Chapter 116: A Surprise Attack

Jess hadn't arrived especially early, so he was one of the last students to take the exam.

When his turn came, he entered the room and saw Master Duchamp take a sip of tea. The teacher already looked rather tired.

"Jess Seso." He gestured toward the chair opposite him. "Please sit down."

"Your topic is..." Duchamp opened his notebook. "The Alliance Internment Act, correct? That's a complicated subject. Begin when you're ready. Let's hear what you've written."

Jess nodded, took out his paper, and began reading.

In Orcish, he gave a rough account of the end of the Orc Wars and the Alliance's discussions about what to do with the prisoners. He explained the different kingdoms' attitudes and the difficulties they faced. In short, he described the process objectively, without adding his personal feelings.

On Earth, in an English exam or a test in another language—or in Azeroth, a Dwarven or Elven exam—such an essay would have been extremely basic. It was almost like copying a boring narrative and reading it aloud in plain, stiff language.

But an Orcish exam was different.

Just writing the short essay in Orcish runes had taken Jess ten days. Getting the pronunciation right had been another huge struggle. Even Master Duchamp couldn't remember the readings or meanings of many runes and had to interrupt Jess several times to check words on the spot.

Learning Orcish in the human world right now wasn't like studying a fully developed language. It was more like archaeology or detective work. You couldn't simply use the methods for learning other languages.

Being able to write and read an essay of this kind was already a very demanding exam task.

By the end, Jess felt ready to collapse. He had no reliable guide for Orcish pronunciation. The runes sounded unlike any language he'd seen, even Chinese. As he continued, he almost began to lose track of what his own writing meant.

A month of cramming had left him with plenty of gaps.

Still, he reached the end successfully, and the teacher understood most of what he'd said.

Duchamp nodded and thought for a moment.

"What do you think of the Alliance Internment Act? Remember to answer in Orcish."

Jess had prepared for that question. He replied in Orcish, "A very brave decision, but it looks good and is bad for the long term."

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"Explain the long-term harm," Duchamp said in Orcish.

"This decision means every kingdom will always have too little money, making every kingdom weak," Jess said.

He paused for a long time, arranging his thoughts, recalling what he'd prepared, and checking the Orcish words in his head.

"If another war or accident happens, and orc labor isn't put to use soon enough, the kingdoms won't earn enough in return. Then they may face disastrous consequences."

"Disastrous consequences." Duchamp nodded slightly and switched to Common. "Very good wording, Jess. Very good."

Then he returned to Orcish.

"List possible wars or other accidents."

Jess had actually been thinking about the Scourge invasion. Of course nobody could predict a huge undead army attacking now. He'd prepared a simpler answer instead.

"A demon invasion. A troll empire. Ogres hiding nearby. Black dragons and red dragons. The orc army in Blackrock Spire."

Duchamp didn't understand two of the words and asked Jess to confirm their pronunciation and meaning. Jess wondered whether he'd said them incorrectly. His head was already full of verb tenses, stressed syllables, rune positions, and all sorts of other confusing details.

Once they settled the words, Duchamp nodded and asked in Common, "What did you eat for lunch today?"

"Dry bread, an egg, and a glass of fruit juice from The Blue Recluse, Master. I don't usually eat that well. I wanted some extra sugar before the final exam," Jess answered automatically in Common.

He thought the exam was finished, so he'd relaxed.

"Repeat that in Orcish," Duchamp suddenly said.

*What?!*

Jess was completely caught off guard. He'd prepared more than a dozen possible questions, and the old man had launched a sneak attack!

Of course, he couldn't complain. In a conversational language exam, the teacher could ask whatever he wanted.

Jess rubbed his forehead, tried to remember every Orcish word he knew, and forced them into sentences.

"Morning. Dry food. Bird egg. Fruit water."

He looked at Duchamp hopefully, begging silently for mercy.

"There were two more sentences," Duchamp said.

*Are you doing this to me on purpose?!*

Jess gritted his teeth and continued in Orcish.

"Usually, my food isn't as good as today. But for the final trial, I must get more... more... sweet... sweet things."

Duchamp nodded and wrote quickly in his notebook. His expression, which had been fairly relaxed, grew much more serious.

Jess felt doomed. He'd spoken like a kindergartner. Even a small child would have made smoother sentences.

Because students took the exam alone, he had no idea how well the others had spoken.

In class, everybody used Common to discuss ideas and understand the material faster. They rarely heard one another speak several Orcish sentences in a row, so Jess couldn't judge the others' level.

But he felt sure he'd failed. Between his nerves, having only a month to prepare, and Duchamp throwing surprises at him, he'd definitely have to pay his own boat fare.

Marin would probably tease him afterward, and Gred would be even worse.

Since coming to Azeroth, hardly anything had gone smoothly. The one thing that felt like the heavens had favored him was that, however unlucky he'd been, he hadn't died. That was something, at least.

He'd thought he had a talent for languages. Yet here he was, messing up a language exam.

Failing at something you thought you were good at, then facing the cold realization that you weren't actually talented at all—it felt awful.

The more he thought about it, the more miserable he became, until Duchamp looked up.

"Hello? Why are you still here?"

"Uh, sorry, Master Duchamp." Jess collected his things and started to leave.

"Oh, Jess. You're from Lordaeron, aren't you?" Duchamp asked. "Are you planning to go home for Winter Veil?"