Hyacine had already experienced the basic assessment once before with Anaxa, so she approached this exam with ease. When her turn came, she strode briskly into the examination chamber.
As before, she found herself in a small, empty room containing a specially crafted Magic Puppet. The methods for passing the exam were numerous; students could use any magic they were proficient in.
However, the moment she entered, Hyacine sensed something amiss. She glanced at the nearby wall and noticed a faint line of small characters:
[0017. If you can see this text, simply speak these numbers aloud to pass the exam immediately.]
Hyacine stared in disbelief.
This hadn't been here when Anaxa took the exam previously. Could it be a newly introduced test? But she hadn't even used any magic yet—what was this supposed to test?
Composing herself, Hyacine turned away, pretending she hadn't seen the message. Though she couldn't decipher the purpose of this hidden challenge, she had no intention of using this shortcut to pass the exam.
At that moment, the proctor in the room announced, "Prepare yourselves! The exam is about to begin! Three, two, one!"
As the proctor finished speaking, the Magic Puppet in the room suddenly sprang to life and charged toward Hyacine. The puppet's physical capabilities were roughly equivalent to those of an average adult man, so its speed wasn't particularly impressive.
Simultaneously, Hyacine began chanting an incantation. The distance between her and the puppet was perfect; as long as she cast the spell correctly, without any missteps, she could release it before the puppet reached her.
The spell she chose was the First-Level Evocation School spell, Wind Blade.
With a flick of her right hand, an invisible blade shot forth, slicing through the puppet's neck in a clean, swift cut.
The puppet stumbled forward a few more steps before realizing it was supposed to be dead. It then slowly collapsed, marking the end of the examination.
Hyacine glanced at the proctor beside her. The man seemed stunned, clearly unprepared for such a swift and decisive outcome. After a moment of stunned silence, he stammered, "Er... Candidate 137, Hyacine, examination passed!"
Hyacine then left the room. All students who passed the examination were required to line up in the courtyard where the Sorting Hat was located, awaiting evaluation. However, Hyacine bypassed the Sorting Hat entirely, having no intention of wearing it. Instead, she walked directly toward Anaxa, who had been waiting for her.
After all, the purpose of wearing the Sorting Hat was to assess a wizard's talent. The mages from the Eight Mage Towers would receive a talent report and could select students they wished to mentor.
But Hyacine had already secured Anaxa as her teacher, theoretically bypassing this step entirely. She didn't need to prove herself through talent assessment; regardless of her aptitude, someone would undoubtedly want her.
Although... given Anaxa's own history, if Hyacine were to undergo the test, her talent would likely be impossible to measure as well.
At that moment, the Necromancy Tower Master, who had been trailing Anaxa like a shadow, glanced curiously at Hyacine. "You're usually buried in books at this hour. Did you come out so early today just to take this child as your apprentice?"
"She's certainly adorable, but..."
However, before the Necromancy Tower Master could finish her sentence, she suddenly looked down at the ring on her right hand. After reacting earlier near Anaxa, the ring now pulsed with a second warning.
The ring's signal was even stronger this time! Previously, it had merely shown a thin line pointing towards Anaxa. Now, the entire gemstone had turned almost completely white, with only two tiny red edges hinting that it might be a massive arrow pointing directly at Hyacine, the pink-haired girl who had just run over.
The Necromancy Tower Master froze, her face blank. "Ah... ah?"
This meant that this seemingly adorable little girl was actually a Demigod? No, even stronger than a Demigod!
The ring's reaction alone revealed that Hyacine's divine power reserves were at least several times greater than Anaxa's. While divine power reserves don't perfectly correlate with combat strength, greater reserves generally imply greater power.
No way! She hadn't encountered a single Demigod in the past century. How could she suddenly meet two at once?
Hyacine stopped beside Anaxa, smiling warmly as she greeted them. "Professor Anaxa, and Lady Friedrich, it's a pleasure to see you both~"
The Necromancy Tower Master immediately waved her hands dismissively. "Nonsense! Drop the formalities. Just call me by my name."
Hyacine blinked her adorable teal eyes, tilted her head slightly, and said, "But you're the Tower Master of the Necromancy Tower! I'm just an ordinary student, so of course I should use honorifics."
Seeing this, the Necromancy Tower Master felt her heart skip a beat. The reason was simple: Hyacine was just too adorable!
To be honest, considering Anaxa's status as a Demigod and his perpetually combative and abrasive personality, the Tower Master had found it rather fitting. But now? A Demigod with such a kind temperament and such endearing looks? Was this even possible?
Inevitably, the Tower Master's thoughts drifted back to Tribios. Both of them had exceptionally kind personalities, but the Tower Master couldn't help but find the current little Hyacine even more adorable.
Just then, Hyacine continued, "Oh, Lady Friedrich, could I ask for a favor? I have a friend who's very interested in joining the Necromancy School. She's incredibly talented and studies diligently. Would you consider accepting her as a student?"
Hyacine was referring to Pela, a spur-of-the-moment idea. Since the Necromancy Tower Master often appeared alongside Anaxa, if Pela were accepted as a disciple, wouldn't Hyacine be able to attend classes with her again?
Upon hearing this, the Necromancy Tower Master immediately agreed without hesitation. "Of course, no problem at all!"
As time slowly passed, student after student arrived, passed the examination, and had their talents assessed by the Sorting Hat. They then chose their desired School and took their places accordingly. Yet, an hour later, Hyacine still hadn't seen Pela. She immediately sensed something was amiss.
The examination shouldn't have taken this long, and Pela's skill level meant passing it should have been no problem at all. Why hadn't she appeared yet?
Another ten minutes passed, and all the students who had passed the examination had already had their talents assessed. Just as Hyacine was growing increasingly puzzled, Heinrich arrived with a group of students, and Hyacine spotted Pela among them.
Heinrich announced, "With that, the Basic Campus graduation examination for this year concludes! You may all now proceed to study magic at your chosen Schools. As for the students behind me, they passed the examination using this year's newly introduced assessment method, and I will personally instruct them."