"Now is finally the time to start the assessment!" declared Jung Wong loudly, "Each students will step on the podium and join me to receive their grade after I call their names."
"Choi Dongeun! Come up here." At this mention, a plump boy walked over from the crowd. His steps heavy and his face flushed from receiving so much public attention for the first time in his short life. The steps leading to the podium were already intimidating enough without counting the presence of the scary-looking government officer.
Breathing heavily, he finally arrived in front of Jung Wong, not daring to move a single muscle or pronounce any words without being asked to do so. The Mage simply pointed his wristwatch at the boy. Without any show of firelight nor fancy formula, the two yin-yang symbols adorning the watch rotated slowly and quietly.
After around ten seconds of uneventful silence worsening the already heavy enough atmosphere in the gymnasium, Jung Wong shouted "Failed!"
The boy jumped in disbelief, he waited for so long, dreamed at night of becoming a powerful Mage after this event and now he was told that he failed? Was he now going to be a failure for the rest of his life, never able to peer in the mysteries of the world and gain the respect of everyone? A simple looking match was going to decide the rest of his life like this? And in only ten seconds?!
"Wait, I can't believe it," said the immature boy in a weak voice, "There must be a mistake, there's no way I'm a failure, shouldn't we redo the test?"
Jung Wong grabbed the boy by his collar, easily lifted him close to his face, "Scram failure", and with this disdainful voice, threw him out of the podium like he would chase a fly.
The boy heavily landed at the exit of the gymnasium, surprisingly unhurt, but the fear of being entirely at the mercy of the government officer paralyzed him, making him stop any tentative of complaint.
"This is the last time I give a warning to any of you", declared the Mage, "If you are graded as failed, you will be expected to get out of the podium and not waste any of my time, none of you are worthy."
The crowd gulped, surprised by the tyrannic attitude of the man. The silent assembly of children, school staff and parents did not dare make a single sound by fear of getting punished.
It was in this heavy atmosphere that the assessment continued. More than a dozen student got tested but none of them managed to escape from the failed grade. The time of examination by the magic tool was always between ten and fifteen seconds. The assembly was now a mix of quiet cries from the parents and the failures kids.
"John Paul! Your turn." At the announcement of his name, the chubby boy next to Stephan trembled. The pressure was so high that pearls of sweat were coursing through his skin during the ascension to the podium, his slow heavy steps were making the multiple layers of fat surrounding his body tremble intensely like tectonic plates. He had the pitiful expression of a pig walking by himself to the slaughterhouse.
The same cycle of wristwatch pointing repeated. But, contrary to the previous slow rotation of the yin-yang symbols, the dark started to devour the white color slowly until filling entirely the watch.
Jung Wong slowly raised his wrist to eyes level, noticing that the watch was now entirely covered in deep black he left out a faint smile escape from his stoic face.
"Congratulations boy, you get a passable grade."
At this words, the whole crowd exploded in clamor. Cheers and clapping inundated the previously silent gymnasium. John slowly clenched his fist, overwhelmed by the idea of becoming a future mage. His previous trepidation from fear disappeared to leave place to extreme excitement at his future.
Even if this was the lowest possible grade receivable for a Mage student, the low probability of it was enough to rejoice the crowd. Witnessing the birth and rise of a future Mage was an event atypical enough to be boasted at any dinner or social gathering. The atmosphere became so energized that the fate of the previous failures quickly became forgotten. It's easier to rejoice in someone's success than witnessing successive bad endings.
John stayed on the podium and sat right behind the government officer, already showing the difference in status between future prospects like him and nobodies like the assembly under. His face was still beaming with an enormous smile, large enough to show dimples under his fatty cheeks.
Mina was also clapping slowly right next to Stephan. "I never thought Butcher would have the talent", she said to the boy, "Look at this dimwit already lost in his happiness, I'm sure he would quickly forget about us even if we are later menaced by another student mage."
Stephan denied to reply to the sulking young girl, his friend success was definitely a welcome one and he felt he should not get bothered by it since it was not even close to his personal goal. He was desiring to become a Combat Mage which would fail if he received anything under the highest grade.
The assessment continued without seeing another passable grade after John. All ended in a failed grade. But after more than thirty students, the wristwatch once again showed a phenomenon.
Like previously with John, the yang swallowed the yin until all trace of white disappeared leaving only an ominous expense of black covering the magic tool.
"Damn the Frog got a passable grade", exclaimed Mina, "Now we are done for!"
The new student mage was wearing a surprised smile, showing quite a discomforting sight with her big round eyes adorned by cheap glasses and her trembling oversize cheeks looking closely like a frog in human skin.
She was sitting next to John at the future prospects spot, but, contrary to him who was still lost in his dreams of his impending successful future, she was staring straight at Stephan and Mina from the distance.
Her round protruding eyes behind her glasses were throwing daggers at them, her mouth showing a smirk of ridicule. She thought about all the humiliation and pain she suffered from during her elementary school years at the hand of the three bullies.
Nicknaming her the Frog after her appearance was still nice compared to what she endured next. Just remembering the time Mina forced her to drink toilet water in the girl bathroom because it was her "natural habitat" was a trauma she would never recover from. Or also when Stephan, by threats, manipulation and crowd pressure conditioned her to shout "Kero Kero!" at the sound of the school ring bell.
And now, thanks to a lucky miracle, she would finally be able to get her revenge. Too bad that John will be a hard target but he was only responsible for the simple physical beating so she could still let him go until later, when she achieve a high Mage ranking and finish him.
Stephan and Mina were not oblivious to the thoughts of revenge coming from their ex-victim. They now realized more than ever that their previous actions would get punished terribly, even implicating their families. The difference in status between a normal civilian and a mage student was higher than the sky, their only salvation was to pass this assessment.
During those internal thoughts, two more students received a passable grade. Being colleagues at the same elementary school, they obviously also had a grudge against the trio who ruled the term with tyranny and terror.