Kyōi landed at the back of the school campus in the form of a black kite. The headmaster of the academy had sent xem a letter that said he knew about Kyōi's identity as a member of the Avian race. He allowed xem to enter the school by flying, then transforming back into a human form in the privacy of the tower, which was mostly used for the storage of spare items. While xey did wonder how he had figured it out, the three adventurers had assured xem that the headmaster was a man who could be trusted.
A knock against the door to the room Kyōi landed in sounded. Quickly transforming into a human form, xey moved to open the door. An older woman with silvery-grey hair stood in front of the doorway, her hand still raised from knocking upon the door. "Are you Kyōi Woodsworth? The headmaster sent me to guide you to the entrance hall."
The old woman, who explained that she was one of the teachers for the third-year students, led Kyōi to one of the buildings close to the administrative building. The exam hall was much larger than the building Kyōi had visited to register for the exam, both in length and height. The teacher, having completed her task to guide xem to the exam hall, bowed before leaving.
Kyōi entered the hall, adjusting xeir cloak to make sure it fully covered xeir wings. Inside the building, the hall was filled to the brim with people who wished to attend the academy. At the center of the hall, empty of young adventurers, was an area similar to an arena, with a stone floor and a silvery barrier that surrounded the entire area. Five older people, who Kyōi assumed were the instructors or examiners for the academy, stood together at the center of the arena.
"All examinees, please gather around the arena." A tall and elegant woman stepped forward from the group of instructors, her voice immediately silencing the quiet mutterings of the exam takers. "When your name is called, please step into the arena and state your specialty or preferred style of fighting, and if you know it, your level. One of the examiners will step forward to test your skills and talent. Healers will also have to showcase their talent with healing on an actual patient. First examinee, Kyle Randolph."
As the young man whose name was called stepped forward, Kyōi slowly pushed xeir way to the front of the crowd to see what was going on. The young man specialized in archery and water magic and was at level 10. He showcased his skills by proceeding to shoot down targets controlled by one of the instructors by creating arrows out of water magic.
The next examinee was a girl who specialized in light magic, which was mostly used to heal but didn't know her current level. Kyōi could see she was level 12. She showcased her talent with magic by healing an injured soldier.
After a few more examinees went, Kyōi zoned out. The highest leveled kid was a girl from a rich family, who was a level 18. Finally, it was xeir turn.
"Kyōi Woodsworth, please step forward."
Kyōi strode to the group of adventurers, stopping in front of them. "I specialize in sword fighting, as well as fire magic." It seemed dual magic wielders were rare, so xey left out the fact that xey could also use wind magic. Xey also didn't reveal xeir level, which had gone up to 27 as of a day before the exam, thanks to the constant training of Zoryn, Leilani, and Malak. A man wielding a large blade stepped forward. "Greetings Mr. Woodsworth. To test your talent, you will be sparring against me. Feel free to use whatever magic you feel is necessary."
After finishing the practical part of the exam, the examinees were taken to await results in an area that seemed to be a cafeteria. Free drinks that could restore energy and mana were offered to each of the examinees. Kyōi chose a seat at an empty table towards the back of the cafeteria, away from the rest of the exam takers.
Suddenly, the instructors began calling each examinee to follow them, one by one. Xey noticed that each instructor called out an examinee with at least one specialty that matched their own. For example, the instructor with a sword called out examinees who had said that they specialized in sword-fighting, while the healer instructor only called out examinees who said they specialized in healing.
Finally, the male mage instructor called for Kyōi to follow them. He led Kyōi to a private room and sat down at the desk. "Mr. Woodsworth, we just have a few questions before we can send you on your way." Kyōi sat down in the chair across the desk facing the instructor. "First, you said you are specialized in sword-fighting and fire magic, correct? Despite that, your aura contains a large amount of light mana and a pool of wind mana that is only slightly lesser than the light mana." "Well, I can use wind magic, but I mainly use it to just support the fire magic. I don't know anything about light magic though. My teacher only knew how to use wind mana."
Kyōi thought about the light mana. It did sort of make sense that xey had some sort of control over light mana though since xey did have that one skill that created a cloak of fire around xeir body and healed any wounds. "Next question, your last name is Woodsworth. Are you by chance a relative of Zoryn Woodsworth?" Kyōi nodded once. "He adopted me into his family a couple of years ago."
"Alright, this is the last question before you can go back home to await the results of the exam. Are you, or are you not one of the humanoid races?"
Kyōi froze and didn't know how to respond. The headmaster had known that xey called xemself an Avian, but xey weren't sure any of the instructors at the academy knew. Avians were not considered as one of the humanoid races, since their true form was one of a bird. The humanoid races included humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, and a few other races. Finally, xey decided to go the safer route and claim to be a humanoid. Xey laughed, putting on a smile that none could tell was fake. "Well, what else would I be, a dragon?"
Finally, Kyōi was allowed to leave. Xey snuck back to the tower, transforming into xeir black kite form to fly back to the inn where xeir newfound family stayed. Xey entered the inn through the open window to Zoryn's room, landing and transforming back into xeir humanoid form. "I'm back from the exam."
Leilani, who was seated on the floor across from Malak and Zoryn and playing cards jumped up. "Welcome back Kyōi!"