NOVEL NEXT Chapter 190: The Theoretical Exam
Lorraine walked ahead of them in silence.
Right now she didn't know what to say at all, she wanted to say a lot but her mouth was sealed shut due to her anxiousness.
Her voice had been calm when she introduced herself as the Student Council President, but inside, her thoughts were anything but composed.
Her heart thumped hard enough that she worried Rain might notice.
She had dreamed of this day for over a year, ever since they had gone their separate ways. She had rehearsed countless scenarios of how their reunion would play out.
In most of them, she ran straight into his arms without hesitation.
She imagined him catching her, holding her tightly and telling her that he missed her, well it was too much to ask for but that was what she wanted to happen.
But that hadn't happened.
Azel walked a few paces behind her, his expression cool and his face was unreadable.
If he recognized her, he gave no sign.
Not a flicker in his crimson eyes.
Not even the smallest pause when she had given her name.
'Did he really forget me?'
Lorraine's hands curled slightly at her side. She resisted the urge to turn around, to demand if he remembered the girl who he had once traveled together with and promised to meet at the academy.
'No,' she told herself, forcing her breath steady. 'I'll wait. Let him take his exam first. He'll remember… he has to.'
Finally, they reached a small, secluded building at the edge of the courtyard.
Compared to the soaring towers and enchanted halls of Astralis, this structure was plain — almost like a forgotten classroom tucked away from the rest of the Academy.
Lorraine stopped in front of the door and turned toward them. Her tone was even, though her chest was tight.
"The Academy prepared this space for your entrance exams," she said, hands folded neatly in front of her.
She didn't mention the truth: this building was deliberately stripped of grandeur. New entries weren't shown the full glory of Astralis until they earned it.
"Thank you for your help," Azel said with a small nod. Then, without hesitation, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Rain followed him.
Lorraine lingered a moment, staring at his back.
'He really didn't recognize me…'
Her lips pressed into a thin line. She glanced down at herself, tugging lightly at the edges of her uniform.
She had grown more beautiful this past year, yes — her magical cultivation had advanced to the third circle, and with it her body had matured.
But surely not so much that he couldn't see who she was.
'Is it just the hair? The uniform? No… he should still see me.'
Her gaze dipped lower, to the pronounced curves beneath her vest.
The twin peaks of her chest strained subtly against the fabric, far more prominent than a year ago.
"…Why did these get so big, anyway?" she muttered under her breath.
Tentatively, she cupped them in her hands and gave them a small jiggle, her cheeks flushing even as she recalled a friend's teasing words.
Weapons of mass destruction, indeed.
…
Inside the building, Azel shut the door behind him. The air was stale, the kind of dry stillness that clung to unused classrooms back on Earth.
And then he noticed the strangest thing: a middle-aged man floated in midair at the center of the room, snoring so loudly that droplets of saliva dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
Azel blinked.
'Seriously?'
The moment the door clicked shut, the man dropped like a stone, hitting the ground with a graceless thud.
"Wh… who's there?" the man blurted, voice wobbling with the wet sound of someone who hadn't finished swallowing their own spit.
He sat up, smearing his sleeve across his chin. His hair stuck out in ridiculous angles. "State your… your b-business…"
Rain didn't even flinch.
"We passed the practical examination and were directed here for the theoretical," she said, already sliding into a desk at the very front of the classroom.
She fully expected Azel to sit beside her. But when she glanced over, she found him striding toward the back.
He dropped into the last seat, leaning back in that casual way that made it seem like he owned the place.
The protagonist's seat.
A seat every protagonist in anime sat on.
On his desk lay a blank sheet of parchment and a pen. Nothing else.
The floating man — who was now trying to reassemble some dignity as he plopped into a chair gave a long, wet sigh. "Right, right… look at your papers."
Azel frowned.
A moment ago the sheet had been blank. Now, as he looked down, words unfurled across the page as if an invisible quill were scribbling them in real time.
Dozens of topics appeared in neat rows, each one tied to dense tomes he had already read.
"You'll need to choose five topics and tick them," the examiner said, scratching at his messy beard.
His tone droned like he had said this line a thousand times. "Once you do, you'll automatically receive the exam sheets for each."
Azel was about to tick his options when the door slammed open.
"Stop the exam!" a sharp voice rang out.
A boy strode in, blue hair glinting under the lantern light, blue eyes haughty as if he were born to rule.
"A prince commands you," he declared, pointing at the examiner like one might scold a servant.
The examiner didn't even look at him.
He waved lazily, as though shooing a fly. "Like I said… pick four topics. Papers'll appear on your desk."
The boy's face twisted in disbelief.
Clearly, he wasn't used to being ignored.
But Azel barely paid him any attention. He tapped his pen against the parchment, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Magical Mathematics. Magical Physics. Magical Chemistry. Magical Biology.
He ticked them all without hesitation.
He had studied them entirely in the past few days, even going to the local library to get some more… These were topics that he was totally sure he would ace.
Right now, He wasn't planning to register as a swordsman at Astralis.
No.
He was going to be a mage.
'Time to start.'