Chapter 5: The Exam (Part Two)

“I wonder how our son did. Registering for this exam costs ten Silver Thales. I really hope Ace passes in one go,” Marina whispered to Romon. She was worried about Ace’s exam but also felt a little heartache over the money.

Romon was silent, seemingly lost in thought. He had taken the exam himself more than ten times, but unfortunately, he failed every time, and until his parents passed away, they never saw the hope of him inheriting his Citizenship.

After a long time, he said, “The literacy exam is not simple. The questions are quite difficult, and it lasts for a full three hours. Ace hasn’t been studying for long. Don’t expect too much, and don’t pressure him. This time is just to get a feel for it. He is smarter and more hardworking than me. It probably won’t be a problem for him to pass in two or three years.”

Ace inside the venue was not nervous. The Unified Literacy Exam was not much different from the exams in his previous life. The invigilation was strict, but the questions were essentially like a language arts test.

Given his diligent preparation, although the preparation time was short, claiming to take first place would be bragging, but getting a “Pass” was definitely no problem, and “Excellent” was also very likely.

After the test papers were distributed, Ace quickly scanned them: twenty fill-in-the-blank questions, twenty word definition questions, two dictation questions, five comprehension questions, and a major essay: “Write an article based on the legendary experiences of the city founder Ronamos,” which was clearly a requirement to write a eulogy.

Ace quickly completed all the questions except for the major essay. Only one hour had passed. He used his beautiful Bird Script to write the title: A Record of Leaving the Sander Plateau.

After collecting the test papers from the last candidate, the city-state education officer announced the end of the exam. The results would be posted in the City Hall Square three days later, and successful candidates could collect their badges with their registration receipt. The candidates filed out.

Some were sweating and looked uneasy, some were calm and composed, and others loudly complained about the difficulty of the questions—everything was the same as the end of exams in his past life.

Ace was one of the younger candidates, but he was not unique. Many parents sent their children early to experience the difficulty of the exam, hoping it would make them more attentive in their studies.

Most people needed to study for three years or even longer to successfully pass the exam.

Romon and Marina saw Ace and walked up to him.

Marina wiped Ace’s head, where no sweat actually existed, with her clothes. She wanted to ask something but was eyed by Romon. As a result, she didn’t dare to ask anything. Ace also didn’t say much; the results would be posted in three days, which was more useful than anything he could say.

Ace arrived at Peter’s villa early again the next morning. Morton was suddenly talkative today, lecturing the eight students.

“Yesterday, our Ace participated in the city-state’s Unified Literacy Exam. This is the primary goal for all of you. Although it is difficult to pass on the first try, I believe that with Ace’s hard work, it will definitely not be a problem next year or the year after.”

“The rest of you are not working hard enough. Some individuals have not even memorized the alphabet fluently. You should seriously reflect on yourselves.”

Ace once again became the child praised by the teacher. Some classmates looked at him with admiration, while others were a bit unhappy.

Ace could understand. The admiring ones were those who wanted to work hard similarly, while the unhappy ones were those who were forced to study. If one were to divide them further, the unhappy ones were the children from Noble families.

They were descendants of Divine Blood. Although it was unknown how many generations removed, or whether the Divine Blood could be successfully awakened, they were indeed Divine Blood descendants and born Nobles. With no pressure, they naturally lacked motivation.

If it were an exam to awaken their bloodline, he guaranteed they would all be full of admiration and envy. One’s position often determines one’s view of things.

Although a few Noble children were unhappy, they had basic manners and did not resort to boring antics like cornering and attacking him after class.

Three days passed quickly. Ace and his mother, Marina, went to the City Hall Square. The results list had just been posted on the bulletin board: based on a hundred-point system, ninety points or above was “Excellent,” and seventy-five points or above was “Pass.”

Ace looked from the top down. The first name was Daina, with one hundred points. He continued reading and found that the second name and receipt number was his own, with ninety-eight points.

Ace took his registration receipt and received his badge from the public official of culture and education: a white background, the relief of Medimus City-State, and a red character “Excelent”, with a line of small text reading “Literacy Level Pass.”

Marina happily pinned the badge onto Ace’s clothes and quickly ran home to tell Romon the good news.

Ace quickly walked towards Peter the Polymath’s house. He had finally passed the exam and was now qualified to learn deeper knowledge and to borrow Peter the Polymath’s private collection of books.

Ace arrived at Peter the Polymath’s villa. Of the other seven students, three had already begun transcribing Myths, while the others were still miserably memorizing the sentence structures of the grammar.

Morton was leaning against the courtyard wall, engrossed in reading a scroll, occasionally glancing at his students.

When he looked up and saw Ace enter, he was thinking to himself that the young man must have learned a lesson from the exam and that he should encourage Ace, as he was a promising, studious individual.

Just as he was thinking, Morton suddenly saw a metallic luster on Ace’s chest glinting in the sun—it was a badge!

Morton rushed over to Ace in three strides, carefully examining the badge on his chest: a white background, the relief of Medimus City-State, and a red character “Excelent”, with a line of small text reading “Literacy Level Pass.”

“You passed on the first try, and you got ‘Excellent’?” Morton asked in surprise.

“Thanks to your instruction, Sir. I passed by luck,” Ace replied modestly, a hint of slyness in his eyes.

“You are truly cut out for scholarship. The teacher has gone out to attend the Citizen Assembly and should be back this afternoon. I will take you to see him then. You can call me Senior Morton from now on.”

Morton’s expression showed both delight and a sense of loss. He looked back at the other students, especially those poor performers who couldn’t even learn the grammar, and felt more and more that people could not be compared.

In the afternoon, Morton took Ace to the east-facing study on the third floor of the villa, cautioning Ace, “The teacher is a man who values politeness highly. You must be respectful and courteous when you go in.” He then gently knocked on the door, stepped back two paces with Ace, and waited respectfully.

A moment later, the door opened. Peter was wearing a white robe with a red ribbon, looking solemn, as if contemplating a problem. He wore several different badges on his chest, one of which was the same as the ten-kill military achievement medal Romon cherished.

It seemed Peter was not only knowledgeable but also very capable in combat. This was also consistent with the overall atmosphere of the city-state: open, martial, and highly expansionist.

The men entered the study in sequence. Morton led Ace to bow slightly to Peter and said, “Teacher, this is Ace, who came to seek knowledge last month. He is a diligent and clever child. With almost no foundation, he achieved literacy and passed the Unified Literacy Exam in just over a month. He hopes to follow you, Teacher, and learn more profound and specialized knowledge.”

“Teacher Peter , I am very eager to follow you and learn more profound and specialized knowledge.” Ace stated immediately after Morton finished.

“Ace, the door to knowledge is open to everyone who yearns for it. Welcome to be my disciple. Knowledge has value. After you become my disciple, you must pay my steward, Joan, fifty Silver Thales in tuition each month. If you do not have the money temporarily, you may incur debt and pay me back slowly after you get a job. No interest will be charged.”

(End of this chapter)