Chapter 1 Start of the Test

The academy bell tolled, and chatter across the grounds faded in an instant. Nearly three thousand applicants stood tall, their posture crisp with anticipation, as the massive magical barriers around the examination grounds flickered to life. A man in deep blue robes stepped onto the floating platform, gazing down at the gathered participants. His neatly combed white hair framed a face marked by age, and a simple silver staff rested in his hand. When he spoke, his magically amplified voice carried across the entire academy.

"Welcome."

"I am Rusell Iron, Vice Principal of Arianne Academy." He swept his gaze across the sea of applicants. "You have all passed the preliminary qualifications. That, however, means very little."

A few applicants swallowed nervously. Rusell continued in the same calm tone.

"From this point onward, your family names, wealth, status and reputation no longer matter. If you fail, you leave. If you succeed, you become a student of this academy." A faint smile appeared on the old man's face.  "Simple."

No one laughed.

"The admission examination consists of four stages."

Behind him, four enormous magical circles ignited one after another.

The first glowed deep blue.

"The Written Examination. The academy does not educate fools."

Several noble heirs quietly frowned.

The second circle burned emerald green.

"The Mana Examination."

"We are not interested in how much mana you possess." A murmur spread through the crowd. Rusell continued on.

"We are rather interested in how well you use it."

The third circle shone with violet light.

"The Mental Examination."

Some applicants visibly paled. The professors watching from the tower chuckled.

"They always react to that one. The stories must have been spread."

"As they should."

Rusell raised one final finger.

The fourth magic circle erupted crimson.

"The Combat Examination."

In an instant, the atmosphere shifted. The applicants tensed without even realizing it. A few wore confident smiles, while others instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons that they had brought.

"The order of these examinations is intentional." His gaze slowly swept over every participant. "Knowledge, control, mind, and strength. Only those who possess all four qualities deserve to call themselves students of Arianne Academy."

Silence engulfed the testing grounds.

"The Written Examination will begin immediately."

Thousands of magic circles formed beneath the applicants’ feet, drawing gasps from several commoners. Many nobles instantly recognized the spell—it was large-scale transportation magic.

"Each of you will be taken to a separate examination room. You have three hours, with no breaks. There are no second chances, and if you’re cheating..." Russell smiled pleasantly. "You won’t need to worry about the other three exams."

The applicants felt a chill. Even the smile of an old scholar carried pressure when backed by one of the continent's greatest institutions. High above, the professors observed the gathering one last time.

"This should eliminate about half."

"More."

"I'm guessing sixty percent."

"Depends on how cruel the mathematics section is."

"You wrote the mathematics section, Fred."

"Right? HAHAHAHAAHHAHA..."

The room fell silent again. Below them, the countless young talents who would one day shake the continent stood ready.

***

The moment Russell finished speaking, thousands of magic circles flared to life beneath the applicants. Space twisted and warped, and one by one, each examinee disappeared.

"..." A young girl slowly opened her eyes. She found herself seated alone inside a pristine white room.

 A wooden desk, a chair, a single sheet of paper, and an ink pen. Nothing else.

Above the paper floated glowing letters: 

Written Examination

Time Limit: Three Hours

Any attempt to communicate with others will result in immediate disqualification.

Willow Brew blinked. "So, it really separates everyone..." She took a deep breath before sitting down. The first page turned over by itself. Then, her expression froze.

"..."

"What?"

***

Inside another examination room, Aurelia stared blankly.

"..."

"..."

"..."

She slowly adjusted her glasses.

Then looked at the questions again.

"Interesting."

***

Elsewhere, Estelle folded her hands together.

"Dear Goddess."

A quiet prayer escaped her lips.

"Please bless whoever are answering these questions. They will need it."

***

Back inside the observation tower, the professors sipped their tea in calm silence. One young professor glanced at the magical screen which showed hundreds of examination rooms.

"...Shouldn't we tell them?"

"No."

"They'll figure it out."

"If they wanted to pass."

The first question.

A farmer owns seventeen sheep.

All but nine die.

How many sheep remain?

"..."

"..."

"..."

Across thousands of rooms, Pens immediately began moving.

One professor watched proudly.

"They're all calculating."

Another nodded.

"Exactly as expected."

A third smiled.

"Hopefully right."

***

After several minutes, one by one, the applicants stopped writing, their expressions slowly shifting.

"Wait."

"..."

"..."

"Oh."

One commoner slapped his own forehead.

"It literally says all but nine!"

The professors chuckled.

"Always the same variation of the question, Fred?"

"You know it gets them every year."

Question Two.

A knight travels north for twenty kilometers.

He then travels east for twenty kilometers.

South for twenty kilometers.

Finally west for twenty kilometers.

Where did he end up?

Pens flew across the pages. One applicant confidently wrote “Starting Position,” and another followed suit. Soon, hundreds did the same.

Meanwhile, a blond-haired young man simply raised an eyebrow, pausing to study the paper for several seconds.

"..."

Then he wrote.

"There wasn’t enough information to make a decision. To assume is a false answer in itself."

Inside the observation tower, a professor took notice.

"Interesting. He didn't assume flat terrain."

Another nodded.

"Nor did he assume a normal map. There are multiple correct possibilities." The elderly woman smiled faintly. "He answered like a true scholar."

Another screen, showing Willow who is hesitated.

"..."

Then wrote more or less exactly the same answer. The old woman nodded again. "Wonderful."

Aurelia didn't even hesitate. Her pen moved immediately.

"Insufficient information."

"Naturally from her."

While Estelle wrote,

"Unknown."

"It is acceptable."

Question Three.

You are given five liters of water.

Using only containers capable of holding three liters and four liters, obtain exactly two liters.

A collective groan spread throughout the magical screens.

One professor in particular burst into laughter.

"I always love this question."

"You say that every year. Fred."

"Because every year they hate it and my love for it only grew stronger."

The applicants frowned, some sketching diagrams, others gazing at the ceiling. A few seemed on the verge of tears, while one noble quietly muttered under their breath.

"Why am I solving kitchen problems?"

Meanwhile, a blond-haired applicant calmly completed the answer in under twenty seconds then flipped to the next page. Fred the professor watching almost spat out his tea in surprise.

"Already?"

"He solved it quite easily."

"No fun at all, that kid."

The vice principal glanced toward the report bearing the Kyros crest.

"No. He has practiced this type of question before."

"You think so, vice principal?"

"I know."

The pages went on, covering history, magic theory, monster ecology, political philosophy, mana circulation, economics, geography, military logistics, law, ancient languages, basic engineering, practical reasoning, and ethics. Then the final page appeared. The title alone caused countless expressions to stiffen.

Final questions

There is no correct answer.

Convince us otherwise.

Across nearly three thousand examination rooms, nobody moved.

"..."

"..."

"..."

One applicant nervously looked around.

"Is-Is this a joke?"

Another scratched his head.

"How do you answer something that literally says there's no correct answer?"

Someone else simply gave up and laid face-first on the desk.

***

Back in the observation tower, the professors watched with great interest.

"This is where we draw the line. Knowledge can be memorized, but thinking can’t." The elderly woman adjusted her glasses. "And this is the question I look forward to every single year."

One by one, the applicants began to write. Some insisted that every problem had a solution, others quoted philosophers, and a few tried their hand at logical proofs. Many simply left their pages blank. Only a small handful smiled after reading the prompt. Among them were a brown-haired commoner, a green-haired genius mage, a silver-haired saint candidate, and a blond young noble whose calm expression never wavered. Resting his chin on one hand, he finally set pen to paper as the professors leaned in to watch.

"Let's see."

"What kind of answer does will the Kyros heir have this time?"

Every professor staring at his screen grew genuinely curious. The room stayed silent. Each magical screen showed a different examinee. Some frowned. Some gnawed at the ends of their pens. Some had already given up. One unlucky noble was scribbling what looked suspiciously like a complaint letter to the academy itself. The professors paid him no mind.  

"He won't pass."

"Obviously."

The final question continued to captivate the observation room.

There is no correct answer. Convince us otherwise.

It wasn't a question testing knowledge nor was it testing intelligence. It tested something much more difficult, that is perspective.

***

A professor enlarged Willow Brew's screen. The commoner girl quietly finished reading the question before smiling. She began writing.

"A correct answer exists because the examiner has already determined what qualities this question is meant to evaluate. While our individual responses may differ, the existence of evaluation criteria itself becomes the correct answer."

The old woman nodded. "Interesting. She questioned the premise instead of answering it. Very good."

Next, Estelle the Saint Candidate closed her eyes briefly. Then wrote.

"Whether an answer is correct depends upon who seeks it. To the Goddess, perhaps only one answer exists. To humanity, countless answers may all be correct."

"Very saint-like, just as expected from her."

Next, Chester Reinhart. His pen struck the paper confidently.

"If there is no correct answer, then every answer is correct."

One professor sighed. "He fell into the trap. Confidently too."

The screen shifted again. Unlike the others, Aurelia just sat there, staring at the paper for almost three minutes.

"Did she give up?"

"No." The elderly professor shook her head.

"She's thinking."

Finally, She wrote only a single sentence.

"The statement 'There is no correct answer' is itself an answer. Therefore, the statement contradicts itself."

"That's elegant." the old woman smiled. "Very much like her mother's."

Another screen lit up. Elodie Cassandra Markult twirled her pen between her fingers, then let out a quiet laugh.

"If there is no correct answer, then convincing you otherwise becomes impossible. Therefore, this examination is unfair towards me. As such, I request compensation."

The observation room erupted into laughter.

"Definitely a Markult. She’s already striking deals, and her grandfather would be proud."

While her twin sister, Edith Cassia Markult quietly wrote nearly two pages.

A professor adjusted his glasses.

"She cited three philosophers and disproved two."

Eventually, the remaining screen attracted everyone's attention.

Amos Eos Kyros. The blond young man still appeared half-asleep. He yawned, stretched, and at last began to write. The professors leaned in with interest. 

"That's all?"

The paper contained only a short paragraph.

***

After the paper was collected, they look at his paper directly. The vice principal silently read it. Then, his eyebrows rose ever so slightly. The nearby professors immediately noticed.

"You reacted."

Rusell handed the paper to the elderly woman. She read it.

"..."

Then she looked toward Amos through the magical screen.

"Hohohoho."

The younger professors became restless.

"What did he write?"

The old woman passed the paper along. One by one, the professors read it, their expressions slowly shifting. Some frowned, others smiled, and one even let out a laugh. The youngest professor blinked twice surprise.

"I hate admitting it, but he answered exactly as the question requested."

"What did he write?"

The paper simply read,

There is no correct answer.

You asked me to convince you otherwise.

Whether I succeed depends entirely on whether you are convinced.

Therefore, the answer does not exist on this paper.

It exists inside the examiner.

Silence filled the observation tower.

Finally, the elderly professor chuckled.

"Clever. He didn’t focus on answering the question itself but instead pointed out where the answer could be found."

The vice principal slowly folded his hands.

"A Kyros indeed."

A younger professor frowned.

"Should we give him full marks?"

Rusell smiled faintly. "He earned them." He looked down at the blond boy, who had already placed his pen aside and rested his head on the desk.

"And now he's asleep again."

Sure enough, the mysterious heir of House Kyros had fallen asleep before the examination even ended. The observation tower became deathly quiet.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The youngest professor finally spoke.

"Should... should we wake him?"

Rusell calmly took a sip of tea. "No. If he's confident enough to sleep after submitting, then let him sleep."

Elsewhere in the examination hall, Willow wrapped up her paper. Aurelia placed her pen aside. Estelle whispered a final, silent prayer for everyone. The Markult twins let out weary sighs, even from separate rooms. As the last grains of sand slipped through the academy’s enchanted hourglass, the first of the four exams drew to a close.