Chapter 20: The Written Exam

Qiu Nuoya could not help feeling excited.

After all, while blue eyes existed on his previous life, naturally blue hair did not.

It was the kind of color that only appeared in anime and manga.

Unless someone had dyed it, such hair simply could not exist in his old world.

Qiu Nuoya had never dyed his hair before. In fact, he had never cared much about fashion at all.

So suddenly finding himself with an appearance that looked effortlessly striking was enough to leave him genuinely excited.

There was no doubt that this face would grow into that of an exceptionally handsome man.

Actually, it was already remarkably handsome.

At that moment, Qiu Nuoya finally understood why his [Charm] skill had such a high level.

With looks like these, it would probably be difficult for people to dislike him at first glance.

People often said that what mattered was a person’s character, not their appearance.

But first impressions were almost always based on appearance.

Still amazed by how drastically his looks had changed, Qiu Nuoya reminded himself that today was the day of the exam.

When they arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild, the same receptionist who had helped him the previous day greeted him with the same warm smile.

"There are three applicants taking today’s registration exam. Please wait in that room. The exam will begin once everyone has arrived." She then led him to a room located beyond the guild’s main reception hall.

One examinee was already seated inside.

The boy looked about fourteen or fifteen years old and sat there with a bored expression while waiting.

A sword hung from his waist, so he was probably a swordsman..

Qiu Nuoya quietly took a seat as well.

After a short while, the final examinee arrived.

The test papers were handed out and the written examination began.

The time limit was sixty minutes.

Come to think of it, the only thing anyone had told him about the written exam was that being able to write his name would probably be enough.

No one had explained anything beyond that.

Was this really going to be okay...?

However, as soon as he turned the paper over, he realized he had worried for nothing.

The exam was far easier than he had expected.

The questions were printed in large letters with simple illustrations.

All he had to do was read each question and either write the answer or choose from multiple options.

The format felt strangely familiar.

After thinking about it for a moment, he realized what it reminded him of.

It was just like the practice workbooks used by children in the first few years of elementary school.

The questions themselves were equally simple.

"You accepted a request to gather 34 Medicinal Herb A and 23 Medicinal Herb B. How many herbs must you deliver in total?"

Or

"You accepted a quest to defeat Monster A, which pays one copper coin per monster. You defeated thirteen monsters. How much reward will you receive?"

The entire exam consisted of straightforward arithmetic problems like those.

Qiu Nuoya finished every question in about ten minutes.

Even after carefully checking every answer for mistakes, there were still forty five minutes left.

This is way too boring.

Qiu Nuoya glanced around the room.

The other two examinees were still frowning at their test papers, struggling to solve the questions.

A moment later, the guild employee serving as the proctor spoke up.

"Young man, just because you don’t know the answers doesn’t mean you should cheat."

Qiu Nuoya blinked his eyes. "But... I’m already finished."

The proctor looked puzzled.

"Finished? You’re not saying that because you couldn’t answer them?"

"I’ve answered every question. If you’d like, you can check my paper." Qiu Nuoya then handed over his answer sheet to him.

The proctor reviewed it on the spot.

"Every answer is correct."

The questions had been so simple that Qiu Nuoya had half expected some sort of trick, but apparently there wasn’t one.

"You can wait outside the room."

With that, the proctor dismissed him well before the exam had ended.

"Oh? That was fast, Nuoya. Already finished with the test?"

As soon as he stepped out of the examination room, Igor and Viktor who had been sitting at a nearby table with a clear view of the door, looked over in surprise.

"Yes. I got every question right, so they told me to wait outside."

"You answered every question correctly in such a short time?" Viktor smiled brightly. "The registration exam isn’t particularly difficult, but that’s still impressive. You’re very intelligent."

His sincere praise made Qiu Nuoya feel a little embarrassed.

The exam had been appropriate for someone his apparent age.

Unfortunately for the test, the person taking it had the mind of a forty year old man.

An elementary level exam was hardly a challenge.

"Then all that’s left is the practical test," Igor said. "That starts this afternoon, right?"

"Yes, that’s right."

"In that case," Viktor said, "since we have plenty of time, why don’t we review what you learned yesterday?"

"But... the proctor told me to wait outside the examination room."

Igor waved the concern away. "That’s no problem. We’ll just let the receptionist know where we’re going." He the walked over to the reception desk and exchanged a few words with the receptionist.

The receptionist nodded in understanding and said, "Good luck with your practical exam this afternoon." She then smiled and waved cheerfully at Qiu Nuoya.

At the same backyard training ground as yesterday, Qiu Nuoya practiced the four elemental magic arts while being watched over by Igor and Viktor.

Yesterday, the only spell that had reached the target was the water magic [Water Ball], but today he was able to hit the target with all four elements.

That was a very promising sign.

Of course, simply hitting the target did not mean the spells had enough power to knock it down.

While Qiu Nuoya continued practicing repeatedly, Viktor once again stood nearby with a serious expression, deep in thought just like yesterday.

It was understandable.

Compared to the non elemental magic that had accidentally exploded with overwhelming power on his first attempt yesterday, the strength of the four elemental magic arts was on a completely different level.

Even Qiu Nuoya himself found it strange.

Why had only that one spell been so incredibly powerful?