NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 48. The Handwriting-reading Pyeondol (2)
Besides that, there were a lot of problems that I couldn’t figure out.
How would I know what my initial response as a countermagician would be if I found a troll electrocuted by a high voltage line with 20% pure magic power? Throw some water on it?
In addition, under the fingerprints showing that the bank robbers had placed a bomb in the vault, there are descriptions of the bomb’s sound, color, and flowing magic. What should an anti-magic expert do here? If it were me, I would have run away screaming.
If there’s one thing I’ve figured out, it’s that the area in which anti-magic experts operate is extremely broad.
Explosive dismantlement is an example, and entering a gate is an example. If the Anti-Magic Specialist license allows you to work in all of these industries, then it’s easy to understand why you’d want to get this license.
Of course, this realization didn’t help me figure out the problem, so I thanked the orc and sat down quietly. I think I should seriously consider taking the test again…
After about 25 minutes of being half-asleep, someone walked into the testing room.
“This is Inspector Decard.”
His voice was cold and his skin was pale. He must be a vampire. He glanced around the quiet examination room and continued what he wanted to say.
“The test will take 60 minutes and consist of 80 questions. The total score is 200. The test paper I am about to hand you is….”
As I spoke, I snapped my fingers, and a stack of test papers appeared in front of me with a pop and fell onto the desk with a clatter. They looked exactly like mock exam papers.
“After you have finished, please check your answers on the card. If you are caught cheating, you will be disqualified and will be disqualified from taking any future national qualification exams. There are no subjective questions, and if you have any problems during the exam or have completed the exam, please raise your hand. We will start now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the desk clock on the supervisor’s desk began to tick. I heard the sound of pages turning, so I picked up my test paper and turned to the first page. But if it was a math problem, I could somehow solve it… .
[ 1. 1 + 1 = ? (2 points) ]
(1) 1
(2) 2
(3) 3
(4) 4
(5) 5
Isn’t this a window?
It was written like this, not a joke. It was so absurd that at first I thought I was hallucinating because I was crazy. Or maybe the energy of the universe gathered and manifested because of my desire to eat raw food.
But even if I blinked, nothing changed. Even if I rubbed it with my thumb or scratched it with my fingernail, it was the same.
Even after staring at the test for dozens of seconds, it seemed like there was a problem with the test, but no one around me seemed to be raising any issues. Is this a free question that they are giving to test takers to cheer them up?
After marking 2 on the answer sheet with a hesitant mind, I checked the next question.
[ 2. AB □ DEFG… What letter should be written in □? (2 points) ]
(1) B
(2) C
(3) D
(4) E
(5) F
“Excuse me, supervisor?”
My voice echoed through the still-quiet examination room. A few people glanced up at me and buried their faces in their exam papers again. The supervisor answered in a sharp voice.
“Don’t talk, just raise your hand. It will distract you from the test.”
I didn’t say anything else and just stood there with my hand raised, when the supervisor came walking towards me, bent down, and asked me in a small voice.
“Is there a problem?”
This problem itself is the problem. I came here to take the anti-magic certification exam, but why am I having to solve elementary school arithmetic problems? Didn’t they give me the wrong test paper?
As I asked him in a low voice and as politely as possible, the supervisor, who had been staring intently at my face, picked up the test paper and slowly flipped through each page. Then, he handed the test paper back to me and said this.
“There is no problem with the test paper.”
“Huh? This it?”
“If there is a problem, it must be with the applicant.”
Why are you suddenly biting me?
The tone of voice didn’t seem like empty words or a lie to me. The voice that had been standing there, saying that I was being disturbed, had also become much more subdued. Since his face was so pale, I couldn’t tell whether the expression on his face was one of laughter or disbelief.
After that, the supervisor turned around and went back to his seat, and when I looked at the next question, my doubts did not get resolved but rather multiplied.
[Question 3. 1 1 2 3 5 X 13… What number goes in place of X? (4 points)]
Why is the Fibonacci sequence 4-point?
The following questions were mostly about math, language, or morality at the elementary school level. Among them, question number 6 was, “What would you do if a soccer ball rolled toward you?”
There were various answers like, “Take it,” “Kick it in the opposite direction,” “Run away with the ball,” etc. But all you had to do was kick the ball. What kind of psychopath is someone who runs away with the ball?
Since all the questions were like this, I didn’t have anything to worry about, and after solving all 80 questions, the minute hand was pointing to 4. I remembered that they told me to raise my hand if I solved all of them, so I raised my hand.
The supervisor glanced at me, then came back and asked in a whisper.
“What’s going on?”
“I solved everything, what should I do?”
After hearing what I said, he picked up the card, stared at it intently, looked at my face again, slightly raised the corners of his lips, and said this.
“You can go home.”
I thought you just took a quick picture. Whatever it was… .
* * *
When I got up, several of the alien races raised their heads and looked at me, probably because they heard the sound of the chair I made. Their expressions were all snickering. I guess they were glad that they had one less competitor.
Either way, I was told I could go home, so I quickly went outside. I didn’t want to stay in the hallway in front of the test center, so I went outside the building and came to the fountain where there was a 300m sign.
Actually, the fountain itself was a bit strange. In the center of the fountain, a warrior was standing with a firm posture, and water was constantly gushing out from the tip of his sword raised upwards.
I looked up, sat down on a nearby bench, and drank the restorative medicine the store manager had given me before making a phone call. The phone rang exactly once.
[ Hello? Chan-ah? ]
“Yes, sir.”
[Why are you calling already… Did you give up on the exam?]
“I’m done.”
This is the level of education in another world. I heard the store manager swallow his breath as if he was shocked, so I quickly added that I was joking.
“I solved them all. I solved them, but the problems are a bit… strange.”
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[ For example? ]
“Store manager, 1+1 is 2, right?”
[ Uh… Are you asking this in a philosophical sense? ]
“So, if a customer brings a buy-one-get-one-free item, I should give them two, right?”
[ Usually that’s the case . ]
He said, “The problem was like this all the time, and the store manager, when a soccer ball rolls, you kick it with your foot?” At the moment he said this, the store manager burst into laughter and couldn’t calm down for dozens of seconds. It seems like there are no customers in the store.
“Store manager?”
[ … Ahahaha, that, ah, sorry. I think I know what happened… . ]
“Then please tell me. I can laugh with you.”
[ Yeah. But before I say anything, isn’t there anyone else around here listening? ]
After hearing that, I looked around right away, but I was the only one. It seemed like there were other races taking pictures near the fountain earlier.
“I don’t think so.”
[ Yeah. First of all, there was nothing wrong with the test itself, right? ]
“yes.”
It didn’t distort my gaze, and the moment I touched it, the test paper didn’t explode like a firecracker or try to bite me.
[ Then it’s simple, right? The entire testing room was under a spell. Maybe they used some sort of spell to impede perception, or coat the retina with a tactile barrier, or something like that? ]
“uh….”
In simple terms, this is what it was about. As soon as you enter the testing room, a spell is set up throughout the testing room that makes the questions appear distorted, and the difficulty of the distorted questions is set to a level that you can solve after studying hard for a year.
Those who solve this problem by mistake will pass just barely, and if you notice it halfway through and use your anti-magic ability to remove the distortion, you can pass with a free pass. Or, just ignore the filters and all the other stuff like me.
[ Just a guess, but I think this is probably true. I thought it was a pretty good idea when I thought about it. ]
Since the store manager said so, I decided to take it for granted. Except for one question.
“I came here thinking it was a written exam, but isn’t it no different from a practical exam?”
[ That’s true… but I did take notes though. ]
“No, that’s true… but wouldn’t the foreign races that were taking the test there rise up if they found out?”
[ You won’t be able to get up? No one will know. ]
Anyway, since they made it so that they can solve it if they study, they will think that it was their problem even if they can’t solve it. This makes sense rationally. It makes sense.
“Why do they go through all this trouble…?”
[ I can guess the intention. ]
“is it so?”
[ Yeah. If I were the examiner and heard this opinion, I would have thought something like, ‘Let’s give extra points to candidates who notice this, or let them be exempted from the practical test.’ For any qualification, isn’t actual ability much more important than the written test score? ]
Of course, getting 100 points on the written driver’s license test doesn’t mean you’re a good driver.
[ This was my guess, do you understand it now? ]
“So-so.”
[ Hehe, I wonder how many points Chan will get right. ]
Rather than expecting it, I hope the test-takers don’t come to our convenience store. If they try to feed the test takers who come to take the test, how much worse must it be for the pickpockets.
[ So, Chan-ah. When should I pick you up? ]
“I will go right now.”
I threw the bottle of fatigue recovery drink I had finished drinking into the trash can and got up.
Although the process was absurd, I felt somewhat mentally relaxed as I left the academy district, perhaps because I took the written exam.
The feeling of distance that I felt upon leaving the convenience store seems to have been greatly reduced, and it is probably because there are fewer different races on the way to school. Well, it is well past 9 AM, and if there are kids going to school now, they will be in a long line.
When we got to the point where we could see the main gate, the store manager asked.
“Chan-ah. So, how was your first outing?”
“Well, I’m not sure yet….”
I made eye contact with other races a few times on my way here, but that was it. I didn’t meet any human races at all, but at least they didn’t seem to think my appearance was that special, even in this world.
If I felt like this, I wouldn’t have to be afraid anywhere I went from now on. I thought that just knowing that was a huge achievement.
Plus, I found out that it was a neighborhood with a lot of things to do.
Standing in front of the main gate and looking around the deserted area, it was filled with PC rooms, multi-rooms, and all sorts of streets where students could play. There was a banner saying that a VR room where magic practice was possible had opened, but I didn’t really want to go there. I couldn’t do VR because it made me dizzy.
“At least I don’t think I’ll ever be bored living here.”
“Then it’s okay if I just go play nearby?”
“I’ll just go in today. I don’t think the manager will be worried.”
Well… I guess I’ll come back again someday.