Rather, the a.s.sessment was based on how well we performed in the duel. Saint Teresa Academy tried to be fair by pitting students of similar ability against each other, so that both parties would get the chance to showcase their skills. Otherwise it wouldn't be ideal if one side got knocked out instantly by a far superior opponent. In the instances where it did happen, they would call for a retest for the unfortunate victim, scheduled on another day while everyone else had a holiday. As you could expect, n.o.body would be enthusiastic about spending the first couple days of their summer vacation on a retest.

"All right…so this is the venue for the exam?"

Consulting my holographic window, I stopped by the arena that I was a.s.signed to take the exam in. Stepping through the door, I greeted the invigilator, who happened to be none other than Teacher Einsberg.

"Oh, Richard." He stood up and smiled warmly. "How is your progress in ice magic? I remember you had to take a couple of days off for a mission."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I had to go exterminate some vermin." I shuddered when I remembered hunting Cyclops Rats in the sewers. I personally hoped that I would never have to perform such a duty again, but hey, I couldn't pick and choose what sort of emergencies I had to face. Well, I could, but if I was too choosy, other people would suffer.

Like the poor townsfolk in the Shrewsbury neighborhood.

"I've been practicing my ice magic, though," I told Teacher Einsberg brightly. "I hope I will be able to show you later in the practical exam."

"Excellent!" Einsberg chuckled and patted my shoulder somewhat affectionately. "I look forward to your performance. Try to go easy on your opponent, all right?"

"Uh…shouldn't the opponent go easy on me instead?"

Teacher Einsberg gave me a look, as if to say that he felt sorry for my opponent. I didn't know why. It wasn't as if I was the strongest mage in Saint Teresa Academy or something. I had been through too many life-and-death fights to know that I should never be complacent. I had vowed never to underestimate my enemy.

The next thing I knew, someone knocked on the door before stepping in.

"I'm here for the practical examination." A girl with twin tails stepped in and bowed her head slightly. My jaw dropped when I realized I recognized her.

"Nan Gong Ji Yan? You're my opponent?"

"Huh? Who are you? Do I know you?"

Ji Yan scrunched her face up in puzzlement when she saw me. For a moment, I felt disappointed. What the h.e.l.l, her sister recognized me – in fact, Nan Gong Zhao Yan had approached me and even offered to treat me to a homecooked meal for saving her sister. Yet this very sister didn't even know who I was.

To be fair, it was dark, and she probably did not get a good look of my face. She wasn't equipped with the same hi-tech gla.s.ses that I had. On the other hand, neither did her sister, and yet Zhao Yan was able to seek me out. Rather than Ji Yan – the one who I saved – it was her sister who took the initiative to find out who I was and thanked me, while the rescued peson remained oblivious to my ident.i.ty. Not that I cared, otherwise I wouldn't bother to conceal my ident.i.ty in the first place, but it just struck me how self-centered Ji Yan was.

It was always about her, wasn't it?

Well, whatever. I couldn't care less, so I shook my head.

"Oh, no. Sorry. Uh, I'm a friend of your sister."

"Zhao Yan again." Ji Yan seemed to flare up, but she managed to bring her temper under control. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised. We're quite famous in Saint Teresa Academy, if I may say so myself."

Wow…what arrogance. I honestly didn't know what to say, so I stayed silent and instead glanced at Teacher Einsberg. The balding teacher cleared his throat and smiled.

"As the both of you know, the practical examination will be conducted as a duel. I will a.s.sess each of your abilities, so please do your best, the both of you!"

"Yes, sir!"

I saluted, but Ji Yan merely rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Let's hurry. I want to get this done and over with."

Teacher Einsberg frowned, but he didn't reprimand her. Instead, he gestured for the both of us to go to opposite sides of the arena.

"Both partic.i.p.ants, please take up your positions. When I give the signal, you may begin."

We obliged, taking up our spots at the opposite ends of the arena. Teacher Einsberg watched us for a moment, and once he was satisfied, he swung his hand down.

"Start!"

Ji Yan immediately drew her chain and hooks, throwing them at me without any hesitation. I dodged them easily, though I probably shouldn't have bothered. Just like the other night, her aim was horrible. Worse than Yi Shen with his dual pistols stunt, if I recalled. I lazily ducked under the scythe and spun away from her chains.

"Ugh! Stop moving around!"

…was she serious? Did she really think I would stop evading because she asked me to? What was she expecting, for me to stand still and let her hit me with those wicked blades of hers?

Sometimes, the stupidity of some people never failed to amaze me.

While I avoided her chains and hooks, I considered several possibilities to deal with her. Well, like I told Teacher Einsberg, I wanted to show him my newly learned ice magic. What better way to try it out than on Ji Yan? I wanted to stop her chains and hooks cold, and put her combat plans on ice, after all. Speaking of which, I brought Bai Ri and Hei Yue along. Even though I didn't want to underestimate my opponent, I saw no reason to use my swords against an enemy of her caliber.

Ji Yan was just that…pathetic. As sad as that sounded, it was also the truth. I didn't know what she had been doing during her couple of years in Saint Teresa Academy, but I highly suspected it had more to do with chasing fas.h.i.+on than actually training.

Pus.h.i.+ng my gla.s.ses up, I threw my right hand up. Before the chains and hooks could reach me, they were frozen in ice. Skidding across the ground, where a surface of frost rapidly expanded over, I froze the entire arena.

"What?!" Ji Yan cried out. And then she fell silent because, in the next instant, her entire body was encased in ice.

Clearing the distance between us in a single bound, I placed a hand on the hilt of Hei Yue, getting ready to draw my black sword and slash my opponent if necessary. Turned out that I was being overly cautious.

Ji Yan was stuck in the ice, unable to break free. A few seconds pa.s.sed, and nothing happened. Ji Yan remained trapped within, her eyes wide and unblinking. Unsure of what to do, I turned to Teacher Einsberg, who sighed.

"I told you to go easy on her." He shook his head and raised a hand. "Winner: Richard Huang! Thus concludes this practical exam."

"What?!" I spluttered in protest. "You're kidding, right? Nan Gong Ji Yan doesn't even have the magical resistance to break free of my ice magic?! How is that even possible?! She can't be this weak, right? Right?"

"Well…" Teacher Einsberg sighed and shrugged. "Turns out that she is. I guess we'll have to schedule a retest for her. I didn't even get to a.s.sess any of her skills."

Skills? What skills did she even have? h.e.l.l…all she did was throw her hooks and chains about. I scowled when I realized something was amiss.

"She didn't even use magic." I turned back to Teacher Einsberg. "What is her magic? What is she supposed to specialize in? Which element does she have affinity with?"

"How would I know?"

"…she's not your student?"

"She doesn't use ice magic, I can guarantee that." Teacher Einsberg shook his head in disapproval. "I think she knows some rudimentary physical reinforcement and body strengthening spells, but that's it. Since she has never taken any of my cla.s.ses, I'm not very familiar with her. There's nothing in her records other than physical reinforcement spells and combat magic. Her cla.s.s is supposedly Dancer or Maiden, but as you can see…she didn't get to display any of her skills a.s.sociated with that cla.s.s."

"Yikes." I was beginning to feel sorry for the whiny, spoilt, self-centered girl. She obviously depended on her sister for everything regarding combat, and now it came back to bite her in the a.s.s.

"Anyway…" Teacher Einsberg smiled as he waved a hand and began defrosting Nan Gong Ji Yan. She slid out of the melting ice, suddenly s.h.i.+vering. I was about to hand her my jacket, but the teacher tossed her a blanket that he retrieved from nowhere. She grabbed it and wrapped it around herself, her teeth chattering from the cold. Ignoring her, he turned to me. "You did well, Student Richard. You've shown a remarkable improvement in your ice magic and made tremendous progress. Excellent work."

"Thank you, sir. It's all thanks to your teaching."

"Ha ha, I wonder. You have quite the affinity with ice element."

That was true. If only I had started off with ice magic instead of wood magic, I wouldn't be in my current predicament. I had a closer affinity to ice magic than wood magic for some reason. Well, everyone was born differently. Some were better at certain things than others.

"Anyway, take Nan Gong Ji Yan to the infirmary. Have the teacher-in-charge check on her."

"Yes, sir."

I approached Ji Yan, but she instinctively slapped my hand away and glared at me.

"Don't touch me," she hissed through gritted, chattering teeth. I tried not to roll my eyes, but obeyed as she stood up, her legs trembling fiercely. As proud as ever, Ji Yan stomped toward the direction of the infirmary.

"Ah, wait…" Teacher Einsberg called after her before she left the arena. "Student Nan Gong Ji Yan, remember to schedule a retest. I wasn't able to a.s.sess your skills because the battle was over too quickly."

"d.a.m.n it!" Ji Yan cursed, her face flus.h.i.+ng red in embarra.s.sment. She shot me another glare, as if blaming me for her predicament. I narrowed my eyes and she flinched, instantly understanding my unspoken message.

It's your own fault for being too weak. Don't you dare pin the blame on me. If you aren't happy with this result, then go train and get stronger before coming for a rematch. Otherwise, you have no right to complain to me.

Ji Yan knew I was right, and she hung her head. Even so, her willful pride continued to burn ferociously inside her heart, and she continued to stomp toward the infirmary, refusing to look back at me.

I glanced at the reader comments, wondering what they were going to say. Obviously there would be people calling me spineless or whatever, but what exactly did they want me to do? Slap the girl? Don't be ridiculous. As rude and arrogant as she was, she wasn't worth the trouble – physically a.s.saulting her in school just because she was rude would earn me a punishment. I had no intention of wasting my time in detention or writing a self-reflection essay – I would rather spend the time honing my ice magic.

Teacher Einsberg sighed. "That girl is going to get herself killed one day," he muttered. He then glanced at me apologetically. "Sorry for putting you through so much trouble, Student Richard."

"Not at all." I glanced in the direction of Ji Yan, and before I chased after her, I left a cryptic remark. "I don't care if she gets herself killed, but I sincerely hope that she doesn't get everyone else around her killed as well."

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