Dodging trouble still leaves room to return quietly; getting caught on the spot truly spells doom!
anwhile, the assistant nad Giselle was still in the camp shouting at the top of her lungs, searching for the candidate nad Marko Gage.
"Candidate Marko Gage! Number 1034! Please imdiately report to the main tent for the interview! Damn it! Where did this guy go!"
This perfect opportunity and he didn't show up!
What was he thinking!
Giselle was anxious as she ran around the camp, asking everyone she encountered if they'd seen a guy nad Marko. Yet, since nas aren't written on faces, everyone caught by him had a bewildered look.
The presence of the three big shots made the pressure at the interview venue skyrocket to its peak.
The candidates waiting for their interviews were as tense as prisoners about to be put on trial. Their legs trembled as they stepped into the interview tent, and they often perford poorly due to excessive nervousness after uttering only a few words.
The ntors responsible for the interviews felt equally on edge, fearing they might appear unprofessional before the academic giants, and even their questions beca cautious.
Ti passed, bit by bit, in this anxious and bizarre atmosphere.
The interview line grew shorter and shorter, as one candidate after another, either euphoric or dejected, erged from the tent, stepping onto paths leading to different futures.
Including Finic and the others.
Unfortunately, both he and Ira failed to pass the interview, while Barrett, the seemingly least intelligent "Son of the Blacksmith," surprisingly passed the assessnt.
Upon learning he might have Bronze potential, he was as excited as a madman, as if a wide road had been paved in front of him.
He swore—
He would not let down everyone's expectations and would beco a truly powerful Mage!
Though disappointed, Ira showed a touch of relief on her face.
Had she not read Hecajelin's story, she might have felt deep regret over her failure, but now she felt more peace and liberation within.
Magic isn't the only thing worth pursuing in this world; perhaps Saint Sis had prepared a window for her elsewhere.
"Speaking of which... where is Mr. Colin?" She suddenly noticed the carriage in the camp had disappeared and couldn't help but ask a nearby dejected companion.
"I don't know... Maybe he found another way into Academic State, or perhaps he has already left. I didn't see him yesterday." Finic shook his head, his mind restless.
From afternoon till dusk, the sun slowly sank, casting a layer of golden-red over the snowy landscape.
However, the "Marko Gage," expected to garner the most attention and even awaited by the three professors personally, was nowhere to be seen.
As the sun was about to set, the last candidate completed his interview, and Hector Rain, who was ditating inside the tent, finally lost his composure.
His face, usually calm, now darkened like the sky before a storm.
He called in the assistant Giselle, whose back was already drenched in cold sweat.
Giselle entered the tent with trepidation, not even daring to lift his gaze to et the professor's face.
"Where is he?" Hector's voice was not loud, yet it carried undeniable authority.
Professor Leo from the Elental School and Professor Boris from the Holy Power School said nothing, but their faces likewise showed displeasure.
Even a genius.
Should not stand them up.
"Pro... Professor, we've searched the entire venue and inquired at the registration desk, but we couldn't find this Mr. Marko Gage..." Giselle's voice trembled, gradually realizing things might not be as simple as he thought.
Hector's gaze turned icy as he also subtly sensed sothing.
"Bring his original exam script to ! Now!"
"Yes!!!"
Giselle shrieked and dashed out of the tent.
Although all failed scripts had been destroyed, the ones that passed the written exam were kept intact at the archive, with their identification numbers preserved.
And this scroll seed to lie there knowingly, resting undisturbed at the top of the box.
Without ti for further thought, Giselle nearly scrambled to retrieve the legendary "perfect scroll" from the archive, not daring to glance at the increasingly grim faces of the three professors.
Before the three professors, Giselle, trembling with both hands, slowly unfurled the scroll.
Yet, when the scroll fully opened, he was dumbfounded on the spot.
Inside the scroll was none of the extravagant discourse on the Void Realm and Source Power, only a badly scribbled doggerel.
Seeing Giselle's ghost-stricken expression, Hector had an extrely ominous feeling but still commanded coldly.
"Read."
"I..." Giselle's lips trembled, almost breaking into tears.
"I told you to read!" Hector's voice rose slightly, his pupils faintly turning golden, radiating endless authority.
No longer daring to hesitate, Giselle, nearly sobbing, read the unrhyd doggerel aloud:
"Ah, the cage of knowledge cannot confine my soul yearning for freedom—"
"My heart is a ravenous wolf in the wilderness, howling under the stars. Stupid mortals, what do you know of the blood and tears of art and nobility?"
The tent fell silent.
There was dead silence, as if even the wind and snow outside the tent had ceased their vanishing.
"Pfft—"
The Elental School's Professor Leo Sterling was the first to lose it, bursting into laughter.
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