The day of the exam came without delay and Itekan just happened to wake up late. The toll of the previous day had left him out of steam.
The moment he returned to his dorm he was knocked out cold. Togira had sensed his discomfort, and tried talking to him but Itekan couldn't piece into the conversation. Before long he was asleep.
Now. The exam. The vast hall brimmed with nervous chatter as students filed in row by row, guided by enchanted light markers that floated just above their seats. Their placements followed the old-fashioned method—alphabetical order. It was supposed to be efficient. In truth, it caused chaos.
"Rose Anasta… she's probably gonna be up front" Itekan muttered as he stepped inside. Sure enough, the green-haired genius sat perfectly straight at the front row, cross-legged like a porcelain doll, already reviewing notes from memory. She didn't look up.
A few rows behind her was Binturu Binturu, he had arrived long befire Itekan. Which in itself was a surprise to he and Itoyea. He grunted a hello them, cracking his knuckles so loudly it echoed as they passed.
"Show-off," muttered Avery Ransthrol from the third row, adjusting his scarf dramatically as he sauntered in like the whole room was a stage. When he spotted Itekan, he gave a mock salute. "Good luck, shadow dude, don't go failing the theoretical exams now."
"I never fail" Itekan smirked as he passed.
He found his seat two-thirds of the way back—directly between two girls.
To his left, Komi Lowry was already half-asleep, her head resting on her exam sheet, still sealed. "Wake me when the test starts," she mumbled.
To his right was Laila Joru, furiously scanning through last-minute notes. She gave Itekan a small nod but didn't stop muttering under her breath. "Section three, paragraph two… SE reconstruction depends on the heroes SS purity… fortifying the absolute limit of the SS makes the SE channels more founded…"
Ahead of him, Itoyea was leaning back in his seat, arms folded, as calm as if he were watching grass grow. When he noticed Itekan, he offered a silent nod, eyes half-lidded in disinterest. Behind him, two students whispered about Itoyea's confidence—one calling it arrogance.
"Careful," Kutote muttered as he passed those students, glaring briefly. He took the seat two rows behind Itekan and Itoyea. "Arrogant or not, you wouldn't last ten seconds against him."
Then came Cheim Nell—she was one of the only trainees who had skipped almost all of the classes. She elbowed Binturu hard in the arm as she passed. "Don't snore through this one, rock-head."
Binturu scowled. "I don't snore."
"You rumble," she replied, sitting with one leg over her chair's side like it was her living room.
As the last few stragglers entered, Togira popped out from Itekan's bag, squeaked once, and immediately ducked back in.
All around, tension tightened.
The exam was about to begin.
The hall was filled with the noise until, Instructor Keel Kun entered the room with twelve others, each holding a band of sheets of paper.
"Everyone quiet. The final exams are about to begin. Listen to the instructions as I will not be repeating them. Failure to comply to these set rules is immediate expulsion." Keel Kun said his voice piercing into their hearts.
I'm
Itekan wedged in-between two girls on both sides could feel his heart pounding, he tried telling himself it was just an exam but the reality of the situation left him at his wits ends.
Yeah. He was scared. If he messed up he would lose his chance to study here and his goal to becoming as strong as his father would have come to a major blockage.
"There are only three rules. The first, of you are caught cheating you will be disqualified and expelled from the school with no exceptions. The second, you have fifty questions and the time given for the exam is an hour long. Once your time is up, drop all pens and exit the room. Failure to do so will garner a punishment equal to the crime. The last rule, for the duration of this exam, unless specifically requested, no form of SE will be used in any magnitude and form" Keel Kun said.
His words were etched into their minds. Some tried to find loopholes in the instructions to see if there were any exploitable pieces. Some readied themselves for the next hour of torture by form of writing. Some felt genuinely ready, while some felt out of place.
Even as the other twelve instructors shared the question sheets, Kutote pondered on the instructions again, instructor Keel Kun had said not to use any form and type of SE during the duration of the exam. That much was understandable, there were some people here who could no doubt if given free rein of their SE, cheat during the exam in a the most inconspicuous of ways.
So the other instructions about time limit and was straight forward so he didn't give it much thought. But the first one was definitely a bit mind boggling, if he infered right. They were allowed to cheat but they mustn't be caught. The existence of this rule would proceed all the others as it gives them free reign to do all the things they would have been told not to do, so long as they are not caught.
His assumptions were correct in the next moment when his question sheets arrived. A quick scab through the questions told him so. Of all the fifty questions there were only five questions on SE reconstruction and about ten questions on SE types and flow pattern. The rest were on history of SE.
Kutote felt like laughing, the test was not just about theoretical knowledge they were also expected to apply it on the spot.
Itoyea looked back slightly at Itekan, checking to see how well his buddy was faring in the exam. Itekan's face was contorted as he answered the few he knew. Itoyea wanted to assist him, to tell him somehow, the main idea behind the exam but he couldn't find any feasible way to do so without risking expulsion.
Itekan stopped after a few minutes of ponder, he looked to his sides, Komi and Laila were both writing down their answers. He looked at the instructors monitoring them.
Four stood at the edges of the hall, the remaining, save Keel Ken were walking down the rows of trainees invigilating.
A whiff of SE fluttered past him moving at a snail's pace, he was surprised, who was daring enough to do this, the rules explicit...
He stopped when he realized none of the instructors were doing anything stop this. His sensory abilities were more advanced than most of his peers because of his shadow abilities, but he doubted the instructors were not in the very least as capable as he in sensing the SST of others.
Which meant... He went through the instructions one again, then he saw it. The loophole in the instructions. He almost laughed now, it was clear. He turned back and looked at Kutote as of to tell him he understood the secret of the test now.
He said telepathically.
"Togira..."
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Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)
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