Read Fantasy's Reality :: Chapter 4: Written Suffering

The instructions for the first exam were delivered by a large owl. Due to this, all the students in the exam hall thought it was just a joke by the academy. While everyone understood that the Amalgamation had brought fantasy into reality, most were still sheltered and lacked an understanding of what that truly meant. Most are unaware of areas that were devastated during the event. Despite many dreaming of becoming rich and famous by becoming adventurers and joining guilds, many didn't know of the true dangers that come with the territory. Most of the common folk are raised in areas that have been rebuilt and are safe from things that could harm their lives. The most exposure those of the modern era had to fantastical elements in their lives was the magic that they could be seen using in everyday life, as well as the futuristic technology found in the major towns and cities around the world. As for those from more well off and distinguished families, they gain a bit more knowledge on the events that transpired and learn the fundamentals of magic and wielding weaponry before commoners, but other than that, they are pretty much the same as them in this regard.

[Now then, seeing as there are no questions. You may begin your exams.]

After the proctor said this, magic circles lit up in front of everyone and a large stack of papers appeared.

[Hey hey you're taking this joke too far.]

[Yeah what's the real test? This can't be it.]

The students continued to voiced their complaints in disbelief at the volume of papers and insisted on rejecting the idea of a giant talking owl being in charge of their exam. The owl narrowed its eyes and simply repeated...

[You. May. Begin.]

The tone and glare of the owl sent a shiver down everyone's spines and the whole hall fell silent.

[One more thing. Those of you who score below a 60 will immediately be disqualified. You can try again next year should that happen. Now then, time is ticking. Remember, 3 hours.]

At that, everyone frantically started flipping through the pages to see the questions and got to work. The exam covered a variety of topics, ranging from the advancement of technology and how it worked to history and the structure of society. Some of the questions involved complex calculations while others seemed like it was obscure knowledge that no common person would know. As they were writing the exam, the students were cursing in there minds, " Who in their right mind thought this kind of exam was possible and a good idea for an entrance exam?"

Kaito started to quickly skim the questions to get an idea of the contents and how to tackle the exam.

[Let's see here... the first question is on explaining the shifts in social structure before and after the Amalgamation by expressing the dichotomy between the worlds of magic and science. Doesn't seem too bad. The second one....wow, simplify a 400 step complex magic formula by reducing it to require at most 50 steps while increasing its power and efficiency by at least 20% while explaining the reasoning for each adjustment.]

[Ah....finally done.]

Kaito let out a sigh of relief and stretched when time ran out. During the process of writing the exam, several panicking students tried to cheat and were kicked out by the proctors. While the main proctor was an owl, it was as if it had the eyes of a hawk. Its cold stare as it watched students write their exams could be felt by everyone. None dared to look up from their papers when they thought those cold eyes were facing their direction. Honestly, Kaito kind of admired those brave enough to cheat despite feeling the gaze, as it required them to look around and try to find answers somewhere.

After the 3 hour timer was up, the exam papers vanished with a flash of the magic circles and everyone was ushered out of the hall. The waiting room was filled with all sorts of emotions. Some had a look of despair on their faces while others still seemed outraged or nervous. Strangely enough, some seemed completely relaxed. Kaito was one of those that was calm. As he was observing everyone else in the waiting room, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

[Man that was a rough 3 hours wasn't it?]

The hand belonged to the person that sat next to him during the written exam, Zhuo Qianlong. Kaito gave a light chuckle before responding.

[You said it. All those questions in that short amount of time. Doesn't feel realistic does it?]

[So how do you think you did Kaito. As expected, it was way too hard for me. I barely knew what I was doing answering those questions... And that owl, it said that those who fail the written exam don't even get to move on to the practical one. I was really counting on the practical to save me.]

[There's still hope, who knows, maybe you're actually some kind of genius and got everything right?]

[I guess you're right. For now though, guess all we can do is wait.]

[So....uh...Zhuo...]

[Qianlong, the name is Zhuo Qianlong, just call me Qianlong, the thousand dragon.]

[Right, so Qianlong, how long do you think it would take them to mark all those exams? There were thousands of examinees and each exam had hundreds of questions. Even if they ignore the ones that were kicked out for cheating, that's still a rather large number.]

As everyone was discussing how they did on the written exams, their crystal slips started to glow and vibrate.

[Looks like the results are out.]

An announcement soon blared over the speakers in the waiting room. It was the voice of the owl.

[Right now those crystal slips you received when you registered for the exam should be glowing and vibrating. Those of you that passed will find that your slips are glowing green. Take the doors to your left and go to the training grounds, it's a straight path so you can't get lost. Those that failed will find their slips glowing red. Get out. The exit is the way you came in. Don't try to slip in with the crowd if you failed. The doors have sensors that automatically scan your slips. Don't think you can steal the slips of those who passed either, the slips all have your information on them and they have been recorded. That is all.]

[Hey Kaito, looks like we both passed.]

Zhuo Qianlong was excited as he looked at the slips in both his and Kaito's hands.

[C'mon, the owl said to take the doors on the left. I'll race ya to the training grounds.]

Kaito smiled and followed Zhuo Qianlong through the doors towards the training grounds.