ALL NOVEL Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Admission (5)
T h is was c o p ied f r o m k i n gm t l. o r g
Stella Academy has a large number of faculty members. Not just a large number, but an immense number.
First-year students alone number 1,141, with 23 classes. Each class has one homeroom professor (combat instructor) and one to three assistant teachers. Additionally, there are specialized professors, with several magic researchers working under them for each specialized subject.
At the beginning of the semester, with a new batch of freshmen arriving, the focus of these numerous faculty members was singular.
‘How special are the new students?’
The princess of the Adolevit Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Flames or the Red Kingdom, Hong Bi-yeon.
Jeremie Scalven, who, at the age of twelve, overcame his older brothers to become the crown prince in the Scalven Empire, where one’s magical prowess determines the imperial throne.
Even Haewonryang, the heir to the top mage tower in the world, the ‘Tower of the Full Moon.’
This year, elite students from prestigious families had flocked to Stella Academy, enough to make even the faculty nervous, naturally drawing the world’s attention to Stella Academy.
Because of this, the faculty employed a somewhat underhanded but special method for this year’s ‘Class Placement Test.’
They included three questions at the beginning of the test that were nearly impossible for an average student to solve.
The reason for this was multifaceted, but the surface reason given to the students was simple.
‘A flexibility test to see if students could skip problems they couldn’t solve and move on to the next ones.’
In other words, a ‘test strategy.’
If you can’t solve a problem, skip it boldly! Otherwise, you might miss the chance to score even one more point.
But that was the surface reason; there was a deeper reason behind it.
‘If presented with problems not covered in the textbooks they studied, could any student solve them?’
All freshmen admitted to Stella Academy were undoubtedly called geniuses wherever they went, having strategically studied to finish all magical formulas and equations up to the university level.
But what if the problems didn’t fall within the range they studied? What if there were problems that couldn’t be solved with any of the formulas they had memorized?
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m k i n g m t l .org
What if there were problems that could only be solved through creativity, reasoning, and critical thinking?
The era of simple combat with cold weapons has passed. Now is the age of magical warriors.
Thi s w a s c opie d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
In an era where mages must be ‘creative’ in battle to predict and respond to the opponent’s magic, creativity is a crucial issue for mages.
“Hmm…”
Lee Han-wol, the combat instructor for Class S and a World Mage of Class 7, checked the students’ scores and sighed.
Then, an elderly female professor, Edeltaimen, passing by, noticed Lee Han-wol and started a conversation.
“Oh my, Professor Lee Han-wol seems particularly interested in this year’s freshmen’s scores?”
Edeltaimen, a professor in the Elder Council of Stella Academy, was more like a pillar supporting the school’s policies than just a regular professor.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Well, there’s a lot of fuss because of it. This year is quite interesting, isn’t it?”
As she said, the freshmen test results caused quite a stir among the faculty.
Lee Han-wol nodded and checked the test results again.
‘The first three problems were almost trap questions, not meant to be solved.’
As a result, over 1,000 out of 1,141 students submitted those ‘three questions’ blank, indicating that most Stella Academy freshmen were strategically prepared for entrance exams.
However, magic cannot be mastered by strategic studying alone. A true mage must always think creatively and broadly.
In that sense, the 100 students who attempted to solve those problems were quite unique.
Most of those who attempted received high scores on the placement test and were assigned to ‘Class A,’ the highest class, but many couldn’t solve even one out of the three problems correctly.
But there were students who solved all three problems. Not just one, but three students.
First, Ma Yuseong, a boy called the genius of the century who swept the magical world, though his origins were unknown.
Second, Flame, a commoner acknowledged for her exceptional abilities and talent comparable to Ma Yuseong, recommended by the headmaster and archmage Eltemon Eltrine.
And…
‘Baek Yu-seol.’
It was incomprehensible.
While Ma Yuseong and Flame were geniuses from the start, making it understandable that they solved all three problems, Baek Yu-seol was different.
He barely passed the entrance test, ranking 1,141 out of 1,141 students.
Yet he solved all three problems? While solving none of the others?
Edeltaimen, seemingly understanding Lee Han-wol’s thoughts, chuckled.
“Those problems couldn’t be solved even if you knew numerous formulas and equations, but they could be solved even if you knew nothing.”
“So, Professor Edeltaimen, do you think this kid could be such a genius?”
“Maybe. Or it could be a coincidence.”
As she left with those words, Lee Han-wol sighed. He knew better than anyone that those problems couldn’t be solved by coincidence.
Did Baek Yu-seol know that the entire faculty was in an uproar because of these three questions?
‘A cadet specializing in Blink magic, huh.’
Reading Baek Yu-seol’s admission certificate slowly, he chuckled. This student had the audacity to tell a Class 7 mage like him to ‘be careful next time.’
[Recognizing the remarkable ability to control Blink, admission is granted through special selection.]
T h is w a s c opi e d f r o m k in g mtl .o r g
This note was left by the headmaster of Stella Academy himself. This year was full of unusual students, so merely specializing in Blink wouldn’t stand out much…
‘We’ll find out soon enough.’
Whether he was just a fluke or truly something special.
Time would tell.
* * *
The next day.
The highly anticipated class placements.
Even the geniuses and nobles from magical families were tense this day.
Students gathered around the central bulletin board outside the school, where the class placements were announced.
The board, magically lit up like a digital neon sign, displayed the names of over a thousand freshmen.
Couldn’t they just send the class assignments via letter to each student?
Though it seemed absurd to gather everyone like this, the academy’s tradition of publicly announcing the class placements couldn’t be helped.
“Oh, isn’t that Baek Yu-seol?”
“I heard he got a zero in the magic application section of the entrance test…”
“Wow, if someone like that can get into Stella, this place must be going downhill, right?”
“Nah. With this year’s lineup, no one would think that.”
Some students recognized me and started whispering. While some geniuses stood out from the first day, others, like me, drew attention by scoring zero.
‘The magic demonstration was unavoidable…’
Right after enrolling, there was a simple magic demonstration to see which magic we specialized in.
And I used Blink.
T hi s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i ngmt l .o r g
The most basic but least used magic.
T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m k i n g m t l. o rg
Because of that, the instructors’ expressions turned cold, making me quite nervous.
‘If I get ostracized like this, will I have to spend my school life without friends?’
That would be unfortunate, but I didn’t plan to befriend these high school kids from the start.
‘Hmm…’
I first looked for Class F.
It was obvious, but Class F was for the lowest-ranked students, and Class A was for the top students.
Th i s wa s c op i e d f ro m k i n g m tl . o r g
However, my name wasn’t in Class F.
‘Huh?’
Thi s w a s cop ie d f r o m k i n g m t l . o rg
What’s this? That can’t be right. Considering I only solved three problems on the placement test, I should be in Class F.
But my name wasn’t there…
‘No way, did I fail?’
Occasionally, students were expelled even after enrolling if they failed their tests…
But could they really expel me so easily? Starting with the placement test seems too harsh.
I was so baffled that I kept scanning Class F repeatedly when I heard students around me murmuring in bewilderment.
“…Baek Yu-seol? That kid who got a failing score, why?”
“What? Is something wrong? This seems weird.”
“Impossible… Even the son of the Czech Veilen Count family, who prepared since he was seven, is 29th in the grade and in Class A…”
“Even ‘Kyle,’ who scored full marks in theory and is 17th, was assigned to Class A, so why him?”
What’s going on?
Something’s wrong.
I checked the Class S placements, which I hadn’t paid attention to, and my eyes widened.
[S-0 Class Baek Yu-seol]
What?
Why is my name there?
T h is w a s co p ie d fr o m k ing m t l . o rg
“This must be a mistake…”
Class S is special. Unlike Class A, only students with something truly ‘special’ can enter.
Historically renowned figures and most famous and successful mages today came from Class S, indicating that it wasn’t just about being good at studies but having something extraordinary enough to stand out in the magical society.
Simply being good at studies couldn’t get you into Class S.
T hi s w a s c op ie d fr o m ki n gm t l . o rg
Just like the student ranked 29th who was in Class A, Class S was truly out of reach for ordinary students.
Even at the prestigious Stella Academy, the most special grade every student dreams of, S.
Being placed there was an unprecedented event for me.
Whether this was good or bad, I honestly didn’t know.
Even if I were placed in Class F, by scheduling my timetable well, I could still interact with the main characters of Class S at desired times.
But being in Class S would increase my interaction time with the main characters I wanted to avoid.
‘Damn, this is really driving me crazy…’
After pondering for a while, I realized there was only one answer since I couldn’t undo the Class S assignment.
I would live quietly like a mouse in Class S, doing only what I needed to do.
‘Well, it will work out somehow.’
I decided to think positively.
End of Chapter