“Is this the right place?”

Cordelia muttered uncertainly, standing in the hallway. She had arrived at Cannon’s research lab after asking passing wizards for directions. She took a short deep breath and knocked on the door.

Knock knock – knock knock knock –

She knocked more than ten times, but there was no response from inside. It seemed no one was in the lab.

‘What should I do? Should I go back?’

As she hesitated in front of the door, someone tapped her on the back.

“Yes?”

“Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Cordelia Vasquez. I’m here on an errand, to deliver a letter from Lady Matilda.”

She stammered a bit, flustered. Fortunately, the other person didn’t seem to mind much. The tall man with brown hair replied with a tired expression.

“He’s not inside right now. He has other business.”

“He’s not in the Magic Association?”

“No, that’s not it. Because of the exam – *yawn* – is it urgent?”

“It’s not… urgent. Then where is he now?”

“He should be in the Genubit Hall on the third floor.”

“Thank you!”

Cordelia thanked the man who was yawning languidly and headed for the third floor.

As it was her first time walking alone in the Magic Association, Cordelia found every moment fascinating and fun. Her heart raced as if she had become a real wizard.

It wasn’t difficult to find the Genubit Hall the man had mentioned. There was a crowd of people gathered in one place, murmuring.

“Come on, come on. Hurry in and take a seat. No chatting.”

“Excuse me…”

Cordelia approached the man who was guiding people into the hall and asked. With his square jaw and large build, he looked more like a bandit than a wizard.

“Is Cannon inside?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, I’m from Lady Matilda…”

“Hurry up, will you? Noah! If you get caught messing around one more time, you’re out. Understand?”

“Tch. When did I ever mess around?”

“You still haven’t come to your senses. Hurry up and go sit down!”

The man was too busy to exchange more than one sentence with Cordelia. People continued to enter the Genubit Hall behind her.

“Excuse me. Is Cannon inside?”

“Yeah, he’s inside, so hurry up and go sit down.”

“What? Why?”

“Aren’t you a low-level wizard?”

“Yes, I am.”

But why is that important? Are there ranks for errands too?

“Then stop talking and go sit down.”

“Sit down? But I’m just here on an errand. I have this letter for Cannon…”

“Yes, yes. You’re here on an errand. And coincidentally for Cannon, the examiner? Don’t make up such unbelievable excuses and go sit down quickly.”

He pushed Cordelia’s back impatiently.

“But it’s true.”

“Even if what you’re saying is true, you can’t meet Cannon until after the exam is over.”

There was much she wanted to ask, but he looked too busy for her to dare speak further.

Moreover, with people constantly pushing from behind, she couldn’t just stand blankly at the entrance. Cordelia glanced around once and went inside.

Inside the hall, desks were packed tightly, and people were sitting at them, fiddling with something. Cordelia found an empty seat and sat down.

Not long after, the man who had been guiding people at the entrance came to the front and spoke.

“As you all know, I’m Luches of Rhiannon. Anyone caught cheating today will have their head shaved bald and clean toilets for a year. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Judging by the atmosphere, this seemed to be some kind of exam venue. Her guess was confirmed when pens and test papers were soon distributed.

She had clearly been on an errand to deliver a letter to Cannon, but caught up in the atmosphere, she was about to take an exam. Suddenly, she became curious about her own abilities.

‘My master teased me for having a stone head, but I should at least be average, right?’

Looking around, most people seemed to be about her age or slightly older.

Although she had studied for less than half a year, she had been called smart by Rosenblur a few times and hadn’t neglected her magic studies, so she should be at a decent level.

“You have five minutes,” Luches said.

‘Five minutes?’

Suddenly, she felt rushed. Cordelia quickly scanned the test paper. There were twenty questions in total, mostly short-answer, with the last two being essay questions.

‘Wait, we’re supposed to solve all this in five minutes?’

Her slightly smug feeling quickly turned to humility. Glancing around, everyone else looked relaxed.

‘They’re all amazing. They can solve all this in five minutes?’

Cordelia felt a surge of competitive spirit. So she focused as much as possible, grabbed her pen, and started solving the problems.

She had long forgotten her original purpose of delivering the letter.

Fortunately, she could breeze through the first ten questions without much thought. Of the remaining eight short-answer questions, three had some ambiguous parts, but she managed to squeeze out answers by wracking her brain.

Now all that remained were the two essay questions.

She moved her hand quickly, exerting superhuman effort. The problems themselves weren’t difficult, but the formulas were complex, so if she made one mistake, she’d have to start over from the beginning.

“Phew.”

Thankfully, she managed to solve all the problems just within the five minutes. After writing down the last formula, the tension in her body released completely, and she dropped the pen she had been holding.

Cordelia hesitantly raised her hand.

“Excuse me.”

“What is it? Why? Is there a problem?”

“I’ve finished.”

“What?”

Luches made a strange expression and strode over to Cordelia. He snatched the test paper on her desk and was shocked.

“…It’s really done.”

“You said to solve it within five minutes.”

“What are you talking about? I meant to check if the test paper was printed correctly and fill in your personal information. Is this your first time taking an exam?”

“…Oh. I see.”

This time it was Cordelia who was flustered.

Come to think of it, there were too many questions to solve in just five minutes. By now, everyone’s eyes were on Cordelia.

Luches, still in disbelief, looked back and forth between the test paper and Cordelia before asking.

“In all my days, I’ve never seen someone finish before the exam even started. But I don’t recognize your face. What school are you from?”

“Acheron.”

“Acheron? Good heavens! Are you that Atilei’s disciple?”

Luches’s voice boomed through the quiet exam hall. Thanks to that, even more attention was focused on her than before. Cordelia found it very burdensome and hung her head low.

“I was wondering how smart you must be for that person to take you as a disciple, but now I understand a bit. You’re a real genius, aren’t you?”

“What? No, that’s not…”

A genius?

This was excessive praise for Cordelia, who was used to her master teasing her, asking if her head was made of granite or limestone. Her face turned as red as a ripe apple.

“No need to be modest. Stand up. You can go straight to the next exam room.”

“Pardon? Another exam? I just came to see Cannon.”

“Yes, yes. Cannon will be in the next exam room. Take this. You’ll need it to enter the exam room.”

Luches handed her a small chess piece with the number 1 written on it.

And so, Cordelia found herself heading to the next exam room in a daze. She was still flustered as she walked to where Luches had directed her.

‘I guess I can just deliver the letter to Cannon when I get to the exam room and then leave.’

She arrived at the exam room, clutching the letter tightly. The door was firmly closed. Just in case, she held the chess piece Luches had given her near the door, and it opened with a click.

“Hello.”

As she opened the door, she saw five men and women sitting in a row at a long desk. They all appeared to be middle-aged or older, so they didn’t seem to be here to take the exam. Cordelia rolled her eyes this way and that, not knowing which one was Cannon.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Cordelia Vasquez…”

“No. How did you get in here?”

“Pardon? Luches gave me this…”

They seemed more surprised by Cordelia’s appearance. The youngest of the five, who still looked to be in his forties, saw the chess piece Cordelia held out and was shocked.

“How did you get this so soon after the exam started?”

“Are you number one?”

“My, the kids these days must be quick-witted to finish so early.”

“Haha. I suppose it’s different from our time.”

With everyone throwing in a comment, it was overwhelming. At this rate, she might end up taking another exam caught up in the atmosphere. Cordelia widened her eyes and quickly pulled the letter out of her pocket.

“I’m here on an errand from Lady Matilda. To deliver a letter to Cannon.”

“A letter? Let me see.”

The man sitting in the middle must be Cannon. He flicked his hand. Cordelia quickly handed him the letter.

“Hmm.”

Cannon skimmed through the letter with no expression, then turned his gaze to Cordelia.

“But how did you get that chess piece?”

“Luches gave it to me.”

“Without taking the exam?”

“No, I did take the exam.”

“Then stand in the center. Since you’re here, you might as well take the second exam.”

“Pardon?”

This isn’t right.

She thought she could just leave after delivering the letter, but the situation was getting weird again.

Cordelia fidgeted with her fingers, not knowing what to do. Then Cannon shouted angrily.

“What are you doing! We don’t have time. Quickly, stand in the center.”

“Oh, yes!”

Overwhelmed by his force, Cordelia stood at attention in the center.

“While you can pass the written exam just by memorizing, practical application is different. Now, today’s exam topic is magic circles.”

“Magic circles?”

“Yes. Let’s see how hard you’ve studied.”

Cannon said with a mischievous smile. On the other hand, Cordelia felt a bit relieved when she heard the exam topic. When it comes to magic circles, she can now overlay up to five layers beyond four.

Of course, Leonard would still click his tongue, saying her progress was too slow, but this level after about three months of learning wasn’t bad.

Probably?