"Today's finally the day, huh...?" I rubbed my eyes, "Now that it's actually come to this, I really just wanna go back to sleep."
The room was really cold, unnaturally so even. Whilst I am used to waking up early, getting out of the comfy and warm blankets is usually the hardest part of that. If it was any other day, I wouldn't hesitate to jumpstart the day off with a proud kip up out of bed, but for whatever reason, today my legs just didn't have that in them. As if I can feel my brain sending signals to my legs, but somewhere along the way, the command just completely gets lost in transit. I've studied everything I could, crammed as much knowledge Meil and the others have taught me, and I know of some of the best tips to help me get through this without any reason for worry, so why is it still so difficult to even take the first step?
"Nelly?" Meil knocked on the door gently, "Remember not to be late. Today is the exam, remember?"
"How could I forget the very reason why I came here?" I tried joking to alleviate my stress, though my voice was still pretty shaky, "Actually, can you come in for a second?"
"Are you sure?" He slightly opened the door before peeking inside, "Oh dear, you are not even out of bed yet. Is everything alright? Are you feeling sick?"
"No, but..." I then shook my head, "Yeah, I am kind of feeling out of it. Meil, you're a genius through and through, so it's not like you know how it feels, but do you have any advice for calming my nerves?"
He looked at me with a troubled expression before walking over to my bed and crouching to meet my eye level. With a serious expression, he made sure to properly explain to me, without looking away for a second, exactly what he wanted me to hear.
"Where did you hear that? Of course I have moments where my nerves go off the charts, I am still human, after all." He patted me on the head, "Nelly, put simply, the reason you are so scared of taking the exam is because you fear the end of your world."
"The end of my world?" I furrowed my brows, "What do you mean?"
"You see, even if you failed the test, it is not like you would die, right?" He elaborated, "We would just pay the retaking of the exam and wait another week, and we would continue to do that until you passed. Even still, subconsciously in your mind, you believe that if you fail now, your entire life will shrivel up in the blink of an eye. In order to calm your nerves when facing a daunting task, always remember that even if you fail it, the world will continue to move on, and so will you. This test is not the end, but the beginning, so why even worry about something so miniscule when you have yet to even enroll in this world class elite University?"
"Cheh." I giggled, "You ruined the speech at the very end, dummy."
"I am just stating facts." He chuckled as well, "Remember, once you enroll, you will finally gain access to the Library of a Thousand Passages, and we will be able to look into my past together. You have that to look forward to, I promise."
"Right, no use getting caught up in meaningless worries when we've still got so much to do." I finally got out of bed, "Thanks, Meil. I feel a lot better now thanks to your words."
"Always a pleasure to help." He got up and left the room to go make breakfast, "Get dressed and come down here soon. You have time, but it is always better to be early than late."
And so, we enjoyed a pretty relaxed breakfast, just the two of us. It wasn't anything special, just some eggs and bacon, but he made sure to whip out a chocolate bar and give it to me to eat on my way to the University. He said something about sugar being good for brain activity, but all I heard was free sweets, so I obliged without hesitation. Now, standing in front of the building, all that fear from before suddenly hit me all over again.
"M-Maybe I should go back after all...?" I let out a nervous chuckle as I began to turn around.
"No, you will go in." Meil stopped me, "Nelly, what did I say this morning?"
"Sigh, it's not the end of the world, I know..." I slumped forward as I entered the building, "Well then, examinees can't have anyone follow them inside the room they'll be taking the test, so you'll have to sit outside."
"I do not mind." He went to wave me off, but thought of something at the last second, "Nelly, wait!"
"Ugh, what is it?" I turned around all angry, only for him to grab my hand and tightly squeeze.
"Your hands are cold." He examined them, "I was right. At this rate, you will not even be able to hold the pen, so let me warm them up for you."
"H-Hey, that's embarrassing, so stop it!" I weakly tried to wriggle my hands free, "W-What if someone sees us...?"
"Hm?" He looked up with that signature aloof stare of his, "What of it?"
His naivety towards reading the mood mixed with his overall disregard for others' feelings really got to me, especially in an important moment like this, so I kind of snapped and slapped his hands away repeatedly. Stomping my way into the building, I noticed that all that slapping I did actually did manage to warm them up, so I guess he did his job.
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***
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Entering the building, I had signed up for the test, paid the fee and entered the exam hall. I was seated next to the window somewhere near the back of the room, and there were around 20 other examinees of varying ages in the room with me. Obviously, I was the youngest in the room, since the tuition fees for attending a University in Simpleton is way too costly for someone who isn't some form of royalty to pay. Usually, if people really wanna enroll, they'll collect the money throughout their life and only then go forth, but since mom and dad had enough to pay for mine immediately as I turned 13, it meant I didn't have to wait, basically.
Still, I was worried that my inexperience in life would put me at a great disadvantage, but I was surprised to see just how many people are practically shitting their pants as they wait for the test to be handed out. As you know, the entrance and rank up exams for Dimitri Uni are extremely difficult, requiring a vast and detailed database of knowledge in various fields of mathematics. I failed multiple times until I finally got the hang of it and started to consistently pass the mocks. In this very room, there are around 20 other lives, 20 other stories, and each has its own reason for wanting to be here. Some might have seen it as a way to earn fame and riches, others just wanted to learn more about the world, and some might just have another agenda that I can't even begin to imagine. Some of them might have studied their whole lives, others might have insider knowledge on what the tests will look like like I did, and some might not even have a clue as to what this test will entail. Well, it's their job to worry about themselves, and mine to worry about myself. Nothing else to it.
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"Good day and welcome to the entrance exam." The instructor started handing out the papers, "Do not flip the paper until I tell you to. Do not use a graphite pencil, only a pen will be accepted. Do not cheat by peeking at the person next to you or by any other means. Do not make a single sound for the duration of the exam. Failure to follow any of the aforementioned rules will lead to you getting kicked out, so just focus on your own papers and leave when you have handed your test in."
As he stopped at my table, he made a noticeably disgruntled groan before rolling his eyes and haphazardly tossing the exam roughly to where my table was. The exam paper fell to the floor, and he refused to even pick it up, instead simply snickering at me as I sheepishly picked it up myself. What the hell is this guy's problem? No wait, maybe it's just my nerves. Yeah, he probably isn't bad, I'm just looking for someone to blame.
"I see we have a wide variety of ages trying their luck here today." He alluded to me as he muttered to himself, "Stupid royalty, they think their kids are hot shit, so they send them off into the world without a care in the world. Then they have to whine when they don't get their way..."
"I-I'm not-" I tried to speak up.
"Shhh!" He got all angry all of a sudden, "Do not make a single sound for the duration of the exam! Are you deaf!? Do you want me to kick you out before you even turn the page!? Ugh, you're wasting everyone's time by being noisy, shut up!"
Looking around at everyone else for backup, they too didn't really know what to do in this situation. Everyone was kind of waiting for the instructor to just hand us our tests so that we can start, but we also know that if we say anything, it'll only delay him further. Looks like this is also part of being an adult - to learn not to backtalk too much, otherwise the idiots above you will hinder your work.
"Finally learned your place, huh?" He smirked before continuing to hand everyone their test, "Now, where was I? Ah yes, the point system. I doubt any of you will make it this far, but I need to say this for formality's sake, so listen well: There are a total of one hundred questions, each one worth one point. 75 points are required to pass, 96 lets you skip to DeciQuart, 97 to DeciTres, 98 to DeciDux, 99 to Decion and finally - a perfect 100 points lets you skip to Decim. Mind you, the exam lasts for an hour and a half, but if you finish the test before an hour passes, you get one rank higher than what you managed, granted you actually pass the exam. You've got time, so think well and good luck."
Instructing us to finally turn our papers around, I signed my name before reading the first few questions and... It's pretty easy so far. No, this can't be, I've already done half the test and it's all super easy? Surely, the latter half is gonna be super tough, no? Well, actually it wasn't. It was so easy, in fact, that I did the final question somewhere around the 50 minute mark. Doubting my own knowledge, I quickly glanced through the entire test again, which took another 5 minutes, and so with 100% certainty in my answers, I raised my hand and handed the exam in.
"You've still got time, sit down and don't rush." The instructor glared at me.
"No, I'm done." I replied.
"Ah, so you're saying you gave up, huh?" He grinned, "Yeah, mommy and daddy can give you anything you want in the world, but they can't pay for hard-earned knowledge."
"I did everything." I threw the test roughly to where his table was in a similar manner to how he did to me, with even the paper falling to the ground in the exact same way, "I'm going now, better pick that up, teach."
I had expected everyone to snicker or at least appreciate my comeback after he had insulted me this much, but when I went to turn around and leave the room, not a single soul was even paying attention to us in the slightest. They were all just worriedly doing their own tests. This made me kind of embarrassed, but I sucked it up and opened the door.
"By the way, I'm not a noble." I said offhandedly, "I'm as common as they get, so maybe you should take your own advice and stop rushing to conclusions on your own."
"Get the fuck out!" He finally snapped and let out a loud shout, prompting everyone in the room to jolt and look at him weirdly. Heh, serves you right, dipass!
Leaving the exam room and explaining everything to Meil, he got super angry at the instructor and actually wanted to go have a word with him, but I stopped him before he sent another man to the hospital. Still, he calmed down once I told him the test was super easy.
"Of course it was, you were studying advanced courses, after all." He revealed, "Basically, all those times you passed the mock exams, you were actually qualified to advance to my rank."
"Eh?! No way, those mock exams were for your rank!?" I jumped, "So then..."
"Yeah." He patted me on the head, "I think you will do just fine here."
Needless to say, a couple days later the results came out, and I saw my name on the "Passed" chart with the number of points proudly standing next to it - 96.
"Aww geez! I only advanced one rank?" I whined.
"Are you not proud of that?" Meil chuckled, "Just think - You are one of the few people in the world who got a headstart in University. Just like I did. Be proud of your achievements, they aren't a small feat."
"Just like you..." I thought before giggling to myself, "Yeah, you're right! I'm just like you! Hahaha, hooray!"