Today was the day for the practical test to divide the class, which she would take with the children of nobles.
When it came to the children of nobles, most ordinary noble children attended the higher-class Ardrey Academy, where her half-sister Priscilla went. The children who came to this Ecland Academy were mostly from very poor noble families, and they were the kind of children who had no chance of becoming heirs and were not even useful for political marriages. Compared to the children of fairly wealthy merchants, they had no particular prospects. They should still try to form connections with influential merchants for the future or strive to be favored by the daughters of merchant families without sons.
However, it was difficult to expect a 10-year-old child to understand this.
Especially for a child who was stubbornly fixated on the idea that they were a noble and different from commoners...
When Adele arrived at the examination venue, she was relieved to find that she didn't stand out as much as she had feared. The quality of her clothes was much lower than what her half-sister Priscilla had, and they were quite wrinkled from the shared carriage ride, but they were still clothes for a noble girl, so they were similar to those of the poor younger children of lower nobles. Besides, due to the "cleansing" from the incident, they weren't too wrinkled. The older girl who lent her a change of clothes had diligently ironed out the wrinkles in the carriage.
First, there was the written test.
Simple history of the country, names of the king and other important figures, knowledge about neighboring countries, etiquette, arithmetic, general knowledge, and so on...
Adele's pre-awakening knowledge was quite extensive, and even with her current ability to recall it in detail, she had no trouble solving the problems. ...Since she had been ignored by her family, studying was practically the only thing Adele had to do.
And arithmetic, from the perspective of her past life's memory, was child's play.
Adele solved the problems with all her might. She wanted to be in the top class, as she feared the lessons would be too boring if the level was too low.
Being a girl who excels in studies is within the realm of "normal." After all, someone has to be the best in any exam.
In fact, the class division was almost entirely determined by this written test.
It's difficult to conduct classes when the students' levels are not uniform. If there are middle school level students mixed with high school level students, it would be challenging to set the difficulty of the lessons.
On the other hand, practical skills are different. It's equally difficult to teach a class full of beginners or a class full of experts. Everyone needs individual attention.
If there's a mix of beginners to experts, the instructor can focus on those who need more guidance while letting the more experienced students help. Various teaching methods can be employed, such as having slightly more advanced students demonstrate their training.
In other words, it's more convenient for instructors not to divide magic and martial arts classes by skill level. While it might be easier for more advanced students, it would be inefficient and frustrating for their own training.
Moreover, even those who can't use magic still take magic classes.
There's a possibility they might have magicians as subordinates or employees in the future, and soldiers might have to fight against magicians. Even if they can't use magic themselves, knowledge about magic is necessary.
Next was the physical ability test.
It wasn't about being a sports star. It was just to show that they were healthy and had the physical ability to participate in martial arts classes without any issues.
Adele carefully followed the instructions, taking it very seriously.
She couldn't afford to show any unusual results, absolutely not.
After all, Adele was supposed to be a "very ordinary, average girl."
So, she adjusted her performance to match the scores of the child in front of her, aiming to be close to that child in all categories. This way, she hoped to be seen as an "ordinary child."
Finally, there was magic.
About 30% of the students could use magic to some extent. Among them, only about a third could make a living from it, which was about 10% of the total. The remaining two-thirds could only use magic for minor conveniences, like lighting a stove or carrying water.
Before her awakening, Adele was at a level where, with training, she might barely make it into that 10%, but even so, she was among the fortunate few in this world. After all, if Adele were on a carriage traveling through the desert or wilderness, her ability to use magic would significantly increase her chances of survival. It was certainly a valuable skill.
However, Adele's current magic...
For safety, it would be best not to use magic at all.
But that would be inconvenient. Since she could use magic, she wanted to make things a bit easier for herself. Besides, if she pretended she couldn't use it and accidentally used it or was forced to use it in an emergency, it would be scary.
It would be best to use magic at the same level as before her awakening.
With this in mind, Adele carefully observed the magic used by the person in front of her and adjusted her own to match the same level of power.
(The average human power is 1/6800, so I'll make it 1/10000 and fine-tune it to be a bit weaker, and... here goes!)
*Puff!*
A fireball of just the right size shot out, and Adele let out a sigh of relief. It was a very weak spark, hardly qualifying as an attack spell.
...But everyone, including the instructor, was staring at Adele with their mouths half-open.
"U, unchanted...?"
(...Oh, I forgot about the incantation...)
In reality, as long as one could emit thought waves, incantations were unnecessary. For those who couldn't instantly imagine the logical phenomena, such as molecular movement, chemical changes, and oxygen supply, it was necessary to form thought waves through incantations like "O flames, swirl and gather, form a mass and crush the enemy!" It was easier and more reliable to say it out loud.
Of course, it was possible to cast spells silently, but it often led to thoughts being internalized, significantly reducing the power of the spell. The time it took to cast the spell didn't change much, so it was only used for surprise attacks.
Adele, however, had directly imagined the phenomenon and cast the spell instantly without changing her expression, with almost the same power as the person before her.
And this "unchanted" spell was different from what people in this world meant by "unchanted."
Fortunately, the observers didn't realize this, but it was enough to show that Adele was far more skilled than her age suggested.
(Oh no, did I mess up...?
But, there are plenty of people who can use magic without chanting. They just don't use it often... I'm just a girl who happens to be good at the fireball spell and can use it unchanted to some extent. Yes!)
The new students were still strangers to each other and didn't whisper among themselves, and the teachers, being in the middle of the exam, simply ignored the surprise on their faces. There would be plenty of time to ask questions later.
After all the fuss, the practical test for class division ended without any major issues, and the students dispersed at the training ground. Adele returned to the dormitory.
However, one boy remained at the training ground.
Kelvin von Beilheim, the fifth son of a poor baron.
The Beilheim family was poor. Despite this, the extravagant baron had four children with his wife and two more with a maid.
The baron, though promiscuous, was not a bad person. He provided well for the maids who bore his children and raised them in the manor as his own. The legitimate wife and her children also treated them kindly, like younger siblings.
However, they were poor.
The legitimate children attended the higher-class Ardrey Academy, but it was difficult to afford the fees for the children born to the maid.
The eldest son was the heir. The second son was a backup in case something happened to the eldest. The third son could become a knight, a guard, or a high-ranking official, and ideally, he could become a son-in-law to a baron or viscount without male heirs.
The daughter had the potential to marry into a noble family or a wealthy merchant's family. To increase this potential, it was necessary to send her to a higher-class school, even if it meant financial strain.
As a result, only the fourth son and Kelvin, the fifth son, were to attend the lower-class Ecland Academy. That was the plan.
However, the fourth son had a talent for magic.
A talent that could not only sustain him but might even allow him to become a court magician or join the magic corps.
Suddenly, the fourth son was also sent to the higher-class Ardrey Academy, leaving Kelvin, the fifth son, as the only one to attend the lower-class Ecland Academy.
Among seven siblings, only him.
Why! Why!
Kelvin resented the unfairness of the world and became angry.
But deep down, he understood. It couldn't be helped.
Sending children to a higher-class school was a significant financial burden for a poor noble family.
The high tuition, three years of fees, materials, food, dormitory, clothes, and other expenses for seven children were impossible to afford. The unexpected fees for the fourth son must have put them in a dire financial situation.
Still, even though it was a lower-class school, they managed to send him, a child born to a maid, to the academy. The legitimate wife even apologized, saying it was a burden.
Complaining would bring bad luck.
Fine, then he would be the top student here!
He would become the strongest wolf and crush the pampered students from the higher-class schools!
He had some confidence in his body, which had been trained by his older brothers. He would show his strength in the initial practical test!
Kelvin was determined. But...
After he showed his best run, that girl matched his record.
After he did his best on the pull-ups, that girl matched his number. She even pretended to be tired, even though she looked like she had plenty of energy left.
The javelin throw, the long jump, the push-ups—she matched his records in everything. She still had plenty of energy left.
And she could use magic!
Damn it! Damn it!!
She's mocking me!
I will surpass her. I will definitely surpass that girl!
Kelvin von Beilheim.
At that moment, he had a goal for his three years at the academy.