âWe finally made it through.â
âYes!â
The teachersâ cheers could be heard.
With the exam questions finalized, the midterm exam period had officially begun.
But this midterm seemed different.
In previous semesters, the midterm period would create a sudden studious atmosphere as students scrambled to cram at the last minute.
However, this semester was different.
âThere are no slackers trying to wing it this time. Whatâs going on?â
âThose kids are the ones taking Teacher Ethanâs classes, right? From the first lesson until now, they probably havenât neglected studying while keeping up.â
âShouldnât we be relieved then? Why are they studying so hard?â
âI donât know. Did he say he was making the midterms extremely difficult?â
This time, everyone kept their mouths shut.
It made sense.
Now that everyone at the academy wanted to take Ethanâs classes next semester, they had to do well on these midterms to increase their chances of registration.
Just 50 spots.
Everyone was studying and training like madmen to secure one of those places.
The same was true for the Magic Departmentâs Potion Manufacturing class.
âIf we canât get meaningful midterm scoresâŠâ
âThe teacher might not teach Potion Manufacturing anymore.â
âThis was originally Teacher Hassen Rittleâs class after all. Teacher Ethan might have just temporarily subbed in.â
Everyone was anxious.
They feared that if they messed up the midterms, a disappointed Ethan might give up teaching the Magic Department class.
Since Ethan was originally a Knight Department teacher, that fear only grew.
âWe havenât learned everything yet!â
âThereâs still so much more for you to teach us! Ughh!â
A rumor had spread among the students that if they failed the midterms, Ethan might abandon the Potion Manufacturing class in disappointment.
âDonât worry. Heâll definitely keep teaching. Teacher Ethan is a very responsible teacher!â
The Magic Department students steeled their resolve and dove into exam prep.
Then, on the long-awaited midterm exam day.
The Potion Manufacturing exam was scheduled before the Understanding the Sword Path exam.
âPhew, phew.â
The students taking the Potion Manufacturing class had gathered in the lecture hall.
Today was the first day of midterms. How much time had they spent studying for this day?
They had studied every possible topic that could be covered. Unlike other classes, Ethanâs class had no textbook, so all the questions would surely be about the brĂŒle.
In other words, essay questions would dominate.
Creak.
The lecture hall door opened at that moment.
âJudging by those dark circles, you all studied through the night. Since youâve all prepared so diligently, your hard work should pay off on this exam.â frđđđ eđŻđ»ovel.cđšm
In Ethanâs hands were sheets of parchment.
Ethan handed those parchments to Yerica, who had entered with him as a teaching assistant. Yerica then lightly tossed them upward and used magic to distribute individual exam papers to each student.
âThe exam consists of three essay questions. You may use any materials youâve brought. This will be an open-book exam.â
An open-book exam.
Most exams at Ivecar Academy were open-book by default.
One might think it would be easy since they could simply look up and write down the answers. But in reality, open-book exams were much harder.
It was as if the instructor was challenging them: âIf you can find it, then find it and write it down.â
âCheating is allowed.â
Then Ethan made a shocking statement.
âAs long as you donât get caught by me. You can cheat as long as you donât get caught.â
But none of the students had any intention of cheating.
They all knew well how Ethan had conducted his Understanding the Sword Path lessons in the Swordsmanship Department.
Teacher Ethan has sharp eyes.
There were no students brave enough to try to deceive those eyes and cheat.
Ethan sat down and observed the students.
Only the sounds of students working on the exam questions filled the lecture hall.
âThree essay questions. I asked about applications of the brĂŒle. If they focused in class, it should be solvable.â
Two hours was ample time. Enough to properly assess their abilities.
âIâm looking forward to some interesting answers.â
***
At that moment, in the Principalâs office.
The heads of each department reported on the exams being held that day.
âPrincipal, here are the details.â
âLet me review them right away. Which classes have exams starting today, and who are the teachers?â
âFirst, thereâs Teacher Ciron Ramsdale, andâŠâ
The deans listed the teachers scheduled for exams that day.
The Principal reviewed the exam contents prepared by each teacher as the deans reported.
âHmm, they set quite challenging questions. They managed an appropriate difficulty level for this exam too. The deans must have worked hard reviewing the questions.â
The Principal flipped through the parchments, praising the deansâ efforts.
Then he paused on one parchment.
âTeacher Ethanâs Potion Manufacturing exam is also today.â
-Ethan Whiskers [Potion Manufacturing] Exam Questions.
The Principal held the exam questions Ethan had prepared for the Potion Manufacturing class.
âYouâll also find his Understanding the Sword Path exam questions next to it.â
The two deans had marveled at the exam questions from each department.
âTruly befitting a Swordsmanship Department teacher.â
âAnd truly befitting a Magic Department teacher as well.â
For a moment, the two deans made eye contact.
âHe is clearly a Knight Department teacher, Magic Department Dean.â
âYet he is also teaching our departmentâs class, Knight Department Dean.â
As the two deans sized each other up, the Principal carefully read through the parchments.
âBy structuring the questions this way, you can clearly distinguish between students who fully understood the lessons, those who only partially understood, and those who merely grasped the surface level. The score distribution is perfect. The best part is his intention to bring up even the struggling students. Rather than giving them zero points, he awards partial points of at least one point. Thatâs great.â
The Principal marveled.
Ethanâs exam questions showed consideration for the students.
While other teachers simply divided answers into right or wrong, Ethan deliberately allowed for multiple answers and awarded partial scores accordingly.
âIn many ways, Teacher Ethan seems to value providing opportunities. No wonder the students are so devoted to him.â
At the Principalâs words, the bickering deans nodded in unison.
The deans were well aware.
At this elite Ivecar Academy teeming with exceptional individuals, average abilities simply couldnât stand out.
Those who couldnât stand out were denied opportunities.
Thatâs why even students who struggled to gain admission often ended up dropping out.
Ethanâs exam gave those students a chance too, allowing them to earn at least partial points instead of zero.
It was an exam brimming with such thoughtfulness.
The Principal smiled contentedly as he reviewed Ethanâs exam and moved on to the next.
âHmm, Teacher Claudie has an exam today too?â
Claudieâs exams were always excellent, cleverly designed to be truly enjoyable to solve.
âHuh?â
But something seemed different from his usual approach. Up until now, Claudieâs questions were designed to brutally cull the students.
Either right or wrong.
Only the precisely correct answer would earn points.
But this time was different.
It was clearly structured to award partial points.
To give the struggling students a chance, just once.
A chance for them to catch up, even if just once.
âHas he been influencedâŠ?â
The Principal quickly realized whose influence this was.
He wouldnât have expected to see this side of Claudie.
But this wasnât a bad thing. It addressed a shortcoming in Instructor Claudieâs approach.
âTeacher Ethan really is our blessing.â
âA blessing for our Knight Department. Hahaha.â
âBut also a blessing for the Magic Department as a teacher.â
Regardless, the Principal smiled. With this, Ivecar could advance to new heights.
***
After the midterm exams.
Ethan separately called for Mason.
Mason trusted Ethanâs plan to recruit Roanna.
He didnât know Roanna was that strong, but he was disappointed they couldnât compete against her.
Still, if the Sky Swordmage themselves evaluated him, he wanted to receive the highest score possible.
So he had studied through the night for todayâs exam and was able to solve the questions based on what he had learned.
He expected to score very close to a perfect score.
âYou called for me, Teacher.â
âNothing major, just something to give you. And I also wanted to discuss the interdepartmental exchange. Sorry for calling you during the exam period.â
âNot at all!â
âHere, take this.â
ââŠWhat is this?â
What Ethan handed over was a sheet of parchment.
âItâs a comprehensive evaluation of you.â
ââŠâ
Mason quickly read through the parchment.
As Ethan said, it was filled with an evaluation of himself.
[Mason Yeld]
-Observed since his freshman year, Mason Yeld employs a domineering swordsmanship style that allows him to control situations.
However, he seems to have barely experienced defeat. There is much to learn from losing. If I could teach him that aspectâŠ
The parchment contained a detailed evaluation of Mason, just as Ethan said.
What swordsmanship style he used.
The strengths and weaknesses of that style.
It included details one could only know by closely observing Mason.
âHuh? Teacher, thisâŠâ
But the contents dated back to Masonâs freshman year.
âI didnât write this.â
âPardon?â
âAfter we won the representative selection tournament, Teacher Claudie visited my office. Since we won that match, he told me to make sure we definitely won the interdepartmental exchange too as the Swordsmanship Department representatives. And he gave me this, saying it would help.â
âTeacher ClaudieâŠâ
Mason suddenly recalled what Max had said about Claudie not being as cold-blooded as he thought.
Masonâs fingers trembled.
âAnd he also offered to provide further assistance.â
Thump. Thump.
The sound of footsteps approached.
The person who entered the spacious training hall was someone Mason never expected.
Claudie Hyde was entering the training hall.
âIâve decided to help you achieve victory in the interdepartmental exchange. As an instructor of the Swordsmanship Department, itâs only natural.â
Ethan immediately sensed his discomfort.
âNot his preference.â
Ethan had read the comprehensive student evaluation he had written.
The level of detail was astonishing, demonstrating his ability to conduct such thorough evaluations despite his busy teaching schedule.
He had sincerely intended to make Mason his student.
But circumstances didnât align, leading to this situation.
âSo.â
Claudie looked at Mason.
âDid you do well on the exam, Mason Yeld?â
ââŠYes, Teacher.â
Mason smiled and responded to Claudie.
Author's Thoughts
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