High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 803: Chapter 151: Exam Preparation Mode

Examinations are the greatest challenge that students of Jiuyou Academy face from enrollment to graduation.

They are continuous, with no beginning and no end.

From placement tests to pop quizzes, then to monthly exams, quarterly exams, practical tests, professional capability assessments, midterms, finals, and so on. There are a vast number of exams of various types.

But at the end of the day, Jiuyou Academy uses exams to test students’ mastery of various magic knowledge—beyond that, exams also serve as a means to sort students into differing levels of achievement and to weed out the chaff.

Among all these exams, the final exam, as the comprehensive one and due to its highest weight in the students’ transcripts at Jiuyou Academy, is highly valued and hence called the ’big test’.

This was something that Zheng Qing deeply felt at the beginning of the sixteenth week of enrollment.

Past exams, such as the initial placement tests conducted at the start of the school year to gauge students’ foundational knowledge, or the various in-class tests during the learning process, or even the midterm exams from two months ago—no matter what they were called, in the eyes of fellow students, they ultimately served merely as a process for checking and filling in gaps. Doing well was naturally pleasing; doing poorly didn’t lead to too much trouble, at most, it involved sighing in front of friends and complaining with a few elegant remarks like ’I fell asleep during the exam’.

But the upcoming final exam was entirely different.

It was as if the carp were about to leap through the Dragon’s Gate, feeling the anticipation of the tail flick before the jump. Leap over, and there would be a whole new, relaxed world; fail to leap over, and one would face an abyss.

”This is the first big test you face after entering First University, after coming to Jiuyou Academy. It assesses what you have truly learned since enrolment; it assesses whether or not you have wasted your time, whether or not you truly understand the meaning of university. Each of you sitting here needs to seriously consider these questions in your hearts.”

Professor Yao, biting on his empty pipe, spoke of this serious topic in an indifferent, muffled tone, while casually organizing the lecture notes in front of him.

It was apparent that, with years of teaching experience, he was very adept at handling freshmen’s first big test or final exams: ”...I won’t say too much. You are all adults now and need to learn to take responsibility for yourselves. Next, as your curse course professor, let’s review the spells we have learned over the past six months.”

”Open your ’Standard Spells: College Freshman,’ and let’s go through the table of contents.”

Following the professor’s instruction, a rustling sound of flipping pages filled the classroom immediately. Several serving sprites took the opportunity to flutter their wings, dragging steaming towels and heavy brass teapots, and poured a full cup of hot tea for the professor standing on the podium.

In the cold winter, taking a sip of hot tea is indeed a very pleasant thing. It can greatly improve one’s mood.

Professor Yao, holding the teacup, nodded and smiled at the sprites in silent thanks. The sprites didn’t make a sound either, joyfully and quietly dragging the teapot and towels as they flew out of the classroom.

Behind the door, a simple sketch of a little person wanted to speak out, but just as it opened its mouth, before it could utter a sound, a chalk piece from the podium struck it with the speed of lightning—not giving any chance to cover its ears. The chalk hit the simple sketch forcefully, turning into a puff of chalk dust on impact, and plastering the stick figure securely to the wall behind it.

Soon, the sound of flipping pages in the classroom gradually subsided.

Professor Yao snapped his fingers, and the students all looked up as a white piece of chalk leapt out of the box and, with a pitter-patter of steps, began to dance joyfully on the blackboard.

”The first spell you learned is the Binding Spell... of course, at Alpha Academy, the first spell is the Soft Leg Curse, and many students study it as well, which is perfectly fine,”

”Because the first spell, essentially, is to help you understand the difference between the magic you study in college and what you studied in high school.”

”The biggest difference lies in ’borrowing’ and ’transferring’.”

”Borrowing what? Borrowing the mighty forces from the depths of Starry Sky, within your capacity, to use your limited magic power to manipulate larger and more complex magic loops that you could never complete on your own. For instance, when using the Binding Spell, you would be borrowing the power of ’Ge Ancestor,’ ’Vase Ancestor,’ and other powerful True Spirits.”

”Transferring what? Transferring the effects of the curse. For example, with the Soft Leg Curse, you transfer and amplify the curse through ’My Horse,’ then release it, using less energy for a better effect.”

Professor Yao stood on the podium, speaking to the class confidently.

Behind him, several different-colored pieces of chalk danced nimbly on the blackboard, leaving behind neat and fluid notes; above the blackboard, rows of grey-clad Sprites sat in order, legs crossed, heads tilted, curiously observing the students below who were listening attentively.

In front of the professor, everyone was looking up, focused on the notes on the board—today was one of the rare days when few took notes, since Old Yao was discussing knowledge they had already learned. However, what they had learned during past classes was like a series of dazzling pearls, chaotically scattered in the depths of the students’ memories. What he intended to do today was to string those pearls together through organization and connection, turning the raw materials into exquisite finished products.

”Beyond the Binding Spell, you have also learned the ’Guardian of the Original Morning’ spell.”

”It is a spell that can follow you throughout your study of magic, a spell that can be both extremely simple and extremely complicated; it is a spell that is profoundly connected to the path you walk and the future you will traverse.”

”Because it is so important, it will be tested on the final exam!”

With that, the professor turned around, grabbed a happily dancing chalk, and heavily tapped it twice on the blackboard, leaving several very noticeable white marks next to the words ’Guardian of the Original Morning.’

Some of the students snapped out of their daze and quickly took out their feather pens to mark several red stars in front of this spell. A few overly anxious students even used their feather pens to etch simple reminder talismans on the backs of their hands.

”Ah, it’s actually going to be on the test! What bad luck... I’ve always had trouble with this spell,” Xin Fat Man, who sat in front of Zheng Qing, complained softly while biting his pen: ”Every time after I cast it, I feel completely drained. I wonder if there’s something wrong with the route of the magic loop.”

After marking the stars, Zheng Qing put down his feather pen, looked up at the blackboard, and watched the familiar spell formula, as if seeing his two small, oddly dressed, and bizarre-looking ’Guardians’ again.