Chapter 25: The First Test Question

Sharp eyes swept over Dounia like a blade, then quickly passed over Violet and Adelle before the two fully armed knight guards finally allowed them to pass.

The mysterious, heavy wooden doors slowly parted to either side.
Bright light shone through the gap, which was just wide enough for one person, and fell upon the three of them, causing Adelle to subconsciously shield her forehead with her hand.

Dounia narrowed her eyes, observing Adelle with suspicion.

‘She’s raising her hand to block again. The sunlight is glaring, but not so much that she always has to make this gesture…’

Dounia keenly recalled Adelle’s performance in battle, and that sealed box full of swirling dark mist.

‘Is it the price of believing in the Mother of Darkness…?’

Entering the room, Dounia saw sunlight spilling through the tall, large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warm patches of light on the smooth wooden floor.

The walls were painted in elegant colors and adorned with cute drawings and stickers, like a nursery, seemingly to deliberately create a tranquil and comfortable atmosphere.

“Quite peculiar…” Dounia sighed inwardly.

Rows of neat desks and chairs were arranged in the lecture hall.
Hutchinson, dressed in a white lab coat, was already seated, chatting and laughing with the person next to her.

Suddenly, her peripheral vision seemed to catch sight of the three entering.

When her gaze swept over Dounia, she lifted her chin slightly, her eyes revealing deep contempt and alienation.
Then, when she looked at Adelle, her expression quickly changed to one of modesty.

“Tsk, tsk.” Dounia instinctively felt a little annoyed.

“Would the three students please find a seat quickly? Our assessment is about to begin.”

A young woman in a white dress, its edges adorned with gold trim, who looked like a priestess, said with a smile.

Violet nodded slightly at this teacher, then the three of them walked up the stairs and sat in the last row.

“The three people at the lecture podium are the teachers in charge of this assessment, right?” Dounia asked.

“Yes,” Violet replied in a cheerful tone.

“The elderly man on the far left is Instructor Holt Waters.” Following Adelle’s introduction, Dounia looked at the elderly man on the far left.

His aged face looked mature and composed.
He wore a pair of thin-framed glasses and sat upright in the instructor’s chair, his ten fingers intertwined, like a statue.

“The one in the middle, who just greeted us, is Instructor Maeve Alder. She became a psychological instructor at a young age and is relatively gentle and patient in her dealings with people. I heard she is also a very caring person in private.”

“Mmm.” Dounia nodded, deeply feeling it.

“The one on the far right…”

Dounia looked to the right and saw a huge, pointed witch’s hat covering the instructor’s head, completely obscuring her face.
Only from her slender, long legs could her gender be vaguely determined.

She wore thick platform boots, her left foot tapping impatiently and frequently.

“That is Latifah Silvela. She has an eccentric personality and acts in a tricky manner. She hasn’t taken on a disciple in seven consecutive psychological assessments.”

“It’s rare to hear the words ‘eccentric personality’ from Adelle’s mouth~” Violet said, covering her mouth with her hand to laugh.

“It is a fact,” Adelle added. “I am merely relaying the evaluations of others.”

Clap—

Maeve, in the white dress, clapped her hands, and the lecture hall gradually fell silent.

“Since everyone has arrived, without further ado, let’s begin the quarterly psychological assessment!”

The statue-like Holt clapped his hands lightly, while the huge witch’s hat tilted to one side.

Sparse applause gradually came from the side of the tiered desks and chairs.
Maeve smiled a little awkwardly, but was not discouraged.

“Will the three students in the front row please remain still and leave the second, third, and fourth rows of desks and chairs empty.” She drew out a wand and said gently and confidently.

The waiting students all stood up at once, as if they were a well-organized army, and retreated in an orderly fashion, pouring into the back row of seats.

Dounia was so frightened by the thunderous sound that half her head shrank under the table, leaving only her eyes peeking out.

She noticed that neither Violet nor Adelle showed any surprise.
Violet’s enthusiastic expression looked as if she were watching a good show.

“This is the welcome ceremony from previous years, to demonstrate the power brought by psychological knowledge. But don’t just be envious; there’s a reason psychological knowledge is called forbidden knowledge…” Adelle said in a somber tone.

Several teaching assistants quickly stepped forward and placed a thick, grayish-black tome on the desks in the first row.
Dounia kept swaying from side to side, only able to make out that its cover was made of leather.

“This is the first difficult question of this psychological assessment. You will open the forbidden book and read its contents directly,” said the calm, statue-like Holt.

“Depending on your individual circumstances, you will experience the following symptoms—dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, convulsions, fainting, becoming unable to recognize yourself, your family and friends, and in severe cases, you may even contract Soul-Loss, or even turn into a monster…” His tone gradually grew colder. “And then be killed on the spot.”

A deathly silence filled the classroom.

“If any of you wish to leave, the door is right there. Please,” he pointed to the main door of the classroom.

The people who had come to participate in the assessment began to murmur among themselves.
A pale-faced young man shakily raised his hand.

“Go,” Holt said flatly.

With the departure of the young man, one person after another’s psychological defenses gradually collapsed, and they left the room one by one.

The classroom suddenly became empty, with only about a third of the people remaining.

“So this was the first test question after all…” Dounia muttered to herself, coming to a sudden realization.

‘Normally, she would have been afraid, but if she did nothing, and waited for those evil god followers and the despairing, corrupted protagonist to get mixed up together and blow up the energy tower, who knows how many people would be left alive in the entire city of Winterfrost.’

‘Either way, it’s death. So she might as well die a little more bravely.’

‘At least, there is still a glimmer of hope ahead.’

Adelle and Violet exchanged a glance.
Adelle’s gaze clearly seemed to say, “See, I knew this one was sharp.”

“As expected of Dounia-chan,” Violet said with a smile.

“Since no one present has any objections, then before opening the book, sign your name on the contract beside it,” the statue-like Holt spoke again.

A young girl in the front row tremblingly picked up the prepared pen and paper.
Her vision began to blur.

Drip, drip, large teardrops fell.

Her hand holding the pen was shaking so much that she couldn’t even write her full name.

Holt nodded slightly, and two fully armed guards immediately rushed over and lifted her up, completely ignoring her crying and懊恼, and forcibly dragged her out of the classroom.

The cold reality was far more impactful than verbal intimidation.

“I’ll ask again.” Behind his glasses, Holt’s gaze was as sharp and sinister as an eagle’s.

“Who else wants to leave? Go now, don’t waste our time.”

A few people stood up sporadically and, in silence, shamefully fled toward the door that led to the light.

And the once-full front row was now empty, with only one person left.

“Is there anyone else who wants to give it a try? We need two courageous pioneers,” the young Maeve encouraged in a gentle tone.

She looked at the crowd in the back.
They were the test subjects who had passed the first test question and deserved a little encouragement.

But none of them wanted to be the first test subject.
Most of them silently lowered their heads.

“I will,” Hutchinson stood up.
She looked provocatively at Dounia in the back. “Courage always belongs to noble humans, not to those lowly wretches who live like flies and dogs.”

She strode down the steps like a general waiting to be decorated.

“Don’t listen to her. She’s deliberately provoking you,” Adelle said with a frown.

The crowd began to whisper.

“There’s bad blood there.”

“I heard Hutchinson believes Dounia worsened Miss Violet’s condition and seriously hindered her treatment!”

Some also cast sympathetic glances at Dounia.

“For her to participate in the psychological assessment at such a young age, the difficulty is probably much higher than for an ordinary person.”

“Yeah.”

“If I were her, I would choose to retreat for now, at least to observe how others do it. Enduring a moment of anger is better than losing your life.”

Under the surprised gazes of the crowd, the petite Dounia slammed her hands on the desk and stood up.

“Hmph.” Dounia sneered contemptuously. “Don’t you come crying later.”