Chapter 7: The Results

The two of them walked into the great pit and began walking down the massive spiral staircase. Exelcia was quite chatty, and while Zel was still very out of it, she did her best to answer any questions that she had.

"That was mighty impressive, young lady, mighty impressive indeed. I don't know if I've ever seen a new student with as much man as you got in there. Really, where are you hiding it?" She poked fun at Zel as they descended.

"I really don't know, ma'am," Zel responded, feeling a bit dizzy, "I guess it's in here somewhere, though." Exelcia laughed.

"That it must be. Say… you said that you were sisters with that time girl right? Any other friends or family that you got in the Academy?" Exelcia asked.

"No, we are the first ones of our family to ever go into any kind of advanced magical schooling I think. My mom is a florist, and my dad is a chef, so they just know the basic stuff. As for friends, I just made one earlier today. That Clickfolk named Jammy, she's really nice."

"Aw, that's sweet. If you pass the exams, and odds are looking pretty good, you'll make a lot of friends at Dream Academy! That's basically all I did my first year!" Exelcia's radiant attitude was infectious, and Zel felt the pounding in her head begin to recede as she spoke. "Oh, look at that! Here we are." Exelcia stopped in front of an entranceway that didn't have a door on it and walked inside.

The room that they entered was large, but nowhere near the size of the grand hall. It appeared to be some kind of medical room, it was filled with beds and curtains that gave a bit of privacy to the occupants, but otherwise was very sparsely decorated. Zel could see that there was another door carved into the mountain on the far side of the ward that was closed that had "Supplies" written upon it. Most of the students that participated in the exam were in this room in various states. Some were laying down in beds sleeping, others sat up and talked amongst their bedmates, and others still were wandering around the room, seemingly unphased by the intense exam.

Zel spotted Miriya waving at her from one of the beds and Exelcia walked Zel over to her.

"Alright, I'll leave you right here. Now you get some rest, I have to go help the last few, but we won't be moving you guys to your dorms for a bit longer, so just relax here, yeah?" Exelcia said.

"Thank you, ma'am," Zel responded before flopping down onto Miriya's bed, exhausted. Exelcia disappeared from their sight in a flash, they could hear her heavy armor clanking as they walked away.

"How'd you do?" Miriya asked.

"Good, I think. Something strange happened while I was taking the exam, I can't remember what was going on around me. Something similar happened in the first exam as well. I don't know what to make of it. I think I passed out, or nearly did, but when I came to the entire room was aglow and Captain Ceres said that it was unbelievable" Zel explained as she rubbed her head where it had smashed into the floor.

"Oh no! Maybe you just over exerted yourself? You've never taken a test like this before, so maybe it was just your body not listening?" Miriya said with a concerned look.

"...Yeah… Maybe you're right." Zel had an intense headache, not made any better by the welt that was forming on her forehead. She wanted to tell Miriya more about what happened, but she was having a hard time remembering herself. She decided that for now they should just rest until the other students were done.

"Did the captain really say that your mana was unbelieveable?" Miriya suddenly asked.

"Yeah, that's what I heard, at least. I had just gotten up from smashing my head against the floor though, so take that for what you will." Zel replied.

"That's incredible, Zel! Do you really have that much mana?" Miriya asked.

"Of course she doesn't." Zel and Miriya were both surprised by a bitter voice coming from a curtain next to them. A hand reached around the curtain and pulled it back, revealing a certain Cleinz Duphor with a ghastly look upon his face.

"She should not even be here with us." He continued, "She almost failed the first exam because of her cowardice. You, Trailfolk, I will abide. If only because your powers will prove useful to the Academy, but your sister over here is clearly worthless."

Miriya opened her mouth to defend her sister, but Zel was quicker.

"And who the fuck do you think you are, Cleinz," Cleinz was taken aback at the sudden attack, "We saw you out there with your fancy rock magic. Good for you, get off our backs! We took the tests, same as you, so leave us the fuck alone."

"How dare you talk to me that way! The Duphor family has been part of this Academy for generations! We have been weaving magic since the naming of Split Sky! You are a commoner who should not even be given the chance to walk among us!" Cleinz shouted back. The two's raised voices began to attract the attention of the other students in the ward.

"Oh, is that what this is about? Your whole family knows how to twirl rocks around, that's fantastic. Why don't you go tell on me to your big brother then. Go talk to him about how some 'commoner' from out in the boonies has got more mana in one finger than his little brother has in his whole body." Zel shouted back at him.

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Cleinz' face grew dark, he stood up, and began to walk away, briskly brushing by their bed frame as he went Before he passed behind the curtain and out of sight, he turned to face them once more

"Tonight I witnessed your incompetence several times. From the moment I first saw you on the platform I knew that you would never be of any use to this Academy. Then I saw your total lack of cultural awareness on our way to the top of the mountain, making a mockery of the Clickfolk people. I see you for what you truly are. Nothing more than a burden. Perhaps you can fake it now, but eventually everyone will see what I have seen." He spoke in a grim and certain tone, his words chosen carefully. As he finished his speech he turned around quickly. He left them to their enclosed bedspace, his robes fluttering dramatically as he went.

Zel, however, was unphased.

"Maybe that will be the same night that everyone sees you for who you really are, you prick!" Zel yelled after him. "What an asshole! I can't believe I thought he was hot!

"Yeah!" Miriya piped in, with forced enthusiasm, her eyes darting around the room. There had been several student onlookers who became interested in the argument, and each of them came to their own conclusions. With Zel feeling a little too heated to worry about the embarrassment of the scene she just made, it was Miriya who held down the fort and felt the sting of shame for both of them.

After that, though, Zel and Miriya were left alone once again, allowing for some blissful moments of peace while they eagerly awaited the Captain's call. Zel and Miriya talked about various things together to pass the time, keeping their mind off the exams, as the last few students slowly trickled in one after another. However, before the exam ended they eventually got another visitor.

"Zel! Look! It's your new friend!" Miriya exclaimed as Jammy revealed herself around the curtains. It seemed she had made a fool recovery from their exhaustive efforts, looking rather peppy indeed.

"Hey Jammy! You were amazing in the test! I can't believe your affinity is plant magic. That was so cool!" Zel hopped off the bed and knelt down to give Jammy a hug, but stopped short.

"You… wouldn't mind if I hugged you, would you?" She asked. She remembered what happened last time she had touched Jammy.

Jammy shook her head, holding her arms wide to jump into Zel's arms to give her a big hug of her own.

"So you carry around seeds that let you use your magic anywhere?" Zel asked as they ended their embrace. Jammy gave her a nod. "That's really smart! Miriya and I got a bit lucky, both of our powers can be used with just our bodies, but you have a really creative fix to make sure you can fight!"

Jammy nodded enthusiastically. She then pointed at Miriya and motioned as though she was using a slingshot, holding one of her hands forward and drawing back an invisible band with another. She then released the invisible band and made a loud crashing sound with her mandibles. She turned back towards Miriya, nodding and clapping with all four of her hands.

"Oh, thank you!" Miriya said. Zel could tell that she was riding the high from all the compliments she had received tonight, probably more than ever before. Miriya's tail bounced back and forth ceaselessly.

Jammy then pointed towards Zel and held both her arms out. She mimicked the way Zel held her arms during the first exam and started making crashing sounds. Then she motioned as if she were grabbing something and made an even bigger explosion sound. She finished the display off with another round of nodding and an applause for Zel.

"Thank you so much, Jammy!" Zel said, "But I'm not really proud of my performance during the exam. I was afraid of hurting him, and then I was just afraid. And then…" Zel trailed off as she tried to remember, but the haze was still there.

"But who could blame you for being afraid to hurt someone after that display! You might have fried him!" Another figure walked around the privacy curtain of Miriya and Zel's bed. It was Flint, he wore a broad grin on his face

"I can't believe you have all that mana Zel, what you did back there was unreal! There are people who train for years and years to have the level of mana that you have right now! It was unreal, you two. The whole room was glowing bright, you couldn't see a single shadow being cast over anything! Captain Kartave even had trouble getting the room dark again! You know how it got dark instantly for everyone else? It took him-" Flint was all over Zel, an amazed sparkle in his eyes. Seems like they had found another lover of magic, not just language, as Flint was practically gushing over Zel's examination demonstration. As he continued to prattle on, Jammy pulled on his cloak to get his attention.

Jammy spoke in Clicktongue to Flint who's eyes widened.

"I forgot Jammy, you weren't there! You totally missed Zel's performance! Oh, you should have seen it, she was down on the floor like this-" He continued his unstoppable shower of praise, much to Zel's embarrassment. Now Jammy's eyes were glowing with excitement too as Flint put all sorts of grandiose ideas in her head about Zel's performance. She looked at Zel with that glowing expression and she made another round of applause for Zel, more enthusiastic than ever before.

"Alright, alright. Thank you Flint and Jammy." Zel said, finally putting a stop to their silliness, "Flint, does you being here mean that the examinations have wrapped up?" She asked.

"It does indeed," Flint said, finally managing to calm down, "The captains should be wrapping up any additional deliberation they're having now. Then they should be coming here to explain what else needs to be done."

The four of them continued to chat until the last of the students entered the room along with Miracle, the headmaster, and all five of the captains. Miracle called all of the students over into a bundle once again.

"Congratulations! Everyone who is in this room passed!" The headmaster announced.

Nobody in the room reacted, each of them thinking that perhaps they misheard him.

"You will select your classes in two nights time. Please, follow Miracle to your dorms and enjoy exploring the campus until then." And with that, the headmaster hobbled out the doorway and was gone.

Everyone remained still in a stunned silence, nobody dared to make a move, lest they break whatever illusion they were all taking part in. Nobody until both Flint and Captain Crans both let out hearty laughs, then the dam burst.

The students all cheered and screamed and cried, overwhelmed that they had passed the exam. Zel and Miriya hugged one another and Jammy jumped up and down in joy with the other Clickfolk. It took a while for the room to calm down, but it was eventually Miracle who brought everything back to normal.

"Will all of the new students of Dream Academy please follow me to the dorm rooms on the bottom floor." She thundered over the raucous group.

Their worries behind them and forgotten, Zel, Miriya, and the others all followed Miracle, excited to take the first steps into their new life and home at Dream Academy.