Academy City

"Allen, it's the Academy City!" Krena exclaimed with excitement, dazzled as she leaped off the bottom step of the staircase descending from the magic ship. Cecil and Dogora followed right behind her.

The group of four had just landed on an expansive landing pad in Academy City.

The city was massive. Its official name was Academy City of the Kingdom of Ratash, and it boasted a population in the hundreds of thousands, making it multiple times the size of Granvelle City.

If they all passed their entrance exam, this was where they would be spending the next three years of their lives.

Children their age—clearly exam takers as well—milled all around. More than twenty thousand examinees would gather here each year, so the city had special transportation set up and increased the number of direct flights from each realm.

A voice overhead repeatedly blared, "Examinees, please head to the station with a green roof to board the Academy-bound magic train."

'They have trains here too?!'

When Allen and his friends arrived at the green-roofed station, they were greeted by station attendants informing them that the trip on the magic train cost one silver. They paid up and headed for the home platform.

"It really is a train!" Allen cried. The others mouthed the term "train" without really understanding until it finally came into view. Then they all exclaimed, "Whoa!" in unison.

'A bona fide train! Was this made in Baukis as well?!'

The Empire of Baukis, a nation run by dwarves located to the northwest of the Central Continent, provided both the required technology and partial funding for this educational institution. This city boasted such excellent infrastructure that it was said to be a more comfortable place to live than even the royal capital.

"We...walk into this thing?" Cecil asked apprehensively.

"So it seems," Allen replied casually, stepping through the doors that had opened with a hiss.

His nonchalance prompted Cecil to blurt out, "Why do you seem so fine with it?!"

All around them, serfs and commoners hailing from every corner of the country stood frozen in place as they stared at the magic train in a daze.

'I had no idea they had trains like this. Come to think of it, Mihai never really told us all that much about Academy City itself. It was the magic tutor, not Mihai, who told us that the headmaster was a high elf. There are surprises everywhere here. Maybe he was trying to keep it from sounding too exciting so Cecil wouldn't get her expectations up?'

Before long, the train started moving. A look through the windows at the passing scenery revealed that, as Allen had expected, this city was quite technologically developed. Five-story buildings lined major avenues like they were perfectly ordinary, painting a townscape practically alien compared to Granvelle City, the capital of a mere countryside fiefdom.

Krena was plastered against the window, her head twisting back and forth as she repeatedly exclaimed, "So cool!" She was enjoying herself so much that it was making Cecil draw back a little and wonder if this was how a Sword Lord really behaved.

For a split second, the sight made Allen worry about Krena's performance on the exam, but by the next moment, he thought better of it. 'She's leveled up and all—all those points in Intelligence means she ought to do fine.'

He had heard that Krena and Dogora both started participating in the village's great boar hunts when they turned ten years old. All the level ups boosted their Intelligence, and with two whole years of studying, Allen expected them to pass the Academy's entrance exam without issue.

'Apparently the exam is pure academics, with no practical elements involving swinging swords or anything. Meanwhile, I only had four months to study.

'What's more, all my studying was just sitting with Cecil while she reviewed everything she'd already learned prior... C'mon, man!'

Allen did nurse a slight amount of dissatisfaction with the viscount for waiting until the end of the previous year to bring up the matter of him attending the Academy. The viscount had probably done so out of a desire to respect Allen's self-determination, but Allen wished he could have been told earlier.

After all, he probably would have agreed even if the viscount had made the request when he was eight. Over the past four months, not a single reason to refuse had occurred to him. In all likelihood, the viscount had been wrestling with the question of what he could personally do for Cecil's sake this whole time.

Eventually, the magic train came to a stop at a station near the center of Academy City. As passengers staggered out, still in a daze, Allen and his friends struck off for the Academy.

The kingdom of Ratash had a population of around twenty million. Serfs and commoners might not end up conscripted, but Academy graduates would have no trouble at all finding employment anywhere within the country. With this in mind, a massive number of children came to knock on the doors of this institution each year.

When Allen passed through the tall wall that surrounded the school grounds, he found the open courtyard already filled to bursting with other examinees.

An announcement played repeatedly over a loudspeaker-like magic tool set up in various places around the venue: "All examinees must first undergo the Appraisal Ceremony. Those who pass are to bring their assigned numbered tag to the reception counters in front of the school building."

"Appraisal Ceremony?" Krena parroted, tilting her head in bewilderment.

"That's what they're saying," Allen shrugged. "Looks like everyone's doing it."

Sure enough, there were several lines in the square, each leading to a set of equipment that Allen recognized from when he was five.

'I see, so they Appraise everyone to prevent any Talentless from getting in.

'This reminds me of the story Captain Zenof told me about the noble who claimed to be a Sword Lord despite only being a Swordsman.' The man had failed to perform when his strength was needed most. Thinking about it now, that was probably on the battlefield and in the middle of a fight with the Demon Lord Army. 'I can only imagine the amount of trouble that ensued when the forces with him realized that they didn't have the fighting strength they thought they did.'

The line made significant progress over the next hour. When it was Allen's group's turn, the examiner asked, "Is anyone here from a noble family?"

Cecil spoke up. "I'm from House Granvelle."

The staff member nodded and wrote something down.

'Hm? They check for nobles here?'

Then, the Appraising for the group began. "Please come forward one by one and place your hands on this crystal," the man said. Dogora went first.

___

Name: Dogora

HP: B

MP: D

Attack: A

Endurance: B

Agility: C

Intelligence: D

Luck: C

Talent: Ax User

___

"Ah, so you are an Ax User. That is a wonderful Talent."

Dogora was handed a numbered tag, indicating that he had passed the Appraisal.

'Hmm, Dogora's Status hasn't changed. In other words, it isn't affected by age. And his Talent is "wonderful," huh?'

Next was Cecil's turn. When her results showed up, the examiner exclaimed in appreciation.

___

Name: Cecil Granvelle

HP: C

MP: A

Attack: D

Endurance: C

Agility: B

Intelligence: S

Luck: B

Talent: Wizardess

___

"This is truly impressive! There are no issues with your Talent or stat rankings. Take this to reception."

'So, this is Cecil's Status. Gotta write it down.'

With Cecil also having passed her Appraisal—and Allen writing the details down—it was time for Krena to place her hands on the crystal.

Just like when she was five, the crystal shone with a brilliant light.

___

Name: Krena

HP: S

MP: C

Attack: S

Endurance: A

Agility: A

Intelligence: C

Luck: B

Talent: Sword Lord

___

"Y-You're a Sword Lord... Are you perhaps Sword Lord Krena?"

"Huh? Yes, that's me."

Krena looked surprised that the examiner knew her. In all likelihood, all the examiners had been informed beforehand that Krena would be coming.

Naturally, Krena was given a pass and received a numbered tag.

'This confirms that Status rankings aren't affected by level or age. I guess a three-star class is rare even here.'

Apparently, on average, around one Sword Lord was born in this country every decade. That was how rare it was. That said, the massive empire to the north had a few dozen Sword Lords, which meant the number was simply proportional to total population.

From what he heard from the viscount and magic tutor, Allen had figured out the general rarity of each star tier.

___

One-star classes: One in ten people

Two-star classes: One in a thousand people

Three-star classes: Ten people in the kingdom

Five-star classes: The existence of one is a miracle

___

The last to be Appraised was Allen. As the examiner was still reeling from the results of Krena's Appraisal, Allen stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal.

Light seemed to blast out almost as a physical wave, filling the square in its entirety. The surrounding examiners and examinees all whirled over in surprise and alarm.

"WHOAAAA!" cried Allen's examiner as he squinted his eyes, his expectation rising as he tried to catch Allen's reading.

___

Name: Allen

HP: E

MP: E

Attack: E

Endurance: E

Agility: E

Intelligence: E

Luck: E

Class: Summoner

___

"What... What is with these results?! All your stats are ranked 'E'! Y-You fail!"

'Looks like my class really does show up properly when I get Appraised now.

But still, I failed, huh? I had a feeling this would happen when I heard they're doing the Appraisal Ceremony again just now. I guess that's the end of volume 3, then.'