suck really badly.

Pfft…looking pretty must be the only thing he is good at.

Can’t be that good looking and be a great mage.

Most of them thought that Kiel wasn’t confident in his abilities and didn’t want to embarrass himself. Otherwise, he would have already gone up. They looked at him with varying emotions, ranging from disdain to pity.

Kiel sighed inwardly. Since no one could leave before everyone was done, what would be the point of him going up first? He would reveal his prowess and then while he waited, the girls would swarm around him. This way, at least no one bothered him.

Kiel stepped forwards and gave Rau his exam pass. After Rau had confirmed its validity, he gave it to Kady and activated the speedometer.

“Begin.” At the moment Kady placed her hands on the hourglass, Kiel’s eyes flashed.

Before she could even put the hourglass back on the table, there were several orbs glowing.

In the blink of an eye, the glass orbs, one after the other lit up in such rapid succession that the viewers wouldn’t even be able to tell which orb lit up first if it wasn’t required to lit them up in order.

It hasn’t even been two seconds yet when the last orb lit up resplendently. The jelly inside the hourglass boiled up and agitatedly quivered as if trying to break out of the glass. It then slid down the hourglass, not a single drop of jelly remaining in the upper part of the hourglass.

The room was enveloped by deathly silence.

The jaw of every examinee hit the ground, their eyes so wide they looked like they would pop out of their sockets. Their breaths caught in their throat, they even forgot to breathe.

A rare gleam appeared in Kady’s eyes, she nodded approvingly. “Well done. 25/25” She scribbled down the score with a wide smile.

She was very glad that one of the examinees in her group had the possibility of enrolling. Truthfully, she wasn’t that surprised. She only knew Kiel’s number and not his name, but she could guess exactly who he was. After all, she was a teacher of a certain troublemaker that looked almost identical to the boy in front of her.

As she proclaimed the score, the rest of the people seemed to have been shaken awake by her voice.

Gasps of shock erupted through the classroom. Followed by exclaims of disbelief.

“No way!!”

“What happened?? I blinked!”

“What the…?!”

“Monstrous!! He is simply too monstrous!”

“What’s with that speed?!”

“He is even better than the teacher!!”

“A perfect score! It’s a perfect score!!”

“Who the heck is he?!”

“A noble! Must be a noble!”

Some of them couldn’t even control their surprise and ended up swearing.

The gaze with which they looked at Kiel instantly changed into a gaze of shock, disbelief, and wonder. They looked at him as if he was a monster. A creature that was in no way similar to them. As if he had walked out of a fairy tale.

The girls covered their mouth with their hands, looking at him with fervent gazes. The guys stumbled a step back, cold sweat trickling down their backs.

If we ended up in a fight…wouldn’t he be able to kill us so fast we wouldn’t even know what happened?!

Kiel stood proudly, his face calm, showing no excitement nor glee. At that moment, his flawless bearing could make even his grandfather proud. When one looked at his perfect visage and unequaled grace, there was only one word that could describe him:

Cool!!

So bloody cool!

Clearly, none of these people were nobles. They were merely frogs in a well, unaware that the sky is much larger than what they could see from the bottom of the well. Muni was a place that only geniuses among geniuses were qualified to enter. Geniuses among geniuses – in other words – monsters.

If you aren’t a monster, why did you even sign up for the exam?

Kady clapped her hands to quieten down the crowd. She smiled brightly and looked at every one of them, her gaze lingering on Kiel longer than the others. “This marks the end of the test. There is one more test later, check out the board in front of the academy for the timeslot and classroom. And everyone, don’t be discouraged. This is only the first test. You’ll still have plenty of opportunities to show your ability.”

However, her words didn’t seem to achieve the desired effect. That’s right! There are 5 more exams after this. Won’t they be just as hard as this one?!

“Before you leave, come here and sign the non-disclosure agreement. It ensures that you won’t divulge the information of the trigger spells used on the exam to anyone, ensuring that no examinee receives a head start.” Kady pointed to the pen and stack of papers next to her.

One by one, the examinees lined up to sign the arcane contract. After everyone had signed, Rau opened the door of the classroom and motioned for them to get out.

Kiel nodded his head towards Kady and Rau politely and made his way towards the exit. As he walked, everyone moved out of his way, not daring to cross paths with him. His manner was dignified and confident, drawing all gazes towards him. His face showed neither arrogance nor coldness. Instead, he wore a heart-stopping smile that could even make men feel embarrassed.

As soon as he turned the corner, out of their view, he accelerated away down the hall, stopping only when he reached the second story. He didn’t want to give anyone a chance to engage him in conversation.

As he reached the second floor, he looked down to the main hall. There were many people occupying the tables and chairs, but as far as he could tell, Elaru wasn’t among them.

Her test started even earlier than mine. She should have finished sooner too.

He spread his mind over the entire hallways and down to the main hall, yet there was no sign of Elaru.

Is she really not done yet? Should I wait for her in front of her classroom?

After a bit of hesitation, he decided that waiting in front of her classroom was better than waiting in the main hall. There were more people in the main hall, and the people who were in the same exam group as him would surely come down to the main hall. They might even start fawning over him and asking him for pointers.

When he arrived at the second floor, he noticed a group of people impatiently waiting in front of the classroom.

“What is taking so long?”

“Are the teachers running late?”

“Why hasn’t the exam started yet?”

Listening to the chatter of the people, he realized that the previous group had not yet left the classroom.

Kiel didn’t know why, but suddenly he had a bad feeling.

* * *

(2 hours earlier)

Elaru stared dumbfounded at the two professors that were in charge of her exam.

One of them was a redhead in his twenties with spiky hair sticking out everywhere. Both his eyes and several strands of his hair were colored in a warm, honey-yellow. He was wearing white-purple Muni assistant professor official uniform that was very similar to the uniforms the professors wore but a bit less majestic.

He introduced himself as Deora Thayn.

Yet, the name Elaru associated with him was actually…

“Firecracker.” She subconsciously blurted out.

Her voice wasn’t loud at all, but it seemed like that specific word was a taboo subject. The man’s eyebrow started twitching, and he stopped in the middle of his explanation to shout. “Who said that?!”

As he abruptly yelled out, examinees jumped up in fright, looking at him in shock.

Thayn was one of the 15 great noble families – a family of peacekeepers whose duty was to upkeep the law and ensure the peace and prosperity of the lands of Halnea. They took their job very seriously with unshakable beliefs which earned them the reputation of being hardheaded and stiff.

Deora, since he wore the last name of Thayn, certainly belonged to the mainhouse of the Thayn family and not a branch family.

So why was his behavior…so…unlike how a Thayn should behave? In fact, without hearing his name, none of the people present would think he was a noble. He held not a single drop of grace or poise one would expect from a noble.

Deora’s eyes almost caught fire, his eyebrow twitching the entire time. His gaze flashed left and right but couldn’t make out who was it that called him by that damnable nickname.

The examinees felt a sense of pressure envelop them, which was kind of funny, considering that his angry face looked cute and comical rather than fierce. However, the aura that enveloped them ensured that not a single person dared to utter a single sound.

Everyone did their best to not display anything unfavorable on their faces, while inwardly they were unanimously shocked and disturbed:

Fierce! Too fierce!

What happened??

How did we end up in this situation?!

How did such a hotheaded person become a teacher at Muni?!

Seeing Deora behaving like a fiery tempered teenager, the other professor decided to interfere, speaking out with a playful tone one would use when talking to a child. “Now, now, little Dei, calm down. No one is calling you a firecracker.”

As the words rolled off of his tongue, Deora froze in his step, and likewise, the faces of every examinee froze. Oy, oy, why are you provoking him?!

Everyone’s gaze fell onto the other teacher – Zerel Reysic. He was an elibu in his thirties with dark purple hair dropping past his shoulders in an uneven way. He wasn’t wearing the same uniform as Deora. Instead, he wore a dark green long robe with many intricate golden and purple patterns. It had wide sleeves and reached almost to the floor looking like a crossover between a kimono and a long coat.

His odd attire and hairstyle created a strange harmony, giving him a mischievous yet refined look. Combined with his narrow golden eyes, it made him look like a vulpy or a lunar in a humanoid form. His impish smile gave the finishing touches to that feline lazy yet playful vibe.

Reysic was also one of the 15 great noble families. They claimed to be archeologists, historians, and explorers. But everyone referred to them by a different term – treasure hunters.

Deora’s heated gaze turned towards Zerel. “What did you just call me?!” He pointed his finger towards Zerel, his two eyes like embers.

Author Note:

Vulpy is a foxlike creature with large eyes and ears, coupled with many long tails. More tails it has, the more powerful it is. Lunars are catlike creatures with short fur, that have eyes and markings that can glow in the dark.   If you picture characters as anime/manga-like:

If you picture the characters realistically, then  you can picture Zerel as Asian, and Deora as a ginger.

On another note, I’ve started sharing my daily “adventures” on Facebook and Twitter. You should check it out if you are interested in some writing, Aethernea and cats related humor. 

Coming up in the next episode:

The examinees stood dumbfounded, their mouths gaping open. You two…you are nothing like teachers! Who in the name of Origin, let you two supervise the entrance exams?!

What are the odds?! How can there be such a large coincidence? Could fate truly exist?

Was it dangerous? Very.
But when has Elaru Wayvin ever been afraid of danger? In fact, which part of her life wasn’t dangerous?

The clapping woke up the examinees from their disbelief, but they still stood there frozen like statues, unsure whether to laugh or cry. What the bloody meep is this?! Stand-up comedy?? Are we supposed to clap too??

He recognized that expression. That sly smile was just the same as his when he was about to dupe someone!

 

Chapter end