Chapter 22

　　Their priority list was set.

　　Number one was Jamie Victoria, a promising Cursology prospect with excellent grades. Her energetic and proactive personality was another plus.

　　Number two was Claudia Mendes. She was Dick’s ideal candidate: a Hemomancy main with a Venomology sub-specialty. Recruiting her would make the entire semester a breeze.

　　They filled out the list all the way to their tenth choice.

　　"Even if we can’t get Jamie or Claudia, the key is to not get hung up on it and move on to the next target quickly," Dick advised. "Oh! And when we’re recruiting, I’m going to play up the fact that you’re Special Admission No. 1. You’re okay with that, right?"

　　"Yeah, no problem."

　　After finalizing their detailed plan, the two finally went to bed. Simon felt a strange sense of satisfaction. He wondered if any other group had prepared a strategy as thoroughly as they had. He found himself eagerly anticipating the next day’s class.

* * *

　　The next morning, a new week at Kizen began.

　　When Simon entered the Basic Black Magic classroom, it was a world away from the silence of the previous week. Students now recognized each other, and the room buzzed with lively conversation.

　　As Simon quietly took his seat and pulled out his textbook, Dick clapped a hand on his shoulder.

　　"Just finished talking with Jamie! We’re on a first-name basis now."

　　Simon looked impressed.

　　"You’re really good at this stuff."

　　"Heh, networking is essential for business. This used to be my life."

　　Just then, footsteps echoed from the hallway. Students scrambled back to their seats. This was it—the moment they would find out who their Class A advisor would be.

　　"Please be Bahil!" Dick muttered.

　　Simon, for his part, wondered what it would be like if Aaron from Summoning was their advisor. Hongfeng from Combat Magic would be good too, and Eric from Jet-Black Dynamics seemed like he would be a kind and patient teacher.

　　The door swung open.

　　"Ah…!"

　　Every mouth in the room fell open.

　　"You’ve… got to be kidding me," Dick stammered, his eyes wide with shock.

　　The professor strode past the stunned silence and stood at the front of the class. She had impeccably styled short hair, a cold and sharp demeanor, and charismatic purple eyes. She was none other than the acting head of Kizen, the Vice-Principal herself.

　　"My name is Jane Olivia."

　　She was the second most powerful person in Kizen.

　　"Though I hold the title of Vice-Principal, you may simply refer to me as Professor in class."

　　She was Nephthys’s closest aide, the true power who wielded Kizen’s authority in her stead. Among all the professors they had seen so far, she stood at the very pinnacle.

　　"…What is she doing in a first-year class?" Dick whispered, holding his breath.

　　He was right. It was rare for the Vice-Principal to teach students directly, and when she did, it was almost always third-year classes.

　　"Well, life is full of unexpected situations, isn’t it, Dick Hayward?"

　　Dick jumped as if he’d seen a ghost, snapping ramrod straight in his seat. H-How does she know my name? A cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

　　Jane turned her gaze upon the rest of the students.

　　"For this semester, I will be teaching Basic Black Magic for the first-year Class A. As Mr. Hayward just noted, I have only taught third-years until now…"

　　Her eyes narrowed.

　　"So I expect you to work hard, lest the difference in levels become too apparent."

　　The sound of students swallowing nervously filled the room. While having the Vice-Principal of Kizen as a teacher was an incredible opportunity, her reputation prevented anyone from celebrating. Jane was the very embodiment of the student slang ‘Kizen-like’. She was infamous for expelling students without hesitation if they showed the slightest lack of potential or an attitude she disliked. Not even the prized upperclassmen, the third-years, were safe from her judgment. It was no wonder the Class A students were already paralyzed with fear.

　　"Let’s begin the class." Jane’s voice cut through the silence. "As you all know, Basic Black Magic is a comprehensive course that oversees the other eight subjects and supplements the fundamentals of necromancy that they do not cover."

　　At her signal, teaching assistants began distributing thick stacks of paper to the students.

　　"Before that, however, you should all know where you stand in those eight subjects."

　　Simon and Dick tensed. A test covering every subject on the very first day? This was completely unexpected.

　　"You will have twenty-two minutes per subject. We will test the first four, take a four-minute break, and then test the remaining four consecutively. If you are caught cheating, I will remember your name and have you expelled the moment the student protection period ends."

　　There was no room to breathe. Having effortlessly plunged the students into a state of high pressure, Jane crossed her arms and declared, "The exam begins now."

* * *

　　This was Simon’s first-ever school exam. It was also, without a doubt, one of the most arduous and painful three hours of his entire life. The difficulty wasn’t physical, but mental.

　　[7. After casting the Paralyze curse, the subject’s body exhibited symptoms of muscle rigidity and myotonia before turning to stone after 20 minutes. Assuming the subject’s internal mana loss rate is 0, what is the correct value for the subject’s curse resistance and the amount of Jet-Black that must be added to the Paralyze magic circle?]

　　…I can’t solve this at all.

　　The black was ink, the white was paper. The words were in the common tongue, but he couldn’t make sense of any of it. It was infuriating. These were problems meant to be solved, yet while the other students’ quills were scratching away, he could only sit there, staring blankly. A type of powerlessness he had never experienced before consumed him.

　　He had been arrogant to think he could easily adapt to Kizen just because things had been going well lately, or because he had his father’s undead Legion at his command.

　　Right, this is reality.

　　Having done no preparatory studies, he would have to work insanely hard, far harder than anyone else. Staring at the problems he couldn’t even begin to solve, Simon felt a stubborn resolve hardening within him.

　　The three hours, which felt like an eternity, finally passed.

　　"Ughhh."

　　"That was so hard."

　　After the exam ended, the other students didn’t look much better. Dick passed his papers to the student behind him and turned around.

　　"How was it, Simon?"

　　Simon gave a bitter smile.

　　"…I really need to start studying."

　　"You and me both."

　　After collecting all the exam papers, Jane addressed the class.

　　"You’ve all worked hard. Enjoy your lunch. I’ll see you in two hours."

　　"Thank you, Professor!"

　　No matter how dismal he felt, the word ‘lunch’ still had the power to jolt him to his feet. The Class A students flooded out of the room like a receding tide.

　　"Let’s begin," Jane said to her assistants.

　　"Yes, ma’am!"

　　For Jane and her TAs, the work was just beginning. They divided the papers and began grading. Among them, Jane was in a league of her own. Her hand moved in a blur, a quill darting down the page before flipping to the next.

　　But at some point, a young girl’s face appeared at the edge of Jane’s desk. She rested her cheeks on the wood, blinking her large, blue eyes.

　　"…You’re a busy woman. Why have you come here, Lady Nephthys?" Jane asked coldly.

　　The girl smiled with pure innocence.

　　"To play!"

　　Jane ignored her and resumed grading. Pouting, Nephthys started kicking her legs playfully against the desk. Finally losing her patience, Jane brought the side of her hand down on Nephthys’s head in a sharp chop.

　　"Ow!"

　　"Do not interfere."

　　"Ouch! Jane always hits me!"

　　Clutching her head, Nephthys burst into tears and ran to a nearby TA, grabbing onto his robes. The TA’s face went white at the sudden appearance of Kizen’s supreme ruler.

　　Jane let out a breath.

　　"Stop tormenting my poor subordinate and come here."

　　"No! No! You’ll just hit me again!"

　　"Now."

　　At Jane’s icy tone, Nephthys stuck out her lip and shuffled over.

　　"The rest of you, please move to the empty classroom next door and continue grading," Jane instructed the TAs.

　　"Yes, ma’am!"

　　As if they had been waiting for those exact words, the TAs grabbed the exams and fled the room.

　　Nephthys puffed out her cheeks, glaring.

　　"Jane! You’ve been so cold to me lately!"

　　"I am the same as always."

　　"Hmph. You’ve really changed! When I picked you up from the slums, you were a pure child who clung to my hand, trembling with fear!"

　　"That pure child was warped by 24-hour overtime and work-related stress," Jane stated flatly, pushing half the stack of exams toward Nephthys.

　　Nephthys blinked.

　　"Huh? What’s this?"

　　"What does it look like? Since you’re here, stop distracting me and help grade."

　　Realization dawned on Nephthys’s face. She giggled and began to back away slowly. She turned to flee, but Jane was faster, scooping her up and tucking her under one arm.

　　"Aah! No! Let me go! I don’t wanna work!"

　　Jane silenced the struggling Nephthys with another sharp chop to the head, then set her properly in a chair and handed her an exam and a quill.

　　"Jane, you know this is child abuse and a violation of labor laws, right?"

　　"Who, for the love of all that is unholy, is a child? Now stop talking and get to work."

　　"…Yes, ma’am."

　　For a while, the only sound was the scratching of quills. After finishing five exams in one go, Jane glanced over at Nephthys. Sulking with her cheeks puffed out, Nephthys was writing ‘Idiot’ over an incorrect answer.

　　"What are you doing? Stop playing around."

　　Another merciless chop landed on her head. Nephthys clutched the spot, her eyes welling with tears.

　　"But he really is an idiot! He got the component question for Venomology No. 2 right, but then he missed the comparison question right below it!"

　　"Hm." Jane looked at the problem and smirked. "He used the formula to solve No. 2, but then tried to use common sense for No. 3 without thinking. A common mistake among students."

　　"Idiot, idiot! What’s his name?" Nephthys flipped the exam to the front page. "Huh?"

　　The name was covered.

　　"It’s a blind evaluation. Grading with names visible can lead to bias."

　　"…You go this far for a simple test? You’re thorough."

　　"Even if it’s just a test, there are many interesting samples." Jane pulled one of the graded exams from her pile. "And this one is the opposite of the one you just graded."

　　"What is it?"

　　"He missed most of the basic questions, from 1 to 15—the ones designed to give away points. And yet…" She flipped the paper over. "He attempted question 20. The most difficult problem on the exam."

　　Question 20 took up the entire back page, covered in a dizzying array of complex equations.

　　"What is all this?"

　　"Ancient runic language from Jet-Black Dynamics, the instance skeleton formula from Summoning, and the exhaust calculation method from Cursology."

　　"…Don’t tell me."

　　Jane nodded with a faint smile.

　　"Yes. This student has done no preparatory studies. He meticulously combined only what he learned in class last week to deduce the answer."

　　Nephthys read through the solution.

　　"What is this? He used a summoning formula for a Jet-Black quantity calculation problem. He solved it by assuming resistance is proportional to the Jet-Black loss rate."

　　"Correct."

　　"So, did he get it right?"

　　Jane shook her head.

　　"Using the Theron formula, the answer is exactly ‘1,200,000’."

　　"And this student’s answer?"

　　"1,200,146."

　　Jane’s expression became deadly serious.

　　"It’s not the answer the question intended, but it is, in fact, a more accurate one."

　　Nephthys glanced at the paper. She could see that the notoriously strict Jane had marked question 20 as correct.

　　"Lady Nephthys. There is something I wish to ask you."

　　"What is it?"

　　"Why did you assign me to a first-year class? And specifically…" She tore off the white paper covering the name.

　　[Simon Polentia]

　　"…to Class A, where this boy is."

　　Nephthys propped her chin on her hands and beamed.

　　"Hehe, I don’t know what you’re talking about."

　　Jane sighed internally. This woman… a 300-year-old fox, through and through.