Enrollment

Other nearby examiners and examinees had also been watching the exchange between Allen and Helmios. They gave Allen their undivided attention as he thrust out his hand.

'Mousey, come out.'

Beast H, a Summon in the form of a small mouse, suddenly appeared on Allen's palm, prompting gasps and murmurs from all around along the lines of "A mouse came out of his hand!" Everyone leaned in for a closer look, including Krena and Dogora, neither of whom had yet seen Allen's powers in action.

Cecil, the only person who had, seemed proud for some reason.

With his eyes still on the mouse, Helmios said, "You called out—no, summoned a beast out of thin air. Thus, 'Summoner.' I see how it is."

Similarly, the headmaster also seemed to be analyzing what he was seeing.

He muttered under his breath, "This looks like the ability to control beasts. It seems similar to a Tamer... I'd heard they were wiped out by the Demon Lord, but...are the beasts Summoned by a Summoner different?"

'Hold on, did he just say that the Demon Lord wiped out the Tamers?'

An adventurer Allen knew, Raven, had confirmed before that this world did not have a class that fought by controlling monsters. Turns out it had existed in the past, though.

"Now, I've shown you my Talent, so I'll be taking my leave."

Allen's understanding was that he only needed to display an example of what he was capable of as a Summoner to pass this Appraisal Ceremony. Without waiting for the headmaster's answer, he headed to the examiner—Mousey still in his hands—to pick up a numbered tag, then headed for the school building.

Krena and the others followed. Helmios and the headmaster silently watched on, appearing lost in thought.

When they were out of earshot, Cecil hissed, "You almost failed, Allen!"

"If it happens, it happens," Allen shrugged. 'I can still go to the battlefield even if I don't get into the Academy, after all.'

There were multiple ways to get sent off to the front lines. Allen had looked them up ahead of time in case he failed to enroll for some reason.

Graduate from the Academy, Volunteer, Accompany a noble, Go as a sentenced criminal.

He was already going through the process of applying for the Academy, so there was no need to explain the first one.

Volunteering was apparently an option available to all with no barrier to entry. Those without a Talent would not be dispatched to fight on the front lines, but armies still needed people to cook, transport supplies, provide medical attention, and any other number of tasks that could be done from the relative safety of the back. This system was only really used in Giamut, and those without any other means to make a living made up a bulk of the volunteers.

The third method was an option due to the fact that very few nobles went to the battlefield alone. Instead, they would bring subordinates along, which the kingdom permitted. Mihai had been one of the few exceptions who did not, but there were nobles who would have more than ten people accompany them.

These escorts did not necessarily have to be the noble's personal attendants; they could even be adventurers or mercenaries, with the only requirement being that they had a Talent. This was the option that Allen had planned on defaulting to on the off chance he failed to get into the Academy.

The fourth method was a way for people—especially those with Talents— caught for committing crimes to shorten their sentence. Depending on the severity of their crime, they could serve on the front lines for one, three, or five years. Seventy percent died within five years on the battlefield, but any who managed to survive would then be released for good.

For now, Allen had managed to obtain his numbered tag, so he headed to the exam venue with his friends.

They passed by several open doors revealing empty classrooms beyond.

'These look more like middle or high school classrooms than university lecture halls. Well, I guess it makes sense since we're all around twelve years old, which would be middle school age in Japan.'

The group headed down the hallways with Allen in the lead. Normally, this would be Cecil's position, as she was the noble, but with how he had confidently boarded the magic train and walked into the school building without hesitation, he was steadily assuming the role of the group's leader.

Soon, they reached their assigned classroom and took their seats. They did not have to wait long until all thirty seats were filled and for the exam to begin.

Their tests were filled with questions on mathematics, language arts, and kingdom history with easy and difficult ones all mixed together.

'...Hmm? What year did that happen again?'

Allen surreptitiously checked his notes in his grimoire.

'This exam seems designed to make it difficult to get a full score. Someone who studied normally would probably only get around sixty percent right.'

Memories of his university entrance exams came to mind as Allen made good progress through the questions. At the end, all of the students received one final leaf of parchment that was apparently also part of the exam. Unlike the previous problem sheet, this one had very few questions and a lot of blank space.

Question 1: There are three goblins and one orc. If you were a Swordsman, which would you kill first?

Allen's Answer: I would go for the three goblins first because they are easier to kill. Then I can fight the orc one-on-one. It's much easier to take hits when surrounded by four opponents, and that leads to unnecessarily wasting HP recovery items.

Question 2: An orc is about to attack a Cleric and a villager. If you were a Swordsman, which would you protect?

Allen's Answer: This depends on circumstances to some degree, but I would choose to protect the villager. The Cleric can hang on by healing themself, during which time I could get the villager to safety. Then I could come back, effectively saving both. However, if the villager is far away and the Cleric is clearly under attack and not wearing protective armor, I would choose the one under more immediate danger or the one I am more sure of saving.

'What's with these questions? I wonder what they're meant to test. Our ability to reason and explain our thought processes? How much we know about monsters? Our ability to make judgment calls? Or is this to screen out those with questionable morals? Who knows, maybe it's all of the above.'

There were three more questions of a similar nature. Allen solved them all, and then the exam was over. Results would be posted outside the school at noon the next day, so Allen's group looked for an inn and checked in before dark.

***

Then the next day came.

Dogora: B (Passed)

Cecil: A (Passed)

Krena: C (Passed)

Allen: S (Passed)

'Here I was, surprised at how quickly the results come back—turns out they don't release specific scores. I thought the exam was rather difficult, but turns out I got an "S." If I remember correctly, "C" is the minimum passing grade.

'Krena, you barely made it. The school didn't pad her grade to ensure she can get in because she's a Sword Lord, right?'

Viscount Granvelle had offered to sponsor a part of Allen's tuition if he got "B" or higher on his entrance exams, but because Allen had every intention of earning a living from the dungeons in the city, he had politely but firmly turned the viscount down. It cost one gold to take the entrance exam, and one year's tuition was ten gold. In other words, at least thirty-one gold was required to graduate. When exceptional serfs managed to enroll, it was common for their feudal lord to shoulder all the fees.

"Those who passed are to gather before the school building right now."

Allen's group followed the instructions coming over the loudspeakers.

According to the briefing that followed, all students were to take home a set of school uniforms according to their measurements. Furthermore, they now had to decide whether they would be living in the dorms or finding their own lodging elsewhere in the city. And lastly, they were required to register at the Adventurer's Guild before school started.

"Are we living in the dorms, Allen?" Krena asked.

During the past few days, the understanding of Allen as this group's leader had thoroughly settled in. Cecil also waited for his reply.

"Nope, we'll rent a place and live there together."

"All right." Cecil nodded. "Then we'll need to go to the Real Estate Guild now."

"Actually, I'm thinking of first going to the Adventurer's Guild to register. We can look for a place after that."

In this way, this group of four enrolled at the Academy and were now headed for the Adventurer's Guild.