Chapter 34: Year-End Assessment (1)

December 3rd, Year 403 of the new calendar was a special day for the students of Rexox Academy, as it marked the start of the evaluation of their academic performance throughout the year. Those who passed would advance to the next grade, while those who failed would have to stay back and retake their courses.

As a result, the usually lively academy was now filled with students looking worried as they prepared for the assessment. Of course, this applied only to the senior students. Lower-grade students like Jiang Zhe only needed to pass a simple written exam along with a practical test outside. They didn’t have to stay up late writing papers or painstakingly research special academic topics or inventions to earn extra credits, as Rexox’s education philosophy emphasized gradual progress.

In addition to the Ancient Magic History course, which he had already passed, Jiang Zhe still needed to pass exams in Blue Fire Magic, Black Magic Defense, and Potion Making. The rules for these exams were simple: one written test and one practical test.

Apart from Potion Making, the written tests for Blue Fire Magic and Black Magic Defense were quite easy—at least for Jiang Zhe. This wasn’t because he had a deep understanding of Black Magic Defense, but rather because Professor Salter Amix didn’t place much emphasis on written tests. The old magician valued practical skills more.

The rules were straightforward: Any student who couldn’t cast any arcane spell within three seconds would fail!

It might seem strict, but Professor Amix had actually relaxed the standards quite a bit. In the past, he required students to cast spells within one second without making obvious gestures of chanting. Additionally, the amount of damage a spell could absorb was also considered an important factor in the evaluation.

Even so, Professor Amix wasn’t entirely satisfied. This veteran magician had once participated in the “Salonia Yearly War.” Rather than relying on classroom teaching, he preferred to take the students to a dark room filled with traps to let them experience the dangerous atmosphere of a battlefield. However, this idea was rejected by the academy authorities due to its extreme danger.

Compared to the seniors, Professor Amix set much lower requirements for Jiang Zhe and the other lower-grade students. Of course, this was also because the professor wasn’t very interested in them. Those who could cast an arcane spell within three seconds passed; those who couldn’t had to stay back. Professor Amix wouldn’t say a word extra or give another chance.

For the Fireball spell, most students take about three to four seconds to cast it, while Jiang Zhe can do it in two and a half seconds. For a spell that isn’t instant, this performance satisfied Huo greatly. However, when it came to arcane spells, Jiang Zhe’s casting speed was still two and a half seconds. Seeing Amix frown, it was obvious he wasn’t satisfied.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Jiang Zhe still passed, and most of the other students also took between two and three seconds. Notably, Scott’s casting speed was 1.5 seconds, which earned him special attention from Professor Amix. Aside from Scott, Ravia had the best score at 1.8 seconds. As for Allen, he also caught the professor’s interest…

Three seconds—barely passing…

Among the hundreds of first-year students, only three failed. Watching them plead with Professor Amix while he ignored them completely, Jiang Zhe was secretly glad he had asked Scott to help him study intensively before the exam.

Compared to Dark Magic Defense, the Potion-making course was much simpler. Firstly, as a relatively young woman, Professor Vera Covetti wasn’t as strict as Professor Amix. Secondly, the entire assessment was conducted in groups of three students. With Scott, their “erudite” roommate, around, it was hard for Jiang Zhe and the others to fail.

After the written test came the practical part, with simple rules: as long as they created a successful potion within an hour, they passed. The materials had already been prepared by the professor—after all, it was just the first year, and the alchemical plants needed were quite common.

Jiang Zhe and the others were making a “Vitality Potion,” a potion that allowed people to quickly return to their best condition. Though it was basic, it couldn’t last long.

Scott was in charge of mixing the potion, while Jiang Zhe controlled the temperature of the flame under the container. Neither of these tasks was difficult for them. As for Allen, he just yawned in the background.

In the end, Professor Covetti was satisfied enough to give them five out of five points—the full score.

Of course, this wasn’t the highest score in the assessment. Nearly half of the students received full marks, thanks to Professor Covetti’s “leniency.” However, two groups also got six points, seemingly because their potions surprised the professor greatly.

One group was Ravia’s team, who created a “Mental Potion,” a potion that slightly enhanced the user’s mental strength. This was much more difficult than Jiang Zhe and the others’ Vitality Potion.

Looking at those eyes filled with pride and showiness, Jiang Zhe curled his lips.

There was also a team composed of three male students. The team leader seemed to be a blond boy who kept staring at Jiang Zhe with a provocative gaze, which puzzled him. Perhaps noticing Jiang Zhe’s confusion, Scott teased him from the side, “Forgot? The boring vanity of those idle nobles!” “Is it him?” Jiang Zhe then remembered—it was the same guy who had mocked him on the carriage when they first arrived. “Vincent Flores, the heir to the Flores family. His father is a high-ranking official in the empire, a count, though I heard he might get promoted to duke!” Scott whispered as he arranged the long table. “What does that have to do with me?” Jiang Zhe smiled faintly, turned away from the guy who kept staring at him provocatively, ignoring completely his flushed face. “A count, huh,” Allen said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “And his old man is also a high-ranking official in the empire. That’s troublesome. If we fight, my old man will give me trouble…” “Hey!” Jiang Zhe was both amused and exasperated. “Fight him?” Scott sneered. “I heard he specializes in summoning magic and does well in it. His strength is far greater than that girl last time…” “So what?” Allen shrugged indifferently. “Give me a long sword. I don’t care what magic he specializes in. Only you two freaks can hold me back…” “Hm?” Jiang Zhe and Scott’s eyebrows twitched as they turned to look at Allen with fierce expressions, scaring him into begging for mercy. “I’m just confirming your strength, guys…” He then changed the subject. “By the way, Scott, will you inherit a duke title in the future?” “No!” Scott’s joking expression turned serious as he said in a low voice, “I’ll inherit a countship!” Seeing the flames of anger and hatred in his eyes, Allen was puzzled, while Jiang Zhe seemed to understand something. After the two required courses, the students taking the exams scattered—some went for enhancement magic tests, some for illusion magic tests, and some for various types of green magic tests. Before Jiang Zhe and the others could say “good luck” to each other, Ravia came over, glanced at Jiang Zhe, and said coldly, “If you fail the theoretical exam, I’ll kill you!” Hey! Hearing her seemingly non-threatening words, Jiang Zhe felt helpless. Did he really need to motivate himself in such a way?

Still, Jiang Zhe was somewhat grateful to this girl for teaching him everything she knew, though her method left him frustrated…
After temporarily saying goodbye to Scott and Allen, Jiang Zhe reluctantly followed Raviya to the familiar Fire Blue Magic classroom, where he saw Professor Hod already there, smiling at him upon seeing him.
Like other subjects, the theoretical exam was similar to those in his past life, with the difference being that instead of subjects like Chinese and math, it tested knowledge of Fire Blue Magic.
But what concerned Jiang Zhe most was…
“Hey,” he said softly, looking up at Professor Hod who had been standing in front of him, “Professor, isn’t this necessary?”
“Heh!” Professor Hod smiled and lowered his head, threateningly saying, “This isn’t an exam on ancient magic history. If you dare cheat in my class, prepare to take classes with your juniors next year!” As he spoke, he felt something was off.
No, if this kid failed, wouldn’t he no longer be his professor? That… that couldn’t happen!
Thinking of this, the professor bent down, tapped the desk, and said, “Be careful!”
“What?”
“What what?” The professor glanced around and saw the other students deeply focused on their exams. He whispered, “Don’t play dumb!”
“…” Jiang Zhe was speechless. He spread his hands and said, “I really didn’t do it this time, okay?”
“Really?” Professor Hod looked at Jiang Zhe with suspicion.
“Fine,” Jiang Zhe nodded and rolled his eyes, “Then just stand here!”
“Huh?” Professor Hod was clearly surprised, but what happened next surprised him even more.
Jiang Zhe looked up, rolled his eyes at him, and used shorthand magic to write accurate answers to question after question on the parchment at incredible speed.
This surprised Professor Hod. Had this kid changed? Impossible! He had originally planned to go easy on him…
Subconsciously glancing aside, the professor noticed another female student he valued quickly lowering her head…
Heh! An inexplicable smile appeared on Professor Hod’s face.
The exam lasted forty minutes, but Jiang Zhe finished in twenty. Seeing him look up at him, Professor Hod smiled slightly, patted Jiang Zhe’s head, and said, “Not bad! But… this is just the basics!”
After the theoretical exam, it was naturally time for the practical part.

As mentioned earlier, the assessment in the first year is extremely simple—so simple that most professors don’t take it seriously, as it’s truly basic. Take the practical assessment for Blue Fire Magic, for example: Professor Hodde simply set up two magic targets. As long as one hit the target or caused it to burn, they passed. The difference was that students learning the Fireball route had to hit the target from ten yards away, while those learning the Flame route had an even easier task—just burning the target from two yards away was sufficient to pass. Of course, before the assessment, Professor Hodde said, “Except for student Lavia and Sos, everyone else, get ready!” It seems Professor Hodde had different assessment standards for Lavia and Jiang Zhe. After understanding what he meant, the girl seemed excited, thinking the professor recognized her abilities, but Jiang Zhe felt quite frustrated—after all, he had been catching up on sleep lately… Within just over ten minutes, the assessments for the others were over, and everyone passed, as it was indeed very simple! Of course, this also had something to do with Professor Hodde not focusing on them. “Alright, students Lavia and Sos, stay back for the assessment. Everyone else may go, but remember, next year’s Blue Fire Magic assessment won’t be this easy. Those who slack off won’t pass!” When saying “slack off,” Professor Hodde deliberately emphasized his words. Hearing the crisp humming sound beside him, Jiang Zhe felt quite innocent. “Yes, Professor!” the students shouted enthusiastically before turning to leave. Soon, the spacious area was left only with Professor Hodde, Jiang Zhe, Lavia, and the two magic targets. Glancing at the departing students, Jiang Zhe asked irritably, “So, Professor, how does the assessment work? From fifty yards away? Or by destroying these two magic targets?” “Oh?” Professor Hodde chuckled, slowly raising his hand. There were no signs of him casting magic, yet a pillar of fire rose from the ground where the targets stood. In the blink of an eye, the blue flames reduced the two targets to ashes. “P-Professor?” Lavia exclaimed in shock, covering her mouth. “Don’t worry, student Lavia,” the professor said with a slight smile, waving his finger. “You don’t need those two trinkets. Sos, I think you understand…” With that, he winked at Jiang Zhe.

“No way,” Jiang Zhe’s eye twitched inexplicably as he whispered, “Professor, please don’t… You already made things really tough for me last time… Even if you don’t use magic above level three, it’s still impossible to beat you!”
“Hey!” Professor Hod shook his head impatiently, pointing at Jiang Zhe and Ravia. “You little brat, don’t overestimate yourself. It’s the two of you!”
“Two of us?” Ravia said in surprise. “Fight… fight against Professor?” She turned to look at Jiang Zhe, nodded, and said, “I understand, Professor!”
What do you understand?!
Rolling his eyes, Jiang Zhe was about to speak when he heard Professor Hod’s voice.
“Sos, what’s the matter? Is this your level of awareness? Are you only planning to use your magic against weaklings?” Saying this half-sarcastically and half-challenging, Professor Hod took out a pocket watch from his chest, raised two fingers, and said calmly, “I’m giving you two minutes to think about your tactics. Starting now!”
“Wait, it’s already starting?” Jiang Zhe widened his eyes.
“Fifty-five seconds left…”
“Hey…”
“Shut up!” A sharp rebuke came from beside him. Ravia stared deeply at Professor Hod, frowned, and said, “Sos, have you ever fought against the professor?”
“Was that even a fight?” Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes impatiently. It was purely one-sided destruction, right?
“Thirty seconds left!”
Looking at the professor with the pocket watch, Ravia frowned and said, “Answer my question! What’s the professor’s most commonly used magic?”
“Uh,” Jiang Zhe hesitated and said uncertainly, “It’s probably fireballs, but I’ve also seen him use fire shield spells, fire wave spells… Or maybe fire bombs? Hmm, still fireballs…”
“You! Can’t you be more definite?”
“Come on, I just sent fireballs at him last time. Do you think it was one fireball after another? Where would I have the time to pay attention to what he uses?!”
“One after another…” Ravia seemed to think of something, glanced doubtfully at the smiling professor, and said uncertainly, “A real duel between magicians?”
“I think that’s what it was called…”
“Thirty seconds left! Twenty-nine! Twenty-eight!”
“…” Glancing hesitantly at Professor Hod and then glancing at Jiang Zhe with some anger, Ravia whispered, “Well, there’s no other way. First, we need to understand Professor Hod’s habits when casting magic… When fighting you, does the professor use spells?”
“I already said that wasn’t a fight… Okay, okay, sometimes he uses them, sometimes he doesn’t…”

“Instant magic?” Removing her intimidating gaze, Ravia frowned and looked up at the listless boy beside her, whispering, “If it’s you who prevents me from passing the test, I’ll kill you!”
“Again?”
“Ahem!” At that moment, a cough came from afar. Professor Hode put away his pocket watch and smiled, saying, “I hate to interrupt you, but time’s up…” With that, he spread his hands and recited a very long spell. As he chanted, a circle of red ripples spread out from beneath his feet, rapidly expanding to form a barrier glowing with a faint red light.
It was a restriction barrier, roughly a hundred yards in radius. Of course, Professor Hode wasn’t imposing any actual restrictions on the two of them; he simply didn’t want outsiders to enter this area. Although this was the practice ground for the Fire Blue Magic course, other people might show up, and Professor Hode didn’t want to be disturbed.
“There’s no other way,” Ravia sighed softly and said in a low voice, “Sos, you distract the professor while I take care of the main attack…”
“Why should you do the main attack?”
“You! Fireballs are meant to draw the opponent’s attention. Do you expect me to do it? Even you can dodge my Flame Wave spell—there’s no reason the professor can’t dodge it either!”
“Well then…”
“I said,” Professor Hode said helplessly, smiling bitterly at the two students across from him, “It’s already started!” With that, a fireball formed in front of him and was thrown at the two of them without any warning.
“Of course, Professor!” Ravia smiled slightly, reciting a spell. Suddenly, a blazing circle of flames erupted beneath her feet, protecting her and Jiang Zhe beside her. The fireball thrown by the professor was blown apart by the flame wave.
This was Ravia’s most skilled magic: the Flame Wave spell.
“Oh?” Professor Hode smiled, about to say something, when suddenly his expression turned stern. He noticed four or five fireballs flying from the flames across from him, hovering above him.
“Snap!” A snap of fingers.