Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
chapter-80

Chapter 80: The End of The Monthly Exam

Screaming, roaring, verbal abuse.

Sunset Canyon’s silence was shattered by their various wails. Silence returned again half an hour later, as if nothing had happened at all. However, there were dozens of corpses in the supply depot cave, and the pungent smell of blood made everyone uncomfortable. Many either left the cave, squatted down and retched, or leaned against the rock wall in silence. The remaining few chatted with each other.

“The Thunder Kingdom seemed to have resisted for only three years, but America’s Judge Academy destroyed their capital and colonized the entire territory.”

“Judge Academy killed a lot of people back then!”

“Isn’t that obvious? Bloodshed is inevitable during the course of war!”

“It increasingly feels like we’re the villains!”

“Can we talk about justice when we’re the invaders?”

“Won’t justice catch up to wipe out the evil invaders?”

“You’ve watched too much TV. History has always been written by those who are the victors!”

…

Everyone used their own way to relieve the weight on their hearts. They had been living and training in Dawn Academy for a month, but only then did they gradually come to an understanding of what ‘colonization’ actually meant.

During the school opening ceremony, the dean mentioned that colonization would bring them wealth, territory, power, and many other unimaginable things. However, Xiao Lin realized then that the dean had only said half of the truth.

Colonization brought war, blood, and death!

Xiao Lin remembered Department Head Song’s introduction about the origins of the monthly exam before the exam started. When the resurrection law first appeared, Dawn Academy terminated the simulation exercise, resulting in a thumping loss for Dawn Academy during the subsequent war with the orcs.

When he thought about that, those graduates—however strong they might have been—never once experienced a simulation exercise, which meant that they never killed anyone or smelled blood. It was incredibly difficult to imagine how those people would react if they went directly to war.

“What should we do now, Monitor?” someone asked.

“Go back!” Xiao Lin did not want to stay there for too long. Completing the two mandatory tasks was out of the question, and it was best for them to leave as soon as possible before the enemy wolf cavalry squadron arrived.

No one objected. They got used to the idea for a bit before making their way hurriedly. After the cave was some distance behind them, the smell of blood in the air had disappeared considerably, and the heaviness in everyone’s hearts had relieved.

“Monitor, you saved us again this time.” Lu Renyi’s half-teasing and half-serious remark broke the silence within the team.

Xiao Lin froze and dismissed the comment in shame. “I was careless. In the end, I was the one who brought up infiltrating and doing reconnaissance.”

“All of us had been careless. I think the academy didn’t want us to complete the optional tasks at all because it’s too difficult!” someone complained.

Gu Xiaoyue thought for a moment. “In fact, sneaking is the only option to complete the task in that situation, but our strength is too low to complete it.”

“It’s a pity that we could only obtain sixty percent of their defensive formation through the interrogation.” Zhou Feng felt a little regretful.

In any case, no one meant to blame Xiao Lin, or rather, everyone had actually been negligent. They had not been able to adjust their mentality quick enough, but it was certain that they would not repeat the same mistake again. They would likely understand everything much more after the exam was completed.

It was not until midday did they finally step out of Sunset Canyon, shortly before the exam ended. As soon as they set foot outside, a white beam of light once again covered their heads as their bodies gradually melted into the light.

In a manner similar to the admission test, Xiao Lin saw a blur before his eyes, and when his vision became clear again, he was already in the public classroom.

Xiao Lin was still in a slight daze when the coldly-mechanical voice of the central computer had already appeared in his mind: [Your monthly test results are assessed as follows:]

[Student: Xiao Lin]

[Student ID: 201235]

[Monthly Exam Map: Sunset Canyon Reconnaissance Battle]

[Task completion status: Mandatory Task completed. Optional Task 1 failed, Optional Task 2 failed]

[Comprehensive evaluation: B]

[Reward: 10 credits, 100 redemption points]

[Additional evaluation: You were able to master an Ancient dialect. You have a relatively good talent in language and you can consider developing in that direction.]

The Grade B evaluation was within his expectations, since that was the most they could get after completing the mandatory tasks. The measly reward, at least compared to the admissions test, left Xiao Lin feeling sour.

He lingered over the last concluding comment before finally reacting. It was probably because he used his Academic Genius skills to replicate the Norma woman’s weird language. He remembered that it was not Norma’s ordinary common language; it was some sort of northern dialect. He did not actually pay much attention to it after his replicating ability ended.

Why then, did the central computer suddenly mention that he had mastered that long-lost dialect? The surprised Xiao Lin suddenly thought of a possibility. Before the monthly exam, he successfully entered the threshold of meditation by replicating the passive skills of Basic Meditation. Could the unexpected replication of language skills have allowed him to master that basic skill?

He had to go back to his dormitory to check his skills before he could say anything with certainty, but on closer recollection, some very strange vocabulary combinations flashed in Xiao Lin’s mind. He confirmed that they were not Norma’s common language, but belonged to the lost language that he could now understand!

Xiao Lin found it quite interesting. He had yet to achieve a good enough understanding of the replication skill; it might prove more useful than he initially expected. As for the ancient language that he mastered, he did not place much importance on it. The central computer stated that it was a lost language, which meant that no one used that language anymore in present-day Planet Norma. Mastering it was pointless.

When he exited the evaluation message, Xiao Lin discovered that a quarrel had somehow started in the public classroom.

“F*CK! I wouldn’t have died if you hadn’t proposed to go scouting first!”

“Wang Dalin! You’ll pay with your life! I only have eighteen years left!”

“Like hell I would! Why do I care if you got killed because you’re weak!”

“F*ck you! At least we tried blocking the wolf cavalry squadron. You just f*cking knelt down and surrendered! Shameful, just shameful!”

…

The people quarreling were the team who chose to conduct the reconnaissance mission right after the exam began. Xiao Lin listened for a moment and pieced together what happened to them. The wolf cavalry squadron had ambushed them shortly after they left and they failed to even reach the enemy’s garrison. The result was just as Xiao Lin predicted—there was no possibility of escape when they faced the cavalry’s pursuit on the plains.

Despite all their attempts to resist capture, those with high basic skills managed to combine their efforts to kill several of the wolf cavalry’s soldiers, but at the cost of serious injuries themselves. The rest of the soldiers quickly killed them, and when the first person willingly surrendered, the remaining knew they could not escape and were eventually captured.