"...really?"
I muttered as I got the notice that there was an entrance ceremony at the beginning of the semester.
That isn't very pleasant.
I made my way to the outdoor plaza and found a spot to sit among the other students.
There were special seats set aside for the exchange students, but nah... I wasn't in the mood to be singled out.
I'm comfortable here.
Well, the ceremony began with a small speech from the Headmistress, which was as boring as I expected.
She kept meeting my gaze, but I had to get used to it.
Not like I could hide from her, given that I was in a new place where everyone seemed to already know who I was.
But it was her final words that caught me off guard.
"...That's everything. Now, as usual, we will conduct the mana evaluation test."
She clapped her hands, and immediately, the space around us seemed to swirl as if the air itself was moving.
Out of nowhere, several orbs appeared, floating above a table on the podium.
Another set of orbs appeared on a second table beside it.
"Alright..." the Headmistress smiled at the crowd.
"Come out five at a time when your name is called."
And just like that, the mana evaluation began.
The first five students made their way to the podium as the Headmistress explained how the orbs worked.
"This small orb is a device designed to measure the quality and quantity of mana within your body. All you need to do is hold it and allow the mana to flow into the orb. "
"Once you do, your grade will be displayed for everyone to see, featuring both quality and quantity rankings."
"As I've mentioned many times before, your rank will determine your current position in the academy. However, this only applies to Magicians. If you are a Swordsman or a Physical Warrior, there is another orb to my right, and you will follow the same procedure with that orb. "
"For those of you who are Magic Swordsman, you have the option to choose one of the orbs or both. Your final grade will be based on the combined ranks."
And with that, the mana evaluation began.
Three lines of students were formed, the left one for magicians, the right one for swordsman, and the middle one for Magic Swordsman.
As for me... I placed myself last in the magic category.
I shouldn't reveal my 'Aura' for now.
After getting into their proper positions, the first batch of students started to infuse their mana into the orbs.
The orbs glowed with different colors depending on their element. If they had multiple elements, the second color would show up a few moments later.
Thinking about it...
'I still didn't awaken my second affinity...'
Since I was primarily focused on swordsmanship, I never considered awakening another magic affinity.
Most of the time, I simply used my ice attribute to enchant my sword or to conjure mana-infused bullets with a freezing effect.
'I should try to awaken another one... but that will be expensive, no?'
But that aside, as the students finished channeling their mana into the orb and released it, a large panel appeared displaying each student's name alongside their respective grades.
[Mike Ox - 19 Years Old.
⋙ Mana Quantity: C-
⋙ Mana Quality: B-
⋙ Overall Grade: C+]
Oh...
It seems that they value quality over quantity.
That meant that my rank would be much higher than I originally thought, since when I trained my mana, I didn't focus on quantity, but quality.
It had reached a terrifying level; one strand of mana for me should be worth more than fifty for an average mage.
But yeah, I'll still get a big drawback for my mana quantity being so low.
The mana evaluation continued without interruption, and surprisingly, no student received an overall grade lower than C, whether they were magicians or swordsmen.
As expected of the best academy, huh?
Then, the moment I'd been waiting for arrived.
Ella, Lucas, Maya, Iris, and Rose were called up to the podium.
I wanted to see how much they evolved from the Academy's Competition.
It had only passed a week or so, but it was during this week, that all of them found an inheritance dungeon together.
So, they overall ranks would be increased by a whole rank or more...
The kind of opportunity that is reserved for the main characters, I'd say.
Ella, Lucas, and Maya went to the Swordsman area, while Iris and Rose headed to the Magician's side.
They each placed their hands on the orbs, and before long, their results flashed across the screen.
Both Maya and Iris got the same overall grade: B+.
As for the other three.. their results were monstrous, to say the least.
[Lucas Hearstone - 20 Years Old.
⋙ Aura Quantity: B+
⋙ Aura Quality: A++
⋙ Overall Grade: A+]
An A+ rank is something that normal students would only achieve in their final year, but Lucas achieved it in the third year, with only two more years remaining.
But of course, against demons, Lucas was more than three times stronger, so his rank would be around S- or A++ in reality.
And it seems that his other attribute other than Light is Lightning. One being a special element, and the other being a deviant...
Truly a protagonist.
But his second element... did he awaken it a few days ago? I didn't see him use lightning against me in the competition.
[Ella Rosewood - 20 Years Old.
⋙ Aura Quantity: A-
⋙ Aura Quality: A++
⋙ Overall Grade: A+]
The same grade as Lucas, but anyone could see that she was stronger in both quality and quantity.
But, she does possess the Royal Swordsmanship, so like Lucas, her power should reach the lower grades of S.
[Rose Firefly - 20 Years Old.
⋙ Mana Quantity: A+
⋙ Mana Quality: A++
⋙ Overall Grade: A++]
And then there was Rose, who blew everyone away.
A++?
She was ridiculously strong.
But… even with that, she didn't quite make it to S- rank.
Each one of them made the students from the fifth year pale in comparison, not to mention the shocked voices from the crowd.
"Grades A+, and A++? Wow..."
"Are they really third-year students?"
"They really are monsters..."
The whispers continued.
Gosh...
If there was a student like this in my academy, I would be more than happy.
Ah, right…
There's Mia and Maria, although they still are much weaker than them.
A few months ago, both of them were ranked B+, so they should be an A- by now.
As for Derek and James... maybe in a few months or not, both of them have this innate competitiveness between each other.
And from what I saw, both of them are already at the B+ rank for Mana, so yeah. It shouldn't be much of a problem for them to reach the next rank.
More and more students got their evaluation, and I couldn't really... see a familiar face other than Lucas and his group.
The middle section was almost empty now, especially since there were no more Magic Swordsmen left.
And then, I finally noticed a familiar face.
Violet... rose to the podium.
She nodded towards the Headmistress and carefully placed her hands on the small orb, closing her eyes.
Unlike the other students, her hair began to flutter as a bright purple glow illuminated her beautiful face.
A purple-colored element...
That's her unique element, called: "Crystal".
This element could be easily described; the hardness of the rock element and the sharpness of the ice element.
Really unfair...
The crystal element can be considered even more powerful than the Light element, especially since only Violet possesses it.
While Angels possess the Light element, Lucas is the only human who has it.
However, as I mentioned, Violet is the ONLY one with the crystal element.
Aside from the Demon King and the Evil God, the author needed a more human-like villain, so it makes sense why she is so special.
And her results... even I was shocked.
[Violet Von Luxuria - 21 Years Old.
⋙ Mana Quantity: S
⋙ Mana Quality: S++
⋙ Overall Grade: S+]
A full-fledged S-rank magician, being only twenty-one years old.
"Damn..."
"As expected of the Student Council President!"
"For sure, she easily is the strongest student in the academy."
"Yeah... It's strange how she didn't participate in the competition. Aestrae would definitely be easily defeated by her."
Nah.
If I used my 'Aura', I probably could beat her.
The only problem that I do have in mind...
Is how 'I' died, or why did I disappear from the novel?
Maybe I was too overpowered and the author simply let my character disappear...?
That could be the cause actually.
But, pushing that aside, it was finally my turn to step onto the podium.
It was strange though. There was only one table, with just one orb on it. I looked around and realized... I was the last one left.
Oh, the disappointment on their faces is going to be huge.
"Aestrea, it's your turn..." the Headmistress called my name, smiling gently.
"I really want to see how far you've come..."
She snapped her fingers, and in an instant, the orb on the table was swapped out for another one.
A much bigger one.
This woman...
I guess she's the strongest mage for a reason.
I slowly placed my hands on the orb.
A deep, icy blue light began to glow and shine on my face.
But that wasn't all.
The light grew stronger and brighter with each passing second, and my hair started to flutter from the gust of wind created by the energy.
Then, little by little...
The results began to show up on the big screen.
[Aestrea Moon - 20 Years Old.
⋙ Mana Quantity: D+
...]
"Pfff...!"
The crowd burst into laughter when they saw my painfully low Mana level.
It was as bad as I expected—maybe even worse.
"HAAHAHAH!"
"I can't believe the so-called Moonlight Swordsman has only a D+ rank for his mana quantity!"
"He's worse than our weakest student..."
"Typical of someone from the weakest academy, huh?"
They started laughing aloud, and even Lucas and his group had a strange expression splattered all over their faces.
They had fought against me after all, so they should be quite surprised.
"Haah..."
I let out a cold breath as I opened my eyes, and suddenly, a strange pressure started falling on the student's shoulders.
And it was at that moment...
That my mana quality finally appeared.
"T-this..."
"H-how c-could he..."
"Gulp... how c-could he have such high mana quality?!"
"N-n-not even high-ranking mages have that kind monstrous quality!"
The laughter died in their throats.
They were speechless.
None of them dared to laugh anymore.
And that's when I took a look at my own mana quality.
[Aestrea Moon - 20 Years Old.
⋙ Mana Quantity: D-
⋙ Mana Quality: SS++
⋙ Overall Grade: B]
It was... terrifying.
To say the least.