Chapter 20: The Entrance Exam Begins

The entrance exam day had arrived.

The preparation time felt both short and long, but today was the day to prove all the hard work.

That’s why Rubia and Perry were moving around frantically from the moment the morning breeze touched their skin.

They were busy adjusting Lucy’s dress, fixing her hair, and applying various moisturizing creams to her skin.

Lucy sat at the dressing table with a headache.

This had been going on for a full two hours.

For someone who usually took less than ten minutes to get ready, this was an exhausting ordeal.

She wondered if it was really necessary, but she couldn’t argue when Rubia yelled, “This is your first time attending an official event!”

Her reflection in the mirror changed with every passing moment.

Her neatly tied-back hair, her radiant, porcelain-like skin, and the shimmering jewels adorning her dress transformed her into an entirely different person.

Finally, the dressup ceremony that had begun at four in the morning, was over.

The palace carriage awaited outside.

Two Vitals with pitch-black horns stood ready in front of the gilded carriage.

Armed with all kinds of defensive magic, it was a specially designed transport for today.

Lucy, Rubia, and Perry boarded in that order, and soon, the carriage began moving toward the examination hall.

The streets of Helgen were livelier than usual.

The entrance exam for Edem Academy had drawn in students and their families from all over.

The roads were slightly congested, but only for a moment.

Soon, carriages blocking the path moved aside one by one, making way for them.

“Hey, that pattern… isn’t that the royal seal?”

“What are you doing? Move aside quickly!”

The royal seal stamped on their carriage cleared the path as if by a miracle.

Was this the sweetness of power?

Thanks to that, they reached the testing site without any trouble.

“Oops! The knot here is a little loose.”

Even inside the carriage, Rubia busied herself adjusting Lucy’s outfit.

She carefully smoothed her hair and inspected her closely to ensure everything was in place.

Meanwhile, Perry, sitting across from them, was flipping through a textbook and quizzing Lucy on possible exam questions.

Lucy snorted—she was the one taking the test, yet these two seemed even more nervous than her.

In the midst of this, the carriage arrived at the testing site—Edem Academy, located in the heart of the capital.

Edem Academy.

As befitting its prestigious reputation, the building radiated an air of elegance.

The entrance bustled with students who had come to take the exam.

“I’m the smallest one here.”

Most of the applicants were around thirteen or fourteen years old—middle school age.

Lucy was the youngest among them.

As she stepped out of the carriage, several noble-looking demons began gathering around her.

“Isn’t this Princess Lucy?”

“Nice to meet you, I am—”

“My child is also taking the exam this year.”

They were all parents who had accompanied their children, likely drawn by the royal seal on the carriage.

Rubia stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, but we are in a hurry. If you wish to greet her, please wait for another occasion. But we appreciate your kindness in waiting since dawn…”

At first, the nobles hesitated, but faced with Rubia’s sharp gaze, they quickly backed away.

Lucy glanced at her.

‘Did I just witness her aura?’

Rubia, having dismissed the nobles, turned back to Lucy with a warm smile.

“Princess, you may enter this way.”

“Alright.”

“Perry and I will wait in the carriage.”

“Good luck on your exam.”

Leaving Rubia and Perry behind, Lucy stepped toward the examination hall.

Due to fairness regulations, even princesses were not allowed to bring their entourage inside.

The First Examination: Written Test

The first test was a written exam, held in a tiered lecture hall filled with around six hundred examinees.

Most of the students were nobles, but there were also a few dressed in commoner clothing—an embodiment of Edem’s principle of merit-based admission.

Soon, robed examiners distributed answer sheets.

The questions covered core academic subjects: Magic, History, and Magic Ethics.

As soon as the sheets were handed out, the sound of scribbling pens filled the hall.

Lucy quickly got to work.

The difficulty was no more than what she had practiced.

Two hours later, the written test concluded.

It went smoothly—given the lack of particularly challenging questions, her score would likely be high.

Now, all that remained were the practical tests: Magic Measurement, Magic Management, Herbivorous Magic, and the final challenge—The Ordeal.

The Second Examination: Practical Test

Examinees were divided into groups and led to different testing sites.

Lucy lined up in front of one of the dozens of testing rooms.

Her turn soon arrived.

Clank.

The examination room resembled a courtroom.

A stern-looking examiner sat at a high wooden desk.

“I am Lucy Deviluke.”

“I am Andreyan, an examiner at this testing center. It is an honor to have the princess take the test in person, but…”

Andreyan, with his prominent mustache, narrowed his eyes.

“That does not mean I can grant you any special treatment. I trust you understand.”

“Of course. I am well aware that fairness is the Academy’s philosophy.”

“Hmm… very well. Let’s begin.”

Stroking his mustache with interest, the examiner gestured toward the crystal ball before her.

The first test involved measuring magical power and controlling its release.

Lucy placed her hand on the crystal ball.

Immediately, it turned pitch black.

At the same time, the tester’s pan dropped from his grip.

“Pitch black…?”

Lucy frowned.

Was something wrong?

She increased her magical output.

Crack—!

The crystal ball splintered, then shattered completely.

The room fell silent.

The examiner’s jaw dropped.

“What!? The magical power measurement crystal ball… broke!?”

“What does this mean?”

Andreyan momentarily lost his composure but quickly collected himself.

“Hmm! This requires a special review. For now, we will postpone the magical power measurement and control tests and proceed with Herbivorous Magic.”

Lucy simply followed the examiner’s instructions, demonstrating the spell she had prepared.

A light whirlwind formed.

Observation Room

As the final test, The Ordeal, commenced, seven examiners, including Andreyan, gathered in a room.

The examiners sat in front of a large round table.

Above them was a magical item called ‘scales’ that broadcasted the exam room in real time. The scales showed the students taking the final test, the ‘trial’.

“Tsk, tsk. How could they be so cowardly?” said Peregrine, who was in charge of the herbal medicine class, as he clicked his tongue watching the students run away during the exam. He deducted marks from all who ran away.

The final test was a simple maze.

At its end stood a Demon Dragon—an undead beast.

Though examinees only needed to withstand its aura and walk past, many panicked and forfeited, puking just by the sight of it.

Andreyan sighed.

“The aim of the exam is not about defeating the demon dragon, but with such cowardice, your ability to work hard will also most definitely be poor.”

The Academy’s management was not mad enough to tell the young examinees to defeat the “special summoned beast.”

This exam was simply to test their courage and enthusiasm for magical exploration.

The Academy’s summoned beasts could not harm them, but they are not aware of such an obvious fact in the face of fear.”

“Let’s see… the next examinee is…”

The room fell silent.

Lucy Deviluke.

The child of the most powerful man in the country, and the princess of Helatos.

When her application for admission was first sent to the Academy, there was quite a fuss.

Due to the admission request having being made by a powerful person, some faculty members even suggested that she should be admitted without question.

However, that was naturally rejected because it would break the Academy’s ethical principles that had been in place for hundreds of years.

The examiners silently watched her take the exam through the scales.

Lucy eased through the underground maze and reached the final chamber.

The demon dragon clad with pitch-black leather armour bared its fangs at the sight of her.

Lucy’s lips curled into a smile.

‘So this is meant to be defeated.’