Chapter 1458: What Can I Do?
I looked around the void that I was now standing in to see if there was anything else, only to realise I was indeed standing in a vast expanse of darkness with only Cecilia and the robed figures standing in front of me.
I tried to do a headcount of the number of robed figures but I realised that they seem to be shifting in and out of existence constantly, making it impossible to count them.
But from what I can guess, there’s at least twenty of them... I think?
Also, I believe they were not actually physically here but more like projections being projected into this space, seeing that they were quite large in size and I do not believe they were actually Magridars.
I looked around for a moment more before directing my gaze towards the only other person who was not hidden under a robe.
"Umm... Ce... Cecilia? What’s going on?"
Director Cecilia turned to face me, "Miss Aster... Remember that I told you that students will be evaluated by teachers before they are formally inducted as a student?"
I thought so...
I looked back at the cloaked figures who were still constantly drifting in and out of existence in front of me, their hoods hiding their faces from view but it was clear they were all staring at me from underneath the hood.
"So... Umm... I assume that these are the heads of departments that were watching me during the test?"
Cecilia nodded and it looked like she had a rather complicated look on her face when she confirmed that.
I only realised later that she had that look because she was worried that I might be upset. Upset that she kept the fact the test was actually secretly being used for the teachers to watch the students show off their abilities from me.
Good thing I already figured it out so it wasn’t really much of a bother to me.
Still... I couldn’t help but feel the setup was a little bit odd if they were planning to watch me show off during the test...
"What if I had just decided to leave instead of taking part in the test?" I asked.
"Then you would have effectively given up on your right to be evaluated by us," One of the hooded figures answered, their voice sounding like it came from all around me instead of from their figure directly.
I frowned, "Wouldn’t that be unfair though? If there were other Valedictorians before me who decided that they would not participate on the principle that they do not want to take the chances away from their fellow students... They would lose out on the opportunity themselves?"
There was a soft chuckle coming from another cloaked figure before they spoke, "We understand your concerns, but we have also found that students who have no interest in competing usually will fall short once they have enrolled in the school itself. Unfortunately, this environment does not allow students to rest on their crown as everyone will be competing with everyone else."
’Rest on their crown’... I believe that’s similar to the saying rest on their laurels as the equivalent from my old World.
The same figure continued, "For the students who choose not to participate, they would, more often than not, end up being unremarkable students once the school semester starts. Most of them wouldn’t even come close to being in the top ten percent."
Ah... I guess I can understand their philosophy here...
This isn’t just some normal school where you can go and just attend classes normally and breeze through your years here like it’s some playground.
No, this was actually a warzone where students would be competing with one another and you can expect your fellow classmates to backstab you and steal your ideas just to improve their own standing within the school.
I almost forgot about the case studies where students lost their position as the top student because someone they trusted took all of their work and passed it as their own which resulted in them losing their island and all of their hard work on top of that.
So if one was not prepared to at least challenge everyone and... I suppose... Put everyone else in their place, then they would no doubt be dragged down and forgotten pretty quickly once the school year starts.
If you’re not willing to beat others down, you will be beaten down yourself in this school.
So I guess to the teachers here, if they see that the student has no will to fight, then they are not worth their attention either.
I’m sure there’s definitely the rare occasion where they were proven wrong but I guess those incidents must be so few and far between that it’s too negligible to be considered as a statistic.
Well then... I guess I was quite fortunate to have decided to participate in the test... And I’m glad I didn’t try to convince Delmare to leave either and let her stay too.
The robed figure at the very centre who, for some reason, looked bigger in size as compared to everyone else, started to speak.
"Student Aster. You might be wondering why you are summoned here, yes?"
"Err... I guess? But this is like... Something of an evaluation right? You’re here to tell me what your evaluation of me is before I enter the school or something?"
There was a slight tilt of the head and I realised the figure was nodding their head in agreement.
"That is partially correct. Though I believe everyone here is curious about you, student Aster... In the test, you have shown that you are quite proficient in many different disciplines of magic. We want to know just what specific types of magic you are proficient in?"
Right... So this is like an interview then...
I sucked in a breath, "I am proficient in Umbramancy, Electromancy, Lumenmancy, Pyromancy, Iatromancy, Hydromancy, Aeromancy, Geomancy, Astromancy, Eromancy and Somatomancy. All of them have reached the second tier of proficiency aside from Somatomancy which is still at the first tier."
There was a pause as I felt everyone in the void just stare at me.
I decided I might as well give them the full suite at this point, "I’m also proficient in Alchemy which is also at the second tier and I am proficient in Martial Skills using the sword, dagger, polearm, axe, bow and unarmed, all of them also up to the second proficiency tier."
The silence stretched as I finished my spiel and no one reacted, making me feel a little self conscious.
Even Cecilia was just staring at me without blinking like she had been frozen in time or something.
One of the robed figures finally spoke up and instead of addressing what I had just said, it sounded almost a little bored as they asked, "Is that all?"
Hearing that, I suddenly wanted to punch myself thinking that what I had just listed out might not have been impressive at all and, perhaps, I had too high of an opinion about myself.
Maybe the fact that I did not have a single tier three skill I was proficient in made me look weak and the fact that I was a little proud of some tier two skills showed my immaturity.
I was in the midst of feeling a little embarrassed about myself when I realised everyone was now staring at the figure who had just spoken... And the atmosphere kind of felt more like everyone was questioning that person instead of agreeing with them.
The hooded person did not acknowledge them and simply jerked their hooded head at me, "Is that really all the magic you are proficient in? Isn’t there something else?"
I sucked in a breath, realising what exactly they were talking about.
"No... I am... Also proficient in Infernalmancy... At the first tier."
That seemed to be what the figure was looking for as they nodded but apparently that was still not enough as they continued, "And the skills? Surely there’s more than just that?"
I’m pretty sure I still have the enchantment on me that prevents people from seeing my status through [Screened] or even this World’s [Analyze] so whoever this person was, they were not using that to figure out my skills.
I poked my fingers together, "Umm... The other skills... I don’t think they are relevant?"
The figure chuckled, "Just say them, student Aster."
"Umm... I’ve also learned Noble Etiquette, Authority Projection, Hunting, Cooking, Leadership, Tactics, Navigation, Sailing, Tracking, Dancing and... And umm... Sex... Sex Techniques..."
The figure nodded, finally satisfied with my answer.
The silence stretched on for a while more before the larger figure turned to look at the others that were surrounding them.
"I believe this is something we would need to discu--"
Another figure cut in before they could finish, "I want her! I call dibs! I don’t care!!"
That seemed to be the cue as almost all the robed figures suddenly started shouting as well, all of them claiming that they wanted me or something before they suddenly disappeared, leaving only the larger sized cloaked figure left.
"Forgive that display, student Aster. I’m afraid we would need some time to discuss. Director Cecilia?"
The director straightened herself, "Right here!"
"Please help student Aster with all the formalities. I leave her to you."
The Director bowed, "Understood."
I blinked and I suddenly found myself back in the room again, the void space having disappeared just like that without a trace.
The only proof I have that showed it had not been my imagination was Cecilia still bowing her head towards where the figure was.
So... What’s happening now?
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