Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer
chapter-23

It is currently Sunday, the last day of the exam week for City M's Mystic Academy.

Ashton already took the exam, it happened on Wednesday since that's his schedule and he finished it within that day as well. Now he's just waiting for the results and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't anxious cause he is.

This really takes him back to his student days...

The exams weren't that hard in Ashton's opinions, just as he expected and as he was told, the exam covered basic knowledge. The books he borrowed really helped him with that.

But of course, since it is an exam from a prestigious academy, there are traps and pitfalls scattered all over the exam. If one doesn't pay close attention, they'll get caught up to it which could possibly cost them their chance.

He didn't have much problems with it since the time given to them was generous anyways. It actually kind of absurd now that he thought about. Examinees are given 10 hours to finish all the exams and they can break this schedule up to have some breaks in between, they just need to submit a request for it.

Well, granted that there's at least 1000 items to answer in that exam, it kind of makes sense but Ashton's just not used to that and he's not really in any position to ask.

The segments which the questionnaire was broken up to was familiar to him as well; multiple choice, identification, fill in the blanks, etc. He didn't really have a hard time getting used to it since he's quite familiar with them.

All in all, Ashton's quite confident that he at least passed. Whether he gets the scholarship or not, well...he'd have to wait for the announcement.

Speaking of that, since this is the last day of the exam week, the result should be released today as well.

Ashton's quite nervous actually. He had been sitting on pins and needles ever since waking-up. He still adhered to his routine but it was clear that his mind isn't present during that.

That's what exams does to a person, isn't it? Making them doubt themselves even though they know how well they performed in the first place.

Ashton really doesn't have much to do for today. Currently, he's just chilling in the balcony, eating some snacks and enjoying an idle afternoon.

The Spells are currently on the grind. Training them to Lv.2 will take at least a week to finish and each spell costs 100 Mana Crystals.

It seems that Ashton was right after all, this will get really expensive as time goes on. And these are just for the Basic Spells for now. He still don't know what will happen if he learned a Intermediate Level Spells and above.

He thought about going out for today but in the end he decided against it. He doesn't really have any destination in mind, at most he'd just wander around for a few minutes until he decides to go back home.

Ping!

Ashton jolted in surprise as he heard that sound. That's an alarm from his smartwatch.

"I have to turn that down." Ashton shook his head. The notification sound was really too loud for his liking but he can do that later.

He checked his inbox and the message left there...

'You received 1 e-mail from @M-Academy!'

Ashton's eyes comically widened in shock. He sat up properly and went to his e-mails to check what it's all about.

'Oh, there's a video attachment.' Ashton raised a brow before decided to play it.

A hologram window appeared in front of him, revealing a middle-aged man who wore glasses and had a few strands of white hair. He has crinkles at the corner of his eyes and he wore a suit which made him look like a professional.

"Greetings, Everybody! My name is Jordan Schnee. I am this year's Exam Supervisor on behalf of City M's Mystic Academy."

"If you received this video, chances are you were one of the people who took the examinations in hopes of being a student to the prestigious Mystic Academy. That's very brave of you and since you are watching this, you will soon know whether you made it or not. But before we get into that, there's a few things that I must tell you first..."

"This year's examinations occurred just in time. 2nd week of May, this around the time where the Mystic Academy's Examinations begin. Each year, the examinations roughly works the same. But of course, if it were that easy, then how come not all people were admitted to the Academy?"

The man smiled and continued:

"The reason behind that is the unique way of screening methods that the Mystic Academy applies every time the examination week begins. I can't really explain it in great detail but know that not just anyone is allowed to take the examinations."

"The exams had a total of 1055 Questions to be answered. Everyone's given 10 hours to complete it. Adjustments to the said schedule are permitted even to ensure that the students will be able to have enough to give each question enough thought and provide answers."

"Only those who answered 1000 questions, doesn't matter if their answer's correct or not, will have their test papers graded."

Ashton's eyes widened in shocked,

"Additionally, those who took more than two days to complete the exams are hereby eliminated as well."

"Of course this includes those who were caught cheating or attempted to cheat. Even the simple act of asking someone a question that is included in the exams when they're still not done with it will count as cheating."

"All examinees were being actively being monitored as exam week goes on so we have proof. Anybody who wants to dispute this can report directly to me to be slapped with the cold-hard truth..."

"-ahem, sorry for the strong language just now."

Ashton mind was reeling. He didn't expect this at all. He knew that there should be a catch on this but he wasn't expecting it to be this big.

"All of you should be curious as to why the mechanics of the exams work this way and why we kept it a secret from you."

"I, for one, believe that you all should understand this by now but just in case, I'd still explain it..."

"The Mystic Academy doesn't lack talent nor resources. It doesn't lack prestige, fame or anything in particular. With the professionals willing to share their knowledge to people for the sake of the greater good, the least you can do is to show some honesty and sincerity."

"Cheating is a self-explanatory. As for the Time Restrictions...come on kids, are you seriously that slow? Any normal person could finish that exam within a day - hours, even! Two days is already pushing it but three days!? Hell no!"

"Taking three days to finish an exam that could be done within hours is a sign that you're not taking the exams or the academy seriously. Now, knowing this, why do you think you deserve a chance? Why would the Academy waste their precious time and resources to you?"

"Even the City Lords have to pay enough respects to the Academy itself, the Federation personally acknowledged its methods. If you still think that you're special, well you're wrong so get-off of your high-horse and learn some humility. Trust me, it'll go a long way."

Ashton find it amusing that this guy dropped all pretenses at this point. He started out sounding so professional in the beginning but now, he's not even bothering to hide his verbal ticks and habits.

Still, Ashton understood what he's trying to say. Now it all makes sense. Of course, he was already expecting that something's up but everything was reasonable so far.

It's like what he said, the Academy didn't lack fame nor does it have any need for it. What they lack are good students who are willing to be educated. A small showcase of sincerity is a non-negotiable requirement if students wants to study there.

"This year, almost 200,000 teenagers took the exams. That is quite a lot but in reality, this is normal considering how many people lives in City M."

"Of course, not every single one will manage to pass. If so, then what are the exams are for? Although I said that the Academy doesn't lack talent, it does have standards."

"Alright, I've babbled enough at this point. Let's get back to the main thing..."

"The passing mark is 950 points. Those who fail short on that, I'm referring to examinees who scored a minimum of 890 points, will get a chance to be interviewed by academy's personnel who will determine whether to let you in or not. Bribes are forbidden kids, don't even try."

"As for over-achievers...I mean those who were gunning for the scholarship, only those who scored 1000 points will be considered, anything less than that we can only apologize, you should've tried harder."

"The kind of sponsorship the Scholars will receive depends on you since you'll be interviewed as well. Expect someone from the Academy to contact you within three to five business days."

"Okay, I've said everything that needs to be said. I will now show the list of the Mystic Academy's Students of Batch 9022!"

Upon hearing that, Ashton's heart began pounding on his chest...