Igni: “Okay, I think I got it. Can you check my answer, Elina?”
Elina: “Okay, let’s see. Oh, there’s a mistake in your calculation formula here.”
Igni: “.......oh, you’re right.”
Since no one was using it, the three of them were borrowing the Student Council Meeting room. Sara was with them too, but she was sitting on the edge to not interrupt their studying, but now she was completely asleep.
Yoori: “Miss Elina, how’s this?”
Elina: “Yes. Yoori, yours is correct.”
With Elina there, they are getting through the materials very quickly and efficiently. As Igni was correcting his formula, a question about Elina popped up in his head.
Igni: “Elina…”
Elina: “What’s wrong?”
Elina was already tackling and reviewing the next subject that Igni and Yoori would be studying next. There is no doubt that she is an exceptionally dedicated and hard worker.
Igni: “Why do you always aim to be top of the class?”
She works very diligently at anything related to her grades or study. But Igni still couldn’t shake off the thought that there was something more driving her to be No. 1 at the school. It’s true that being valedictorian has its perks and could be advantageous for employment opportunities. But even so, her obsession and ambition for the top of her class was on another level.
With Igni’s question, Elina's black hair wavers slightly. But without a moment of thought, she immediately answered.
Elina: “That is the whole purpose of my existence.”
It was a straight answer. As she looked deeply into Igni’s crimson eyes, she smiled as she spoke.
Igni: “I see.”
Igni did not delve any further with his question. That’s why, as a friend, all he could do was cheer her on.
<<<<>>>>
They continued to study with Elina for the rest of the week, and thoroughly invested their time and energy into their sessions. It was a week well spent for Igni as he learned that those who aim for the top of the class not only study regularly, but also come up with test strategies.
So now that a week has passed, the examinations began.
The exams at Roland Wizard Academy are largely broken into 2 categories.
The first is a written examination where you are given papers with questions, and you must answer all the problems correctly.
The second is a physical examination testing your skills with Alchemy, Healing, and Combat Skills.
In the previous exam, Igni and his group were on a Quest, so they were exempt from participating, but this round, without a Quest, they were required to attend. Igni was a scholarship student who entered the Academy without going through the written exam, so his grades on this portion won’t be counted against him.
The second category will affect his grades though.
Igni and his group are currently in one of the Laboratory Tower and in one of their Alchemy Classrooms.
They are separated into groups of 3 and stood in front of a large cauldron.
“For today’s examination, you are required to make a Mid-Tier Healing Potion. You have 90 minutes to complete this task. The sand timer will indicate your remaining time. Once the last sand falls, your time is up. Please begin.”
The professor who stood at the very front flipped the sand timer, and Igni and his group began their exam.
Igni’s team consisted of Edward and Iris ーthe same members as his Quest.
Edward: “Creating a Mid-Tier Healing Potion isn’t that difficult. All you have to do is remain calm as you make it!”
With that, Edward flipped on the magic artifact switch at the bottom of the large cauldron. The next instant, the cauldron used Magic Power as fuel, and heat began pouring into the water that filled the cauldron.
Edward: “In order to make a quality potion, you need to be selective with the medicinal herbs you use, but it’s also equally important to boil and draw out all the oils out of the herbs too.”
While Edward was speaking, Igni was sorting through the mountain of stacked medicinal herbs and threw out the poor quality ones. Although Lucas was healing him with Elixir during his training days at the [Demon King’s Realm], it’s not like he will always have access to it.
That’s why it wasn’t rare for him to be fighting while still wounded or injured. And that’s why it was crucial for him to be able to determine the quality of medicinal herbs found in the [Demon King’s Realm] to survive.
Igni: “These are the higher quality medicinal herbs. Please use these.” In order to not mix-up the two stacks, he relocated the poorer quality herbs to a different location.
Iris: “The water’s already boiling. Edward, how much time do we need to draw out the essential oils?”
Edward: “22 minutes and 30 seconds.” Iris: “Got it. I’ll make a timer.” After confirming with Edward, Iris <made> a sand timer that measured exactly 22 minutes and 30 seconds. Although she did this quickly, this requires a high level of technique to accomplish. Iris was a [S] Compatibility after all.
Iris: “Sir Igni, please put in the herbs.” Igni: “Yeah.” Igni puts the herbs inside a sack cloth and placed it inside the boiling water. Iris flipped the sand timer at the same time. But they can’t just sit around and wait. In order to draw out the potions immediate healing potential, they have to now perform some adjustments.
But they have 20 minutes to prepare which is plenty of time.
Edward recalled the ingredients, Igni selected the best ingredients available, and Iris created the scales to measure the exact weight as they placed it into the cauldron.
Once they began, the color of water inside the cauldron began to shift and change.
Edward: “Okay, now we turn off the heat and let it simmer to boil out the oils real good.” Edward pressed the Magic Artifact Switch at the bottom of the large cauldron, and the heat was turned off. Igni had nothing else to do while they waited for all the sand to fall out of their sand timer, so he looked around the classroom. There were teams that were doing well, and teams that were struggling on each side.
The teams doing well were also waiting for the oils to boil out and had extra time on their hands like Igni’s team, or they were one step behind and were still putting in the last ingredients. The teams that were struggling had contents of their cauldron boil over or the water was turning brown and were panicking.
Igni: “Iris, could you go ahead and make the glass bottles?”
Iris: “Of course, Sir Igni!” And Iris immediately formed glass bottles. The [Earth] Magic Type Wizards lack explosive fire power, but they are more effective at defensive spells and doing menial tasks like these. Igni was impressed at how easy she could do things he couldn’t and gazed at her work.
Iris: “It’s done!” Though she was an [S] Compatibility, she did not rely on her talents alone and her day-to-day efforts of studying and training were showing as she made the glass bottles for the potion.
Igni: “You’re amazing.”
Iris: “Thank you very much!”
Iris smiled as a dog would wag her tail. If you were to compare her to any animal, she would most definitely be a dog. She’s adorable.
Igni confirmed that there’s still time left in the sand timer and looked outside. There, he could see Class C’s Spell Examination in progress.
Elina’s turn came up then, and with overwhelming skill, she left high marks.
Igni: (Elina’s incredible too. She’s working so hard.)
Edward: “Igni, it’s about time.” Igni: “Yeah.” With Edward’s warning, Igni’s attention goes back to the classroom.
Igni: (Elina’s doing her best, so I need to do my best too.)
Igni refocuses his attention on the task at hand and as soon as the last sand fell in the timer, he drew out the potion inside.
