Chapter 13: Enrollment (5)
Stella Academy had many faculty members. There were 1,141 first-year students, and there were as many as 23 classes. Each class had a professor in charge (combat instructor) and one to four assistant teachers, including a magic researcher and numerous professors in charge of the different subjects.
With fresh students arriving at the beginning of the semester, there was only one subject of interest for the several faculty members.
'How many special freshmen have shown up?'
Princess Hong Bi-Yeon of the 'Adolevit Kingdom,' who belonged to one of the most prestigious families in the Aether World. The kingdom was even nicknamed as 'Crimson Kingdom' or 'Kingdom of Flame' due to their strong affinity with fire element.
Crown Prince Jeremy Skalben succeeded in defeating all his older brothers and became the crown prince of the 'Skalben Empire' at the age of 12. In that imperial family, power was determined solely by one's magical skills.
Hae Won-Ryang, the successor of the world's best Archmage tower, the 'Twilight Tower'.
This year, elite students from huge families entered Stella Academy one after the other, making even Stella's faculty nervous, and the world's attention was naturally drawn to the Stella Academy.
For that reason, faculty members used a slightly flimsy but special method for this year's 'Class Placement Test'.
Students who had been studying normally would have to put up with not one but three difficult questions on the test.
And those were the first three questions. There were many reasons, but one reason was to evaluate the students.
A flexibility test in which if you can't get it right, skip it, and quickly solve the next question.
In other words, it was an admission strategy.
Boldly give up on problems you can't solve and pass them on! If you're stuck with it for no reason, you might not be able to earn even one more point that you could have normally earned with the next problem.
But, that was a superficial reason, and the real agenda was something else.
'Will the students be able to solve a problem that is not covered in the textbooks they have been studying?'
All of the freshmen who entered Stella Academy were children who were referred to as heavenly talents all over the world, and they would have studied strategically and completed all of the magic formulas up to the university course.
However, if the problem does not appear within the scope of their studies, then what? What if there is a problem that can not be solved by any formulas that have been memorized and ingrained in their heads?
What if there is a problem that can only be solved through creativity, logical reasoning, and critical thinking?
Gone were the days of simply fighting with a cold weapon. The age of magic warriors had arrived.
What kind of magic would be used by the opponent? How to respond appropriately? These were the main concerns. A lack of creativity had all become major issues for mages in this era where magic could be manipulated in a myriad of ways.
'Willpower is indeed vital...'
"Hmm..."
The 7th class mage and S-class instructor Lee Hanwol drooled while checking the students' grades.
Then, an old female professor, Edel Tyman, who was passing by, noticed Lee Hanwol, and approached him.
"Oh, it seems that Lee Hanwol is very interested in the grades of this freshmans?"
Edel Tyman was a professor on Stellar Academy's Senate. Frankly speaking, she was one of the pillars of the academy, in charge of overseeing its policies.
"Yes, that's right."
"It's all over the place right now. Isn't this year really fun?"
As she said, the faculties were already making quite a fuss because of the results of the first freshman test.
Lee Hanwol nodded and continued to check the results of the test paper again.
The first three problems were more like traps, never meant to be solved.
{Lee Hanwol's PoV}
As a result, out of 1,141 students, more than 1,000 students submitted these 'three questions' as blank, which showed that most of the current Stellar Academy students entered through the strategic entrance exam.
However, magic was not just a strategic study. One could only become a true mage by thinking out of the book.
In that sense, the 100 students who tried to solve this problem were quite unique.
Most of the people who tried to solve the problems also got high scores on the Placement Test on average, so they were assigned to the highest class called 'Class A', but most did not get even one of the three questions right.
'Wasn't there a single student who answered all three questions correctly? Who was it again?'
'There were.'
'Infact, three people.'
Although his origin was unknown, Mayuseong, a boy who appeared like a comet and swept through the magic world was called the genius of the century.
Edna, a commoner girl, who was recognized for her special ability and talent comparable to that of Mayuseong, enrolled at the recommendation of the Great Mage and Principal Eltman L. Twin.
And...
'Baek Yu-Seol.'
I could not comprehend it.
Since Mayuoseong and Edna were already geniuses, even if they solved all three problems, it would be convincing to say, 'Ah, yes, they are geniuses.'
But it was not the case with Baek Yu-Seol.
He was a student who barely made it into the school by scoring last out of 1,141 on the entrance exam.
But, didn't he answer all three questions? So what if he couldn't solve any of the other questions?
Edel Tyman laughed as if she knew Lee Hanwol's intentions.
"It's a problem that you can't solve even if you know a lot of formulas, but in the same way, you can solve it without knowing anything too."
"... So, Professor Edel Tyman, do you think this kid could be such a genius?"
"He could be. And it could be a coincidence too."
Lee Hanwol sighed as she went out. In the first place, the professor knew better that this was a problem which could not be solved by mere coincidence.
'Does Baek Yu-seol know that only these three problems have caused a stir for the entire faculty?'
'A magic warrior cadet who specializes in Flash.'
He burst out laughing as he slowly read Baek Yu-Seol's admission certificate. A student, so astute that he told him, a 7th class mage, 'Be careful next time.'
[Appreciating the surprising ability of being able to control Flash, admission under special circumstances is granted.]
This memo was left by the headmaster of Stella Academy himself. There were so many unusual students this year, so it might be difficult to stand out with just specialization in Flash...
"We'll find out soon."
'Did he accidentally aced this questions, or is he really special?'
Let's see and find out.