"Division Head, the books given out to everybody describe the traits of fifty—at most, sixty—plants. Since the passing score has been based on fifty plants for generations, what is the point of raising the limit to a hundred this year?"
Cantankerous Hanry started his rant the exact moment the rules were announced. Instead of the tired boredom he had shown just minutes ago, deep anger now took over his face.
"We talked about this last night. The Division Head agreed with my idea that, since the quality of this year's candidates is so high, the trials have to be harder too!"
Louise shot back, followed by a few scattered, mocking laughs coming from the benches where the noble kids sat.
"Testing people on knowledge they don't even have access to—what a brilliant idea! Looks like corruption isn't just rotting the Martial Division!"
His right hand stayed raised in the air, while his other hand hung by his side, clenched into a tight fist. Everyone in the hall heard his words, and the smirking faces of the noble kids quickly went serious.
"Hanry, calm down!"
The Division Head turned to the middle-aged man and spoke; even after the fierce insult he just got, he looked completely calm. Meanwhile, the trial had started; some candidates were writing their answers fast on the paper in front of them, while others sat frozen in thought, staring at the ceiling.
Half an hour passed like this, and a sweet voice rose from the side where the noble kids sat.
"I have finished my trial; I would like my answers checked!"
When Maria Gloove spoke, the proctor standing behind her took the paper and walked it over to the desk where the Division Head and the Masters sat.
"Master Hanry, do you want to grade it?"
When Louise held the paper out to Cantankerous Hanry, the air snapped tight in a second. The painful groan of breaking wood started coming from the floorboards right under the middle-aged man's heel.
"If grading the paper of a brat whose feathers haven't even grown in yet falls on me, then the Botanical Division is truly damned. But since you're so damn eager, this job fits a Master like you perfectly!"
Hanry looked like he had cut every tie holding him back; he fired off his words fast without holding back a bit.
"Louise, grade the paper!"
The Division Head spoke with the exact same calm voice. Even after taking a bunch of insults, the Young Master kept his smile. He looked over the text fast, and before five minutes passed, the edges of his lips stretched almost to his ears.
"A perfect ten points; on top of that, five extra plants were written down just in case of any mistakes!"
Louise couldn't sit still in his chair; Mel and Hanry locked eyes. Dropping his stiff posture, the middle-aged man chose to lean back into his seat.
Time kept moving; besides a few noble kids handing in their papers and getting perfect scores, nothing big happened.
"Time is up; proctors, collect the papers!"
Louise gave the order without missing a single second; within ten seconds, the answer papers sat on the desk all the way at the other end of the building.
More than twenty proctors started checking them and wrote down their scores fast.
"Remember, no rounding up scores under any condition. Exactly ten plants equal one point; missing one is a mistake that gets no mercy here!"
The Young Master didn't stop pushing; after the huge win by the girl from his own family, he threw his weight around the grading process hard.
Checking the papers took half an hour, and after that, a proctor started calling out the scores along with the names of the candidates.
"Alan Walker – 9"
"Guts - 6"
"Jessi Wools – 8"
"Porky – 5"
As the names kept echoing, everyone saw that the trial had worked out exactly how it was planned. Among the kids called by both their name and family name, the lowest score was an eight; but for the commoner kids called only by their first names, the highest score was a six.
"Mel Malcom – 10"
A cup fell to the floorboards and smashed; the red wine inside it leaked through the cracks in the wood, spreading like a pool of blood.
"Impossible!"
A single word slipped out of Louise's mouth; it was obvious it had slipped past his control.
"My esteemed colleague, do you want to check the paper with your own eyes?"
Wanting to make his rival taste his own poison, Hanry jumped on the chance without waiting. After his words, Louise's face turned an even darker shade of red.
"Are you sure?"
Of course, the Young Master didn't stand up from his seat; instead, he yelled harshly at the proctors doing the grading.
"Sir, along with writing down one hundred plants, there are ten extra entries!"
Hanry and Mel locked eyes again; some of the tight lines on the middle-aged man's face melted away.
The kids on the noble benches were busy whispering gossip, trying hard to find a logical reason to understand Mel's score. Only Maria Gloove refused to open her mouth; sitting perfectly still, the young girl shut herself off from everyone around her, staring at a fixed point on the wall.
Mel didn't care at all about the rival watching him; he was totally busy taking congratulations from his friends from the common ranks.
"Congratulations, youths; the final trial held tomorrow will decide if you are worthy to enter the Botanical Division. Unlike the first two trials, we are going to tell you the rules of the third trial right now. I wish you all success!"
Finishing his speech, the Division Head walked out, with his two subordinates walking right beside him. The remaining candidates stood up and showed their respect. Once the three men walked out the door, one of the proctors checking the papers started to speak.
"Youths! Tomorrow's trial will focus on preparing herbal mixtures using the one hundred plants listed on this paper. The person who successfully prepares thirty mixtures will get a full ten points; three mixtures equal one point."
The proctor's throat must have gotten dry, because he dumped the water sitting on the desk into his cup and took a big gulp. The candidates watched his Adam's apple bob up and down.
"You have exactly one day to get ready! Your trial will start at this exact time tomorrow!"
Finishing his rules, the proctor left with the rest of his guys. Only the candidates were left in the huge room.
"This is the end of the line for you peasants!"
One of the noble kids, twisting his mouth into a nasty smile, threw an insult at the guys standing across from him.
"What's your problem, Stivi?"
The comeback came fast, but the kid named Stivi didn't look like he wanted to shut up.
"To study the recipes, you first have to have the plants written on this list. Can your starving families actually afford these things for you?"
Pointing at the list hung on the wall with a finger wearing a ring with a bright red stone, the boy let out a mocking laugh and stood up from his seat. Walking over to the long paper, he hung around for a bit to read the names.
"They put up the paper of your so-called hero. Just guessing, trying to buy all these plants would cost more than a hundred gold coins!"
After that, he copied the names written on the paper into his notebook and walked out of the building. The rest of the noble kids followed him; only Maria Gloove left without even giving a single look at the paper that had turned into a shopping list.
Only the kids from dirt-poor families were left in the trial grounds, and the guy with the highest score among them needed seven points to get into the academy. For painful minutes, nobody talked; they just paced back and forth in front of the list on the wall.
"Mel, what are we going to do?"
It was Nalt who broke the silence; the young boy stepped up to speak for the crowd gathering around him.
Mel didn't answer; standing up calmly from his seat, he walked toward the door of the building. As he pulled the heavy doors open, the others watched him in silence; not a whisper was heard. Mel took his first step outside, then suddenly turned back.
"Those who really want to pass the trial tomorrow and get into the Academy... follow me."