Chapter 40: Evaluation II

"Ribbit, hello, Professor!" Mugi flew gracefully toward Raungen on a magic carpet.

"Begin your assessment."

"Ribbit, okay."

Mugi stepped up to the testing spot. Once Raungen confirmed the start of the assessment, he released his thaumaturgy.

Thud—

A water bullet quickly formed before him, then rapidly struck the thaumaturgy target ten meters away.

No external lineage projection was used for auxiliary casting.

Loudness adjustment time: 1 second
Timbre determination time: 1.03 seconds
Frequency adjustment time: 1 second
EVE content released: 40 spiritual units
Precision: Good.
Comprehensive rating: Excellent-

Extremely close to the 3-second zone. Raungen recorded Mugi's score.

"Ribbit~ Professor, I can cast spells from the other three lineages as well, just not as fast as [Water Bullet]." Mugi said to Professor Raungen.

"No matter. Test them together; I will record your best score."

"Okay."

Next, under the astonished gazes of the other students, Mugi completed the release of thaumaturgy from the other three lineages, and Raungen recorded Mugi's scores.

Fireball: Good-
Sand and Earth: Good-
Air Bullet: Pass

"Very well, next, Lifen! "

Lifen, wearing the uniform of the Cervus House, drifted in front of Raungen. He shyly said to the professor, "I..."

"It's your turn."

"Okay..." Lifen spoke in a soft, gentle voice, looking like a pushover.

Lifen stepped up to the testing position, raised his hand toward the target ten meters away, and after Raungen gave the signal, [Fireball], [Water Bullet], [Sand and Earth], and [Air Bullet] appeared on his hand in sequence.

No external lineage projection was used for auxiliary casting.

Loudness adjustment time: 1 second
Timbre determination time: 1.14 seconds
Frequency adjustment time: 1 second
EVE content released: 40 spiritual units
Precision: Good.
Comprehensive rating: Excellent-

This was the record for the first item, [Fireball]. The subsequent three lineages of thaumaturgy fluctuated based on this, with an error of no more than 0.01 seconds.

All four lineages of thaumaturgy were rated Good+, a very impressive score.

After silently recording the scores, Raungen motioned for Lifen to step down.

As Lifen walked down, the students saw him approaching and instinctively made a little room for him, which resulted in only Mugi remaining in the same area as him when he returned to the formation.

The ghost and the frog exchanged a tacit glance, then simultaneously cast their gazes toward the last person who had yet to be tested—the golden-haired, golden-eyed boy.

"Last one, Hugh Abraham!" Raungen narrowed his eyes as he read out the final student's name.

Xia Xiu walked out from the crowd and greeted Professor Raungen with a smile:

"Hello, Professor."

"Don't forget what you promised me when you asked for leave earlier. If your scores for all four lineages of thaumaturgy are failing, you'll be in charge of cleaning the Cervus House's restrooms for the next half year," Raungen said, unamused.

"I guarantee the professor will be satisfied," Xia Xiu replied with a narrowing, smiling gaze.

"Begin the assessment."

"Mm."

As the grand finale, Xia Xiu naturally attracted the attention of many. The students watched as the golden-haired, golden-eyed boy approached the testing area. His expression did not look nervous at all; upon closer inspection, one could even detect a sense of indolence emanating from him.

The boy's casting motion was completely different from everyone else present. He simply raised his right hand, then curled his middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger.

He formed his hand into the shape of a pistol. This casual casting posture was identical to the scene when Professor Raungen had explained thaumaturgy to them when they first arrived at Cervus House.

Poof—Poof—Poof—Poof—

Four consecutive impact sounds rang out, and four closely spaced small pits appeared on the thaumaturgy target ahead.

Before the students even had time to react, the spellcasting was already over.

"Professor, how was it?" Xia Xiu retracted his finger and asked Raungen.

"......"

No external lineage projection was used for auxiliary casting.

Loudness adjustment time: 0.54 seconds
Timbre determination time: 0.58 seconds
Frequency adjustment time: 0.55 seconds
EVE content released: 10 spiritual units
Precision: Excellent.
Comprehensive rating: Excellent+

A flawless entry into the 3-second zone, with the EVE particle content of every single thaumaturgic spell maintained precisely at 10 spiritual units. Such terrifying precision.......

"...You, very good." Professor Raungen looked at Xia Xiu with a complex gaze.

Terrifying!

What kind of natural talent was this!

Xia Xiu smiled and walked back to the formation. At this moment, most of the students looked at him as if he were a monster. In fact, Xia Xiu was already an exceptionally famous figure among the students.

Every single Number and Science class was the only one where Xia Xiu was dismissed right on time, while all the other students could only look on with envy as he whistled and left the classroom leisurely. Professor Dylan was fierce toward everyone else, yet showed a bit of leniency only toward Xia Xiu.

Good grades were one thing, but how could his talent for thaumaturgy be so absurd as well!

After Xia Xiu returned to his position, Professor Raungen collected and uploaded all the scores, then turned to the students and said:

"Alright, this month's examination concludes here."

"From here on, your studies will enter the next phase, and you will be able to access the specialized courses of the occult cluster. The specialized courses teach extremely important practical transcendental knowledge. You must study diligently; if you encounter anything you don't understand, you may ask the cluster professors. Do not blindly figure things out on your own."

"Also, aside from specialized courses, the class time for your other three compulsory subjects will be shortened. Sometimes you might only have one or two classes a week."

"The academy hopes you will use the extra time to participate more in thaumaturgic experiments and club practices. You are well aware of the academy's GPA requirements for your first academic year, so work hard, little fawns!"

After finishing his speech to the students, Raungen once again boarded the hexagram array composed of multiple triangles and departed.

After Raungen left, the students scattered like birds and beasts, each following their respective small groups to discuss their upcoming academy life.

Xia Xiu naturally had his own group. Right on cue, Camille brought the boisterous Usas over to him.

"Whoa, squinty, I didn't expect you to be so awesome. No wonder Camille... Wuuwuu... let me go..." Usas walked up to Xia Xiu and praised him loudly, only to have her mouth covered mid-sentence as Camille leaped onto her back.

"Ahem—Camille, your jumping ability just keeps getting better. Now you can leap right onto my back." After making sure Usas had quieted down, Camille stepped off her back, only to find Usas glaring at her with aggrieved eyes.

"I'll treat you to milk chocolate later," Camille skillfully said to the disgruntled Usas.

"I forgive you." Usas beamed, instantly forgetting what had just happened.

"You two are still as close as ever," Xia Xiu smiled.

"Of course," Usas replied.

"Let's go. If we want to chat, let's find another place. This isn't appropriate," Camille continued.

Xia Xiu glanced around at the students whose gazes were intentionally or unintentionally fixed on him, nodded, and replied:

"Indeed."