Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The List
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Within an hour.
All the Apprentice Knights who chose [Mysticism] were present (except for a few who failed the test and didn’t show up).
Han Dong surveyed these fellow Apprentice Knights.
Besides Han Dong, only two students passed the Mysterious Department’s test without a scratch.
One of them seemed to be from Arabia, with yellow skin and the iconic Arabic headdress. He was a young man in his early 20s, who sat cross-legged on his seat, meditating during the waiting period.
Feeling Han Dong’s gaze, the man slightly opened his eyes and smiled politely.
The other one was quite special.
A girl wearing a half wooden mask, black bob haircut, a pear-shaped face coupled with the high nose and thick lips of the Westerners, and a pair of profound black eyes all giving her a sense of ‘mystery’.
Interestingly, numerous small potion bottles hung from the belt at her waist, and her backpack was filled with tools relevant to ‘herbology’.
This girl took out a mortar and pestle, combined the herbs from her backpack in an appropriate way, added a special solution from a bottle at her waist, then proceeded to grind everything together.
She made a green ointment that effectively disinfected, stopped bleeding, and even expedited wound healing to some extent.
Then, she handed the ointment out to the injured Apprentice Knights with a friendly smile, winning over many of them.
“A leader in the making? If there’s a class like system similar to colleges, this girl will likely be the class president.”
After a while, this short-haired girl walked past Han Dong, noticing that Han Dong was unharmed. She nodded softly, smiling politely.
During his time as a university lecturer, Han Dong had seen countless young women.
Not any like her though, who boasted good looks, personality, and exceptional abilities.
Clearly sensing Han Dong’s ‘distinctiveness’ , the short-haired girl glanced back at him several times.
There were a total of 37 Apprentice Knights in the conference room.
All of the Apprentice Knights who invested Fate Points in [Mysticism] after passing numerous life-or-death exams this year are all here at present. Despite the distribution of the green ointment, students still complained about the department test.
“I heard that the Apprentice Knights from the [Crusader Department] are evaluated by dedicated testing machines and a judgment panel. It’s completely safe and fair…Why do the minority of Mysticism freshmen have to go through such a dangerous test?”
“Maybe that’s why few choose the Mysterious Department…”
“The entrance test of my Mysticism Department is based on Mr. Black White’s ‘Mystic Plan’. It has been revised by three generations and finally turned into this testing method.”
Suddenly, a powerful and imposing voice echoed throughout the conference room, drowning out everyone else’s discussions.
“This kind of testing, including an assessment of personal strength, character evaluation, IQ test….
After all, the novice-level Fate events you have experienced were carried out on the premise of a team, so there’s a chance you passed through sheer luck or capitalizing on others’ deaths.
It’s necessary to have a comprehensive evaluation of your personal strength.
Mystery Scholars must have the ability to fight alone.
If not, when you join the Knight Regiment and go to the outskirts of the City Wall due to the unique positioning of Mystery Scholars, you will be the first to die.
Any Apprentice Knight who has any dissatisfaction with the test can submit your opinions in written form to Mr. Black White… if it’s considered worth addressing, you may even be rewarded.”
As soon as his voice faded, the conference room fell into dead silence.
Meanwhile, the teachers arrived.
Plague poison, Vine encirclement,
Starlight shimmer,
Every teacher used their supernatural abilities to appear, sitting in the airborne seats on the second floor.
An intangible pressure enveloped everyone.
Although each teacher possessed entirely different capabilities, with their clothing and accessories varying considerably.
They all had one thing in common.
They wore the symbolic “bird beak mask” on their faces that also functioned as protective goggles.
This bizarre looking bird beak mask dated back to the largest plague in
Medieval Europe – The Black Death.
A group that referred to themselves as “plague doctors” emerged, wearing this type of bird beak mask, the beak filled with various spices and herbs, which served to filter what were considered to be “disease-ridden air,” a primitive version of a gas mask.
However, the medical technology of that era was utterly incapable of curing the Black Death.
These “plague doctors” may have looked professional, but they didn’t understand the principles of disease. They only used rudimentary folk remedies, such as:
Believing that diseases originated from foul smells in the air, they burnt incense to disperse the “noxious air”.
Believing that sickness was caused by contamination in the blood, they frequently resorted to the crude and brutal “bloodletting” method. These treatments, devoid of any curative effect, often hastened the patient’s death during the course of treatment.
If they cannot cure, they can only collect the dead.
The majority of plague doctors would collect the corpses of plague victims and take them back to the hospital for dissection.
Their arrival was seen by the common folk as a harbinger of death, to see whom was to die.
Over time, these oddly dressed plague doctors became known as “messengers of death”, with the bird beak mask becoming a symbol of ill-omen.
“The test evaluations have been completed, your performances have been divided into three categories.
Different categories correspond to different rights to choose mentors.
First, let’s announce the “Qualified” list. Apprentice Knights who are rated as qualified do not have the right to choose their own mentor.
Instead, the mentor will pose academic questions to you, those who provide satisfactory answers will become the personal apprentice of the mentor.” “What if the answer is not satisfactory?” Someone immediately asked.
“If no mentor is willing to take you in, you will become a bottom-tier apprentice in the Mysticism Department, unable to gain resources from mentorship, left to fend for yourself … if you can’t take it, you can choose to drop out.”
This reply made many faces turn sour.
Next, a female teacher was responsible for reading the names of the “Qualified” students.
Each named apprentice Knight looked distressed, as if they had been labelled as slaves.
They needed to try their utmost to please their mentors in the hope of being accepted…otherwise, they would have no future prospects.
Out of a total of 37 students, surprisingly 25 were named.
“Next we will announce the ‘Intermediate’ list. Students who are rated as ‘Intermediate’ will at least be selected by a lecturer of the Mysticism Department.
If your academic answers and personal talents are quite impressive, you may catch the eye of an associate professor…it is very rare to be noticed by a full-fledged professor.”
The test gave the intermediate rating to nine students, Han Dong was not among them.
Which means, only three students are of a higher level than intermediate.
“Now we will announce the ‘Outstanding’ list.”
“Students evaluated as ‘Outstanding’ have double choice rights!’
You can choose your first and second mentors, and, after half a year, based on your own preference, you can abandon one and focus on one direction.”
“The students who received an outstanding evaluation are:
Nurman, with a total score of 90.”
The Arabian youth sitting cross-legged on the stone stool gave a satisfied smile.
“Mia Seminovich, with a total score of 93.”
The short-haired girl who had previously handed out the green ointment grinned and flicked her hair with delight when she heard her name.
However, as time passed, the name ‘Nicholas’ was never called, as if it was ‘superfluous’..