Book 3: Chapter 43: Profound Philosophy Within The Question
âPlease write your own name on the question paper. Usage of pseudonyms or false identities will lead to disqualification.â
âYou are prohibited from communicating with anyone, cheating and using magic during the exam. Invigilation will be done by the academy teachers. If you are caught violating any rules as mentioned earlier, you will be disqualified and receive a lifetime ban.â
âYou are given half an hour to answer the paper, please spend your time wisely.â
The middle-aged man scanned the venue. After making sure that everyone had taken their own seat, he announced in a deep voice, âWell then, the exam begins now!â
He flung his sleeve and the hourglass on the platform was turned upside down to keep track of the time.
Lilith stared at the question paper in front of her, feeling a little at a loss.
She had never once sat for an exam in her two lifetimes of experience. It was only natural for her to be nervous and flustered.
However, at this point in time, she had no choice but to bite the bullet.
She refused to believe that the exams in this world of magic would be as crazy as advanced mathematics in her previous life!
After taking a deep breath, Lilith flipped open the examination paper with determination.
Question one:
What would you do if you saw an old grandma fall down while you are walking down the road?
Option 1: Help her up.
Option 2: Turn a blind eye.
Option 3: Think that she is a scammer and spit at her when passing by.
Option 4: Tie a rope around the old grandma, drag her behind you as you take her around the city at the speed of a 100-meter dash.
Lilith was speechless.
What the hell is this?
Why are all the options so different in style?
At least the first three options are still reasonable. Is that fourth option trying to kill the old grandma?
Did the person who made this question get hit on his head?
Or did he have some sort of bad experience with an old grandma when he was young and ended up being mentally twisted?
What did the old grandma do? Why do you have to treat her that way?
Arenât all old grandmas very adorable for most of the time?
Lilith secretly complained in her head and was about to choose option one.
It was at this moment, she suddenly noticed the middle-aged man on the platform out of the corner of her eye.
Wait, something seems off.
There were opaque screens between the candidates, so they couldnât see each other. However, all of them could very clearly see the teachers on the high platform.
Most of the academy teachers had gone off invigilating, flying above the candidatesâ heads. Only two people remained on the platform.
A younger female teacher and a middle-aged man with white sideburns.
The middle-aged man was actually wearing a strange smile on his face at this very moment.
Why was he smiling? Was there anything funny?
The exam was in session and there were only candidates who were struggling to answer their paper down here. What amused him?
Could it be thatâ¦
He wasnât amused by us but by our answers?
Thatâs right!
Why would the best academy in Xedrios give out such question papers during an important entrance exam?
No matter how Lilith looked at it, this was too good to be true.
Although she didnât know what the intention of the person who set the questions was, the correct answers were certainly not the ones that appeared to be the most appropriate!
It was just as what a very seasoned high school student from her previous life once casually told her about his experience with examsâ¦
The options that looked most like the correct answers to you were often wrong.
And those answers that you denied at the first glance were most likely correct!
Although this was his experience during an English test, it was probably still applicable to this situation.
In any case, both were equally confusing, werenât they?
Hence, the correct answer wasâ¦
The most unlikely answer, option four!
Lilith wiped the sweat from her forehead, totally feeling the intensity of this exam. Just the first question alone was tricky enough with hidden meaning in it.
What lies beneath the ordinary surface was a dangerous and life-threatening trap!
If it wasnât for the fact that sheâd noticed the sinister smiles on the faces of those despicable hunters, she might have fallen into their trap long ago.
That was right, this was no longer an exam. It was a fierce competition between the hunters and their prey.
Those that failed to escape from their trap could only end up as a weak little rabbit in their hands!
Damn those cunning humans!
But I wonât lose! Show me what youâve got!
Question two:
What would you do if an old grandma suddenly fell in front of the carriage that you were driving on the road?
Option 1: Help her up and send her to the hospital.
Option 2: Detour.
Option 3: Think that the grandma is a scammer, yell at her and chase her to the side.
Option 4: Let the grandma replace your horse and drag you around the city.
Lilith was once again speechless.
She will die!
Grandma will really die!
To the person who set the questions for this paper, just how deep is your resentment towards grandmas?!
Did your previous ten consecutive lifetimes get ruined by a grandma?!
Please leave those innocent grandmas alone!
Although Lilith was complaining in her heart, she still wrote down her answerâ¦
As option four.
It was a decisive answer from her. When it came to this kind of serial trap, one would screw up royally if they made the wrong choice in the first question. On the contrary, if they managed to sniff out the trap, they would never fall into it.
And I, Lady Lilith, have seen through your tricks since long ago!
She shifted her gaze to the platform and saw that the strange smile on the middle-aged manâs face had disappeared. This made Lilith feel more confident about her answer.
There was hope!
She could pass this written exam with her own capability.
There was no such thing as pulling some strings!
Question three:
If you were fighting in a deadly battle against your enemy and it was at this time, you found an old grandma lying within the area, you wouldâ¦
Option 1: Stop fighting and save the old grandma.
Option 2: Turn a blind eye.
Option 3: Think that the old grandma is a scammer, and throw her out of the area rudely.
Option 4: Use the grandma as a human sacrifice to summon the devil and defeat the opponent.
âHmph, as expected, itâs this kind of question again.â
Lilith didnât even bother to complain and directly chose option four with confidence.
Hehe, guess the written exam isnât all that difficult.
â¦â¦
âProfessor Marlin, why did the academy suddenly decide to add on a written exam for this year?â
The middle-aged man with white sideburns rubbed his chin. âIt seems like a few of the graduates from this academy turned out to be scums of the society and the dean was furious. Thatâs why a written exam was added to the entrance exam to assess the studentsâ morality.â
âTo test the studentâs morality?â The female teacher behind Marlin looked at the exam paper in her hand in puzzlement. âCan these kinds of questions assess a studentâs morality?â
âOf course.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Marlin smiled strangely. âThe questions are normal, but not the exam paper. Thereâs magic imbued on it. The candidates can only fill in the answer that they think is correct in the deepest part of their heart. Hence, it wonât be possible for those with cruel minds who actually want to pick option four to choose option one just for the sake of passing the exam. This is how we can know if these students are inherently good or bad through the simplest questions.â
âI see.â The female teacher nodded with an impressed look on her face, then asked, âBut why do the questions keep bringing up about this old grandma?â
Marlinâs face turned serious.
âIt doesnât matter who the person in the questions is. Itâs just that my grandma passed away recently. She had been very nice to me. Her death made me very depressed, so I wrote her into the questions that I was preparing. Itâs kind of like a tribute to her.â
The female teacher was rendered speechless by his answer.
Professor, you really have aâ¦
Very special way to commemorate someone.