Just as with every other night during the Entrance Examination week, there was a meeting among the proctors following the Magus Investigation Test.
Within the official hall were at least twelve people, all of whom were Official Magi and were staff of the Academy.
They were, however, serving the role of proctors in these tests at the moment.
During these meetings, the topic of discussion was usually limited to the contents of the next test as well as which proctor would handle the task.
However, once in a while, certain exceptional students would end up being talked about at length.
This time, the student in question was Derek Lewis.
"It’s shocking that someone who was publicly declared Inept by his Household would actually be a genius in disguise." A proctor muttered as he reflected on the results Derek showed in the past three days.
On the first two days, he nearly broke the best record for fastest clear time, with perfect scores in both rounds.
For his third test, even though he completed it close to the time limit, his reasoning was so detailed and it held no flaws whatsoever.
It was yet another perfect score.
"No one else has gotten a perfect score in this test. He shows a lot of promise."
"Indeed..."
"But, that may very well be his downfall, wouldn’t you say?" One of the proctors, an elderly man, chuckled. "The nail that sticks out often gets hammered down."
"Ah... You’re referring to the fourth test?" Another proctor asked.
The old man slowly nodded.
"The Survival Simulation will be the first joint test. In this round, participants can team up and they will also be directly competing with each other. Someone exceptional like Derek Lewis will surely draw the ire of his peers. If they gang up on him, he could end up at a disadvantage."
"True... The path of a prodigy is often a lonely one."
"I wonder, though... If he will really have a problem." This time, a female proctor shook her head in disagreement.
"What do you mean?" The old man asked.
"If he is no ordinary genius, then isn’t it possible that even a horde of ordinary students will be no match for him? Two years ago, we had a similar case, didn’t we? And even before then, we’ve had instances where certain students couldn’t be stopped by the joint effort of others."
The proctors were all silent at that moment as they stared at Derek’s file among the numerous records of the other students.
It wouldn’t be an understatement to say they were all fascinated.
"Let’s wait and see how he fares." Once the old man said this, everyone nodded with broad smiles.
"Agreed."
.....
The fourth day of the Entrance Exams had a completely different atmosphere from all the earlier rounds.
Unlike before, there were far fewer people participating.
This was not strange at all.
With the cutoff implemented, over half of the examinees had failed.
Only about fifty examinees were left.
Needless to say, they mostly had stern countenances on their faces. They knew not to let their guards down or relax just because they managed to pass this hurdle.
Not when they were about to embark on an even more difficult challenge.
"Your fourth test is called Survival Simulation, and it will last for three days."
This time, there were five proctors standing in front of the examinees, with an elderly man addressing them.
They all stood in an open field, just like the second test.
"All fifty-three of you will be isolated on an artificial island space with no way out. You will have to fend off the dangerous beasts and adjust to the hostile environment using every asset at your disposal. This must be accomplished while obtaining at least one of the plaques scattered and hidden all over the artificial island." The old man continued with a broad, toothy grin. "Don’t worry, your lives won’t be in any danger. Those who cannot keep up before the time limit will be ejected from the test and automatically fail. Those who are unsuccessful after three days also fail."
Derek felt a strong sense of apprehension for the first time in a while.
This was a very serious challenge.
Even with Max’s help, passing was not guaranteed.
’Finding a plaque is one thing, but surviving for three whole days while protecting myself from wild beasts and other examinees may be quite challenging. This could also feature some unknown scheme from my family, and I may be specifically targeted.’ Derek frowned once he considered these possibilities.
[I understand.]
The elderly proctor noticed Derek’s unsure gaze and chuckled inside. ’This test serves the central purpose of determining synergy between participants as well as their actions when placed in an extreme and unfamiliar situation.’
Most participants had grown in relatively sheltered environments.
They weren’t used to the wild.
The fourth test was meant to reveal the kind of people they were.
Some examinees would place a lot of emphasis on teamwork, while others would lean towards sole survival and view everyone else as competition.
Of course, the best outcome would be a balance of both.
’During every iteration of this test, examinees can be split into these three types...’ He smiled at Derek with quiet expectation. ’I wonder which one you’ll fall under.’
Usually, anyone who chose the sole survival route—unless they were exceptional geniuses—ended up failing.
It wasn’t because they were incompetent.
Rather, they would be picked on by the surrounding teams.
Thus, it would become relatively easy to determine that there was strength in numbers.
Unfortunately, not everyone could pass.
’Although a total of fifty-three plaques exist on the island, enough for everyone to pass, they are scattered. Only a limited sum can be found in one section of the island, which will be inconvenient for a large group that needs plaques for all its members if it is to maintain cohesion.’
There were also certain participants who would end up hoarding plaques.
The reason wasn’t far-fetched.
If their plaque was stolen, they had backup plaques to rely on. They could also entice others or make deals that benefitted them.
Of course, openly having multiple plaques would gather the attention of others.
This meant said participants needed the strength to protect their plaque.
’Apart from Derek Lewis, there are also many other interesting people taking part in this test. I’m very curious about how they will all fare, and how many will pass.’