Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 11 (Part 2)

The continental common language exam lasted all day.

In the morning, the test involved looking at words and writing down their pronunciation symbols and meanings. In the afternoon, they looked at pronunciation symbols and wrote down the corresponding words.

Naturally, the afternoon math class was canceled.

Most of the third-batch trainees, who generally hated math, were gloomy because of the “exam.”

“Will we do well?”
“Just hope that the parts we studied come up.”
“Right. There’s no point in worrying now. We just have to trust our ‘god,’ Rodin.”

All the trainees from the third batch gathered in the classroom to take the exam.

Some were cramming last-minute, some had given up and were chatting, and some were meditating with their eyes closed.

They were all waiting for the exam time in their own ways. Rodin was among those meditating.

Creak!

The door opened five minutes before the exam was to start.

The instructor entered first and stood at the podium. Following him, the assistants took their places near the children to monitor for cheating.

“Put your notebooks away.”

The instructor’s stern tone made the children hastily put their notebooks away.

Two months had passed since the orientation. The children had grown quite friendly with the assistants, often joking and receiving snacks not provided by the training center.

But they hadn’t grown close to the instructors at all.

The instructors were consistently intimidating from the start. Just a glare or a cough from an instructor would make their bodies stiffen.

“The exam lasts until noon. If you finish early, you can submit your answer sheet and leave the classroom.”

The assistants distributed the exam papers. As soon as the children saw the papers, they squeezed their eyes shut.

‘Hmm, as expected. Most of the words are commonly used.’

Rodin quickly scanned the questions with his eyes, confirming his expectations. A glance to the side showed Hedler’s expression was good. The expressions of Lant and Cory, who were sitting behind, didn’t seem bad either.

‘How should I solve these?’

On the day he browsed through the history books in the library, Rodin decided not to show all his skills. It was a matter of survival.

The important thing was how much to reveal.

‘I’d like to get a lot wrong if possible.’

The instructors and assistants didn’t know that Rodin had finished studying the continental common language long ago. So it wouldn’t matter if he just barely passed.

The problem was the kids.

Especially Hedler, Lant, and Cory, who stayed with him in room 301, already knew.

If the assistants casually asked the kids and found out that Rodin had finished studying the common language long ago, what would happen if he barely passed the exam?

It would be obvious that he was trying to hide his skills.

‘Getting everything right isn’t ideal either.’

Rodin solved the problems calmly. He slowed down, aiming to finish just before noon.

It wouldn’t be a good choice to finish too quickly and leave the classroom either. He had to be careful not to stand out too much.

‘Finished.’

He completed the problems just before the end of the exam time.

Out of 100 questions, he intentionally got four wrong. It was still a pretty high score.

‘Still, it’s better than drawing too much attention.’

After lunch, the exam resumed.

This time, Rodin got only two questions wrong. The test on recognizing pronunciation symbols was easier than the one on recognizing words.

‘This should be enough.’

He finished writing the answers and stopped. As if on cue, the instructor tapped the podium.

Tap! Tap!

“Stop! Assistants, collect the papers.”
“Yes.”

The exam was finally over. The assistants collected the answer sheets from the back to the front.

“Ah! It’s over.”
“Freedom!”
“Is it really freedom?”

Even though the exam was over, few children were cheerful. Most were revisiting the problems with despairing faces.

“Did you do well? All the questions were…”
“Let’s talk outside. Come on.”

Hedler, excited to chat, was immediately stopped by Rodin.

The classroom atmosphere was at its worst. There was no need to provoke the others with talk of having done well.

As Hedler and Rodin moved, Lant and Cory, who were sitting behind them, followed. All four had bright faces, as if they were holding back laughter.

“Ah, I feel alive. I thought I would suffocate.”
“Me too. I couldn’t even breathe properly in there.”
“I’m hungry.”

Since it was dinner time, the group walked to the dining hall, chatting.

“Did you do well?”
“Ah, you’re our lucky charm.”

Hedler turned abruptly and lunged. Rodin dodged behind Lant.

“Hey, why!”
“No touching. Or I might kill you.”
“Well, I’ll let it slide today.”
“Seems like you did well on the exam.”

It was obvious from their expressions that they had done well. Even Lant, who had the slowest progress while studying, had a grin from ear to ear.

“I’m sure I passed.”
“I think I did too.”
“Me too.”

Fortunately, they all seemed to have done well.

They wouldn’t know the results until they came out, but the mood was good. Unless they made major mistakes, they all seemed likely to pass.

“Let’s eat!”

Even though they hadn’t come out quickly, the dining hall was almost empty. Most of the others were still despairing in the classroom, and those who had left were lingering nearby.

The exam results were announced five days later.

Only seven children passed. A whopping 45 would have to retake the exam next month.

“Wow, Lant. That was close.”
“I passed. That’s what matters.”

Hedler, who already knew the continental common language, scored a high 95 points. Cory got 88 points, comfortably above the passing score of 70.

But Lant scored 71. If he had gotten just two more questions wrong, he would have had to retake the exam.

“Wow, but this is a betrayal.”
“What?”
“That guy over there. Number 60.”

Number 60 was the boy named Drok, who had taken the leader role when they first gathered. Being among the first numbers, he was tall, and he had gotten bigger recently thanks to eating well.

“What about him?”
“Do you know what he told me? He said he didn’t study at all and wouldn’t ever study. He was boasting and all.”

“That’s just how it is.”
“Look at that guy too. He said he didn’t study, but he passed. Wow! You really can’t trust people.”

Unlike Rodin, who thought too few had passed, Hedler was surprised that so many had passed. He had expected only one or two to make it.

Rodin had estimated around twenty would pass.

It wasn’t that difficult to memorize the vocabulary book, and they had two months to do it.

‘I didn’t realize how easily distracted the kids were.’

Children quickly lost interest in everything, even playing. They would tire of the same games and constantly seek new ones.

Expecting them to focus on studying was too much.

Hyung_Otaku2

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